Kaitlyn Bristowe explained why she felt “betrayal” in her relationship with ex-fiancé Jason Tartick — and how their podcasts were involved.
When the duo started dating in 2019, Bristowe was looking for “somebody that doesn’t want to be an influencer,” she said while appearing on the “Almost Adulting” podcast earlier this month.
“When I met Jason, it was very much like, ‘Oh, no, I’m not going to be an influencer, I work at a bank,’” she recalled. “I was like, ‘OK, this is going to work out perfectly. He’s a great guy, he doesn’t want to be an influencer, he’s going to make hay while the sun shines because he was on The Bachelor and he can bring in some cash, but really, he’s so established in his bank job that we’re going to have our separate lives.’”
But when Tartick got fired from his bank job, he started exploring other avenues. (After Bristowe discussed getting “an orgasm from dry-humping” Tartick on her podcast, Tartick was given an “ultimatum” from his previous employer, he told Us Weekly exclusively in March 2022.)
As Tartick discussed the next phase of his career, Bristowe begged him not to start a podcast. Initially he obliged her and took a “face-first dive into influencer life,” she recalled.
“As time went on, he realized that podcasting is another avenue for income and that he could do a finance podcast,” she recalled. “Slowly but surely, it was like, ‘He’s definitely going to do a podcast.’”
Bristowe didn’t want to ask Tartick to choose “me or a podcast” but she felt “he could be making all this other money in other avenues.” Per The Bachelorette alum, Tartick accused her of “emotionally and financially stunting my growth.”
“I had a full panic attack because I felt like I wasn’t chosen and that my feelings were not worth over money for him,” she recalled, noting that “it did create this resentment and betrayal feeling” in their relationship.
“It kind of happened a little bit behind my back where it was like, ‘By the way, I am starting a podcast.’ And I was like, ‘What?’” Bristowe claimed. The “Off the Vine” podcast host also explained why she didn’t want Tartick to start his own show.
“I felt like I finally found what I was meant to do on this planet and share my voice and make people laugh and have deep conversations and not so deep conversations. I always wanted my own radio show,” Bristowe said, adding that she wanted to date someone with “a regular job” who “can kind of shine in their world, and I can shine in mine.”
Bristowe and Tartick got engaged in 2021, two years after they started dating. Bachelor Nation was shocked in August 2023 when the former couple announced their split after four years together. Initially, it seemed like the breakup was mutual, but both Bristowe and Tartick have offered insight into their split.
During a January episode of her “Off the Vine” podcast, Bristowe hinted at Tartick having a “victim mentality” following their breakup.
“I don’t want to dismiss that he’s hurting. I don’t want to dismiss that his feelings are valid and his feelings are hurting,” she said. “I have talked to him so openly and honestly. We have been so transparent with each other to have respect for one another.”
Bristowe has continued to hint at her feelings in various social media posts, especially after Tartick went public with new girlfriend Kat Stickler earlier this month.
