Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes’ relationship appeared to be a whirlwind from start to finish.
Many of The Bachelorette viewers were skeptical about the strength of Katie and Blake’s relationship, with some even accusing them of being each other’s third option. Despite the doubters, Blake and Katie were determined to make their oftentimes long-distance relationship work.
However, in the end, the couple decided to go their separate ways.
Katie and Blake’s relationship began with DMs and ended with a social media unfollowing and included a lot more in between.
Here is Katie and Blake’s relationship timeline.
Blake Moynes slides into Katie Thurston’s DMs during Matt James’ season
Blake made his Bachelor franchise debut on The Bachelorette Season 16, where he attempted to build a connection with both Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams.
Shortly after, Katie Thurston made her debut on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor, where she built up a reputation for being sex-positive. Katie’s appearance on The Bachelor resonated with Blake and led him to reach out via social media before ever meeting Katie in person.
Katie admitted that Blake direct messaged her on social media before her season of The Bachelorette and revealed that Blake complimented her for doing great on Matt’s season. Blake also later expressed that Katie was cold in the DMs, in that she didn’t really seem open to engaging with him after his message.
Blake crashes Katie’s season of The Bachelorette
While Katie’s season of The Bachelorette was in full swing, Blake decided to show up during the fifth week of the season and request to join the group of men vying for her love. Blake felt he had never met a woman like Katie and that they would have a lot in common, which Katie seemed to agree with.
Katie took time to think about it and, after brazenly giving Thomas Jacobs the boot, Katie welcomed Blake into the house and even gave him a one-on-one right away.
Blake and Katie went on a horseback riding one-on-one where the pair bonded, and Blake learned of a painful experience from Katie’s past that led her to become sex-positive.
Katie meets Blake’s family during hometowns
Blake made it to hometowns, where he tried to give Katie a glimpse of life in Canada. Later that night, Katie met Blake’s family, who seemed to enjoy Katie and they even pushed Blake to tell her how strongly he feels about her.
However, when the time came for Blake to profess his love, he opted not to.
Blake becomes the frontrunner after Greg Grippo and Michael Allio self-eliminate
While Katie and Blake had a natural and physical connection, Katie did seem to be even more drawn to Greg Grippo and Michael Allio. However, Michael Allio chose to walk away from the show and focus on being a father after an emotional call with his son.
Greg Grippo made it past hometowns, but he quickly became frustrated when Katie wouldn’t outright tell him she loved him. Greg and Katie had an emotional and tense argument and Greg decided to leave Katie, which upset The Bachelorette viewers who accused Greg of gaslighting.
With two of Katie’s favorite guys gone, Katie only had Blake and Justin Glaze left. Katie sent Justin Glaze home and decided Blake was the one for her as she professed her love to him.
Blake meets Katie’s family and butts heads with Aunt Lindsey
Blake was the last man standing by the time Katie’s family arrived to meet her suitors. Katie introduced her family to Blake and Katie’s Aunt Lindsey had fans stirring over the harsh way she grilled Blake.
Aunt Lindsey seemed skeptical about how Blake and Katie would make this quick relationship work, especially with the distance. Katie and Blake remained positive despite the awkward family encounter.
Blake and Katie get engaged
While Blake did have a moment of hesitancy when picking an engagement ring for Katie, he ultimately decided to go through with proposing.
At the end of the season, Blake got down on one knee and asked Katie to marry him, to which she happily said yes.
During ATFR, Katie gushed about Blake and how their love has only continued to grow. She also expressed thinking that Blake crashing her season was one of the most romantic things anyone had done for her and that she believed he is clearly the one she is meant to be with.
Blake and Katie go public with their relationship
No longer having to keep their love private, Blake and Katie shared IG photos of the two showcasing some PDA after the finale. Katie celebrated Blake’s birthday and expressed how excited she was to start living life with him.
Blake and Katie made appearances on shows like Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show and continued to present the image of a playful and happy couple to the media. Blake even visited Katie in California and met her beloved cat as the two navigated where to lay roots as a couple.
Katie gets lonely while Blake is in Africa
Blake had to travel to Africa for work in October 2021 and it led to Katie feeling lonely. With the couple posting less, fans began to speculate whether they broke up, which Katie actively denied as she continued to express how proud she was of Blake and the work he was doing.
However, the loneliness took its toll and Katie thanked her Instagram community for being there for her and keeping her company while Blake was away.
Interestingly, Katie spent time with John Hersey during this lonely season and appeared really grateful for his friendship.
Katie and Blake announce their split
Katie and Blake split that same October. In a mutual statement, Katie and Blake took to social media to reveal they were no longer together.
Katie and Blake’s message aimed to emphasize that their breakup was mostly amicable and appeared to be caused by the fact that they were not compatible life partners and couldn’t make one another happy.
After their split, both Katie and Blake took to social media to address the breakup on their own. Katie shared an emotional video defending the real love she found with Blake despite people questioning their authenticity, and Blake expressed feeling good about getting back into the swing of things and appreciating his social media family after the tough split.
News breaks that Katie is dating John Hersey
Just recently on November 23, news broke that Katie is in fact dating her good friend and former contestant John Hersey. US Weekly revealed that the pair were an item after much speculation from fans who had been pushing for Katie and John to date.
Interestingly, Blake unfollowed Katie recently, which seems to officially mark the end of Katie and Blake as both are moving on with their own lives.
The Bachelorette airs Tuesdays at 8/7c on ABC.