The woman who started it all in Season 1 of The Bachelorette in 2003 has turned 50. Trista Rehn Sutter found the love of her life with firefighter and amateur poet Ryan Sutter. She married him that same year in a very pink, televised wedding. Trista celebrated the milestone event with her husband and a group of close friends on the tropical beaches of Curaçao.
“This birthday just means relaxation and decompressing and resetting,” Trista shared with People. “Plus, palm trees make me happy!”
While in the Caribbean, the group, which included fellow Bachelorette alum Kaitlyn Bristowe and her fiancé Jason Tartick, enjoyed snorkeling and diving.
“Ryan took a bath the other night just as the sun was setting,” said Trista, whose seaside bungalow came complete with a butler and private infinity pool. “It was the most gorgeous setting,” Trista remarked. “It’s just dreamy.”
For Trista‘s birthday party, the six couples all dressed in white and enjoyed a dinner of Chilean sea bass, surf and turf, and a tropical fruit platter. They dined under the stars, overlooking the ocean. Trista blowing out sparklers on her chocolate cake was the climax of the meal.
“Everything [was] just stunning,” said Trista. “I feel really blessed to be able to make these beautiful memories with the people I love.”
The relaxing getaway was also an opportunity for Trista to reflect on the past few years and all that they have to be thankful for as a family. “I have to remind myself that every day that we have on this planet can be taken away in a heartbeat,” she stated.
RELATED: Blast From The Past: The Best Seasons Of The Bachelor And The Bachelorette
People reported that in 2017, Trista suffered a life-threatening seizure, the cause of which was never explained, while on vacation with her family in Croatia. Then in 2020, Ryan, a fit and active dad to their two teenage children, started feeling “really, really drained,” he recalled. “My body hurt, I had zero energy and even getting up from the couch seemed impossible. And then, it just started spiraling rapidly.” It was over a year before they finally got a diagnosis of Lyme Disease, per People. He’s still undergoing treatment to this day.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t like getting older,” Trista confessed. Who does? “I don’t like aging in the least bit, and the changes in my body and the creaks and all of it. But the alternative is not what I want!” Trista said. “I want to watch my kids grow up and grow old with Ryan,” she added.
“We have had struggles, but I’m happy that Ryan and I are happy and healthy,” Trista said. “I feel really lucky. It’s a good life, and I’m thankful for it.”
And she still looks pretty darn good in a bikini, especially for a 50-year-old woman.
Trista and Ryan have been through a lot together in their nearly 20 years as a couple. They set the bar pretty high for Bachelor Nation and have to be the record holders for longest relationship in the franchise. Happy birthday, Trista!
TELL US – ARE YOU A FAN OF TRISTA? ARE YOU PLEASANTLY SURPRISED THAT RYAN AND TRISTA ARE STILL GOING STRONG AFTER ALL THESE YEARS?
[Photo by Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images]
