Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick.Photo: Frazer Harrison/Getty

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick

A reconciliation betweenKaitlyn BristoweandJason Tartickisn’t completely off the table.

Days after the coupleended their engagement, the formerBachelorette, 38, acknowledged she’s in the midst of some “tough times” right now but remains open to the possibility of patching things up with Tartick, 34.

“Honestly, it was both of our [decision to end the relationship],” Bristowe toldTMZ. “We keep saying, too, that the door isn’t permanently closed — that’s why there’s handles on it. We don’t know what’s going on.”

“The easiest part is that we respect each other and love each other,” she added. “We’re OK.”

Kaitlyn Bristowe.Alexander Tamargo/Getty

Kaitlyn Bristowe

When asked if she and Tartick “grew out of love,” theOff the Vinepodcast host responded, “I don’t even know.”

One thing that is certain is that Bristowe andTartickare “sharing” their dogsRamen and Pinotafter their split. “We’re coparenting the dogs,” she explained. “You could even see us walking the dogs together on a Sunday. We’re still good.”

The exes, who got engaged in May 2021, announced in ajoint Instagram postover the weekend that they were going their separate ways.

“After sharing the news with family and close friends first, and taking the time to properly process it ourselves, we are saddened with heavy hearts to share that we have decided to end our engagement,” their statement began. “We are thankful for all of you who gave us the time and space to process this life altering decision as there are many emotions and changes to navigate.”

After noting how Ramen and Pinot would “continue to be cared for together as brothers,” the former pair added, “While their humans are no longer romantically involved, we will love and take care of them together.”

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick.John Parra/Getty

Kaitlyn Bristowe and Jason Tartick

John Parra/Getty

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Aftersharing she would be taking some time away from social media, Bristowe opened up about how she’schoosing to cope with her broken engagementpublicly amid rising fan interest on the latest episode of herOff the Vinepodcast.

“Having to also be in the public eye and come out with a statement for everybody is so crazy to me, but [it] also gives me the opportunity for them to understand it and then start to move on because otherwise, it just keeps going,” she began.

“I want to do all the things that I’ve learned over the last 11 years of therapy. So I got this like poster board. And last night, I wrote a target like that just keeps getting bigger.”

“I did the middle circle. The main one, I put ‘Jason and Kaitlyn.’ Those are the two people that matter through this right now,” she continued. “And then on the outside, it’s like our family. And then outside of that is like our really closest friends. And then outside of that is like, gosh, I don’t know if you’re close to your cousin or whatever. But outside of that, I can’t let that come into this. I can’t answer to it. I can’t take that on as responsibility for their feelings.”

source: people.com