Choosing an engagement ring on “The Bachelorette” usually involves a nervous man, a visit from Neil Lane, and lots of glittering diamonds.
But for Blake Moynes, who proposed to Katie Thurston during this season’s finale, the experience also involved his ex.
Moynes selected Thurston’s ring with the help of Tayshia Adams, whose love he fought for during the previous season of “The Bachelorette.”
Adams — who took over hosting duties for the franchise with fellow “Bachelorette” alum Kaitlyn Bristowe after Chris Harrison stepped down — kept Moynes in her top five before cutting him just before the Hometown Dates.
But Moynes told Insider that choosing an engagement ring with his former flame didn’t feel as strange as you might expect.
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“Honestly, by that point it wasn’t weird at all,” he said. “We had a good relationship going into that season, obviously she vouched for me to Katie.”
Adams introduced Thurston to Moynes, who entered her season a few weeks late and asked the “Bachelorette” star to give him a chance.
Moynes told Insider that he became good friends with Adams after her season and also has a “great relationship” with Zac Clark, who proposed to Adams after receiving her final rose.
And Moynes credits Adams with being his “support system” as he struggled to decide whether he was going to propose to Thurston. At one point while he was looking at rings, Moynes said he needed to take a moment because he was so overwhelmed.
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“You could tell I was really in my head and really freaking out about everything because of the weight of that day,” he said. “Tayshia really helped me get through that and, as a friend, just guided me.”
Moynes said Adams also helped him reach the decision to get down on one knee.
“Katie expressed the importance of getting engaged and how serious she was taking this in the beginning, and that she wasn’t necessarily there to just walk away with a boyfriend,” he continued. “Tayshia put the pressure on me to really think about what we’re doing here. She was hard on me and made me really think about things.”
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“After that discussion, I went back to the room and really thought things through and decided the best thing to do was pull the trigger on this,” Moynes added. “There’s a reason why I came here, and that was getting engaged to the person I thought was going to be my forever person.”
Maybe going ring shopping with your ex isn’t such a bad idea after all.