ABC
Bachelor Nation has been hit by another shocking split! After three years of marriage, Bachelor in Paradise’s Carly Waddell and Evan Bass have announced they are separating.
“We have made the difficult decision to separate,” the former couple shared in a joint statement. “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family.”
The statement continued, “We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”
Waddell and Bass met on season three of Bachelor in Paradise, returning to Mexico the following season to get married in a televised wedding. Together they welcomed daughter Bella and son Charles who joined Bass’ three older sons.
The Couple Had a Rocky Start in Paradise
While the news of their split will likely shock the franchise’s longtime viewers, the start to their relationship was anything but smooth.
After Waddell did not reciprocate his feelings, Bass faked an injury that took him to the hospital. This proved to be the turning point in their relationship.
“There were no cameras and it felt like I was dating in normal life,” the singer who first appeared on Chris Soules’ season of The Bachelor told Glamour in 2016. “We started getting this connection, and I remember sitting in the car on the way back and thinking, ‘I really want to hold his hand. What?’ And then, ‘Oh my gosh, I think I really like him. What?!’ It was just this thing that was a roller coaster, and it started out where I broke up with him like five times. It was a roller coaster.”
After that hospital trip, the couple’s connection rebounded and the erectile dysfunction specialist from Jojo Fletcher’s season of The Bachelorette proposed to Waddell during the season’s finale.
Before their wedding, Waddell told People that “everything happens for a reason,” before adding, “It’s been a long journey for me in Bachelor Nation, but I would do it a thousand times again because the next chapter is going to be bliss.
Bachelor Nation Reacts to the Split
Bass has been noticeably absent from Instagram in recent months and their pictures together as a couple have become few and far between. Now, as news of their split has spread, fans of the franchise have taken to social media to react.
The Bachelor Nation aficionado, Reality Steve, revealed previous hints shared were about the couple. He tweeted, “THIS was the story I was referring to back in Nov of 2019.”
THIS was the story I was referring to back in Nov of 2019
All one fan could write was, “Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo” along with many crying face emojis.
@enews Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
While her sentiment seems to be shared by most, some were more skeptical.
“I always thought it was weird how she did a turn-around on the show. She complained a lot about how not attracted she was to him and that he was a sloppy kisser,” wrote another viewer.
@people I always thought it was weird how she did a turn-around on the show. She complained a lot about how not attracted she was to him and that he was a sloppy kisser
Another does not seem to understand their need for privacy after being so public as a couple. They tweeted, “I always love how people who milk every ounce of ‘fame’ they can get from sharing every part of their lives ask for privacy when it suits them.”
@people I always love how people who milk every ounce of “fame” they can get from sharing every part of their lives ask for privacy when it suits them. 🙄
This is the third major split in Bachelor Nation this year, with another Bachelor in Paradise couple, Chris Randone and Krystal Nielson, and The Bachelorette’s Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum previously announcing their divorces.
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