The tears continued to flow on “ Paradise ” after she met Haibon , who was a castoff from Kaitlyn Bristowe ’ s season of “ The Bachelorette .” Iaconetti fell hard and fast for Haibon , but he did not reciprocate her feelings at first . Fans of the show appreciate the realistic evolution of their relationship . Even the signature cocktail at their wedding was called “ Ashley ’ s Tears .”
“ I loved how open Ashley was . She wasn ’ t afraid to put her true feelings on television ,” says Talia Zuena , who has made the trip to Audrey ’ s from Cranston three times . “ I think every girl feels like maybe she should hold back , but she never did . To see them now together , she did it , for all the girls that may come across too invested and emotional . She ’ s a great role model .”
Heather Clune , from South Kingstown , also loves the realism behind their romance . “ I liked how she was so in love with him , and how he wasn ’ t quite ready for it ,” she says . “ It started off a little too fast for him , and I think she realized she also had to slow down , and they came together at the perfect time .”
Clune has been an avid “ Bachelor ” fan ever since she saw the very first Bachelor appear live on the “ Regis and Kelly ” show , which she attended with her mom . She ’ s also visited Audrey ’ s three times in one month . “ When I came to the soft opening , Jared was like , ‘ Hi , I ’ m Jared ’, and I laughed , and said , ‘ I know who you are .’ ”
Christion Battey of Warwick is also a huge “ Bachelor ” fan since 2001 or 2002 . “ When it first came out in the early 2000s it was groundbreaking ,” he says , adding that he ’ s been rooting for local boy Haibon to find love since the beginning .
“ The show does work , whether it ’ s the ‘ The Bachelor ,’ ‘ Bachelorette ’ or ‘ Bachelor in Paradise ,’” Battey says . “ It ’ s a love story , and who doesn ’ t love a love story ?”
At “ The Bachelor ” launch party , the couple also takes time to answer questions about the show from their guests . It ’ s like a sequel to “ After the Final Rose .” Mostly , fans want to know how much of the show is manipulated to create drama .
“ If you put twenty-five women , or even twentyfive men in the same room competing for the same person and you ’ re all miked up twenty-fourseven with all different personalities , drama naturally happens ,” Haibon says . “ It really is natural ,” adds Iaconetti . “ I think we ’ d all go a little crazy ,” says Haibon with a laugh .
LIKE WITH OPENING ANY NEW BUSINESS , when they were first launching Audrey ’ s , Haibon was at the shop nearly every waking moment for two months straight . He says he clocked between eighty and 100 hours a week , and he ’ s trying to balance owning the business , having a family and embracing the fandom . Before Dawson was born , “ Twelve hours a day was an easy day ,” he says . At that time , Iaconetti says she was concerned that her husband would even be able to be around once the baby was born . The couple decided that once she was a few weeks away from delivery , she would stay with her parents in Virginia and deliver Dawson at the hospital where her dad works in Virginia , because she knew the hospital would take the best care of her when she gave birth . Haibon traveled back and forth from Rhode Island a few times until it was “ go time .” Even though she was due later in February , he suddenly got a call at the shop in late January that Iaconetti was three centimeters dilated and could go into labor within twenty-four to forty-eight hours . Haibon stopped everything and was on a flight from Rhode Island to Virginia within two hours .
After Dawson was born on Jan . 31 , Haibon remained in Virginia for almost two weeks to soak up fatherhood . That time period away from the shop made him realize that his staff could handle running the shop temporarily while he took care of administrative work remotely .
“ That ’ s why I worked so hard getting Audrey ’ s open so I could be around once Dawson was born ,” Haibon adds .
The family returned to Rhode Island at the end of February , and Haibon ’ s managing work and home life better now . “ There are days that he ’ s there for a long period of time , but it ’ s not every single day ,” Iaconetti says . “ Now I ’ m less concerned about the work-life balance .”
As they settle down in West Greenwich as a family , the couple is excited to bring back “ The Bachelor ” watch parties , trivia nights , meet-and-greet events and industry nights . Haibon is learning what it takes to run the business while trying to keep customers happy . “ I learned I can ’ t schedule myself as an employee behind the counter , because I might leave to take a picture and be gone for ten minutes because then other guests will want a picture , too ,” he says with a laugh . “ If someone wants a picture , I can ’ t say no .” “ We ’ re lucky to even have that be a thing ,” adds Iaconetti . While the fan base is strong , their goal is to create a business that can last beyond “ Bachelor ” fame . To do that , they are making Audrey ’ s sustainable for the long term . “ If our clientele is only ‘ Bachelor ’ fans , then it ’ s not going to last very long ,” Haibon says . They hope Dawson can grow up with Audrey ’ s .
“ I don ’ t know what our child wants to do one day , but if he wants to be part of Audrey ’ s in any capacity , I think that would be fantastic ,” Haibon says . “ If we could have a thriving family business that I could hand down to our kids one day , I don ’ t think I could ask for anything more .”
BBACK ON THE LATE AFTERNOON of Audrey ’ s grand opening , long after the ribbon cutting , there ’ s still a line of people waiting to order coffee drinks with several customers standing by to grab completed orders . The fireplace is roaring and a table of early-twenty-something women from the nearby University of Rhode Island sip on coffee drinks . They are stylishly dressed and casually enjoying the space . At this table , the phone camera lenses are trained on the drinks , not the owner .
A curious bystander asks if they came to the grand opening to meet the “ Bachelor ” cast-member-owners .
One of the women looks down at the pictures on her phone . “ No . We don ’ t watch that show ,” says Michelle Kanevsky . “ I have a food Instagram and we heard there was a new coffee shop in town with cool drinks .”
Judging by the diverse demographics of the customers in line , many others also seem oblivious that the shop is run by a celebrity couple .
Scrolling through Kanevsky ’ s Instagram account @ eats _ by _ mich , there ’ s not a selfie nor a photo with Haibon or Iaconetti in sight . �
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l APRIL 2022 63