I don’t know what Bachelor royalty Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon were expecting when they agreed to a free vacation in Mexico a guest appearance on the show where they first met, Bachelor in Paradise. But apparently it wasn’t this.
Following so much focus on the couple’s relationship on season 8 of the show (ie. “Will Ashley and Jared EVER Have Sex Again?”), the married couple (“with child!” as bartender Wells Adams kept saying) spoke to People about the unexpected backlash from fans who felt they were taking screen time from the Bachelor Nation singles viewers tune in to see.
“It makes us feel like failures because the show took a chance with us, and we didn’t ask for them to, but the fact that they wanted to means the world to us,” Jared said.
“Honestly, I thought we’d go down there and . . . it would be quick little scenes, and they would show us on the date, and it would be fast and quick and, ‘Oh, so cute,’ and then move on.”
That’s not what happened, though. Ashley and Jared‘s visit to Paradise had the most screen time of any person or couple in episode 4. Data collected by Bachelor Data Analyst showed Ashley and Jared for nearly 17 minutes of screen time. By comparison, the next highest screen time for any other beachgoer was just eight minutes. That’s WAY too much Ashley and Jared for most people.
Ashley addressed accusations of what screenhogs they were in the episode. “We’re quite honored that they thought our footage was good enough to show in its entirety. But also what makes us sad is if you guys don’t like the farting jokes and stuff like that, I totally get that,” she said.
“It’s not really jokes, it’s real life. Like, real life as of, like, 15 minutes ago,” Ashley joked. “But we are kind of sad that we heard a lot of people are fast forwarding through our date scene, which actually was very meaningful to us. I think it would be relatable to a lot of people in serious committed relationships.”
Save it for your home movies, Ashley. You had your time on the show (twice). You stalked Jared and hounded him until he finally gave in and married you. Your fairytale (kind of) came true. Now go away and give someone else a chance at love.
“Who else feels personally victimized [by] being forced to watch Ashley and Jared on BIP?” one comment on the Bachelor Data Analyst Instagram post said.
“Ashley and Jared could’ve had their free vacation off air and just had a small cameo to talk about how a friendship base works for love,” another wrote, adding, “Move it along BIP!”
Ashley and Jared met on Season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2015. Ashley arrived on the beach specifically to persue Jared, and many tears and lots of smeared mascara ensued when he didn’t immediately return her affections.
More ugly crying ensued on Season 3, when Jared and Ashley were still “just friends.” Ashley managed to chase Caila Quinn, who Jared was expressing interest in, out of Paradise, and Jared famously ran after her car to go with her — and presumably to escape Ashley’s clutches.
He didn’t run fast enough. In 2018, Jared finally gave up and announced that he and Ashley were dating. They married a year later, and welcomed their son Dawson in January 2022.
While they certainly have their fans, the inclusion of Jared and Ashley in a show about people trying to meet their soulmate in Paradise was a miscalculation.
Adios, Ashley and Jared. Smell ya later! (As bad as that was, that was an actual “fart joke,” Ashley. This time no actual farts were involved.)
TELL US – DID YOU ENJOY SEEING ASHLEY AND JARED ON BACHELOR IN PARADISE? DO YOU THINK THEY TOOK UP TOO MUCH TIME ON THE SHOW?
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