Bachelor in Paradise star Blake Hortsmann reveals that he has no regrets about his time on the spinoff despite the backlash he received for sharing Caelynn Miller-Keyes’ text messages.
Blake posted the texts on social media as fans called him out for simultaneously pursuing Caelynn and Kristina Schulman ahead of Bachelor in Paradise Season 6 at Stagecoach and during the show.
Blake uploaded the texts to shut down the claims that he ghosted Caelynn and called her a “mistake.”
Viewers had mixed reactions as some felt the text exonerated Blake while others thought it was a low blow to upload their private messages without her consent.
During an episode of Us Weekly’s podcast Here for the Right Reasons, Blake expressed that he doesn’t regret defending himself and never plans to apologize for it.
“I don’t regret it. I’ll never really apologize for that,” Blake said on the podcast. “I’m never gonna regret [or] apologize for defending myself.”
Does Blake regret his time on Bachelor in Paradise?
Blake admitted that there was a time that he regretted his stint on Bachelor in Paradise that sullied his image in Bachelor Nation.
He explained that he used the opportunity and his platform to promote mental health awareness as it was a very dark time for him and he struggled with his own mental health issues.
“Oh gosh, for a long time, I did. But now, not really. I’ve become very passionate about mental health; we’re able to help a lot of people. I’ve kind of embraced that role in Bachelor Nation, which has been pretty fun and pretty cool,” he said on the podcast.
Blake expressed that the people who he “hurt” have moved on and that his experiences with them even paved the way for their happiness.
“And at the end of the day, like, all those people that were, like, ‘hurt’ by me, they’re freaking all happy and engaged or in relationships,” Blake continued. “So, it’s like, had I not gone down there, would it have happened the way it did? I don’t know. So no, I don’t necessarily regret it.”
Will Blake ever appear on Bachelor in Paradise again?
Despite his traumatizing experience on the summer spinoff series, Blake admitted that he isn’t opposed to appearing on it again to try for another chance at love.
However, he doesn’t seem interested in appearing in the upcoming season, and it’s not because of his past experience on the show.
He reportedly doesn’t think the women on Matt James’s season are very “likable.”
While none of the women in the cast have been announced, it’s likely that a few of them will be from Matt’s season since it was the most recent season of The Bachelor.
But don’t count Blake out of the franchise just yet!
Bachelor in Paradise is currently on hiatus at ABC.