Trista Sutter Details Why She Was Apart From Family After Husband Ryan’s Cryptic Posts

At the time, TMZ reported that the Bachelorette star’s mysterious absence — which led to her husband Ryan making headlines over a series of cryptic Instagram posts — was due to her filming a stint on Season 3 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

However, Trista, 51, did not reveal why she was away until now, with the reality star confirming that she was, in fact, shooting Special Forces!

On Friday, Trista posted the Season 3 trailer on Instagram, and jokingly poked fun at the rumors regarding why she was away from her family, including speculation that she and Ryan were having marriage troubles.

“Was it a divorce/nervous breakdown/mid-life crisis/death/trial separation back in May?! Not unless that’s what you call Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, season 3! 😜,” she began in her caption. “Thankfully, none of those things are associated with my experience in filming the show, but as you get a glimpse of in the trailer, the angel on my shoulder did have to face some pretty big battles.”

“You’ll have to tune in in January to see the battles play out, but for now, just so grateful to be a part of this epic adventure. ❤️ #specialforcesfox,” she added.

Trista’s comments come after Ryan shared a handful of cryptic posts in May, in which he discussed his wife’s apparent absence in the captions. Ryan said he “missed” his wife and revealed that he and their kids, son Maxwell, 17, and daughter Blakesley, 15, would be spending Mother’s Day without her.

He captioned a family photo with, “I know you wish you were here for Mother’s Day. We wish you were too.”

Ryan continued in a May 17 post of a picture of the couple writing, “I really wish I could talk to you. Ask you how you’re doing? How was your day. I’d really like to hear your voice – just for a minute. So many times I’ve called without much to say, not realizing how lucky I was or how much I’d miss the opportunity if it were gone.”

The posts sparked fan concerns about the well-being of Trista and had them wondering if the beloved couple and alumni of the Bachelor Nation were separated or even heading for divorce.

Trista soon returned to Instagram about a week later, sharing a photo of her family on a beach vacation in Mexico. In her post, she addressed the speculation and concern about her marriage and absence after Ryan’s posts raised questions among fans.

“Geez people. Can’t a girl have a nervous breakdown/trial separation/midlife crisis/death/divorce in peace around here?! 😜🤣,” she began in the post’s lengthy caption.

“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 continued.

“An opportunity for perspective and personal growth presented itself and with the unconditional support of my family and friends, I chose myself and betterment, knowing that my stay-at-home-mom job and my kids end-of-the-school-year needs were in the best, most capable hands,” she added.

Trista went on to explain her husband’s reaction, and shared how his posts ultimately were what she “needed.”

“My stoic husband who usually chooses privacy over posting, decided to share his love for me in messages that would find me in my travels,” she said. “We look at Instagram like a digital diary. Most of the time, the world doesn’t pay too much attention.”

“This time, he couldn’t say anything right and just about every news outlet picked up his ‘cryptic/confusing/attention-seeking/dramatic’ pictures and captions,” she wrote. “To me, they gave me exactly what my Words of Affirmation love language needed to get me through some serious self doubt and fear…and that’s all that matters. He doesn’t owe anyone any explanation or require permission to post what he wants to post and share what he wants to share. 💯.”

Trista ended her post by alluding that there is more to the story, but she wasn’t sharing more at the time.

“If you want to know the rest of the story, I will share in due time,” she wrote, before concluding, “For now, it’s back to our regularly scheduled programming – from a beach in Mexico! 🇲🇽 🏝️🤿 After all, nervous breakdowns and separations require much needed rest and relaxation! 😎.”

Meanwhile, both Trista and Ryan addressed the situation in June while appearing on podcasts — but still did not reveal that the former’s absence was due to Special Forces.

However, during an appearance on the Most Dramatic Podcast Ever, Ryan said Trista was on an experience where she was not going to have access to social media — which, in hindsight, was likely technically true.

“I was going to post these things knowing that the second she had access to [social media] she would look at it and she could see, here’s what happened while you were gone. Here’s how much we missed you,” Ryan said, “and then it just blew up in my face and backfired.”

Trista also was a guest on a podcast, appearing on the Almost Famous podcast. She still remained tight-lipped about her whereabouts in May, teasing that she was going to “share it as soon as I possibly can.”

And on Friday she finally did after FOX officially announced the cast of Special Forces Season 3. In addition to Trista, other stars who will be competing in the reality series include Denise Richards, Brody Jenner, Stephen Baldwin, and Carey Hart.

Check out the full cast in the gallery, below!

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test Season 3 premieres on Wednesday, January 8.