The Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe has weighed in on recent accusations pointed at Nate Mitchell, saying she's "cautious" to believe that he was a secretive cheater in a past relationship.
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"Did you see there's some news that just came out on Nate that he was, like, dating two girls at the same time before he came on the season?" Kaitlyn teased during Monday's episode of Us Weekly's "Here for the Right Reasons" podcast.
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Nate, a 33-year-old electrical engineer from Chicago, IL, was recently shown telling Gabby Windey on The Bachelorette's nineteenth season how his six-year-old daughter is his "mini me" and entire "world."
But a woman named Kelsey Fankhauser came forward and told Reality Steve spoiler blogger Steve Carbone that she had dated Nate for a year-and-a-half from early 2020 to late 2021 and Nate allegedly never mentioned having a daughter.
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Kelsey also claimed Nate had cheated on her with multiple people, namely an Atlanta-based woman named Laree Starke, and had been secretly going through a divorce during their relationship totally unbeknownst to Kelsey.
Kelsey told Carbone that she just recently found out that Nate's divorce was finalized in December 2020, which was nearly a year into their romance.
Nate wrote Tuesday on Instagram how there's "two sides to every story," and Kaitlyn -- who starred on The Bachelorette's eleventh season and also hosted Katie Thurston and Michelle Young's seasons -- seems to agree.
"Now there's three sides to every story. There's his side, her side and the truth," Kaitlyn told Us.
"And I always try and take all of these, like, headlines and things with a grain of salt because I've seen headlines about myself that are so like, 'Oh, Kaitlyn was the phoniest Bachelorette they've ever had, she was dating a guy [pre-show].'"
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Kaitlyn explained how she had been innocently dating a man prior to appearing on Chris Soules' season of The Bachelor in 2015.
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"I was dating a guy before I went on The Bachelor. And I was literally like, 'I have to make a decision because if this is actually my person, I'm not gonna go on The Bachelor.' But he wasn't," Kaitlyn recalled.
"And I was like, 'I have to break up with you because you're not my person and I'm gonna go on the show.' And I think it's okay to date people before you go on the show."
Kaitlyn even said she thinks it's okay "to date two people at the same time before you go on the show -- as long as it's within reason."
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"Like, are you telling both of them you love them and you're committed to them and they don't know about each other? That's a problem," the former Dancing with the Stars winner reasoned.
"If you're casually dating, and it's none of their business -- whether you're going on other dates to see what happens, and you're just having fun before you go on a TV show -- I don't see a problem with that."
Kaitlyn therefore concluded, "So I never want to, like, immediately jump to conclusions, but I guess we'll see. I'm curious to hear Nate's side of the story."
Kelsey told Carbone that Nate also hooked up with one of his female friends while they were together and she didn't learn about his daughter until she watched The Bachelorette's first couple of episodes.
Kelsey also claimed that Nate went on Valentine's Day dates with both Laree and herself one week apart in February 2021, only two months before Kelsey was convinced she and Nate were "100 percent exclusive."
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Kelsey alleged that while Nate was showering her with gifts for Valentine's Day, he also sneakily sent flowers to Laree, who told Carbone that Nate had written her a mushy card at the time calling her his "lifetime angel" who had stolen his heart.
Kelsey and Nate's relationship allegedly ended via text in late November 2021, when Nate supposedly wished Kelsey a Happy Thanksgiving and they ended on good terms.
But they didn't cut ties completely until Kelsey heard in January 2022 that Nate was already dating someone new.
Kelsey then found out on March 23, 2022 that Nate was going to be competing on The Bachelorette's nineteenth season, which also stars Rachel Recchia.
When Carbone asked Kelsey why she chose to speak out about Nate, she replied, "I wish Nate all the best. I don't want to affect his future, but it's important for me to try and prevent another girl from being blindsided by his secrecies."
A preview of the rest of The Bachelorette's currently-airing season shows Gabby crying about whether she wants to be a mother and felt ready to become a stepmother to Nate's daughter if they ended up together.
"That's a really life-altering decision," Kaitlyn said.
"It's a life-altering decision to pick a fiance, let alone become a stepmom and you have to be really ready for that. And that little girl deserves the, you know, her wanting to be full all in."
Nate continues to receive roses from Gabby on The Bachelorette, and he even appears to be a frontrunner.
Click here to read The Bachelorette spoilers to find out how far Nate makes it on the season.
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RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' FRANCHISE COUPLES NOW: WHO IS STILL TOGETHER?? (PHOTOS)
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