Katie Thurston and Greg Grippo’s Messy ‘Bachelorette’ Split: Everything We Know

Credit: ABC

Katie Thurston and Greg Grippo’s Messy ‘Bachelorette’ Split: Everything We Know

It’s safe to say Greg Grippo’s first impression rose has wilted. Season 17 Bachelorette Katie Thurston’s relationship with her front-runner crumbled ahead of the finale — and things just keep getting messier. Greg, a 28-year-old account manager from New Jersey, caught the eye of the 30-year-old Bachelorette during the June 7 premiere, landing the coveted first impression rose. “What I loved about Greg is he was just true to himself, which was this very nervous, very uncomfortable guy,” Katie exclusively told Us Weekly in June. “He didn’t try and act cool or, like, be this guy that he’s not. He was just like, ‘This is me and I’m really freaking scared.’ And I thought it was really endearing, you know? And I could tell as long as he opened up, there was something more there. And so I thought, you know, giving him the first impression rose would give him that validation of, ‘I’m into you. Let’s figure this out.’” During their first one-on-one date, which aired on the June 14 episode, Katie admitted to ABC cameras that she was already “falling” for Greg. The pair’s relationship continued to progress, with Greg getting another one-on-one date on the July 19 episode. Things took a turn, however, when Greg felt Katie dismissed his feelings after he confessed his love for her on his hometown date. [jwplayer NxVGlkBn-l3ahXupL] “I am in love with you. You just make me the happiest I’ve ever been. I see it with you. This is real to me,” Greg told Katie on the August 2 episode. “I haven’t been this vulnerable with anybody in my life. I don’t know what else to show you at this point or what else to tell you at this point. I know in my heart I’m not going to have any regrets after this. I’m not going to get down on one knee twice. It’s a one-deal thing for me.” The former banking manager, who previously noted she was waiting to drop the L-word until the finale, subsequently replied, “I just love looking at you,” which upset Greg. “I expressed that I do love you. I felt like I was telling that to a stranger. … This whole entire time has felt like Katie to me, and that night, I was thinking that I was expressing my love to my future wife, and you didn’t even feel it,” he said. “You just completely dismissed it in my eyes. … As much as it hurts me, I’ve reached my breaking point with this. I gave you everything. I really hope you find something.” Katie, for her part, was in disbelief and tried to reassure Greg that he was getting a rose and her No. 1. He still left, accusing her of not being real. “I’m, like, shaking. … I didn’t see any of this happening,” she said. “I really don’t know what to say, because I have given you everything. I’ve been nothing but honest with you the entire time, and I felt nothing but confidence in us the entire time until that very final moment of that night … I’m telling you everything and you still won’t even believe me! I’m losing you. I’m losing my mind here! This whole thing feels like [it’s] for nothing if you leave." After Greg officially walked away, Katie threatened to quit the show. The former couple is set to reunite during the After the Final Rose finale special on August 9. Scroll through for a breakdown of the drama between Katie and Greg — and for a tease of what to expect at AFR:

Credit: ABC

Katie Thurston and Greg Grippo’s Messy ‘Bachelorette’ Split: Everything We Know

It’s safe to say Greg Grippo’s first impression rose has wilted. Season 17 Bachelorette Katie Thurston’s relationship with her front-runner crumbled ahead of the finale — and things just keep getting messier. Greg, a 28-year-old account manager from New Jersey, caught the eye of the 30-year-old Bachelorette during the June 7 premiere, landing the coveted first impression rose. “What I loved about Greg is he was just true to himself, which was this very nervous, very uncomfortable guy,” Katie exclusively told Us Weekly in June. “He didn’t try and act cool or, like, be this guy that he’s not. He was just like, ‘This is me and I’m really freaking scared.’ And I thought it was really endearing, you know? And I could tell as long as he opened up, there was something more there. And so I thought, you know, giving him the first impression rose would give him that validation of, ‘I’m into you. Let’s figure this out.’” During their first one-on-one date, which aired on the June 14 episode, Katie admitted to ABC cameras that she was already “falling” for Greg. The pair’s relationship continued to progress, with Greg getting another one-on-one date on the July 19 episode. Things took a turn, however, when Greg felt Katie dismissed his feelings after he confessed his love for her on his hometown date. [jwplayer NxVGlkBn-l3ahXupL] “I am in love with you. You just make me the happiest I’ve ever been. I see it with you. This is real to me,” Greg told Katie on the August 2 episode. “I haven’t been this vulnerable with anybody in my life. I don’t know what else to show you at this point or what else to tell you at this point. I know in my heart I’m not going to have any regrets after this. I’m not going to get down on one knee twice. It’s a one-deal thing for me.” The former banking manager, who previously noted she was waiting to drop the L-word until the finale, subsequently replied, “I just love looking at you,” which upset Greg. “I expressed that I do love you. I felt like I was telling that to a stranger. … This whole entire time has felt like Katie to me, and that night, I was thinking that I was expressing my love to my future wife, and you didn’t even feel it,” he said. “You just completely dismissed it in my eyes. … As much as it hurts me, I’ve reached my breaking point with this. I gave you everything. I really hope you find something.” Katie, for her part, was in disbelief and tried to reassure Greg that he was getting a rose and her No. 1. He still left, accusing her of not being real. “I’m, like, shaking. … I didn’t see any of this happening,” she said. “I really don’t know what to say, because I have given you everything. I’ve been nothing but honest with you the entire time, and I felt nothing but confidence in us the entire time until that very final moment of that night … I’m telling you everything and you still won’t even believe me! I’m losing you. I’m losing my mind here! This whole thing feels like [it’s] for nothing if you leave." After Greg officially walked away, Katie threatened to quit the show. The former couple is set to reunite during the After the Final Rose finale special on August 9. Scroll through for a breakdown of the drama between Katie and Greg — and for a tease of what to expect at AFR:

Credit: ABC

The Sister Shade

Weeks before Katie and Greg’s relationship turned rocky on screen, she made headlines for double tapping on a meme about his past at William Esper Acting School. “When the guy next to you is getting interrogated about wanting to be the bachelor and you’ve gotta pretend to be disgusted while hiding your acting career aspirations,” the post, which featured a photo of Greg, read. Katie was caught “liking” and later “unliking” the meme in June.

One of Greg’s sisters Samantha subsequently threw shade at Katie, replying, “@thekatiethurston likes this post but was such a supporter of removing the toxicity and mean girls when she was on Matt’s season, you’d think if those intentions when [SIC] genuine she’d had just as much of an issue with this post as well. Really disappointed in this.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin (2)

Katie’s Gaslighter Claims

After their fight aired on August 2, Katie shared an Instagram post that read, “So you want to talk about gaslighting.”

The post included signs of gaslighting — lying, discrediting, deflecting blame, minimizing, shifting blame — and a definition for the term: “A form of emotional abuse or psychological manipulation involving distorting the truth in order to confuse or instill doubt in another person to the point they question their own sanity or reality.”

Credit: ABC (2); CBS

Greg’s Current Status

Big Brother alum Kaitlyn Herman, who is friends with Greg, slammed claims he was playing the “victim game” during his fight with Katie. “That was the most vulnerable I’ve ever seen a man speak in my entire life. And the response was ‘I just like looking at you.’ I watched this man cry EVERYDAY when he got home. He was BROKEN,” she tweeted on August 2.

Credit: ABC

Katie’s ‘AFR’ Tease

According to the press release, cohosts Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams will “try to make sense of what happened in New Mexico” with Katie during the pre-taped special, which also includes a “tense confrontation with Greg about his sudden departure.”

Katie seemingly confirmed AFR taped in late July via Twitter. After Bachelor season 24 alum Madison Prewett tweeted, “Never trust your tongue when your heart is wounded. Hush until you heal,” Katie responded, “Should have read this before AFR.”

Credit: ABC

Bachelor Nation Is Split

In addition to several Bachelor and Bachelorette alums having different opinions on how Katie and Greg handled their split, fellow season 17 contestants spoke out, with Connor Brennan tweeting, “There was no gaslighting in this episode, there was a fight between two people that you saw maybe 20 percent of.”

John Hersey subsequently posted via Instagram Stories, “Along with many of you, I watched last night’s episode and was shocked by some of the behavior I witnesses, namely the words and body language exhibited by Greg. Watching these actions get defended (and therefore normalized) strikes me as extremely unhealthy and a step in the wrong direction. It should be noted that an individual can be a good friend to some while simultaneously being harmful to others in another relationship; friendship cannot be an excuse to blindly defend someone’s behavior.”

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

Moving On After Their Tense Reunion

Thurston tweeted in September 2021 that she and Grippo have spoken privately after their tense confrontation during the televised After the Final Rose special.

“Greg and I have spoken privately and moved on,” the former bank marketing manager wrote at the time after a follower criticized her over alleged bullying claims. “You should too.”