‘Bachelor’ Alum Puts Kelly Ripa On Blast For “Awkward” Jenn Tran Interview On ‘Live’: “It Disappoints Me”

Former Bachelor contestant Ashley Iaconetti is calling out Kelly Ripa for her awkward interaction with current Bachelorette lead Jenn Tran.

Ripa and her husband Mark Consuelos welcomed Tran to the July 8 episode of Live with Kelly and Mark, where they grilled the aspiring physician’s assistant on why she decided to seek out love on TV instead of in “the office” or “medical school.”

“It disappoints me when I see that Kelly Ripa has such an ax to grind with The Bachelor franchise,” Iaconetti said on Thursday’s (July 11) episode of her Almost Famous podcast, per Us Weekly. “Every time we have a lead go on the show to promote it, she always seems to be so skeptical of — a little bit of the lead, and their decision to be the lead — and also just the process.”

Iaconetti, who appeared in Season 19 of The Bachelor, added that Ripa “just seems to really shame the show.”

“There are so many reality shows out there that are so much more trashy,” she continued. “She loves to pick at The Bachelor and The Bachelorette.”

The Bachelor Season 20 lead (and Iaconetti’s trusty podcast co-host) Ben Higgins said he had a similar experience when he appeared on the morning talk show in 2016. According to Higgins, Ripa “definitely doesn’t like” The Bachelor franchise.

“I don’t know if they, like, denied her her Bachelorette role at some point,” he joked, noting that her apparent disdain “makes for an awkward interview.”

He added, “If you look back on past interviews with past leads on the Kelly Live show, it always gets awkward. Because it’s always questioning and it puts you in a weird place to have to respond to questions that you can’t really answer.”

Despite the uncomfortable moment, both hosts praised Tran for her response to Ripa’s questions.

“I have a question. Where did you meet your husband? On TV, no?” Tran asked Ripa, who met Consuelos when they both starred in All My Children in the 1990s. However, Ripa fired back that her situation was “not the same” as Tran’s.

“We were both professional,” she replied. “Are you acting on your show? I didn’t marry Mateo Santos. I married Mark Consuelos.”

DECIDER has reached out to reps for Ripa for comment, but did not hear back by the time of publication.