Ryan Sutter is grateful to have his wife, Trista, back.
On Sunday, the former reality TV star posted a sweet black-and-white photo of the two of them, along with their children, Maxwell, 16, and Blakesley, 15, on vacation in Mexico.
“They say absence makes the heart grow soft….We found out it’s true,” he wrote alongside the image. “It also makes the heart more grateful, more sympathetic, more grateful for what someone does for you, with you, by your side.”
“It brings questions, wonder and worry, then answers, peace and celebration. It brought time for reflection, planning, prayer and independence, but most of all joy at its conclusion. A real joy. And that’s really what it’s about…”
Sutter ended the lengthy post by wishing for his wife’s return and including the hashtags “#love #love #reunitedanditfeelssogood.”
The couple have been the subject of speculation online following a series of cryptic messages written by Ryan and Trista.
Rumors started bubbling up earlier this month when Ryan, 49, shared a post on Instagram suggesting Trista wasn’t with the family to celebrate Mother’s Day.
“I know you wish you were here for Mother’s Day,” he wrote. “We wish you were too. But sometimes being a mom means letting go of their hands, granting them independence and boosting their courageous spirit.
Last week, the firefighter attempted to clear up any misunderstanding by writing that he had posted “a message to my wife for a time when she could possibly read it.”
“She understood the context and so did I. No one else figured it out though, and that’s where things got out of hand. It was suggested that Trista was dead, that we were in trouble, or that it must be a mid-life crisis among many other creative ideas.
Ryan admitted it was “weird” to be in the news again and “reminded me how crazy life is and how grateful I am for the life I have.”
Trista, 51, then defended her husband’s veiled notes on Saturday with a seemingly vague message of her own.
“Damn it people. Can’t a girl go through a nervous breakdown/separation trial/mid-life crisis/death/divorce in peace around here?! 😜🤣,” she jokingly began alongside a photo of herself and the family.
The former reality star went on to explain that she saw “an opportunity for perspective and personal growth” and that Ryan chose to “share his love for me in messages that would find me on my travels.” .
The mother of two shared that her words “gave me exactly what my love language of words of affirmation needed to get me over serious self-doubts and fears…and that’s all who counts.”
Trista added that her husband “doesn’t owe anyone an explanation” before promising she would share the rest of the story “in due time.”
Trista and Ryan are the longest-running couple in “The Bachelor” franchise. They married in 2003 after meeting on Trista’s season of “The Bachelorette.”
New York Post
