‘Temptation Island’: Ashley H Dishes on Where Casey Crossed the Line in Their Relationship, Her Connection With Ben (Exclusive)

Watching boyfriend Casey Starchak say he wouldn’t care if she broke up with him at last week’s emotional bonfire ceremony, Temptation Island’s Ashley Howland was officially done trying to hold back in her connection with Ben Knobloch. Ahead of Thursday’s all-new episode of the USA reality series, Ashley opened up to PopCulture.com about where she “drew the line” in her relationship before deciding to turn her flirty friendship with Ben into a real romance.

Going into Temptation Island, Ashley was definitely reticent to test her relationship of almost two years, admitting exclusively, “I wasn’t really worried about myself. I was more concerned with what he was gonna do on his end.”

Already trying to work through trust issues related to men in her past who had burned her, Ashley was completely devastated upon seeing footage of Casey admitting to one of the single women that if she were to leave him, he would be happy to go back to his bachelor days and move on.

“I was very focused on my relationship in the beginning, and sometimes when you hear the words coming out of someone’s mouth … I was like that’s where I drew the line,” Ashley told PopCulture.com of watching the moment back at the bonfire. “It’s where our relationship is over.”

Deepening her relationship with Ben came after she felt like her relationship had been so deeply betrayed, especially with the single helping her process her emotions and giving her advice.

“Honestly, he’s a really good listener,” Ashley said of Ben, adding that while the two might have been on cloud nine having kissed, the roller coaster of emotions regarding her relationship with Casey made for a difficult start to their romance.

“It’s just you’re happy one second, the next second you’re sad,” she explained. “Because you are just thinking about what could be and what might be.”

Added onto her mixed feelings was the knowledge that she had broken the physical rules she and Casey had set out ahead of Temptation Island, but the feeling that what he had said was even more of a slap in the face.

“If I would have seen him do what I did, I would have cried a lot, but sometimes words stick with you more,” she said.

Seeing these moments play back as Temptation Island airs had the reality personality in tears all over again.

“It’s definitely weird, because it was all the way back in June/July, and so much has changed,” she recalled. “It’s just very weird to watch it again. You do get those feelings again.”

Temptation Island airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.

Photo credit: USA