As revealed in the first episode of Season 6, Blake Horstmann had history with Kristina Schulman long before their time on Bachelor in Paradise.

"Me and Kristina were hanging out maybe, like, six or seven months ago," Horstmann said, revealing the two had decided to remain friends after their romantic connection fizzled. Horstmann had previously addressed rumors that he was dating Schulman on the Almost Famous podcast in October 2018 (via Us Weekly), saying, "She's amazing, she's great, and you know, we get along really well. But right now, you know, we are hanging out, but it's nothing serious right now."

However, as Schulman revealed in the season's second episode, she felt blindsided by Horstmann when he spent a night with Caelynn Miller-Keyes at Stagecoach directly after spending an evening with her. Still, the two maintained a complicated friendship throughout their time on BiP, and, despite Horstmann later admitting his feelings for Schulman in what appeared to be a last-ditch effort for her rose, she chose to leave Paradise – a move that once again left Horstmann in tears.