Kaitlyn Bristowe has joined the chorus of people questioning Greg Grippo’s less-than-rosy exit from “The Bachelorette.”
The former “Bachelorette” and current co-host, 36, questioned Katie Thurston’s onetime front-runner‘s intentions Thursday, hypothesizing that “he just wanted to quit before he got fired” from the ABC reality dating series.
“I think his ego was so hurt in that moment that he was like, ‘I’m gonna just flip this s–t and get out of here,’” she said on the “Click Bait” podcast while discussing Grippo’s fight with Thurston.
Bristowe admitted she had empathized with Grippo, 28, after hearing Thurston’s “self-deprecating” take on their breakup — until she watched Monday’s explosive episode back.
At the end of the episode, Grippo dropped the L-word while opening up to Thurston, 30, about his late father, but things quickly took a complete 180 as he accused her of dismissing his feelings.
“I don’t give a f–k about the rose. I was just telling you that you filled a hole in my heart,” he told the “Bachelorette,” adding that he had reached his “breaking point.”
While Bristowe acknowledged that Thurston could have been “a little more reactive” to Grippo pouring his heart out to her during their hometown date, she feels “the way he responded back … was bulls–t.”
The marketing sales representative ultimately quit the show, with Thurston threatening to do the same.
After the episode aired, Thurston reposted a telling infographic on her Instagram Stories about the term “gaslighting.”
Bristowe revealed Thurston had genuinely considered quitting the show and leaving her final two contestants, Justin Glaze and Blake Moynes, after her argument with Grippo.
However, Bristowe was able to comfort Thurston and help guide her, as she was once in her shoes.
“In that moment, [she] was so done,” the Season 11 “Bachelorette” said. “And [she needed] to hear someone else be like, ‘I had that exact moment. I wanted to quit. I told everybody I was quitting. They didn’t show it, but I said all of those things that you were saying. … Just battle through this. This is the worst part. You’re almost done.’”
The upcoming three-hour season finale is sure to be full of action — and maybe some answers. Tayshia Adams, who co-hosts the show with Bristowe, revealed on “On Air with Ryan Seacrest” Thursday that Grippo was going to have to respond to rumors about his past as an actor.
“The Bachelorette” finale airs Monday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.