Dear Joooooooooohhhhhhnnnnn, we can see it all now. Week-Two Guy John Hersey, from Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette, has addressed the criticism of his relationship with the newly single vibrator queen. Hersey took to Reddit to post his “Notes app apology†letter, stating that, “Katie and I developed an incredible and deep friendship over the last half year or so. The circumstances by which this friendship formed was a series of crazy, random, and coincidental events.†Despite how “omg so random†their new friendship was, Hersey clearly states that the couple was “ALWAYS platonic†during her engagement to Blake Moynes. He addresses that “the timeline seems fast and messy,†but he fell “helplessly for his best friend.†The messiness of the timeline seems eerily similar to the John Mulaney/Olivia Munn saga, where fans tried to piece together the timeline of how it all happened.
On the other side of the Bachelor coin, Moynes spent last night on Instagram sharing a story about how he learned to cry in his car (buddy, join the club!) He’s continued to keep his social media presence all about animals and his conservation efforts. Moynes did address the breakup on the latest episode of the Talking It Out With Bachelor Nation podcast. “I really don’t think there was any physical cheating there, but there [was] clearly emotional [cheating] for it to transition so quickly as it did,†said Moynes on his ex-fiancée’s new relationship. Regardless of the true timeline of the Hersey/Thurston/Moynes journey, all three parties seem to find their own ways of coping.
Check out John Hersey’s full statement below.
Hey everyone!
John Hersey here. This is the first and likely only time I will ever address you all, the bachelor sub, directly. So let me take this opportunity to first thank all of you for the support, the laughs, the love, and the undeniably outspoken personalities that I have had the wonderful pleasure of being exposed to while here. You guys are fun (most of the time, haha).
I’m sure there’s no question why I’ve chosen this moment to speak up- this has been a wild couple days to say the least. I am absolutely in favor of everybody having their own opinion, voicing that opinion, and hell, arguing and yelling about that opinion. What hurts me, however, is watching SO many of you build assumptions and throw around accusations based on very limited knowledge of a situation. I cannot (and do not) blame anyone for this, because it is the nature of a private situation to be clear only to those closest to it. However, I do intend to share some insights that will hopefully allow you to better understand me, katie, and our relationship.
Katie and I developed an incredible and deep friendship over the last half year or so. The circumstances by which this friendship formed was a series of crazy, random, and coincidental events, that I’m sure you will all hear about at a later time. My point for now, is that we were ALWAYS platonic. Even during my short stint on the season, we never had a chance to foster anything romantic (read as: John blew his chance and left the next day hahaha). The boundaries of our friendship with respect to her ongoing relationship never even required addressing, because it was never a thought in our minds that we would ever be anything more. You guys- she was engaged. It is apparent that many of you misjudge how both her and I view that commitment. Neither Katie nor I would ever cheat, push someone to cheat, or be involved in cheating. It is not in our nature. It is not acceptable. It is not okay. On second thought, maybe this message deserves its own paragraph:
There was no wrongdoing prior to the end of their engagement.
Furthermore, I understand that the timeline seems fast and messy. But I urge you to put yourselves in our shoes. Once Katie and I realized there was a romantic connection that we were interested in exploring, we were not starting from scratch; we were building off of the foundation of a close friendship through which, we had already gotten to know each other so well. The speed at which I fell for this incredible, nurturing, and genuinely caring human being was honestly terrifying. I was scared. But every step of the way felt so right.
We knew that the only difficult part would be the optics of it all. And that’s a shitty thing- worrying about how a natural and organic connection will be viewed by hundreds of thousands of people… when was the last time you had to think about that when you fell for a partner? Because this is sure as hell the first time for me.
To those of you that suggest we should have waited- I understand. I hear you. But try to understand what it’s like for me, a regular guy, falling helplessly for his best friend, not being able to take her out for dinner because photos would likely leak and everybody would assume we were trying to foster some sort of secret and scandalous relationship haha. Our decision to come out publicly was a decision to pursue happiness in the way we wanted. Disagreeing with someone for how they decide to go about it is okay. Everybody is different. I understand.
Lastly and most importantly, I want to apologize to those of whom have felt emotionally triggered by how our actions have been perceived. It deeply saddens me to think that my and Katie’s relationship could have been a source of anxiety for ANYONE. As I mentioned before, cheating in any form is unacceptable, and I’m sorry if it looked as though either of us were taking advantage of anyone’s trust. I have tried to respond directly to those individuals that were affected, but I know that I don’t have the capability of finding absolutely everyone; so I hope this message finds you well.
I appreciate you all taking time from your day to read this message. It is not meant to be delivered from atop a soapbox; it is an honest conversation from me to you. I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season, and I can’t wait to be sent more ridiculous SpongeBob memes and “John who?†comments. Keep being real, much love ðŸ™ðŸ¼
-John (week 2 guy)