The breakout star of this season’s Swamp People is a gorgeous redhead named Ashley “Che” Dead Eye Jones, who is partnered with Ronnie Adams.
Some fans think that Ronnie and Ashley are real-life partners but that is not the case.
Ashley, affectionately called “Che” by Ronnie while they are busy hunting, is a married mother who is devoted to her family and has serious marksmanship skills, making her invaluable to Adams as they scour the swamp for gigantic alligators.
Che has proven herself to be a fierce huntress and Ronnie’s right-hand woman in the race to score gator carcasses.
On tonight’s episode, Ronnie shows Che that he won ten gator tags in a poker game. This lucky jackpot surprised and delighted her to no end, and the two were both were excited to get out in the swamp and fill them.
Tonight, the two hunt in Bayou Sorrel as they scour the swamp for monsters and continue their search for “Big Slick,” a legendary Sorrel monster who may exceed 12 feet in length.
But who is the ginger beauty who calls the swamp home and is the best shot in the cast of swampers?
Ashley Jones, the woman of the Swamp
Jones is more than just a woman of the swamp, she is an avid hunter who counts wild hogs, turkey, deer and anything you can tag and bag as fair game.
Given the nickname “dead eye” for her on-the-mark shooting skills, this mother of three is married to a successful lawyer, Chad Jones.
With her husband’s own law firm specializing in NFL clients, she seemed an unlikely swamp hunter until she won a gator tag in the lottery last year and invited her friend Ronnie Adams to help.
Ronnie and Ashley hit it off big time and the two have become breakout favorites for the Swamp People fandom.
Not everything was roses
In a telling interview with the Mississippi Clarion-Ledger, Jones revealed her path to TV fame and hunting expertise was born from great personal tragedy and the subsequent depression that ensued.
She told the Ledger:
“What put me in the depression was a miscarriage…I was in depression for three months without even knowing it…It was like I was dead inside. It was like just going through the motions of life without getting anything back from it. It was a hormonal imbalance and that’s normal, but I didn’t have anything I was passionate about to fall back on.”
She added: “My advice to any guy who dates someone who doesn’t hunt — take them…It may bring something out in them they didn’t know about. It changed my life. It saved my life. It really did.”
On her husband’s advice, she hunted with him and got the bug to continue hunting. She added:
“I knew I had to make it my mission to successfully kill a trophy buck,” Jones said. “Once that thought entered my mind I couldn’t concentrate on anything else. I remember that feeling of missing him, but I remember the adrenalin rush. I understood why people get up at 4 a.m. to go hunting. It was really, really cool to me.”
Jones’ Facebook friendship with Louisiana native Ronnie Adams netted wild hog hunts that she and her husband went on. The Adams and Jones clans struck up a great friendship.
Based on the fun photos Chad Jones posts of his wife — who he is clearly proud of — Ashley looks to have a real sense of humor too:
It was Adams who recommended her to the Swamp People producers to include in the colorful cast.
Ashley uses her social media to post awesome photos of her hunts and trophies, along with her family and friends. She also talks directly to fans on her socials too which is very cool:
And Ashley and Ronnie are heading for a meet and greet with fans in Orange Beach, Alabama the end of March too:
Make sure to tune in tonight to see how Che and Ronnie fare in Bayou Sorrell as Troy and his “Big Buddy” Terral are hunting a poacher and Joey Edgar is looking for Big Bully, a fierce bull gator who is chomping lots of smaller gators. Jay Paul in Houma makes an appearance too!
Swamp People airs Thursdays on History.