Age of Attraction didn’t air every potential age gap romance — with one contestant revealing that her search for love as a virgin at 38 was cut.
Ashley Marie took to TikTok after the Wednesday, March 11, premiere on Netflix, saying, “I was on Netflix to do a show — Age of Attraction — I know what you’re thinking right now. Wait, we didn’t see you. Sadly, my story was cut so I’m gonna spill a little tea here.”
The offscreen contestant recalled filming the show after she turned 38 years old.
“When it comes to my dating life, I’ve obviously been single for as long as I can remember,” she shared. “I’m just a big believer that when you know, you know. I don’t want to waste time trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.”
Ashley noted she “did not apply to be on the show,” adding, “[Someone] else was reached out to over social media and they’re like, ‘I’m married but you have to be my friend Ashley.’ And on my 38th birthday, I got a text that said, ‘Don’t hate me but I just gave your name to a casting director.'”
She continued: “If it was any day other than my birthday, I’m honestly not sure I would have even answered. But once you get to a certain age and you really want to be married and have kids — birthdays can be a little bit tough. That biological clock reminder is like time is ticking and you have to find someone soon.”
Ashley prayed about the decision before joining. “I was like, ‘All right, got it. This is where you want me to go then open the door. If it’s not, please close it,'” she said. “I can’t say yet if I’m dating anyone from the show or if I’m still single. I will say I made two very strong connections on my end and for me it was a very healing process because it had been so long since I had felt for a guy. I was starting to actually think did I break something? Can I still have feelings?”
In the video, Ashley noted there is “probably one thing about me that has really affected my dating life,” adding, “I’m gonna start to talk about it more but it’s something that I haven’t really talked about in a really long time outside of my close circle. That is that I’m a virgin, [and] waiting for marriage. I know. Take it in. I am going to continue to share my story — both in my personal and dating life — because I feel like it’s such a lonely time to be 39 and single and no kids. Hopefully it will help people feel like you’re not alone in this phase.”
“Nervous about sharing what I did at the end. Spilling some tea about my time on Age of Attraction, the new dating show on Netflix,” Ashley captioned the post. “Going on a dáting show isn’t exactly something I thought was in my future but life tends to take us down unexpected paths. I was very prayerful about the decision and trusted that God would take me where he wanted me to go.”
The new dating show is hosted by real-life couple Nick Viall and Natalie Joy, who have their own 18-year age gap. According to the official synopsis, “Age is thrown out the window when singles search for their soulmates, but will the years come between them?”
Divided into three parts, the first batch of episodes showed the initial connections that were formed before individual couples made promises to each other. After a visit to the Promise Room, each couple were finally able to discuss their age gap — and decide if they wanted to keep exploring their chemistry.
Age of Attraction zeroed in on six couples who moved into the same apartment building after making a commitment. They then had to weather new challenges as their new normal set in, which led to one shocking split.
Later in the season, family members will visit each couple to give their opinions on each match. They will then make a decision about whether they want to pursue a future together or if their age differences create too much of an issue.
New episodes of Age of Attraction hit Netflix on Wednesdays.
