Being transparent. Evan Bass and Carly Waddell split in December 2020 and have been candid about their relationship ever since.
The pair first formed a connection during season 3 of Bachelor in Paradise in 2016. Following an on-and-off relationship, Bass and Waddell got engaged during the finale. They got married in 2017 after they returned to Mexico for season 4 of the ABC series, going on to welcome daughter Isabella in 2018 and son Charles “Charlie” Wolf in 2019.
Bass and Waddell announced their breakup in December 2020. “We have made the difficult decision to separate,” they said in a statement at the time. “We will always cherish our time together and continue to have the utmost respect for one another as we focus on what’s best for the future of our family. We greatly appreciate everyone’s love and support and kindly ask that you please respect our family’s privacy as we navigate through this.”
Soon after, Waddell got emotional about how the major life changes were affecting her family. “Christmas is over. This is the part I was looking forward to the least because Evan came and got the kids and they’re gonna be so happy and they’re gonna have so much fun but Charlie has never slept at anybody else’s house before. It’s not even like I’m worried about him, it’s just hard being away from him,” she said in an emotional YouTube video in December 2020. “It’s so stupid. I just feel alone, honestly. … It’s just hard.”
Since calling it quits, the Tennessee native has also been honest about the challenges that come with a divorce. Bass was previously married to Marie Bass, with whom he shares sons Nathan, Liam and Ensley.
“I just don’t think we set the foundation in the way that we should have,” Evan explained during an episode of the “Talking It Out” podcast in June 2022, adding that he thinks it is “embarrassing” to be divorced twice. “I’m not out of it. … Like, it’s still emotional. It’s this deep sadness still, I don’t know if you ever just get completely, like, perfect. There’s the scars and the wounds — they heal but they’re also there to teach you and teach me and I’m trying my best.”
That same month, the former reality star gushed about how fatherhood has become his biggest priority. “[My biggest regret is] not spending every waking moment with my kids,” he wrote via Instagram. “They are literal perfection and I regret every moment I’m away from them.”
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Scroll down for Waddell and Evan’s most honest quotes about their split and how they are coparenting: