'Bachelor' Alums React To Greg's 'Bachelorette' Exit

- The Bachelor -
'Bachelor' Alums React To Greg's 'Bachelorette' Exit

Bachelor Nation is a Nation divided after Monday night's controversial blow up between Greg Grippo and Katie Thurston. And the Bachelor alum reactions to Greg's Bachelorette exit show that they're just as confused as the rest of us.

Greg and Katie's breakup was, to put it mildly, a train wreck. After "pouring his heart out" to Katie on his hometown date, Greg felt like Katie had dismissed his declarations of love. But, when she tried to listen and apologize, he refused to believe her. In the end, he left her shaking and crying on the ground.

Was it gaslighting? Was it emotional manipulation? Or was Greg just a man in love, hoping to hear those three words from Katie? Here's where some key Bachelor alums land.

Blake Horstmann — Team Katie

Image: Blake Horstmann/Instagram

Blake Horstmann delivered the take of the night on Instagram, offering an insightful and nuanced analysis of Greg and Katie's big fight. As someone who made it to the end on The Bachelorette, Blake said he knew how hard it was to have insecurities about your relationship, but, "She's giving as much as she can. This is the most I've ever seen a Bachelorette give a contestant before the end. She's giving him a lot." And while he felt for Greg, Blake noted that he wasn't exactly being clear about what he wanted, and wasn't helping himself by interrupting Katie. "I get the point he's making, but he is not doing it the right way," he said.

The main takeaway from Blake's reaction: "This is the first bump in the road they've had, and he's [leaving]." YES, BLAKE EXACTLY.

Connor Brennan — Team Greg

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Cat Connor didn't explicitly say he was Team Greg, but his defense of his former co-contestant was pretty clear. "Sometimes there's not a good guy or a bad guy," he wrote in part on Twitter. "Kindness is free, love is complicated."

Here's the thing: I get that Connor is trying to see both sides and give Greg the benefit of the doubt, but when one side is saying that they feel manipulated and gaslit, calling "both sides" can contribute to that feeling. If Greg is apologetic at the After The Final Rose special, that's when we'll know if he's a "good guy" or not.B

Bekah Martinez — Team Katie

Image: Bekah Martinez/Instagram

Bekah Martinez has been firmly anti-Greg all season, so it wasn't surprising to see her declare her allegiance to Team Katie last night. She immediately identified Greg's behavior as toxic manipulation, even before his hometown was over. Commenting on their breakup fight, Bekah called Greg's treatment of Katie "lowkey emotionally abusive," adding "he finessed this whole situation to break her and take any and all power away from her."

Bekah left her followers with one last ominous take: "I can speak from firsthand experience that if this shit comes out on a reality TV show where the person knows they're being filmed............ scary."

Natasha Parker — Team Both Sides

Image: Natasha Parker/Instagram

Natasha also reacted live to the episode on Instagram, but she had a much more subdued response. "I'm so torn because it can't be easy being the lead because you have so many hearts to take care of, or people to communicate with. I know that. But also, I feel like... Imma save it for Click Bait," she said, plugging her Bachelor Nation podcast. She followed that tease by sharing a tweet from someone saying they see "both sides."

Andrew Spencer — Team Both Sides

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Andrew Spencer gave a "both sides" statement that leaned vaguely towards Team Katie on Monday night, writing, "I care for Katie and Greg very much," but adding, "Hate to see Katie like that." He also said that he hopes "they get to smooth things over." After the Final Rose is going to be wild.

Kaitlyn Bristowe — Team Bach

Image: Kaitlyn Bristowe/Instagram

As co-host, Kaitlyn Bristowe kept her commentary pretty tame on Instagram, saying that she wasn't here to pass judgment and that everybody was right because they were just expressing how they feel. That said, she did tease that she would be talking more in depth on this Thursday's episode of her podcast, Off The Vine.

Nick Viall — Team Greg

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Nick Viall, former Bachelor and Bachelorette contestant, was pretty set on defending Greg in the new episode of his podcast, The Viall Files. Speaking with fellow Bachelorette alum Wells Adams, Nick said he understood how hurt Greg was, and called any theories from fans that he was acting this whole time "silly and insane." On Twitter, he also refuted the idea that Greg was being manipulative, saying, "This isn't gaslighting."

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Congratulations, Greg, you have one ally in Bachelor Nation.

Wells Adams — Team Both Sides

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Wells gave Katie a lot of credit for respecting the other men she was dating and keeping her hard limit to not say "I love you," to Greg when the show wasn't over yet. But, he also said that he understood that Greg was coming from an emotional place. "I feel bad for both of them. My sympathies go to both of them," Wells said on The Viall Files. "I think they're both put in really bad positions. And I think that they obviously don't have an amazing communication."

Katie Thurston — Team Katie

Image: Katie Thurston/Instagram

I'm going to give Katie the final word here. After The Bachelorette aired on the west coast, she posted a simple but pointed message on her Instagram Story, linking to an informative post about gaslighting.

As for me, I'm firmly on Team Katie. Greg had every right to be hurt after not getting the response he wanted when he told her that he loved her, but beyond that, he proved he had no empathy for her and didn't even care to hear her side. He was determined not to accept her apology from the beginning, and I'm glad he left before things got more serious.

Read more...

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Are You Team Katie Or Team Greg?

Image: Blake Horstmann/Instagram, Bekah Martinez/Instagram, Natasha Parker/Instagram

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