The Truth About Ashley Jones And Bariki Smith's Relationship
"Teen Mom: Young and Pregnant" stars Ashley Jones and Bariki "Bar" Smith have had one of the most tumultuous relationships in the franchise's history. In the first season, Ashley and Bar were engaged, but they wound up breaking off that engagement in May 2019, per InTouch. But that was only the first time the couple called off their pending nuptials.
Ashley and Bar's relationship reached a boiling point in January 2019 when, during an Instagram Live session, the "Teen Mom" star claimed Bar had abused her, per Radar. In a since-deleted tweet, Ashley wrote, "He does get physical with me often." The young mother later discussed the situation on the reality show. "I'm happy I did because a lot of people reached out to me and a lot of people found courage through my situation and that's ultimately the goal," she told OK! in October 2019. But that was far from the end for Ashley and Bar's relationship, however, as the duo stayed in contact.
Amidst the turmoil, the on-again-off-again couple maintained a relationship for the sake of their child. "Bar will always be the father of my child and I think we're working our best to just be the best parents we can be," Ashley told InTouch in October 2019. Later, the reality star wrote on Twitter that she felt blamed for her and Bar's issues, per Starcasm. Keep reading to see what made the couple get back together.
Ashley Jones and Bariki Smith hope the third time's a charm
Ashley Jones and Bar Smith were once again spending a lot of time together by early 2020. In March of that year, Ashley celebrated Bar's birthday by posting a video on Instagram where she danced close to him, per The Sun. At that time, the duo maintained they were not dating. "Happy birthday Bar! ... (Yes, he is single, shoot the shot sis)," Ashley wrote in a caption to her post. But that seemingly changed rather quick.
Near the end of 2020, the couple reconciled and once again decided to get married. "I've messed up the other ones and I want to apologize ... I would like to ask you again, will you marry me?" Bar said in the promo clip for "Teen Mom 2" (via People). In November 2020, Bar celebrated their third engagement by posting a video on Instagram of him and Ashley on a boat. "I'm marrying her y'all," he wrote in the caption. During an Instagram Q&A around the same time as the proposal, Ashley revealed she and Bar had matured together. "We learned that we can talk instead [of] yell," she wrote (via InTouch). "We just realized we loved each other and ... had something special and worth saving."
Bar found himself in hot water once again on April Fool's Day 2021, however, when he pranked fans by making them believe the two were expecting another child, per The Sun. He deleted the post after numerous irate fans responded. But if this engagement sticks, perhaps officially expanding their family will be on Ashley and Bar's minds someday soon.