Ashley Iaconetti Thinks Bachelor Grant Was ‘Bored’ on Litia Date, Was ‘Surprised’ He Dropped L-Bomb

Like many Bachelor Nation fans, Ashley Iaconetti was surprised when Grant Ellis said those three-words to Litia Garr on The Bachelor.

“This was a big moment for me during the episode. Litia’s whole date was the episode, to me. I did not feel their connection as strongly as I usually do during their date [in] what was aired,” Ashley, 37, said on the Tuesday, March 18, episode of the “Almost Famous” podcast. “I know that sounds crazy because he ended the date with ‘I love you.’ Which actually threw me off, I was like ‘Wait, have I been reading your body language wrong, sir?’ Because for the first time, I felt like Litia wasn’t the front-runner until he said that.”

In the Monday, March 17, episode of the ABC reality show, Grant, 31, told Litia, also 31, he could “see” her as his wife because he loves her. While talking to the cameras, Grant admitted that he maybe should have “waited a little longer” to drop the L-bomb. (Grant ultimately sent home Zoe McGrady, who Ashley believes was “disinterested” during her fantasy suite date.)

From Ashley’s perspective, Grant, 31, seemed “bored behind the eyes” on his date with Litia, claiming that the “light in his eyes when he normally looks at her wasn’t there.”

“My interpretation of that was that he was thinking of Juliana [Pasquarosa] during this date and that he had switched, and was now very connected to Juliana after their fantasy suite and after that conversation that we saw,” Ashley said. “And then all of a sudden, he says, ‘I love you,’ [to Litia] and I go, ‘Whoops, maybe they were just showing me body language from Grant that was throwing me off. Maybe they did it intentionally.’ But yeah, he says, ‘I love you,’ which can only make her think she is The One. And you’d really think that he was pretty certain she was The One too, But we see, of course, next week he was absolutely not sure.”

Cohost Ben Higgins, however, theorized that Grant “wants to choose” Litia. While Ben, 35, and Ashley noted that they do not know the outcome of Grant’s season, the pair weighed in on unfounded theories that the lead relied on a coin-flip to choose between his final two contestants.

“If they aired that, they might as well then walk out with a white flag and be like, ‘This has been a fun 25 years. The show is done,’” Ben said, to which Ashley added, “Well you know what, it’s on its way. So you might as well do it with a hilarious moment. Hilarious to us, not hilarious to these two women.”

News broke in February that ABC will be skipping a season of The Bachelorette. Us Weekly understands the show will be unlikely to return in 2025, but the option hasn’t been ruled out

Ben joked that former host Chris Harrison could walk out with a white flag and say, “Hey guys, I told you so.” (Chris, 53, exited from his role as the host of the series in 2021 following controversy.)

Whether or not there is a finale coin flip, Ben surmised that Grant may have some explaining to do to his final contestant — if they are together.

“I don’t know who he’s with, and I wish Grant the best, I do. I want him happy. I want whoever he’s with happy. That’s not the point here,” Ben said. “I would just say if I was a betting person, I would say this relationship probably isn’t either working right now or it’s on its way to not be working, because it affects both people very deeply, and it isn’t the healthiest way to kick off something new and fresh.”

Ben pointed out that the past Bachelor Nation couples that have made it work have been “pretty clear” they had a connection.

“The previews for the rest of the season are emotional, they’re dramatic, like always,” Ben said, before encouraging fans to tune into the finale. “I think, no matter what, it’s going to be entertaining and it’s going to be truly one of the most dramatic endings we’ve ever seen in Bachelor history.”

Grant, for his part, explained that he didn’t set any rules when it came to expressing his feelings for his contestants.

“My plan was to go in there and lead with my heart, and that’s what I did,” he exclusively told Us earlier this year. “I didn’t really have a strategic plan. I know I’m a pretty sound thinker and I use logic, but emotions are a different thing. I was like, ‘I’m gonna lead with my heart and I’m gonna give this everything I got.’”

In Grant’s Us cover story, he confirmed that he fell in love with two women. “I didn’t think it was possible, but it is,” he said. “You probably should avoid it, though.”

The season finale of The Bachelor airs on ABC Monday, March 24, at 8 p.m. ET.