Trista Sutter was “very surprised” to see the online chatter about her and Ryan Sutter’s marital status that began swirling while she was competing on season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
“We’ve lived our marriage in the public eye, so I understand and I really appreciate the support and the care people cared,” Trista, 52, exclusively told Us Weekly. “But it was surprising because usually we don’t cause such a ruckus.”
The former Bachelorette noted that Ryan, 50, “caused a ruckus” because he was “just kind of shouting from the rooftops that he loved me in a post.”
“It turned into people losing their minds,” Trista recalled. “It is amazing to be part of something that makes it so that you connect with the world. And I am grateful for that.”
Ryan turned heads in Bachelor Nation when he uploaded a series of cryptic social media posts about Trista, revealing that she would not be spending Mother’s Day with their family. (Ryan and Trista share son Maxwell, 16, and daughter Blakesley, 15.)
Trista gushed that she also has gratitude for her husband, whom she wed in 2003. “He’s like, ‘I don’t care. I’m just going to say it. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. You think what you’re going to think. I’m going to tell my wife that I love her,’” Trista said.
When it comes to maintaining her marriage with Ryan, Trista said “there’s really not a secret” but noted that “you have to put effort in” to make it last.
“You need to trust each other, respect each other, have fun together,” she said. “Forgive each other for little annoyances, little frustrations, little comments that you make, whatever little bad days. And then communication. Everyone always says all the things. It is all the things.”
Despite the public concern about her marriage, Trista set the record straight and explained her absence to concerned Bachelor Nation fans in November when she revealed that she was cast on season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
Trista gushed to Us that the Fox reality show was a “once in a lifetime” opportunity, relating the experience to being cast as the first-ever Bachelorette in 2003.
“But then you throw in the fact that you get to individually compete, so you’re competing against yourself,” she said. “It was me against me. And I felt like I wanted to reconnect with me and show myself that I am strong and I am courageous and I am all the positive adjectives. So I wanted to give back to myself a little bit.”
Trista noted that her relationships on the show, including with the former special forces operatives who direct the group, are also something she holds close to her heart.
“Getting to know them … and getting a little tiny taste of what they have done in their training and their everyday life in the military [made me gain respect],” she said. “You walk away with such appreciation and gratitude. That’s why I did it.”
Season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test premieres on Fox Wednesday, January 8, at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Mariel Turner
