September 16, 2019
Blake Horstmann Says He Faced a 'Tsunami' of Hate After 'Bachelor in Paradise'
Life since “Bachelor in Paradise” hasn’t exactly been the easiest for Blake Horstmann.
Blake entered Season 6 of “Paradise” with a sterling reputation, thanks to his time on “The Bachelorette.” However, that all changed as soon as he stepped on the beach in Sayulita, Mexico.
He was instantly portrayed as a villain on the season due to his relationships with Caelynn Miller-Keyes, Kristina Schulman and Hannah Godwin. His reputation wasn’t helped when he released text messages from Caelynn around the time of Stagecoach because he felt he needed to “speak my truth.” He wrote a lengthy note on Instagram that delved into his reasoning behind sharing the texts.
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Blake told Rachel Lindsay and Ali Fedotowsky-Manno on part two of his “Bachelor Happy Hour” interview that he had a “complete breakdown” and was “breathing into a paper bag” when he published the messages.
According to Blake, his biggest adjustment from “The Bachelorette” to “Bachelor in Paradise” was going from being seen as the boy next door to Stagecoach playboy. Coming off Becca Kufrin’s season, he didn’t “get a lot of hate,” which made his transition to “Paradise” even harder. Blake said he “didn’t know how to deal with it, and for it to suddenly tsunami on me like that was a lot.”
He explained to Rachel and Ali, “In that moment, I felt so alone and so betrayed not only by Caelynn but by a lot of people on the beach, too. A lot of them had acted one way to me, and then when I saw it on the show, I saw they were acting a different way on camera instead of to my face. That was really hard.”
The Colorado native said he felt “a little bit desperate” because he became so isolated and “alone.”
“At that point, there’s no reason for anyone for anyone to be on my side because my side wasn’t heard. There was no one to give me a break, and I get it,” he said.
Blake also opened up a bit about a “dark place” he went to after the show. He told Ali and Rachel, “The amount of negativity and the hate, and all of that together, it can take people into a very dark and a place I pray no one else ever has to be in, because it can get really bad.”
To hear more of Blake’s interview, listen to the new episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour” now.
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