Bachelor Happy Hour - Hometowns and a Surprise Girl Chat! | Golden Hour

Episode Date: October 27, 2025

Today on “Golden Hour,” Kathy and Susan are back to chat all about Mel’s Hometowns, but first, we have a few surprise guests stopping by: Joan and Nancy from Season 1! The besties are in Austin for a girls trip and they’re sharing a little piece of their reunion with us today. We get to hear all about how their trip is going and their thoughts on this season of “Golden.” Then, Kathy and Susan dive into this past episode and they have lots to chat about. They get into Mel’s interactions with the daughters, where he’s at so far in his journey, and of course, Debbie’s heartbreaking goodbye. Plus, they tell us who they’d like to see as the next Golden Bachelorette; can you guess who?! Tune in now to hear all this and more and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Bernie Sanders. We've talked many times over the years, and today he even throws a few questions my way. Are you ready for another question? Go ahead. Hit me, Bernie.

We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living, and of course, the government shut down. Listen to next question with me, Katie Couric, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Johnny Knoxville here. Check out Crimeless, Hillbilly Heist, my new true crime podcast from Smartless Media, Campside Media, and Big Money Players. It's the true story of the almost perfect crime and the Nimrods who almost pulled it off. It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer. That was dumb. Do not follow my example. Listen to Crimless, Hillbilly Heist,

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them will end up dead, and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, a nature reserve, and a spectacular new home. But little by little... They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control.

Listen to Hell in Heaven on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I live below a cult leader, and I fear I've angered her. Wait a minute, Sophia. How do you know she's a cult leader? Well, Dakota, luckily it's I'm not afraid of a scary story week on the OK Storytime podcast. So we'll find out soon. This person writes, my neighbor has been blasting music every day and doing dirt rituals. and now my ceiling is collapsing.

I try to report them, but things keep getting weirder. I think they might be part of a cult. Hold up. A real-life cult? And what is a dirt ritual? No clue, Dakota. Find out how it ends. Listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. The Big Tick podcast from Bloomberg News keeps you on top of the biggest stories of the day. My fellow Americans, this is Liberation Day. Stories that move markets. Chair Powell opened. the door to this first interest rate cut. Impact politics, change businesses.

This is a really stunning development for the AI world and how you think about your bottom line. Listen to the big take from Bloomberg News every weekday afternoon on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome back, everybody to Bachelor, Happy Hour's Golden Hour. Thanks so much for joining us again.

We are so excited to be here and wait to hear what we have planned today. Oh, boy. So today we are going to dive into all things hometowns, but first, we have two special guests. We are in Austin, Texas, with none other than Nancy and Joan from our Golden Bachelor season. Welcome, you guys. Thank you. It's so nice to be here. We are.

Okay. so girls are back we're back together we're here for the weekend we have big plans yeah i mean we've been trying to plan this for literally how long a year i think a year at least a year at least a year and we finally put it together a date that we could all be together somehow and we flew in this morning and the fun has just started and nancy yes tell them what you brought i am right here Susan so I was so excited to Joan and I both were excited to come and Susan called me a couple nights ago and said can you need me a favor will you go get that pomeno cheese that I liked remember that time you brought it to my house I said yes she said can you bring that on the plane I said are you kidding me Susan she goes no it's fine it'll be okay just put it in your luggage and I was like I'm not putting pomeno cheese in my luggage so what's did I do? I brought it. I bought three of them. It's like 30 bucks worth of pomeino cheese, packed it as a carry-on and have it, and I had a little ice pack. Going through security, guess what?

I got stopped. Jones calling me like, where are you? And I'm stopped in security. They had to bring two supervisors over. They had all, literally, they had all of the pimento cheese out and they're holding it up and they're looking at. They thought I had drugs in the Pomeino cheese. I'm not kidding. And so anyway, luckily we made the flight. And I'm so grateful. So great. And I just want

to say this is reason number 462 why Kathy does not cook because this is the trouble you get into. But having said that, Susan came in a couple of days earlier and we went to the grocery store last night. My refrigerator has never been

so packed with food my air conditioning has never been set so low it's freezing in here it's so cold and it's so hot but it feels so good to have all our girls together again us golden's and what did we all do watch melcisa unless i stayed up late i was i got up at 415 today but i stayed up and watched it because i thought this is important we should know what's going on in the season okay ladies just watched it what's your thought nancy i fell asleep what do you think of this season you guys what do you think nancy i think go ahead go ahead joe no you go go go i want to hear i just watched last night's season and i've been feeling this way the whole time my feeling is

my gut feeling is he doesn't emote emotion and he's not nothing against him but i don't get the feeling that he's crazy in love with any of them or obviously he doesn't know that he is but i just thought he'd be further along with at least one of them and they're all lovely and oh my gosh he's got great women to pick from but i just don't feel like he's there clearly they are yeah i agree i agree with you what about you nancy i mean what about you john that wasn't i totally agree with Nancy. I don't know if maybe he's being particularly careful. So I knew, like, I had kind of a, like a contract with myself that I wasn't going to say, I love you to anybody or just one person. And, but when you have those conversations with their families, it's important that

you give them some kind of reassurance. And he couldn't even do that, which is what concerned me. Like if they said, you know, do you think you have strong feelings for my mom or do you think that you'll ever get there? He was like, yeah, I know, I'm not really sure. I don't really know. As opposed to saying, right? What's that? He said that right? Yeah. Each of them.

Every single one of them said the same thing. Yeah. I'm curious what you guys think are the biggest differences in this season from our season. Hmm. I think, though, that it always, like, Bachelor bubble is a thing, obviously. And everybody seems to fall in love with the lead. Even if, like, in that in the real world, it wouldn't have happened. it does on the shows. These girls seem to have it on an even heightened level. They seem to be

more in love and they think he's even a greater person. And I don't know if that goes back to us. And we should talk about this a little bit, maybe not on this particular show because it's a whole conversation about how hard it is to find love as a woman at this age. So maybe they are so invested in this one man because he's the only man out there of 300 million people that live in this country. He seems to be the only one that has, you know, an option for them. Yeah. Yeah, they're living in his bubble. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And we can all relate, most of us, except Joan now, thank goodness with Chalk and Susan with Frederick, but we've all lived that.

You know, we are one in the 300 million and we've gone through it and it is hard. And I think you're right. They've got a great guy in front of them. Let's go. And I feel like that, you're exactly right, Joan. But do you feel like all these women on Mel's season are different than us? And if so, what way? I know they all have long hair.

Well, yeah. They all have extensions. I'm so jealous. But they all look similar, I think. Many of them, I'm sorry, not all of them. They're a little younger. I mean, we know that they, you know, gauge them younger. I mean, he certainly said that.

And they do ask you, like, when you're going on the show, they ask you like what type of person you're looking for, like what physical traits, what personality kind of things. He obviously said young. We know that. It's no secret. so they did they you know cast this you know a lot younger than our our season actually yeah i mean we were i know that the three of us were three of the youngest people on the season before we had

and we would be right in the middle of the pack on this season yeah you're right we had more of a range you guys go ahead i was going to say to me it's so um interesting to watch when we were there we did this and it just feels so different. I think, Joan, you're right, partly due to their, partly due to their interests. Some of them, many of them are still working. But you know what, guys, I don't think the age difference is that grand. And I don't know that any of them are grandparents yet. Or maybe they are. They really didn't speak of that at all. So that was a big difference, I think. Yeah, I think it's because they're a little younger. I mean, they're early 60s, most of them. Yeah, they're a lot younger. I do feel like, um,

he's a little different than our lead. Okay, so Gary was very effusive. He was very emotional. He made it easy for us to be the same way. He kind of opened the doors for us to then enter into that kind of same, you know, being the way that he was. Mel is not that way. The women still are a little bit, and it seems very unrecipricated, which feels a little

uncomfortable to me. I thought we were all very comfortable in Gary's world the way, what he created for us. I don't feel comfortable in Mel's world. it's a really good point yeah couldn't agree with her more yes and i do agree with what you said about his um i lost my emotion it's not showing emotions but also when we all went on our show first golden bachelor we i think all of us were truly there i can say this without a doubt we're truly there to find love and back to what you guys said not all of these women are. And like you said, they've told people that and people know that, but that made me a little

sad because I really wanted, I wanted it to continue on this season. But that is what Bachelor stands for, finding love. Right. That's what it's about. I do believe that 95% of the people there were there to find love. I felt like they were really upset when they, when every single one of them didn't get a rose and were leaving the mansion, they look truly upset. I know. I really, breaks my heart every time. I feel like they were there for the right reasons. Just very few that weren't. So, Susan, you and I have met these ladies, Joan.

I think you've met a few of them. I mean, they're smart women. So either we're missing something or they're desperate. And I don't want to believe they're desperate. So I'm going with. Can you tell us, do they whisper behind the scenes that they're giving these women all this hope? Right, Joan. And you've had the experience.

You're the one who knows the best. No, I got to tell you everything that, I mean, obviously editing is a big part of it. So I got to imagine they're editing the best that they have to show us. So it does make me a little worried that we're getting, we're only seeing what we're getting. We're only getting what we're saying. And so. Wait, are you saying, Joan? I don't think they're editing anything good out. I don't think that they're getting enough emotion from them. I can see how that would happen. Yeah, absolutely. We both, we couldn't agree with you more. And we want to thank you guys for popping in here. And I'm so glad you're here.

Thank you. You, you know what? We can't wait to see how it ends. And all I can say is there's four of us here, two of us are single, two of us aren't. Two availables. I love you. Thanks for coming, you guys. We love it. We can't wait to celebrate. We have, we've got a big weekend plan, so don't use up all your energy on this podcast.

Go shopping without me. Never. Go down and relax. Okay. Thanks for coming, guys. Thanks for having us. On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress, and he can still pack a rally with people

a quarter of his age. Denver, 34,000 people come out. Salt Lake City, 20,000 people are, you know, huge turnouts. People are really dissatisfied about the status quo. His fighting oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement, But is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so. Is that sound like a radical idea, Katie?

Is that too far left for you? Okay, okay. Wait, I get your point, Bernie. We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living, and of course, the government shut down, not to mention the current state of the Democratic Party. To me, the failure of the Democratic Party has been an unwillingness to recognize the relationship.

Open your free, I heard. Heart Radio app. Search next question with Katie Couric and listen now. In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven. Two young Americans moved to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up dead. The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. stunned. But three times. John and Ann Bender are rich and attractive. and they're devoted to each other. They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home

high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble and our couple retreat from reality. They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven

on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved, until a local homemaker, a journalist, and a handful of girls, came forward with a story. telling you, we know Quincy killed her. We know. A story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice

to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her, or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y'all said it. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better work the hell up.

Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County in the Bone Valley feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. from Ugly Betty. We played mother and son on the show, but in real life, we're best friends. And I'm all grown up now. Welcome to our new podcast. Viva Betty!

Yay! Woo-hoo! Can you believe it has been almost 20 years? That's not even possible. Well, you're the only one that looks that much different. I look exactly the same. We're re-watching the series from start to finish and getting into all the fashions, the drama, and the behind-the-scenes moments that you've never heard before.

You're going to hear from guests like America Ferreira. Vanessa Williams, Michael Yuri, Becky Newton, Tony Plana, and so many more. Icons, each and everyone. All of a sudden, like, someone, like, comes running up to me, and it's Selma Hayek. And she's like, you are my ugly bitchy. And I was like, what is she even talking about? Listen to Viva Betty as part of the MyCultura podcast network, available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Welcome to Decoding Women's Health. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Pointer, chair of women's health and gynecology at the Adria Health Institute in New York City. On this show, I'll be talking to top researchers and top clinicians, asking them your burning questions and bringing that information about women's health and midlife directly to you. A hundred percent of women go through menopause. It can be such a struggle for our quality of life, but even if it's natural, why should we suffer through it? The types of symptoms that people talk about is forgetting everything, I never used to forget things. They're concerned that, one, they have dementia, and the other one is, do I have ADHD? There is unprecedented promise with regard to cannabis and cannabinoids, to sleep better,

to have less pain, to have better mood, and also to have better day-to-day life. Listen to Decoding Women's Health with Dr. Elizabeth Pointer on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you're listening now. you know kathy it was great having the girls and it's great having them here but we're going to continue what we were talking about and one of the common denominators that i noticed from last night's show is the children and the conversations that mel was having and the questions they were asking and he wasn't given solid believe I mean, believable, yes, but he wasn't given him anything. How do you feel?

I agree with you. What I thought was stunning was Dakota, who is Pegg's daughter and then Cindy's daughters were saying very much the same thing, that they weren't getting the assurances from him. So, you know, I don't know. I don't get it. I think to me, I have to jump to the end and then we're going to work backwards. I have to jump to the rose ceremony because for me, the pivotal moment in this entire episode was when Mel stood there and looked at Debbie, Cindy, and Peg.

And Pegg, I know, it's swallowing, and said, you know, you three, I took, I said what I meant, I'm looking for love, and the three of you embody, I'm putting words in his mouth. but they embody what he's looking for. And I thought that's exactly right. He is not sure what he's looking for. You know, he keeps talking about fun, how fun Peg is and how this one's sensitive and this one sincere. And I think he would love to roll all three of those women into one person. And that to me was the pivotal moment of this episode. But going back, go ahead. One of my big things was with Dakota and she was trying to change the way she was asking the question, maybe to get a different answer. But when he said he loves her spirit, her energy, he's not in love with her.

Well, he said that about Cindy. I know, I know. It is an ouch. But here's the thing. On the one hand, you have to admire a man or a woman who goes on national television and says, I'm not there yet. So it gives me pause. does he choose someone right maybe he says i need all three of them rolled into one i don't we don't

know yet but uh to me the the the the overarching themes again were the they all want more assurance from him and they're not getting it and what this made me think about again as an adult when you are young as a as a young in a 20 something even a 30 something you know you're looking for the man or woman who's going to you're going to build a family with you're building your careers you're building a family all those things yet at our age we've had so many life experiences we're looking for that person that we can if you will collaborate with a companion someone that is compatible all those things because we're not raising a family right and so i sat there thinking um because mel is divorced, it gave me pause to think about divorce and how Mel is really hampered by his past.

More so, you know, he said, I've only ever loved one woman. And it made me think about sometimes I feel like young people jump into love, you know, I love you, I love you, let's get married. And those of us who are older, we understand the commitment, the reality of telling someone I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So I feel like I got a real sense that he is really hampered by his divorce and his past. And he's not ready to say it, but once again, Cindy's girls. And by the way, how about their daughter, Cindy's and Peggs?

They're beautiful. Yeah. Just beautiful women. And he says to one of Cindy's daughters, I like your mom a lot. And he doesn't know how he feels about her. Right. We're at the end of the show. Right.

this is hometowns next is the overnight you need to know a little bit mel maybe like you just said kathy yeah he's got he takes the l word really really important he doesn't let it out freely which i all do respect mel but at this page that we're on on the show you got to be feeling stronger for something so well and that's susan that's exactly right oh my god we're agreeing um again again he it's okay for me bell to say, you know, I'm really feeling it for you, Cindy. To me, he looked tortured when Cindy was talking about how much she really cared for him. He looked anxious. He looked like, get me the hell out of here. Not that he doesn't care for her, but that, you know, I'm not there

yet. I'm uncomfortable. That's what I felt. But back to the kids for a minute, again, Susan, you and I have children. We have grandchildren. For the first time, I thought, what would that have been like if my kids had had to have that conversation they all said how defensive how they're going to protect their moms and i thought you know what that's a lot to put kids through having the child go back to the mom and be able to say that mom i'm not feeling a hundred percent right that into you like you and cindy said i feel safe with him yeah i feel like and peg peg has a way about her. Let's talk about Peg is she's I love how she's straight up and said I'm not looking for fun and and yes energy. But when she talks to him, I'm not looking for this, this and this. I need this

and this. Whereas Cindy's approach is I need a man that just lives and breathes for me. And you know what? I'm not sure that Pegg isn't that way. I see. I told you, you and I've said this before, we see ourselves a little bit more in Peg. We have the heart. It's just a little more difficult for us to show our emotions. And if, you know, if you put Mel on one end of the spectrum, you know, Pegg is probably in the middle somewhere. Cindy's over on the whole other side, as is our lovely Debbie, but I think Peg, Peg says,

you know, I was cheated on. I had a question about that, too. am I dreaming, didn't, and I really don't remember, so help me out here. I swore that Mel said he had not been cheated on, that it was just a divorce. I mean, not just a divorce, but a divorce. And then Peg said in their hometown, I think Peg said, we were both cheated on. We share that in comments. So I was like, oh, wait, did someone to speak?

I was just curious. I don't recall him sharing that because he doesn't. share much, but I do remember peg stating it. Yes. Yeah. So, you know, I feel like the hometowns, well, first of all, I loved seeing my home. Can we talk about Debbie? Oh, my God. Is she just not the sweetest? Kathy, I vote for her to be the next golden bachelor. No, you don't. Who are you voting for? That's Kathy. I vote for Debbie to be the next golden bachelor. Thanks a lot, Susan. Oh, sorry. are you sleeping tonight i got i got company and you're not it um one last thing when dakota said and this struck me thank you so much for talking to me and my mom deserves more yes whoa yeah also

when he told peg how much fun him in dakota had that i missed something oh wait no no no that was something okay i had this i had this marked down so susan and i were watching this show together because we were working on something else. Susan was here visiting. And Dakota says, a pet comes out and says, oh, I love my fan. They're so great.

Didn't you love my daughter? She's hilarious. And Mel says, yeah, she was, we had so much fun. And I looked at Susan. I said, are we watching the same show?

If that's fun, you know, torture me with safety pins. Maybe. I'm hoping once again, they didn't show us everything. Maybe they went on to have a great time. But yeah, I was like,

huh? That was fun. On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Bernie Sanders, who is 84 years old, has spent 34 years in Congress, and he can still pack a rally with people a quarter of his age. Denver, 34,000 people come out, Salt Lake City, 20,000 people out. You know, huge turnouts.

People are really dissatisfied about the status quo. His fighting oligarchy tour with AOC and other young progressives has become a movement, but is his message too far to the left? Well, he certainly doesn't think so. Is that sound like a radical idea, Katie? Is that too far left for you? Okay, okay. I get your point, Bernie.

We talk about the billionaire class, the cost of living, and of course the government shutdown, not to mention the current state of the Democratic Party. To me, the failure of the Democratic Party. That party has been an unwillingness to recognize the real issue. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search next question with Katie Couric and listen now. In the new podcast, Hell in Heaven, two young Americans moved to the Costa Rican jungle to start over. But one will end up dead.

The other tried for murder. Not once. People went wild. Not twice. Stoned. But three times. John and Ann Bender are rich and attractive, and they're devoted to each other.

They create a nature reserve and build a spectacular circular home high on the top of a hill. But little by little, their dream starts to crumble, and our couple retreat from reality. They lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out.

of control. Listen to hell in heaven on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved, until a local home. a journalist, and a handful of girls, came forward with a story. I'm telling you, we know Quincy Kilder, we know.

A story that law enforcement used to convict six people, and that got the citizen investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer, and I wouldn't be here. hear if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her, or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that

y'all said it. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better wake the hell up. bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County in the Bone Valley feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to binge the entire season ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. to our team. And I'm Mark and Delicado. You might know us as Hilda and Justin from Ugly Betty. We played mother and son on the show, but in real life, we're best friends. And I'm all grown up now. Welcome to our new podcast, Viva Bethy! Yay! Woo-hoo!

Can you believe it has been almost 20 years? That's not even possible. Well, you're the only one that looks that much different. I look exactly the same. We're re-watching the series from start to finish and getting into all the fashions, the drama, and the behind-the-scenes moments that you've never heard before. You're going to hear from guests like America Ferreira, Vanessa Williams, Michael Yuri, Becky Newton, Tony Plana, and so many more.

Icons each and every one. All of a sudden, like, someone, like, comes running up to me, and it's Selma Hayek. And she's like, you are my ugly Betty. And I was like, what is she even talking about? Listen to Viva Betty as part of the MyCultura Podcast Network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What's up, everybody? This is Snacks from the Trabner's podcast, and we're bringing you the horror every week all October long.

Kicking up this month, I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear-inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Silent Hill, me and Tony Bringing Back Fire Team on Left for Dead 2. And we're just going to be going over some of the greats. Also in October, we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movie. why black people always got to die first. The umbral reliquary invites any and all fooling, brave enough, to peruse

its many curiosities. But take heed, all sales are final. Weekly horror side quest written and narrated by yours truly. With a full episode read and a commentary special. And we will cap it off with horror movie battle royale. Jason versus Freddie.

Michael Myers versus the 80 thing with the little tongue muster. October, we're doing it. Halloween style. Listen to the Trap Nurs podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Okay, so, so in a 20,000 foot view, you got Debbie

who's talking about opening her heart, falling in love, doesn't want to be hurt. You know, he sees how warm her family is. But again, I felt like Mel was an outsider looking in saying, oh, she's got such a close family. I didn't feel like he felt part of that family. Do you remember when he first got to Debbie and he said she is someone he could see spending his life well?

This is what I'm saying. Shocked. But I get it. He has to choose. I mean, there's three. You have to. I think he is, I think if you look up conflicted in the dictionary, you're going to see a big picture of Mel.

He is concerned. And to be on Mel's side for a second, I can't even imagine, like we talked about this before, being the lead and having to make these decisions. And like you pointed out earlier, maybe there is something in all three of them that he loves and he likes and he's got to narrow it down. That is what you have to do. Wait, Susan, don't you, I give credit to a man. I know the object of this show is to fall in love and to hopefully get on a knee and propose. I get it. But on the other hand, I give Mel credit, even if it's inadvertent, even if he doesn't know he's doing it, that maybe he's not sure. Maybe he doesn't know what he wants and he's got these fabulous women in front of him. And maybe he's just feeling pressure to pick one. It's as simple as that. And he doesn't want to pick one because he doesn't have enough data points to pick one. I get that.

He's being true to himself. He's not saying anybody that he loves them. I don't think he's ready to commit 100%. I agree. I have one quote, I have several that Mel said. He said, and I think this was on his hometown with Cindy,

he said, I'm looking for compatibility, someone to have fun with, quote, unquote. Which screams peg. That screams peg, right? Yeah. Because I think Cindy,

based on what we're seeing, is she said she wants, she wanted um i've got that quote too she said let's figure out how to be happy for the future she's looking for monday through sunday looking to the future wants her guy by her side and maybe that's too much for mel maybe what he wants is fun and peg if you look up fun in the dictionary you're going to see peg's definition and i would have said debby um but but i don't know were you surprised that Debbie wasn't chosen at the Rose ceremony? I was shocked

but I felt the real connection with him and Cindy, but every single time he's with Peg, he's laughing, he's having fun. She pulls it out of him. And every toast that Mel has had, fun, fun,

he's always toasting, fun and adventure and that screams Peg but I think as we're getting closer to the end here, I look at Debbie and I think sincere, loving, caring family. And I think he sees that. He sees her family as that.

You know, they're doing the barbecue. They're playing cornhole. It's like family time. And I think maybe I hate to say this because I love Debbie. I kind of think he isn't feeling it with the family. He's not feeling like it's a good fit with the family. That's just my gut. I can't imagine what fault he found with her.

we just said, Kathy, it's his feeling and he's got to decide which one's going to make him the happiest that he feels best with, right? Yeah, I agree. I got to say a couple of lines, you know, I swear, Cindy, I swear to God, it has to be an English major. I'm excavating myself. I love that. She's trying to find him up. And how about this one? I'm the big L for Mel. The big L. I mean, I don't know. And Mel saying it's complicated. these things are leading me to i'm i'm telling susan i won't be surprised if he doesn't pick anyone i mean that's well today that's yeah that's a possibility i mean i he he had to send someone home back to the row ceremony you know he he debby deserves a happy ending we all know that he said it she said it

but something about his reaction with the family i wasn't that surprised and i can't put any more of a a finger on it than that. But I would not be surprised. Cindy and, I mean, let me just say, Cindy and Pegg in my mind are as different as I am with Teresa. You know, like you can't want us both. Right? Yes.

You could want you and me. We're both outgoing, you know, gregarious. Personally, Kathy, I kind of felt it was Cindy, Cindy, Cindy all along. And I'm shifted now because did you see at the, the very, very end of that show, when she said certain words, like, I feel like she's not getting what she needs. Who, Cindy? It's her choice, too.

It's not just his choice. Yeah, I think that she's invested. Shook me up a little bit. Like, ooh, maybe he's not given her enough for her to put herself, like, she's going to have her heartbroken or peg will. I mean, somebody's gone to. Well, unless he doesn't pick either one. And that's kind of, I think, I think, um, one of Cindy's daughter, Cindy's daughter said,

Mel seems unsure. And that's kind of where I'm landing. Peg is fun, fun, fun, fun. Cindy is more, I want a family. I want to integrate into our families. I want to love you every, you know, I want to. She said, I'm sorry, she would move to L.A. She told her girls, I will move.

But, but, but, but, I mean, I just kept thinking of this were my kids. I always said. are now watching back a second season, I'm thinking, you know, I have a daughter. What would my daughter, you know, I've been hurt, a different kind of hurt than Cindy, but I've had terrible loss in my life. The last thing my kids want is for me to have more hurt in my life, more pain, right? It sounded as if Pegg didn't do a whole lot of dating. And I assume that Cindy has been on several dates and met several people and they just didn't find the right one. Hey, can I be a jerk for a second?

Yeah. Okay. So my son's firefighter. He's retired from firefighting, but my son was a firefighter for like 15 years. Come on, Pegg. Come on, people. If you are a firefighter, Peg retired 18 years ago, I can assure you people that you don't have a cubby anymore.

your name was not on that fire hat you're there was no name on the jacket i'm just you know me i'm a stickler for facts and i love retired i know i loved but i on the other hand i love the fact that we were celebrating firefighters because they are amazing amazing people and uh so i love that but i'm like come on cindy what have you been doing the last 18 years come on peg you mean and both of these ladies are beautiful inside and now in their own ways And you know what? Kathy, all we could do is wait. No, next week is women tell all. That's going to be juicy. That's going to be if I can hardly wait. I'm guessing we're going to get some good tidbits from from Debbie and from if we got, I'm sure Nicole will be on. But you know what? I am looking forward to the when they get to their place for the fantasy suites and those dates and meeting the family because I don't know. I feel like this season it's been more. rough to invest in in the in the season and i'm trying to invest in it but i have to say for the first time ever he may not choose either one it's quite possible and and i talk to as you do all

of our fans people write us all the time on our podcast yeah and he's hard to support sometimes because he isn't giving enough or wait something or he's either not giving because he's incapable of it or he's unsure or he's nervous or he's anxious all those things or and he was not a serial data himself right he took the time and he's finally ready and maybe you're right that's a good point so and i think people did you hear that kathy i know i love you susan it's a compliment thank you susan i also think sometimes we forget that the lead has all this on his or her shoulders yeah it's a lot and it's a lot and the expectation is that you're you're there for love and you're going to get on a knee,

bended knee to the woman you're in love with. And you know what? If he can't do it because he's not sure, I respect that. You know, I respect that. So I can't wait for, I cannot wait to see.

Well, hometown, I mean, women's tall all is going to be juicy. Lots of. Oh, we might need like two hours for that episode. But after that,

oh, after that, it's going to be those fantasy sweets. I would love to be a fly on the wall for those fantasy sweets, wouldn't you? And it's so true that the girls don't get to see each other at all, but we'll save that for then. Yeah. Wasn't it fun having Joan and Nancy here today on the podcast? You know what? And y'all, we, Susan, I hope to be back next week, but frankly, the four of us are going to raise some hell in Austin, Texas this weekend. So if we, if we don't show up next week.

As long as I'm in bed by nine. Yeah, forget it. If we don't show up next week, just know that we had a great time burning down Austin, Texas. Austin, Texas. Wait, you guys have to see a video out there that I put Kathy's grocery store. Can I just chase a subject for one second? I have never. You go into the store and you get a cart, right? Well, we're going to go up an escalator. And I had those in the city, but the cart doesn't go up. It goes up on its own escalator. And the food comes down. I was in all over this. Can I just say everything is bigger and better in Texas? You should know that. bigger for sure. You know what? This has been fun. And I am. We're both very excited for next week. Thank you, everybody, for listening. I'm glad you got to say hi to Joan and Nancy.

Yeah. Thanks, Joan and Nancy for dropping in with us. We had a great time. Be sure to follow Bachelor Happy Hour as we have new episodes coming out every week that you don't want to miss. And you know, listen to Bachelor Happy Hour's Golden Hour on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you listen to your podcast. See you next week. Take care. In the heat of battle, your squad relies on you. Don't let them down. Unlock elite gaming tech at Lenovo.com. Dominate every match with next level speed, seamless streaming, and performance that won't quit. Push your gameplay beyond performance with Intel Core Ultra processors for the next era of gaming.

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Well, Dakota, luckily it's I'm not afraid of a scary story week on the OK Storytime podcast. So we'll find out soon. This person writes, my neighbor has been blasting music every day and doing dirt, rituals. And now my ceiling is collapsing. I try to report them, but things keep getting weirder. I think they might be part of a cult. Hold up. A real life cult? And what is a dirt ritual? No clue, Dakota. Find out how it ends. Listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.