Almost Paradise … but not quite. Kendall Long and Joe Amabile are still working on their relationship after the Bachelor in Paradise season 5 couple called it quits earlier this year.
“I love Joe. I mean, he’s just a great person and we’ve really went through a lot together and we have so much, we see strength in each other,” the 29-year-old reality TV personality exclusively told Us Weekly while chatting about her upcoming book, Just Curious. “So if I’m having a hard day, I can talk to him and, you know, I hope he feels the same way. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen down the line. … We have a good relationship. It’s not romantic right now.”
Long and Amabile, 33, who met while filming BiP in 2018, announced their split in January after moving in together in Los Angeles. They went their separate ways after the Dancing With the Stars alum decided he wanted to move back to his native Chicago. Since their breakup, fans have caught the twosome interacting via Instagram.
“I think initially I was like, ‘This is gonna be easy. It’s going to be fine. We’re gonna be great friends.’ But it’s definitely difficult when you want to move on,” she explained. “You want to start to date and it’s not fair to keep holding onto somebody that you used to love and still have, like, a big place in your heart for, and I think we’re kind of learning how to be friends. I wouldn’t say we’re completely 100 percent there yet. It’s been a good process. I mean, he’s a great person.”
While Long isn’t ruling out a reunion with Amabile — or a return to Mexico — in the future, she’s not ready to commit to anything.
“I try to live as if I’m not depending on The Bachelor world to find my future husband because then I’m just holding off my love life,” she told Us. “But I had nothing but amazing experiences and it worked for me and if it could work for me once, maybe it works for me twice. But I’m not trying to put all my eggs in the Bachelor basket. I’m still dating.”
Long’s book of questions, Just Curious, which hits bookshelves on November 18, is also helping her get back out there. She added, however, that it’s hard to date when there’s footage of her with Amabile and former Bachelor Arie Luyendyk Jr. online.
“It’s one of those things where it’s weird to start dating and then having to introduce like, ‘Oh, hey, so if you look on the internet and you look up my name, it’s all my ex and you’re probably gonna see me kissing him,’” she quipped. “This is a part of what my dating life is now. That’s been weird to get used to.”
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