The Colorado native has broken his social media silence.
Blake Horstmann is coming to terms with some of his mistakes -- but doesn't consider attending Stagecoach one of them.
The Bachelor in Paradise star returned to Instagram on Monday to share his first post since leaking his private text messages with Caelynn Miller-Keyes on Aug. 6. Blake, who came under fire for his Stagecoach sexcapades in Bachelor in Paradise's season six premiere, earned more fan backlash for sharing his intimate messages with Caelynn. He said he was trying to clear his name from her allegations that she thought they were in a relationship during Stagecoach, and that he asked her to keep their hookup a secret. Since the post on Aug. 6, he's stayed off social media.
On screen, Blake followed up his drama with Caelynn by pursuing Hannah Godwin, Caitlin Clemmens and Kristina Schulman, though his breakup with Kristina finally sent him home on Monday's episode. In his reflective Instagram post that night, Blake seemed to own up to some of his behavior.
"To say paradise was rough for me is an understatement. I have no one to blame but myself for that," Blake began. "It’s not easy putting yourself and all of your mistakes out there for the world to see. No matter the differences all of us had on that beach, I will always have respect for each and every one of you, being brave enough to be yourselves and chase the love we all feel we deserve."
"Never forget that we are all human and not characters on television. I want to thank those of you that have sent me kind words and encouraging messages. Those have helped more than you will ever know. I hope that this is not the end of my story and I can look back at this summer and be grateful for the lessons learned and the friends made #bekind #imstillnotgonnastopdancing #imstillgoingtostagecoach," he wrote.
Bachelor alums Katie Morton, Jason Tartick, Haley Ferguson, Chris Bukowski, Adam Gottschalk, Dean Unglert, Colton Underwood and more expressed their support for Blake in the comments.
Dean's message especially caught fans' attention, considering the reality star accused Blake of "slut shaming" Caelynn with his text leak.
"He took private text messages between him and another girl who did not consent to him releasing these text messages and blasted them publicly for his 600,000 followers," Dean, who left Paradise with Caelynn on Monday's episode, said on Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti's Almost Famous podcast last month. "Then it got picked up by news outlets, which then gets blasted out to millions more."
"Publishing and publicizing private text messages without the consent of the other person, as a public figure, is one of the most disgraceful things I think he could possibly do," Dean added. "You never enter into a text conversation with anyone ever expecting them to screenshot and advertise them."
In a recent interview with ET, Paradise bartender Wells Adams called Blake releasing his and Caelynn's texts the worst mistake he made.
"He was, like, an episode away from it being over. It's not his story anymore," Adams explained. "People on the show are forgiving him and stuff... he was right there. He was on the precipice of not being a focal point anymore. And then he did that, and it's, like, right back in the spotlight of a guy who just makes bad decisions when it comes to the show and with women."
Host Chris Harrison, meanwhile, offered this advice to Blake while speaking with ET on Aug. 5. "No more music festivals this year, buddy," he said with a wink.
It seems Blake's choosing to ignore it.
Bachelor in Paradise continues Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Join ET's Bachelor Nation Facebook group here.
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