Who Has John Hersey Dated? Here Are The Deets

If you haven’t been following Katie Thurston on Instagram, her romance with John Hersey probably feels a little out of left field. They didn’t appear to have a strong connection during her season of the Bachelorette. Thurston actually sent her now-beau home by Episode 2 and later accepted a proposal from Blake Moynes (they split a few months later). But despite their rocky beginning, Thurston and Hersey managed to form and maintain a strong friendship, and it recently took a romantic turn. On Nov. 23, Thurston announced their relationship. And although we already know a lot about Thurston’s exes (at least, her most recent ones), Hersey’s past is much more private. So who has he dated? Let’s dive in.

Based on his social media presence, Hersey seems to have had a serious relationship from 2017 to 2018. Following that split, Hersey appeared to be single for a few years before his stint on The Bachelorette in March 2021. He stayed single for some time afterward, too. In July 2021, Thurston literally encouraged her followers to slide into his DMs, writing on her IG Stories, “He’s single and ready to mingle.” (Just let that sink in for a minute.)

Of course, now, he’s very much not single. At the People’s Choice Awards on Dec. 7, Thurston told Us Weekly that she and Hersey are “in the honeymoon phase.” She added, “He was my best friend before, so I think that’s what makes it, honestly, the best.”

But what did Hersey’s love life look like before Thurston entered (then exited, then re-entered the picture? Without further ado, let’s investigate Hersey’s dating history.

Julie Durett (2017-2018)

Hersey dated Julie Durett, now a physician assistant in California. They have a few pictures together on social media between 2017 and 2018. “Best boyfriend/roommate/best friend and all that stuff in betweeeeeen,” Durett captioned a photo with Hersey in March 2018.

And things were still going strong in May that year. Hersey and Durett adopted a dog together. (Per some careful social media investigation, it turns out that Durett kept the dog in the breakup.)

Katie Thurston (November 2021 - Present)

Thurston and Hersey met in March 2021, and they became close friends after her season finished filming. During Thurston’s engagement to Moynes, she and Hersey continued to be tight pals, but things took a romantic turn following her breakup.

On Dec. 2, Thurston explained their connection on TikTok, “Always loved him as my best friend. Then one day I looked at him and saw him differently. Like Cupid to the heart, I knew I was hit.”

In a letter to Reddit on Nov. 26, Hersey told a similar story, denying any accusations of Thurston cheating on Moynes. “Once Katie and I realized there was a romantic connection that we were interested in exploring, we were not starting from scratch; we were building off of the foundation of a close friendship through which, we had already gotten to know each other so well,” he wrote.

Say what you want about Hersey and Thurston, but they seem super happy together.