A fan-favorite winner from “The Bachelorette” admitted some of his recent social media posts had unintentional consequences. One of Ryan Sutter’s Instagram posts raised fan eyebrows when he paid tribute to his wife, Trista Sutter.
In a new podcast appearance, Ryan opened up about how the post landed in a way he hadn’t anticipated. “It just blew up in my face and backfired,” he admitted.
Here’s what you need to know:
Ryan Sutter Posted About Being Apart from Trista
Ryan joined former “Bachelor” host Chris Harrison for the June 17 episode of “The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.” One of first things “The Bachelorette” winner said was, “The second you think no one’s paying attention to you in life, something like that happens,” referring to the social media drama he had sparked.
The drama started with a May 17 Instagram post of Ryan’s. “I really wish I could talk to you,” he wrote at the start of his caption.
“The Bachelorette” star also noted, “I want to be there for you. But I can’t. And that’s ok cause I know you need this time – time to discover yourself again.”
In talking with Harrison on the podcast, Ryan explained, “I meant this to be a love letter to my wife, not the most dramatic thing ever.”
What Ryan couldn’t explain at the time of his initial Instagram post was that Trista was rumored to be away for a few weeks to film another reality television show. According to TMZ on June 11, Trista filmed season 3 of Fox’s “Special Forces.”
Ryan’s heartfelt post received a mixed response from fans.
“Most dramatic husband ever,” one follower commented.
“We should all be lucky enough to find love like this. You two are goals,” countered someone else.
“Oh Ryan, come on. She’s out of town working, she’s not dead! I like a sensitive guy as much as the next gal, but this is a bit much,” added another critic.
During his time on Harrison’s podcast, Ryan noted, “First of all, if there was something really, really bad happening in my life, I wouldn’t be telling anyone.”
“The intent is not to be like, hey, I’m going to throw this out here and make people wonder if my wife’s alive,” he shared of his decision to post what he did.
Rather, “The Bachelorette” star meant to share a bit of the loneliness and tough feelings he was navigating with Trista’s absence.
‘The Bachelorette’ Fans Are Divided Over Ryan’s Response
Harrison pointed out, “Of all the people that troll social media for clicks, Ryan is not that guy.”
Ryan pointed out it had been a difficult, long year for the family before Trista’s departure. The family moved from Vail Valley, Colorado, to Denver, and they lost their beloved dog, Sophie.
Of his cryptic post that had some “Bachelorette” fans worried, Ryan explained, “Honestly, the intent was Trista wasn’t going to be able to have access to social media until she got finished with this experience she was on.”
He continued, “So I was going to post these things, knowing like the second she had access to it, she would look at it and she could see, like, here’s what happened while you were gone.”
Ryan added he expected the posts to show Trista, “Here’s how much we missed you. Here’s how much, you know, how important you are to us, all this sort of stuff.”
“The Bachelorette” star shared that in reality, the couple is “not just good. We’re great.”
Fans took to “The Bachelor” subreddit page to share their thoughts. As was the case with Ryan’s earlier social media post, fans seemed somewhat divided in their responses.
“The ‘miss you so much’ messaging is disingenuous and insulting to those who read it and were truly concerned,” commented one Redditor.
“Part of me is like ‘shhhhhhh…..’ and part of me thinks making his mental health public is really great, especially as a male. His vagueness is a bit much for me but at least he’s trying,” commented a different Redditor.
“Why is Ryan like your messiest friend in the group chat,” joked someone else.
“They are in a transition period. He’s allowed to say ‘it’s been a long year’ without people jumping down his throat,” a supporter countered.
Stacy Carey has been a freelance writer focusing on reality television and celebrity news for more than a decade. She is a Heavy contributor for The Bachelor, Hallmark and Dancing With the Stars. More about Stacy Carey
