Ever since โThe Bachelorโ alum Ashley Iaconetti was announced as one of the seven women anchoring Bravoโs โThe Real Housewives of Rhode Island,โ fans of the long-running ABC franchise โ which featured the reality star on at least four iterations โ have been eager to see what sheโs up to now.
Iaconetti is somewhat of an icon within Bachelor Nation. Thanks to her intense emotions, her appearances on the franchiseโs multiple spinoffs have supplied viewers with gloriously entertaining confessionals and countless tear-filled outbursts. After making her โThe Bachelorโ debut in 2015 as one of the 30 women vying for Chris Soulesโ heart in Season 19, she went on to appear on Seasons 2 and 3 of โBachelor in Paradise,โ followed by a stint on the inaugural โBachelor Winter Games.โย
Iaconetti met her now-husband, Jared Haibon, on โBachelor in Paradise,โ and the two tied the knot in 2019. In the years since, theyโve welcomed two sons and settled into their off-screen โ though still massively online โ life as a family of four in Rhode Island, Haibonโs home state.ย
And while her romantic life might finally be stable, Iaconetti finds herself back in the drama among a โReal Housewives of Rhode Islandโ cast of fiery women who arenโt afraid to raise their voices and point fingers in each otherโs faces โ and most of whom sheโd never met prior to filming (In Episode 1, Iaconetti is introduced to the crew through her friend, Rosie DiMarie, during a beachside picnic).ย ย
โIโve never seen people communicate with each other in the way in which I experienced this summer,โ Iaconetti tells Variety. โI couldnโt believe my eyes so many times sitting in these situations, and I can only imagine that I will represent the audience at home watching.โย
Below, Variety spoke to Iaconetti about her decision to return to reality TV (as seen on Thursdayโs โReal Housewives of Rhode Islandโ premiere), the differences between the two franchises and her thoughts on โThe Bacheloretteโ and its now-paused Taylor Frankie Paul season.ย ย
Before we dive into โReal Housewives,โ why did you want to return to reality TV?
Iโve always loved doing it. Itโs always been so fun for me. The opportunity to do โThe Bachelorโ gave me my entire life, my family, my career and Iโm just forever grateful for that. I was always open to doing more of it if the opportunity presented itself, and it did. And itโs a whole other world, Iโll tell you that.ย
So it didnโt take any convincing?
Oh, it did, because this franchise is so much different than โThe Bachelor.โ Itโs a little more mixed into your real life. Itโs filmed in your own home, with your family. It gets more incorporated into your life. And so that was something that Jared and I discussed. We went over the decision for over a month, to be honest, because we were in such a happy, great place. And weโre like, โDo we jump into this again?โ We know how world rocking it can be, so it took a lot of thought and consideration. Iโd rather say โyesโ to something and then deal with how long you want to be part of it then say โnoโ and never experience what could be.ย
Did being back on camera take any getting used to?ย
I probably felt more at home than the rest of the cast. It didnโt feel as invasive as I thought it would be. I always had preparation as to when the kids and the family would be on camera, and they werenโt in my house a ton. It was honestly the drama that affected me more. On โThe Bachelor,โ for the most part, the girls get along pretty well. And here, that is not the case.ย
Were you a โHousewivesโ fan before being cast?
Honestly, the most Iโve watched of โHousewivesโ has been with my mom. She has always loved the OG New York housewives. She watched all their seasons. Hilariously, I donโt watch a ton of reality shows in general. Besides โThe Bachelor,โ I pretty much would only watch โThe Kardashians.โ Itโs one of those things where if youโre so close to it, you donโt necessarily watch it.
Two episodes in, the women are already not getting along, but youโre not really in the drama mix since youโve just met them. What was it like coming in and realizing that some of these women have years of history between one another?
Definitely intimidating. Iโm definitely an extroverted introvert, and it came out a lot here. I was quite uncomfortable in a lot of these situations. So I just could only sit back and watch it all unfold. I felt like if I were to ever jump into it, it would be honestly inappropriate because these girls didnโt really know me and I didnโt know them.ย
Had you heard anything about the women before filming began? Was there anything you knew going into it?
To be completely frank, I started [hearing] about the other women once it was solidified that I was part of the cast. So once the cast was in place, and even before that when there were rumblings of who may be cast, my friend group here would tell me, โWe see so-and-so at the country club, and this is her reputation.โ And like, โOh, that girl, she knows their family, and sheโs like this.โ So from my group here I heard a lot of things about these ladies, which is just proof that it is really one degree of separation.
What were your first impressions of the women?
I was scared to meet Jo-Ellen [Tiberi]. I had heard, honestly, the most rumors about Jo-Ellen and her reputation. Sheโs kind of a gossip queen, and I was worried about meeting her because of that, and then because she and Rosie went into cameras rolling with beef, and obviously I was friends with Rosie. But Jo-Ellen turned out to be quite friendly and far more approachable than I would ever imagined. Alicia [Carmody] had a bigger personality than I imagined her having. Liz [McGraw] was just as intimidating as I thought that she would be, but then I learned after a few hangs that she can be very sweet.ย
In Episode 2, you and Jo-Ellen get together with your kids, and you really open up about your marriage and motherhood. How much did you want to share about your personal life going into the show?ย
[Jared and I] donโt really have much to hide. Weโre pretty open, and I think that kind of became a weird thing. It kind of becomes a thing where Iโm just open about everything that Iโd be open about, but I donโt really have any skeletons in the closet. So you guys are acting as if Iโm not being open, because Iโm not talking about skeletons. But the thing is, youโre not gonna find any in there! The dirtiest stuff about us was how we met, back on the โBachelorโ days. Ever since we havenโt been very dramatic.ย
Weโre in a really stable part of our relationship. But are we always dealing with having two little kids, and does that put a strain on things sometimes? Yes, especially when we were filming. My now 20-month-old was insane the first year of his life, and he really has lightened up in the past two months. But while we were filming, if it seems like motherhood is stressing me out, itโs because I literally had a child that couldnโt go 15 minutes without having a mental breakdown. And now heโs a delight.ย
What can you tease about the rest of the season?
Some of the girls that you see not getting along initially will end up getting along, and vice versa. They always say that the โBachelorโ season is the most dramatic season ever, and none of those compare to what I lived through over the summer.
Even your โBachelor in Paradiseโ seasons?
Like, Iโve never seen people communicate with each other in the way in which I experienced this summer. I couldnโt believe my eyes so many times sitting in these situations and I can only imagine that I will represent the audience at home watching.ย
Communicate in what ways?ย
Seeing women scream at each other, point fingers in their facesโฆ I just couldnโt believe the level that some voices can get to in an argument! I donโt know if these arguments are more over the top than your average โHousewivesโ arguments, but thereโs going to be a lot of eye bulging when you watch this. Just like, โOh my God. I cannot believe she said that.โย
Do you think that since people knew you had been on reality TV, they expected you to bring some of that?
Iโm so convinced that people are going to be disappointed in me from Bachelor Nation, because I actually did not deliver the drama. Iโve always only been dramatic about loveโฆ like, I would only be angry towards a girl if she was coming after my guy. I was like, โIโm sorry, am I so boring?โ Iโm a witness to all this drama and that, in part, is funny. Iโm really stable when Iโm married, apparently.
We have to talk about the tears, because theyโve become your signature thing ever since your โBachelorโ days.ย
Iโm not one to raise my voice. My classic drama moment in the Badlands on my two-on-one, I donโt raise my voice. I stay oddly monotone at that moment. And that is what I do here. Like, if somebody is kind of coming at me, I just try to explain myself through tears. Thereโs a lot of thatโฆ And sometimes when I talk about myself, I cry. When I talk about my family or things that are important to me, I just cry. Itโll be interesting to see the way that a Bravo audience takes to me because theyโre gonna be like, โWhy is this girl who doesnโt get into fights on this show?โย
As a big voice in Bachelor Nation, what are your thoughts on Taylor Frankie Paulโs paused โBacheloretteโ season?ย
I recorded an hour-long podcast on this today, and itโs such a nuanced thing. Overall, itโs a good thing that they didnโt go forth with the season. That was a decision that should have been made more carefully earlier on.ย
We knew very much in detail, based on a lot of the interviews that sheโs given, exactly what happened in the video and what led to the arrest. You guys did have her on a TV show for four seasonsโฆ Itโs an absolutely terrible, terrible video, and the child being there is just awfulโฆ She probably should not have been decided to be โThe Bachelorette.โ That wasnโt an appropriate role for her to fill, and probably was not something that she was mentally, emotionally ready to take on for many reasons โ the fact that she was so intertwined with Dakotaย going into it being one of them. So many things to say.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
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