Ashley Iaconetti Thinks Trista Sutter Is Filming ‘Special Forces’ Due to Husband’s ‘Cryptic’ Post

Ashley Iaconetti has a theory that her fellow Bachelor Nation alum Trista Sutter is in the season 3 cast of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.

“I just wanna ask, like, where’s Trista? Because [her husband] Ryan [Sutter]’s Instagram post on Mother’s Day was cryptic. Not in a bad way,” Iaconetti, 36, pointed out during the Wednesday, May 15, episode of her and Ben Higgins’ “Almost Famous” podcast.

“She’s away for two weeks,” Iaconetti continued. “Apparently, [former Bachelorette] Ali Fedotowsky is also away for two weeks, [she] had a very similar post. So, is she shooting a show? Is she on Special Forces? Because I told her she’d be perfect for Special Forces.”

Iaconetti and Higgins’ guest, Bob Guiney, who was on the inaugural season of The Bachelorette with Trista, 51, in 2003, replied, “She may well be, I’m not sure.”

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The “cryptic” post in question came on Sunday, May 12, when Ryan, 49, who married Trista in 2003 after meeting her on The Bachelorette, shared a message about his wife being away from their two children: son Maxwell, 16, and daughter Blakesley, 15.

“I know you wish you were here for Mother’s Day. We wish you were too. But sometimes being a mom means letting go of their hands, granting independence and stimulating their courageous spirit. Sometimes it’s necessary to exemplify the characteristics you preach — to do rather than say,” he wrote via Instagram alongside a family photo.

Ryan added that Trista’s time away from her kids would only prove that “your love is not limited by distance or difficulty or time.” He wrapped up the post, “Sometimes you have to do what you sometimes have to do. We’re proud of you mama pajama for everything you do for us, near or far, Happy Mother’s Day!!!”

“❤️😭❤️,” Trista wrote in the comments section.

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Fedotowsky, 39, meanwhile, shared a screenshot of herself FaceTiming husband Kevin Manno and their son, Riley, 6, via Instagram on Wednesday.

“Won’t have my phone for a while [and] this will by far be the longest I’ve ever gone without speaking to my family,” wrote Fedotowsky, who also shares daughter Molly, 7, with Manno, 40.

She added that she was a “blubbering bess” after saying “goodbye to my sweet boys.”

Higgins, 35, pointed out on Wednesday that if Trista is on Special Forces, she has the power to continue Bachelor Nation’s impressive performance on the show. Former Bachelorette Hannah Brown was one of only two players who completed the course during season 1 while Brown’s runner-up, Tyler Cameron, former Bachelor Nick Viall and Olympian Erin Jackson were the only ones left standing at the end of season 2.

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“If she wins this freaking show, then we have to question what in the world is The Bachelor doing when it comes to casting,” he joked. “Because I might be tougher than I ever thought I was.”

Fox renewed Special Forces for a third season earlier this month. The quasi-military training series, which premiered in 2023, pushes contestants to complete tasks modeled on the actual United States Special Forces selection course. While there are no formal eliminations, contestants may voluntarily withdraw, be medically withdrawn, or be disqualified for failing to complete the final step of the course.