Well, this is a twist I never saw coming. In a new interview, Ashley and Grant reveal they got back together after Temptation Island, despite choosing to leave separately. And, yes, it was just as dramatic as you think it was.
After the very first bonfire, Ashley and Grant were both pretty over their relationship, and over the course of the season, they both formed bonds with other people on the show. Grant cozied up to Natalie, while Ashley and Danny got close. They broke up at the final bonfire, with Grant leaving the island alone and Ashley leaving with Danny. I thought for sure that was the last we'd hear of Ashley and Grant, but I was wrong.
“We got back together for a little bit,” Ashley confirmed in a new interview with Tudum. Apparently, Grant and Ashley didn't speak for months after leaving the island, only to run into each other at a bar. According to Ashley, the chance encounter was planned, “He told me that he had been going out to all the places trying to run into me,” Ashley said. One thing after another, they decided to give their relationship another shot. The only problem? Grant was dating Natalie the entire time!
Natalie told Tudum that Grant contacted her soon after filming and invited her to go on a work trip with him. “We had the best time. I was kind of surprised,” she said. “He chased me down in the airport and made it this whole extravagant thing—which I'm sure you can picture from Grant—and was like, ‘I want to dive into this with you. Let's be exclusive.’”
Grant and Natalie dated for an undisclosed amount of time, but when Grant started seeing Ashley again, she cut it off. “He ended up getting back together with Ashley, which I was honestly kind of expecting just because he is so back and forth,” Natalie said, adding that she had no patience to deal with the drama. “I'm very straightforward. If you're going to do something to disrespect me in any way, I'll just never speak to you again.” (On her Instagram story, Ashley confirmed the cheating and clarified that she kissed Grant before he and Natalie had broken up.)
Natalie went on to claim that Grant has sent texts, voice memos, and even a long apology video, but she's not interested. “I think it's just better that we don't ever talk again,” she said. “I'm just having fun, doing me, living life.”
As for where Natalie and Ashley stand today, there aren't any hard feelings. Both of them shared photos on their Instagram stories on Wednesday, March 19, proving that they've kept in touch since filming. Ashley shared a call log and Natalie shared a FaceTime photo.
Grant, meanwhile, appears to be struggling with the fallout from the season. He took to Instagram tell his side of the story. In Part 1 of what he says will be a three-part series, he teased “the biggest bombshell that you've ever seen.” What is the bombshell exactly? Well, based on what he's uploaded so far, it seems to be his claim that Ashley has always been supportive and that she reached out to him after filming and pursued him.
Ashley has yet to respond, but there's no way this drama is over.
