Since the news they ended their engagement two months after their finale aired, Bachelor Nation has one question: Why did Katie and Blake break up after The Bachelorette season 17? Well, according to Katie, the signs may have been there all along.

Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes fell in love on The Bachelorette season 17 after they were introduced to each other by co-host Tayshia Adams, who dated Blake on The Bachelorette season 16 but eliminated him in ninth place. Blake joined Katie’s Bachelorette season after the fourth week and made it to the Final Rose Ceremony, where Katie gave him her Final Rose and Blake proposed to her. “I can’t give you what you came here for because you deserve a lot more than that,” Blake told Katie during his proposal, which she accepted. “You deserve the world, and I’m excited to support you and be there for you every day moving forward.”

During the “After the Final Rose” ceremony in August 2021, Katie and Blake confirmed they were still together and engaged and that Katie wasn’t offended by Blake’s hesitation to pop the question. “I’m glad that he took the time to take it seriously,” she said at the time. “It is an engagement. Yes, we didn’t have a lot of time with each other, but it does show just how serious he was taking this and he actually was maybe unsure for a moment. It just makes it that much more special that he meant it.” So…why did Katie and Blake break up after The Bachelorette season 17? Read on for what we know.

Why did Katie and Blake break up after The Bachelorette?

So…why did Katie and Blake break up after The Bachelorette? Distance may be the answer. Katie and Blake confirmed in an Instagram posts on October 25, 2021, that they had broken up two months after their engagement aired on The Bachelorette season 17 finale. “It is with mutual love and respect that we have decided to go our separate ways,” they wrote in a joint statement at the time. “We are so grateful for the moments we shared together and the entire journey that has unfolded this year, but we ultimately have concluded that we are not compatible as life partners, and it is the most caring choice for both of us to move forward independently. We ask for kindness and privacy as we both navigate this transition. Both of us will forever want the best for one another and ask you to please support us in our decision.”

Days before their split, Katie told Us Weekly that she was “winging” her relationship with Blake as they lived apart, which seemed to be the reason for their split. Katie moved to San Diego, while Blake lives in Canada. His job as a wildlife manager also takes him around the world, including a recent trip to Africa. “I’m, like, totally winging my life right now,” Katie said on October 22, 2021. “I literally leave tomorrow in San Diego at, like, six in the morning.” She continued, “The short version is we’re figuring it out. We don’t know. This is very new to us still. I’m just focusing on myself. He’s focusing on him, and if we work doing that, great.” Katie, who was wearing her engagement ring at the time, told Us Weekly that she was looking forward to “not traveling back and forth” to see Blake.

Source: Instagram

A week before their breakup, Katie responded rumors that she and Blake had ended their engagement. In the tweet on October 15, 2021, Katie screen shotted a comment on her Instagram from a fan who asked whether she and Blake were still together.  “You and Blake are not liking each other’s posts. Is all OK?” the comment read, to which Katie responded, “lol yes” with a crying laughing emoji. In her tweet, Katie explained at the time that Blake hadn’t been on his Instagram as much because he was in Kenya for wildlife work. “Imagine your fiancé has been on his stories for weeks in Kenya working his ass off and yet this is what some people notice 😂,” Katie tweeted.

Katie also interacted with a fan who noted breakup rumors at the time about Bachelor in Paradise season 6’s Caelynn Miller-Keyes and Dean Unglert, who don’t follow each other on Instagram. “This is basically what bachelor reddit is like. They noticed a few weeks ago Dean and Caelynn didn’t follow each other but fun fact … they’ve never followed each other lmao,” the user wrote, to which Katie responded, “Hahahahaha amazing.”

https://twitter.com/katiethurston/status/1449052814567612425?s=20

In an interview with People after The Bachelorette season 17 finale in August 2021, Katie and Blake noted that they were committed to a future together. “We are still living in two different countries at the moment,” Katie said at the time. “We have no doubts we’re getting married, but we have to figure out a few things first!” (Katie lives in Washington, while Blake lives in Ontario, Canada.) “We’re going to travel around a bit in Canada first,” Blake added. “And then we’re going to check out San Diego for a potential move. It’s about getting our roots in. And we’re playing around with options.”

Katie also told People that she and Blake have discussed having kids. “We’ve talked about several scenarios,” she said.  “Obviously, if we want to have kids, we can, but there’s also adoption and also the idea of not having children.” She continued, “The world is kind of dying right now and we have to question: Do we want to bring kids into this or spend the remainder of our time and energy to try to make the earth a better place? We are really open to all options.”

Who is Katie from The Bachelorette?

Katie, a bank marketing manager from Renton, Washington, was a contestant on The Bachelor season 25 with Matt James. She was eliminated in 10th place and became the season 17 Bachelorette. In her Bachelor bio, Katie described herself as a “witty storyteller” who is looking for a “loving and committed partner.” She also called herself “daring and adventurous,” so expect a lot of antics between her and Matt. “Katie knows exactly what she wants in a man and is done wasting her time on boys who won’t live up to her expectations,” her bio read. “She is a witty storyteller who says when she finds someone worth committing to, she is the most loving and committed partner anyone could ask for. Katie is daring and adventurous.”

Her bio continues, “While Katie is serious about finding her person, she needs a man who can laugh along with her but is okay with him laughing at her too when the moment calls for it. Katie is looking for a mature man who has ambitions to succeed in everything he does, both personally and professionally. Her dream man will be passionate about building a long-term life with her and will treat Katie as his equal in the relationship. Nothing turns her off more than someone who sits around playing video games all day or a man who tries to kiss her at the inopportune moment … it’s all about creating the right vibe with Katie! Will Matt be able to live up to Katie’s standards?”

For her fun facts, Katie listed the following:

– Katie’s idea of a fun date is going skinny-dipping.

– Katie would love to host her own talk show one day.

– Katie once planned a dog flash mob that got a huge turnout.

Who is Blake from The Bachelorette?

Blake, a wildlife manager from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, was a contestant on The Bachelorette season 16 with Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams. He was eliminated in ninth place. He was then a contestant on The Bachelorette season 17 with Katie Thurston, which he won. In his Bachelorette bio for season 16, Blake described his “dream woman” as “outdoorsy, beautiful and fun.”

“Blake Moynes is no stranger to putting in the hard work to get what he wants in life. At university, he studied every kind of wildlife management program he could get his hands on and now spends his days happily working outdoors,” his bio read. “Professionally, Blake Moynes says he has it all, but personally, he is at a crossroad. In the past, Blake spent his Saturday nights hanging with his best friends, but now all of those friends are married and he’s the last single man remaining. Not one to like being left out, Blake Moynes now feels the pressure to settle down and wife up!”

His bio continues, “His dream woman is outdoorsy, beautiful and fun. She has to have a goofy side and be okay with his self-described ‘potty mouth.’ He says he has no problems talking about his emotions and wants a partner who will appreciate that he wears his heart on his sleeve.”

The Bachelorette is available to stream on Hulu. Here’s how to watch it for free.

Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman

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To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.

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