Bachelor Happy Hour - Let’s Give Luck More Credit with Trista & Ryan

Episode Date: March 20, 2025

Today on “Happy Hour,” we’re sitting down with Trista and Ryan for another bonus episode powered by David’s Bridal from the iHeartRadio Music Awards! The legacy “Bachelorette” lovebirds are here to give us their updates, talk family and reality TV, and so much more! We kick off the episode getting into Trista’s experience on “Special Forces.” Then, we dive into the latest with their kids — from sports to prom dress shopping, we’re getting all the updates! Plus, we take a deeper look at Ryan and Trista’s 20-year love story, including how Ryan got onto the show, what advice they have for all franchise couples, and how to make it work post-show. Tune in now and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. I'm Jamel Hill, host to the Sports and Politics podcast, Spolitics. And on the latest episode of Spolitics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins me for a candid conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. What do Republicans say to you privately

that they won't say publicly? Many of them are in fear of their political lives. We continue to say to them, you were elected to defend your constituents. And there's life after Congress. Make sure to listen to this episode of Spoletix, on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, everyone. Welcome back to Bachelor Happy Hour. I'm Joe. And I'm Serena. And we are here today with Ryan and Trista, and we want to do a quick shout out to David's Bridal for sponsoring this podcast. Yeah, thank you so much, David's Bridle.

We are all here in L.A. for the IHeart Radio Music Awards, and we're so excited chat with you guys today. Let's get started. Ryan, you've never been on this podcast. No, never. Sorry. I don't even know how to talk in this thing. What was the last time you've done a podcast?

Well, I did one, a half an hour ago with Trista. Okay. But prior to that, it's been so long I don't even remember. You're all warmed up. I don't talk a lot. And that's a requirement of podcasts generally. Less interesting if you just sit there. Step one is talking.

Yes. For sure. Yeah. So. I know that you're starting it off like this. I actually, I'm hosting this and I don't really talk a lot either. Actually, I do. You have a lot to say.

I do. I do. Okay, so what's new? Trista, how was Special Forces? It was crazy. The last time we talked, it was before it aired, but it had just been announced, right? Yes, I think the first promo had just come out. So true.

Which is wild that we're not having you back on and it's just kind of wrapped. I know. It's crazy. It was intense, as I said before. I am caught between the, I'm proud of myself and I wish I would have stayed longer. area and um i knew in the moment you guys have seen it yeah or you didn't we saw the first episode okay so i'm assuming you're okay with me spoiling it yeah yeah yeah because it's already out um so the second episode or the the breakdown of episodes is weird but the second episode when i

leave um i had hypothermia the night before from like buds training like navy seals training yeah the day before and i was broken down like just to my limits of exhaustion felt like a shell of myself and was just honestly grateful to kind of be alive and um i had a mirror room interview which is like when you sit down and kind of like they put that potato sack over your head and go talk to you in this little mini room. Do you get to take the potato sack off? They do. They take it off, yes.

No, you talk to them with a potato sack on. It's like a form of torture. Okay. Yeah, so they take you into this room and they have the potato sack and then they take it off and you just confide. They ask about who you are, why you're there, all of those things. And I, before the show, really wanted to get to that point. Like, I wanted to connect with the DS on a human level.

And I got that after I had hypothermia and left that room and felt like, okay, I really have gotten so much out of this experience. I'm going to give it, you know, I'm going to shower. I'm going to, you know, get as much sleep as I can, which is not a lot. And I'll see how I feel in the morning. I'm just going to let it play out. And when I was woken up the next morning, when all of us were woken up, woken up by essentially bombs going off like I mean they threw this thing in a like metal

trash can that like it sounded like there was gunfire all around us and we woke up to that and my heart was just like full out of my chest you know and I thought okay I'm dead if it if we had woken up in a different situation I might have stayed actually right like at a spa yeah I mean yes Yeah. But if we had woken up and they had been like, okay, go get your grub, go get ready, you know. Like we're not like a training morning or something that you can kind of use to like re-center yourself or ground yourself. Exactly. Yeah.

Which they were like no. But I felt like I was in a really good place where my mind was like, this is okay. You've done what you could do. You're not, I didn't want to be a burden anymore to the people who were really helpful to me, including like Golden Tate and Cam. and like they really were so helpful to me in the moments between the tasks and the travel where you had to run or with like a 35-pound pack on your back. It was really hard for me.

I felt like I just didn't want to be a burden anymore and I had gotten a lot out of it. So I left. But yeah, it was a really great experience. I wish that he could have done it because it's so up his alley. Well, yeah, I was going to say, so you're a firefighter. Do you think the training is similar?

Similar, but not the same. I think the, well, the things that she was sort of impersonating, the training that they were sort of giving her a small taste of is such a small component of what I think the actual special forces guys are going through. But just to see how difficult it was for her and for all the other people on the show, to just do that small component of it was pretty, it makes you really respect those men and women that actually go through the real thing.

And, and, I mean, I was very impressed with Trista. I mean, just seeing her, like, there's this one scene where this guy, I don't know what their names, but he's like, you shouldn't be here, you need to go home. And she's like, I don't want to go home. And then the next morning, I want to go home. it was like the perfect trista moment like she's so good at like just going all the way to her breaking point and then it's like that's it I'm done going home I'm calling it good what parts of the show if you were on it

do you think you would have been really good at and then maybe struggled with um well I I probably would have struggled with all of it but I I guess I like that like that's probably the part yeah I would have been good at struggling because that's sort of I like to be Yeah, yeah, but I think the stuff that they were doing and then the stuff they continued to do even after Trista left was, um, was crazy. Like, it was nuts. Crazy. Was there something you watched back where you're like, oh my God, I'm so glad I left

before they did that? Yes, the fight. The fight. And that was the same day. What's the fight? Tell us more. So they basically put this like boxing helmet thing on that's like padded. Yeah.

But not here. Okay. So literally this part of it. your face right you have boxing gloves on uh did they yeah yeah yeah they're not yeah yeah i did this and i did on the date on the bachelor i'm dead serious i got punched in the face yeah i know i was popping advils for like 24 hours oh my gosh so during that three people broke bones uh nose and and ribs oh no yeah so i was really glad so they were You're forgetting where these fights took place.

This is the one you see and I saw. What do you mean? Oh, on the top of a cliff. Oh, yeah. So Nathan Adrian, Olympic swimmer, a rock star of a human. I love him. He's huge, like super tall. Of course they're going to pair him with Cam Newton, who is also massive, but he is like,

you know, like came out fighting guns of blazing. And they were on the edge of a cliff. and from what I understand Cam went like balls out like he was like I am going to kill you you know

like you've given me a task guys D-S I'm going to fight him and and what are they to cause damage and I'm like what are we doing

oh my gosh that scares me so bad but but you know what's funny I didn't really even think about that when I was there I was jumping off

of a bridge that was 130 feet, I think, tall, something like that. I did not even think about the fact that I could potentially die. I was just doing it because, and I felt safe in the moment. Okay, well, that's good. And I guess you could potentially die when you get in your car too. 100%. So, you know, you have Cam Newton, who's massive,

and he was kind of out for blood because they told him to be out for blood. So he's like following directions. but he, bam, broke Nathan's nose and almost pushed him off a cliff. So, are they, like, strapped in or anything? I'd be like, I swear to God, you pushed me off this cliff. No, no, no. They were like on, it was like the, you know, the top of the cliff, but I think they came very close.

That's so scary. I know. It was, so I'm glad that. And then there was the submersion where they essentially sink you in a boat and you have to recover this box. from under the water, even though I was not having as many issues with the water as I thought I was going to, I think I would have had a hard time with that. Yeah, water's hard.

I feel like people underestimate water sports. Yeah. I'm Jamil Hill, host of the Sports and Politics Podcasts, Politics. And on the latest episode of Politics, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries joins me for a candid conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. What do Republicans say to you privately that they won't say publicly? Many of them are in fear of their political lives, and that's been part of the challenge. But we continue to say to them, you were elected to defend your constituents, to stand up for your constituents.

And there's life after Congress. And you should be willing to actually want to be able to look back on your time in the House of Representatives knowing that you can keep your head held high because you did the right thing. Donald Trump is gone in three and a half. half years. But their legacy or their failure to stand up to the extremism and the unprecedented assault on America as we know it will be with them forever. Make sure to listen to Spolitics on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Yeah.

All right. Let's pivot a little bit to a lighter conversation. David's Bridal, they offer. I always thought they just did wedding dresses, but they do prom, homecoming. You guys have children going to prom yet? Well, we have a junior and a sophomore. At their high school, it's only upperclassmen. So if Blakesley were dating an upperclassman, then she would go, but she's not. Max is a junior, but he doesn't really have a girlfriend.

I don't know. Like, social events, I mean, he kind of comes from this cloth, are not really his game. Ryan, did you go to prom? I went to senior prom. I did not go to junior prom. Okay. Trista, did you go to prom? I did.

Yeah. Any chance I got. And your son's a really good hockey player, right? He's a pretty good hockey player. Yeah, that's his thing. He loves hockey. How about golf? Do you golf?

No, but it's funny you said that because I think that's a sport that I need to start getting into because I feel like I can do that as I get older with my kids. I'm trying to figure out, because I'll play hockey now, but every other time I skate, I feel like I get hurt, if not every time. Not feel like? You do. Like, I just separated some ribs. Like, it's the, it's like so, it's so fun, but I'm just getting beat up. Yeah. And golf, I feel like I'm less likely to get.

And it's actually fun. We went to Top Golf, like my dad took me to Top Golf. I was visiting him in St. Louis. And I was like, this is actually kind of fun. And so I think we could do it as a family. I don't know. Joe's gotten into golf in the last year, too. Yeah?

Yeah. Well, I started last year. I'm really bad. Like, it's hard. You're getting better. It's a journey for sure. But I'm starting, I'm finally now starting to see some progress. I got him golf lessons for Christmas.

Oh, that's fun. That's a key, I think. You got to, I feel like take lessons. I don't know if you could just pick it up and figure it out. But it gets, I mean, it also gets pricey. Like, you take lessons. Yeah. You take five lessons and I'm like, okay, well, now I'll take five more.

And then, like, then I do course lessons. And it's like, okay, like, I'm spending. Like, I'm spending a lot of money to suck at something. And like... Suck less. Yeah, it's the suck less, I guess, yeah. Yeah. Okay, so last December, you two celebrated 21 years of marriage.

We did. Does it feel longer or shorter? Huh. Answer at the same time. Both. Ryan just mouth's shorter. It went by fast. I don't know.

It does kind of feel, if you think back, well, what's really weird thinking back to how we like the whole thing like you guys know and you'll this would probably be your life at some point but that the the bachelorette for us was so long ago like it doesn't even feel to me like it was a part of my actual life right and because their life is so much different it's also a limp in time yeah just one little like thing but it it sparked all of this you know like the the wedding um we got married in palm springs which is a huge golf community i don't know if you if you play I do actually I just getting started I'm actually going there for a wedding in two months too yeah yeah well hopefully the courses will be open yeah no it's across I think they're

up in you're around yeah I feel like it was it is really still a part of my life just because I you know have made lots of connections and I I am a social person so um I feel like I am still in the Bachelor world more than he is. So to me, it's more like I don't forget. And people come up to us all the time saying, you know, I watched with my grandma or my mom or it was our show, you know, whatever. So that takes me back. Yeah.

You guys had your wedding. It was televised. It was televised. Oh, yeah. It was the first. It was the first televised one. First reality show wedding. Did you get to pick your own, like flowers, dress, food, everything?

So yes. Thank God because I wanted to be a part of my wedding. The EP at the time was like, you tell me your list of dream everything, right? Flowers, wedding planner, food, I mean everything. She's like, just create a list. and she asked about dresses they had a personal like a fashion show for me and my mom

like they had models like showing me the dresses and I ended up creating out of a couple different dress like I was like I love this part of this dress and I love this part so they created custom dresses two dresses for me that I still to this day like I feel so lucky

that I got to do that we were talking that Similar to what David's Bridal does, actually. Well, we were talking to Kelsey Anderson because she just posted in a bunch of David's Bridal dresses and she's been trying on because she's wedding planning. And we were asking her about that process and if she was going to incorporate her mom's wedding dress

in any way because that's kind of become like a trend of girls refurbishing their moms. And I didn't and I really wish that I had because honestly, I feel like the trend kind of just started around our wedding. would you want your daughter to do that? I would love that. Even if it's like a welcome party dress?

100%. And she's seen it. My reception dress, I think that she, I could see her using part of that. And that would be, if she wanted to cut it up and use parts of it, like I would be totally fine with that.

I've got pictures. It's all good. But yes, I have preserved them. You know how you do afterwards. And they're ready for her if she wants them. Wow. I'm sure you both have gotten asked this question so many times,

so I hate to ask it, but I'm going to. But I'm going, yeah, go for it. I want to know the answer. Would you be okay with one of your children going on the bachelor or bachelorette? We have been asked this question a lot, and my answer is always the same. I would be a total hypocrite if I said no. you know like I I mean yes the world has changed and people are I'm sorry a little bit meaner

and they feel like they have instant access to people through social media and they can say whatever they want and there's no repercussions you know and so that like would worry my my mama heart a little bit and she and I say she because there is no way that Max would ever want to do a show like this But you know what? Your family friends probably would have said that about you, right?

You guys are similar? I get that. Actually, I get that a lot. Like, how did you end up on that show? Yeah, how? What is the answer? What it's, I was roommates with a kid in college, and he was dating a woman who knew the casting producers for The Bachelorette,

and they were looking for people. So she gave this guy All of the guys that were living in this house His names and they called And I don't know You guys, have you ever heard of the show Temptation Island? Yes.

So that was right around the same time And so they called and I was like I don't think I'm the guy Like I don't think I'm made for this type of stuff So I also was really bad at saying no And they were very persistent He still is bad at saying no So they just said oh like just fill out the questionnaire

Or just fly out and let us do an interview and like just show up the first day. And so it was. Just do that one. Yeah. That's how it was. So I took a week off of work. I feel like it was the same with you.

Yeah, that's how they got you. They just jump on one phone call. We'll fly you out. It's just a day. Right. I essentially turned them down because I was too shy and felt too embarrassed to film a selfie video of like why I should be on a veteran.

And I said, no, I said respectfully, thank you for asking me. I can't do this. Yeah. And they said, well, then we'll set up a Skype like that. Yeah. Yeah, they're very good at, like, convincing you to do it. They're persistent. Yeah.

So we have similar stories. They're like, just a little bit. And thank goodness, you know. Yeah, thank goodness. I showed up and there were 24 other, like, super handsome guys. Like, I was like, oh, I'm out of here. I remember Jamie Blythe. I'm like, that guy's Kendall, like a real life Kendall.

I'm gone. And I ended up somehow lasting. He's obviously very humble, which is one of the reasons I found out. Do you ever like, Trista, I mean, both of you made this work, right? But you were the first, and it's been 21 years and you're still married. And we do see now, like, there's not too many leads that it works. Advice. Yeah, that's the number one question.

And sorry, I was on my phone. Our daughter is having some drama, so I wanted to make sure she's tucked in. Is she on david's bridle.com? She can't figure out which. She's brought-dress. Shopping. She would love to be. Dresses are her thing.

Anyway, so number one question. And I think that it is kind of cliche. It's what everyone says. Like all the books, all the podcast. ask whatever about love and relationships is communication, trust, honesty, love, friendship. What else? I mean, I've answered this a billion times. There's lots of grace.

Grace, lots of grace. I just feel like, you know, we're all human. And if you have a bad day, then it's those little forgivenesses, like, throughout your relationship. It's having fun together. It's enjoying life together. It's finding humor. I feel like laughter is so important. It's, you know, sharing values, being good kisser.

You have to take a longer-term perspective. Because the show, like for us, I think it was seven weeks or something like that. And there is no real reality where you should be getting engaged in seven weeks, really. And so we did because everything is so intense. And then your real life comes back into play, and she was gone, and actually here in Los Angeles, and I was in Colorado, and she's going to Super Bowl parties and doing all this really great fun stuff, and I'm going to, like, passed out drunk people in the bar. You know, like, I'm doing my job, and she's doing hers. And she's, you know, you're offered all these different temptations and all these different sorts of things, and you have to be able to get, you have to be able to see past that and not just take the, you know, the, you're, you're offered. the easy road, which I think a lot of people get sort of distracted and do that, and then

it's hard to come back from that. So, and, and like this was, you guys, it's 21 years ago. There was far less to be distracted by, yeah, than what people are dealing with today. So, yeah, I think, I don't blame anyone who doesn't make it work because, like, it just doesn't work sometimes. Life is hard, yeah. We just kind of got lucky. And I think, honestly, luck has something to do with it. We were literally just talking about that with Charity and Dotton, where we were like I think people need to give luck more credit. Like sometimes your person just wasn't on your season. Totally.

Did you do bachelor, bachelor parties? Oh, he did. Oh, yeah. Where'd you go? We can't talk about that. Probably our biggest fight in our life.

Oh, I thought you met viewing parties of the show. No, no, no. No, like before the way. Oh, no. I'm also like, so like we can talk about golf or bachelor parties. That's a whole, that's a whole series of podcasts. Oh, no. You guys should do a series.

So it was filmed? Oh, yeah. Oh, my gosh. And we always said they should do more like a series that includes like following the couples that are getting married or doing like a big everyone getting married this year. We're sending you on a bachelorette trip. Like I think there's so much opportunity there. Because that they did that for us.

It was four, four parts, a four part series, I think. And it was like meeting the wedding planner doing all that like having the bridesmaids, get their dresses like all of the things we like went to new york and we asked all of our um party what do you call wedding party yeah like it was all a thing so this was like yeah this was like a this was like a mini series yeah i didn't even like uh it was for sure they should do that though that would be really fun i think a lot of people love to watch at all of the up and coming yeah you know well and i know for us like we like it's so different now like they're not doing the wedding specials the way they used to and obviously you saw like the golden one which was

amazing but yeah I think it's so fun following along with the up and coming couples that are tying the nods especially if you're like I'm such a girly girl and I feel like a lot of our demographic like for the show are like probably are similar and they probably they want to see it it's all for me why I fell in love with the show after I was on it is just I love love you know I love watching people fall in love and I love everything that's revolved around it so would be a great, that would be a great series. But yeah, maybe don't include the Bachelor and Bachelor at parties. Okay. We could, we could advise them on what to include it. Yeah, it ended up being a great time. Like, we were at the same place where we were in St.

something. Were we? Domain Thomas, St. Vincent, St. Martin. Something like that. A lot of Saints. One of the Saints. Yeah. One of the Saints. And we were separate for a while and that's where things weren't great. We got back together and everything was really fun. Okay. This was very interesting. Thank you guys both so much for coming on the podcast and taking the time. Thank you to David's Bridal for sponsoring this podcast. And let's go to the IHare Music Awards. Thank you both so much for being on. Tune into Grants Finale on Monday. And we will have some exclusive interviews coming your way. Thanks for listening. Bye. I'm Jamel Hill. Hosted the Sports and Politics podcast, Spolitics. And on the latest episode of Spolitics, House Minority Leader Hakeem. Jeffreys joins me for a candid conversation about the state of the Democratic Party. What do Republicans say to you privately that they won't say publicly?

Many of them are in fear of their political lives. We continue to say to them, you were elected to defend your constituents. And there's life after Congress. Make sure to listen to this episode of Politics on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.