Kaitlyn Bristowe is celebrating rumored boyfriend Zac Clark’s latest sobriety milestone.
“15 Years Sober. Thank You For My Sobriety,” Clark, 42, wrote via Instagram on Sunday, August 30, alongside photos of the Bachelor Nation alum celebrating his achievement with a donut cake and candles.
“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,” he continued, citing the famous “Serenity Prayer” penned by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr. “The courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference. Amen.”
Bristowe, 41, commented on the post, “You’re my hero.”
Clark has been open about his battle with addiction over the years.
“I had a brain tumor. The next morning, I’m, like, in surgery. Crazy, life-altering experience,” he said during a 2020 episode of The Bachelorette while on a date with lead Tayshia Adams. “As a result of the surgery, I was introduced to pain medication and drugs.”
Clark — who cofounded Release Recovery, an addiction recovery program in Westchester, New York, in 2017 — later celebrated 10 years of sobriety in 2021.
“10 years sober today,” he wrote via social media at the time. “For a guy that couldn’t stop shooting heroin, smoking crack and guzzling booze this is truly a miracle. No matter what you are struggling with today just know that change is possible and you are worth it. You don’t have to be perfect. KEEP GOING.”
Clark’s latest milestone comes amid his rumored romance with Bristowe, which began in January 2024 when they were spotted celebrating New Year’s Eve together at her Nashville home. The pair have yet to confirm their relationship, but Bristowe has supported Clark at his Release Foundation Gala in past years and hinted at their dating status online.
“I’m on this third possible engagement,” Katilyn quipped on Amanda Hirsch’s “Not Skinny But Not Fat” podcast last month, seemingly referring to Clark. “If I’m gonna finally talk about someone out loud after however long, I hope this is the person.”
Kaitlyn ended her Bachelorette season in 2015 engaged to Shawn Booth, although the pair split three years later. She later moved on with Jason Tartick, whom she dated for two years before he proposed in 2021. By August 2023, they had split.
“My ego holds me back too because I’m like, ‘What if I’m just a failure again in a relationship?’” Bristowe admitted on the podcast, adding that her current relationship has allowed her to be a “better” girlfriend.
“I’ve realized a lot, over my last two [relationships],” she added. “Not that I was a terrible girlfriend or fiancée.”
Bristowe also admitted that hiding her current romance is a “trauma response” after her last two relationships were “so public.”
“It’s been so sweet,” she said of keeping her current relationship private. “I’m just trying to protect this little bubble, right now, of peace.”
