‘Bachelorette’ Lead Felt ‘Used’ by Ex-Fiance

Heavy "The Bachelorette" star felt used in her prior relationship.

A former “Bachelorette” lead recently opened up about some of the difficulties she experienced in the relationship she had with her final rose recipient. Kaitlyn Bristowe ended her season engaged to Shawn Booth, and they built a life together in Nashville, Tennessee for several years after their season aired. However, Bristowe and Booth’s engagement eventually ended, and it did not exactly end on a good note. Bristowe chatted with former “Bachelorette” contestant, and current fiance, Jason Tartick on his “Trading Secrets” podcast for his 100th episode and she admitted a difficult tidbit about the end of her relationship with Booth.

Here’s what you need to know:

Kaitlyn Bristowe Felt Shawn Booth Stayed for the Wrong Reasons

During the April 3 episode of Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast, Bristowe admitted she had become jaded in some ways after her relationship with Booth. Tartick noted she has been resistant to combine their influential powers for joint projects. It is not uncommon for couples from “Bachelor Nation” to capitalize on the increased power their relationship has in the influencing world, but when it was brought up with Bristowe, Tartick said her response was “like nope, not doing it. I’m out.” The former “Bachelorette” pointed out she knew Tartick would never “use” her to further his own professional interests. However, she felt that had been an issue in her relationship with Booth.

“Let me just start by saying this is all just from my point of view and from how I felt and things that I saw. It doesn’t mean they’re right or wrong,” Bristowe cautioned of what she went on to share about her dynamic with Booth. “The Bachelorette” star detailed the challenges of navigating the real world after the show with an imbalance in professional and financial opportunities, a situation she felt was quite prevalent in her engagement with Booth. Toward the end of the relationship, Bristowe noted, “It was like getting down to the end where I, we, both just didn’t see it going anywhere.” However, “it felt like he was hanging on until his gym opened and that’s where I felt used professionally.”

‘Bachelor Nation’ Had a Mixed Reaction to Bristowe’s Revelation

Many “Bachelor Nation” fans seemed to agree with Bristowe’s take. The comments she made on Tartick’s podcast were shared in “The Bachelor” subreddit and they generated a significant amount of discussion.

“As the biggest Shawn and Kaitlyn shipper when their season aired.. I sadly agree. Shawn really showed his true colors by the end,” detailed one Redditor.

“From the outside it always looked like that. Shawn cash out from that relationship and left… he was cruel,” declared another.

“She is not wrong in my opinion. He had his gym opening in June with Kaitlyn as a special guest, did group photo with Kaitlyn for VIP tickets and they broke up officially in September,” recalled someone else.

There were quite a few comments on Reddit that were more critical than supportive of Bristowe, though, as well.

“Kaitlyn will always be the victim in her own story and I can’t stand Shawn but guarantee she’ll be saying the same thing about Jason if they break up,” countered another “Bachelorette” fan.

“Why is she talking about him. It’s been years and she’s engaged to someone else. This makes her look bad,” read another comment.