Dean Called Blake "Disgraceful" For Leaking Texts & Slut-Shaming Caelynn
Yet another member of the Bachelor franchise has weighed in on this new Bachelor in Paradise drama. Dean Unglert’s quote about Blake Horstmann and Caelynn Miller-Keyes reveals that he’s not on board with Horstmann sharing private text messages between himself and Miller-Keyes. On the Aug. 7 episode of the Almost Famous podcast with Ben Higgins, Unglert had some choice words for his BiP costar.
"I got a big issue with the text messages," Unglert said on the podcast. "Publishing and publicizing private text messages without consent from the other person as a public figure is one of the most disgraceful things you can do. I think it's almost equivalent to sharing someone's nudes."
Unglert was referring to screenshots of text messages that Horstmann shared on Instagram on Tuesday, Aug. 6. After the first two episodes of Bachelor in Paradise focused on Horstmann's past relationships with Miller-Keyes and Kristina Schulman — and how he hooked up with both of them on two consecutive nights at Stagecoach in April — Horstmann took to social media to defend his actions.
"I take full responsibility for my actions at Stagecoach and will forever regret the decision I made that weekend," Horstmann wrote in a post. "I never expected to have to do something like this, but after finally seeing the episodes I feel like I have no other choice but to release the text messages between [Miller-Keyes] and myself."
He proceeded to share a series of texts between himself and Miller-Keyes in which she said, "If I come over it's strictly for sex." Horstmann said that what was being portrayed on the show was "far from the truth" and that he was "under the impression it was 'just sex' to her."
Horstmann's decision to share the texts publicly was met with mixed reactions from fellow members of the Bachelor franchise. Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe commented, "Thank you for being vulnerable and honest," while Schulman weighed in by commenting, "Speak your truth, no one can take that away from you." Miller-Keyes posted on her own feed on Wednesday, Aug. 7, saying she was "absolutely mortified our private texts were put out there for the world to see and judge by someone who I trusted and consider a friend nonetheless."
Unglert, for one, did not mince words when he shared what he thought of Horstmann's actions. "The sharing of messages, specifically from a girl who you were romantically involved with when she was drunk and horny, and you go ahead and blast those text messages on your social is a very obvious form of slut shaming in a sense, and that's really what's frustrating," Unglert explained on the podcast.
Unglert and Miller-Keyes are reportedly now dating, a source told E! News in July. It's unclear whether this romance will play out on BiP this season, but since filming ended in late June, the two have been traveling together in Europe. Unglert isn't the only Bachelor costar to defend Miller-Keyes in the midst of all this drama. Former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky Manno commented on Miller-Keyes' Instagram, "Sending you love and strength. No one deserves to go through what both of you are going through online right now." Former BiP star Ashley Iaconetti left a string of heart emojis to show her love.
It's unclear how the drama will play out as the season unfolds, but it's certainly far from over. It seems like only a matter of time until more Bachelor stars share their opinions on this Horstmann and Miller-Keyes mess — and until then, fans can hardly wait to see what happens on the beach.