The bank marketing manager recalls her 'very hard' journey to find love.
Katie Thurston wasn't sure she wanted to continue as the Bachelorette. The 30-year-old franchise lead recently told ET's Nischelle Turner about the moment in the Bachelorette season trailer that sent fans abuzz.
In the sneak peek, which aired at the end of Monday night's premiere episode, Katie wonders, "I came here to fall in love. Do I continue here or do I just leave now?" before walking away from the cameras while saying, "I am done. I am done. I am done. Someone book my f**king flight home."
While Katie didn't speak about what led to that moment in particular, the preview did show her sobbing over having her time with one guy being "cut too short" and chasing after another one of her suitors.
"The journey's very hard... [You] see me wanting to go home. There's a moment where I am ready to call it quits," Katie told ET. "This is not easy."
Through it all, Katie said, the two people who helped her most were Tayshia Adams and Kaitlyn Bristowe, the former Bachelorettes who hosted her season of the show after Chris Harrison decided to step away from the franchise.
"They helped me from start to finish," Katie gushed of the women. "… They'd gone through it. [Their advice] really means something to me... If it wasn't for Tayshia and Kaitlyn and some other people that you guys will find out about, I don't know that I could've done it."
Fans got to see that help firsthand when Tayshia and Kaitlyn surprised Katie on her first night as Bachelorette, before conspiratorially watching the limo arrivals from nearby.
"Oh, that's just the beginning," Katie promised. "It's about to be so fun to watch. It's just that girl power and that bond."
Katie expressed equal excitement about her group of "hot" suitors, from which she searched for someone who's passionate and kind with a good sense of humor.
"I'm really excited for everyone to get to know these guys, know their stories, because they have something great to share," she said.
Katie, who revealed that she had sex during the Fantasy Suite dates, was taken with more than one of her men, telling ET, "I fall in love more than once."
As for who she falls for, that remains unclear. She pointed to Mike, a 31-year-old gym owner who's also a virgin, as someone who "surprised" her, and with whom she had an "intense" relationship.
Then there's Blake Moynes, a Bachelorette alum who appeared on both Tayshia and Clare Crawley's seasons, and had his late arrival to the season teased in the preview.
"[I was] definitely surprised," Katie said of Blake's arrival. "But also that's Tayshia's ex, so navigating that was a little awkward… The way Tayshia handled Blake is something that's very involved, so you'll just have to see kind of how that pans out… She got to talk to Blake first."
Also of note is Greg, the 27-year-old marketing sales rep who nabbed Katie's first impression rose.
"Greg was just so authentically himself," she said. "He was like, 'I'm nervous. I'm scared. I don't know what I'm doing.' That's what I loved about him. He wasn't trying to be too cool."
Other early favorites included Tre, who arrived in the back of a truck with a ball pit and who Katie praised for how he "lights up a room." Additionally, Connor B., whose name was the first one Katie remembered after he showed up dressed as a cat; and Justin, who Katie deemed "sexy and mysterious" after his sexual innuendo-filled arrival.
Even with all of her praise for the eligible bachelors, Katie wouldn't confirm her current relationship status.
"Everything happens for a reason, and when you embrace that and let go of control then you find your happiness," she said. "I'm engaged to myself, that's what I've been saying for now. I’m very happy."
The Bachelorette airs Mondays on ABC.
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