Amanda Stanton Details Relationships With Josh Murray, Robby Hayes, Ben Higgins and More Exes in ‘Now Accepting Roses’: 10 Revelations

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Amanda Stanton Details Relationships With Josh Murray, Robby Hayes, Ben Higgins and More Exes in ‘Now Accepting Roses’: 10 Revelations

Amanda Stanton’s exes might want to skip her new book, Now Accepting Roses: Finding Myself While Searching for the One … and Other Lessons I Learned from The Bachelor. Stanton, 29, began the juicy memoir with details of her marriage to Nick Buonfiglio, which ended in 2015, but was seemingly over before they even tied the knot. The twosome share two daughters: Kinsley and Charlie. After finalizing her divorce in 2015, Stanton was picked to compete for Ben Higgins’ heart on The Bachelor season 20. “I mustered up the strength and courage to officially divorce Nick on paper and in life,” she wrote. “About six months later, I started to believe perhaps my ex was right. I could very well end up single and alone forever. It was during that moment of doubt when I got a call from the casting director for The Bachelor.” During the audition process, Stanton wrote that she felt “blind.” [jwplayer HX8KJCyr-l3ahXupL] “In these rooms, producers gave us background tests and STD screenings, had us talk to a therapist, and so on — all within a very busy day of shuttling from room to room,” she explained. “I had so many questions that went unanswered.” Stanton made an impression on both Higgins and fans, but she was sent home after the hometown dates. She didn’t give up on finding love on reality TV, however. Her next venture was on Bachelor in Paradise season 3, where she met her future ex-fiancé Josh Murray. While their relationship was rocky on the show, the former athlete’s allegedly controlling behavior, which he has denied in the past, was even more tumultuous when they returned home from Mexico. “I was together with him for six months (seems like six years), let him get close to my children, moved him into my house, made him part of my family — and I never really knew who he was,” Stanton admitted. The clothing designer also didn’t hold back on her relationships and subsequent breakups with Nick Viall, Robby Hayes and Bobby Jacobs in Now Accepting Roses, which is available now. Scroll through for 10 shocking revelations from the book:

Credit:

Amanda Stanton Details Relationships With Josh Murray, Robby Hayes, Ben Higgins and More Exes in ‘Now Accepting Roses’: 10 Revelations

Amanda Stanton’s exes might want to skip her new book, Now Accepting Roses: Finding Myself While Searching for the One … and Other Lessons I Learned from The Bachelor. Stanton, 29, began the juicy memoir with details of her marriage to Nick Buonfiglio, which ended in 2015, but was seemingly over before they even tied the knot. The twosome share two daughters: Kinsley and Charlie. After finalizing her divorce in 2015, Stanton was picked to compete for Ben Higgins’ heart on The Bachelor season 20. “I mustered up the strength and courage to officially divorce Nick on paper and in life,” she wrote. “About six months later, I started to believe perhaps my ex was right. I could very well end up single and alone forever. It was during that moment of doubt when I got a call from the casting director for The Bachelor.” During the audition process, Stanton wrote that she felt “blind.” [jwplayer HX8KJCyr-l3ahXupL] “In these rooms, producers gave us background tests and STD screenings, had us talk to a therapist, and so on — all within a very busy day of shuttling from room to room,” she explained. “I had so many questions that went unanswered.” Stanton made an impression on both Higgins and fans, but she was sent home after the hometown dates. She didn’t give up on finding love on reality TV, however. Her next venture was on Bachelor in Paradise season 3, where she met her future ex-fiancé Josh Murray. While their relationship was rocky on the show, the former athlete’s allegedly controlling behavior, which he has denied in the past, was even more tumultuous when they returned home from Mexico. “I was together with him for six months (seems like six years), let him get close to my children, moved him into my house, made him part of my family — and I never really knew who he was,” Stanton admitted. The clothing designer also didn’t hold back on her relationships and subsequent breakups with Nick Viall, Robby Hayes and Bobby Jacobs in Now Accepting Roses, which is available now. Scroll through for 10 shocking revelations from the book:

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

On Her Ex-Husband’s Bad Boy Reputation

Despite warnings from friends about Buonfiglio’s “textbook narcissistic qualities,”  Stanton began dating her future ex-husband when she was 20 years old. (He was 25 at the time.) 

“Clearly, this was not a guy I should fall for. I fell in love with him immediately,” she wrote in the book. “Sound familiar? (Ahem, Bachelor in Paradise, season three. But we’ll talk about that later).” 

After Stanton and Buonfiglio hit a rough patch in their relationship, she suggested the twosome take a break. Days later, he hooked up with one of her best friends: “This should have been a huge red flag, but of course, Nick reasoned, we were, after all, on a break. Back then I was naïve enough to believe this was a genuine mistake on Nick’s part.” 

Six months after they reconciled, Stanton discovered she was pregnant with their eldest daughter, Kinsley. As a result, Buonfiglio proposed. While she admitted to her sister that she didn’t believe the pair would last after he got wasted at their rehearsal dinner and admitted to going to a strip club at his Bachelor party, the duo tied the knot in 2012. 

“Looking back on our relationship, I never felt emotionally safe with Nick,” Stanton explained. “My imagination was constantly running wild: Who is he really with? What’s her name? What are they up to?” 

Credit: David Buchan/Shutterstock

On Why She Finally Left Her Ex-Husband

Stanton knew she was going to break up with Buonfiglio after he showed up “sloppy and wasted, reeking of alcohol” at the hospital when she was in labor with their second daughter, Charlie.

“The sun came up, and I still hadn’t given birth. They told me it would probably be a few more hours. The very second Nick left the hospital to go home for a shower is when I realized that I was done with him,” she explained. “Showing up drunk, eating in front of me, not holding my hand when I’m scared — all bad things. But leaving me there? When his daughter could be born at any moment? That sealed the deal.”

As she was moving out of their home together, Stanton discovered a second phone that belonged to her spouse. 

“In addition to inappropriate texts from many, many girls, including Nick’s ex with whom he’d apparently hung out right when Charlie was born, there were naked pictures of many girls, as well as my husband’s numerous dating app profiles,” she claimed. “The kicker was his Tinder profile picture — a photo of our family with me cropped out. Nick claimed to be a loving, single father. Ouch. … To this day, despite the dating profiles and text messages, my ex claims he never cheated on me and swears there was only ever one kiss between him and his ex-girlfriend while we were married.”

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

On The Bachelor Audition Process, Producers and Costars

Stanton quickly became a favorite with fans, producers and most of her fellow contestants during season 20 of The Bachelor. 

“I’ve heard cast members say things about the producers such as, 'I thought the producers were my friends and they really weren’t.' I’ve heard people talk about how manipulative and cruel they can be. Personally, I don’t really feel that way,” she wrote, noting that the producers did instruct the women not to talk about “anything other than our excitement about Ben” during the limo ride to the mansion on night one. “I understand their job is obviously to produce good television, but from my experience, they’re all good people. They have a reputation for manufacturing problems, but I’ve never seen them create something that wasn’t already there.” 

While she became “instant best friends” with Lauren Bushnell, Stanton had some issues with Olivia Caridi, who compared her to someone from the MTV series Teen Mom. 

“She was a bit of a misfit who didn’t play well with others,” Stanton wrote about Caridi. “Olivia was very vocal with us girls about how she was the only one for Ben. She would constantly throw jabs my way by saying Ben wasn’t ready to raise someone else’s kids.” 

Credit: ABC/Greg Zibilski

On Why Ben Higgins’ Breakup Hurt Her Feelings

Stanton admitted she was blindsided when Higgins dumped her after he met her daughters.

“Even though Ben and I didn’t have overwhelming chemistry, I really wanted it to work with him because I knew he was the kind of guy who would make my life better. He was kind and forthcoming, and he had the same values I did. All the things I was missing in my previous marriage,” she wrote. “After our date with the girls, I thought there was no way he’d send me home. Why would producers allow me to expose my children to this guy — and, not to mention, to the world — unless they knew I was going to be ‘The One’? Surely Ben understood meeting someone’s kids is something you only do if you intend on sticking around, I thought. In hindsight I realize how truly naïve I was back then.” 

Stanton added that her heart “sank” when Higgins sent her home because he didn’t do it before the rose ceremony. 

“Ben could have come to my hotel before the ceremony to let me know about his choice. That is always an option for the Bachelor. He also could have pulled me aside and given me a heads-up,” she wrote. “I didn’t expect special treatment, but I’d hoped for extra sensitivity since I had just let him in on the two things that mean the most to me in this world.” 

Credit: ABC

On Her Lack of Chemistry With Nick Viall

According to Stanton, she and Viall were “flirtatious” at parties and industry events before joining the cast of Bachelor in Paradise season 3, but their relationship ended up being platonic.

“It was such a bummer when we got to Paradise and I had my time alone with Nick, because the chemistry just wasn’t there. There were no sparks during my date with Nick, yet viewers were led to believe we were dancing on cloud nine,” she wrote. "He could hardly hold eye contact with me. Dates can be nerve-racking, but it was strange to me considering the great chemistry we’d had when we had hung out before. I’m still not sure what happened.” 

Credit: ABC/Rick Rowell

On Josh Murray in Paradise

Stanton admitted she fell “hard” for Murray during BiP season 3 because he “said all the right things.” Despite warnings from her castmates about Andi Dorfman’s memoir, which detailed her allegedly controlling relationship with the former baseball player, she continued to see him. Stanton did, however, question their relationship when Murray’s mom showed up during their overnight date. 

“Another thing the public never got to see was Josh’s mom, who visited us at our fantasy suite. Awkward? You bet. You want to be ready to meet your boyfriend’s family, not meet them unexpectedly from the bed of your fantasy suite,” she wrote. “It turned out Josh planned this with the producers and nobody thought to clue me in. Apparently, he felt he couldn’t propose unless he could see how I interacted with his mom, so he begged producers to fly her out. … The fact we were all meeting at the fantasy suite, an intimate location where he and I just spent the night together, felt more than just a little inappropriate.” 

According to Stanton, Murray’s mom mentioned Dorfman’s book, which she admitted to reading, and then demanded the scene never air.

“When the show began to air and Josh wasn’t making a favorable impression on viewers, his mom got worried because she didn’t want to look bad in her TV appearance,” she claimed in the book. “She demanded approval of the footage before it aired. I saw it and thought it looked like a sweet scene, just us girls talking.” 

Stanton also alleged that Murray “slapped” her on the back during a fight with Viall over sleeping arrangements. 

”Josh flew into my room like a psycho, jolted me awake, and yelled at me. I was sort of frozen in bed, not knowing what to do. He cut our conversation short by quipping, ‘Good talk,’ and slapped me on the back,” she stated. “I lay in bed that night for hours thinking, Wow, his anger issues are really bad. … I can’t explain why I stayed with Josh after that night. I guess I wanted to believe the stress of the show was getting to him and how he was acting wasn’t really who he was.” 

Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock

On Josh Murray After Paradise

Things between Stanton and Murray took a turn for the worse when they moved in together post-Paradise. 

“Josh didn’t want a fiancée, he wanted a robot he could program and control. After all his sweet talk about wanting to watch the girls while I got manicures with my friends, the reality was he didn’t even like me texting or talking to anyone, let alone seeing them in person,” she claimed. “One time I met two girls, friends of mine since first grade, for dinner. Josh was so jealous and furious he bombarded me with texts to say he was packing his things and leaving. My attention had to be on Josh and only Josh at all times. I’d have to call my mom from the gym to avoid an issue.” 

Stanton also alleged that Murray wouldn’t let her listen to male artists (“especially Justin Bieber”), claimed she caught him “spying” on her in the shower and alleged he didn’t allow her to drink on girls’ trips without him.

“He completely lost his cool and went crazy, saying some of the meanest things anyone has ever said to me [after he saw a photo of me drinking],” she explained. “He even went as far as calling me an awful word. Let’s just say it rhymes with 'runt.'" 

After the twosome split in December 2016, she admitted in the book that they would fly out to see each other over the next five months. 

“Even though he was controlling and difficult, I felt pressured to try to make things work with him because he did get so close to my daughters,” she wrote. “That breakup hit me the hardest because I truly thought I found my person, and I had put it out there in front of what felt like the whole world. I cringe when I think about the family photo session Josh and I did with my girls. It’s embarrassing to look back at the degree to which I fought for things to work out.” 

Credit: ABC/Paul Hebert

On the Bachelor in Paradise Scandal

During Stanton’s second stint on Bachelor in Paradise in 2017, a producer filed a complaint about an alleged incident between Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson in a hot tub. 

“From my perspective it was definitely mutual and in good fun. I saw Corinne and DeMario make their way to the pool as the rest of us hung out on the beach,” Stanton wrote. “I noticed Corinne and DeMario move from the pool to the hot tub but didn’t think much of it. Nobody was paying close attention to them. We were all too busy checking each other out to pay them any mind.” 

Days later, an investigation into the incident was launched and production shut down for 10 days. Warner Bros. concluded that the investigation found no evidence of sexual misconduct and the show resumed filming without Olympios or Jackson.

“The truth was, Corinne had a serious boyfriend when she came on the show. She and her boyfriend had an understanding that she wasn’t there to hook up with anyone but rather promote herself and her brand. From the start she was upfront with the producers, telling them she had no intentions of hooking up with any of the guys,” Stanton claimed. “But then on the first day she had sex with DeMario in the pool. I think Corinne’s biggest concern was if and how her boyfriend was going to find out what happened between her and DeMario. That was my guess at the time as to why she kept talking to producers on the side. None of us had any idea what that tryst would turn into.” 

Credit: ABC

On Her Fling With Robby Hayes

Despite thinking Hayes was “the biggest douchebag ever” when they first met, Stanton chatted with him during the season 4 filming break. After they returned to Mexico, she claimed producers encouraged her to spend time with him. 

“I wasn’t there for a free vacation, after all. Viewers tune in to witness romantic connections, not to watch me get a tan. I caved and the kissing began. One thing led to another and I started to let Robby out friend zone,” she wrote. “Although we were what I’d call casually dating, I never fully believed there would be a future between us.” 

Credit: Jeff Vespa

On Her Las Vegas Arrest

Stanton was arrested on one count of battery domestic violence in Las Vegas in September 2018 during her relationship with Jacobs. In her memoir, Stanton revealed that the volleyball player wasn’t supposed to be in Sin City, but she invited him to join her friends on the last night of a Bachelorette party after he lost a tournament. 

“That night I had a couple more drinks than usual (and by that, I mean two more than my one normal glass of wine), and we were all kind of being loud in the hotel room. We were there to celebrate, but never did we mean to cause a huge disturbance,” she wrote. “With the noise we were making, our neighbors called hotel security, who came to our room. Bobby, who rarely, rarely drank, opened the door to speak to them and apologize on our behalf for being so loud. I don’t know what got into me, but I suppose liquid courage happens to the best of us in the worst moments sometimes. I barged up to the door and ‘pushed’ Bobby aside to get in front of him to speak to security myself.” 

The charges against Stanton were dropped in December 2018.

She concluded: “The words ‘domestic violence’ did not describe me, Bobby, or our relationship. The press was saying I shoved Bobby, but anyone who sees us knows that isn’t even possible. I’m 5’3”. He’s 6’7”! There was no way he’d move an inch no matter how much strength I used.”