Jason Tartick has entered the chat, seemingly reacting to the chatter surrounding ex-fiancée Kaitlyn Bristowe’s love life and rumors that she’s romantically involved with fellow Bachelor Nation alum Zac Clark.
Hours after Bristowe made waves on Instagram on Monday, January 1, Tartick, 35, took to the app to share a zoomed in photo of himself.. “Happy New Year ❤️,” he captioned the photo, prompting some telling comments from his social media followers.
“Let’s just pretend 2024 starts tomorrow. Kid deserves a true FRESH start to the year,” one follower commented on the picture. Tartick responded, “@davidarduin I support this ha.”
Tartick also shared a screenshot of that comment on his Instagram Story on Monday, adding, “Jan 2, 2024 the first official day of 2024.”
He also posted a video of his dogs, Ramen and Pinot, whom he shares with Bristowe, 38. (Tartick and Bristowe called off their engagement in August 2023.)
“When in doubt … go to the puppy park,” Tartick captioned the video.
Fans were quick to speculate that Tartick’s cryptic posts about the new year were in reference to rumors that Bristowe had moved on with Clark, 39.
Bristowe hosted a New Year’s Eve party at her Nashville home on Sunday, December 31, with several members of Bachelor Nation in attendance, including Clark. After videos of Bristowe with her arm around Clark went viral on social media, fans started to wonder whether the two were friends or something more. (Clark proposed to Tayshia Adams during The Bachelorette season 16 finale in 2020. They split in 2021 after one year together.)
Upon hearing the speculation regarding her love life, Bristowe took to social media with a cryptic quote.
“The vibe for 2024 is messy authenticity over fake perfection,” she wrote on Monday. Bristowe was quick to follow up with a lengthy Instagram Story going off on the haters.
“You would think by now I’d be used to the hate. I’m not. Your words hurt. Your shaming hurts. Part of me feels a little sad and honestly embarrassed for you guys because this shouldn’t be how you spend day 1 of a new year,” Bristowe wrote. “You should not be this invested in someone you don’t even know or respect. It’s actually scary, and I know looking inward might be even scarier for you. But the bullying is next level. You are allowed to have opinions and feelings,” she wrote, in part. “But you don’t even know the truth, and your HATE should actually come with consequences. I truly worry about some of your mental health. It’s not OK. It’s. Not. Please. Please feel ashamed of yourselves for treating someone this way who you don’t know. I did not kill someone. I had a party with some of my favorite people. Shame. On. YOU. Not me.”
Bristowe did not mention anyone by name but slammed rumors that she had cheated on Tartick with Clark. (Tartick has recently unfollowed both Bristowe and Clark on Instagram.)
“Hi! Here to say that there was never an ounce of cheating happening and I will not stand for this rumor. Y’all are NASTY in here. Anywho. Swear on my dogs lives,” Bristowe commented on a Bachelor Nation Instagram account, which reposted the video of her and Clark. “No cheating went on. So we can just put that to rest. Thank you!! Happy new year everyone. Go donate some blood or somethin!”
After seeing Tartick’s subtle response to the drama, Bristowe had one more pointed Instagram post on Monday.
She held a bottle of wine in a series of snaps while wearing a sweater that read, “Be f—king nice,” captioning the photo with a tiny violin emoji.
