Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC
Ashley IaconettiandJared Haibonexpected their time onBachelor in Paradiseseason 8 to look a bit differently.
After the formerBachelor in Paradisecouple’srelationship was spotlighted on season 8of the show, Ashley, 34, and Jared, 33, spoke about the unexpected backlash from fans — who said they felt the show was taking time from theBachelorNation singles who deserve it.
“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 in a conversation withEntertainment Tonight.
“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.”
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Ashley addressed how big of a role they had 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.”
Fan criticism of the episode focused on the fact that Ashey and Jared already found their happily ever after on the show.
“Who else feels personally victimized of being forced to watch Ashley and Jared onBIP?” one comment on the Bachelor Data Analyst Instagram post said.
Ashley and Jared met on season 2 ofBachelor in Paradise, though they didn’t officially begin dating until three years later. The friends–turned–loverswere married in 2019. They welcomed their first child,Dawson Demitri Haibon, in January.
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Bachelor in Paradiseairs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
source: people.com
