Blake Horstmann is not choosing sides between Jason Tartick and Kaitlyn Bristowe following their recent split.
“Alright I’m already sick of this BS,” Horstmann, 34, wrote via his Instagram Story on Thursday, September 7, alongside a comment from a fan accusing him of backing Tartick, 34. “Y’all there are no teams. These are 2 friends of mine who gave everything they had to a relationship that didn’t work.”
Horstmann and Tartick both appeared on Becca Kufrin’s season of The Bachelorette in 2018. Following their time on the show, the duo remained close friends. While Tartick and Bristowe, 38, started dating in 2019, Horstmann grew close to her as well.
“I know you think you are ‘helping,’ but you are not helping either of them by sliding into DMs or attacking people in the comment sections,” Horstmann continued. “Let them heal on their own. They don’t need your help.”
Bristowe and Tartick — who got engaged in May 2021 — announced in August that they decided to call it quits after four years of dating.
“After sharing the news with family and close friends first, and taking the time to properly process it ourselves, we are saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement,” the twosome wrote in a joint Instagram post at the time. “We are thankful for all of you who gave us the time and space to process this life altering decision as there are many emotions and changes to navigate.”
As Tartick and Bristowe have adjusted to the new change in their life, they both have been candid about how difficult the breakup has been in the public eye. Bristowe, for her part, broached the subject of fans wanting to choose sides following the split.
“So [for] eight years I’ve been dealing with love, support, trolls, hate, ups, downs, all the things and going through a public breakup brings out the loud people,” Bristowe said on the Thursday episode of her “Off the Vine” podcast. “People want to pick sides and they want to be on teams and I’m just over here trying to respect the mutual breakup and just live my life. And then people are like, ‘Ew you look way too happy right now.’ What? I’m not allowed to be happy?”
Meanwhile, Tartick opened up about what it was like moving out of his and Bristowe’s once-shared home in Nashville.
“A few weeks ago my best buddy Hawk called me and asked what my plan was for the weekend and if he could help. I told him I was starting to move out and that I appreciated his offer but I was ok,” he said via an August Instagram video. “I’ll never forget his response, he said ‘Friendships would mean very little if they were only applied when it was convenient’. He then booked his flight and was there the next day. I share this bc although I said I was ok, I wasn’t and not only did I want him there that day and I needed him there that day.”
