The Bachelorette always finds ways to surprise fans and Season 17 is no exception.
After thinking that all of the men on Katie’s season had been introduced, the telling Season 17 preview confirmed that The Bachelorette alum, Blake Moynes, will be joining this season and potentially vying for Katie’s love.
It’s not uncommon for former contestants of The Bachelor franchise to reappear in new seasons in various capacities. Just last season, Heather Martin tried to insert herself into Matt James season, although her attempt was unsuccessful.
What makes Blake’s presence on Katie’s season even more unique is Blake’s connection to current host Tayshia Adams. He joined the franchise on Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams’ season and memorably struggled to adjust to the transition from Clare to Tayshia as the lead.
After walking away from Tayshia, Blake appears to now be ready for a second (or technically third) chance at finding love with a new woman.
In the Season 17 preview, Blake can be seen standing outside of Katie’s window with a radio, referencing the iconic scene from the film “Say Anything.”
Katie spoke with Blake before filming
Fans are left curious as to how Blake will arrive and why he’s decided to return to the series. Bachelor Nation is eager to see how Blake will interact not only with Katie but with Tayshia as well.
Katie recently offered up some details about her connection to Blake and how she felt about him being a part of her journey to find love.
According to an interview with US Weekly, Katie shared that she chatted with Blake in the past when he reached out to her after she was eliminated from Matt James’ season.
Katie admitted that the conversation wasn’t particularly romantic in nature and apparently it’s common for contestants from previous seasons to reach out to recently eliminated contestants.
Katie explained, “We had chatted before, but usually what happens is like the guys will reach out to the women once they’re eliminated and be like, ‘Good luck, you did great.’ Like very generic, you know? And so to see him, I was like, ‘Why is he here?’ Like, ‘What’s happening?’”
Kate was unsure of how she felt about Blake being Tayshia’s ex-boyfriend
Katie also acknowledged the awkwardness of Blake being Tayshia’s former boyfriend.
She said, “I definitely knew who he was, which was also Tayshia’s boyfriend! So that’s weird.”
Not wanting to reveal too much, Katie alluded to Blake’s reasoning for showing up possibly having nothing to do with being a contestant on her season.
From her comments, Katie appeared hesitant about the idea of getting too involved with her friend/mentor/host Tayshia’s ex-boyfriend, regardless of his seemingly romantic gesture.
Meanwhile, Blake had stated that he often wondered how his love story might have turned out had Tayshia been the Season 16 bachelorette from the jump or if Clare had given him more time to win her over before falling madly in love with Dale, the man Clare is still currently in a relationship with.
It remains to be seen if Blake will leave Katie’s season with a brand new love or simply with more “what ifs.”
The Bachelorette airs Mondays at 8/7c on ABC.