Notoriously, most couples that come out of Bachelor Nation don't make it in the long run. (There are some exceptions to the rule, though.) Their breakups often lead fans to speculate about the runner-up that season, i.e. the one left staring off sadly into the distance with no final rose on finale night. Such is the case of late for The Bachelorette’s Becca Kufrin and the runner-up on her season, Blake Horstmann. Now, ahead of her Bachelor in Paradise arrival, Kufrin is addressing the rumors that there might be something romantic reignited with Horstmann.
In her Bachelorette season, Becca Kufrin ultimately chose Garrett Yrigoyen over Blake Horstmann. And true to franchise form, they broke up in 2020 after two years together. She's now going to Mexico to find love again on the latest season of the Bachelor in Paradise but, coincidentally, those pesky Blake Horstmann rumors started up again, thanks in large part to Blake Horstmann himself. On the Reality Life with Kate Casey podcast, he shared that he was “back in touch” with Kufrin but also implied he was waiting to see how her Bachelor in Paradise season played out before anything might possibly go further.
Becca Kufrin’s own response to the rumors were a little more definitive. When asked on the Click Bait with Bachelor Nation podcast if she would give Blake Horstmann a shot if he showed up on Bachelor in Paradise, it was a hard “no.” But she explained further:
Blake and I have always been friends. We've always been supportive of one another. In terms of the ‘talking,’ yeah, we've been in touch very sporadically, but nothing that I would say would warrant… a potential relationship.
The foundation of Bachelor in Paradise is built on old flames within the sea of franchise alums co-mingling in a truly dog-eat-dog setup. Any contestant who doesn’t receive a rose by the end of the week is sent home. The drama is the same this year, although with Chris Harrison out as host, celebs are picking up the slack, with Lance Bass last seen stepping in for David Spade. Blake Horstmann and Becca Kufrin are on different pages concerning their status, but maybe the island goings-ons will help clear things up.
According to Becca Kufrin, the Blake Horstmann rumors have complicated her life a bit as she got ready for Bachelor in Paradise. She said:
My friends and family were reaching out asking, ‘Are you and Blake together? What's going on? What's happening?' I had no idea. I looked into the articles and I listened to some of the podcast, not all of it… It was interesting for me as a listener.
Ouch. Talk about equal parts brutal and neutral. Becca Kufrin didn't bother to listen to all of what Blake Horstmann had to say about their potential romance, and what she did hear she only found “interesting.” That's not exactly what Bachelor Nation fans were probably hoping for.
To be fair, though, Becca Kufrin had her chance with Blake Horstmann on The Bachelorette. What's more, if they really had something so special back then, she wouldn't be heading to Bachelor in Paradise now.
