Kaitlyn Bristowe Admits Post‑Engagement Trauma Is Sabotaging Her Love Life
Sage Matthews here, up at 2 AM with the kind of grim satisfaction only late-night doomscrolling brings. Of course Bachelor Nation heartbreak would mutate into a self-sabotage thesis; why would anything be simple? Kaitlyn Bristowe, the former Bachelorette and Off the Vine host, has now publicly blamed lingering trauma and hyper-independence for why dating still feels impossible two years after calling off her engagement to Jason Tartick.
In an exclusive conversation with E! News, Bristowe named her own internal baggage as the most obvious obstacle to finding a new partner. She admitted she retreats into a version of relationship minimalism when romance appears: long-distance setups, separate lives, weekend meetups, basically a romantic sleepover rather than a partnership. Her therapist, she said, already flagged that pattern as a coping mechanism. So yes, the enemy is internal, and it is stubborn.
There is also the small matter of the local talent pool. Bristowe joked that in Nashville “there is pee in the dating pool,” and that she has to expand her search beyond her hometown. That is a comedic aside but also a candid complaint about the limited and tired options for someone used to a national stage.
And before anyone wonders whether she will return to the reality dating hamster wheel, Bristowe was clear: no, she will not compete on a dating show again. She is, however, stepping into a hosting role that feels oddly apt. She and fellow Bachelor Nation alum Colton Underwood will co-host the new Netflix dating experiment Are You My First? which features 21 adults who are virgins exploring relationships. Bristowe gushed about her chemistry with Underwood and admitted she had a crush on him before learning he was gay. She called the show a format that should have existed already, praising the novelty of watching people experience so many firsts together.
Are You My First? drops all ten episodes on Hulu in the United States and on Disney Plus internationally on August 18. ABC will air the premiere episode that same night at 10 PM following a new episode of Bachelor in Paradise, ensuring cross-promotion within the franchise machine.
This admission from Bristowe arrives amid an ongoing churn of Bachelor Nation relationships dissolving publicly. The article also notes other franchise breakups, including the recent split of Matt James and Rachael Kirkconnell after four years together, underlining a pattern where televised romance rarely survives the daylight of ordinary life. Bristowe’s situation reads as a familiar sequel: public relationship, public breakup, then the painfully public process of figuring out why the fairy tale failed.
Here is the bleak but useful takeaway. Bristowe is self-aware enough to name the problem and practical enough to seek therapy. She is also pragmatic about her future in reality television: she will help produce the narrative from the host chair not the contestant bed. That is growth, if not exactly a warm fuzzy ending.
So yes, Kaitlyn is single, cautious, and amusedly disgusted with Nashville. She is honest about therapy, admitting to coping strategies that do not exactly scream “ready for love.” She is also investing in reimagining dating television through Are You My First? which might be the most sincere attempt in years to interrogate intimacy rather than commodify it.
Anyway, can’t wait to see what therapy and travel produce. At this point, should we even pretend to be surprised?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and E! News, Are You My First? press release
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
