The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has explained why she's decided not to go public with her relationship with Zac Clark.

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"I'm so proud of him and there's so much good... I'm really proud of how far we've come with keeping it so [private]," Kaitlyn, 41, said during the Tuesday, July 14 episode of the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast.

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Kaitlyn -- who is still not identifying Zac by name -- admitted she's scared to ruin her romance by letting fans in.

"But also, I'm proud to talk about it now, at this point, as, like, a relationship," Kaitlyn said. "[I call him] Bruno, but people know [it's Zac]."

Kaitlyn and Zac, who was previously engaged to The Bachelorette Season 16 star Tayshia Adams, were first linked in January 2024.

While Kaitlyn and Zac's relationship has been very hush-hush, Kaitlyn did soft launch their romance in April by posting a funny video on social media in which she was talking to man on the phone about wanting to baptize her beloved dogs.

A man could be heard on the other end voicing his support, and it was pretty clear that it was Zac's voice on the other end.

"And he has a pretty distinct voice, I would say," Kaitlyn noted.

"But it was just so funny... and it's so sweet and so him to just be like, 'Sure.' He didn't even laugh! He wasn't like, 'You're getting your dogs baptized?!' He was like, 'Oh, Pinot and Ramen?... Yeah sure, I'll be there. Whatever makes you happy. I'll do anything to support you.'"

Kaitlyn said that's not the only video she's filmed with her man. For example, she said they slow dance in every city they visit, and they call those clips "inside treats."

"We just literally don't post them. We have them for us," Kaitlyn said.

"I'm turned all the way on by it -- and not in an F-U way to people who follow me. I actually would love to share more; it's just this is the process."

Kaitlyn, however, promised that she "will share more" in the future and she hopes "this is her person" forever.

"That's just where I'm at right now," Kaitlyn explained.

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Kaitlyn admitted her desire for privacy in her love life stems from the fact she had gone through two very public engagements and breakups.

"I think it's definitely a trauma response," Kaitlyn acknowledged. "I've talked to my therapist about it."

The "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast host was previously engaged to her The Bachelorette Season 11 winner, Shawn Booth, as well as The Bachelorette 14 alum, Jason Tartick.

Kaitlyn went on to share how there are two very different versions of herself.

"I'm just so protective and cautious and everything is sacred, and then I'm psycho and chaotic and messy. It's, like, so confusing," Kaitlyn confessed.

"And then with this, it's just been so sweet because, yes, my last two relationships were so public, and I found that people start filling in the gaps on what's happening outside of the posts."

The Bachelor alum elaborated, "So if you don't post for, like, six posts, then they start counting and then they start doubting you and then this negative, dark energy comes into your realm of online digital family."

Kaitlyn insisted she doesn't take mean comments personally but she's also "so over dark energy" in her world.

"I'm just trying to protect this little bubble, right now, of peace," Kaitlyn said, adding how she doesn't even think people would make a big deal of a hard launch with her boyfriend at this point.

"I just think people would be like, 'Oh, finally, she shared it.' I don't think it's going to be big -- and I want it to just, like, be mixed in a carousel post. I don't want it to be a big 'hurrah' thing like 'Look at us!'"

Kaitlyn admitted her previous relationship "got lost" in all the social media hype.

"I felt like I lost that person -- who I thought he was and who I think he might have been -- to social media," Kaitlyn recalled.

"I watched someone change before my eyes and [no longer] seem like the person I fell in love with, and I think I'm so scared of that happening again. And I hang onto things so tightly from past relationships that I need to let go and be like, 'This is not THAT relationship!'"

But in addition to the dog video, Kaitlyn dropped another hint recently that Zac is her partner.

Kaitlyn announced in April that she's moving to New York City, where Zac lives and runs his Release Recovery Foundation.

Kaitlyn wrote on TikTok at the time, "CATS OUTTA THE BAG... I'M MOVING TO NYC. A whole new chapter is about to begin..."

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The Bachelorette alum admitted that leaving Nashville was "very scary," but she added, "New York has really good opportunity for some growth, and I feel like I want five more years of really hard work and growing a relationship and family."

Kaitlyn added, "I just feel like this is what needs to be done right now... I'm just really excited."

After competing for Chris Soules' heart on The Bachelor, Kaitlyn starred on The Bachelorette's eleventh season and got engaged to Shawn during the finale.

Kaitlyn and Shawn proceeded to live together in Nashville, and after three years together, they decided to split in late 2018.

Kaitlyn began dating Jason shortly after her breakup with Shawn.

Jason, a Buffalo, NY, native, chose to move from his place in Washington to Nashville to be with Kaitlyn in 2019.

Kaitlyn and Jason got engaged in May 2021, but they announced their decision to go their separate ways and end their engagement after several years together in August 2023.

Jason recently purchased his "dream" home in Nashville with his girlfriend, dog rescuer Kathryn Hurley, and they just announced their engagement.

Kaitlyn slammed Jason during an April 2025 episode of her "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast, saying that she "felt very used" by him.

Kaitlyn alleged that Jason was "riding coattails" and, despite her attempts to "hold him back from podcasting" so they wouldn't work in the same space, he betrayed her by starting his own "Trading Secrets" podcast.

Kaitlyn claimed Jason made it "all about him" and "what would make him grow financially, professionally and personally."

The former The Bachelorette star continued, "I was made to feel crazy because I was stunting his growth. But really, I knew exactly what was going to happen, which happened. He started taking email lists, and these clients, and building up his from what I already built, and then the resentment starts."

Kaitlyn also called Jason "mean and pathetic" on her podcast for naming one of his adopted dogs, a golden retriever, her alleged longtime "dream baby name" of Teddy.

Kaitlyn insisted she had told Jason on the day they met that she wanted to name her future child Teddy -- and that she has text messages to prove it.

Kaitlyn also claimed that she was the one who dumped Jason because they want different things out of life.

In addition to her The Bachelor and The Bachelorette stints, Kaitlyn also won Dancing with the Stars' 29th season and co-hosted two seasons of The Bachelorette, Seasons 17 and 18, alongside Tayshia, coincidentally.

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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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