Kaitlyn Bristowe only wants the best for her ex Shawn Booth.
Bristowe offered a rare comment on her ex-fiancé, whom she was engaged to for three years after meeting on her season of The Bachelorette in 2015, on the Thursday, April 3 episode of her podcast, Off the Vine.
In the years since their 2018 split, Bristowe has said that she felt "used" by Booth, 37, toward the end of their relationship, which he ended, but now, she's in a better place about things.
"I actually can now look at Shawn and be like, I really am happy for him. I actually want the best for him. I would like to be friends."
Related: Shawn Booth Recalls Moment Ex Kaitlyn Bristowe Sent Him a Text Meant for Her New Beau Jason Tartick
Terry Wyatt/Getty
Shawn Booth and Kaitlyn Bristowe attend the 16th Annual Waiting for Wishes Celebrity Dinner Hosted by Kevin Carter & Jay DeMarcus on April 18, 2017 in Nashville, Tennessee
She said she's gotten "really quiet with thoughts of anger that I used to have towards him" over how they ended, as she admitted, "We were both vindictive."
"I've moved through a lot of emotions for him where I actually want to hug him and like be friends," she said, noting, "Now I actually have compassion instead of anger."
Bristowe said she's "so happy for him and where he's at right now" — he welcomed his first child with girlfriend Dre Joseph in December 2023 — as she recognized that things she did "hurt [him] so bad and [he] wanted to get me back."
Related: Kaitlyn Bristowe Shares Her Outlook on Marriage After 2 Broken Engagements: 'I Don't Know If Anything's Changed'
Looking back on it, though, Bristowe said that she "felt used" and "did not feel loved" toward the end of their relationship.
"I felt like he was hanging on to the relationship to open his gym," she said. "I felt like he knew that us together was better than him on his own. I'm saying this from my standpoint. I'm not saying he actually did this."
Rick Rowell/Walt Disney Television via Getty Kaitlyn Bristowe, Shawn Booth on 'The Bachelorette'
She added, "With Shawn, I think there was so much toxic back and forth between the two of us. We were both... We met each other at our insecurities instead of calming the other one down or helping or understanding or hearing the other person. We would, like, meet them at their anger level. And I think we were just two people who were very much in love but couldn't let go of things."
Following her split from Booth, Bristowe went on to date Jason Tartick, to whom she was engaged for a year-and-a-half before their split in August 2023.
