June 07, 2021 • bachelor insider
Spill the Tea, Sis! Katie Thurston Fell in Love 'More Than Once' During Her Season of 'The Bachelorette'
Can you blame her?! Before “The Bachelorette” returns tonight, Katie Thurston teased that she falls in love with multiple suitors throughout her experience leading the franchise.
“I fall in love more than once,” Katie told “Entertainment Tonight” anchor Nischelle Turner this weekend at ABC’s pop-up picnic in Los Angeles, promoting Season 17 and the network’s premiere of “The Celebrity Dating Game.”
Asked if she’s still in love, the stunning Washington native coyly replied, “That’s something to find out.”
Still, Katie assured Bachelor Nation that “nothing’s off limits” this season. “Love is love, and I gotta do what I gotta do,” she said.
Elsewhere in her chat with “ET,” the sex-positive star — who memorably introduced herself to Matt James with a purple vibrator in hand on “The Bachelor” Season 25 — candidly discussed her approach to navigating intimate Fantasy Suite dates.
“I have sex in the Fantasy Suites, so you heard it here first,” she stated. “We all know it happens, but no one’s talking about it!”
Katie elaborated, “I’m embracing who I am, and if a guy can’t accept me being sex-positive or talking about sex, it’s just not gonna work out. There are some people who are a little traditional and old-school, but people around my age and younger, we’re here for it. It’s 2021 —embrace your sexuality and be an empowered woman.”
In addition to being comfortable talking about sex, Katie told “ET” that she is looking for a man who is “passionate about life [and] for what he's doing in life.”
A “good sense of humor” doesn’t hurt either, she said. “And then kindness,” Katie continued. “I think that’s a really big thing that people kind of overlook."
Later, the bank marketing manager expressed her enthusiasm at the diversity of men who came out to compete for her final rose.
“Diversity was very important, but also getting to highlight their stories. I think that’s something that unfortunately a lot of people missed with the women on my season,” she said. “I’m really excited for everyone to get to know these guys, know their stories, because they have something great to share.”
While she was careful not to reveal how her journey concludes, Katie said that she’s currently “very happy.”
“Everything happens for a reason, and when you embrace that and let go of control, then you find your happiness,” she said. “I’m engaged to myself, that’s what I’ve been saying for now.”
“The Bachelorette” Season 17 premieres tonight on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.