Their relationship, their way! Kaitlyn Bristowe has shared a poignant message about her romance with fiancé Jason Tartick.
“‘Happy couples’ aren’t just the ones posting kissing selfies. They’re the ones having uncomfortable conversations, helping each other overcome trauma, and ugly crying to save their relationship,” the former Bachelorette, 37, wrote via Instagram on Friday, February 17, quoting author Vex King. “Happy couples prioritize growth and are a source of inspiration for each other.”
She concluded her post: “Happiness looks different for everyone. It also isn’t easy.”
Bristowe began dating the New York native, 34, in 2019 following their respective stints in The Bachelor franchise. (While Bristowe first appeared on Chris Soules’ season before landing the role of Bachelorette for season 11, Tartick initially competed on Becca Kufrin’s season three years later.)
After three years of dating, the former investment banker popped the question while they were preparing for a joint appearance on her “Off the Vine” podcast.
“It was everything I could have asked for,” the Dewed It founder gushed to Entertainment Tonight in May 2021. “The words that came out of his mouth were insanely beautiful. We’ve never locked eyes like that in our lives. We were holding hands, so intense, and I was listening to his every word, but still blacked out.”
She continued at the time: “Jason’s like, ‘Kaitlyn, we’re not doing a podcast.’ And I’m like, ‘You forgot to hit record, didn’t you!’ He was like, ‘No, this is something else,’ and he got up and I saw him bring out a ring box from the drawer. I was trying to be present but I was so overwhelmed, and I was so embarrassed because I was wearing a T-shirt that said, ‘Tequila for Breakfast.’”
The former Bachelorette host — who was previously engaged to Shawn Booth after her season — and Tartick have since been focusing on planning their dream nuptials.
“I’m so not traditional that I’m like, ‘Why can’t we go to the courthouse?’ Because I would. He’s not down,” Bristowe exclusively told Us Weekly in August 2022, noting they were likely pushing back their New Year’s Eve wedding date. “Jason and I are so funny. Like, if we talk about a venue — we actually have such different styles, different tastes, different everything that it’s almost frustrating. Because I’ll be like, ‘I’m in love with this venue and it’s perfect and it’s open.’ And he’ll be like, ‘Oh, no, that’s no. That’s not the style we’re going for at all.’”
The Spade & Sparrows entrepreneur and the “Trading Secrets” podcast host previously told Us that they were finding it difficult to find a venue in Nashville, where they live, that wasn’t already booked on their preferred wedding date.
“Ideally, we find the venue we want here in Nashville and with that venue comes a date,” Tartick exclusively told Us in March 2022. “And the big issue with wedding planning right now is you have this perception of when you think you’re gonna get married, like, Kaitlyn did [with] fall of 2022. And then you find your perfect venue and with all the cancellations and pushbacks of weddings, it is getting pushed back significantly.”
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He added at the time: “I think that we’re just going to check out the venues and realistically, based on the information we have in the market, it might not be until early 2023 because of the pushbacks.”