‘The Ultimatum’: April Was ‘Distraught’ When Zay Told Her Jake and Rae Ran Off Together
SPOILER ALERT: This piece contains spoilers for the finale and reunion of “The Ultimatum,” streaming now on Netflix.
April Marie is aware that some viewers of “The Ultimatum” may raise an eyebrow at her choice to participate in the reality dating experience at just 23 years old.
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“At a very early age, I was in a longterm relationship. I’ve always just been infatuated with being a mom and being a wife and just having this family that I can look after and be protective of,” April says of presenting boyfriend Jake Cunningham with an ultimatum to marry or move on.
“I was just like, ‘What are we here for? Where’s this relationship going? I don’t want to waste my time. Let’s get married.’”
During the choice ceremony which saw two unexpected proposals, April paired up with Colby Kissinger, while Jake chose Rae Williams. When April and Jake reunited, they butted heads, often due to Jake’s clear connection with Rae.
In the end, April and Jake didn’t wind up together — and April says she’s content with that outcome. “I think he’s thankful for it as well. Ultimately, I feel like both of us figured out our true selves. There’s things that we need that we just couldn’t provide each other. And that’s okay.”
But there was one part of their emotional breakup that didn’t sit right with April. During the finale, Jake told her, “Me and Rae are not running off together. We’re not doing that.”
However, moments later, Jake did in fact meet up with Rae, inviting her to embark on a vacation with him.
“I was heartbroken. I didn’t get chosen. And it felt a little bit better that I wasn’t not getting chosen because of another woman,” April says of her initial reaction to the split.
But things changed when she returned to her hotel room and got a call from fellow cast member Zay Wilson, who entered “The Ultimatum” in a relationship with Rae.
“He’s like, ‘Jake and Rae ran off with each other,’” April recalls. “I just was in such shock because he just told me that they’re not doing that. And I couldn’t even talk back on the phone. I was so distraught. I just hung up and just cried because I was just like, it’s one thing to not hurt my feelings. But it’s another thing to just lie to my face. You don’t want to hurt me — I’d rather you just hurt me with the truth.”
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April says watching the episode back hurt more, hearing Jake exclaim, “Hey, gorgeous,” upon seeing Rae. “That’s like the shit that you said to me when we first started dating…I was just like, who are you?”
Despite the rocky ending to her relationship with Jake, April has since moved on and found love again. “I am in a serious relationship. I adore this person like no other. I look up to him. I respect the hell out of him as a businessman. He is a king when it comes to like treating me like royalty or queen. He’s just the man of my dreams. I’ve never been so shy or so quiet around someone or so geeked out.”
April shares that she and her mystery man have moved in together and share three dogs. “It’s been six months and I still have butterflies,” she gushes. “I’m head over heels about this guy.”
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