Moving forward.
“The Bachelorette” star Ryan Sutter posted a candid message on Instagram Wednesday about focusing on the positive after confusing fans with his bizarre posts during his wife Trista Sutter’s absence.
Ryan, 49, shared a black-and-white photo of him and his wife on the beach, alongside his words of encouragement.
“We do our best – to do and to be good, to live and to treat others well,” he wrote. “We make decisions not knowing the outcome but hoping we’re on the right path – hoping the questions will be answered in time.”
Ryan continued: “We try to be a positive example, to care, to trust the process and to believe others will trust our intent is not malicious or misguided or mean. We do our best to live towards a purpose- to build meaningful relationships and experiences and to contribute to a common good. We do our best to remain easy in a difficult world, to be honest in deceitful times and to be open when it’s safer to stay closed.”
The former reality star noted that “sometimes there are moments” in life, like him and Trista, 51, staring at the ocean in the photo, where they see “how beautiful life can be.”
“How beautiful it is when we take time to appreciate the places and the people in them. To appreciate what and who we love most. They are always out there – these moments – though not always easy to find. But we do our best.”
Earlier this month, Ryan revealed that Trista was off the grid and was missing her with no further context.
“I really wish I could talk to you,” he wrote at the time.
In a post days later, Ryan addressed speculation that his longtime love had died.
“It was suggested that Trista had died, we were in trouble or that it must be a midlife crisis among many other creative ideas,” the firefighter wrote on May 22. “Some thought I was intentionally misleading people in order to somehow benefit from it?”
Fans speculated that Trista was filming a reality show, like “The Traitors” or “Special Forces,” which would have explained her absence.
The mom of two finally returned to social media after a two-week break on May 27 with a family photo and a message about her whereabouts.
“Geez people. Can’t a girl have a nervous breakdown/trial separation/midlife crisis/death/divorce in peace around here?!” Trista wrote.
“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,” she added.
Trista has not confirmed why she was off the grid.
Ryan and Trista tied the knot in 2003 after meeting on Season 1 of “The Bachelorette.” They have two kids, Maxwell, 16, and Blakesley, 15.