Aven Jones and Kylee Russell opted not to get engaged on Bachelor in Paradise.
While they didn’t break up during the Thursday, December 7, season 9 finale, the couple experienced some ups and downs during their final days on the beach. Aven, 30, wasn’t into the idea of putting a ring on Kylee’s finger, but she was “holding on to false hope” that he would get down on one knee.
“An engagement is what I’ve been wanting, and I know it’s him. I know,” Kylee, 26, said during her confessional. “So, I don’t get why he can’t see that as well. I don’t know what more I can do.”
The tension between Kylee and Aven was palpable as they went back and forth about their future — seemingly getting nowhere. Aven explained that he and Kylee were in “a really good spot” and didn’t understand why she needed an engagement to secure their relationship.
“As much as I believe in Paradise, I can’t not compare it to shifting the same dynamics in the real world. I can’t do it. I don’t want this to be a dealbreaker for us. I’m not willing to lose her over an engagement in Paradise,” Aven explained in his confessional. “If that’s the conversation that starts I’m going to have to really make a real decision on what I want to do because I don’t know how to solve that. I don’t know what the solution is. I don’t know where to go from here.”
In the end, both Aven and Kylee agreed that they were falling in love and didn’t want to “lose” each other. So, they left the beach together.
Kylee and Aven were initially contestants on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor earlier this year and Rachel Recchia’s 2022 season of The Bachelorette, respectively. Prior to spending the summer together in Mexico, the two showed their interest in each other with some mild social media flirting. Kylee first pursued a relationship with Will Urena on the beach, but once Aven arrived and asked her on a date, he and Kylee went all in on their romance.
As Aven and Kylee’s connection grew on screen, he took to social media in October to address fans who were not impressed by his story line. “For everyone out there watching BIP, if you’re normal [you] are portrayed as boring,” he wrote via X (formerly Twitter). “I apologize to everyone for not being manic enough and being a normal calm human being. If that comes off as boring idc.”
Soon after, though, Aven found himself mixed up in online drama with Kylee and Olivia Lewis, who accused Kylee of sabotaging her romance with John Henry Spurlock by urging Kat Izzo to go after him.
“Will shows interest in me and kisses me Kylee messes it up once she catches wind. John Henry shows interest in me and we are together Kylee encourages Kat to mess it up,” Olivia tweeted in November. “Anyone else sensing a pattern?”
Kylee then replied, “I owe you nothing, I’m loyal to my actual friends. Have a great night.”
Olivia subsequently accused Kylee of trying to settle their feud behind the scenes. “Is that why you just called me twice? To tell me that? Or was it gonna be the fake pageant voice where you pretend that’s not what really went down … ?” Olivia asked, to which Kylee responded, “I wasn’t calling to explain myself. … I was calling to tell you to get my name out of your mouth. Instead you’re trolling Twitter and refuse to answer my phone calls.”
Amid the back and forth, Aven jumped in to defend Kylee. “Give a night one elimination some meaningless screen time and they start to think they can just say anything,” he wrote, referring to Zach sending Olivia home during the first rose ceremony of his season.
After Olivia called Aven’s retort “tired” and noted that she did not realize “you had to make it past night one to call a spade a spade,” Aven replied, “You’re literally blaming someone else for your own self inflicted failed relationships.”
Aven later told a fan via Instagram that he “apologized” to Olivia for his comments, adding, “It was very out of character and I’m sorry.”