The Bachelor Nation star admitted that she kissed Jared when she was still dating Kevin.
Ashley Iaconetti is taking responsibility for her actions. The Bachelor Nation star was accused of cheating by her ex, Kevin Wendt, with her fiancé, Jared Haibon, during the premiere of Bachelor in Paradise.
Ashley took to her podcast, Almost Famous, with fellow Bachelor alum, Ben Higgins, where she was quickly asked about Kevin’s accusation that she cheated on him during their brief relationship by kissing her then-ex Jared.
“I’ve always been, like, so open with everyone about my whole love life for the past three and a half years,” she began. “We were open about it because I thought it was a big part of Jared and my story. When Jared did come out about his feelings it was about exactly a month from the start of Bachelor Winter Games. I had been dating Kevin out in the real world for about two weeks.”
She explained that the incident Kevin brought up happened in an airport, calling it a “moment of passion.”
“Jared came out with his feelings, and he kissed me in the airport,” she said. “We had mentioned this before, I admitted that I was dating Kevin and Jared kissed me. That is true. And whether you call that cheating, that is up to you, by most definitions it is. It was just one of those moments of passion. He pulled me in and I kissed him back, yes, but I never kissed him again until Kevin and I broke up.”
Ashley noted that at the time, she had mixed feelings about what transpired, adding, “He kissed me and then I said, ‘I shouldn’t have done that.’ And then I was overwhelmed with the thoughts of, ‘That felt right, but that was kind of like cheating, and I can’t believe I would ever cheat.’”
At the end of the day, Ashley isn’t ashamed of what happened between her and Jared as it ultimately led to their reconciliation and subsequent engagement.
“It was one kiss a month into knowing Kevin with somebody that I had been really in love with for two and a half years,” she insisted. “People will say that’s cheating and sure, but don’t tell me you wouldn’t have gone through it. I mean, come on guys.”
As for Kevin, Ashley is nothing but supportive of her ex.
“He helped me grow so much and he gave me so much relationship experience. I definitely needed to be with him in order to get to the place where I am now,” she said of her relationship with Kevin, which prompted Jared to figure out what he wanted with Ashley.
Though she was very complimentary of Kevin, she noted that he seemed to be focusing on their relationship more than she thought was appropriate.
“I was confused by the way he said he imagined marrying me because we never exchanged ‘I love yous,’ we never really thought beyond a couple of months,” she said. “I just think it was weird that he brought up the marriage term because I don’t think either of us really saw that… I don’t think that he was reeling from our breakup, so I hope he finds someone to be with because he so deserves it.”
Ashley and Jared got engaged in June and have been candid about their romance ever since. Watch the clip below for ET's exclusive interview with the happy couple:
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