Few couples in the history of Bachelor Nation have inspired more skepticism among fans than Katie Thurston and Blake Moynes.
For better or worse, viewers have very strong opinions about Katie, and many, many commenters in Bachelorette forums across the internet have expressed doubts about the possibility of marriage for these lovebirds, who are from both different coasts and different countries.
Yes, there’s a lot more separating these two then just a border — about 2,500 miles, in fact.
Add to that theory that Katie settled for Blake after Greg Grippo quit the show, and you can see why so many folks are feeling as pessimistic as Katie’s Aunt Lindsey.
Perhaps it’s not surprising that this set of circumstances has led to rumors that Katie and Blake have broken up.
While that doesn’t appear to be the case, their situation is certainly complicated.
The good news is, Blake and Katie are still engaged.
The somewhat less good news is that it might be quite a while before these two start making solid wedding plans.
For a while these two remained quiet about if and when they might take the plunge, but they addressed their future this week on Katie’s Instagram Story.
"I don’t think people fully understand what it’s like to date someone from another country and the rules behind that and the visas behind that," Thurston said in the clip, according to Us Weekly.
"I think right now, Blake can only be here for 60 days before having to go back to Canada, so we really do have a lot we have to look into — and we just haven’t yet — before we can plan really anything else."
From there, Katie turned the tables and asked her fans a question:
"But I am curious, if you are dating somebody from another country — whether Canadian to U.S., U.S. to Canadian — I would love to know your experiences with that, in terms of all that fun legal stuff that we are holding off on," she said.
Two people from different countries only have a limited time to get to know each other before they have to get married or breakup?
Someone should make a reality show with that premise!
Despite the difficulties, Katie and Blake say they’re just happy they don’t have to hide their relationship anymore:
"We started our relationship in a bubble only to continue our engagement in a bubble. For months we couldn’t be seen together," Thurston said.
"Our secret trips never felt long enough. We couldn’t wait to experience life together. Real life. The simple things that many of us forget to appreciate."
Katie says that even though it might be a while before they tie the knot, she feels it’s crucial that she and Blake are engaged and not just dating.
“In the moment — because there was a moment where I didn’t think he was proposing — I was just happy to leave with him. I knew that was going to happen no matter what, [but] it’s hard to say the impact of that in the real world [if he didn’t propose],” Thurston recently told Us Weekly.
“You go through so much and you want to take this very seriously and a proposal and engagement is very serious. I didn’t come here to find a boyfriend. I can do that on a dating app.”
But as a reminder that the wedding is a long way off, Katie also shared a recent text conversation she had with her sister:
“How soon do you guys plan on getting married?” sis asked.
“Not soon at all. He’s Canadian. … So we have a lot to work through first," Katie replied.
In other words, don’t go holding your breath, Bachelor Nation.