Blake Moynes admitted he was “triggered” by the explosive fight between Katie Thurston and Greg Grippo during one of the last episodes of The Bachelorette.
The fight that rocked Bachelor Nation came after Katie and Greg had a lovely date where he showed her all that life as an East Coast resident of New Jersey afforded, including boardwalk fun, surfing, tandem bike rides, and tasty snacks.
Afterward, Greg and Katie faced his family, who embraced the 30-year-old with open arms and provided even more clarity regarding Greg’s personal life to the woman fans believed would become his future wife.
Thereafter, Greg and Katie spoke about the evening, but that was when their discussion went south. Greg did not like Katie’s halfhearted response to his declarations of love, and the night ended on an uncertain note.
One day later, Greg went to Katie’s room to confront her. Instead of listening to her claims that she validated their relationship from the start. Greg accused Katie of holding things back as she attempted to assure him that he was her number one. She also said that their relationship felt like nothing if he left, which he later would do.
Katie and Greg would confront one another once again during After the Final Rose. These confrontations reportedly affected Katie’s fiance Blake profoundly, bringing up some unhappy memories from his childhood.
Blake Moynes said watching Katie Thurston’s pain was upsetting
Blake reacted to Greg’s conduct towards Katie in an interview with Variety.
The handsome wildlife manager claimed that Greg’s behavior was reminiscent of a negative time from his childhood.
Blake’s parents divorced when he was a young boy. He was raised by his mother, Emily, who works as a life coach.
“I mean, listen. The way I look at it is if that’s the love of your life, you just don’t talk to her like that. You just don’t. You fight harder, and he didn’t do that,” Blake stated. “There was talking down and things. It’s hard because I try to put myself in that situation…that’s how I try to judge. And I wouldn’t have ever approached it that way, so I just saw it as wrong.”
“I grew up in a household where that type of behavior was a constant for 17 years, and I saw what that could do to my mom, in that case,” he continued. “And so, it triggered me a little bit. It reminded me of a brutal past, to some degree…I hope that Katie knows that she’ll never have to hear that from me.”
Katie & Blake’s love has grown stronger
For the past four months, the couple has lived a secret love life that has only grown stronger.
Blake said that since filming wrapped at the end of April, he spent most of the summer in quarantine. This was due to restrictions on travel due to the coronavirus pandemic.
He shared he would visit Katie, and upon his return to his home country of Canada, he would have to quarantine for two weeks. When he visited her again, the process would repeat itself. The couple admitted that a lot of their interactions were done through FaceTime.
The Bachelorette is currently on hiatus.