The Bachelor alum Cassie Randolph and boyfriend Brighton Reinhardt have made their relationship public by going Instagram official.
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"Insert cheesy caption here*," the 24-year-old singer and songwriter captioned the post.
In the pictures, Cassie was sporting a light blue bikini underneath a flowy top with a beige hat, and Brighton was shirtless with a backwards black hat and some jewelry.
The couple photographed themselves smiling and laughing at each other and embracing in the sand, and Cassie looked completely happy.
On Cassie's Instagram account, she posted two pictures of herself from that beach day, but she noticeably didn't upload any shots with her boyfriend.
"In the office," Cassie wrote alongside her two selfies.
According to a source, Cassie and Brighton's relationship "progressed naturally" after she and Season 23 The Bachelor star Colton Underwood announced their split in May 2020, Us Weekly reported.
"He's been a good friend of hers for over five years," the source shared. "He obviously knows what she went through with Colton and just supported her along the way."
Brighton joined Cassie on a vacation to Cozumel, Mexico in late April shortly after Colton announced he's gay on Good Morning America on April 14.
"He gets along very well with her family," the source previously told Us. "Right now, they're still enjoying spending time with one another and just seeing where things go."
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Brighton appeared to take a jab at Colton in his song "Creep" that was released in January.
The song's lyrics include, "You can't stop thinking about my baby / What once was yours in the world is changing / God, I hope you get your thinking right / GPS on the underside / Told her everything will be just fine / Damn, I can't believe these guys."
Brighton was seemingly referring to how Cassie had accused Colton of stalking and harassing her, which resulted in Cassie filing a restraining order against the former NFL player in September 2020 followed by a police report in October.
Colton later told multiple press outlets Cassie ultimately dropped the restraining order after they were able to reach an agreement in private that addressed Cassie's concerns.
Rumors swirled Cassie and Brighton were already dating last summer when fans noticed they were spending time with her family in Huntington Beach, CA, according to Us.
Not only was it clear Cassie and Brighton had mutual friends, but the pair also noticeably "liked" each other's Instagram content every now and then, dating back to 2019.
Brighton, however, shut down speculation and told the magazine in August 2020 that he and Colton's ex were not dating.
"Cassie and I are just friends and have been for over four or so years," the singer said at the time. "My brothers and I are all close with Cassie and her whole family."
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Cassie didn't know Colton was gay during their entire year-and-a-half long relationship and only learned his sexual orientation when The Bachelor star came out publicly, according to People.
Colton also reportedly didn't warn Cassie ahead of time that he'd be publicly coming out as gay.
Cassie refused to comment publicly about Colton after he came out, other than thanking fans for their sweet messages and support. She apparently chose to focus on her family and moving into a new home rather than on the past.
Colton and Cassie dated for 18 months after meeting on The Bachelor's 23rd season, which filmed in late 2018, and Colton discussed wanting to propose marriage to her for months.
Cassie, however, repeatedly said she wasn't ready to settle down.
Although their May 2020 breakup was initially amicable and Colton and Cassie intended on staying friends, Colton appeared to pick a fight with Cassie over an interview she conducted on ABC and then Cassie accused Colton of trying to "monetize" their breakup.
Cassie subsequently filed the restraining order because she was reportedly "fearful for her safety."
Cassie had accused Colton of putting a tracking device on her car post-breakup, standing outside of her residence late into the night and sending numerous unwanted text messages.
"It was a very traumatic time for Cassie," the People source said in April, adding that public interest in Colton's disclosure he's gay had been a little bit of a struggle for Cassie.
"It's tough to be in the headlines and revisit painful memories."
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An insider close to Cassie had told the UK's Daily Mail that the Randolph family was concerned Colton's alleged alarming behavior last year was being overshadowed and maybe even forgotten by the recent celebration of his coming out.
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But the People source said of Cassie, "She is a person of faith and she believes in forgiveness. And ultimately, she's going to be just fine. She's moved on with her life."
During Colton's April GMA interview, he confirmed he hadn't spoken to Cassie "at all."
"I don't know if I ever will get the chance to sit down and talk with her. I would like to," Colton said during extra footage that aired on ABC's Nightline.
"I would like to say sorry for how things ended. I messed up. I made a lot of bad choices."
He continued, "I made mistakes at the end of that relationship and I ruined the good memories we had by my actions and what I did to hold on to being straight because I didn't want to look myself in the mirror. So for that, I'm extremely, extremely sorry."
Despite being gay during their near two-year relationship, Colton confirmed he was definitely in love with Cassie, which made acknowledging he's gay and his decision to come out to his family and the public even "harder and more confusing" for him.
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"If I'm being very honest, I loved everything about her and it's hard for me to articulate what my emotions were in going through that relationship with her because I obviously had an internal fight going on," Colton explained on GMA.
"I would just say that I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart. I'm sorry for the pain and emotional stress I caused. I wish it wouldn't have happened the way it did."
Colton added, "I wish I would have been courageous enough to fix myself before I broke anybody else."
Colton said he understands why Cassie and his other The Bachelor bachelorettes may feel like he had misled them.
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He added, "I genuinely mean that. But at the same time, I can say 'sorry' to all of those women and also say 'thank you.' Because without them and without The Bachelor franchise, I don't know if I ever would have come out."
Colton said he realized he was different at the age of six and came to the conclusion he was gay in high school. But Colton explained he had tried to convince himself he was straight for years by dating women and starring as the Bachelor.
He told Variety earlier this year he had experimented sexually with men prior to appearing on The Bachelorette starring Becca Kufrin in 2018, which preceded his The Bachelor stint.
After "hating" himself "for a long time," Colton revealed he finally accepted his sexuality earlier this year and has never been happier or healthier.
Colton -- who faced rumors he was gay while his The Bachelor season was airing -- said on GMA he's now "proud to be gay" and looking forward to meeting a male partner who can challenge him in new ways.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
