‘Bachelorette’ Star Kaitlyn Bristowe Addresses Shawn Booth Split Rumors

Kaitlyn Bristowe is setting the record straight on her relationship with Shawn Booth. The former Bachelorette star, who became engaged to Booth three years ago on the finale of her season of the ABC dating show, is addressing rumors that there’s trouble in paradise.

Rumors of the couple’s split began surfacing last week when fans on social media noticed that Kaitlyn hasn’t been wearing her engagement ring. In addition, Kaitlyn is currently on a month-long trip to Canada—without Shawn. And then there are those cryptic social media posts Kaitlyn has been posting. Bristowe has posted about “toxic people” and she even revealed that she recently began struggling with anxiety, which has led some fans to think she has split from Shawn Booth.

But on her Off the Vine podcast, Kaitlyn addressed the rumors directly, explaining to fans why she and Shawn are currently spending time apart.

“So here’s the truth. I’m in Canada because every single year I have made a promise to myself and my family that I will come up every August and enjoy downtime with the people that I love in a country that I love. Family is so important to me. …Shawn did not come up with me because the guy just bought a gym. He bought a business. He has started something huge. He is the most dedicated person I’ve ever met. He’s gonna have to be there for months … We are both so busy and unfortunately, that means we’re spending all of this time apart.”

She’s answering your questions! #TheBachelorette’s Kaitlyn Bristowe will soon address reports that she and Shawn Booth have broken up https://t.co/nmyNGIWjRW

— Us Weekly (@usweekly) August 16, 2018

Bristowe admitted that when couples are heavily involved in their careers it can be taxing on a relationship.

“You are both always away, you’re exhausted at the end of the day, sometimes the relationship isn’t being put first, but does that mean you call it quits? No. You love the sh*t out of each other and you work through it — and yourselves to be better. And you know that times aren’t always going to be smooth sailing. … You just have to get through those hurdles and enjoy the good times. Shawn and I are 110 percent committed to each other and, yes, we are still together.”

Kaitlyn Bristowe also revealed that she wasn’t shocked by the speculation that she and Shawn had split up, acknowledging that because she was on a reality show that showed her getting engaged to somebody, people are invested in her love story. Bristowe also noted that she hasn’t been wearing the Neil Lane engagement ring that Shawn gave her, but said she didn’t realize she hasn’t been liking her fiancé’s Instagram posts until fans pointed it out to her.

Ever since their whirlwind courtship and engagement on The Bachelorette Season 11 in 2015, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Shawn Booth have been open about the fact that they were in no rush to get married.

In fact, it’s been so long since Shawn got down on one knee that Kaitlyn recently joked to Us Weekly that she feels like the two are ” going backwards.”

“We’ve talked about him re-proposing, because sometimes I don’t even want to wear a ring anymore ’cause I want him to have it just so he can surprise me,” Kaitlyn explained. “So yeah, I’ve thought about giving the ring back to Shawn so that he could use it to propose when the time comes, and we can start wedding planning when we feel that it’s that time.”

The Bachelorette airs on ABC.