Katie Thurston is opening up about her past.
The 33-year-old The Bachelorette star revealed on Friday (June 28) that she was previously raped, and now wants to tell her story and share resources to help other assault victims.
In her post, she spoke to her experience in the aftermath of the sexual assault, which included getting a rape kit done and getting support from a Sexual Assault Response Team (SART).
She previously revealed in a Bachelorette episode in 2021 that she had been “involved in a situation where there wasn’t consent” 10 years prior on New Year’s Eve, although it’s unclear if this is the same incident.
Keep reading to find out more…
The Instagram slides included the steps she took after the incident.
“My pain has purpose, my purpose has power, I want to focus on the positive,” the first slide said.
“The justice system continues to let down victims every day. I refuse to feel defeated in the strength it took to be an advocate for myself. I hope my experience will help those feel the strength and support they need,” she continued. “While I’m not ready to share my story, I want to share the valuable resources that saved my life.”
“I called 911 to report my rape. They sent an officer to take my statement and then drove me to a special medical center to perform a SART exam,” she continued. Her SART included a nurse and an advocate.
“I felt like a small lost child who was vulnerable and scared. They thoroughly explained the process, asking for consent along the way, and allowing me to decline or change my mind at any time,” she wrote.
“My blood was drawn to check for STDs, drugs, and blood alcohol concentration. I was given Plan B, Rocephin (a shot for bacterial infections), Azithromycin (to treat possible STIs), and Truvada and nPEP for a month (to treat possible HIV),” she said in the next slide, adding that this can be done for anyone at no cost in San Diego, even without health insurance. She said she was given digital tools to help her track the results of her medical examinations.
“My kit would take four months to complete its cycle. Nothing could move until this was done, so the time between allowed me to seek mental health support,” she wrote.
Katie said that she went to a therapist who specialized in sexual assault “every week for three months, at no cost to me” and also had an advocate she could call or text at any time if she had questions about the process. She also recommended the book Know My Name by Chanel Miller.
“While I could only consume it in small doses at a time before nausea would hit, I also felt validation each and every chapter,” she added, saying that it should be a required read for teens.
“I did everything I should have done as a victim of rape. ‘Here are my texts, my calls, my photos, my videos, names, witnesses, locations, social media, time stamps, surveillance footage, DNA, my body.’ The warning ‘a guilty verdict is hard in criminal court’ echoed throughout & the months, like an annoying parrot you were forced to keep. And as much as l heard it, I still wasn’t ready to be stopped. And yet, without warning, I was,” she wrote.
Katie also called the legal system “broken” and wrote, “Change happens in failure. And the justice system failed me. And continues to fail thousands every single day. But do not give up.”
She also shared her experiences using the dating app Raya.
If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.
