Kaitlyn Bristowe Recalled Her First Time Meeting Jason — And It Did NOT Go As Planned

Nowadays, Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick are one of Bachelor Nation's strongest couples. But once upon a time, they almost didn't even meet in the first place. Taking to Instagram recently, Kaitlyn recalled meeting Jason for the first time with an over-the-top backstory that involves lots of tears — and wine.

Kaitlyn posted a throwback photo of herself, Jason, and fellow podcaster and Bachelor alum Olivia Caridi from one year ago, which is when she met her now-boyfriend. They were supposed to record her podcast, Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe, in Seattle, but Kaitlyn nearly canceled since she was going through a difficult time and "had been bawling [her] eyes out in an Uber." As it turned out, Jason was going through a bit of a rough moment himself — he almost canceled because of an eye infection, but showed up anyway with what Kaitlyn called a "Cyclopes eye" and some wine. "We had never met, but he hugged me, and told me he had just cried too at a charity event he came from," she wrote. "He looked at me and said, 'let’s have a soft Tuesday together.'"

While meeting Jason turned Kaitlyn's day around, she admitted she didn't feel romantic vibes right away. "I didn’t know what was going to happen. I thought of Jason as a friend, and wanted him to be the bachelor," she said.

While Kaitlyn and Jason became friends last October, their romantic relationship didn't begin until a few months later. The pair had their first date in Denver, Colorado in early January 2019. About a week after that, Kaitlyn traveled to Seattle to visit Jason, where they hung out with a bunch of friends. During that trip, things became "Instagram official" with the former Bachelorette lead even referring to herself as Jason's "girlfriend" in an IG Story post.

In May, Kaitlyn and Jason took two more steps forward by announcing they were not only moving in together, but that they also adopted a dog named Ramen Noodle Vino. Since then, they've starred in a music video together (that looked kind of like an engagement shoot) and met each other's dads.

As for where their relationship is headed next, Kaitlyn already teased what she wants in an engagement ring (specifically no Bachelor-favorite Neil Lane rings). She told Us Weekly of the impending proposal, “I’m probably going to ruin the day because I’m going to be like, ‘Oh, here it comes! I know this is it!’” Fans will just have to wait for the inevitable Instagram announcement if and when that happens.