Bringing Up Bates’ Katie Bates Breaks Silence on Travis Clark’s Affair

Bringing Up Bates alum Katie Bates has broken her silence after her husband, Travis Clark, admitted his infidelity.

“This is not how I imagined beginning this year or this new season of our lives,” Bates, 25, began in a lengthy statement shared via Instagram late on Monday, January 19. “This has been an incredibly painful time for me and for our family. As many now know, our marriage has been deeply hurt and my trust has been broken. Right now, I am taking life one day at a time and focusing on what matters most: our children, their future, and my own healing.”

Bates went on to thank fans for their support, noting that Clark, 24, didn’t want to hide the affair from their followers. “After privately expressing deep regret and sorrow for his actions, Travis told me he felt it was important to publicly take accountability for what he has done, and I support his decision and desire for transparency,” Bates explained before admitting that she is seeking advice from an attorney.

“We are working through this privately, seeking counsel both together and individually as we try to determine the best path forward for our family. I am also being supported by legal counsel,” Bates continued. “This is not a quick or easy process, and it is not one I am taking lightly. Every decision about our future will be made slowly and carefully, with what is best for our family and our children as the highest priority.”

Bates further emphasized that she and Clark are working on repairing their relationship, adding, “I do believe in God’s power to restore, and my heart’s desire to preserve our marriage.”

She concluded by noting that she is “unable to cancel” some of her upcoming work commitments, ending her post with a Bible verse: “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.”

Bates’ statement comes days after she revealed on Friday, January 16, that she suffered a pregnancy loss. The next day, Clark issued a public apology for cheating on his wife.

“This is hard to write, but I owe the truth and I owe an apology. I was unfaithful to my wife,” Clark wrote in a social media statement on Saturday, January 17. “I had an affair and repeatedly broke her trust. There is no excuse for what I did.”

He continued, “This was my failure and my responsibility alone. I know that words don’t begin to express the damage I caused or the depth of the hurt I’ve brought into her life, but I am truly sorry. I’m sorry for the pain, humiliation and betrayal I caused my wife through my choices.”

Clark further asked for Bates’ forgiveness as he stressed that he wanted to become “a more honest and accountable man.”

“I understand that an apology doesn’t repair what I broke and forgiveness is not something I deserve or can ask for,” the nursing student wrote at the time. “I am taking responsibility by getting help and doing the work to change and become a more honest and accountable man, regardless of [the] outcome. I ask for privacy and grace for Katie as she processes this in her own time.”

Katie, one of Gil and Kelly Jo Bates’ 19 children, started courting Clark in 2020 after connecting through mutual friends one year earlier.

“Travis and his family are active in their local church and also travel together to sing, so our families have been able to visit at nearby concerts and church events,” Katie exclusively told Us Weekly in March 2020. “Travis and I are so thankful that the Lord, not only allowed our paths to cross, but that we have been able to begin this new phase of our journey together.”

She added at the time, “Travis made the evening [he asked to court me] so special, and right now, I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet.”

Clark proposed in April 2021, just eight months before they tied the knot in December 2021. Katie and Clark expanded their family two years later, welcoming daughter Hailey in 2023. The couple’s son, Harvey, followed in 2024.

Nearly one year later, Katie found out that she and Clark were expecting again.

“I will spend the rest of my life missing you,” Katie wrote via Instagram on Friday, revealing that she had suffered a pregnancy loss.

Katie was subsequently supported in the comments section by her parents and several of her siblings.

“There’s no way to describe the pain of a loss like this,” her parents replied. “Our hearts are all broken, but we know we will meet this precious little one some day in glory!”

Katie’s sister Carlin Bates, for her part, added, “My heart is broken for you 💔 love you, sis!!

Siblings Zach Bates, Trace Bates,Lawson Bates, Alyssa Bates, Josie Bates and Michaela Bates also expressed their condolences and sent respective prayers in the comments.