Ashley Iaconetti and Kevin Wendt are sharing new details about their recent breakup.
As E! News previously reported, The Bachelor Winter Games couple called it quits less than a month after they won the ABC competition series. But proving that life
(and love!) always goes on within Bachelor Nation, Kevin appeared on iHeartRadio's "The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast" to get some closure on the sudden split.
The pair agreed their relationship was short on "spark," with Ashley explaining to co-host Ben Higgins, "It sounds a little harsh but it's just that lack of magic. We get along very well, but there's just a little something missing and you can't really pinpoint what it is. That's just how I feel."
Kevin, who won the first season of Canada's The Bachelorette, called the feeling "normal." From his perspective, "You get those connections all the time where if you take away our outside world and just put Ashley and me on an island together, we'd probably get along really well and that's what Vermont was."
He continued, "And then you add in everything else—everyday interests to when we get up in the morning—there's just lifestyles where two people can go in different directions. It doesn't mean that they still don't love and respect each other. It just means if it doesn't line up and the older you get, the quicker you want to identify that."
Kevin, 34, also said the now-exes were fighting an "uphill battle" in terms of commitment. After missing out on Ashley's birthday because of work, she ultimately pulled the plug on their courtship.
As he put it, "We both kind of collected our thoughts and emotions and stuff, I know she made the right call and I know this is the way it should be. I feel like I got friend zoned. Ashley, you friend zoned me this time."
Wendt doesn't fault Ashley for breaking it off when she did, saying on the podcast, "I want the best things for Ashley. I just don't think the spark was fully ignited by the time we had the conversations but I respect her for kind of doing it earlier on. We could have done two or three more trips and then it just would have kind of dragged it out so it's all good. It makes sense."
So why share such personal details with the public? Ashley said she didn't want fans of the show "villainizing" Kevin, remarking, "We just wanted to get this out there together since we are on such friendly terms and be like, no guys, this is actually how it happened. Don't come up with your crazy theories."
Listen to the latest episode of "The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast" when it's released Wednesday evening.