If you’re currently in a complicated relationship, here’s something that will give you a little hope: Three years later, Bachelor in Paradise alums Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon are officially dating, PEOPLE reports.
Finally.
For Ashley I’s YouTube show The Story of Us, where she normally interviews various couples with successful relationships, Ashley and Jared sat down together to talk about their own love story. They also both posted photos on Instagram on Tuesday night to make their relationship public, with Ashley posting a photo of the two of them together, citing the caption, “I love my boyfriend.”
What led to Jared “dumping” Ashley on the show and then dating her years later? Well, it’s complicated, TBH.
The two both indicated that they were (at least a little) interested in each other from the beginning, according to PEOPLE. Jared said he felt as though their relationship wasn’t truly over after the show. “I’m not going to lie and say that I was in love with Ashley during BiP. It was a slow build for me,” he explained.
PEOPLE reports that after the show, the two of them were flirty friends: They hung out. They made out. But the timing wasn’t right. Relatable.
At one point, Jared went over to Ashley’s place but basically just fell asleep, PEOPLE reports. Jared said this is because he definitely viewed Ashley as more than a friend, but also wasn’t ready for a relationship (something everyone has heard—or said—before).
According to E! News, Ashley cried over Jared a lot during their second go on Bachelors in Paradise, even though her friends wanted her to get over him. Their relationship had many ups and downs, but they remained friends. Ashley dated Kevin Wendt from the Bachelor Winter Games for a bit, and seeing that made Jared realize how much he cared about her, according to Bustle. Bachelor Nation has been impatiently waiting for them to get together, and now it’s finally happened.
For more details about how this couple got together, watch their full The Story of Us video below.