Trista Sutter Remembers Being a ‘Glutton for Punishment’ Reading Comments

Before Bachelorette Trista Sutter reflects on the changes with the franchise since she was at the helm in 2003.

“I’m very grateful that social media wasn’t around when I was on The Bachelor a The Bachelorette,” Sutter, 52, told Internal Television in an interview published on Sunday, January 19. “We had message boards, and I was a glutton for punishment and I would go and read those. There were trolls back then, but they couldn’t get direct access to you. You had to read what their comments were on the message boards. I did that, and it wasn’t fun.”

He continued, “I would have had a very hard time. I’m very sensitive and I would have had a very hard time with the things people would come up to me and say I’m sure. People have dealt with death threats from the show, just by being themselves and trying to find love. It’s kind of crazy. It’s completely changed.”

More than two decades since finding The One in Ryan SutterTrista continues to watch the popular ABC reality show. (Trista and Ryan, now 50, he got engaged during The Bachelorette season 1 and tied the knot in 2003. They share son Maxwell, 16, and daughter Blakesley, 15.)

“I feel like the premise of the show is why I keep watching, which is that people find love in a very unconventional way,” Trista said. “That will never change for me. When we moved to Colorado and started a family, it was a conscious decision to create a quieter life away from the wild ride that happened around and after the wedding. I loved our life and raising our kids in the mountains, and now we’re in Denver.”

As Trista tried her hand recently another reality show with Special Forces: The World’s Toughest TestRyan sparked concern that their marriage was on the rocks when he shared a series of cryptic posts via social media.

Trista, who was away filming the Fox reality show when the rumors swirled, could not address the speculation surrounding their relationship or explain why she was away – until her cast was revealed.

“Everyone is quick to assume the worst,” Trista said flatly Us Weekly about the rumors about her marriage. “I think it’s human nature, to be honest. I mean, I didn’t know what happened to the world. I’m like, ‘You’ve all lost your minds.’ Sorry, but why the huge hubbub about this?”

Trista remembered her phone being flooded with text messages from worried loved ones. “I had people texting me non-stop, ‘Are you okay? What is happening? Are you having a nervous breakdown? Did you guys get a divorce? Are you getting a separation trial? What’s going on?’” said Trista. “I’m like, ‘No, no, no, no, no,’ to all of the things. You will find out why and it will all make sense.”

Despite the ensuing chaos, Trista put a positive spin on the rumours. “I have to say it make me feel good that people really care,” Trista said. “We have been married for 21 years. The show was on a long time ago, and the fact that people still care was very humbling to me and very sweet, even though it was very chaotic.”