Right after the season 11 premiere of The Bachelorette, ABC released a teaser for what’s ahead of the season, featuring Kaitlyn Bristowe getting intimate with one of her suitors before the fantasy suite date. This sparked mixed reactions from fans of the reality dating series– some of which took to social media to “slut-shame” Kaitlyn.
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Kaitlyn immediately addressed the issue and says she feels no shame about having an adult relationship. “I don’t think that’s a crazy thing to sleep with somebody when you’re trying to be in a relationship with them,” The Bachelorette season 11 star told Entertainment Tonight‘s Nancy O’Dell. “I’m a 30-year-old woman and I make my own decisions, and intimacy, to me, is part of a relationship. I don’t know why everyone is so shocked by it.”
In the official promo, it is revealed that Kaitlyn slept with one of the guys fairly early in the process of the series. It also appears that she was feeling regretful for her actions.
“If the physical part of the relationship isn’t there for me, that’s a deal breaker,” the 29-year-old dancer says in the clip. “When I’m with him, I surrender to every feeling that I’m feeling. It’s just him and me.”
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“I don’t understand, it just happened,” an agitated Kaitlyn says on her hotel balcony. “I don’t think I’m a bad person and I’m not ashamed of myself, but I do have other relationships and one of those relationships went too far too fast. That was something I did. I made a huge mistake. I feel bad. Kaitlyn is then seen coming clean to the other guys to admit what she did.
According to Kaitlyn, she was emotional in the promo because she “felt upset that it could have jeopardized other relationships” on The Bachelorette.
“I tried to compartmentalize each relationship and be present with each guy, and some went faster than others and some went slower than others,” she explained to Entertainment Tonight.
“I’m not ashamed,” she added. “I just regret the timing of it. But I’m also not afraid to talk about it. I don’t really have a problem talking about that kind of thing. I think when you’re looking for a lifetime partnership, intimacy is obviously a part of that. I think maybe I’m just the first Bachelor or Bachelorette to talk about that on TV.”
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Meanwhile, other contestants from The Bachelor franchise have defended Kaitlyn’s actions.
“Minus maybe Sean and maybe another Bachelor or two, I think they all have sex,” AshLee Frazier, who competed for Sean Lowe on season 17, told Us Weekly. “They don’t [talk about it], and I don’t know why…I mean, people have sex. It’s a natural thing. Why is it so faux pas?”
“When I was on it [in season nine], no one even talked about [sex], and now they do and it’s just becoming a lot more open. It’s good that they talk about it. In real life, people have sex all the time, and it should be talked about. I think people just shouldn’t be such prudes, honestly,” said former contestant Erica Rose.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
