Brooke Blurton may not have found love yet on this season of The Bachelorette, but it seemed like two of her contestants did!
Carissa Croft and Bec Pressing appeared to debut a romance on Instagram after fans started guessing that there was something stronger than friendship between them.
But now Bec has announced that she and Carissa are not in a relationship, apologising for “disappointing” fans.
Bec has denied the rumours.
(Instagram)Taking to Instagram after sharing what seemed to be a loved-up photo with Carissa, Bec wrote: “I’m so sorry to disappoint you all. At this stage, @carissacroft and I are just very close friends.
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“She’s going off to work on yachts, so my previous post is a gesture of my love and appreciation for her and our friendship after saying our goodbyes.
“Timing doesn’t always work out, but you never know what the future holds and I will be forever grateful to have her in my life. See you in 3 months bb ♥️”
Bec concluded the post: “I encourage everyone to openly celebrate, love and appreciate those close to them 🌈”
Bec shared this photo of herself with Carissa.
(Instagram)Outlets (this one included!) initially reported that the duo were dating after Bec posted the photo above with an emotional caption reading: “Words cannot express how much you mean to me,”
“To think I’ve only had you in my life for 5 months is insane, because I can’t imagine it without you now. I love you to the moon and back 💕”
Bachelorette fans previously guessed that there was a spark between the wo women after they bonded on the show and continue their friendship even after filming wrapped.
We had our suspicions when we chatted to Carissa at the start of the month, after she walked out of the Bachelorette mansion the night after Bec was eliminated.
At the time, she told Brooke she couldn’t fall in love in the Bachelorette environment and added to TV WEEK that it “just didn’t feel right”.
“It almost was like pursuing like one of your friend’s girlfriends,” she said.
Carissa went on to tell us that she formed some strong bonds in the mansion, especially with Bec, but when we asked about their friendship Carissa paused.
After a moment, she confessed: “We message every day, multiple times a day. I’m super grateful for the friendships that have formed.”
She also told us that the contestants “friend-zoned” each other and were solely focused on dating Brooke, which seems to be the case with her and Bec as they deny they’re dating.
Though they’re not in a relationship, the women appear to be on a beach escape together, regularly sharing snaps to their Instagram pages.
As for Carissa’s approach to romance after being on the show, she told TV WEEK it will happen in its own time.
“I honestly just trust that by me staying true to myself and following my own life journey, I’ll meet my person in the time is right,” she said.
The pair met on Brooke Blurton’s season of The Bachelorette.
(Ten)And while we were rooting for her and Bec to be an item, we’re just as happy to see the pair as a set of super supportive friends.
If they did get together, it wouldn’t be the first time two Bachelor contestants have gone on to find love with one another after appearing on the show together.
Tiffany Scanlon and Megan Marx met on Richie Strahan’s season of The Bachelor in 2016 and became the first women in the Aussie franchise’s history to get together after dating the same Bachelor.
Sadly, their romance didn’t last and the pair split in March of 2017.
For more on Brooke’s groundbreaking season of The Bachelorette, check out these stories
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Meet the whole cast of The Bachelorette 2021
We found all The Bachelorette contestants on Instagram
Meet the guys and girls Brooke Blurton dated before becoming our 2021 Bachelorette
The truth behind Brooke Blurton’s tumultuous childhood
EXCLUSIVE: Why Brooke was ‘petrified’ to be the first openly bisexual and Indigenous Bachelorette
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