Everything Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes Have Said About Moving On Following Their Split

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Everything Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes Have Said About Moving On Following Their Split

Learning to move on. After Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes announced they called it quits less than three months after their Bachelorette engagement aired, the former couple have been candid about navigating their newfound single status.

“It is with mutual love and respect that we have decided to go our separate ways,” the Washington native shared via Instagram in October 2021. “We are so grateful for the moments we shared together and the entire journey that has unfolded this year, but we ultimately have concluded that we are not compatible as life partners, and it is the most caring choice for both of us to move forward independently. We ask for kindness and privacy as we both navigate this transition. Both of us will forever want the best for one another and ask you to please support us in our decision.”

Thurston, who initially fell in love with the wildlife manager during The Bachelorette season 17, told Us Weekly days before their split that she was “totally winging” life while the pair navigated long distances.

“We’re figuring it out,” the former ABC personality admitted to Us while backstage at Whitney Cummings’ Touch Me Tour in October 2021, in which she served as the opening act. “We don’t know. This is very new to us still. I’m just focusing on myself, he’s focusing on him, and if we work doing that, great.”

Shortly after the season 17 finale aired in August 2021, the former bank marketing manager relocated from her hometown in Washington to San Diego, California. Moynes, for his part, remained in Canada as the pair traveled back and forth to visit one another.

“I don’t think people fully understand what it’s like to date someone from another country and the rules behind that and the visas behind that,” Thurston, explained during a series of Instagram Story videos in August 2021. “I think right now Blake can only be here for 60 days before having to go back to Canada, so we really do have a lot we have to look into — and we just haven’t yet — before we can plan really anything else.”

Since their split, the Bachelor season 25 alum has been vocal about moving on and pursuing love in the future. In November 2021, a source exclusively revealed to Us that the former Bachelorette has “gotten clarity” after their breakup, now knowing “what she wants in a husband.”

“Katie’s really an open and honest person. She knows what she wants,” an insider exclusively told Us the following month. “I’m sure she won’t have trouble moving on — she’s been through heartbreak before.”

The Canada native, for his part, has thrown himself back into his work as a wildlife manager and focused on his passion for animals to stay busy.

“In today’s world it’s easy to get sucked into all the negativity and your mind can sometimes be your worst enemy,” the Bachelorette season 16 alum explained in a November 2021 Instagram video. “To get back into a positive headspace, I rely on passion. I channel that passion to do good. When you do good, you feel good.”

Keep scrolling to read everything the former Bachelor Nation couple have said about their split and moving on:

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Everything Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes Have Said About Moving On Following Their Split

Learning to move on. After Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes announced they called it quits less than three months after their Bachelorette engagement aired, the former couple have been candid about navigating their newfound single status.

“It is with mutual love and respect that we have decided to go our separate ways,” the Washington native shared via Instagram in October 2021. “We are so grateful for the moments we shared together and the entire journey that has unfolded this year, but we ultimately have concluded that we are not compatible as life partners, and it is the most caring choice for both of us to move forward independently. We ask for kindness and privacy as we both navigate this transition. Both of us will forever want the best for one another and ask you to please support us in our decision.”

Thurston, who initially fell in love with the wildlife manager during The Bachelorette season 17, told Us Weekly days before their split that she was “totally winging” life while the pair navigated long distances.

“We’re figuring it out,” the former ABC personality admitted to Us while backstage at Whitney Cummings’ Touch Me Tour in October 2021, in which she served as the opening act. “We don’t know. This is very new to us still. I’m just focusing on myself, he’s focusing on him, and if we work doing that, great.”

Shortly after the season 17 finale aired in August 2021, the former bank marketing manager relocated from her hometown in Washington to San Diego, California. Moynes, for his part, remained in Canada as the pair traveled back and forth to visit one another.

“I don’t think people fully understand what it’s like to date someone from another country and the rules behind that and the visas behind that,” Thurston, explained during a series of Instagram Story videos in August 2021. “I think right now Blake can only be here for 60 days before having to go back to Canada, so we really do have a lot we have to look into — and we just haven’t yet — before we can plan really anything else.”

Since their split, the Bachelor season 25 alum has been vocal about moving on and pursuing love in the future. In November 2021, a source exclusively revealed to Us that the former Bachelorette has “gotten clarity” after their breakup, now knowing “what she wants in a husband.”

“Katie’s really an open and honest person. She knows what she wants,” an insider exclusively told Us the following month. “I’m sure she won’t have trouble moving on — she’s been through heartbreak before.”

The Canada native, for his part, has thrown himself back into his work as a wildlife manager and focused on his passion for animals to stay busy.

“In today’s world it’s easy to get sucked into all the negativity and your mind can sometimes be your worst enemy,” the Bachelorette season 16 alum explained in a November 2021 Instagram video. “To get back into a positive headspace, I rely on passion. I channel that passion to do good. When you do good, you feel good.”

Keep scrolling to read everything the former Bachelor Nation couple have said about their split and moving on:

Credit: ABC/Randy Holmes

She’s ‘Winging’ Her Life

Shortly before the exes confirmed their uncoupling, Thurston opened up about how the pair had been navigating long-distance.

“I’m, like, totally winging my life right now,” she told Us backstage at Cummings' stand-up show in Anaheim, California. “I literally leave tomorrow in San Diego at, like, six in the morning. … We’re figuring it out. We don’t know. This is very new to us still.”

Credit: Courtesy of Katie Thurston/Instagram

Happiness First

The Bachelorette season 17 star detailed the nature of their split during an October 2021 Instagram Live, telling her followers, “We were together for six months [and] Blake and I are very level-headed and mature, and we communicate very well on our thoughts, and we just both knew if this was how our first six months was as a couple, going forward it was going to not be in our best interest for our happiness to stay together.” 


She continued, “And so, we, as mentioned, mutually decided to part our ways, but we still stay in touch, we still support each other; nothing but love and respect truly. … Obviously, a public relationship ending is a really sh—ty thing to have to navigate, but you guys have been very kind and supportive and I wanted to say thank you for being that way to me and to Blake. I think a lot of people hold too much weight to things that don’t matter. I’m a big believer in, like, your happiness. Your happiness is the most important thing and that being said, why would you not pursue that?”

Credit: Courtesy of Blake Moynes/Instagram

Tough Times

“When times are really tough and things just aren’t going the way you had hoped ... it’s always the same “gang” that gets ya back on your feet,” Moynes wrote via Instagram on November 1, alongside a gallery of photos with his pets. “Feels good to start getting back into the swing of things. But, as much as I do lean on my human / furr fam at times like this, I really do have to acknowledge you all, my newfound social family for all the love, support, encouragement and even patience over the past week. Cheers to you, super grateful…for real.🙏🏼”

Credit: Courtesy of Katie Thurston/Instagram

Getting Out of the House

The former bank marketing manager explained how hard it was to leave her house shortly after news of their breakup made headlines.

“Dexter forcing me out [of] the house this morning,” she wrote via Instagram Story, alongside a snap of a dog and adding a heart emoji. “Thank you to everyone who has shown their love and support. You can either spend every day convincing yourself things are fine. Or you can accept what is and learn and grow from it. And remember. You don’t [owe] anyone anything. Life is too short. Surround your personal universe with joy.”

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless; Sara Jaye Weiss/Shutterstock

Focusing on Work

While moving on from the breakup is no easy feat, Moynes credited his passion for giving back and working with animals as a helpful distraction on his path towards moving on, noting “it hasn't been [an] easy” journey.


“Today, something super exciting came to fruition that I’ve been working on for a little while now,” he explained in a November 2021 Instagram video. “I’ve had to put [it] on the back burner for weeks just due to the obvious events that have happened … with Katie and I and the breakup. … The internet is a very cruel, nasty, sh—y place. Without the love and support that you guys give me — the community that we kind of created here through this amazing experience that I’ve had — allows me to commit to trying to make a difference in the world.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Grateful for Friends

“My family and friends continue to rally around me and I am so fortunate,” Thurston captioned an Instagram Story that November, sharing a photo of a bouquet that Chris Conran and Alana Milne sent after learning of her split. At the time, the Bachelor in Paradise couple added a note with their thoughtful gift, writing, “Don’t let anyone treat you like free salsa. You are guac, girl. GUAC.”

Credit: Courtesy of Blake Moynes/Instagram

The Sting of a New Man

Moynes spoke out in November 2021 about Thurston’s new romance with John Hersey — which Us confirmed on November 23 — during an appearance on the “Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation” podcast.

“She was very clear and I trusted everything she said — I still do that. I don’t think anything was happening during the time that we were engaged. I really don’t,” Moynes said before accusing Thurston of emotional infidelity. “Clearly, he was more into it or was pursuing it or wanted to be hanging out with her all the time. … When I was in Canada or in Kenya, I would see them together, but again, I put my full trust in that there’s nothing more than literally just a friendship.”

The Canadian wildlife manager explained that his breakup with Thurston happened so “abruptly” that it made him wonder when she was able to form a bond with Hersey.

"At least emotionally, where they could see something with each other that made it so easy for them to transition when it ended," he noted, calling himself “foolish” for allowing the new romance to blossom while they were together. "It happened too quickly. There had to have been something there. He at least provided something that she really liked that made the transition easy."