In a sea of podcast hosts vying for the juiciest interview with the latest Bachelor or Bachelorette castoff, Kaitlyn Bristowe always finds a way to secure the best contestants and get them to say things they wouldn’t anywhere else. Remember: Kaitlyn’s the host of Off the Vine, the same podcast on which Hannah Ann Sluss compared Peter Weber’s manhood to cauliflower and Madison Prewett gave her first post-Bachelor tell-all interview.

The former Bachelorette is used to being the one picking her guest’s brains for their hot takes, but now it’s time for her fans to get to know her even more than they already do. Teaming up with entertainment company Kin, Kaitlyn is about to drop a new weekly show that’s all about topics like periods, mental health, her relationship with Jason Tartick, her podcast, and her foray into the music industry. And yes, she does dish on the Bachelor franchise.

Talking to Cosmopolitan from her Nashville home, Kaitlyn opened up about 9 to Wine, pursuing music, quarantining with Jason, and her latest Bachelor opinions. Trust, her thoughts on Juan Pablo and Clare Crawley’s season need to be heard, and her opinions about Peter Weber and Kelley Flanagan are quite controversial.

Cosmopolitan: Why did you want to launch 9 to Wine now?

Kaitlyn: You get little snippets of me on my podcast and platforms like Instagram, but I’m usually interviewing someone else on my podcast and then you’re only getting a little 10-second clip of behind-the-scenes of real life over here. I’m a pretty open book, but there is still more to get to know about me. A new episode comes out weekly on Wednesdays, and I have my podcast come out Tuesday, and I have another podcast that comes out on Thursdays, so you’re gonna really get to know me.

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You’ve become the go-to podcast for Bachelor Nation. How do you think you’ve solidified your spot among all the other hosts?

I’m extremely grateful to ABC for allowing me to interview these contestants because obviously they have to get approval. But I think my main goal with podcasting is to always—even if I don’t agree with somebody, even if I don’t believe somebody or am not on their side—allow them to have their own voice. They go through the show where they’re either edited or you don’t see the full side of them, so I love to encourage people to come on and just be their own voice and have fun. I don’t like dragging people. I like to make it fun. But I also like to ask the hard questions.

Who were some of your most memorable guests?

To this day, my favorite one has been Chris Harrison. We always see that Chris Harrison who walks in and says a few words or says, you know, Chris Harrison things, but to actually sit down and talk to him…He’s just somebody that I absolutely adore, and he’s so real.

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Since you’re so up to date on Bachelor news, I have to ask. Which of the recent couples are you really rooting for?

The Victoria [Fuller] and Chris [Soules] one threw me off. I did not see that one coming. I need more information before I root for anyone there. But I am rooting for Kelley and Peter because I think they just work together, to be honest. I think not many people are rooting for them, and I don’t know why. They seem actually genuinely happy and a good match for each other. Sometimes it takes a weird path to get there, but they got there, and I’m into it.

On 9 to Wine, you show a short clip of you talking about Juan Pablo. What do you think about him commenting on Clare Crawley’s season?

It is weird because it’s not like he’s trying to stay relevant by any means. I don’t feel like he’s really even been in this world, so it was really bizarre for him to speak out because it didn’t add up. Like, where are you coming from and why now when, like, it’s been how many years and Clare’s still trying to find love? How can we shame someone for trying to find love? He totally said it just to say it and be a dick.

Who from past seasons do you think would be a good contestant on Clare’s season?

I’m trying to think of someone that would be like a Jason who would totally support a powerful woman while being established in themselves and everything they have going. She seems like such a strong, empowering individual who knows what she wants.

I want Peter Kraus to come back.

Oh that’s a good one, actually. Peter would be a good one. I’m going to go with that! Can I steal yours?

What do you think about how Clare tweeted and seemingly shaded one of her contestants, Matt James?

It’s hard because he’s already kind of had that [his social media presence] going for him from being Tyler’s friend. I don’t think it started because he was going to go on her season. But I also see her side because nobody wants a guy to come on the show that’s already looking for attention online or to be a somebody. You obviously question their intentions when they’re doing things like that and going to come on the season for “love.” In this time, people are coming on the show for the opportunity and to gain some sort of name for themselves. But to be so obvious about it might turn me off a bit.

Your show also touches on your personal life and living with Jason. What has quarantining with him been like?

It’s okay to be annoyed with your significant other and feel overwhelmed at times. I don’t want to pretend that it’s all happy-go-lucky all the time. We have to kind of remind ourselves to have a little bit more patience in this time and be a little bit more gracious to each other. But overall, I honestly think this has brought us closer together because we’re both working so hard on our own projects. At the end of the day, we come back together, have a glass of wine, talk about our days, and we help each other with each other’s projects. I feel like we’ve been bonding over that.


You joke about how people love to speculate that you guys are engaged. What’s one of the craziest rumors that you’ve heard about you two?

Probably that I put pressure on him for us to get engaged. That’s so far from the truth. If anything, we’re trying to take our time. I mean, I always joke that I’m not getting any younger and I want to have kids. But at the same time, if I have my nails done, everybody thinks we’re gonna get engaged. Like, “She has her nails done and they’re doing this today! They must be getting engaged.”

Like, can I just get a manicure?

Yeah! The girl gets a manicure twice in her life and that’s what happens.

You’re about to start putting out new music, but in the trailer, you mention you’re scared to. Why is that?

I never really thought about pursuing singing because my whole life was about dance and singing just kind of came with it. But after moving to Nashville, I found myself being friends with country singers or people in the songwriting business. Then I started doing voice lessons and writing some music with some songwriters here as a hobby. Once I started recording, I got some really good feedback.

I don’t want to claim to, like, come off a show and then be on Instagram and now I’m a singer because I’m in Nashville! I’ve always been afraid that maybe I wasn’t deserving of it. That was always a fear of mine, but it’s something that I love doing and that I’ve been doing for the last five years without sharing it. It just feels right to put something out there and show what I’ve been working on because I am really proud of it.

What else is up next for you?

Hopefully, the quarantine is over soon because I was supposed to go on tour for my podcast and have a tour bus. But I am really excited about this digital series because 9 to Wine is going to show all of these things. It’s gonna show me expanding my wine and hair accessories businesses, show my relationship with Jason, show my dogs, show the singing. It’s just going to showcase everything all in one.

You can watch 9 to Wine every week on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.