Tia Booth: I Commend Cassie for Seeking Protection After Colton Split

Tia Booth is wishing the best for her ex-boyfriend Colton Underwood amid his legal drama with Cassie Randolph — but she also has the Bachelor season 23 winner’s back.

“I haven’t heard from Colton,” Booth, 29, told Us Weekly exclusively, noting that the exes last caught up in August after his “Reality Steve” interview. “And then after that is when, you know, everything came out with him and Cassie. And that’s something that should be private between them because you just never know both sides of the story. But I would like to say, for Cassie or anyone, if anyone ever feels like they are in danger or ever feels like they need to do something to protect themselves, I completely commend them for doing that.”

She continued: “And I commend her for being able to speak up and do what she feels like she needs to do to be safe. But I am thinking about both of them, and I hope they can both kind of be in a good place.”

Us confirmed on September 11 that Randolph, 25, filed a restraining order against Underwood, 28, accusing him of harassing her via “unsettling” text messages, constant phone calls and placing a “tracking device” in her car. (A rep for the former Bachelor told Us, “As this is a legal matter, we cannot provide any comment at this time.”)

Booth, for her part, added that it’s “insane” that she’s seen “victim-shaming” online after Randolph was granted the restraining order on September 14 until their October 6 court date.

“People see someone that they put on this threshold because they’re on TV and they let them get away with anything or they think they know that person. I experienced a lot of negative feedback with Colton and these women who were just so obsessed with him,” she explained. “They would tell you, you know, the worst things that you could ever tell someone I’m like, wait a minute. These are real people with real lives and real issues that they need to like figure out on their own. It’s a very wild experience for sure. But I wish the best for both of them.”

Fans first met Booth on season 22 of The Bachelor. After Underwood competed for her friend Becca Kufrin’s heart on season 14 of The Bachelorette, viewers learned she had a past with the former football player. Following a brief romance on season 5 of Bachelor in Paradise, the twosome went their separate ways for good in 2018.

 

Booth has since stepped back from dating on TV, but told Us that she would “definitely consider” being the Bachelorette down the line, confirming that she was in contact with producers before Clare Crawley was named the season 16 Bachelorette earlier this year. For now, however, Booth teamed up with another reality TV star — The Voice’s Kameron Marlowe for his “Burn ‘Em All” music video, dedicated to frontline workers.

“It was so much fun. Kameron was so amazing to work with,” Booth told Us. “And it made me so happy to get to represent healthcare workers because I am actually a physical therapist and I know I was representing a nurse, but it was just really, really cool especially right now to be representing all this healthcare and everyone who is out there day in and day out, helping people.”

Booth reunited with Marlowe again on Friday, September 25, to do the Nashville Hot Chicken Challenge.

“He even said he doesn’t really like spicy food so I’m like, ‘OK, I’m definitely gonna win.’ I like spicy food, but it was really hot, really hot,” she told Us. “I don’t know why people would order that and actually enjoy it. It burned!”

For more from Booth, watch the video above.

With reporting by Kayley Stumpe

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source: usmagazine.com