Katie Thurston’s season of The Bachelorette officially wrapped this summer but that hasn’t stopped Bachelor Nation from keeping up with all of the many shenanigans that have occurred with her since.

The short version of it all? Well, Katie left the show blissfully engaged to Blake Moynes, but they ended up calling the ’ship quits in late October and shared the news via Instagram post—using the exact same caption. Time passed, Katie deleted the post (oop!), and then she decided to do a “12 Days of Messy” on her Instagram Stories, where she linked her Bachelorette exes to various Taylor Swift songs (bc what else is a T-Swift song for?). Lo and behold, Katie used the last day of the series to announce her new ’ship with none other than John Hersey…and ofc, she used Tay’s “Begin Again” for the public statement.

So now that you’re alllll caught up, it’s only right that we do the biggest deep dive on good ol’ John now that he and Katie are officially official.

instagramView full post on Instagram

John Is From California

Santa Cruz, to be exact! But based on his Instagram bio, he currently lives in San Diego. John also seems close to his parents based on some sweet old pics lurking deep in his Insta:

He’s Obsessed With Skydiving

Like…if he and Katie don’t end up hurling themselves out of a plane together out of sheer joy at some point, I’ll be surprised because John seems like a huge fan:

He’s a Really Good Surfer

CONSIDER ME IMPRESSED. (I say that as a person who can’t even stand upright on a surf board…in a pool.)

His Dog Is Already an Icon

Just wanna make it clear: I’d do anything for this animal.

He’s a Pilot

Pilot Pete whomst? Peter Weber isn’t the only Bachelor babe with the title now. According to Reality Steve, John was at some point training to be a pilot. In Katie’s ’ship announcement video, John was seen flying (what looked like?) a helicopter. So! Cool! There’s also an entire Highlight dedicated to flying on John’s Instagram, FYI, and he’s flown over some pretty awesome places. Happy lurking!

john hersey flying, katie thurston instagram
Instagram

He Was Sent Home Week 2 of Katie’s Bachelorette Season

When Katie’s season began, there was reason to believe that John would make it pretty far simply based on social media sleuthing. Shout-out to fan account @BachDetective for doing original detective work here! But!! John literally got eliminated week 2 of the season. Womp, womp.

Katie Always Had Her Eye on Him

According to a Page Six source, Katie “told producers at the beginning of her season that John caught her eye and she regrets that she got distracted by the other men along the way,” explained the source. “But she’s hopeful they can start a new chapter off camera. She’s smitten.”

Before the pair became a couple, they had a super-close friendship. In an Instagram post, Katie even called John her “dear, dear friend.”

But don’t let that make you think there was any overlap between him and Blake. Both Katie and John have been extremely vocal that there was *zero* cheating involved and that they each respected the commitment Katie had with Blake. John even took to make a lengthy Reddit post addressing all the rumors.

John’s ABC Bio Was Iconic

AHEM:

“John is a thrill seeker, and here at The Bachelorette, thrill he will find! Between studying to get his pilot’s license, surfing the San Diego breaks, going to EDM shows, and jumping out of planes, John is always finding ways to get his adrenaline pumping. But John is also a romantic and would love to find a woman to share a burrito with while watching the daily sunset over the San Diego coastline. He is looking for someone genuine, honest, and willing to challenge him to be a better version of himself. John loves when a woman is confident in her natural beauty and says that nothing turns him on more than a woman who pursues her passions every day. He has very little tolerance for anyone being unfaithful or dishonest and says that his one major deal breaker is when someone treats another disrespectfully. Sounds like he and the Bachelorette may have a lot in common!”

Thanks to ABC’s unhinged Q&As, we also know that:

  1. “John is a vegetarian.”
  2. “John loves the smell of fireplaces.”
  3. “If you’ve never heard of a kiwiberry, John wants you to google them and eat one immediately!”
  4. “John thinks swing dancing is so much fun.”

It’s probably safe to assume John has the qualities Katie’s been looking for in a partner. Specifically this list of requirements, courtesy of ABC:

“She needs a man who can laugh along with her but is okay with him laughing at her too when the moment calls for it. Katie is looking for a mature man who has ambitions to succeed in everything he does, both personally and professionally. Her dream man will be passionate about building a long-term life with her and will treat Katie as his equal in the relationship. Nothing turns her off more than someone who sits around playing video games all day or a man who tries to kiss her at the inopportune moment.”

Noted! Here’s to hoping John and Katie go the distance!

You love all the deets on Bachelor Nation. So do we! Let’s overanalyze them together.