Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick's Loved Ones Hope for Reconciliation: Only Time Will Tell

Bachelor Nation’s Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick may have ended their engagement, but their inner circle isn’t giving up hope that they’ll reunite, an insider tells Life & Style exclusively. 

“Friends and family are all for them taking some time apart, but they’d love them to get back together,” the source says, adding, however, that the exes felt “intense pressure” to make their relationship work. 

“Kaitlyn would love to have worked things out with Jason, but I really think any talk of a reconciling is wishful thinking at this point,” the source explains. “But who knows, couples get back together all the time. I guess time will tell.”

The insider’s take comes just three days after Kaitlyn, 38, told a TMZ videographer that she and Jason, 34, were taking things day by day. 

“It’s tough times,” she admitted on August 8. “I mean, the easiest part is that we respect each other and love each other.” When asked whether she and her ex “grew out” of each other, Kaitlyn remarked, “I don’t even know. … Honestly, it was both of our [decision to break up]. We keep saying, too, that the door isn’t permanently closed — that’s why there’s handles on it. We don’t know what’s going on.”

Adding that she and Jason are still linked due to their dogs, Ramen and Pinot, the Dancing With the Stars alum added, “We’re still good,” and said that they’ll likely be spotted in the near future “walking the dogs together on a Sunday.” It seems as though Kaitlyn still is in possession of her engagement ring, too, telling the videographer that she and Jason “haven’t gotten that far to talk about [what she will do with the] ring. But, I mean, he gave that to me. It’s up to him,” she added. 

The couple’s split came after much fan speculation about their status, as they vacationed without each other and Kaitlyn was seen without her ring on via social media. After issuing a joint statement regarding their decision to break up, both Jason and Kaitlyn spoke about how they were feeling on their respective podcasts. 

“I’m not going to provide news at this time given what’s happening in my life,” Jason said on his podcast, “Trading Secrets,” before adding, “It’s been a little bit of a challenge today and tonight. When I’m prepared and feel ready to talk through how these things also impact my life, what’s next for me, I will share those.”

For her part, Kaitlyn expressed her concern that fans would blame her for the relationship’s end, sharing in the August 8 episode of “Off the Vine” that one side of her felt like her fans “hate” her and that she’d “lose all the support” from them. 

“I’ve gotten to this point where something like going through a breakup — it’s a loss, it’s grief … and now these people are on the other end of this phone expecting you to share it with them while you’re going through it,” she said. “Then they think, ‘You’re hiding something from us, why wouldn’t you be honest? I thought you were an open book, I thought you were this and just tell us already that you guys are broken up.’ And I’m holding so much responsibility because I see them as this community that I’ve built for myself.”