So many people were rooting for this The Bachelor: Winter Games couple. But it just didn’t work out.
Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt have split, and will not be reenacting Ghost again any time soon. At least, not with each other.
What went wrong?
Just days ago, the couple were still sharing cozy photos of each other.
Though Entertainment Tonight first learned that Ashley and Kevin broke up through a source, they waited for confirmation before reporting it.
And they got it.
Ashley, a long-time fan favorite for the Bachelor Nation, confirmed that she and Kevin Wendt have broken up.
She isn’t telling what went wrong for the two of them … yet. She does plan for the two of them to reveal all.
In the meantime, however, we have a little preview of what they’re likely to say.
The same source that leaked to Entertainment Tonight that Ashley and Kevin had split also offered up a little insight into why.
“It was a little weird to have to figure out a long-term plan so soon.”
In other words, they weren’t sure where the relationship was headed just yet.
“Ashley and Kevin were both really into each other, they just weren’t sure if it was a forever thing.”
Perhaps The Bachelor: Winter Games, like all reality shows, it’s always a reliable place to meet your next life partner. Cameras don’t let you tell the whole story, even to each other.
Another factor was where they each live.
“And it’s hard to date long distance like that.”
Ashley lives in L.A. and Kevin, of course, is Canadian.
Even before Ashley and Kevin were carting off to Disneyland to celebrate their relationship, they were cozying up on camera.
Dean and Lesley won a couple of dates and, after a lot of careful soul-searching, opted to share one of them with Ashley and Kevin.
That super sweet gesture meant that Ashley and Kevin got to make pottery.
Which, very naturally, led to Kevin wrapping his arms around her from behind to guide her in shaping the spinning play.
And … totally pulling off an homage to Ghost in the process.
It was a very sweet moment.
Some would say that Dean and Lesley should have kept that date, since in light of this breakup, it was “wasted.”
Others, however, think that the fun that they had was meaningful and that a relationship doesn’t have to last forever in order to be worth it.
Some can’t help but wonder about Ashley Iaconetti’s famous V-card, since she and Kevin were so happy together for so long.
While it’s no one’s business who does or does not have sex at what time, Ashley wasn’t shy about speaking out about being a virgin at 29.
Virginity is a social construct, but so is money — whether or not you have it can still matter to you and impact how others view you.
A couple of weeks ago, however, Ashley addressed her virginity to Us Weekly, saying:
“I know what everybody’s million dollar question is — have we or have we not? — but I will never, ever, say yes or no to that question.”
It sounds like she’s respecting Kevin’s privacy and laying down some boundaries.
“Just because I’ve been public about it in the past, doesn’t mean that I can’t make something private once somebody else is associated in that topic of my life.”
That’s very sweet of her.
It’s sad that Ashley and Kevin didn’t work out, because many — including their costars like Dean and Lesley — were rooting for them.
Fans have adored Ashley for ages and wanted her to live her best life.
But at least any lingering questions about their breakup will be answered on her next iHeart Radio podcast: The Ben And Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast.
She and Kevin will be speaking about it, which is thoughtful for fans who grew attached to them and also just a sign of real maturity.
It seems safe to say that things between Ashley and Kevin ended much more amicably than they did between some others we could name.
