Connor Brennan shocked us all when he successfully turned a full-on cat costume limo exit into an actual emotional contestant with Katie Thurston on night one of The Bachelorette. But there's more to him than just fuzzy fingerless gloves and some amateur face paint. And now that everyone's intentions are being questioned (thanks a lot, Karl), it's more important than ever to do our due diligence when it comes to Bachelorette faves like Connor. To that end, I decided to go deep down the rabbit hole that is Connor Brennan's Instagram, learning everything I could about Connor's exes, his multiple jobs, and, of course, his music.

What Happened In Connor's Last Relationship?

Let's talk about the ex. If you look at Connor's Instagram page, you'd think he's never dated anyone before Katie. There are no photos of other women or relationships. (Though to be fair, he doesn't seem to been that active on social anyways.) However, his tagged photos tell a different story.

Connor is still tagged on Instagram in photos with an ex, who shared a lot of updates throughout their nearly 2-year-relationship. Per my stalking, Connor first popped up on her profile (which is public) in May of 2018, and his last appearance was in a post shared in March of 2020. It's really unclear based just on social media to figure out what happened between them, but it definitely seems that by June of 2020, they were 100% done. And based on her posts, things between them seemed pretty serious. They even went to Europe together in January of 2019.

Over on his profile, any and all pics of his ex have been taken down (if they were ever there to begin with), but there are some remnants of their relationship. Like, his one Instagram post from their Paris trip, which does not include his ex. There's also his end of year lists looking back on 2018, that includes this entry under "Best Memories": "Asking Katie out via FaceTime from Cattanooga."

It's unclear if this is the relationship he's going to come clean about on The Bachelorette, as teased in a special sneak peek of this week's group date. The fact that she didn't delete all evidence of their relationship could suggest that the two are still on good terms, or at least not on the most horrible ones. But, you never know with the 'gram!

Other Things We Learned:

• Connor's mom, Lisa Brennan, revealed on her Instagram that she was especially proud of her son's decision to wear an anklet with the trans flag during his entire Bachelorette journey in honor of his sister. (I really hope that gets a segment or mention sometime down the line on the show.)
• Connor recently started a band, called Sweet Josephine, with his good friend, Sam Sardina.
• He's a spin instructor at the CYCLEBAR's Nashville location, where he's worked since January of 2018. A true musician, he's been known to take his banjo to class.
• He can play accordion, though his one video performance has a few false notes in it. Still, it's a fun talent to have. He also plays the sax, but his main instruments of choice seem to be a keyboard and a guitar.
• He started teaching eighth grade math and high school music in August of 2020. And, just like in cycling, he also brought his banjo.
• He wore a tux with a white jacket to chaperone prom this year. I just thought you should know.

• He's a fan of The Office — specifically of Andy Bernard, and, per his Best Of 2018 lists, he's also really into Haunting of Hill House, GLOW, Black Panther, and Becoming By Michelle Obama.
• Listed among one of his proudest accomplishments of 2018 is that he didn't drink.
• He also put "watching The Bachelor" as one of his fave 2018 memories.

• His Best of 2020 list reveals that he loves Taylor Swift — both folklore and Miss Americana made it into his top picks, and he listed a "Folklore listening party" as one of his favorite memories of the year — and JP Saxe. His list also shows that he, like all of us, was obsessed with Tiger King and other various Netflix offerings — Money Heist also made the list.
• Most revealing: one of the things listed under "What I want to work on in 2021" is, "being happy with who I am, happy on my own." I may be projecting, but that feels like a potentially post-messy breakup resolution.

So, after stalking Connor B, do I still think he has potential to be Katie's fiancé? Absolutely. I'll let him clear up anything about his last relationship, and in the meantime, I'll enjoy his corny songs and love of puns.

Read more...

Is Michael A. From The Bachelorette Too Good For The Show?

Bachelorette Contestant Karl Smith's Motivational Speeches Unmotivated Me To Root For Him

Connor B's Song On The Bachelorette Makes Up For That Cat Makeup Fiasco

Image: Bachelor Nation on ABC/YouTube