Who is Katie Thurston? The ‘Bachelor’ star is going viral on TikTok

The Bachelor is back for its 25th season. This time around, the ladies are pining over real estate broker and charity founder Matt James. 

Fans of the show know it’s the contestants who really add the spice, personality and drama. 

Katie Thurston is a current favorite this season, but you may not know that the banker with a wicked sense of humor was beloved on TikTok long before she was a standout on the show. 

Who is Katie Thurston?

Thurston is 30 years old and resides in Seattle. The bank marketing manager recently realized she wanted more out of life. 

“I followed ‘the rules’ of life,” Thurston said on Instagram. “Get the career. Save the money. Start that 401k. Buy the house. And for what? An entire decade to pass without feeling fulfilled? This past year, I finally unapologetically loved who I am.”

Thurston is TikTok-famous for her 18+ jokes and hilarious stories.

She currently has over 256,000 TikTok followers. She earned more than half of them before joining The Bachelor. 

Her account focuses on adult humor and funny personal anecdotes. 

@ventwithkatie

Since they want to mute my video, let’s try reposting without hashtags and see what happens. I read the rules. I didn’t break any here.

♬ original sound – Katie

Thurston’s most popular video, with over 5.2 million views, is her discussing her desire to make love to a ghost, including Casper. 

@ventwithkatie

9/10 times I’m texting you from the toilet 😂 #sext #text #dating #virtual

♬ original sound – Tyson Tripcony

Another video shows what she’s actually doing while sexting. 

Thurston has had scene-stealing moments on The Bachelor. 

She pulled out a pink sparkly sex toy when she was first introduced to Matt James. 

“It was the perfect statement for 2020,” Thurston later explained on the podcast Bachelor Happy Hour. “It actually summarized me perfectly […] and I could do nothing but be myself. I knew Matt is religious, I know I don’t know him personally, so I knew it could very well send me home night one. And I would have no regrets.”

She also has taken several stances against bullying on the show. She stood up to fellow contestant, “Queen'” Victoria Larson, after a pattern of bad behavior. 

In another instance, she defended five new houseguests from being gossiped about by the other women. 

“I get it, we’re entitled to our feelings,” Thurston told her fellow houseguests. “But at the end of the day, they live with us and I would hate to be on their side of this [with] the continuous digs. At some point, we’ve gotta kind of get over it and welcome them into the house a little bit.”

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