Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt talk 'The Bachelor Winter Games' and what to expect

Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt are opening up about The Bachelor Winter Games, including romance and friendly competition.


Ashley, a 29-year-old podcast host from Wayne, NJ, and Kevin, a 33-year-old firefighter from Toronto, Canada, will both be appearing on The Bachelor Winter Games, which premieres February 13 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC.

While previews suggest Ashley develops a huge crush on Kevin during Winter Games and they hit it off at the luxurious Vermont resort, the pair remained tight-lipped during an interview with E! News ahead of the series premiere.

"Every time I do a Bachelor show, I have the time of my life. I get to hang out with my friends, make new friends, and then just grow. I mature every single time. And I definitely like the person that I am today. I like myself more than ever," Ashley said.

Ashley revealed that in the love department, she and Kevin both "went on a couple of dates" and "made it pretty far" in the process. 


Ashley played coy about them having interest in "people," and then Kevin quietly added, "I found a good connection."

(To read spoilers about the romances that unfold on The Bachelor Winter Games, click here).

Ashley was pretty focused on finding her match in Vermont, but Kevin -- who won The Bachelorette Canada's first season -- admitted his goal was to represent his home country well in the winter-themed challenges.

"I had one main competitor. He's American and people love him. He gave me a hard time in a couple of events, and you'll find out," Kevin teased. "I did well though and represented Canada well on the ice."

Ashley, on the other hand, confessed to E! News with a smile: "I did not excel at the sports, but hey, I gave it my best try. Seriously, I am very not athletically-inclined, so the fact that I even finished these competitions was a success story for me."


Kevin then shared an anecdote from his experience on the show, which is going to run for four episodes.

"There was a point where [Ashley] went down the entire mountain on her butt, and a producer turned to us and said, 'When we thought of the Winter Games, this is what we thought of,' and it was Ashley I. falling down the mountain on her butt,'" he recalled.

Ashley added, "That was their dream."

Kevin said he didn't really know what to expect from The Bachelor Winter Games when he had signed up, but he was familiar with several cast members before filming commenced, such as Ashley and Ben Higgins.

"I have watched some of the American shows... I was actually looking forward to it because I'm very comfortable in the winter environment," Kevin told E! News. "Representing Canada was very fun for me... It was intimidating but it was also really exciting."


Ashley anticipated the American bachelors and bachelorettes would be "cliquey" on the show since they are genuinely good friends in real life, but she disclosed there were "pretty instantaneous" connections and friendships built with the international contestants.

The reason being? They all having dating on reality TV shows in common.

"There was something to talk about right off the bat," Ashley noted, before revealing, "Yuki Kimura [from Japan] could have her own reality show after this if she comes across as we know her in the house. She's hysterical."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski