Bachelor Happy Hour - One on One with Mike Johnson

Episode Date: September 19, 2019

Mike sits down with Rachel to talk about not being named the next Bachelor, being a black man in the franchise, and — of course — his relationship with Demi Lovato.See omny.fm/listener for privacy information.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy Truthers believe in... I guess they would be Kenspiracy theorists. That's right.

To give you the answers and you still blitzers. The Puzzler. Listen on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic Representative of Texas. She's holding out the fork for her party in one of the most conservative states in the Union. I think that ultimately, who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they will, won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you. Like, they will punch back.

Listen to next question with me, Katie Couric on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, guys, and welcome to Bachelor Happy Hour. I'm Rachel. Allie is off today, but we had the opportunity to do an extra podcast for you guys and we didn't want to wait. Well, the truth is I didn't want to wait because you guys, if you follow me, If you listen to me, if you dare to do that,

you know that I have a favorite, a clear favorite from Hannah B's season, and I'm not shy about it. It is none other than Mike Johnson. And I've been waiting for this day to have Mike Johnson on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast, and I am so excited that he's here. You all know I've been pushing hard for him to be the bachelor,

and while, unfortunately, that's not going to happen, he's still my bachelor. And I'm going to talk to him about that and so much more today. Mike, welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me. Are you ready? Woo! Let's go.

I've been waiting a whole season to talk to you, Mike. I'm ready. I'm ready. Okay. So I guess I just want to start from the beginning because I feel like when I watched Hannah's season, we didn't get to really know you. We didn't get in depth. You know, we saw you.

There was a lot of drama that was involved with your season and I don't even want to talk about that because we saw that enough. but I feel like that's when we saw you most. Even on your one-on-one, we didn't get to know Mike. But you were a fan favorite. The audience knew that there was something there. You were even a fan favorite of Hannah.

I've heard Hannah talk very positively about you since the show's been over. So let's just talk in the beginning. Who is Mike Johnson? If you could describe yourself in three words, what would you say? My friends would call me Sinsake Bushy Brow, because I have thick eyebrows.

You do have thick eyebrows. Do you tame your eyebrows? Are they natural? Not lately. Okay, all right. Just natural. I'm just blessed. I'm rocking.

I'm blessed to be here with you, so. And I'm blessed to have you on the show. Okay, three words. And I know you already talked to me about one word. Three words if you had to describe yourself. Three words I had to describe myself. Goofy, ambitious leader. All right.

Goofy, ambitious leader. I like that. You sound like a good time. I'm a great time. What you mean? And then at the same. time that somebody could learn something from you. All right, so let's dive into it a bit.

How do you feel like your life has changed since this whole bachelor experience? You know the crazy thing? It's like when I'm in the airport and I didn't brush my hair and somebody wants to take a picture or something, that's crazy because I want to, I'm grateful to take a picture with you, but then, bro, like, my breath sting, my hair is not dead yet. You know, those are, that's the weird part. That's the weird part right there. These are things you'll have to learn. I had to start getting eyelash, extensions, because too many times people ask for a picture, and I was bald-eyed. Yes.

It's not ball-headed, bald-eyed. I never heard that before. I'm learning. It just made it up on the spot. No, seriously, it's just crazy. Like, I'm not looking my best, and people want a picture. That's when it's crazy. Do you feel like you've been able to go back to your normal life since this whole experience?

100%. When I'm back home in Texas, all my closest homies and cousins treat me like regular, and if not already even more on top of me now. And I respect it and I love them and I need it. Do you feel like that's kept you grounded through this whole experience? Because I see people get caught up. You don't seem to be that person. I don't think I'm caught up whatsoever.

I don't think I ever get caught up. But, I mean, I was just texting my little sister, one of my best homies a minute ago ago before being on here. And they just, yeah, they do help me. They keep me grounded. I think that's key, and I wish more people did that. You see this world change a lot of people. And I don't feel like that's happened to you.

I don't think it will. Yeah, see? I don't think it will either. Okay, so I want to know. I don't know. I'm sure the viewers or the listeners want to know this as well, but I want to know how you, how did you get on the show? So that's a really good question. My homeboy, I was working as a financial advisor and we're about to say this on air. Say it. Mike, you're in a safe place. No, I'm good. I'm saying. I told you, I'm ready. I was at work in my office and I threw my phone across the, across the room. And my home boy, my coworker was like, what's wrong? you. And I said, man, all these girls just want to have sexual relations and I really want to be in a relationship. And he bust out laughing for like 20 minutes. He was like, what guy says that? And I was like, bro, I'm serious. And after forever of him laughing at me, he knew I was extremely serious and I wanted to be in a relationship. My last relationship prior to going on

the show was 2015. And craziness got my heart broke, all that stuff. And so I really wanted to be in a relationship again and, you know, get married. I'm going to be 32. I got like little gray hair There's my beard now. Rocket. And, you know, I'm trying to have kids one day. You know, my ultimate going life is build a treehouse for my kids. And so. Gosh, who are you?

This unicorn. A horn just popped up on your head. Not at all. And so, like, six months after I had, like, a bitch fit, I guess you would say, because I wanted to be in a relationship. And I am picky. My homeboy sent me a Facebook link. He said, hey, you should go try out for this. And I was off work that day.

So I drove down in Houston, went to the aquarium. them where they had auditions. And the crazy thing is they thought it was like nine ladies every one guy. It might have been every, it might have been 49 ladies and one guy. It was crazy, right? And then I think I was only black guy there. So you stood out. I stood out. Sounds like the bachelor. Sounds like the bachelor. I wore a full suit. I actually got on the Houston news that night because they thought I was a bachelor, which is crazy. Like legit girls in their mom and dads were coming up to me, like introducing their daughters to me, while I was auditioning for the show.

You didn't even need the show. No, no. Not like that at all. But it was just a really crazy experience. I mean, I had my book with me. I got to tell the story. It was going to be a great day that day, right? So, can I tell the story?

Yeah. Okay. So I have, I think I told you guys, I have a disabled veteran license plates, right? So I can park in disabled spots. And I parked in one. The zoo is, the aquarium was quite busy. And I'm parked there. I'm there pretty early, and I see a guy drive by in a van.

He's like, hey, is someone, are you, like, sitting there? I'm like, no, bro, you can have it. So I move out of this spot so the other guy can get the parking spot, right? Good karma. People have good karma. And so we're doing that or whatever. I go upstairs, and this dude in the wheelchair, he's trying out for the show as well. It was his second time trying out.

So me and him made a really cool bond together. We stayed there the whole time, just talking crap about the girls and the guys there and just, you know, doing what people do. and he became my best friend so shout out to you bro if you hear this I completely forgot your name I love you that homie but yeah long story short

I got mad because I wanted to be in a relationship and my home boy six months later told me to apply for this show oh got to see this I used to live downtown in San Antonio and I worked my butt off as a financial advisor I was rookie of the year I worked crazy hard I'm super ambitious

and this girl in my old apartment complex used to have her name's Ashley she used to have like bachelor parties every Monday and I had never watched a show prior to that me too you know being honest and so she like made me go watch one

and she said I was going to be on the show she said I was going to be the bachelor which is so crazy that was two years ago shout out to Ashley who saw what we we see now we see now and still see and still we're rooting for I think it's a cool story

I love hearing how people got to the show you know some people submitted a video Some people tried out four or five times I remember my experience when I went I actually went to an audition to my co-worker signed me up There were people who had been there five six times It's like American Idol had traveled to different cities and it's like you know with athletes when you're like hang up the cleats It's almost like turn like let the application go. You know it's it's a wrap for you They saw five times. They said no

Well good thing you you went through the Houston audition Yeah definitely they liked you they sent you on through you went to Hollywood Then you came on our TV screens Did you have any You didn't watch the show And I didn't either And I love talking to people Who didn't watch the show

Because I feel like your expectations Are different than the super fan Who comes on the show And there are a lot of them So what were your expect Who'd you say? Cam Dead

Was Cam? Isn't Cam from Houston? Cam is from Austin Oh Austin Was he at your audition? No, he wasn't I mean I'm sure you would have seen him He was probably standing up

On a ledge rapping He would have been talking to everybody. He would have known everyone's bio, they're social. He would have known everything. Poor Cam. Just to digress a bit, the way that Unyaka called out Cam at the finale, I felt sorry for him. I thought, geez. Like, this guy can't win.

Onlyka's my girl. Okay. So what were your expectations when you came on to the show? Because you didn't watch it before. So I don't know what you were hoping for. Well, I remember stepping out of the limo, and I saw Hannah. I was like, oh, you're really cute. And so that was like a plus, right?

To me, I didn't watch Colton's season, so I wasn't, I was unsure of who would be the Bachelorette. It's good you didn't watch Colton Season. No comment because I didn't watch. My expectations were just honestly to be myself and have a good time. And if I find love, then I find love. Okay, so did you know Hannah was going to be the Bachelorette? I did the night before because that was when she had the five guys come out on stage with Chris,

Chris Harrison and that's when Kim did his little rap thing and got the rose. So I knew her literally 24 hours prior. That's, see, I'm shocked that you knew her or you didn't know her until right before. That's interesting. So you really were open and just ready to meet someone, which is refreshing. You were, I guess I have to say, use a bachelor term here, you were there for the right reasons. Yeah, and I think that I saw on my Instagram when you're there

for the right reasons, things happen differently. Oh, I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I can take that two different ways. Okay, moving on. What was your experience like on the show, away from Luke? Because we saw that play out all on the camera. So it's like, I want to know what the other side was like for you. Well, I want to speak on that, but one, shout out to Luke.

Love you, bruh. Hope you're getting better. But things outside of Luke, I'm not. Honestly, we're great. It was a great group of guys outside of Luke, and Hannah is goofy as hell, and I love it. She just speaks her mind. I love everything about her in that regard. It was boring.

Like, when you're not going on a date, it's hell of boring. You know, you're just in a mansion with a bunch of dudes. What did you all do for fun on your off days? Because you're right. What a lot of people don't see is that you see the dates, right? As a viewer, you see two hours of filming when we've been filming an entire week. And you only get out of the house on rose ceremonies or if you have a date. Correct.

So there's a lot of downtime. You're in these great countries, these beautiful cities you've never been in before, and you don't really get to go out and see it. So what did y'all do for fun? Then I'll tell you what we did. I'm telling what y'all did. Y'all probably got more buck wild than we did. I just, I feel like y'all did.

Drink. You know, do stupid guy stuff, push-ups, pull-ups, all that stuff. Okay, that's definitely not what we did. Yeah. So around the pool, talk shit to each other. Do a lot of interviews. There's a lot of that going on. We did. You know the crazy thing is you do all these, what is it called, guy talk or girl talk on your season? None of that crap gets aired.

I know. I'm like, why you got me doing all these? It's tough. Tyler and I, Tyler C. and I did a great one making fun of Garrett and Hannah because, like, they live like 30 minutes from each other. It was epic. That should have made the credits. It was epic. Although the church scene that y'all did at the piano was amazing.

I'm glad that that made the credits. And I could tell the camaraderie that you guys had on this season. Who were you close to? I'm close to a lot of guys. Like I mentioned, Tyler, he's a homie. Dustin, I spoke to him earlier today. He's the homie. Dylan's my little brother.

Connor. Those are the ones that I hang out with and talk to the most. Mateo, I want to go see him in Atlanta. Yeah, I'm pretty cool with everybody. Is the infamous group chat popping? Because I know y'all haven't. Of course we got a group chat. And I'm the one that pisses everybody off with my Android.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, you're one of those. I mean, honestly, they should kick you out. They should. They damn sure won't. It's very annoying when someone goes green in your group chat. I might get the 11 because all my DMs, like, Mike, can you please get an iPhone? So I might listen to the fans. Yeah, you need to pay attention to that.

Okay, on your one-on-one, I want to talk about that, because I said this earlier, I felt like we didn't see a lot of you. I agree. Were you really nervous? Did we miss out on some conversation? Because I know you expressed, hey, I'm nervous, but it just seemed like a lot of nervous energy. No, so I definitely wasn't nervous. It was more of when I watched The Bachelorette back, all I did was smile. And I have so much more than a smile.

I like really do converse with people and have a great conversation, I feel. I think the show just wanted me to, they just want to show my smile. They didn't want you to look like the angry black man. And they damn sure they didn't portray me in that life, so I'm appreciative, even though I definitely was going off on some people that deserved it. Sure, I did too. It did, it did. You know, it's good.

You said it did, Eric. It did not air. Oh, did not air. Good. Hannah and I definitely had conversations. There was no pauses in our dates at all, on both of our dates. It was great conversation throughout us fluid. They just wanted to show me smile for some reason.

Well, it's better than a frown, right? No, definitely. I'm not frowning. You know it takes more muscles to frown than it does a smile. Exactly. So therefore, just smile. I'm a frowner. You're a frowner or you're a RBFer.

I'm definitely, you can say bitch. I definitely have a resting bitch face, faux show. For sure, everybody knows that. But I try to work on smiling because people tell me that I look angry. So it's nice that even, okay, maybe they didn't show your full personality, but at least they showed you smiling. That's a good thing. I definitely have a full personality. I'm extremely loud and hilarious, and I want to scream right now, just out of pure excitement and joy.

I'm glad that's the energy you're bringing into the podcast. Woo! Woo! I'll scream with you! There we go. Okay, so you get sent home. We all saw that. And it was really hard to watch because you were like dressed too impressed. Y'all had had the day date before. You know, you had poured your heart out to Hannah. And I remember even in the ITMs, you were saying, I see her as my wife. Did you see it coming at all? No, zero percent. One hundred percent, without a doubt, did not know that I was going to be sent home.

And I asked, and I want you to expand on that, I asked because when I got sent home, I knew it. I was actually hugging sound and, like, hugging audio and the cameraman before the rose ceremony saying this was it. Like, I felt it in my bones. So I guess I assume other people have that same experience. So I'm curious where you were coming from. Oh, let's speak on it. It's juice. You ready for the juice time?

Can we like it? Yes. Yeah. I bet. So, no, I 100% thought that Hannah was going to give me a rose. Without a shout out of a doubt. But for those crazy, crazy extreme fanatics, the suit I wore was the exact same suit that I got out of the limo in. We didn't know.

and for me and myself that was like symbolism and I did that prior to no one knows that none of the producers know that and so and that was from my end because I wanted to make sure and this is real I don't want Hannah to take this no way nor anybody else hearing this I haven't brought a woman home to a mom in forever and has been one woman in over a decade and I take that very seriously whether on TV or not being on TV and I wasn't sure if I was ready to take Hannah home That's fair And I didn't

100% thought I was going to stay I thought she was going to give me a rose But I wasn't sure if I wanted to be like Hey mom This is, you know The beautiful Hannah What's up? Say hi

Yeah Hannah can play Spades by the way too So I like that Okay, because she played Domino's too I don't know if she could play Bones I don't know she ready to play Bones I love that you call it Bones So

I thought that I was going to stay I thought Hannah was going to give me a rose But from me myself and I Shout out to Beyonce say I thought we would have needed to have a longer conversation for me to decide for myself because what people don't realize that this is a two-way street like just Rachel you were the bachelorette but your husband now he was a contestant but at the same time he had an opportunity to leave as well and obviously he wanted you as you wanted him and so for me I looked at it

like that that's why I was never nervous it's a two-way street for me my heart has feelings as well I think it's interesting that you say And thank you for being honest and sharing that I think it's fair For you to say you didn't know if you were ready to bring her home Because that's the other side of it people don't talk about You know you watch this play out You assume everybody wants a rose every single week

But it is such a pivotal time When you have to take the lead to your home Because it's a reality check You're in this bubble, this bachelor bubble You are caught up in these feelings and these emotions because you have to talk about them all damn day every day. Tell me about it. And then you're going to step outside of that bubble and take them home where you know,

we talked about this earlier, your family, your friends are going to check you and bring you back to reality. And that's a scary thought. And so I'm glad that you speak on that because I think a lot of people need to realize how nerve-wracking it is for the person to accept the rose to bring them home. You've got to make sure that you're ready for that. And I think over the, I know you didn't watch Colton season, but there was a girl who did that on Colton's season.

She just felt like their relationship hadn't progressed enough for her to bring him home. That's a serious thing. So I like that you said that. Just being honest. Yeah. Nothing against Hannah,

I definitely like her. Liked her. But I just want to make sure that it was going to be right for my family as well. I think that shows how much you liked her. You weren't just going to, it wasn't a game to you

and you weren't going to take her. Yeah, you weren't going to set her up for failure. You wanted it to be right. And that shows your sincerity. Another good characteristic of The Bachelor of why he should be the Bachelor. I'm just telling y'all. Another good characteristic.

All right, Mike, I have so many more questions for you. We're going to take a quick break. I'm going to let you have a breather because I feel like I've been grilling you for a moment. We're going to come right back. Thank you. All right, you guys. I'm back talking to the Mike Johnson. And we've been talking about his time on The Bacheloret and how he got here

and just his journey through this whole Bachelorette journey. But one question I want to ask you because the way Hannah's season is, ended, we've never seen anything like it before. And I don't want to get too into it because it's, we've talked about it so much, but I am curious as to, first I'll ask you this. Are you cool with Jed? Yes. Okay. So I'm not going to get a lot out of you. No, you probably will. Well, I was just going to say, did you see this coming? Oh, that's fair to ask. I'm just because I can be cool or someone don't mean I'm not honest about the situation, right? So, no, none of us knew that Jed had someone back home, like, at all. It was, I mean, you can see my odds right now.

I was, like, I was flabbergasted by it. Had no idea. I knew that Hannah was going to choose Jed, though. Even furthermore when I got, even furthermore when I got sent home, because I know Ellen, Hannah had went on Ellen, and she was, Ellen was playing that game with her, like, who she likes, and she chose, what's my man's name from the Star is born? Riley Cooper. She chose, Hannah chose Bradley Cooper. She likes guys that look like they haven't showered in a few days, and that's Jet. And so... Is that Jed?

Jet looks like he hasn't showered? Yeah. Or does he smell like he hasn't show? No, Jed smells good. He smells good. See, to me, he doesn't look rough around the edges like that. No, it's just his style. Okay.

He wears the tight jeans with the boots, you know, the nice little leather jacket thing. Got the little beer going. It's just his style. He wears a ring. I'm not, yeah, he wears a ring that really stood out to me. I'm not into, I didn't even notice that. I did. Yeah, I didn't know.

Okay. But no, none of us knew that Jed had a woman back home. He seemed like a great guy of me He's hilarious He is super funny He's hilarious These are things you don't get to see I mean we had Jet on the show

And of course it was more of a serious conversation So we didn't get to talk to him about that But it's interesting to know there's this other side of him Now although It's sad to say that you will not make history Currently being the first black bachelor I want to I'm sorry Oh no we'll get into that

But I want to say you did make history Because to my knowledge And again, I didn't watch the show before I was on it. You are the first contestant to wear a do-rag in ITMs. Oh, we have to talk about that. Hey, do-rag king, let's go. I think I stood up and clapped when I said, this is the realest shit I've ever seen on the show.

I'm going to always me. Always. Be a hundred to myself. And they always have us, you know, we're at home all day in the mansion. Why am I going to take off my du-rag? Why am I going to take off my pajamas that I have on? Like, yeah, I want this to be reality TV, so I'm going to show you reality TV. I appreciated it.

And what you guys don't know, a little behind the scenes information is we're not allowed to wear sunglasses. We aren't allowed to wear hats. We're not allowed to wear things really on our head. So when I saw that you were able to wear the du rag, I said, way to make a statement. Like, you know, I couldn't do this podcast without talking about the du rag. I almost posted it on social media when it happened, but I didn't. It was great. I was a fan of it.

I'd go like that for that. I love my duress. I want to get into paradise, but before I get there, I do want to ask you a question because I felt like this was a question that was posed to me. And it's sad to say I don't get a lot of opportunities to talk with other people in the franchise about it, just because there aren't a lot of people in the franchise that look like us. But being a person of color in this franchise, do you feel like, well, I guess I should just ask you, what did it feel like to be a person of color in this franchise?

Did you always feel that similar to the way you said when you went to the audition and you were the only black male there? Do you feel like your race was an issue on Hannah's season? Do you feel like it's something that you had to talk about constantly? I'm very curious. Yeah, yeah, go ahead. Let's do it. So when I found out there's a southern white girl from Alabama as a bachelorette. I was like, whoa, I'm getting sent home night one.

I would have said the same thing. Not even when I'm saying home. Well, damn, that sucks. But when Hannah and I kissed for the first time, I was like, okay, you know, she might like the big lips. And then from there, it would be in the back of my mind. I would say, you know, could Hannah see herself bringing an African-American guy home to her parents? And now I know 100% her parents love and adore me.

And so I respect them as well. but that was something that was in my mind not going to deny it you know i was concerned about that but as far as the cast member goes the cast members go i was like i don't really care i didn't care about none of them in that regard i just cared about hannah and how she would feel and that sounds like i'm trying to be a good guy but that's just not the truth i didn't i didn't care about none of the guys and how they felt my connection was with hannah and if she didn't, if she can see past race, then I was cool with that. No, I, I'm very curious and I love to talk about it mainly because I can.

Yeah. But when I was on The Bachelor, I didn't feel that way either. When I got the first impression rose, to be frank, I didn't know what that was. I'm about I said, because I didn't, I didn't watch the show like that before, but there were girls that came to me that said, oh, a black person has never received the first impression rose. So those things were in my mind. And when I made it as far as I did, I was told a black person's never made it this far.

So I didn't really feel it until those monumental moments. And then, of course, being the bachelorette. So I'm just very curious as to how it was for you. All right, let's get into Paradise. Why the hell did you decide to go to Paradise? I still was single and still wanted to be in a relationship. So why the hell not? So they twist your arm.

You finally decide to go. You had a date card when you first arrived, right? I did. Okay, so you have a date card, and you decided to take Kalen. I did. It was a, so what America doesn't see is that I was, it was a toss-up between Sydney and Kaylin, and then Katie was my second option of who I wanted to go on a date with. But it was, like, dead even between Sydney and Kaylin and then Katie.

I chose Kalin over Sydney just because Sydney is quiet, and I felt like at the end of the day I would at least have a fun of the day. time with Kaylin. Yeah. And did you guys have a good time? No, we had a great time. After your date, did you know that it wasn't going to go anywhere after that? Um, I knew I wanted to tell to Sydney, because I told Sydney, even before going on the day with Kaylin, I told Sydney, hey, I'm going to go on this day with her, but I still want to talk to you. And so as soon as I got back the next day, I was talking to Sydney and I wanted to be with Sydney. And I think Kaylin had one on a day with Dean that same day. Yeah. So it worked out kind of perfect. What happened to

Sydney? I mean, you guys seem to be having fun and playful on the beach. Yeah. We really didn't get the end of your stories, so what happened? First off, they, not first off to you. Yeah, that's okay. That's disrespectful. But first off, to the show, like, bruh, come on, you got to, like, show what happened to the end of Sydney and I. Yeah. That was kind of weird.

So tell us, what happened? I broke it off with Sydney. I just felt as if, I thought a couple of things. One, I felt like she didn't find me sexually attractive. Two, I felt like our connection just was not there whatsoever. I think that we both were trying. And I think that Sydney is a diamond. When I say a diamond, I mean that.

She is absolutely spectacular and very, very hard to crack. And that's what I mean by diamond. And so I call her a ruby as well. But that diamond wasn't for me. And so I broke things off with her. and then I went to the to the wedding Oh okay

So it was before the wedding Gosh we really didn't see Well we don't know So I mean you can kind of set the timeline for us But I'm glad you cleared that up Because I remember watching thinking What happened to Mike and Sydney They just all of a sudden they just weren't

Yeah that was weird I broke it off with Sydney It was respectful on both sides It was mutual And I went to the wedding And that's what y'all don't get to see I was in my zone. I was Mike Johnson to a T.

A Mike from Dallas, what's up? Represent San Antonio. And what is that like? I was just happy as can be. I was just thrilled to be there. I literally forgot I was wearing a microphone. I forgot it was cameras was on.

I just was having a wonderful time. You were free. I was free, yeah. I spoke to Angela. I spoke to Danielle. I spoke to Bibiana. And I just had a wonderful time. Like it was, first of all,

I love going to weddings because of reception. and because you get the dance. I just have a fun time. Do the bunny hobby. Listen, when people ask me about my wedding, I'm like, let me tell you about the reception. Exactly. The reception is everything. I get it.

I get it. I had a fantastic time at Chris and Crystal's wedding. Shout out to them, their beautiful lovebirds. And then I went on a day with Angela. So I got a question for you. I got an answer for you. What do you say? And I'm asking you this because people said it to me,

too. What do you say to the critics that say you don't like to date black women? Yeah, that's crazy. I would say literally my ex-girlfriend prior to being in America's face is a black woman. I come from a black woman who's a strong and beautiful. My sister and my grandmother don't make me go all on y'all off on y'all. First off, I was on a show that the lead was a white girl, so therefore, who cares? My homies always tell me. follow your heart and then my aunts you know my aunts they're the ones that want to meet a black woman and then my uncles they're like she's fine what's up and that's just me being transparent but my homeboys and my sister and my grandma always tell me to follow my heart

and was near and dear to me the craziest thing is like when I if I were a date a white girl and I take it back to where I'm from in Dallas and we go to certain places we will get looked at in Texas. That is true, but also true is I don't care. I absolutely love my black women. When I auditioned to be the bachelor, I had a Microsoft Word spreadsheet that I printed out. Of course you did, financial advisor. Yeah, you know, I'm weird like that. And I had three different categories of women. And the first was the black women that I am attracted to. And I'm not going to say their names and the second

the second one was like mixed chicks or whatever or other category Pacific Islander type category and the third category is the white girls and I mean I'm a man that

has lived around the world living in Europe for five years and I love all people and I am attracted to who I'm attracted to I have always said I would marry a black woman but I'm not going to hold my breath.

I love you being honest about this, and I ask you, because again, as I preface this whole conversation, I can talk to you about things that I can't really talk to every guest that comes through here because we have shared experiences. I appreciate it.

And I got the same criticism because you come on TV and you're on the season of somebody who's white. Yeah, it's like, that's your fault. And then as The Bachelorette, I have a whole slew of men to choose from and the one I ended up with is Colombian so people automatically think you don't like your your last race and you are last race people automatically think you don't like your own race and you know how it is

you're judged by America and then you're judged by black America and they're the ones and they're the ones that usually come at you for not liking your own race and it's so I love that you said my girlfriend prior to the show was black they don't know your dating history before coming on the show and so I wanted to to talk about that because I know you got that same criticism as well. Just know I absolutely adore

my black woman and my black skin and my melan and I will kiss all over you if you're my lady. You love women and there's nothing but there's nothing wrong with that all shapes, sizes,

personalities. You love women. You're a lover of women there's nothing wrong with that. You're single, I think. We'll get into that later. But yeah, there's absolutely Absolutely nothing wrong with it.

And I think that your friends are right in telling you love who you love. You said you always thought that you would marry a black woman. I truly always thought that I would marry a black man. And there's no wrong for us to say that either. But no. And I put that to the side and just said, I'm going to love who I love. And it turned out to be Brian. So, you know, I think that if you put those lists to the side and those, you know, I have to do this and just open your heart to whatever,

you'd be surprised at what comes through. Yeah, you know that there's a little IG story that's going vibra right now. It's the little white kid and a little black kid, and they run up to each other. They're on the sidewalk. Oh, yeah, I've seen that. Yeah, it's when I was a child and one of my best friends growing up, his name is Colt Simon. So Cole, if you hear this, what's up, honey? He was a white kid that lived in, like, in our neighborhood, but he was like the white kid that had money.

And he was the only white kid in our neighborhood, and his parents had, his driveway was cemented, and they had a basketball goal. cool and all the black guys would come over there and it was never about race until he went to high school and those little kids I was talking about with a little white kid and a little black kid running up to each other they don't think about race I think about love and friendship and happiness right and then when we get older we it just it happens it comes about yeah you know when I was in Europe and I live in Europe and I go on a day with a white girl be no big deal I go on a day with a white girl in Texas go to IHOP or something which by the way I'm way better my dates than IHOP. But if I were to go somewhere with a white girl in Texas,

they'll be looked at differently versus if me and you go out. Yeah. Everybody, I know she has a husband, okay? No, but I get what you mean. It's, yes, yes. People think that you're supposed to be. Legit, I just pulled up what I told you all about the document. Here, look, I got.

And can I give some back, some inside knowledge? Now, you said that this is when you were in talks to the bathroom. We're going to get into that. But some behind-the-scenes things that people don't know, and that's what we promised to give you on this podcast. is that when you are in talks they do ask you who are you interested in

what are you attracted to what type of women or men would you like to see on the season so that's why I want people to realize you weren't just sitting at home and pulled out this word document because you just got it saved no production ask you

who you're interested in definitely so I was prepared I mean I was taking this stuff seriously like we talked about earlier I was there for the right reasons and so yeah I was I was going to ask you I was good we'll have to can we put up his document on

on one bachelor nation dot com you should you should you should you should put that up yourself if you're if you're comfortable with that because that's very interesting I was going to ask you about the bachelor in paradise reunion okay I don't really you can I be honest you look like you did not want to be there. I didn't want to be there at all. You look very annoyed. Does that does that pretty much wrap up how you felt about Paradise? I just felt that I had another to contribute. I didn't, um, on when I watched the show back, I wasn't in any scenes. I wasn't about the drama. I would walk away off camera when they were having drama situations. And so I didn't fall in love on Bachelor in Paradise. So I just felt like there was no need for me to be

there. And then right before going on stage, they told me that I wasn't going to be the Bachelor. And so you got me out here, you know, flew me to L.A. I'm rocking an Ascot, which I don't think no one has rocked to Ascot on the show before. I don't think so either. And I did notice it. And I just, there was no need for me to be there. And you just tell me that I'm not going to be The Bachelor. So I just didn't want to be there at all.

All right, Mike. That's a really good place to stop because that conversation is going to take another turn. And I really want to get in depth with that. So coming up next, we're going to. talk to Mike about how he felt about not being the next bachelor stay tuned okay welcome back to bachelor happy hour and I'm talking to Mike Johnson and Mike we're just going to go straight to it we're going to get into it at this point we know that you weren't chosen to be the next bachelor I'm still not over it but I want to know how you feel about it so were you in talks to be

the next bachelor. I was 100% talks to be the next bachelor. I think a lot of people want to know because people are upset, right? You're not the bachelor. People are rioting and I'm leading it. I appreciate it. But a lot of people don't even think that you were

considered to be the bachelor. So that's why I wanted to lead off with that question. And people probably didn't think I was considered to be the bachelor because I was trying to be so respectful of the crew at Bachelor world and I didn't want to speak about it. Even when I went on TV, I thought that was being extremely respectful and a gentleman of me to the bachelor world. And Peter didn't, I don't

think Peter did those interviews. And so he didn't have to go through that. I 100% wanted to be the bachelor. Reasons being because one, I do want to find a wife. Two, it was bigger than me. And I wanted to represent for all people of color. And then also, talk about people of color, they need to have an Asian bachelor. Then you have an Indian bachelor. Then you have other people outside are just black and white. And so I want to speak on that as well. But I did audition to be the bachelor. And I 100% did want to be the bachelor. I think that's important for people to know too. This isn't an instance where you were offered and you turned it down. You wanted it and you didn't get it. So how did you feel when you found out you were not chosen to be

the bachelor? I found out in the trailers, you know, before you go on Bachelor. and Paradise Reunion. And I knew it. I already knew in my head. Yes, I wanted to be The Bachelor. Yes, I auditioned to be The Bachelor. I went in there with the right intentions of. I wanted to find love, wanted to be true to myself.

You might have seen Do Rad King come back. I had a list, a word document of the type of women I wanted, what I was scared of, what I wasn't scared of. And I think ultimately it just came down to they chose the right person for what they want and there's nothing wrong with that at all when I first found out I was

I'm not going to lie, I was sad I was annoyed when I very first found out but then I think by the end of the night I wasn't annoyed no more because I was appreciative and thankful that they told me no right then and there because now I can focus on myself and I'm just blessed because I know I'm going to find my wife

and find my queen you know Mike this is that's really really big of you and it makes me still want you to be the bachelor even more I'm more upset I'm upset on this podcast I'm telling you

don't you edit this out I'm upset and I just I hadn't even met you you know most people don't know is that we have a mutual friend yes my mentee from college is one of your best friends so I could speak to your character

outside of what I saw on the show and now I'm sitting here in front of you and I'm just, I might shut a tear. I'm just so upset that you're not the bachelor. And this is what I have to say. And I'll ask you this too, because you've just been so open and honest and really respectful in how you're handling this whole process. This is nothing against Peter. We've had Peter on the show. And a lot of times people will confuse that. We've had Peter on the show. Peter seems lovely, straight-lined, vanilla, but lovely. And I, and it's not that I don't think he'll make a great bachelor. I think that he'll, he's very Ben Higgins-esque. I think

they'll surround him with an entertaining cast to mask his, um, his, um, his, uh, Magooness. And I, I, I, I, again, so I'm saying all that to say, it is not a knock against Peter. No, nothing against Peter. What do you think about Peter being the bachelor? Do you think he'll make a good one? I think Peter is a good looking do it with his 5 o'clock shadow he has a fun super fun job his family's amazing his little brother i know personally he's a dope kid and i sound old when i say call somebody else a kid right i'm only 31 but um i think i would have been more entertaining i said it and i'm going to stick by my word yeah i think you'd be more entertaining too um wait what it oh you said peter has a as a fun job i don't think he's going to have that job after doing the bachelor no i disagree peter

is in love with being a pilot. No, I don't think it's up to him. Oh, not correct. You know what I mean? I'm sure he could get another job. He'll be a private pilot, so I'm just saying. He'll just have his own plane. Maybe they'll let him take a sabbatical.

I don't know. It's hard. I think that's why a lot of times you see people on the show who have jobs or lack thereof of jobs because it's hard to ask your employer for time off. So I'm not saying that as a knock to Peter. I'm just saying it's going to be hard for him to be able to do both, is what I'm saying. And I was a financial advisor. therefore I didn't have a boss to tell me what I can and can do.

Say it again. If you really answered my bachelor questions very well. I mean, not that I was trying to get messy or anything, but you were very matter of fact, and I think it is what it is. I will ask you this. Are you disappointed with the lack of diversity on the show? So that's one of the things I spoke about to the producers if I were to be the bachelor, and I said that I wanted to be representative of America.

as far as the women that would be on the show if I were to be cast as The Bachelor. Like I said, I also feel that more people of color. And I know Peter's mom is of Latin descent, but come on, Peter's white, right? Let's be honest. And so I'm not talking about things of that nature. I'm talking about I want a full-on Indian guy or a full-on Asian girl. For some reason, I like Asian girls. I like Sydney.

She's half Asian. I didn't know that about myself until going on Paradise, by the way. See? Yeah, Bats are opened you to all these different. It really does. Like I said, you love women. You love women. It's what you feel.

And I think that's great. Do you think that not getting the Bachelor is the best thing you never had right now? I'm about to say right now because all I'm focused on is in the moment. And so I know that if I were to be The Bachelor, it would come with a lot more scrutiny into my personal life, into my family's personal life, into my sister and things of that nature. and maybe that's God's web saying it's not the right time for you to be in that spotlight. And the whole point of going on the show is to find your person. And so I want to make sure that that's the presidents. I wanted to find my wife.

I wanted to find my queen. And so if I'm not on The Bachelor, you know, I've been blessed to be open up to a plethora of people that know my face. And so I may find my woman still. Yeah, let's talk about that. Let's talk about God's plan and the women that you've been open up to meet, a.k.a. Demi Lovato. Oh, we got to talk about it. Okay? Because Demi Lovato

is a fan of the show, and I have not seen her this involved ever. So, spill the tea. Spill the tea. Before I split a tea, you said two Drake lines, by the way. You said one, I'm upset. And you said, God's plan. I'm a fan. I'm a Drake fan. Just so you know. Spill a tea on Demi.

Okay. I'll ask you more pointed questions. Ask me questions. I will always answer I will always answer the question. You just got to ask them, don't really. Okay. Have you met? Yes. Demby and I have met in person.

How many times? We met, we've met more than one time. Yes. Let me just tell you who is not going to be on Peter's season. Demi Lovato, okay? None of those girls can even stand in the same room with Demi Lovato. So you are already winning. Let me just tell you this, Mike Johnson.

Do you have a middle name? No, no middle name. Okay. Mike Johnson. How is she? I think she's amazing. She's incredibly humble. When her and I are together or have, oh my God, I'm saying this.

Now, don't say anything that's going to mess up the relationship because I'm shipping this. No, not at all. I'm extremely respectful. When Demi and I are together, it's laughter. And we talk about real shit. Like, she's a down-to-earth woman. And I respect it so much. and she's just really humble, really cool, really fun down-to-earth person.

And she's from Texas. And she's from Texas. So you all have that in common. And her bodyguard's from Texas too, so that's cool. Okay, you sound well acquainted. Oh, God. I'm just saying, it's my job to see through this. I will say that I have met Demi Lovato, and she did not have this reaction to me.

She treated me like, I don't even know if she knew I was on The Bachelor. She took a picture with me and walked away. She's an extremely sweet woman. No, no. She seems really sweet. And is there anything else that maybe you want to tell us? What is the status of your relationship with Demi Lovato? My status of the relationship with Demi and I are that we are two people exploring each other. I like it. I like it. So what's next for you, Mike Johnson? What's next for me? So I am really big and I really care about self-love and insecurities. And so I am working on something right now to, help raise people's self-love and lower their insecurities through a media platform.

I love this. And I'm going to tell you why this is so necessary. So we just did a podcast with Blake. And it went so deep, it had to be two parts. And what I loved about that podcast is he was so open and vulnerable. I mean, you met Blake. You saw the drama. But he talked about the darker side of being in Bastar Nation, which a lot of people don't. I hit him up about it. And I really think that you guys should team up together and really help people through this because everybody wants to see that we're on TV and, you know, people are shilling or they're going to all these events. But, you know, that lasts for most people six months and then the whole new crop of bachelor contestants come in. Correct. And you're lucky if you can sustain it longer

than that. Correct. And when you don't, it's the dark side of things. Or if you have a bad experience and it plays out on a public platform like Blake's did, it's the darker side of thing. So I'm excited to hear that you're doing something positive, and I think it can really reach and help a lot of people. I agree completely. I've had family members and friends commit suicide and become hurt really bad by mental health and by no people that are in the public eye that were once in the star, now they're down at the bottom. And so that plays a real toll on you. And so you asked earlier about me and my personality have I let things to go to my head I try to be even kill as always because I am super grateful to be sitting here with you right now and I know that

tomorrow could be gone and so therefore my day ones I want to make sure that they know that I love them care about them and that's the strongest thing that you can have is just your family and friends that are near and dear to you but understand that everyone goes through something in my DMs people say how do you smile you know through adversity and so I just want to use my platform for the good for the greater good while still having fun and still being du rack you know mike very powerful gosh mike johnson i i have to say it is our loss that we don't have you as the bachelor for season 24 but i am glad that you have graced us with your presence on hannah season even on paradise even though i know you weren't a huge fan of that but you are a part of this bachelor family

you're a part of this franchise and i think that you're a really positive figure within it I appreciate that. And so I just want to thank you so much for coming on the podcast. And I'm also excited because I feel like, this is a question I wanted to ask you too, I feel like a lot of people haven't had the opportunity to know you, and you've really gone deep on this podcast. And I think one of the things people would say about why you wouldn't make a good bachelor is because you didn't open up or you didn't cry in certain instances.

And for all those people out there who said that, take a, I hope you're listening to this podcast because you have opened up in a way and put yourself out there and been very vulnerable, very honest, and really shown who you are. And so, I mean, like, to all the haters out there, bye. I want to speak on that, like that. Thank you for reading that. That's ridiculous. When I'm not going to call her name, said that I'm not going to be a good contend for the bachelor because I wasn't vulnerable enough and or didn't cry. For one, where I come from, when we talk about tears, we let those tears out. But I'm not going to let tears out. But I'm not going to let tears out. for the most frivolous of things. I do cry. I am an emotional person. I am in touch with my emotional side, but I'm not going to cry for something that you've seen 15 other dudes cry for.

And so that's just ridiculous to me. I am extremely, you can ask anybody that know me. Oh, my God, I don't need to ask. I already know what's up. And I'll tell you this. There are plenty of people who cry on that show, and there is nothing behind those tears. It means nothing.

It doesn't mean that they, be a good leave, okay? And I'm not going to name any names. Okay. Okay. All right. Well, I just want to say thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Really do appreciate it. It was a long time coming coming. And I wish you all the best. I'm excited to see what happens for you. I know, for one, I'm not going to be here for six months or less. I know that's right. Me neither. Let's get. Mike Johnson, thank you so much for coming in today. I know you had to stay in L.A. an extra couple of days to make this work. So we definitely appreciate it.

But I feel like you kind of wanted to do it anyway because this was a long time coming. I see it on your face now. So next week, you guys, do not forget. We will have part two of the Blake interview. I promise this is one that you don't want to miss. It'll go up Wednesday morning, and it's worth the wait. In the meantime, you can get all the latest bachelor news

on bachelornation.com right now. And you guys, as we say every week, we want to hear from you. So make sure you tell us what you like. what you don't like about the show, and tell us what you want to hear more of. We need to hear that. You can email us at happy hour at bachelornation.com

or visit bachelornation.com and click podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon.

This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want or gone. Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate.

Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy-truthers believe in... I guess they would be conspiracy theorists. That's right. They gave you the answers, and you still blew it.

The puzzler. Listen on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. On the latest episode of Next Question with me, Katie Couric, I sat down with Jasmine Crockett, Democratic Representative of Texas. She's holding out the fork for her party in one of the most conservative states in the Union. And I think that ultimately, who will become the Democratic nominee for president will be someone that has been out there and has shown that they won't allow themselves to be punched and just say thank you. Like, they will punch back. Listen to next question with me, Katie Couric on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.