Warning: Spoilers ahead!
Who does Katie pick on The Bachelorette Season 17?
According to a new post from Reality Steve on June 23, he revealed that Katie is engaged to Blake Moynes. “However, as of this moment, I do not know how the final 4 breakdown occurs that gets us to this point. I just know that Katie got engaged to Blake at the end of filming and they’re still together.”
Wait, where do I know Blake Moynes from?
He was cast on Clare/Tayshia’s season. While he wasn’t originally on Katie Thurston’s season at the beginning of the season, he joins the show on week four, which airs Monday, June 28.
Who received Katie’s First Impression Rose?
Katie gave away the first rose of the season to 27-year-old Greg Grippo. As usual, we don’t know a ton about Greg (his Instagram is private, so we know he’s smart enough to hide his social media during filming) so we can’t snoop. We know that he’s from Edison, New Jersey and he looks a little like Shawn Booth, the eventual winner of this season’s co-host, Kaitlyn Bristowe’s own season of The Bachelorette. Oh, and he was originally cast on Clare’s season. We’re guessing he was cut because of his age when that casting shuffle occurred.
Who was rumored to be in Katie’s final 4?
Literally, less than 24 hours before the premiere of Katie’s season, Reality Steve revealed new information: The rumored final 4 might not be what we originally thought. Various Bachelor spoiler accounts guessed the final 3 were:
Greg GrippoBlake MoynesJohn Hersey
Speculation on who landed in that coveted fourth place included:
Mike “Mikey” PlanetaJames BosnallJustin Glaze
But according to RS, that’s not at all the case.
How is social media coming to play?
Katie was spotted at John Hersey’s bar in San Diego and even tagged her location in the image on Instagram, which got people wondering if she was spoiling her season Kaitlyn Bristowe-style. (Bristowe famously spoiled her own season by “accidentally” posting a video of then-fiancé Shawn Booth on Snapchat.) When asked in a comment if her San Diego-heavy content on Instagram was related to her to her final pick, she responded “hahah naaah I’m not that messy,” which is exactly what we want to hear from our Bachelorette—we learned from Clare Crawley. Both Hersey and Grippo follow producers of The Bachelor on Instagram, too. Thurston was also spotted on a road trip of sorts in recent days—possibly a pre-season safe house visit for her and her partner? Sleuths will be watching to see if Hersey clocks into work, for sure.
Okay, who’s in the final four?
Reality Steve took to Twitter to reveal that the guesses on who Katie’s final 4 were kind of true, but not really: Fans got two of the four correct: Yes, Blake Moynes makes it farther than he did on Clare/Tayshia’s season, and Greg Grippo landed firmly in the top 4 after getting the First Impression Rose. Justin Glaze moves from speculative to confirmed, but Andrew Spencer is a warm and unexpected inclusion, considering his social media activity changed mid-season, leading people to think he was an early out. As for the mix-up with Hersey’s placement and the social media activity—it appears to be a fluke, or at least frighteningly convenient timing and not Katie spoiling her own season, according to RS: “A few weeks ago, I reported here that I’d heard Blake Moynes and Greg Grippo were in Katie’s final four. And I was 99% sure that John Hersey was as well. Then shortly afterward, Katie posted on her social media a weekend she spent in San Diego with friends from Bachelor Nation, and I started receiving emails that one of the places she tagged she visited, Duke’s in La Jolla, was where John Hersey worked as a bartender. This led to even more people telling me that they were 100% convinced that John is who Katie chose, they’re engaged, and that’s why she went to that restaurant. I never mentioned it until now because that story wasn’t based in anything other than speculation and it never made sense to me. Well, I can report now there’s nothing to it. Why? Because I’ve learned that I was wrong about John making final 4. He didn’t. He didn’t even make Top 8. So all the people who emailed me telling me there’s a ton of people convinced Katie’s with John, sorry, but that’s not the case. He’s not in her Top 4, let alone her top 8.” Reality Steve, always as warm and cuddly as a porcupine, and as condescending as a third-grade teacher two years away from retirement.
So, is Katie engaged?
Yes, according to Reality Steve. He wrote on June 23, “…until this past weekend I got my first ‘She’s with Blake; info, then yesterday, got the confirmation I needed. Now, the thing I’m unsure of as of this moment is HOW we get to that point. I don’t know how the final 4 shakes out just yet in terms of who goes home when, so that’s the next thing I’m trying to find out.” He added, “Katie being the most social media active lead we’ve ever had clearly will know after today what is being reported, and who knows, maybe she’ll start screwing with people online because that’s what she does. Whatever the case, she’s with Blake, and they’re engaged. The end.” So there we have it!
When is the Bachelorette season finale?
On Monday, August 9 at 8 pm ET on ABC. Next, 46 Bachelor facts every fan should know!
