Exclusive Interview
‘The Ultimatum: Queer Love’ Star Marita Prodger Breaks Down Ashley Johnson Cheating Claims
[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 2.]
Anyone who’s watched the The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 2 reunion knows that original couple Marita Prodger and Ashley Johnson are not on good terms.
Before their stint on The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Marita and Ashley had been together for three years following a seemingly kismet meeting on a popular dating app. According to Netflix, the couple connected over their shared ability “to keep a great conversation going.” Ashley told Netflix that she gave Marita the Ultimatum because she was tired of her “inconsistency” over the years and wanted to remedy “the fact that she never chooses [her] and seeks feelings elsewhere with other people.”
Throughout the season, viewers watched as Marita found a connection with Ultimatum-giver Britney Thompson, and Ashley coupled up with Bridget Matloff. However, neither found a relationship stronger than the one they had with each other. At the end of Season 2, Ashley confirmed that Marita is the person she loves while confessing, “I just want to make sure we’re both making the right decision.”
On Ultimatum Day, Ashley cried while reading a heartfelt letter to Marita, diving into all of the reasons why she loves Marita and can’t imagine her life without her. However, even though she had originally given Marita the Ultimatum, it was Ashley who admitted that she could not go through with an engagement.
At the cast reunion, The Ultimatum: Queer Love host JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Sweet Magnolias) announced that it has been one year since the show ended. While many couples are still together, Ashley and Marita have split for good. When asked about their breakup, Marita shared that she and Ashley stayed together after leaving the show. At the same time, Ashley argued that they never got back together. From there, tensions quickly rose between the exes.
Following the The Ultimatum: Queer Love Season 2 reunion, Swooon sat down with Marita Prodger to set the record straight on her explosive breakup with Ashley Johnson.
Netflix
According to Marita, she and Ashley were back together for six months after the show. As Marita shared during the reunion, the tides changed when her grandfather fell ill. “I got a call from my mom that my grandpa was dying and that I needed to get on a flight the next morning to make sure I could say goodbye,” Marita said. Marita recalled that she had gone on a walk that day with a friend of a friend, Maddie. During the walk, Marita gushed about her girlfriend, Ashley, and let Maddie know about her grandfather’s condition.
“That night,” Marita told Swooon, “I was with Ashley. I get the call [about my grandfather], and then she takes me out to dinner, even though I paid for it. She takes me out to dinner, and she basically was like, ‘We’re exclusive. I’m here for you. I want to be here for you.'” However, once Marita was with her family, she received no communication from Ashley.
Marita’s grandfather died on November 16, 2024. She recalled, “That entire day, I was just calling her and calling her and texting her, and I was like, ‘Please be here for me. This is a traumatic event that I really need my girlfriend for.'” Marita confirmed that her grandfather died at 8:30 PM PST, and Ashley didn’t respond until around 9:45 PST. According to Marita, Ashley was in Florida at the time, making her response time 12:45 AM EST. What was the text? Marita remembers Ashley messaging her, “Sorry, I’m at the bar.” This is where her cheating allegations from the reunion come in.
Netflix
“Basically, two days later,” Marita shared with Swooon, “I get a call from Ashley, and she’s like, ‘I’m really, really anxious. I need to talk to you right now.'” Marita made it clear that she stepped away from her grieving family for Ashley to tell her, “Somebody saw me at the pier, somebody was spying on me.” At the time, Marita was told that Ashley was with Mel Vitale from their season of The Ultimatum: Queer Love. Marita recalls Ashley claiming over the phone that she and Mel were drunk at the pier with their arms around each other.
A few weeks later, when Marita returned home, a friend revealed herself to be the “spy” at the pier. However, this friend’s photos did not align with Ashley’s story about their costar Mel. As far as Marita was told, Mel wasn’t even there. Instead, Ashley was photographed with Maddie, the friend who walked with Marita as she gushed about her girlfriend only a few weeks prior. Marita recalls the photos proving that “they were making out, and they were high-fiving about it.”
“My jaw dropped,” Marita confessed. “It was two days after my grandpa died, and she was already dating somebody else, even though we were in a relationship. [Ashley took] this girl to the pier, knowing damn well I’m at home crying with my entire family about like losing my grandfather. And now there’s proof. Then she calls me to try to cover it up with Mel. Make that make sense.”
During the reunion, Ashley asked Marita, “Do you want to count the times you cheated? ‘Cuz I can name five right now.” In the heat of their argument, Marita responded to Ashley, “I actually f**king hate you. I hope you know that.” According to Marita, this response was too extreme. She admitted, “I think that things got pretty heated,” especially when Ashley shared that her grandmother “is dying right now.” Viewers will recall that Marita told Ashley that she did not care about her grandmother dying because Ashley showed her experience with her grandfather the same disregard.
Marita told Swooon, “I did have a relationship with her grandmother, and I would never wish ill upon anybody.” She added, “It’s also like hypocritical for her to be, like, trying to get an emotional sense out of me about her grandmother dying when clearly she was f**king around while my grandfather was dying.” Marita also added that she holds Ashley responsible for having to “associate my grandfather’s death with my ex-girlfriend of five years cheating on me.”
While the exes engaged in a heated argument during the reunion, Marita shared that they are on good terms now. Or, at least, they’re cordial.
“We care so much about each other, she just won’t be in my life anymore, and I think that’s valid to say,” Marita explained to Swooon. Reflecting on her time on the show, she commented, “I really did want to see Ashley try a little harder to grow and work on our relationship. But to me, it just didn’t seem like that was an initiative for her.”
The Ultimatum: Queer Love, Season 2, All Episodes, Streaming Now, Netflix
