They’re old friends. He calls her “Pre,” and she calls him “Kutch.” So why is Ashton Kutcher upset over Laura Prepon’s engagement? On Friday’s episode of Live with Kelly!, Kutcher filled in as Kelly Ripa’s cohost. One of the scheduled guests was none other than his old friend, Laura Prepon. Prepon costarred with Kutcher along with Mila Kunis, who is now his wife, in That 70’s Show. You’d think Ashton Kutcher would be thrilled with the news. Not so much. As it turns out, he found out with the rest of the world that Prepon was engaged to actor Ben Foster, according to Entertainment Weekly . Kutcher vented his frustrations on live TV just before Prepon walked out.
“She just announced this engagement, and I had to find out on the news! And she’s my friend! And it’s not just a random engagement. It’s an engagement to another friend of mine! So I’m double upset that neither of them told me!”
Ashton Kutcher said he and Ben Foster had also been friends, in fact, for nearly 20 years. When Prepon walked out on stage, Kutcher greeted her with a hug and a kiss.
“I love you [but] I am so pissed at you! This is unacceptable. Pre, this kind of thing is unacceptable.”
Ashton Kutcher jokingly berates Laura Prepon for keeping her engagement secret: ‘This is unacceptable!’ https://t.co/6P8DQ7Odqy pic.twitter.com/2bEkiO4r7E
— People (@people) October 7, 2016
Laura Prepon spoke up in her defense, saying, “But if anyone understands the private things, you get it,” referring to the privacy concerns for celebrities and their relationships. He admitted he did understand but that private lives should include friends. Ripa’s mouth hung open as she feigned shock over the two old friends’ “argument.” Prepon defended herself in a clever mention of her show, Orange is the New Black, where her character has spent time in prison.
“I’ve been in prison. I have limited communication with people.”
Prepon then reminded Kutcher that she worked with both Ashton and Mila back when they were all friends, and no one saw a relationship coming between those two. She said she had to find out about “Kutch’s” engagement to Mila the same way. Fair is fair, Ashton. He recalled the conversation as well.
“And when Mila and I got engaged, Pre was like, ‘What? This is crazy!’… And now you’re engaged and I have to find out this way. They were friends 20 years ago, they’re all my friends and everybody’s hooking up and it’s weird.”
Ripa jumped in to the conversation and mentioned she’d been looking for a particular news story on her phone during the night when she spotted a headline about why Laura Prepon’s engagement ring is such a good thing. It turns out, she announced, that when the bride has been given an engagement ring with a solitary round diamond, the marriage statistically lasts longer. Kutcher looked at the camera and said that’s what he gave Mila. Of course.
Prepon recently starred in the movie The Girl on the Train. Earlier this week, amid the excitement over the movie, news broke that she and Foster had gotten engaged. Foster had previously been in a relationship with actress Robin Wright. They were engaged, but broke it off in 2014. The relationship was on-again, off-again, then they ended it permanently last year.
Laura Prepon is involved in Scientology and was once in a serious relationship with Christopher Masterson, who had gown up in the Scientology church. Page Six reports the rumor that Foster is a practicing Scientologist as well.
When asked how they celebrated their engagement , Prepon played it close to the vest, as usual, says People .
“We’re really private, so we kept it kind of private, as Kutch can attest because no one really knew about it. And then we just kind of came out this week!”
[Feature Image by Everett Collection/Shutterstock Images]