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Ryan Sutter is done being cryptic — as his wife, Trista Sutter, has reunited with her family!
On Sunday, the Bachelor Nation star took to Instagram to share a photo of him, Trista and their two children, Maxwell, 16, and Blakesley, 14 on a family vacation.
Ryan Sutter and Trista Sutter were married in 2003. – John Parra/Getty Images for Sandals Resorts
“They say absence makes the heart grow fonder…. We found out it’s true. It also makes the heart more grateful, more sympathetic, more appreciative for what someone does for you, with you, alongside of you,” Ryan wrote next to a selfie of him, his wife and their children all smiling while rocking swimming gear on the beach. “It brings questions and wonder and worry and then answers and peace and celebration. It brought time for reflection, for projects, prayer and independence but mostly it brought joy at its conclusion. Real joy. And that’s really what it’s all about…Welcome back @tristasutter We missed you…. #love #love #reunitedanditfeelssogood.”
Ryan didn’t get into further details about his wife’s previous absence.
On Saturday, Trista made her return to Instagram — a week after her husband shared a series of cryptic posts hinting that she wasn’t with their family. For her part, the former Bachelorette used her post to set the record straight about her absence, and clarify that she is safe and sound.
“Geez people. Can’t a girl have a nervous breakdown/trial separation/midlife crisis/death/divorce in peace around here?! 😜🤣,” the 51-year-old former reality TV star wrote alongside the a picture of her and the family posing on the beach. “In all seriousness, for those concerned, I’m safe and sound, happy and healthy, in love and grateful. 🥰. For those who’d rather focus on being critical and searching way too hard for darkness, good luck with that. 🙃 An opportunity for perspective and personal growth presented itself and with the unconditional support of my family and friends, I chose myself and betterment, knowing that my stay-at-home-mom job and my kids end-of-the-school-year needs were in the best, most capable hands.”
Trista went on to explain Ryan’s post, which alluded to her taking time away from the family on Mother’s Day, leaving fans and followers of the longtime couple worried about her well-being.
“My stoic husband who usually chooses privacy over posting, decided to share his love for me in messages that would find me in my travels. We look at Instagram like a digital diary. Most of the time, the world doesn’t pay too much attention. This time, he couldn’t say anything right and just about every news outlet picked up his ‘cryptic/confusing/attention-seeking/dramatic’ pictures and captions. To me, they gave me exactly what my Words of Affirmation love language needed to get me through some serious self doubt and fear…and that’s all that matters. He doesn’t owe anyone any explanation or require permission to post what he wants to post and share what he wants to share. 💯. If you want to know the rest of the story, I will share in due time. For now, it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming – from a beach in Mexico! 🇲🇽 🏝️🤿 After all, nervous breakdowns and separations require much needed rest and relaxation! 😎.”
Last week Ryan took to Instagram to share a picture of his dog and briefly discuss all the chatter surrounding his post about his wife.
“I strayed from the safety of the usual dog theme and chose to post a message to my wife for a time when she could eventually read it. She understood the context and so did I. No one else did however, and that’s where things went sideways,” he wrote in part. “It was suggested that Trista had died, we were in trouble or that it must be a mid life crisis among many other creative ideas. Some thought I was intentionally misleading people in order to somehow benefit from it? It got picked up on entertainment news sites and I started getting texts from friends asking if I was ok.”
He added, “All because I missed my wife and chose to share how that felt. It felt weird to wear the clothes of past fame once again, even if only briefly. It reminded me of how crazy life was and of how grateful I am for the life I have. But, to be honest, it also felt good to know people still cared, and worried and wondered. It felt good to be noticed and inspired me to do better at paying attention to others – when they do good or when they need help. In the end, like most things, everything turned out ok. Though I think I’ll go back to posting about my dog again for a bit…#life.”
Ryan and Trista — who were married in 2003 during the first season of The Bachelorette — were last seen together publicly in January when they attended the wedding ceremony for The Golden Bachelor couple, Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist.
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