Three years after meeting on Bachelor in Paradise, Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon have finally made their relationship official!
It took awhile for Jared Haibon to come around, but Ashley Iaconetti can finally say Jared is her boyfriend.
After appearing on two seasons of Bachelor in Paradise, it took awhile for Jared and Ashley to go from friends to lovers. Now they are sharing their love story that took more than a few detours along the way.
On Tuesday, both Ashley and Jared shared the news about their relationship on Instagram. It didn’t take long for Bachelor fans (and contestants) to comment on the news, although there have been some hints over the past few weeks that the couple moved out of the friend zone and into a committed relationship.
Although it was love at first sight for Ashley when she met Jared on Bachelor in Paradise season 2, that wasn’t the case for Jared.
Over time, he fell for Ashley, but he simply wasn’t ready to commit when they filmed Paradise in 2015.
Jared tells People that he “never felt like it was over” when he rejected her on not one, but two seasons of Paradise.
They tried to date several times in between the two seasons, but the timing just wasn’t right for Jared.
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“I’m not gonna lie and say that I was in love with Ashley during BiP,” Jared reveals. “It was a slow build for me. Of course there were more-than-friendship feelings for me, but I felt like if there was any doubt in my head, that’s so unfair for me to be halfway in.”
When did things change?
Earlier this year, Jared joined the cast of Bachelor in Paradise Australia.
Around the same time, Ashley tried to find love on Bachelor Winter Games.
Jared left Australia single, but Ashley ended up finding a temporary relationship with Winter Games contestant Kevin Wendt.
We all know how that worked out. Ashley wasn’t feeling it and dumped Kevin.
It wasn’t a major breakup. If you’re a die-hard Bachelor fan, you know he was just a placeholder for Jared.
Once Ashley confirmed she broke off her relationship with Kevin in March, Jared says he went “all out” to pursue Ashley.
Of course, he made Ashley cry by writing a love letter that took him three days to write.
“I was scream-crying basically alone in my apartment reading that just sobbing and sobbing,” Ashley tells People.
Next: Bachelor in Paradise returns this summer with a few surprises!
Ashley and Jared are now two months into their official relationship. We won’t be surprised to see them get engaged soon and married on an upcoming season of Bachelor in Paradise.