Exclusive Interview

‘The Ultimatum’s Ashley Reveals Shocking Off-Camera Moments With Blake & Hayley

During Season 4 of The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, two couples took center stage, swapping partners for the show’s signature trial marriages. However, while most couples chose to put a pause on their original relationships, Ashley Wilson and her boyfriend, Killian Grondin, as well as her trial husband, Blake Robertson, and his girlfriend, Hayley Hendrich, were all up in each other’s business.

Things took a turn for this foursome when Hayley discovered vulgar texts about herself and Ashley in a group chat between Killian and his friends, comparing them and threatening Hayley. Following the first drop of Season 4 episodes, Ashley sat down with Swooon to reveal more insight into her relationship with Killian, explain her reaction to those messages, and more.

During our interview, Ashley discussed her relationship with Killian’s friends and why she believed Hayley and Blake were making extra drama for TV, including an unseen moment where Blake’s dad encouraged Hayley to wear lingerie in front of Killian.

Swooon: Tell me more about how you and Killian met.

Ashley Wilson: I grew up doing competitive cheerleading, and we ended up being competitors. I was 12, so I think he was 14 because he’s two years older than me, and we competed against each other for like three years. He lived in North Carolina. I lived in Texas. But when you do competitive cheerleading, you always meet up with who you’re competing against, and you all become friends.

When we were younger, I’d always post him as my Man Crush Monday, and we always had a crush on each other, but we didn’t really talk for about like 10 years because I exited the cheer world. Then I went on a girls’ trip to Miami and [my friend] was like, “We’re gonna meet up with some cheer friends,” and she mentioned Killian, and I was like, “Wait, what? That’s like my childhood crush.”

So we ended up meeting up with him, and immediately I was like, “Oh my god, this is the love of my life. This is fate bringing us back together.” I came home, and I told my parents like, “Oh my god, I loved Miami.” I went back like every month, and I was like, “I’m moving. I’m going. I gotta be with the love of my life.” This is meant to be. We moved in together immediately.

Netflix

Swooon: Another big thing we know about your relationship is that your dad rescinded Killian’s blessing to propose. What was that “family altercation?”

Ashley: We were dating about three years before I got a big job opportunity [from my dad] to move back to Texas. So we moved together, me and Killian, back to Texas, in Houston, and I got this new job. Before that, we were in Miami, so my family never really got to see [our] dynamic until we moved to Texas. They got to know Killian a little bit more since we were doing all these family events and everything together. And Killian finally asked my dad for my hand in marriage, and my dad said, “Yes.”

Then, a couple months later, I told my dad I wanted to move back to Miami, and he was upset I didn’t want to work with him anymore. My Dad just had a talk with Killian about being respectful and being a provider to me because my dad’s biggest worry is him taking care of me, if he’s gonna be the one that takes that over from him, because my dad’s always taken care of me my entire life. I’m daddy’s little girl, so he was mainly worried that [Killian] wasn’t going to take care of me.

Killian just started having an attitude and not being respectful towards my dad. My dad called me and my mom in, and [Killian] flipped the switch and was like, “Oh, [your dad’s] being mean to me.” So my dad was immediately, like, “You’re not allowed to marry my daughter because I saw the manipulativeness. I don’t want you doing that to my daughter.” He went into protective mode. I took a lot of time to rebuild that relationship.

Swooon: Did Killian ever try to ask for that blessing again?

Ashley: Nope. Never tried until we did this.

Swooon: I want to turn to your trial marriage with Blake, which I know is a bit of a whirlwind. When was the first time something felt off with him?

Ashley: I always say, it started so good. We were very supportive of each other, but we had this big four-way relationship that just went round and round and round. And I think one day I tried to talk to him about Killian and how I felt about it, and I was like, I don’t want to blame it all on Killian just being mean. I was trying to play devil’s advocate and feel for Killian and what he’s going through.

Like, “Okay, he’s struggling. He’s missing me. He’s being a little insecure.” And I tried to talk about that with Blake, trying to understand Killian a little, like how he’s feeling. Blake flipped the scenario of like, “Oh God, no, she’s flipping on trying to understand him.” A part of me went into [thinking] he was trying to make a production and trying to make as much drama as possible… I don’t know, I just had this weird feeling that he was starting to manipulate the situation and make more drama for TV.

I’m very easily swayed. I believe anything everyone says just because I think I do have a good heart, and I’ll believe everything. I’m a little bit naive. So I texted Killian, I was like, “Oh my gosh! I feel like there’s a little bit of manipulation going on.” And then, I think from there it just spiraled.

I think when I tried to understand Killian a little bit and how he was feeling, I don’t think Blake liked that, and kind of went into putting things into my head, and I didn’t like that. I just wanted to make my own opinions, and I don’t think I was able to do it because I think things were just being spun.

Swooon: Was that before or after everything with Killian’s group chat?

Ashley: I think that was maybe a little bit before. And then, that’s why I didn’t fully believe [all the] things that were being said [by Blake and Hayley], and I believed Killian because I was like, “I don’t know who to believe. Do I believe the guy I’m in a trial marriage with, or the guy I really want to marry?” And I’m like, “Why am I here if one of them is lying?” It’s like really hard for me to trust people because, well, I trust people too easily. So I always get in my head a little bit of who to believe.

Swooon: From your perspective, what do you think happened between Killian and Hayley?

Ashley: I just know I was meeting Blake’s family, and all of a sudden I see him jump in a car, and I’m like, “What is going on?” Usually, we’re riding in the cars together, and he just suddenly left. I finally get to the apartment, and Blake tells me what happened, and I was like, “Oh my goodness! Why? What? [Who] in their right mind would think this?” But at the same time, I’m trying to understand. Maybe it’s just like boy talk? Is it over-exaggerated? I have no idea.

I was trying to be understanding. Maybe this was his friends talking and not him, but at the same time, why aren’t you standing up for [Hayley]? And I don’t know. I was trying to understand. I’m always trying to be a mediator. I’m always putting others before myself. And I didn’t really think, “He’s living with Hayley. This is horrible for Hayley.” I felt bad for her. I was like, “I’m so sorry you’re having to deal with this,” because on our girls’ night we had a little chat and we were like, “I’m so sorry that you’re going through this because I know exactly like how that could be.” I’ve lived with Killian for five years.

Swooon: Do you know those friends? Do you ever interact with them?

Ashley: I’ve known those friends for a while. I know they can be… I don’t know. They’re boys. I know they can say out-of-question things, but I’ve never heard them say anything that vulgar. It was a little bit of a shock to me, and it was like… I don’t know. I always let things go that I shouldn’t. I felt bad for Hayley.

Netflix

Swooon: A few days before the end of your trial marriage, you claimed that Blake had been with Hayley the past two days. Tell me more about that. Was there evidence?

Ashley: When we have that little beagle rescue date at the end, where I was like, “Roll the clip,” at the Changeover, I’m not lying. The main thing I wanted to do was leave Killian and Hayley out of our trial marriage because it wasn’t allowing me to think properly about what I wanted to do. It felt like it was just spinning things in my head, and I just wanted to focus on what I could do better, what we could do better, as a trial marriage. So when we get to the Switch, I can take in all of the things that I’ve learned that Killian has done this whole time.

After that, Blake brought something up [about] Hayley, and I was like, “No, this is what I’m saying. It’s manipulating my head. Let’s leave them out of it.” I try to even say, “I’m not checking out of this trial marriage. I’m very much in it. I want to focus on us, not them.” And I think he took it as, “Okay, you want space. I’m going to go do my own thing.” And when he wasn’t there two days straight, those were our off-camera days. I didn’t see him at all. I ordered groceries. I was trying to cook dinner for us. I never saw him. I was on the couch, so me and Killian are texting, and I’m like, “Have you seen Hayley?” And he’s like, “Nope.” So we started tracking the times when they were leaving and coming back, and it was spot on. “You’re a grown man. You’re not going to the movie theater by yourself. I’m sorry. It’s just…No.”

When we had our last date, when we were driving the little three-wheeler car, he was like, “So, what do you think I can work on?” And I’m like, “Are you kidding me? I haven’t seen you in two days, and you want to bring this up now? Where were you the past two days of us having these chats, and we could work on ourselves?” That’s where that came from. Because I’m like, “You’re only doing this because cameras came up, and I’m not going to sit here and have a fake conversation when we could have had a genuine conversation the past two days.” So I was gonna call them out. Like, “What’s the real reason? You obviously were with Hayley.” I noticed with Blake, he does anything to protect his image, and it doesn’t show a lot on the season because a lot of things were off-camera.

At that point, when he tried to say I was manipulating him, I was like, “You taught me how to stand up for myself this entire season.” I learned a lot of good things from Blake, but the second the man who’s teaching you how to stand up for yourself starts disrespecting you and calling you manipulative and saying you’re not emotionally stable, I was like, “No, this is what I’ve learned this whole time, and I’m gonna use it.”

Swooon: What were some of those off-camera moments you mentioned?

Ashley: I mean, there were moments… [Blake’s] dad was calling Hayley, telling her to wear lingerie in front of Killian. I felt like they were trying to create drama that wasn’t shown because they’re doing it behind the scenes. And I just listen to everybody, and I’m like, “Yeah, okay.” But his dad was calling Hayley, telling her to wear lingerie.

Swooon: Was there reasoning behind that?

Ashley: To stir up drama with Killian and make him, I don’t know, to make it drama-filled, I guess? And then Blake would show me text messages of any time Hayley would text him things about me. He would show me, and I’m like, “Why show me? That’s your girlfriend.” And it would spin a narrative of her in my head, like she’s talking badly about me. It doesn’t make sense. And then he would like come home and tell me, “Killian, for sure said… He did this.” And I was like, “I don’t know who to believe.”

There was a scene that wasn’t shown after the boys’ night when Killian says, “He’s 95% sure,” and I was like, “I don’t know who to believe, Killian or Blake.” So I ran over to Luke [Wesselhoff] and Casey [Douglass’] apartment, and I was like, “Guys, I don’t know what to do. I feel so lost. I don’t know who to believe. I don’t know why I’m here if I’m being lied to by one of them.” And Luke just told me, “I could see both sides… Both aren’t right, both aren’t wrong.” I always get stuck in a spot where I don’t know who to believe.

Related

'Ultimatum' Stars Reveal New Details About Killian’s Group Text Scandal

Swooon: I want to turn to your trial marriage with Killian. What from your trial marriage with Blake did you bring into that time with Killian?

Ashley: Blake really did teach me how to have a voice and stand up for myself. So when Killian couldn’t really sincerely apologize, I would call him out for it, and I’m like, “This is how I feel. This is how you’re making me feel.” When he kind of gets up, walks off, and has an attitude, I’m like, “You’re not understanding how I’m feeling at all. You did all these things, and you can’t even sincerely apologize. Something’s wrong.” I mean, red flags are going off, but I also am like, “Okay. Gotta look at the good things. Are they outweighing the bad?” And I generally felt like he was trying to show up towards the end.

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, Season 4, Episodes 1-8, Streaming Now, Netflix

The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On, Season 4, Episodes 9-10, July 22, Netflix