After ending her engagement to Moynes — a season 16 contestant who joined Thurston's season midway — in 2021, the "FBoy Island" star reconnected with another one of her season 17 guys, John Hersey, whom she sent home during week two. After moving to San Diego and developing a close friendship with Hersey, the two eventually began dating. People confirmed their relationship in November 2021, though they announced their breakup on their Instagram Stories seven months later.
In October, Thurston told Us Weekly the biggest lesson she learned from that romance was "don't hard launch too early." She explained, "When you're in such a public spotlight, I think you do have to keep things a little closer to your heart and private and protected, maybe, longer because as fun as it is to be public in the happy moments, it's really hard to go through a public breakup."
