The Bachelorette lead Katie Thurston opened up about her experience with sexual assault during the most recent episode of the series.
Katie hosted a group date that focused on opening up about the past.
Former Bachelorette contestant and lead Nick Viall helped host the date and told the men he was there to hold them “accountable” for the secrets of their past.
After all the men were vulnerable and shared their truths, Katie was motivated to open up about her own experience.
Katie talks about ‘situation where there wasn’t consent’
Katie confessed that she was about to tell the men something “a lot of people actually don’t know, including my own mom.”
Katie began, “Ten years ago, it was New Year’s Eve and I had been drinking. I was involved in a situation where there wasn’t consent, and that is not something I wish upon anybody.”
Katie revealed that she wasn’t able to cope with it at the time and “was in denial about what happened, so much so that I tried to form a relationship with him, because I didn’t want to believe what actually had happened.”
She revealed that while she was trying to make the relationship work, she was put on “guilt trip[s]” for “not having enough sex.”
She admitted she even blamed herself for the situation for awhile.
“For a long time, I felt responsible for being too drunk, too irresponsible, too stupid, but it’s not my fault. Because consent is important and I did not give it that night,” she said.
As she told her story, Katie was clearly emotional as tears fell down her face.
Katie reveals how her experience ‘shaped me to exactly who I am today’
Katie prefaced her story that while she has become known as the “sex-positive” Bachelorette, she wasn’t always so confident about her sex life because of this experience.
She admitted that she felt defeated when she wasn’t able to make it work with him even after what he did for her and she had to reform her relationship with sex as a whole.
“When that didn’t work out, for years I had a very unhealthy relationship with sex. I didn’t want to have sex, which affects a relationship. I didn’t like talking about sex,” she said. “It’s taken me a long time to get where I am now, and being open and comfortable to talk about it, and loving myself, and accepting things that I can no longer control.”
Katie revealed that she has since “come a long way” and is now “confident” about her sex life.
Katie admitted that she didn’t plan on opening up about this to the men. However, she seemed grateful for the experience and felt “liberated” after she shared her truth.
The Bachelorette airs on Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.