Former The Bachelorette star Kaitlyn Bristowe revealed this week that she had a relapse in depression during the filming of her season in 2015. Since being on The Bachelorette, Bristowe has publicly said on Instagram that she feels conflicted about watching the show because it gives her slight PTSD.
She was a contestant on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor, where she placed third overall, behind runner up Becca Tilley and winner Whitney Bischoff. Season 11 of The Bachelorette began with Bristowe and former contestant Britt Nilsson competing to become The Bachelorette. Bristowe won over the men with her witty sense of humor, and eventually chose Shawn Booth as her winner. The couple announced their break up in November, 2018. During her turn as the Bachelorette, Bristowe made waves with her controversial choices. She let former contestant and future Bachelor Nick Viall enter the competition for her heart in the middle of the season, and ended up sleeping with him before the fantasy suite episode. This highly unusual move caused her to be slut-shamed by much of The Bachelor fanbase.
In an interview with US Weekly, Bristowe spoke about her depression relapse while filming the show. She struggled with depression in her 20’s, and even overcame a Valium addiction after a devastating break up at age 27. On her YouTube series, 9 to Wine, she told the story of how she developed the addiction, and at one point weighed only 93 pounds. She says that she dealt with the addiction “hour by hour,” and faced dark thoughts.
Bristowe, now 34, explained that she felt herself heading down a similar path during filming The Bachelorette, but was able to recognize the signs before it got serious. In the past, Bristowe has said that she would not advise anyone to try out for The Bachelorette, and refused to watch the show long after her season because she feels the pain of the cast. In a recent Instagram post about Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor, she said, “I will try to remember the positive experiences. Let’s please all try really hard not to hate, or bully contestants this year.” As for how she is feeling now, the former Bachelorette appears to have made peace with her mental health struggles. She said to US Weekly, “It’s about coming out on the other side and what you do with it after.”
After breaking up with Shawn Booth in 2018, Bristowe revealed that she fell into another emotional “funk.” However, things are looking up for her romantically, as she’s been dating former Bachelor contestant Jason Tatrick since 2019. Bristowe hosts a successful podcast called Off The Vine With Kaitlyn Bristowe, has recently put out a single called “If I’m Being Honest,” and hosts her YouTube series, 9 to Wine.
Source: US Weekly
