Katie Bates is opening up about experiencing family strain after addressing an incident from her childhood.
“I’ve been getting flooded with messages like this from people who are genuinely concerned for me so I want to answer this as honestly as I can,” Bates, 25, wrote via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, May 20, when answering a user’s question about her decision to leave Tennessee. “A lot of people are confused by my decision to leave Tennessee, especially because from the outside it may look like I have a big support system here. The truth is, sometimes things happening behind closed doors are a lot more complicated and painful than what people see publicly.”
She continued, “Recently I chose to address something that happened throughout my childhood that I wish I had the strength to address years ago. Unfortunately after doing so I lost relationships with about 90 percent of my family. This has been incredibly heartbreaking and heavy to walk through. I’m not going to share details online, but I’m also done pretending everything is OK just to protect appearances.”
Bates noted that staying in Tennessee is “no longer healthy” for her at this moment.
“I’m choosing to move forward, finally heal and build a peaceful life for myself and my children,” she wrote. “More than anything, I’m desperately leaning on God right now even when things feel painful, confusing and lonely. I don’t have every answer right now, but I believe God can bring healing and peace out of even the hardest situations.”
“Sadly I’ve learned that not everyone will support your choices when you finally choose honesty and healing and that’s OK,” she concluded. “Right now I’m focused on protecting my peace, my children and the life I’m trying to rebuild moving forward.”
In a separate Instagram Story, Bates responded to a user asking how she and her husband, Travis Clark, are doing. (In January, Clark revealed he had cheated on Bates. The pair have been married since 2023 and share two children.)
“Marriage can be hard at times and unfortunately what Travis did certainly did not make things easier,” she wrote. “Trav and I are working through things and making really good progress, but there are definitely still hard days. With God’s help we’re both continuing to show up for each other and our children as we work through this difficult time.”
Bates went on to note that she’s still going through therapy, which she hopes to continue “consistently for a long time.”
“The first time I really got connected with a therapist was back in February and it’s genuinely been life changing for me,” she wrote in a separate Instagram Story, while answering a user’s question. “I didn’t realize how much I needed it until I finally started opening up and working through things. It’s helped me understand myself better, process difficult emotions in a healthier way and I truly think it’s been one of the best decisions I’ve made for myself.”
