Ben Higgins thought that Kaitlyn Bristowe “hated” him for months — but it turns out that wasn’t exactly the case.
“It wasn’t you at all. You got looped into the group because I was emotional, and I was hurt by other things,” Bristowe, 38, explained on the “Almost Famous” podcast on Friday, May 3. “And you just happened to be there.”
The origin of this “feud” occurred when Jason Tartick appeared on Chris Harrison’s “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever” in January. Higgins, 35, was present for the interview, which led to this drama (but not really) with Bristowe.
“If I hurt you, I am so sorry. The last thing I want to do in my life is hurt Kaitlyn Bristowe,” Higgins said on Friday’s podcast. “Kaitlyn Bristowe, and I can talk about her all day, has a huge impact on who I am as a person today and a part of my story.”
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Higgins made his Bachelor Nation debut on Bristowe’s Bachelorette season in 2015 before becoming The Bachelor star. They’ve kept a close friendship over the years, and Bristowe went on to explain that her issue was not with Higgins specifically, but how Harrison handled questions about her ex Tartick, whom she split from in summer 2023.
“I heard Chris Harrison say, ‘Are you surprised at how long this breakup is having a shelf life?’ I’m like, well, it’s because we all keep talking about it,’” Bristowe said. “I think Jason was outwardly so hurt and I was inwardly really hurting. And he was allowed to have his emotions and process that however he likes. So, if he needs to talk about it, go on podcasts, do whatever. I was, like, feeling like, OK, I hurt him. But, like, internally, I’m really hurting.”
After Tartick and Bristowe’s broken engagement, the two discussed their splits on various Bachelor Nation podcasts. The conversation has continued nearly one year later.
Because of her past “drama” with Harrison, 52, Bristowe was taken aback by the podcast episode as a whole. (Bristowe and Harrison had a brief beef after he left The Bachelor franchise hosting gig and she took over alongside Tayshia Adams.)
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“I felt like we’re finally in a good place again,” she said of the former Bachelor host. “He’s somebody that, like, I looked up to as a mentor in my life, as a father figure, as a friend. And we had been through so much.”
She added, “I felt like we were back in this place where, I don’t know, I didn’t expect him to be like poking for Jason to come on [the podcast] and talk.”
Bristowe admitted that she’s quick to “take it to social media sometimes when I shouldn’t,” which is exactly what happened in this situation. “That day I was angry, and I felt like I was just hurting,” she added.
