'Bachelorette's Katie Thurston and John Hersey Make Red Carpet Debut After Confirming Relationship

Bachelorette season 17 stars Katie Thurston and John Hersey aren't shy about their new relationship. After confirming they're dating following her breakup from her ex-fiancée, Blake Moynes, the two posed together on a red carpet on Thursday and showed plenty of PDA.

The couple attended Stephen Lovegrove's First Noelle Ball at Mavericks Beach Club in San Diego, California. Thurston wore an eye-catching glittery black dress and kissed Hersey in front of cameras.

During the Bachelorette's finale in August, Thurston and Moynes got engaged, but announced their split in October. About a month later, she shared a video of her and Hersey -- another one of her suitors on the show, though he was sent home in the second week -- on a helicopter ride, which was set to Taylor Swift's song, "Begin Again." 

Moynes recently appeared on the Talking It Out with Bachelor Nation podcast and accused Thurston of having an emotional affair with Hersey.

"I know they spent a lot of time together and stuff, but there's just no way. I never had an inkling," he said. "I'm just a very secure guy, a very confident guy. I give my trust out 100 percent, especially to the person I should be trusting the most."

"I really don't think there was any physical cheating there, but there's clearly emotional for it to transition as quickly as it did," he continued. "I feel stupid and foolish for allowing it to happen, I guess to some degree. I don't know if it was partially me, too. Was she in some sense emotionally cheating to some degree because I wasn't able to provide something with words of affirmation?"

Hersey later set the record straight in a lengthy Reddit post.

"Katie and I developed an incredible and deep friendship over the last half year or so. The circumstances by which this friendship formed was a series of crazy, random, and coincidental events, that I'm sure you will all hear about at a later time," he wrote. "My point for now, is that we were ALWAYS platonic. Even during my short stint on the season, we never had a chance to foster anything romantic."

"You guys -- she was engaged. It is apparent that many of you misjudge how both her and I view that commitment," he continued. "Neither Katie nor I would ever cheat, push someone to cheat, or be involved in cheating. It is not in our nature. It is not acceptable. It is not OK... There was no wrongdoing prior to the end of their engagement."

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