Katie Gave A Behind-The-Scenes Look At Her Breakup With Blake

Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston has never been one to hold back on social media, so it was only a matter of time before she got candid about her breakup with ex-fiancé Blake Moynes. In a six-minute Instagram video posted on Oct. 31, Thurston shared a refreshingly honest perspective on the decision to end her relationship. She explained that the split let her and Blake each prioritize their own happiness. “I think a lot of people stay in relationships because they put so much time and effort into it and they keep waiting for new results, thinking, what if this happens, it’ll change, or once we get married, once we have kids, whatever,” Thurston said. “Sometimes, you don’t have to wait for a big thing [to break up].”

The couple fell in love and got engaged on Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, which aired over the summer. Less than three months after the Season 17 finale, they announced their split in an Oct. 25 joint statement on Instagram. “I think a lot of people are like, ‘Well, what really happened? What’s the big thing that happened with Katie and Blake?’” Thurston continued. “And it’s like, we were together for six months. Blake and I are very level-headed and mature and we communicate very well on our thoughts and we just both knew, if this was how our first six months were as a couple, going forward, it was going to not be in our best interest for our happiness to stay together.”

She reiterated that the decision was a mutual one, and that she and Moynes remain on good terms. “We still stay in touch, we still support each other. Nothing but love and respect, truly,” Thurston said. “At the end of the day, your happiness is what’s important… and that’s not even a dig at Blake, it’s just a dig at what him and I were as partners.”

Despite her positive attitude, she said going through a breakup in the public eye has not been easy. On Oct. 27, Thurston thanked her Instagram followers for supporting her, and playfully thanked a friend’s dog for “forcing [her] out of the house.”

Moynes shared a similar sentiment in a Nov. 1 post. “When times are really tough and things just aren’t going the way you had hoped.. It’s always the same ‘gang’ that gets ya back on your feet,” he captioned a cute photo of some pups. “As much as I do lean on my human / furr fam at times like this, I really do have to acknowledge you all, my new found social family for all the love, support, encouragement and even patience over the past week.” And if you need any more proof Moynes and Thurston are still on good terms, she even gave his post a like.

In the weeks leading up to their split, Thurston moved to San Diego and opened up about feeling lonely while Moynes was on a work trip in Kenya. On Oct. 26, an insider told Us Weekly they “definitely tried,” but struggled to make their long distance relationship work. In Thurston’s words, she and Moynes were “very fortunate” to recognize problems in their relationship early on. “We owe it to each other to step away, and so that’s what we’re doing,” she concluded.