'Bachelor' Nation's Evan Bass Didn't 'Set a Proper Foundation' for Marriage with Ex Carly Waddell

The Bachelor in Paradise alum chatted with Bachelorette alums Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo for their Talking It Out podcast, opening up about having "a lot to work through" in his relationship

Evan Bass is opening up about what led to his and Carly Waddell's divorce.

On Thursday's episode of the Talking It Out podcast, Bass told Bachelor Nation's Mike Johnson and Bryan Abasolo that meeting Waddell on Bachelor in Paradise "changed my life, and [Paradise] created this amazing bubble where I was able to connect with Carly, and I think it's beautiful what that can do."

That said, Bass partially attributed the couple's long-term issues to the fact their romance began in an unorthodox way.

Evan Bass and Carly Waddell. Noel Vasquez/Getty

"I think when we got out of it, we weren't able to set a proper foundation," acknowledged Bass, 39. "Paradise, gives you a kind of foundation that's very — there's nothing going on, right? You just have to work on your relationship. And you talk about real-life stuff and for me, it was very genuine, and I think when you get out, that transition, I think that's probably where we missed it."

He continued, "Like communicating about values and just communication in general. Figuring out how to work through life. I have obviously other children that aren't with Carly, and so, there was just a lot to work through."

Evan Bass and Carly Waddell. Michael Tullberg/Getty Images

The couple met on the show in 2016 and after three years of marriage and sharing two kids together, they announced their separation in December 2020.

In talking about healing from the divorce, Bass told Johnson, 34, and Abasolo, 42, that he turned to therapy.

"I have done a ton of therapy, like I started doing — I've been doing therapy for years — but I made sure that it was every week," he said.

Bass explained that he also paid attention to his physical health in an effort to "make sure I had as much of a chance to sort of rebound quickly as I could."

Bass said that despite the work he has done on himself, he is "not out of it."

"I still feel like it's hard talking about it, I feel emotional, just thinking about it, it's a deep sadness still," he shared. "I don't know if you ever just get completely perfect. There's the scars and the wounds they heal but they're also there to teach you, and teach me, and I'm trying my best."

Paul Hebert/ABC

In addition to three older sons from a previous marriage, Bass shares son Charles "Charlie" Wolf and daughter Isabella "Bella" Evelyn with Waddell, 36.

When the pair first met on the beach while filming Paradise, alums Bass (who competed for JoJo Fletcher's heart on The Bachelorette) and Waddell (from Chris Soules' season of The Bachelor) appeared to be an unlikely duo.

"It was just this thing that was a roller coaster," Waddell told Glamour in 2016. "I broke up with him like five times!"

Eventually, the couple fell hard and Bass proposed on the season 3 finale of the show. In 2020, they announced their separation after three years of marriage.