Opening up.

As Bachelor Nation fans know, Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti Haibon first met on Season 2 of “Bachelor in Paradise” in 2015.

The two later got engaged on Season 5 of “Bachelor in Paradise” and tied the knot in August 2019. Since then, they’ve welcomed son Dawson in 2022 and their second son, Hayden, in 2024.

Earlier this year, Ashley officially confirmed that she is part of the cast of “The Real Housewives of Rhode Island.” And this week, she shared more about her experience and how the show has affected her marriage.

On Kaitlyn Bristowe’s podcast “Off the Vine,” Ashley reflected on the moment she was officially asked to become a Housewife. 

She revealed, “It was super weird. Like, I can’t name the name, but there was somebody from Bachelor Nation that was being interviewed for another city and the city didn’t happen.” That person then asked if she could put Ashley in contact with the casting director since they were also talking to women in Rhode Island.

“I talked to him and I was the last person cast. Like, I was the last person in talks. We all got the call together in a group call,” Ashley recalled. She also shared that she went back and forth with the show for two months before officially agreeing to be on it. 

The Bachelor Nation star has previously opened up about how being on “RHORI” could potentially impact her marriage. And now, she’s revealing where she and Jared stand since the show aired. 

She said, “It really hasn’t. Filming and stuff didn’t affect our relationship at all I think because we’ve been through it. And going through watching it, also no. The only thing that it has, is that it’s just another thing on our plate.” Ashley expressed she and Jared have been feeling constantly overwhelmed by “trying to tackle everything.” 

Jared then chimed in, “Yeah, it’s a balance because I think Ashley’s whole thing in reality TV and in life is that she’s just herself and we’re just ourselves. And we have a wonderful relationship, but it’s not always perfect. And I like that aspect of broadcasting it to the world because it’s like… nobody has a perfect relationship. But we have a wonderful relationship.” 

Jared also touched on receiving criticisms online and how it’s affected him and Ashley. “You have people, I think [Ashley] gets more bothered by it than I do, about people spewing [criticisms],” he said. “And it’s like just don’t read that because 90% of everything that people say is wonderful.”