It’s all sinking in for Shawn Booth now — his relationship with Kaitlyn Bristowe is over. For the first time, Booth is exploring his grief through an interview on the Almost Famous: In-Depth podcast of fellow Bachelor Nation alums Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti. And he doesn’t hide that it hurts. Like, a lot.
“I’m going through the mourning process now, whereas she could have been earlier. So, I guess people mourn things differently, and I would definitely say that announcing the breakup was extremely tough, and seeing her move on was extremely tough. And I’m kind of just mourning all of it right now,” he admitted during the emotional podcast on Sunday.
Of course, the “moving on” Booth referred to is a new development. Following flirtatious banter on social media over the last six weeks or so, Bristowe and another Bachelorette alum, Jason Tartick, have officially announced they are dating.
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Neither one has shied away from talking about their new love, either. On her Off the Vine podcast, Bristowe called it “life-changing” and explained that their communication with each other is “so mature and healthy.”
Youch. It’s not surprising Booth told Higgins and Iaconetti he isn’t 100 percent sure how he feels about Bristowe’s super-cozy status with Tartick.
“[I’m] trying to understand things right now,” he said. “I guess this goes with her new relationship too. It just kind of makes me question everything that we’ve had. So I think that’s one of the major questions that runs through my mind — just trying to understand that, which I think is tough to understand.”
Earlier in the week on The Ben and Ashley: Almost Famous Podcast, Booth lamented that the highly public nature of Booth and Tartick’s relationship was really throwing him for a loop, saying, “I think just with her moving on so quick, I just have a tough time understanding why she would be putting this out everywhere and blasting it all over the place, knowing that it could hurt [me].”
He also revealed that although Bristowe and Tartick have only recently shared their relationship status with the world, they’ve actually been dating since November (aka, the month Booth and Bristowe announced their split).
At this point, admits Booth, he’s working to process all these things, no matter how much it hurts to do so.
“I’m just trying to figure it all out and sit with my emotions and figure out what I’m feeling, you know? I think the old Shawn would have ignored everything… But now as I get a bit older, I’m trying to figure out what hurt, why it hurts and kind of work through it. So the past few months, I’ve been working hard at it and looking at it from all different angles. So, yeah, it’s tough.”
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The breakup was tough for Bachelor Nation fans too. Because Booth and Bristowe got engaged on the finale of her season of The Bachelorette in 2015, fans felt invested in their love story. Although people long suspected the couple was experiencing growing pains, it still came as a shock when they announced in November 2018 that they were splitting.
“After three incredible years, we have decided to go our separate ways. This difficult decision comes after thoughtful, respectful consideration,” the couple explained in a joint statement, adding that they had “evolved” as individuals but were “committed to remaining friends.”
Booth has not been linked to anyone since the split.
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