For the contestants on the Bachelor (and its myriad of spin-off shows), being part of the series ensures a built-in set of potential suitors should the rose ceremony not go your way. Plenty of post-Bachelor contestants have kindled the flames of love on the sandy beaches of Bachelor in Paradise, and Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon are the newest couple to join the ranks of l’amour. But unlike, say, Evan Bass and Carly Waddell, these two fell in love a full three years after their initial BiP journey — and they are giving themselves the paradise experience they didn’t have the first time around.
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Iaconetti and Haibon confirmed their relationship to People last week, and they are taking us all along on their wild ride. The two have been posting the most adorable photos of themselves while they vacation in Hawaii — and we think they’re doing a Bachelor in Paradise do-over. In one Instagram photo, they’re embracing near tiki torches, with Iaconetti wearing a tropical flower-print dress. In another, they’re holding hands as they walk along the beach. “Recreating our first date in Paradise,” writes Haibon. “I should have been holding her hand then. I'm never letting go now.” Aww, if that isn’t completely precious.
These two first appeared on BiP’s third season, which ran in 2016. In Sayulita, Haibon and Iaconetti danced around their feelings for one another, but never quite took that last step — and by that, we mean that they never hooked up at the Fantasy Suite. Iaconetti’s virginity was the subject of much discussion during that season, and thankfully we never have to listen to chatter about it again.
Still, the pair remained pals through the years, and Iaconetti even participated in Bachelor Winter Games. After a short stint dating Kevin Wendt, our happy couple discovered that they’d be nursing feelings for each other over the years, and finally made it official. Even though they never had the Bachelor in Paradise lovestruck storyline that we all pined for, they can live it now, through social media. May the new couple enjoy their lives together over a coconut umbrella drink.