Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon on Explaining Love Story to Son, Why They Won't Show Him Certain Episodes (EXCLUSIVE)

Shannon Raphael - Author
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Oct. 11 2022, Updated 10:39 a.m. ET

Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti
Source: Instagram

If there’s one constant in every season of Bachelor in Paradise (besides the drama), it’s that we will definitely see Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon. Hailed as one of the — if not the — most successful couple to come out of the Bachelor franchise, it’s rare to go too long without the producers reminding us that the “process” works! (Well, sort of.)

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Jared, who first appeared on Kaitlyn Bristowe's season of The Bachelorette, and Ashley, who competed for Chris Soules' heart on The Bachelor, connected on the beach in Mexico — but their journey wasn't smooth sailing. While Ashley made her feelings for Jared known early on in the show, it took the Bachelorette alum some time to reciprocate.

Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon
Source: Getty
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Jared proposed on the BiP beach long after Season 2's end, and the pair got married in 2019. Jared and Ashley have their first child together, Dawson Dimitri Brady Haibon, who was born on Jan. 31, 2022.

Now, Ashley and Jared are back on the beach as mentors to the current Bachelor in Paradise Season 8 contestants. It's a way for the iconic couple to relive their love story ... and get a little vacation time now that they're parents.

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Their love story is certainly one for the Bachelor books, and both Ashley and Jared spoke exclusively with Distractify about their first days of parenthood and their plans to tell their son about their fated reality TV meeting.

Jared and Ashley share what makes them "excited" about sharing their 'Bachelor in Paradise' journey with their son.

While Ashley and Jared really fell in love off-camera, the two first explored their potential romantic connection while the cameras were rolling on Bachelor in Paradise.

Now that the spouses are officially parents, fans of the franchise may be wondering if the two have thought about what they'll share with their son, Dawson, about their TV meeting.

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Jared Haibon and Ashley Iaconetti
Source: Instagram

"I'm just going to tell him how it is and how it went down," Ashley said to Distractify. "He'll see it and he'll watch some episodes. There will be some episodes that we won't show, because there's no need to revisit those."

The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast host said that her son will find out about his parents' time on TV sooner rather than later.

"There's nothing I would be embarrassed of," Ashley added. "He's going to know that we were on TV before he goes to school."

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Once Dawson gets older, Jared is also looking forward to sharing his love story — and why the imperfections made it so special.

"I'm excited to show him what happened and to talk to him about the lessons that we learned in our relationship and in our lives. Because I do think that what Ashley and I went through is far more common, and I want to let him know that there will be ups and downs, whoever he is with. It's not always going to be perfect," Jared said.

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"With all other Bachelor couples, I can't really think of any other one that had such hardships on TV," he added. "The kid can watch their parents and be like, 'Oh, you two are a fairytale.'"

Jared and Ashley may not have had a typical fairytale Bachelor love story while the cameras were rolling, but their bond is one that allows viewers to continue to have faith in the franchise.

The Bachelor Nation stars give dating advice to us and to the 'Bachelor in Paradise' contestants.

"Being out of your comfort zone with other people who are out of their comfort zones always creates a bond," Ashley shared of her own Bachelor in Paradise experience. "Whenever you're on vacation, you're more relaxed and open to mingling with other people ... You could go into it with that easy breezy-ness and actually find something."

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Jared Haibon
Source: Courtesy of Jared haibon

"Don't overthink things," Jared added. "Life happens fast, and if you're not ready for it, it's going to blow right past you. For a long time, I had this idea of who I think I should have ended up with — with personality qualities and characteristics. Ashley's the complete opposite of that. I'm so lucky that I became open to the idea of dating someone like Ashley because then I realized that this is the person that I should be with, not who I'd made up in my head."

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While becoming a parent is a major life change, Ashley and Jared are still their same hilarious selves. “We are a little concerned," Ashley told Us Weekly. "Not concerned, [but] we want people to know this is not after James Van Der Beek‘s [Dawson’s Creek] character. This is after a Leonardo DiCaprio character. Titanic has always been my favorite movie of all time.” There’s also a little more to Dawson’s name. After Tom Brady’s retirement announcement, Ashley and Jared gave Dawson a second middle name: Brady.

Now, while Ashley and Jared are off on their vacation, their baby is likely staying home with Ashley or Jared’s parents. In fact, in preparation for labor and the first few weeks of parenthood, Ashley actually stayed with her parents in Virginia. And while parenthood is a whole new challenge for the Bachelor Nation couple, it’s comforting to know that they’ll never truly leave Paradise.

Bachelor in Paradise airs every Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.

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