Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe were thrown together at The Golden Wedding days after Bristowe celebrated New Year’s Eve with Adams’ ex-fiancé Zac Clark.
The two former Bachelorettes were seated at the same table during Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist’s reception on Thursday, January 4, according to a video posted by Rachel Recchia.
In the social media clip, Adams, 33, was seen chatting with Michelle Young as Dean Unglert and his wife, Caelynn Miller-Keyes, flanked her on her other side. As the video panned around the table, fans saw Wells Adams standing beside Bristowe, 38, who was in deep conversation with season 28 Bachelor Joey Graziadei.
Adams and Bristowe were two of more than 50 Bachelor Nation guests in attendance for the live TV wedding in Palm Springs. Their shared table assignment raised eyebrows for fans after Bristowe was seen with her arm around Clark, 40, on Sunday, December 31, sparking dating rumors.
“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 via Instagram on Monday, January 1, referring to the online speculation. “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.”
Bristowe, who announced her split from fiancé Jason Tartick in summer 2023, hinted that there is more to her and Clark’s story. “I wish I could just share my truth and tell you my side. It’s hard to bite my dang tongue sometimes,” she continued. “But you just go on and continue to have your own little made up story in your head and believe what you want to believe. Social media la la land. Good lawwwddd.”
While Bristowe didn’t detail the nature of her relationship with Clark, she denied that the pair had an affair during her romance with Tartick, 35.
“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,” she wrote hours later after eagle-eyed fans noticed that Tartick had unfollowed Bristowe and Clark on Instagram. “No cheating went on. So we can just put that to rest. Thank you!! Happy new year everyone. Go donate some blood or somethin!”
Tartick appeared to subtly comment on the drama via his own Instagram post on Tuesday, January 2, writing, “Jan 2, 2024, the first official day of 2024.” As rumors continued to swirl, Bachelor Nation’s Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti weighed in on Bristowe and Clark’s possible romance.
“The controversial part of this is that Zac is Tayshia’s ex, and Tayshia and [Kaitlyn] cohosted multiple seasons of the show together,” Iaconetti, 35, explained during the Tuesday episode of her and Higgins’ “Almost Famous” podcast. “It certainly looks, to just the viewer’s eye, to be there’s something romantic between Kaitlyn and Zac.”
Higgins, 34, teased that the NYE PDA between Bristowe and Clark seemed like a “soft launch,” confessing, “I will say this, the evil in me wants to be around next time Tayshia and Kaitlyn have to hang out. Is that bad? I want to see how they resolve conflict.”
Adams, meanwhile, seemingly addressed Bristowe’s NYE connection with Clark just hours before she found herself sitting across from her at The Golden Wedding. “Did someone say something?!??” Adams captioned a series of bikini snaps on Thursday while on the beach in Orange County, California.
Clark, who split from Adams in December 2021, has yet to comment on the rumors.
