Making the Bachelor Nation rounds? Greg Grippo had viewers divided after his nasty split from Katie Thurston on The Bachelorette, but before he appeared on season 17 of the ABC reality series, he had his sights set on another person from the franchise.
A source exclusively tells Us Weekly that the New Jersey native, 28, connected with season 24 Bachelor alum Mykenna Dorn before he met Thurston, 30. “Mykenna and Greg used to talk last summer,” the insider reveals. “They really hit it off, but long distance came in the way.”
While Grippo and Dorn, 24, were “talking” for approximately a month before things cooled off, the source notes that they never met in person because she lives in Canada and he is based in New Jersey.
The reality stars “liked” some of each other’s Instagram posts in early 2020 too, pointing to their offscreen relationship.
The fashion blogger competed on Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor, which aired in 2020. Grippo, for his part, was the “front-runner” among Thurston’s suitors until the two got into a fight over her reaction to him saying “I love you” during his hometown date. He subsequently left the show, and the former bank marketing manager got engaged to Blake Moynes.
Although the marketing sales representative seemed to have a strong connection with Thurston, he claimed during the Wednesday, August 11, episode of the “Viall Files” podcast that he was initially offered spots on both Becca Kufrin and Clare Crawley’s seasons of The Bachelorette in 2018 and 2020, respectively.
“My sister Samantha submitted me, but I thought it was my buddy pranking me at first. … It was for Becca Kufrin’s season,” he recalled. “I didn’t even go through the next steps. I just told him it wasn’t the right time for me. I was extremely young. I wasn’t ready to be on the show at all.”
Grippo later agreed to appear on Crawley’s season, despite wondering whether they would be a good match. However, after traveling to L.A. to begin filming, production was halted because of the coronavirus pandemic and he was sent back home.
Months later, he was given another opportunity to join the 40-year-old hairstylist’s journey. “They restarted that season. And I remember them calling me back in June [and asking] me if I wanted to do it,” he said. “I had a long talk with my family, had a long talk with producers. I wanted to do it if I truly saw myself with the girl. And I just didn’t feel like it was gonna be a good result. You’re on this TV show, and you kind of lay it all out there. You don’t know what to expect, but I just felt like it wasn’t for me at that point.”
More recently, Grippo and Thurston rehashed their breakup during the Monday, August 9, season finale of The Bachelorette. She accused her ex of faking his feelings for her and only coming on the show for “acting practice,” which he denied.
Some viewers suspected that the Washington native was not over Grippo since she still seemed angry about their split.
“After the Final Rose is about kind of speaking your own truth and getting it out there for that final closure,” Thurston exclusively told Us after the finale. “And really that’s what Greg and I both were able to do. And we’re ready to just close that door forever and move forward. You can be happy and in love in your relationship, but still be upset with how someone treated you in the past and you want to speak on it.”
Prior to the confrontation’s airing, Grippo was spotted with Thurston’s former Bachelor costar Bri Springs in New York City on Saturday, August 7. However, the 25-year-old TV personality shot down dating rumors, posting an Instagram Story photo that seemingly confirmed her relationship with someone else.
With reporting by Sharon Tharp
