Bachelor 's Juelia Kinney Says Her House Burned Down 2 Months Ago: 'We Were Basically Homeless'

Jodi Guglielmi
Updated ·6 min read

Juelia Kinney is opening up about an unexpected, life-changing experience.

In a candid Instagram post, The Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise alumna revealed that the home she shared with fiancè Aaron Bass and daughter Ireland burned down in a fire less than two months ago.

“About a month and a half ago, I left for work in the morning, took Ireland to school and got a call that we had a fire in our house,” she wrote. “My heart started beating rapidly- I had no idea what to expect. Were our dogs ok? Was everything ruined? The fire department told me they had to break down our front door to get in and thank God our dogs ran out and seemed ok.”

While Kinney said she felt extremely lucky that no one was harmed in the electrical fire, the damages left their San Diego house “inhabitable.”

“I’ve been through enough to know that all that matters is that we are all alive and well,” she wrote. “I got to the house and met with the fire department for a couple hours before I could see inside. It was an electrical fire from the stove. So thankful it didn’t happen while we were sleeping 🙌🏼 Our house was inhabitable from that point and we were basically homeless… ”

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I just realized that I have only posted once since January 😳 to be honest, social media really gives my anxiety, from both posting and not having a clever enough caption or not having a good picture or what people will say in the comment section. So dumb when you think about it! I have had so much to share. Number 1: We started planning our wedding for real, and set the wedding date. It felt so exciting to finally have a venue and know when and where we would me married 👰🏼❤️🧔🏻 I went to Portland to meet @desireesiegfried and try on her beautiful wedding gowns and honored to be wearing one for my special day!! She made it really hard on me because she is so talented that I could picture wearing so many of them!! Number 2: About a month and a half ago, I left for work in the morning, took Ireland to school and got a call that we had a fire in our house. My heart started beating rapidly- I had no idea what to expect. Were our dogs ok? Was everything ruined? The fire department told me they had to break down our front door to get in and thank God our dogs ran out and seemed ok. I’ve been through enough to know that all that matters is that we are all alive and well. Aaron and I were going to start our through good and bad before our wedding 😝 I got to the house and met with the fire department for a couple hours before I could see inside. It was an electrical fire from the stove. So thankful it didn’t happen while we were sleeping 🙌🏼 Our house was inhabitable from that point and we were basically homeless... we rented an Airbnb and got Ireland from school and explained we didn’t have that house anymore and we would find a new house. That all that matters is that we are safe. She cried but took it as best she could. We got take out and laughed about what we were going to do next. We ended up finding a place within a week which we were super thankful for. We were able to salvage some of our furniture and worked together to clean it all piece by piece. Showed me another side of Aaron I didn’t get to see before, that even when things get tough, and honestly really sucks... he sticks by my side, is always positive and even makes me laugh. I know more than

A post shared by Juelia Kinney (@jueliakinney) on Apr 13, 2020 at 5:14pm PDT

RELATED: Bachelor in Paradise Alum Juelia Kinney Is Engaged — to Evan Bass’ Brother Aaron!

The fire also happened just weeks before the coronavirus outbreak was categorized as a global pandemic.

“We rented an Airbnb and got Ireland from school and explained we didn’t have that house anymore and we would find a new house,” she continued. “That all that matters is that we are safe. She cried but took it as best she could. We got take out and laughed about what we were going to do next.”

The couple managed to find a new home together and salvaged several pieces of furniture from their previous house. Kinney said the incident brought their family closer together.

“[This] showed me another side of Aaron I didn’t get to see before, that even when things get tough, and honestly really sucks… he sticks by my side, is always positive and even makes me laugh. I know more than ever that he is my dude and I am so lucky to have him as a partner and I couldn’t wait to call him my husband once and for all,” she said.

“Within two weeks” of their move, however, coronavirus halted everyday life across the world. Now, Kinney is facing the possibility of postponing her nuptials.

“Now that California is most likely closed through May 15th, it [is] very unlikely we will be able to have our wedding as planned,” she wrote. “We are really disappointed but through all of this I again know that although I don’t think all things happen for a reason, but what I do know is that GOOD ALWAYS COMES NO MATTER WHAT.”

She concluded her post by saying her “heart goes out” to people “losing jobs, scared of not having enough food, and mostly having to learn elementary math.”

Kinney vied for Chris Soules‘ heart on The Bachelor in 2015, followed by a stint in Paradise that summer. Prior to appearing on the ABC franchise, she was married. Her husband died by suicide in 2013, leaving her to raise Ireland, 7, alone.

RELATED VIDEO: Juelia Kinney Says Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars Is ‘Reopening Some Old Wounds’

Kinney and Bass, the brother of fellow Paradise alumnus Evan Bass, got engaged in 2018.

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