Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe - Grant Ellis | The Bachelor Spills on His Dream Girl, Final Two & Family Bonds!

Episode Date: February 18, 2025

#816. Grant Ellis’ journey as The Bachelor has been full of romance, tough choices, and unexpected lessons. He joins Kaitlyn to reveal his biggest turn-ons and turn-offs, admit he was the one handing out the icks, and share why this season became about more than just finding love—it was about family, too. With multiple love stories unfolding (including one with his dad ), Grant teases what’s to come in the final episodes… but will he walk away engaged? Single? Or in a throuple? Hit play now for all the juicy details! If you’re LOVING this podcast, please follow and leave a rating and review below! PLUS, FOLLOW OUR PODCAST INSTAGRAM HERE! Thank you to our Sponsors! Check out these deals! MACY’S: Whether you’re heading to the mountains or escaping to the beach, Macy’s has everything you need to get vacation-ready. Head to macys.com and grab everything you need for your getaway! Apartments.com: The place to find a pet friendly place! BEAM: If you want to try Beam’s best-selling Dream Powder, get up to 40% off for a limited time when you go to shop BEAM.com/VINE and use code VINE. Spade & Sparrows: USee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Okay, let's talk about the original enemies to lovers story. Before all of our reality TV couples, before the rom-coms, we binge, there was Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy in pride and prejudice. And Audible has just dropped a brand new original that will have you completely hooked, I am. It's not just any audiobook. This is a full cast performance. So Marisa Abella, you might know her from industry, brings Elizabeth Bennett to life.

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So whether it's your first time experiencing Pride and Prejudice or you've read it a million times, you're going to fall absolutely in love all over again. So go listen to Pride and Prejudice now at audible.ca slash Jane Austen. Off the Vine. Hey everybody, welcome to Off the Vine podcast. I'm your host, Caitlin Bristow. And today we have Grant Ellis in the studio, The Bachelor. I wasn't going to watch, but then I saw him, and he's cute and he's nice and he's kind,

and I like how he is with the women, and I'm hooked. Tail is old as time, and today I got to really know him, and he's just as great as I thought he would be. I asked some pretty tough questions, and he answers them the way I would expect him to perfectly. Enjoy my conversation with Grant. Thank you for coming on the podcast today. Thank you for having me. Are you tired?

No, I'm good. What? I'm good to go. I'm wired. I had some coffee before this. Oh, and now. Now you've got a nice glass of red to put you to sleep. Red wine actually gets me amped up.

It does. All right. Well, I'm on your energy, so I'm amped up with you. I'm on a good energy level right now. We're on the same vibe right now. I think we are. I literally, for the last two weeks, I had a sinus infection, so I was getting like, I was, like, drugging myself up with NyQuil, and I got 11 to 12 hours of sleep every night.

And so now I'm like. Are you a napper? Are you like a sleeper? I'm a napper. I'm a heavy napper, too. Oh, I can sleep anywhere, any time, a plane before it takes up. off. I'm out. I'm out too. I'm a napper, so. Really? I would, like, yeah, if it's the opportunity is there, I'm going to fall asleep during the day. My family gets mad at me,

because, like, one time, one time I was, like, at a family event, I just, like, put my head down on the couch. Everyone's, like, hanging out, mingling, and I'm just like, you know, a study came out that people that nap during a day are cooler than people. Duh. That's what I'm saying. So, listen, nap and wine. Okay, but the studies that are coming out these days are really really diabolical behavior. It's, it's, I don't know what the hell's going on because I'm like, is a, is wine saving our lives and letting us live longer or are we dying, drinking it? I feel like social media, people are just putting stuff out there now.

Here's the thing. One person will go viral for something and so then everyone jumps on that train to go viral. Well, alcohol seems to be the thing where I'm like, but guys, I have a wine label and I don't want to fail. I'm like, can we please put the wine? business back in business? Listen, well, I am a big consumer of wine. Okay, well, between the two of us, I'm going to have to send you, I'll send you a case of red

to get you through the rest of the season. This is some amazing. This is amazing. This is some really good calves off. I'm, I'm not kidding, and I always tell people this. I know I'm biased, but it's really the only red I drink at home. I would have this with a nice rib eye and some calves. I would, yeah.

Rib eye is the superior state. It's the superior state. It really is. I didn't eat. meat for like six years and I am fully back baby I tried to do it for like I lasted a good two weeks I have to compartmentalize the fact that that's animals what did you okay but what did you what did you what was like your substitute when you weren't eating me like what did you well I guess technically fish is still meat so I was a pescatarian okay so a lot of salmon

salmon is good love salmon but I'm in Nashville and you can't get fresh salmon there yeah it's like the kind that they farm and they there's color dye in it and like that is all also killing us. I keep saying, I don't trust broccoli. I don't trust anything anymore. It's scary world. TikTok is, everybody's a professional on there. Everybody's a nutritionist. Everybody's a nutritionist, but they're actually not. Okay, tell me how you're feeling, because it is such an overwhelming, humbling experience to be the lead of a show. You go from being, how long were you on The Bachelorette? I left right before hometowns. Okay, so you left right before hometowns. Did you just have like a lovely experience on that? I had a great experience.

I was like, I'm a chill guy. I was just, all the guys are like arguing each other. I'm like, who wants to go lift some weights? I was like, I just had a fun time, you know? So I had a really good experience. And I really opened myself up on that journey. So it was something for me that was, it was eye-opening for me. I learned a lot. Don't you feel like it's like hours and hours of therapy and you learn about yourself more than you ever have in your whole life? And then you, you're kind of entering this chapter to become The Bachelor where you're like, oh shit, I'm more ready than I've ever been. I'm ready.

And it's crazy because on my season of me as a leader, that was like therapy for me. Oh, yeah. Oh, man. Like I started talking about problems in my life and childhood and figuring myself out. I'm like, now I'm therapies. I'm definitely an advocate for that.

Oh, my gosh. It's so interesting because you go on a national television show where you're like exposing your dating life, but then you're also exposing your child. childhood trauma family things it's so hard but it's so freeing it's freeing it's like you don't even realize you needed it until and then I just started opening up and then I'm like but that really works though because I think when you're when you're cracked open like that you are more ready to find somebody that's you know on the same level there the women are also being cracked wide open

in those interviews as you know and you're really just setting although I don't want to say setting yourself up for success because the success rate of the show is tough. But I will say it's like this common theme of being like, you know, if a girl gave you a PowerPoint presentation on the first date outside of the bachelor world, you'd be like, loony tunes, tootoo. Listen, I came out of limo beatboxing on my first line. I do not know what I was, I think just open yourself up to new experiences, doing things that you wouldn't do normally is part of the reason why the show is so powerful. I think it is. It's like, it's an abnormal dating experience.

They got to switch up the format, though. I mean, it's, because it's such a beautiful experience. It's so cool. There's so much happening. But I'm like, I need new drama. Something like a new format. You know what it is? I think when they have such a, like, it's such a powerhouse that when it works,

it's like they stick to the, to a format that works. And I did it. They, yeah, some new, some new things would be, would be dope. Yeah, it's like, why did I just think of the game, Uno? I just played it the other day. So I'm like, Uno's all. old classic that's it's a household card game everybody knows it it's consistent you know what you're going to get it's fun it's i feel like that's like the bachelor it's like you can't switch the formula

overnight when it's been working for yeah what year are we on god it's like 20 what is it 20 season 29 i think it started in 2001 but like obviously you know it works but going 2002 2002. Wow. I was a baby. Yeah. Oh, you were an actual baby. I was like, how old are you 30?

I'm 31. When's your birthday? December 15th. What does that make you? Like my sign? Yeah. I'm a Sagittarius. What does that say?

I only know if you about, you're not into that. I'm not, I just know it's like, I, like, I'm, like, I'm, like, I'm, I'm kind of stubborn. Yeah, me too. And I like to travel. What, when's your birthday? June 19. June 19. June 19.

What does that make you? Gemini. Gemini. Uh-oh, what's the, what's the, what's the, what's the, what's the Gemini? I don't know why people, I, it's, I just like, when people, I tell me I'm a Sagittarius, they literally like, they're like, they start giving me this. I'm like, listen, you don't even know me yet. People do that for every sign. There's good and bad to every sign. Gemini's get a bad rep, but so do a lot of the other ones. I love being a Gemini because I feel like I am soft and sassy at the same time. Those are my two personalities. I'm so soft and I'm so sassy. And I, I, I love learning about other people's signs because I, because I, I feel like I am soft and I think if you did like your birth chart reading, you'd probably learn so much more about yourself. Do you feel like your sign matches up with your personality, like to a T? Yeah. Okay. But more specifically a birth chart, because Gemini's like, oh, they're good liars and they're crazy and they're spontaneous and they need to be free. And I'm like,

a lot of those things are true. I'm a great liar. Just kidding. But I'm also like my son and moon is cancer and I'm like a cancer crab like I'm so soft. I'm sensitive. So I'm sensitive and spicy at the same time, and I like that. Spicy is good. Listen, spicy. You can't be boring. I'm a firecracker. You got to have a firecracker. I'm a firecracker, too, so. Wait, so you came out of the limo beatboxing. That's cool. I have to know when other, like all these limo entrances, sometimes I cringe, sometimes I

laugh, sometimes I think, I'm like, what? No, I could not. With her name being Rose, I'm like, guarantee she says, will you accept this rose? Yeah, she played that. Oh, God, come on. But what do you feel about the, like, extravagant limo? entrances. Did you have a preference? Were you like, I like when someone's loud and bold and crazy? Or were you like, I love that. That person just came in, hey, how's it going? I'll see you in there. I like funny. If we could relate over that and just kick it, like, just on some cool vibes. Like that's, if someone came in and like a Bentley, I was like, okay, but like, can you make me laugh? Can we have a good time? Right. So that's what I was looking for. And listen,

the ladies did that. So they really, they crushed it. They crushed it. You got some hot ones too. I feel like every woman that came out of there, I was like, I had a tough time. Oh, okay, okay, tens everywhere. That's crazy. That's, if I were to redo my limo entrance and everybody, you won't know this because you were too young, but my limo entrance was probably the most bold one I've ever seen. And I don't regret it for a second, but I would, if I was to do it again, I wouldn't have

one little gimmick. I would just be like, I'm just so different in my life now. But back then, 29-year-old Caitlin came out guns, blazing. What did you do? What did you do? So the guy that was The Bachelor was a farmer from Iowa, and I grew up in a very small town in Canada, and I always thought I was going to marry a farmer. Okay.

It was like, I was like, farmer hot. That was your thing? I was like, I can live in Iowa for sure. I don't know why I thought that. Anyways, I walked out, and I just wanted him to know my personality and my sense of humor right off the bat. And so I said, you know, I don't even know. know you. I know your name's Chris. I know you're a farmer so you can plow my field any day.

And he, that was literally his reaction to. But that is fine, though. And then I was like, that would make me laugh though. That's like, you got to have some, you got to have some humor. A little shock value. You got to shock somebody. I bet he was like, oh, okay. Well, it was funny because he laughed so hard, but then was like, whoa, whoa. But they edited it to like, they added cricket noises and they like, it took out the part where he laughed and they just, and I was like, oh my God. But my, when he was laughing and I was like, what? I was like, is your name not, are you not a farmer? You're not in the plowing fields? Like, what's going on?

Yeah, I'm like, like, it's on him to not get the joke. You know what I'm realizing? Like, you know, Bachelor Nation, Bachelor is like the cringe aspect. They make, it's like a big part of it. It has to be there. It has to be there. Yeah. How do you feel watching yourself make out on TV? Is that cringe? Listen, I've had cringe moments. I'm embracing the cringe because I know, I know myself. You know what I said? I love to have fun. I love to have a sense of humor. And everybody's going to have an opinion. So you just got to go out there and just be yourself, you know? How's the reaction been from people? It's like, you know, you have mixed opinions, you know? But I think as this season goes on,

you know what I'm saying, you get serious. You get a mix of different emotions, which is really cool. Oh, you'll get a mix of emotions. People will love, hey, go, think you're amazing, think you're terrible. And they'll forget the next day. The attention span of reality TV viewers, including myself, is like, I'm like a squirrel. Like, what? I forget. What's going on? I forget, but I do remember watching my season back and being like, I cannot handle watching myself make out with people. That, yeah, it's definitely different watching that. Now, you kissed a lot of people night one, which I respect the hell out of.

If I kissed that many people night one, I got slut shamed so bad on my season. Listen, I'm getting, like, they're, I'm getting some accusations at me because I'm kissing. But I'm like, listen, I'm dating. It's like, I have to kiss you. You're speed dating. You're speed dating. It's like if this is a normal world, okay, I'm not going to. Yeah.

But it's like you have to make a decision. And it tells a lot about somebody if you have some chemistry. Well, I was watching being like, it's tough because you could tell when you really want to kiss somebody. And then there's other girls where I'm like, oh, God, he doesn't even go in for it. Like it's interesting when you have that instantaneous connection with somebody or when there is also a slow burn. Is there somebody that shocks you this season that was a slow burn where at the end you're like, what actually? do get here? I think that the slow burns came for me, not like on the physical side. It's more on the emotional side. Because, you know, you start off, the chemistry is there.

You're having fun. The drinks are going. But then, you know, for like a real, on some real relationship vibes, like you got to have that emotional connection. Yeah. I find that watching you, it seems like you really do look for that emotional connection. Where does that come from for you? Just me lacking that in my childhood, you know, searching for that, you know, the story with family life growing up, coming from, you know, certain places and not having that, I look for that because it's so easy to catch a vibe with somebody, you know, but to have somebody that you could really connect with on a level, like, okay, this person understands me. Yeah. How do you move forward, like my experience in dating, which I've had a lot? I am like, God, we all get so much

in this love, lust phase, the honeymoon, the romance, it's just so hot and heavy at the beginning how do you know to like what are you looking for emotionally where you're like okay that's great but I could actually see this working out long term like because it's it's inevitable that that goes away yeah are you aware of that while you're with these women 100% you know like you said all the all the ladies on my season were beautiful yeah and I think the main thing I was looking before is character like there's going to be certain things that happen where you see the lady's character and that's like where I take notice I'm like okay Like, I could see where, like, your roots, how you were raised.

Yeah. You have a solid background. Often it comes from, you know, when you've been through certain things that test you or molds you, you develop this thick skin. Yeah. And you know how to handle yourself in certain situations. So that's what I was looking for, you know? Okay, flirting is cool. Right.

Kissing is cool. Right. Right. What's underneath? Yeah. It's hard to get there that fast, though. It's hard. Especially when you're juggling however many women are left.

Like, it is so hard to know and to be like, okay, I've got this amount of time with you. How do we know how to get there? Which I do love the fantasy suites for that reason because you're like, okay, camera's gone. Who are you? Because we're all putting it on a bit for the cameras, you know? And emotions are so heightened when there's all this, these other women involved. But I feel like the fantasy suites are where you can actually really connect. What was your fantasy suite experience?

Are we going to be like, oh, shit? No, no, no. I actually, I think I handle myself really will during fantasy suites. I was trying to go on. Yeah, I was like, yeah. But listen, it's definitely, it's definitely tough because you've been dating these people for a while. And you're looking for marriage. And you're looking for marriage.

So I tried, I had to be really, I went in there pretty careful. Yeah. You know what I'm saying? Yeah. Like condoms? Just kidding. Very careful. Like, I went in there careful, you know, careful.

Like, I went in there careful, you know, careful. And I was trying to see if I could really vibe with the person. Because sex is one thing. And you can have great sex. It's not hard to find. Yeah, true. It's not hard to find, but that chemistry is what's hard to find. So true, especially at that point in the quote-unquote journey of, you know, it's intimacy is such

an important part of a relationship for some people. I always, I respect the virgins. I respect the, I was a little hobag. I respect that too. Like, I just think it's like, whoever you are as a person, what is important to you? But I just think it's like, you know, it's more than intimacy and you get that time in the fantasy suite. But watching back right now, we're on what? I guess when this comes out, episode four? Episode four. What is shocking you the most about either the women or yourself, what are you watching back being like, did not see that? Or whoops, didn't know that was going on. Just the other side of what's happening.

Because, you know, as a lead, you only see, you see less than half of what's going on. Because you have so many things you're dealing with. So seeing the reactions in the house and seeing how the ladies got along with each other. Yeah. And seeing who was really, like, bold, who kept it real. Yeah. Like, I like that. So that's something that, like, if you, if you're real and you don't short-coded and you just tell,

how it is. I'm like, all right. Like, that's because I respect that, you know. So, has anyone, you've watched back that you actually, like, really liked, been giving you the ick? Give me the ick. I haven't got the ick from anybody. I think people got the ick for me, honestly. But I think I, you know, there's some things that I did outside of my norm, but I haven't gotten the ick from anybody. So maybe, maybe, maybe, well, hey, listen, it's not over yet. So we're going to see. How do you think being a contestant on that show prepared you to be the lead? It just made me realize that, you know, you got to go in there ready.

You got to go in there open and you got to go in there ready and you can't be scared to look silly, you know, so. That's such a good point. You can't be scared. You can't. You really need to be. I always tell this if anybody asks me for advice when they go on the show, I'm like, do not try and be somebody else to either please America that's watching or to be

Good TV. Yeah, please America. You can't. No, no, no, no. You just got to be yourself. Be you and people going to like you for you. Yeah. What are you the most proud of from this season?

From this season? You're like, what, from life? But from this experience so far. I think that my dad being on the show and like his struggle with addiction and him coming back on and us chopping it and us having that relationship. And then, you know, America's seeing there's so many different elements of society. So it's like seeing the relationship with. me and my dad, I'm watching that back, was, it was really impactful to me.

So my dad's 35 years sober, and I have, like, experienced a bit of, like, you know, but I know A.A. is supposed to be anonymous, but my dad tells me I can talk about these things. But, like, it's, I know people that have struggled. I know it's hard on relationships, but it's so beautiful when you can actually come to another place in life and have that relationship with your dad that you've probably always dreamt of. And it doesn't have to, you know, there's no wrong time for that. Yeah, because when you're younger, you look at your parents, like, you look up to them. Yeah, they're heroes.

Yeah, you're like, oh, this person. And then you start realizing, like, they're human. When you grow up, you're like, wow, like, you know, they're human and you can relate to them on that level. Like, okay, this is a man that made mistakes. This is my mom's a woman that made mistakes, but they did their best. And I'm going through that now, you know? So it's like you have to relate to them on that level. Not only are you going through it, but you're going for the world to see.

For the world to see. For the world to see, right? God, is that, do you feel anxious ever about, I don't know, I guess just just being that vulnerable in front of so many people? Or do you feel like you're cut out for this? Yeah, I feel like I'm built for it. You know, I don't really have any reservations. I feel like that's something that I really went in there trying to do.

And yeah, whoever sees it, somebody's going to get inspired. Somebody's going to get the ick. Somebody is going to go either way. So whoever takes what they take from it, like. Yeah. There's always, and my dad always says this. He can watch a rom-com, a friggin' horror movie. He's like, there's always a lesson to be taken away from something.

And I feel like we can all poke fun and laugh at The Bachelor and we can all have our icks or cringe. But there is always a message. And they always tend to cast people that really have some stories, you know, and some life experience. And I think that's why we like the Golden Bachelor so much is because these people have lived.

And they've gone through some shit and they still live life to the fullest. And it's like, it's not over. And being at that point in your life and still looking forward to not like a rebranding, but like a future going through, a lot of those a lot of people on golden evolution evolution they're coming off a relationship or they're they're coming off where their partner has passed away and like there's there's life

there's life after that and there's hope I think there's a message of hope in that so absolutely I mean even your story with you know you're being open about your family and all these there's so many people that can relate to certain things that you're going through and and what you're putting you know you're putting yourself in a position to be I keep beating a dead horse with the word vulnerable but that's really what it is is. And listen, the wine doesn't, doesn't hurt, you know, it helps with the vulnerability. I just keep pouring you up there. I want to know what my favorite part of the season was so far. What's up? Tell me. The song choice of, what a man, what a man, what a man. I am a huge salt and pepper. And when they use that song, I was like, and you play basketball, I was like, I'm obsessed with this.

We were, yeah, they definitely brought it. They brought it out in me this season, so. It was so good. So who right now, Good or bad. Who stands out to you? Man, there's so many. So, you know, Zoe was really bold. Juliana, she kept it real. You know what I'm saying? Latia, our relationship was really deep. Yeah. Carolina, we had a lot of fun.

Yeah. We had a relationship that was really fun. So there's a lot of ladies that were there. Serafina, we had a really good connection on, like, a deep level. They all brought something new to me. They all brought certain sides out of me that. Yeah. Like, not that I didn't know it was there, but, you know, they bring it out.

of me. No, isn't that interesting that you become like, I don't like when people are like chameleons where they're just trying to like people please in different situations, but I feel like in your role, you have to be a chameleon and adapt to like make them comfortable to show up for them but also try and be yourself. But it does what the, the beautiful thing about that is it brings out a side that you were like, wait a second, I didn't know I was that goofier. I didn't know I could be that serious or I didn't know I could be that romantic. I'm obsessed with you playing with girl's hair. You'll be like, you'll be like talking to them and you're like playing with their hair. I'm like, that is so freaking cute. I don't know where, I don't know. I think I got that for my

sister. Like my mom, my mom, my mom, my sister's so beautiful. My sister's crazy. She is. I want her to be the next bachelor. Yeah, she, she would be a, it would be a crazy. Is she single? She is, but she's like, oh, she's a model. So she's always traveling and like just moving around and doing the most, you know, she's a queen. But you know, it's crazy. I had, I didn't date for a minute. So, and I was in a seven-year relationship. So this now, I'm realizing, you know, when you date new people, you find out different aspects of a relationship. So you need to go through that date. Yeah. Just, it happened to me. I'm doing it all that once. So I'm like, okay, I'm like, with this person, our relationship is fun. Yeah. With this person, we're talking about future and finance.

Yeah. This person, we're talking about llamas and shit. Like, you know what I'm saying? So I'm, like, I'm having fun and it brings certain sides out of me. Now, that's seven-year relationship. That's got to be wild for an ex to watch. There's seven-year relationship go public date everything do you still keep in contact with her do you know how she's feeling no honestly you know we decided a long time ago that we were going to cut communication because you know you always you end a relationship and then you try it again and then it's not it's not the same no after you guys go and like do your own thing is not the same so we decided to but i'm sure she's in a great place yeah and you know i'm sure she could poke poke at me and you know laugh and

just if she is watching she'll be having fun yeah she'll be having fun yeah she'll be Everyone watching me. I cannot even imagine that situation. Like, I'll never forget my ex writing me when I went on. And he was like, I used to watch the show with him. And I'll never forget it was actually something that meant a lot to me. He was like, you are so true to yourself on that show. Like, you are exactly who everyone knows you to be.

And I was like, that's the best compliment. That's the best way to be. Yeah. That's what I'm saying. Being real, you got to be yourself and just like people. How do you get there? Because a lot of people, you know, the cameras and the predictions. and the beautiful women and the extravagant dates, like, how do you stay humble and grounded?

Honestly, my faith is what keeps me, but then keeping it, like, me being myself, being in situations previous in my life where I tried to, I've been to that phase where I tried to fit in. And I tried to be this person. I'm like, at a certain point, you're like, yo, screw it. Like, I'm just going to be me, take it or leave it. And if you don't like it, then, you know. Yeah. That's the clip right there. If you don't like a fuck up. I like that. What would an ex-girlfriend say about you and what constructive criticism will you take into your next relationship? An ex-girlfriend would say I'm really determined, I'm really driven, and the constructive criticism would be, you know, in the future to just, which I've learned from was in a relationship, you can't, I think a lot of men are focused on their success and this and that. Like you have to be, you have to put your, your person's priorities.

There's a time and place to put their priorities first. If she wants to go to Target and look at rugs, are we going to go to Target? You know what I'm saying? Like, that's what we're going to do. Yeah. So for me, you know, there's a time and place where, yeah, I'm trading and work. Got to make money.

You got to, you know, work out, do guy stuff. But then you have to, if you, whatever your partner wants to do, even if you don't like doing it, just do it. You know, if you love them, you sacrifice. Like in this, let's say, I don't know, are you allowed to say if you're engaged or you just. I got to keep it. I got to keep that.

Okay, okay, okay. So let's hypothetically say you are engaged. And I think a real power struggle coming off the show is the lead always gets more opportunities. It's this dynamic that's really difficult on relationships. How do you think you are going to navigate if you are engaged balancing that relationship and making sure that you don't get lost in that noise? Yeah, I think a big part is having somebody who's like your best friend to where you could put them forward in opportunities like and push them and care about them first.

So if there's something that you're doing, you plug them in. Like, you know what? I think that, you know, this is an opportunity for you, a really good fit. And it's never a power dynamic. It's 50, it's 50.

Yeah. Like you're a boss, I'm a boss. We're just going to do it together. Yeah, because I think I was, was it Chicks in the office did a clip where they were talking about the Matt James and Rachel's situation of the breakup. And they were saying like it's such a,

it's an interesting dynamic because when you're the lead, that person, I've been there, obviously, so I can speak to this. And I will say it was a hard thing because I was getting opportunities and I was like, well, can Sean, who I picked come? And they're like, oh, sure. But it was always just like he was the winner, but it was, you know, it's a really interesting dynamic.

But I do like that perspective of, that's your best friend. You include them. And there is no power dynamic. Your equals. And obviously communication is lubrication. So you got to just like. Yeah. So that's deep.

think you whether you found somebody or not did you find somebody along the way that you were like this bitch knows how to communicate listen all the ladies were great but i definitely gravitated towards certain people you know and there's definitely relationships as the season goes on that you're going to see and like different dynamics and but i think yeah going in there i was just looking for somebody who i could call my best friend and like i think that the cat they casted great so now everybody that i talked to that's come off the show is always like they've never had an ending like this can you tease your ending can you tease something about the season that maybe people are going to be like what yeah well i can what i can say is that you know there is there's multiple love stories and i'm not talking

about with like different women i'm talking about between me and my father and then they the emotional connections were so strong that it was difficult at the end but ultimately you know you got to you have to follow your heart and make sure that you're leading with that and not leading what you think people are going to want you lead with you yeah yeah yeah It's so hard to do that because I remember thinking Oh my God, I get to be The Bachelor This is going to be so fun I get to just date a bunch of dudes

And then you realize it gets real very quickly It gets real, it gets real And you're like, oh, now I have to hurt people I actually care about. That was the hardest part for me Even from night one, the rose ceremonious Like I just met and I know that You know, you don't really know who these people are yet

But you have empathy and you're like, damn I got to like So it just gets progressively harder Oh, I honestly, I don't remember if they edit this out or if they kept it in, but I literally had to leave in the middle of my first row ceremony because I felt so bad. I like left. I started bawling. I was like, oh, I don't want to hurt their feelings. I felt so terrible. It's better to be that way to be like, it just be cold about it, you know, because it shows your heart, you know? True. Everybody has a moment in this show where Colton jumps offense. I've had an epic meltdown. Like, everybody loses it at some

point in the journey. Did you have one of those moments? I think I didn't lose it. I didn't lose but I came, I was like right on the edge of, you know, because it's hard making, it's hard to hurt people that you care about. Yeah. You go on these dates, you know, you figure out these people's lives and you care and then you're like towards the end, you know, you start stressing. It's like, wow, this is, you know, at the beginning it's fun. You're taking planes and you're doing this and you're like, man, like, listen, there's, there's a big decision at the end of this. Yeah, do you ever like forget about that decision at the end? Like, were you ever so caught up in moment you're like wait a second i'm getting engaged at the end of this yeah sometimes like on the on the

one-on-one dates you know because the chemistry is so strong you're not thinking about the end of it yeah you know you don't think about that but as it gets closer you're like okay like yeah it's game time do you have historically speaking a type or what is like i don't even mean just physically i just mean like what would your type be uh okay so there's there's listen there's beautiful women everywhere yeah but my type is somebody who i like a cool woman like somebody who I could sit on the couch with it on some sweats, and we could, we could just, we could, you don't always have to be dressed up. You're just cool.

Yeah. We could kick it. We could crack jokes. Yeah. I don't, like, yeah, I just, that's what I want. I just want something real. A best friend with benefits. A best friend of benefits.

Yeah. And then to where we had that trust, it's like, you know, we go up the phone, like, all right, like, give me a pound. Like, like, do your thing, you know? Yeah. It's like, we locked in. The trust and respect and the friendship with benefits, I think that is like the key to a healthy relationship and obviously every relationship in the whole world. I don't care who you are goes

through struggles and has to go through hurdles. And what do you, what do you think your approach will be coming out of the show if you're with somebody to get through those hard times? Like therapy, obviously. Communication obviously. Yeah. But what, do you already have that planned out in your head of like, this is how we're going to do it? Yeah, I think that. So if I am at the end of this, I think that, not planning, but being the type of person where your partner knows that you are always going to have their best interests. Yeah. Because there's always going to be somebody that's more attractive.

Yeah. There's always going to be somebody more famous than you. Somebody's always going to have more money, but not everybody is going to care if you the way. Everybody's going to have you the way I got you. So it's like, you just got to do your part and then whatever decision they decide to make, you know? I agree. It's relationships are so hard. I say it all the time.

but I just, I feel like they're hard work, they're fun, but like if as long as you're on the same page with somebody at the end of the day, it's, you can make anything work. Was there any time in the process that you doubted yourself? Honestly, I never doubted. I never like doubted myself, but I did start to spiral a little bit. Not like, like, yeah, I start to be like, man, this is a lot deeper than what, what you think, you know? So. Yes. Yeah. And then, yeah, there's definitely, there's definitely, an emotional roller coaster that you know yeah i mean it'd be crazy for you to not question things when nobody just puts that many beautiful women in front of somebody and says pick one and you know because every every woman has something different to offer and they're all special and i just i'm like

you're like can't i just mesh these four women into one and call it a day yeah you got to like you have to pick somebody as you feel like it's going to be the best and you know it's so easy to criticize the lead because you're put in a position where you're dating multiple people. Yeah. And you got to make decisions so fast. So at the end of the day, you just have to go in there and pick the person that you feel like is going to be the best fit for you. Yeah.

And also, I remember not to call my ex from the show out, but like he really felt like he was just the best option there. And I think that's really hard for people to feel coming out of it because you are given the selection of people. And it is hard to be like, no, I actually really love you and you're the one. and you're who I can see myself with. I wouldn't propose or whatever. But they do have this feeling of like,

was I just the best one there? So are you good at reassuring people? Yeah, I feel like I'm really, like I'm an emotional guy. Like, you know, I'm strong, but also I'm emotional. So when, if somebody were to come to me and question yourself, I'm like, listen, like, we chose each other. And because you're my best friend, you know, like I value our relationship and nothing's going to change.

said there's always going to be somebody that's always going to be just so many things out there but a relationship that's like that's real you can't fake that and that's you know is faith important to you in a for a woman to pick a woman listen i i'm not like somebody that's like church every sunday you know but as long as you because life gets hard yeah and if you don't have something to fall back on it's like you're going to be you're going to run to you know sometimes you might run to drug or you might run to this or that like i saw that my dad so to fall back on that it's like and i don't need You know, the biggest way that you could influence people is through love. So even if somebody is not on the same page, it's like, all right, well, I'm going to just pray for you.

I'm going to just do it on my own, you know, and you're going to see, eventually you're going to see like, what is it about this person that they like, why do they keep praying for me? Why are they always there for me? It's like, okay, well, maybe let's do it together or let's try it, you know, over time. So actions over time matter. Yes. I totally agree. So Madrid, that's your first international stop that we just saw.

What made this location special for you? Because I played in Spain for a little bit. I played professional basketball in Spain. Oh, okay. But I was in Barcelona, and we went to Madrid this time. So I got to experience Spain without having, like, a coach making me run suicide. So it was fun, you know? Yeah.

Did you have a favorite date while you were there? All the dates were fun. I really enjoyed the date, the Matador date. Oh, okay. It was fun because the bull riding date was super fun, you know. Oh, bull riding. Yeah, it was crazy. I grew up, so I grew up in a really small town.

I worked at a bar called Cowboys the second I turned 18 because that was the legal age in Alberta where I grew up. I worked at a place that had a mechanical bowl. And people were like, Caitlin, you got to work. I was just like, no, I'm like, you're trying to beat my time. But I'm like, as soon as I see a mechanical bowl, I'm like, oh, why did they have that on my season? A challenge is fun, man.

That's so, but don't you also agree that traveling with somebody just says so much about a person? It says a lot. how they take in the culture, how they carry themselves in situations to navigate and figure things out. It says a lot about a person. It says a lot. If you could really vibe with them because, you know, if somebody's like, you're with somebody and then you're always one having fun and they're like not having the, you know, you got to have somebody that's on your vibe. I agree.

What's your biggest turn on and turn off in a relationship? My biggest turn off is somebody that's too self-absorbed. Yeah. Somebody that's just always too focused on themselves. My biggest turn on, like I said, if you could just, if you could have fun and like not take yourself too seriously and it's like friendship, friendship for. What do you think your first, like, priority is in a partner? My first priority in a partner would be their character probably. Yeah.

Because when she gets tough, like, that's when somebody's real, like, you could have somebody that says all the right stuff, but then say you get sick or you, you know what I'm saying? You go through an issue. Maybe you start putting on a little weight or maybe you start doing something where it's like, and then they, they bail on you. It's like, okay, you're not built like that. That's so true. That's, it's so easy to run when times get time.

tough. That's like when that's when the real shit, you know. That's when you know. Have you had any solo dates that completely changed how you felt about somebody? Like did you go into the solo date and go, I don't know about this person and then you came out of it and was like completely changed? Yeah, I think not that I changed, but listen, the date episode three with Carolina, we jumped off the tower. Yeah, no thank you. We took the private jet. We had a really good dynamic where we like it was like we had a really good friendship we were joking we had like a secret we had like a little handshake we was doing you know and we was you know so i thought that date was really fun and i went into the night really excited about that has anyone ever

giving you the most solid dating advice like like okay the most solid dating advice honestly no i i i'm not i'm like uh i'm not i haven't i don't have much dating experience i like i went in there yeah like obviously i was being myself but i think if i was i were to give some solid date advice, I think it would be first date, be yourself. I'm not going to say like burp at the table, but like just like, or maybe burp at the table. Maybe brough at the table. But like be yourself, because that way you get a read if somebody

really knows you or knows you or not. Do you know what my favorite thing used to be when I went on first dates? I would order chicken wings. That's what I'm saying? Hot wings, just get in there and be like, well, this is, it's me. It me, okay? I'm not going to order a teeny tiny little salad and just I want someone to be like, no, this chick doesn't give.

Honestly, I would like that. If the first day is at a restaurant and like somebody, if somebody wears like a salad and like, and they're trying to like, I'm like, listen, order something where you're going to feel full and let's, let's talk about, let's talk. You know, I want to know, I want to know about you. Yeah, like, I don't want you to have stomach problems after, but I want you to enjoy yourself. I want you to enjoy yourself. That was the worst date you've ever been on, whether it be on the show or outside of the show.

Oh, man. What was the worst? So the location, it was just a date where I was on a date. And the person that I was on a date with, everything that we talked about, it was always related back to themselves. Everything was about them and them. And I was like, I was like, okay, this person, I don't know how much they're going to be able to look after me a little bit because I'm a giver. So I don't want to be one-sided. Yeah, fair enough.

What else are you passionate about? Because you obviously music is a big part. When you started playing that piano and singing, I was like, oh, oh, cr. It was like, what? No, I like a lot of stuff. I like the dance, like poetry. I like music. Then were you obsessed with the Kendrick Lamar performance at the halftime show like I was?

I liked it. I liked it. I was a little mad because the chiefs were getting blown out, but, you know, that you're like. Go birds! You were like the egos. They really kicked their ass. I was surprised. They made a nice little comeback.

They made it, but it was too late. But, no, Kendrick did a great job. I love Kendrick. I've been obsessed with Kendrick for a long time. But you're into music. Is your family into music? Like, where did that come from for you? So my dad was an exotic car dealer growing up.

And he ended up open the studio. So he used to sell cars like Biggie Smalls and Eddie Murphy. Yeah, our family got pictures with them. It's like, that's how my mom and dad met. They met at Eddie Murphy's birthday party in New York. So they met there and my dad had a car dealership and he, one of his clients was Rizza from the Wu-Tang Clan. No way. So we used to go to the studio when I was a kid and I just used to be in there listening.

So it's not like something. I do like seriously but you know what I'm saying if there's a karaoke I might if I'm drunk enough I might get up there and embarrass my sober's getting up there for karaoke I'm like my song is shoot salt and peva you can't you can't take yourself too serious you got have fun you know karaoke is I will get up on any stage and sing at any place I also dabble in music so I'm like I grew up a theater kid okay and then I've put out two songs yeah and I love it so much but one of my dates actually on The Bachelor was I got to write a rap with with uh The Bachelor, and then I got to. I know. And then I also wrote a song with Big and Rich.

Hey, that's lit. It was so fun. I was like, I swear, maybe I need to have a slice of humble pie, but I was like, I think they're doing all these dates for me. For yeah. You know, something. And people that, like, any type of creative space, like, you know, you know, that place to live in, it's like you're dope because you allow, you express yourself. Yeah. I mean, I always say this when I have musicians on my podcast, because living in Nashville, I get to have a lot of them on. I'm like, it's so. so beautiful that people can put music is such a form of art obviously but it can relate to so many different people even though there's a different meaning for everybody you can put out a song and it

could mean something to you and it could mean something completely different to 100 other people and then you all connect over it it's so cool it's a it's a bonding thing you know that's how you relate it's how you express yourself it really is I love music so much so what is next for you after this if you're engaged if you're not whatever it is what is like the passion that you have in soul to do next. Man, I've been in finance for a long time. So it's like I really want to start a hedge fund and something I'm really passionate about. But I have other interests too. You know, I love, you know, I love to have fun. I love to dance. I love to, you know, make songs, whatever, if that comes or if it doesn't. I just, I'm just want to have fun, you know.

And I really want to inspire people to number one be themselves. And like you could. God bless. Thank you. We need a man that comes out of the Bachelor franchise that inspires other people to be themselves because I am so sick of these men on Instagram. You got, yeah, everybody lives in a space where they, you feel like you have to be somebody. It's like, no, dude, if you want to, if you want to dance, go do it. If you want to make a song, go do it. And two, I also, a big part of me is like, you could have faith and still be cool. Like, you don't have to be uptight.

You don't got to be, you know what I'm saying? You could be lit. Stop pretending to be somebody you aren't. I'm so sick of people not living in authentic life because of Instagram. I'm sorry, that works on the numbers for you. but like do you rest your head at night and be like I'm being true to myself you've got to be true to yourself and then too all all that stuff runs out you know the clicks the views it it goes away so if you're not living if you're not being yourself then you're just not you're not going to be

happy and then you're not going to meet people that are real you're going to be people that are with you because of what you present yourself to do i've learned this in hard ways in other ways but the that saying of that you're the sum of the five people that you surround yourself with is so freaking true and I just want to be with my people who make me feel like I can be exactly who I am with no judgment and like I get the internet thing and I'm guilty of it I'll play into it I love it I love entertaining I love it I absolutely it's why I do what I do but I still can do it by being me you and you know something too what you've done like that's your dope because you inspire people by being yourself there's there's women out there that look at you even men

that look at you're like yo that's dope like she she inspires me to do something and be myself and you know loosen up a little bit so you know I always want to have some I'm the same way yeah I'm the same way as you where I just really want to encourage people to like live a life that's true themselves I'll never forget when I interviewed someone who interviewed people on their deathbeds and every single person 90% of people said I wish I didn't live a life for somebody else I wish I lived a life that was true to me and we all are witnessing a time glitch in the matrix of something is where time is passing so fast. And don't you want to just be in a place where you're like, I did it?

I lived the way I wanted to live and I didn't do it for anybody else but me. Because you don't want to look back and be like, damn, I wish I would have did this or, you know, I look back and like, I did that. I did that. I did that. That's a slogan right there. I did that. I'm in my new podcast studio.

I always say on a podcast, I always like, put that on a t-shirt. So I want to have a wall where I say, put that on a t-shirt. And then I have a frame of everything I say, just, most. motivational quotes. Okay, we're going to end on a fun note. I make everybody do a confession on this podcast and something embarrassing, something that a moment that you're like, I need to get this off my chest, something cringeworthy, whatever it is that you need to confess to us right now. All right. So I have a story, right? So when I was younger, we were playing hide and go see. And there was a space between the wall and the bed frame. And I hid behind a bed frame.

And there was like 15 of us. And everybody decided to come. find me. So they found me and I was hiding behind a bed frame and they scared me. And when they scared me, I breathed and snot came out of my night. Oh no. It was like hanging down my mouth. No. And, you know, the girl I liked was there. And she was there and, you know, I can never live that down. Well, you can live it down because she's probably watching you now being like, she don't remember to snot now. She was like, I seen that guy's snot. But that was embarrassing, you know. That is embarrassing. I'm sorry that happened to. I'm sorry it happened to. It's actually not that bad.

Oh, yeah. I've, I... It's like, you don't have you don't wear it? Yes. Listen, that was embarrassing for me. It was like... Well, it's something that stuck with you where you're like, I see... It's like one of those things where you're like falling asleep at night.

You're like, ah, and then you're like, oh, no, no, oh my gosh. Before we go, this has been really fun, by the way. I hope you enjoyed yourself. I had a lot fun. I need like a teaser that's like 10 out of 10 being like... If you're comfortable with it, I don't ever want to be like, do it for the click, babe.

Let me get the clicks. I mean like something that you're like, every season has something crazy. What was your crazy? Yeah, so what I will say is towards the end of the season, the ladies were so great. The final two were both amazing women.

I had a really hard time at the end. Finding out, getting down to that last moment with Jesse, and he's like, you need to make a decision. It was something that was hard for me because I didn't want to let somebody down. I kept both. Can we do the first throttle? That's the teaser right there.

No, but I had a really difficult time. You know, it was hard because that disappointment and letting somebody down. So y'all got to tune in and see what happens at the end. Yeah. I mean, it's such a life-altering decision that you have to make for yourself, but to do that at the cost of somebody's emotions.

Yeah. But you always know that person's going to be okay. Yeah, they're going to be like, Grant Who, like, what? Like, life goes on, you know. Yeah, that's really. exciting. Well, tell everybody where they can find you, and Mondays on ABC Hulu. Tell us all the deeds. Y'all, tune into The Bachelor. Am I talking right here today? Yeah, say it right to the camera. You, right there. Tune into The Bachelor, 8-7 Central on ABC and stream the next day on Hulu. Don't miss it.

I'm going to come for you. You can't miss it. It's all right. Everybody's on Hulu the next day. There's no excuses anymore. Subscribe to Hulu. And where, Instagram? My Instagram is Grant Ellis underscore. And download your song. And download my song, Party Girls. That's awesome. I love it. Well, thank you so much for being here. Thank you. I had fun.

I had so much fun. Teamwork. Teamwork with red wine. I love it. I'm Caitlin Bristow. I'll see you next Tuesday. See you next Tuesday. Thank you.