Was Becca Kufrin Dating Blake Horstmann Before ‘Bachelor in Paradise’?

By now, it’s no secret that former star of The Bachelorette Season 14 Becca Kufrin will be joining the current season of Bachelor in Paradise to continue her journey for love. And speaking of that journey… what’s been going on with Becca’s romantic life since cameras stopped following her in 2018?

After her engagement to Garrett Yrigoyen, the winner of her season, ended in September 2020, it was rumored that the now-31-year-old and runner-up Blake Horstmann had reconnected and were talking again before Becca signed up for Paradise. In fact, in an interview on the Reality Life With Kate Casey podcast this month, Blake hinted at a possible relationship between the two, stating, “We did kind of chat here and there, and we were back in touch within the last, like, six months. It kind of came down to if she was going to do Paradise or not.”

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However, Becca is now making it clear that was not the case. On the Clickbait with Bachelor Nation podcast on August 26, current Paradise contestants Joe Amabile and Natasha Parker gave Becca a call to set the record straight and get her side of the story. “I want to know, Joe wants to know, about these rumors that are spreading with Blake. Can we put it to bed? Can we talk about it? Tell me what’s happening. Joe wants to know, I want to know. Were you guys talking before Paradise,” asked Natasha.

After joking that she wasn’t properly dressed for the occasion, Becca revealed that the two had been talking, but not in the way people think. “Blake and I have always been friends, we’ve always been very supportive of one another,” she said. Though the two have kept in touch since their time on the show, Becca maintains that their friendship was “nothing that I would say would warrant – a potential relationship.”

Natasha followed up by asking if she had listened to Blake’s appearance on the Reality Life With Kate Casey podcast. “I listened in bits and pieces,” she replied. “My phone was blowing up that morning. I had, like, my friends and family were reaching out, and they were like, ‘Are you and Blake together? What’s going on? What’s happening?’ And, I had no idea, so of course, I looked into the articles, and I listened to some of the podcast.”

 

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Joe asked her to clarify if the two had kept in touch in a non-romantic way before Becca’s appearance on Paradise, to which she agreed, saying, “Blake and I have always been on great terms. We’ve been friends for a while. That’s — it’s no shock because, like, I’ve done his podcast, he came on my tour when I was touring for a few shows, like, yeah. So, nothing romantic…”

To wrap things up, Natasha asked Becca if she would have pursued a relationship with Blake if he appeared on Paradise. Becca shot that idea down, and clarified some rumors about what was supposedly “preventing” them from beginning a relationship.

“I think, like, the only part that was interesting to me from everything that I read was that, basically, it made it seem like we’re not together for, like, because of production or whatever,” she said. “And at the end of the day, we’re two grown adults that make our own decisions, and if we’re not together, it’s on our – it’s because we chose not to be together. Right? It can’t be put on anyone else. Yeah, and so that was the only part that I was like, ‘What the hell?’”

Joe finished the interview on a funny note, joking that Becca slid into Blake’s DMs prior to Paradise. She laughed, replying, “He wasn’t even DMing! Him and I have each other’s numbers!”

“So Blake, we send you love, but not that kind of love,” Natasha joked.