Heartbroken and healing.

Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe and fellow Bachelor Nation star Jason Tartick got engaged in May 2021.

The two were together for over four years but announced last week that they are ending their engagement and going their separate ways.

Now, Kaitlyn sat down on her “Off the Vine” podcast with therapist Jenny Wise Black about how she’s been navigating the split these past few weeks.

The former Bachelorette got candid about how going through such a public breakup is impacting her mental health.

Kaitlyn said, “I’m going through a breakup with someone I was engaged to. We both are public figures and we came from the same show, so we have all these followers who we’ve let in and we’ve invited them into our lives, our relationship, and our home. What we’re doing morning, afternoon, and night has become a part of business. Also, I feel like I’m supposed to entertain. I love using my phone to entertain.”

She continued on, saying, “Now I’ve gotten to this point where going through a breakup is a loss, it’s grief, and I’m going through the thought of losing somebody. There are all of these big emotions, and now there are all these people on the other end of my phone expecting me to share it with them while I’m going through it. They think I’m hiding something from them and ask why I wouldn’t be honest or say they thought I was an open book.”

Kaitlyn shared that she has two very clear sides of herself when it comes to handling the public split.

She said, “I’m holding so much responsibility because I see them as this community that I’ve built for myself, and it is affecting my mental health so much. I have the logical side of my brain that knows that these people have their own things going on and their own trauma, so they are looking to me for an escape and that this isn’t reality.”

Kaitlyn went on, adding, “I have to give myself time first before I give strangers on the Internet time no matter how much you think they are your community/family. Then there’s another side of me that thinks they hate me and that I’m going to lose all the support. I think people are judging me and that they think it’s all just my fault. My brain knows the logical side and the emotional side and I’m finding myself constantly in the middle of that.”

We’re continuing to wish both Kaitlyn and Jason the best as they navigate this next chapter.

Check out more of Kaitlyn’s conversation below.