The Real Housewives of Rhode Island star Ashley Iaconetti has shared details about her last-minute casting and how the Bravo reality series has affected her marriage to Jared Haibon.

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Ashley recalled the moment when she officially became a Housewife during a recent appearance with Jared on the "Off the Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe" podcast.

"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," Ashley revealed to Kaitlyn.

(Ashley and Kaitlyn met when they competed on Chris Soules' season of The Bachelor in 2015, and then Jared finished in Kaitlyn's Final 4 on her The Bachelorette season).

"And then [The Bachelor alum] was like, 'Can I put you in touch with the casting director? Because apparently they're also talking to women in Rhode Island.' So I talked to him, and I was the last person cast," Ashley said.

"Like, I was the last person in talks. We all got the call together in a group call."

Ashley admitted it wasn't an immediate "yes" on her part because it was a big decision to make considering she and Jared have two sons.

Ashley gave birth to Dawson in January 2022, and then the couple welcomed Hayden in July 2024.

Ashley admitted that she went back and forth with the decision for about two months before finally agreeing to join the cast.

"That was also when there was a negotiation with our lawyer and the contract... We wanted to make sure that I could still do all of my social media, and we wanted our jobs to stay totally normal," Ashley explained.

But Jared clarified how "it was never a no" for either of them.

"When Real Housewives and Bravo calls, it's like, 'Holy sh-t! I can't believe this is actually [happening].' It's the same thing when The Bachelor calls," Jared explained.

"It's an immediate yes!" Ashley quipped.

"Not an immediate yes for me," Jared corrected his wife.

"Yes it was!" Ashley playfully countered.

"It's like Real Housewives. Of course we're going to say yes. It's Bravo!" Jared conceded.

"It's an incredible opportunity," he elaborated, "until cameras start rolling and they're like, 'Okay, we're going to have cameras in there filming your family in like two weeks.'"

Jared said that's when he and Ashley asked each other if they were doing "the right thing."

But Jared confirmed it was "way too big of an opportunity" for Ashley to turn down and it's a huge deal that she's "a Housewife" in the franchise.

Now that the spouses have filmed the show and it's currently airing Sunday nights on Bravo, Ashley insisted that it "really hasn't" affected her marriage.

"He doesn't watch, and that makes a difference," Ashley revealed of Jared.

Ashley said she watches the episodes and complains to Jared about certain things but he "doesn't care" how either of them look on TV.

"Of course I keep up with it. I'm a huge supporter of Housewives... I'm very proud and happy for her," Jared clarified.

"[But] it's a stressful environment. But when filming, there is so much anxiety. I already have so much anxiety and stress in my life that the idea of rewatching something that I have zero control over [is too much]."

Jared explained how he and Ashley are always going to wish The Real Housewives cuts a scene or adds a particular scene.

"But we have nothing to do with them putting the story together and showcasing it for the world to see, and so it's just, like, that's great and that's wonderful," Jared told Kaitlyn.

"But I have no desire to watch because I know it's going to make me overthink. I am more focused on, 'What's today bringing... with kids and business?'"

Ashley agreed that she was in a good place with Jared during filming and they're still in a good place watching the season back.

"The only thing that it has [affected] is that it's just another thing on our plate," Ashley noted.

Ashley admitted she and Jared feel constantly overwhelmed "trying to tackle everything" in their lives -- including their coffee shop called Audrey's.

"We're just overwhelmed," Ashley stated.

"Yeah, it's a balance," Jared chimed in, "because I think Ashley's whole thing in reality TV and in life is that she's just herself and we're just ourselves."

Jared continued, "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 Jared acknowledged, "We have a wonderful relationship."

In terms of online criticism and hate Ashley is receiving, Jared confessed that Ashley is "more bothered by it" than he is.

"And it's like, 'Just don't read that because 90% of everything that people say is wonderful,'" he concluded.

Bravo had announced it was expanding The Real Housewives franchise with a new The Real Housewives of Rhode Island spinoff in May 2025.

Ashley and Jared's unique and confusing love story began when they met in Mexico in 2015 on the set of Bachelor in Paradise 2.

Although the pair went out on a couple of dates and exchanged a few kisses, Jared kept Ashley in the friend zone until they officially began dating in March 2018.

The couple -- who also both appeared on Bachelor in Paradise 3 in 2016 -- confirmed their romantic relationship during a May 2018 episode of Ashley's YouTube series, "The Story of Us."

Ashley and Jared's dating news shocked the world given their three-year "are they or aren't they" saga.

Jared then proposed to Ashley on the beach in June 2018 while they were filming a guest appearance on the fifth season of Bachelor in Paradise.

Ashley and Jared got married in August 2019 at United Congregational Church in Newport, RI, followed by a lavish reception at Rosecliff, an oceanfront Gilded Age mansion.

In July 2021, Ashley and Jared announced Ashley was pregnant with their first child.

In January 2024, Ashley and Jared announced Ashley was pregnant again.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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