If you don’t remember Kaitlyn Bristowe, let us jog your memory. She’s known for being the most controversial Bachelorette from The Bachelor franchise. & there’s pretty much only one reason for this: Back during her season of The Bachelorette, she had sex with Nick Viall BEFORE the fantasy suite episode. We know, we know sounds so scandalous, right?
If you’re not into The Bachelor/Bachelorette franchise, then you probably don’t know what a big deal this was for the fans. But, at the time, no one had publicly had that level of intimate relationships prior to the fantasy suites. Though, of course, host Chris Harrison’s defense of Kaitlyn tells us the actual truth: “Sex happens on the show.”
Fans of the show were mad, saying that this devalued the romance aspect of the show. Kaitlyn, on the other hand, acknowledged the potential impact of her decision, but stood by it. Intimacy is important to her. It’s part of the romance. And, she wasn’t about to jump into a serious relationship without knowing that she was physically compatible with her potential partners.
But, Kaitlyn was interesting long before she hosted The Bachelorette, and she remains one of the coolest people we’ve met to this day. We love how she serves her own personal realness in every conversation she has. That’s why today, we’re dedicating this post to talk about Kaitlyn Bristowe and what she is doing now, several years out from The Bachelorette and Dancing with the Stars. But, if you want to hear it from her, you can check out the full episode with Kaitlyn Bristowe here:
Who is Kaitlyn Bristowe? & What She’s Doing Now
Kaitlyn Bristowe grew up in Leduc, Alberta, Canada. In a video on her life story released on her podcast channel, she describes her 4-year-old self as “already a drama queen.”
She knew from a young age that she loved entertaining people and making them laugh. Her childhood was spent participating in musicals such as West Side Story and Fiddler on the Roof. And, as the daughter of a ballerina, she especially loved to dance.
Kaitlyn wanted to do big things with her talent. Like, REALLY big. But, she didn’t think she could do such big things in her small hometown of Leduc. After spending some time as a bartender making money, Kaitlyn auditioned for several different dance companies.
Finally, she was accepted into a dance company on a scholarship, so she moved to Vancouver. There, she lived the quintessential dancer’s life: she had four roommates, was eating ramen frequently, and was scraping by with little to no money.
Despite her financial circumstances, Kaitlyn stayed motivated throughout this period of her life. No matter how many auditions she didn’t get, she was always telling herself it would be the next audition. She said, “as long as I knew that my heart was in the right place, I just kept going.”
After numerous auditions, she also landed a spot on the cheerleading team for Canadian Football League’s BC Lions. The girl was busy, to say the least!
Prior to landing her spot on The Bachelor, she chased love from Vancouver to Newfoundland. She’d fallen in love with a hockey player who was in Vancouver for the summer and moved with him to Newfoundland before he signed to play for a team in Germany.
Kaitlyn was at a bit of a low point at this stage in their relationship. She’s gotten snowed in, the guy was on the road, and she didn’t feel like she had anything going for herself. So, before she moved to Germany, she decided she was going to make herself some money.
She moved back to Leduc, Alberta, and began working two jobs. She saved up money by working for a restaurant and selling shingles for a roofing company. She’d never had experience with roofing, but she managed to make the job work. Then, she moved to Germany.
Germany was hard for Kaitlyn. She felt like she lost herself while in this relationship, feeling depressed and anxious. Both parties recognized the relationship was not good for them, so they broke up. Kaitlyn then moved back in with her mom and stepdad at the age of 27, where she continued to suffer after being put on medication.
Finally, she decided she couldn’t keep living that way. So, she moved back to Vancouver and began working at a restaurant again. After working her way up, she’d settled on a new plan: becoming a GM of a restaurant. But, her bestie, Bri, suggested she audition for the Bachelor instead. So she did! And the rest is history. Let’s chat next about her time on The Bachelor.
Why Is Kaitlyn Bristowe Famous?
Kaitlyn had sent in an audition tape for The Bachelor at her best friend’s suggestion. Later on, the producers of the show contacted Kaitlyn to tell her they’d love to have her on the show if she was still single. She was, so she ended up on Iowa farmer Chris Soules’s season of The Bachelor (season 19).
There, she won over the hearts of the American public by being 100% herself. Now that’s something we can always get behind! She was known for being adorable, funny, and honest—and also for telling Chris on the first night, “you can plow the f*ck out of my field any day.” Kaitlyn ended up making it to the top 3 of that season.
Kaitlyn’s fame continued to grow when she was chosen for The Bachelorette (season 11). This season ultimately ended with Kaitlyn being engaged to contestant Shawn Booth. But, their relationship unfortunately did not last.
Kaitlyn later dated a Bachelor contestant from Becca Kufrin’s season, Jason Tartick. The pair were engaged from 2021-2023, before calling their engagement off.
While Kaitlyn’s Bachelorette season was still coming out, she agreed to be on Dancing with the Stars as a contestant. However, she experienced a snag in her plans when producer Mike Fleiss told her she was not allowed to appear on Dancing with the Stars. You can hear the juicy details of that situation in Kaitlyn’s episode of the podcast here! & believe us, they are JUICY.
Basically, Mike made it seem like he didn’t want people using The Bachelor franchises to chase fame. He told Kaitlyn that he wouldn’t be allowing anyone to do Dancing with the Stars. Kaitlyn and her then-fiancé, Shawn, wrote email after email. They were trying to get the producers to change their minds. Unfortunately, the producers didn’t.
Later, though, the producers were singing a different tune. They offered the two following Bachelors a spot on DWTS. As you can imagine, Kaitlyn’s fans were not happy with the double standard. So, after fans had pulled for Kaitlyn to be on the show, Kaitlyn was able to compete on Dancing with the Stars.
She was partnered with the professional dancer Artem Chigvintsev. Thanks to her hard work and her history with dancing, she was named the winner on November 23, 2020.
Kaitlyn is also known for hosting seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette with fellow former Bachelorette Tayshia Adams.
What Is Kaitlyn Bristowe Doing Now?
Kaitlyn turned her star momentum into quite an interesting career. She’s now a successful podcast host, singer-songwriter, and owner of her own wine label. She’s seriously a powerhouse! You can learn how she manages to handle it all in her episode on the show here.
Kaitlyn Bristowe Off The Vine Podcast
Kaitlyn Bristowe is the host of Off The Vine, which is a podcast that features a wide range of topics.
Kaitlyn created the podcast in order to make space for people to be themselves. This was in part inspired by her commitment to being herself on The Bachelor franchises, as well as a social media movement that Kaitlyn created.
One of Kaitlyn’s biggest values is staying true to herself, and that comes across so clearly in Kaitlyn Bristowe’s podcast episode with TSC. Seriously, guys, she’s one of the most relatable yet effortlessly cool people we’ve ever met. You’ve gotta watch this interview!
Kaitlyn’s social media movement was called #Realstagram. Using this hashtag, Kaitlyn posted photos of herself without a filter or makeup to show that her life isn’t just a highlight reel. Dozens of celebrities followed her lead, posting photos without makeup or airbrush.
Just like on Instagram, Kaitlyn wanted to be relatable rather than unattainable, so she created a community with her podcast where she could do just that!
If you want a taste of this fantastically fun podcast, you can check out the episode we did on her podcast. In this episode, we talk marriage, skincare tips, and creative uses for coconut oil. You won’t want to miss it!
Kaitlyn Bristowe Business
Kaitlyn’s wine label, Spades & Sparrows, sells delicious low-sugar wines that are blended in California, with options from white to red to rosé. She has found major success with it, even managing to get her wines into brick-and-mortar stores like Target. You can find her wines in a store near you using her store locator here!
Kaitlyn Bristowe is a powerful, funny, and talented woman.
We were honored to have Kaitlyn Bristowe on the show with us again. Of course, this wasn’t Kaitlyn’s only appearance on the show. We’ve actually had her on before to talk about what reality tv is actually like, plus tips on how to have a healthy break-up. You can listen to that episode here!
If you’re always on the lookout for more content from The Bachelor franchises, then we’ve got a podcast for you, babes! Gabby Windey, former contestant on the 26th season of The Bachelor & co-star of the 19th season of The Bachelorette, has an incredible podcast with Dear Media that you won’t want to miss. It’s called Long Winded with Gabby Windey. You can listen to the episode where she gives incredibly sound (& very funny) relationship advice here.
Similarly to Kaitlyn, Gabby has a wicked sense of humor that she used to win over the hearts of Bachelor Nation. So, grab a glass of Spades & Sparrows, lay back, and laugh your heart out as you listen to Gabby Windey’s hilarious musings.
Speaking of Spades & Sparrows, have you tried Kaitlyn’s wine? They’re apparently less likely to give you a hangover due to having less sugar… If you’ve tried it, tell us what you think! Did you have a hangover afterward?? We’ve gotta know!