Always by her side! Kaitlyn Bristowe is grateful to have such a passionate fan section cheering her on as Dancing With the Stars continues — and boyfriend Jason Tartick has been her biggest champion.
“Jason is literally the most supportive human being on the planet,” the former Bachelorette, 35, told Us Weekly on Monday, November 16, after giving an emotional performance with pro partner Artem Chigvintsev. “He’s such a logical thinker and I’m such an emotional thinker that sometimes it’s hard for him to separate the two. But this week he’s been really, really good at being there for me emotionally and just understanding and telling me what I wanted to hear. He’s been absolutely incredible.”
Before she and Chigvintsev, 38, hit the ballroom in the season 29 semifinals, Bristowe struggled to hold back tears as she described the powerful dance the duo was preparing. “Today was such a tough rehearsal,” she said in an Instagram Story on Sunday, November 15. “It’s just tough at this point in the competition, but I’m dancing a very emotional dance on Monday. I don’t bury emotions. I talk about things and cry about things.”
The “Off the Vine” podcast host and the Russian native used their freestyle routine to pay tribute to Bristowe’s childhood friend, who passed away when she was 18 years old. The song the pair performed to, “Cowboy Take Me Away” by The Chicks, was played at her friend’s funeral — and Bristowe has never been able to forget the heartbreaking moment.
“If she could see me here tonight, one step closer to the mirrorball [trophy], I know she’d be so proud,” the former spin instructor said of her late friend in rehearsal footage on Monday’s episode.
Bristowe’s powerful performance earned her a perfect score from the judges for the second week in a row after facing ups and downs with tough reviews from Carrie Ann Inaba. After the November 10 episode of DWTS, Tartick, 32, gushed over his girlfriend’s perseverance throughout the competition.
“You fought, battled, and grinded with class and you freakin did it!” he raved in an Instagram caption alongside a screenshot from the pair’s FaceTime celebration.
The Bachelor Nation duo began dating in January 2019, two months after Bristowe confirmed she had ended her engagement to Shawn Booth. The exes met while filming season 11 of The Bachelorette in 2015. Since taking their romance public, Bristowe and Tartick have progressed quickly — and they’re already thinking about their future together.
“We’re on such a good path,” the Canada native told Us exclusively in May. “[It’s] the healthiest relationship I’ve ever been in and [an engagement] just feels like the natural next step. … I always say anyone who gets through this quarantine together, as a relationship, should get married.”
