Kaitlyn Bristowe says the women on “The Bachelor” are under “the same pressure to look like they did when they first went on the show.”
Kaitlyn Bristowe has been outspoken about the pressure to maintain a certain image after first entering the public eye as a contestant on The Bachelor in 2015.
“There’s a ridiculous standard that requires women to look the same as they did when they first came on the show. So people are starting to get to know me as 29-year-old Caitlyn, and they want me to stay young, naive, small, naive girl,” Bristowe, now 37, said on the Not Skinny But Not Fact podcast, “Everyone’s changed in seven years. “
Bristowe first appeared on TV screens in 2015 when she appeared on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor and later became The Bachelorette. She later began podcasting and even competed on Dancing with the Stars, where she won the Mirrorball Trophy. Even as she went through iterations of her relationship with the Bachelor franchise – most recently returning for seasons 17 and 18 of The Bachelorette with Tayshia Adams – Bristowe recognized that people expected her to continue to look her youngest appearances, and told the podcast’s hosts about the work she’s done to maintain that image.
“Yes, I had Botox injections, and yes, I had fillers, and I never went under the knife, but people seem to think I did. But I love Botox and fillers. It makes me feel relaxed and makes me feel like I look refreshed,” Bristow explains. “I love it, and I know it’s an insecurity, and sometimes I need to ask myself why I’m doing it.”
While Bristowe has faced and addressed public scrutiny of her evolving appearance, including from those who say she does too much, she explains that she wants to continue to work on her own criticism of herself.
“I’ve thought all my life that appearance is the most important thing, and I compare my body to other girls in the dance studio, and I know that’s a problem for me. I would love to know why. I would love to not poke my face once every six weeks to try to look better,” she says. “I would never want my niece to turn 22 and think she needs to do that.”
As for what people say about her looks online, Bristowe admits she has had mixed reactions.
“You just want to hurt my feelings, sometimes you do, sometimes you don’t,” she said. “Sometimes really …… if I get my period it makes me cry …… sometimes I think it’s funny.”
