Bachelorette host Kaitlyn Bristowe slammed contestant Greg Grippo’s “bulls—t” reaction during his explosive fight with leading lady Katie Thurston during the August 2 episode.
Viewers saw Kaitlyn, 36, comfort Katie, 30, while she sobbed on the bathroom floor after Greg, 27, self-eliminated.
“I feel like she wasn’t angry at the time,” Kaitlyn recalled during the “Click Bait” podcast on Thursday, August 5, adding she was “confused” while comforting Katie because she didn’t know exactly what happened between her and Greg.
“She wasn’t like, ‘Oh, Greg gaslighted me.’ … She was kind of, like, ‘I don’t know what happened.’ … I felt bad for Greg until I watched it back,” the Spade and Sparrows founder said. “I actually didn’t really fully know how that all went down until I watched it back. I was just hearing Katie’s side of the story and she was actually really, like, self-deprecating about it.”
During their fight, Greg couldn’t understand why Katie needed to continue her relationships with finalists Blake Moynes and Justin Glaze. While some viewers thought the Washington native’s response to his concerns was too stoic, others thought Greg “gaslit” her during their conversation.
“Could Katie have, like, been a little more reactive to him saying these things? Of course. But the way he responded back to that I thought was bulls—t,” Kaitlyn continued.
Greg got particularly upset with Katie when she said he was her No. 1 from the beginning of the season, where he received the first impression rose.
“Who cares about the rose or the number one or the number two or who’s getting sent home this week? If it’s not real, it’s not real,” he fired back. “I just wanted something real.”
Kaitlyn defended Katie’s terminology and added, “There are lists, there are roses, there are placements … She gave him so much reassurance the whole show.”
“That’s The Bachelorette. She can’t really fully reciprocate it if she can’t validate him until the end,” the “Off the Vine” podcast host continued. “And I think he just wanted to quit before he got fired. I think his ego was so hurt in that moment that he was like, ‘I’m gonna just flip this s—t and get out of here.’”
The reality dating show teased Katie and Greg will have a “tense confrontation” during After the Final Rose, so it looks like there’s more to come between these two.