Ashley Iaconetti Blows The Lid Off Of ‘Bachelor In Paradise’ Editing
Ashley Iaconetti has a lot to say about her time on Bachelor in Paradise, but ABC execs are apparently shutting her down. In a blog post for Cosmopolitan, Ashley I. opened up about the blatantly misleading editing tactics used on the hit ABC reality show. Iaconetti went so far as to say that editors “pieced together” her blowout with Caila Quinn to the point that it was unrecognizable from the actual conversation that took place.
Ashley Iaconetti’s Cosmo post comes with a disclaimer at the end, which reveals that the original post had to be edited due to Ashley’s BIP contractual obligations. But Bachelor spoiler king Reality Steve posted screenshots of the original article, in which Ashley blasted Bachelor in Paradise producers for editing the conversation in “such a confusing way.”
Ashley Iaconetti defends pushing Caila Quinn out of #BachelorinParadise https://t.co/HVcP4b4jaN pic.twitter.com/oCnbWjcSG9
— People (@people) August 30, 2016
In her original post, which can be seen in Reality Steve’s screenshots below, Ashley revealed that during the cast’s downtime from the camera, Caila allegedly told Amanda Stanton that “she would have no problem getting engaged and breaking it off three months later.” In addition, Quinn reportedly said some not-so-nice things off-camera about her BIP fling, Jared Haibon.
“Earlier in the day she said she straight up didn’t like Jared, didn’t want to go to the fantasy suite with him, and wanted to come home,” Iaconetti originally wrote.
Ashley also revealed that she went to producers to ask them how she should handle telling Jared that Caila wasn’t into him, and she was told to go straight to Quinn and ask her to address her comments on camera.
'Bachelor in Paradise' recap: Caila v. Ashley showdown https://t.co/nX5sq7RtNL pic.twitter.com/hKcuVG7XHN
— BaltSunTV (@BaltSunTV) August 24, 2016
“All the voiceovers you see leading up to this scene, by the way, are edited out of context,” Ashley wrote.
Iaconetti added that the voiceovers of her threatening to “kick a**” and enduring her “worst nightmares” were taken from other confessionals.
(1/5) Someone at ABC wasn't happy with Ashley's blog about Caila. She posted, deleted, then re-posted w/ a lot of changes.
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) September 2, 2016
(3/5) What she originally wrote had a lot of references to edits, accusations of producer manipulation, & entire section of what Caila said
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) September 2, 2016
(4/5) But that's all gone now. Here's what it said… pic.twitter.com/su33nbDW2g
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) September 2, 2016
(5/5) Last 2 pages of original column… pic.twitter.com/5h8ut5gShE
— RealitySteve (@RealitySteve) September 2, 2016
As for what was kept in the original post, Ashley’s comments about her own relationship with Haibon made the cut.
“I was ‘obsessed’ with Jared, but there are two sides to every story being told — in this case, the one that’s the real deal, and the one that looks better on TV. This season, the big storyline was obviously all about me looking like a fool, because it just wouldn’t make sense if the overly emotional, jealous girl had an actual point, would it?!”
In the edited version, Ashley revealed that she has to wait until her ABC contract expires before she can talk about what really went down.
“During downtime this week, Caila said some things that, wait for it, I can’t talk about until my contract expires!” Iaconetti wrote.
“I can, however, bring to your attention to that throwaway moment post-rose ceremony where Lace says ‘I can’t stand her’ about Caila while walking by her on the stairs. Remember that?! As a viewer, I would be so confused as to why this was edited in there. As a participant, I like to think it was the editors throwing me a bone, because I was not the only person in Paradise not sold on Caila’s motivations.”
While Ashley I. admitted that she “can’t talk about” the blowup with Caila, she is permitted to reveal that her voiceovers were taken out of context when she confronted her BIP nemesis.
“I went straight to the source, Caila, and ask her to address her comments. (My voiceovers in the run-up to our conversation here are being taken out of context, by the way.) And the big blow-out ends up being edited in such a confusing way, trust me. If you watch the scene carefully, you’ll notice how little they show Caila and I actually saying something and responding to each other in the same shot. It’s all separate cuts of her face and mine, because it’s so pieced together!”
Iaconetti says she addressed the rumors with Quinn because she didn’t want to see her good friend Jared being played, not because she was trying to ruin his romance.
“When I’m telling the group afterward, ‘My responsibility is done,’ I’m talking about protecting Jared, not sabotaging his new romance.) It was all so much less hostile than it appeared on TV, and I can say she was less upset by me in that moment and more feeling like an outcast amongst the whole group.”
While Ashley went on to reveal that Caila and Jared actually did date off-camera for six weeks following Paradise, she said they split because Quinn decided she wanted to “date around,” while Haibon wanted to be in an exclusive relationship. Iaconetti also said that she wished more of Quinn’s remarks were shown on TV and that she felt the need to defend her own character after the episode aired.
Although alums of the Bachelor franchise sign contracts that keep them from spilling the beans on what goes on the behind-the-scenes, Ashley Iaconetti is not the only cast member who has talked about the heavy editing on the ABC reality series.
Last year, Josh Seiter, a guy who was eliminated on the first night of Kaitlyn Bristowe’s season of The Bachelorette, told the Chicago Tribune he was manipulated by producers during his short-lived stint on the show. Seiter revealed that producers fed him lines and instructed him to do a striptease as part of his limo entrance. Even Seiter’s line about not getting a rose being “a blow” to his ego was scripted.
“That was a fed line. I was told to say that line,” Seiter told the Tribune. “The blow to my ego, that’s something producers wanted me to say.”
While Seiter admitted that he only did the show to get exposure for his business, (“That whole finding a wife thing to me was kind of a ludicrous idea,” he said), he was was still blindsided when he didn’t get a rose on night one because he had been assured he would be getting one.
“I had been told (by producers) that I was fine and not to worry about anything,” Seiter said.
And Ashley Iaconetti’s Bachelor in Paradise castmate Josh Murray was reportedly a victim of unfair editing — at least according to his mom. Lauren Murray posted an explanation of an edit that made it seem like her son stole Amanda Stanton from Nick Viall on the ABC dating show.
“Before the first rose ceremony Nick told Amanda that he was there for Jen [Saviano] and that she should date other people,” Lauren Murray wrote. “So why then is the storyline about Josh, the villain, ‘stealing’ Nick’s girl? In 1 word – Ratings, in 5 words – The most dramatic season ever!”
Take a look at the video below to see Ashley Iaconetti talking about the drama on Bachelor in Paradise.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OWlC6-W2PSw
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]