As The Bachelorette Season 17 marches on, the men in the house are starting to become more and more certain of their feelings towards Katie and more willing to pursue her aggressively.
Hunter Montgomery stood out in particular on the latest episode due to his hard-hitting tackling during the group date and his hogging of Katie’s time before the rose ceremony, despite already receiving a rose himself.
With former contestants Karl Smith and Thomas Jacobs eliminated, it’s looking like Hunter may be taking up the mantle as the resident villain in the house, considering his antics are not sitting well with several of the men.
So who exactly is Hunter Montgomery?
Hunter is a proud father
Despite having a mysterious aura about him, Hunter has been pretty vulnerable about the core elements that make up his identity.
Hunter works as a software strategist and resides in Houston, Texas. He’s also a single father, and his kids mean the world to him.
During his recent alone time with Katie, Hunter told her that he never brings the women he’s dating around his children but trusted Katie enough to “bring his kids” to her by showing her photos of them throughout the years.
Hunter expressed that being a father brings out a whole new joyous side of him and Katie immediately noted how happy he looked in the photos with his children.
Hunter is 14 years sober
Hunter often shares vulnerably about being a recovering addict with his followers on social media. He posts the badges he receives from his recovery groups and encourages people to believe that they too can overcome their addictions no matter how down and out they may feel.
During Katie’s vulnerable group date, where the men and Katie opened up about the darker parts of their past, Hunter explained that his addictions and obsession with work played a large part in the downfall of his previous marriage.
After his marriage ended, Hunter realized he needed to get help in order to be a better father to his children and also so that he wouldn’t squander a second chance at love.
Hunter credits his support system, programs, and a higher power to how he was able to overcome his drug addiction to opiates and he’s proud to have recently celebrated 14 years of sobriety.
Also, after fans took note of Hunter’s pattern of sniffling on the show, Hunter explained that he has had minor Tourettes all his life, which causes him to snort and sniffle often.
Hunter is an advocate for health and wellness and promotes the importance of being both mentally and physically fit through his inspirational posts. From the looks of it, Hunter may be in for a lot of attacks and negativity from the men in the house going forward, so hopefully, his commitment to positivity will get him through.
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.