Shawn Booth Breaks Silence After ‘Painful’ Breakup With ‘Bachelorette’ Kaitlyn Bristowe

Shawn booth is speaking out about his breakup from Kaitlyn Bristowe two weeks after ex couple announced they had ended their engagement. Booth captioned an Instagram photo of him and the former Bachelorette star outside of Good Morning America’s Times Square studio in happier times.

In the caption, Booth thanked fans for their support during his three-year relationship with Kaitlyn Bristowe and in the weeks following his breakup from his longtime fiancée. Booth also described the breakup as “painful.”

Booth and Bristowe announced their breakup in a joint statement to People, announcing that they had “decided to go our separate ways” after evolving as people and going in “different directions.” The exes vowed to remain friends.

While it seemed to be a mutual decision, an insider told People the breakup “was the last thing Kaitlyn wanted.”

“She was willing to fight for the relationship, but there was nowhere for it to go. Kaitlyn wants to be married and have kids. But it didn’t seem like they were on the same page.”

Booth, who recently opened a gym in Nashville, hinted at trouble in paradise over the summer when he told Entertainment Tonight he “can understand why couples break up.”

“If you’re not strong enough to handle a lot of the outside noise and just the concept in general, it’s very easy to call it quits,” Booth told ET in June.

“We’ve obviously had a lot of bad times, but a lot of good times. We’ve just stayed humble through it all, put each other first and worked on our relationship. But it’s not easy.”

Shawn Booth popped the question to Kaitlyn Bristowe with a signature Neil Lane sparkler during the Season 11 finale of The Bachelorette in 2015. For three years, fans waited for a wedding, but the couple kept putting off.

Still, the “Boothstowes” seemed happy—until fans noticed Kaitlyn wasn’t wearing her engagement ring anymore. Fans also noticed that Kaitlyn and Shawn stopped posting photos together on social media.

As Booth focused on his gym opening earlier this year, Kaitlyn Bristowe addressed breakup rumors on her Off the Vine podcast, explaining that relationships aren’t always easy.

“But does that mean you call it quits?” Bristowe said.

“No. You love the sh*t out of each other and you work through it — and yourselves to be better. … 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.”