Season 11 of The Bachelorette was one to remember. For the first time ever, there were two Bachelorettes — Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson — and the contestants voted for the woman they wanted to pursue a relationship with on the show.
While Kaitlyn ultimately won the honor, the drama didn’t stop there. Nick Viall, who first competed for Andi Dorfman’s heart on season 10 of The Bachelorette, returned midseason and revealed he had been speaking to Kaitlyn before she left to film the show. After he joined the cast, Nick caused a stir again when he and Kaitlyn slept together before the fantasy suite dates.
In the end, Kaitlyn picked Shawn Booth over Nick … right before the Wisconsin native was about to get down on one knee. Kaitlyn subsequently accepted a proposal from Shawn.
After three years together — and months of social media speculation — Kaitlyn and Shawn announced their split in November 2018 via a joint statement.
“After three incredible years, we have decided to go our separate ways. This difficult decision comes after thoughtful, respectful consideration,” the former couple said at the time. “Even though we are parting as a couple, we’re very much committed to remaining friends. We have both evolved as people, which is taking us in different directions, but with the hope that we will continue to support each other in new ways.”
The “Off the Vine” podcast host later revealed that the twosome “started growing apart” before they pulled the plug on their engagement.
“I just wasn’t feeling loved for over the last year,“ Kaitlyn admitted in March 2019. “It really just started weighing on me. I just felt very alone in the relationship and I felt like I had a best friend but I didn’t feel like I had a partner.”
After their breakup, Kaitlyn started dating Bachelorette season 14 alum Jason Tartick. The twosome publicly confirmed their romance in January 2019, just two months after her split from Shawn made headlines.
“[I’m] trying to understand things right now. I guess this goes with her new relationship too. It just kind of makes me question everything that we’ve had,” Shawn said in January 2019. “I do care about her, so I am happy that she doesn’t have to, I guess, deal with, maybe, all the pain and the heartbreak because it seems like she’s moved on and she’s happy. It does make me a little more comfortable knowing that she’s not at home at our empty house, so I look at it from that point of view. … It also helps me to move on knowing that maybe we weren’t right for each other and that I will find somebody down the road that also makes me happy.”
In June 2020, ABC aired a shortened version of season 11 in one-night as an episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! After a social media user tweeted how excited they were to revisit Kaitlyn’s season, she quipped back, “IM GLAD SOMEONE IS.”
Scroll through for an update on the most memorable contestants from Kaitlyn’s season: