July 27, 2021 • bachelor insider
Brendan Scanzano Clears Up His Friendship with 'Bachelorette' Castmate Blake Moynes
Brendan Scanzano stopped by “Talking It Out” and chatted with co-hosts Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo about his experience as a contestant on “The Bachelorette” Season 17.
While we saw the handsome firefighter trainee make it far in the competition for Katie Thurston’s final rose, there was a behind-the-scenes bromance with castmate Blake Moynes that we didn’t get to see.
Brendan told Mike and Bryan how he knew his fellow Canadian from back home in Toronto before going on the show.
“Blake grew up with my brother playing minor hockey, and then they went to the same high school together,” Brendan said of the wildlife manager, who is among Katie’s final three men, alongside Greg Grippo and Justin Glaze. “At that age, with the four-year age gap, I was kind of like the little kid running around. And they were playing hockey and I was the little brother going to hockey games and watching them play.”
Brendan elaborated, “As we started getting older when you can have a couple drinks at the bar, we all became super close. Our whole friend group is a very tight-knit community. Blake and I play on the same hockey team on Thursday nights in the Toronto area. It’s just the closest guys from growing up together that are on this hockey team. I’ve been to Blake’s cottage, fishing with him and his brother Cody.”
So what did Brendan think when Blake crashed Season 17 for a shot with Katie? (Blake previously vied for the affections of Clare Crawley and Tayshia Adams on “The Bachelorette” Season 16 in 2020.)
“When Tayshia walked in and she said, ‘Your journeys are going to change,’ I literally started trying to connect dots and I look over to James [Bonsall] on the couch and I’m like, ‘Dude, it’s Blake. I’m 99.9 percent sure it’s Blake,’” said Brendan.
“I was with Blake two weeks before I flew out to New Mexico,” he added. “It’s weird that we’re on back-to-back seasons, but our whole friend group said, ‘If there’s anyone who could find love on a reality show and actually do this experience, it’s literally Brendan and Blake.’”
Listen to the latest edition of “Talking It Out with Mike & Bryan” below.
“The Bachelorette” airs Mondays on ABC at 8 p.m. ET.
