The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - A Hidden Gem with Natasha Parker

Episode Date: September 6, 2024

Our Bachelor Nation OG Bob Guiney is hanging out with Natasha Parker from Peter Weber’s season and uncovering some wild secrets from Bachelor past! Bob shares some Oprah-level advice that could change your life, and Natasha takes us behind the scenes of her honest and raw conversation with Rachel Lindsay!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. I was diagnosed with cancer on Friday and cancer free the next Friday. No chemo, no radiation, none of that. On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us podcast, I sat down with Warren Campbell, Grammy-winning producer, pastor, and music executive to talk about the beats, the business, and the legacy behind some of the biggest names in gospel, R&B, and hip-hop. Professionally, I started at Deadwell Records. From Mary Mary to Jennifer Hudson, we get into the soul of the music and the purpose that drives it. Listen to Culture raises us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday, I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen. Listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips.

And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness. Psychobabble Yes, yes

Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you Open your free IHeartRadio app Search Emergency Intercom And listen now Why are TSA rules so confusing You gotta hood of you on take it all I'm Mani I'm Noah

This is Devin And we're best friends and journalists With a new podcast called No Such Thing Where we get to the bottom Of questions like that Why are you screaming I can't expect what to do

Now if the rule was the same Go off on me I deserve it you know lock him up listen to no such thing on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcast no such thing this is the almost famous podcast with iheart radio almost famous to oge's bob guinea here without my lovely co-host trista sutter nay ren however i have another beautiful person with me today natasha thank you for joining us natasha parker how are you i'm so good thank you for having me thank you for being here

And you have your golf chic on for today's Almost Famous, incredibly average something. Not entirely sure what the name of this thing is, but the almost famous, what is it called? The almost famous average, average, almost average. Famously average, almost average golf day. So that's what we're doing here today. So Natasha, our viewers and listeners will know you from, of course, from Peter Weber's season of the bachelor and then you went on the bachelor in paradise not too long after that so i want to talk to you about a little bit of that and then i want to get into what you're up to you right now which

i know the hidden gems and um i watched a couple episodes the other day and so you got myself you know into the zone so i knew who you were last night and you're like hi i'm natasha yeah yeah i know um but so you went on peter's season and this this was um several years ago for you now right i mean how many years ago was that five pre-pandemic 2019 okay so yeah five years yep so you go on is 2019, do you know that Peter's going to be The Bachelor before you go? No. So what has you even motivated to submit your information for a show with this? Well, a friend of mine, Julie LaPocca, who was a producer on the show, is the whole reason why I went on that show.

Okay. And we love her for it. And we hate her for it. Yeah, yeah. It's a love hate thing now, right? Yeah, exactly. She actually was like, she really wanted me to go on the season before that, which was Colton's season. And she really was trying to push, but I was working in my corporate job.

I was like, girl, I can't quit my job to go on this show. But I just so happened, life happened. I quit my job to go freelance anyway. And she was like, well, you're between gigs right now. You should really just, I've spent a, she said she spent three months with The Bachelor and you'd really like him. This is one of my best friends. And I'm like, she's like, the best thing that could happen is you'll never have to date again.

The worst thing that will happen is you have an experience. And I was like, never having to date again. Great. Sign me. Or a good experience too and not bad, right? Or at least an experience. Exactly. And experience, yeah, yeah.

And so I was like, sure, so she sent an email. I had to send her, like, thousands of pictures in, like, a bio that took me forever to write myself. And then I didn't hear anything for months. And then one person called from casting, then another person, another person. I don't know if someone just, like, if they backed out or what happened. But apparently, they were supposed to be 36 people for our season and it ended up being 33. And I was, like, a very last edition. Okay.

So much so they started calling Labor Day, and we left like on the 16th or something. So it was like two weeks. My experience was pretty similar for Trista's season when I was on her season of The Bachelorette. I was a last minute person. But it was so funny because I didn't send in anything. So how did they get in contact with you? They went through my assistants at my office, and they just flew me outside unseen to meet them. That's a different story.

I'll tell you later. Yeah. Yeah. This is about you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. But I think that's so exciting because, you know, sometimes that last minute thing, you don't really have time to second guess it. You're just like, oh, what the hell? Here we go. Yeah. And that's honestly, that's so me. And there's so many times in my life where I was just like, let's go or let's do it. And I've had like the best nights or the best trips just like booking it on a whim. So I was like, why not, you know? Yeah. Sometimes I think when you put too much into it in your head, you might even ruin it.

Yeah, you talk yourself out of it, for sure. And now I read something the other day that said at the time you were an event planner, but you also had a bunch of production experience too. So did you feel like, you know, that kind of production experience helped you going into the situation where you're like, okay, I'm clearly being produced in this moment. No. No? No.

Well, the thing is I didn't watch the show. And it's funny that a lot of people say that all the time. And the producers even said that. There's a clip in the very first episode where the first impression rose comes out. And everyone's like, oh. And I'm like, the what? Like, I literally did not, I did not watch this show. I watched the limo entrances the very first night, like, like while I was packing to go.

That was the only thing that I did because my friends were like, you have to watch that at least and know what you're going to do. Yeah, yeah. But so I literally didn't watch. And, you know, I come from a film and like scripted television background. So it's actors. It's like sitting and interviewing Robert De Niro. You know what I mean? Yeah, exactly.

Exactly. So it's very much a different thing when it's like your actual real life. So it was funny because that was a theme on our season. They were like afterwards on Reddit. Natasha's a producer plant. She worked in production. I was like, I wish I knew what was going on, honey. I wish. I didn't know.

My head was on a swivel. Let me tell you. Oh, I'm sure. Well, then you go on and you meet, you know, a bunch of people who I know you have really great friendships with still to this day, a lot of the girls on the show. And then, you know, you were in here earlier and we were talking about something else, which was, of course, at the end of Peter's season, there was a lot of drama, right?

Drama from his mama as well. Mama Barb. Were you, like, so happy that you weren't involved in that at that moment? Oh. It was kind of dicey. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. But, I mean, I, it was very clear that watching it, like, watching it back,

and then also remembering the conversations that we had, but then also watching how the end happened. It was like, Peter does not know what he wants. And, you know, as a mom, how do you think that about your kid, right? So I was, it's a hard situation because obviously she's like, he can do no wrong in her eyes, which I get, I mean, I don't have any kids, but I feel like I probably feel the same way. Your mom probably feels. Yeah. But does your, but does your wife feel that way?

No, yes, yes, she does. She's pretty much a realist, but I will say this. At that, once we're at that stage, I'm hopeful we can both see through the clouds, but, yeah. No, I think, you're right too. You know, I think a lot of times. I'm so glad I wasn't in that. Right now. And I think a lot of times those bachelors get to that point. And it's like if you've already, if you're dead set on one person, then that's one version. Right. But if you're still not knowing which direction you're going to go, you can be kind of pulled in a bunch of different directions. And that's obviously I think where Peter was, right? You kind of went through a few of those things. So I mean, in that way, I think you probably dodged a bullet. I'm sure he's a very nice guy. Right. You kind of got out of the way of something there. Yeah. Yeah. It's so funny how many people say that. And I'm like, oh, poor Peter. I mean, he is a really, really nice person. person, but not someone that I should have dated.

Right. There you go. Right? And so you did get to learn from your experience. Oh, yeah. And did that kind of fine tune you for what you were looking for, relationship-wise, after the show? Well, I definitely think this experience and going on the show,

and I've talked about this on my podcast, too, it's such a social experiment. It is. And, like, you learn so much about yourself because you're talking about your feelings all day. And, like, why? You can't express this, but you can. actress and actually Serena Pitt was on my podcast not too long ago and we were talking about how like someone like her is very kind of closed in real life but she really thrives on the show and how I am someone who's very open in real life but then I like closed down in the show you know so it definitely you know I wouldn't think that I would be like that and she was like I wouldn't think that you would be like that either so you definitely learn so much about yourself going on the show and yeah in dating like I also was like a lot of the guys that that I've dated in real life would not go on this show

or it would be one of those situations where, you know, they're plucked out of, you know, there's... Security. Exactly, exactly, exactly. So it's definitely an eye-opening experience, for sure. And you do, and there's, I mean, I've become so much more vocal in relationships.

You know, I feel like I had such an anxious attachment style before going on the show. And I really had to work on that after and, like, my therapist and all things. I was going to say, sounds like you done some self-work. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.

Had to. But, yeah, so the reflection is, like, invaluable, you know. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Well, wait a minute, Sam, maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has 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.

Now hold up, isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. It's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not?

To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebeney and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. On Pretty Private, we'll explore the untold experiences of women of color who faced it all, childhood trauma, addiction, abuse, incarceration, grief, mental health struggles, and more. and found the shrimp to make it to the other side. My dad was shot and killed in his house. Yes, he was a drug dealer. Yes, he was a confidential informant,

but he wasn't shot on a street corner. He wasn't shot in the middle of a drug deal. He was shot in his house, unarmed. Pretty Private isn't just a podcast. It's your personal guide for turning storylines into lifelines. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network. Tune in on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes.

Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Imagine that you're on an airplane and all of a sudden you hear this. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency and we need someone, anyone to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control.

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Listen wherever you get your podcasts. What was it like for you, too, like, you know, you go into a circumstance like that. Your previous experience had been behind the camera, right? And so now you go on that show and all of a sudden you have all these people armchair quarterbacking, how you act, right? So they're, they're chiming in on social media and things. Was that tough for you? even though you had a lot of people who obviously loved you and thought you were wonderful and everything.

But for me, the hardest part was, and this is even before social media, to date me even more. But I remember someone would say a million nice things about me and it wouldn't even register, but one mean thing, and that would stick with me for days. Yes. And did you experience a little bit of that too? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I mean, it's like inhuman, right?

To hear not, I mean, with social media, it's like it's one thing to see a headline and see someone write something salacious about you like on a headline right and it's another thing and you know like okay they're doing that for clicks and you get it yeah but then you're like uh you know Susie 2022 who like has a family and like a baby and like you know what I mean like she's going to be a nice person yeah I'm like she looks so sweet and she's like you're like oh my god yeah yeah so it definitely was really hard and like I was like a clap backer when I first got off. I was like, oh, what? Yeah, here we go. Yeah, I was like, I was back and like trying to defend myself for, like, people on my season and things like that. And then you realize, like,

these people don't know you. They see what they see or hit a note for two seconds from what they see on the show. And you can't feed into it, you know. Yeah. So when I, when I first came off the Bachelor stuff, I did a lot with Oprah at the time. And Oprah said the greatest thing to me that I, and I've remembered this for years. And then you should remember it too. And if you're ever, asked this advice for someone pass it along um Oprah always said she's like you know everyone out there is watching you live your life and you're and they're commenting on how you're living your life yeah but they don't know you they don't know anything about your life except what they see on TV exactly so their reaction is going to be based on such a finite moment of you and it could be a

very edited as we all know yeah moment where you react to something that maybe you didn't even do that in the moment yes um it took it really to heart and it helped me a lot because I was I was going through because I'm such a people pleaser. I always want everyone to like me. And it was so hard for me to hear people say negative things. And so it really helped me. So just food for thought. Yes. Well, I will say that Joe, grocery store Joe, one of my good friends, he gave me some of the best advice that I ever had from paradise after paradise, because I had a hard time after paradise. But he said, you know, you can't feed into the good

comments and you also can't feed into the bad comments. Because when you feed into the good comments, you will feel also the bad comments. So you just have to, like, really hunker down and, like, the people who know you in real life and care about you in real life, those are the people who's, yeah, exactly. Those are the opinions. Exactly. And that was, and that really stuck with me because I was like, he's so right. Because you can be riding a wave. One episode, everyone's like, yeah, woohoo, Natasha. And the other episode, they're like, what? What's wrong with you? Well, especially on that shit, I feel like they really kind of. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. But yeah, I always say I'm not as great as people think I am. I'm not as terrible as they think I am.

Exactly. You'll figure it out. Exactly. But I want to talk real quickly before we let you go about hidden gems, about your podcast. I mean, you talk about production value. You can tell your history. That thing looks good. Thank you.

Always has great lighting. Thank you. But you actually had, you had Rachel, the bachelor at Rachel on your season right after she kind of announced her separation, you know, from her husband. Yes. And you could tell that the two of you really clicked because I have always liked her. And I think that she was, you know, really, she's always kind of been an open book to a certain degree. But with you, I felt like she really kind of opened up. And that's one of the videos I watched the other day.

And I was like, I want to make sure I bring that up. Because I wondered, you know, did you feel like from your interview with her in that moment? Like, does she feel good about where she's at? Did you feel good about the interview you had with her? And being a woman who's, you know, gone through public breakups and you know how difficult it can be. You know, were you hearing good stuff? And, you know, how was that for you? I, well, so before we started the podcast, because Rachel and I are good friends, and she is someone from Bachelor Nation who, the moment I went on the show, she reached out and was like, hey, if you ever need any advice, if you need this, if you need that, like very great. And we just continue to develop our friendship. And, you know, she's not, she wasn't ready to talk all the way through because obviously she's still fully going through this divorce, right? Yeah, she's in the middle of it now. Yeah, exactly. She's in the middle of it. But I told her, you know, this is our safe space. We are, we will edit anything that we need to.

to edit in, out whatever. You know what I mean? Like, and if you want to go there and we talk about it, we definitely can. And if you don't, then we don't because you're so great. You have so many other accomplishments. You have so much stuff going on. This divorce should not define you, you know? And obviously it's something that she was going through and heavy on her heart.

And the whole podcast is about being stuck and getting unstuck. And she was like, this is a very stuck moment in my life. So she wanted to talk about it, you know? So I just, I, I look at her, I talk to her, I check on her all the time. And, you know, obviously it's not easy what she's going through. But she's handling it so well. Yeah. She really is.

Right? You're just providing that support network. Yeah. Here if you want to talk. If you don't, I'm still here. Exactly. Exactly. And that was the thing.

And it's like, you know, I really am excited for her when it is, when she can get to a resolution and she does want to share her story in whatever way she wants to. because it's kind of, there's, you know, obviously there's a lot that she did not say. Sure. You know what I mean? Yeah. And it's just the way that she is still like showing up, she'll call me and be like, hey. And I'm just like, oh, girl, you're dealing with this so well.

You know? I'm like, I just saw this like video that this man just posted and all this craziness and like, you know, the... I hope she's wearing blinders right now, too. You know, it's almost like you have to in those moments. Yeah. And she's staying close to the people who really care for her. And I think that that's like the best thing. that you know someone can do and she was you know she just went home and visited her family and things like that so really that interview i've obviously you know we've been talking about her

coming on the podcast for the long as she was also a big champion for me to start my own podcast too um and it just so happened when she announced her divorce and all that was going on so we did talk about it and i mean you know everyone picked it up and all the because she could be helpful and i mean i'm sure she did that on purpose too yeah yeah she doesn't strike me as someone who just randomly does this. No. And she also is so, and she also said, you know, she's, Rachel is like so smart and she's so great. And she also was just like, why would I want to talk to anyone else? You know, but my friend who I know was going to have my back. And I'm like 100 percent, you know. Well, you could tell you guys had a great friendship. It was a great conversation

and a great pod, as I believe we say in this industry. I don't really know. But I enjoyed it. And I wish you continued success on it. I hope it keeps going great for you. Thank you. I hope you play good golf today. Oh, yeah. Because you look wonderful. You look the part. Thank you. It's supposed to be a tough course.

If you need any help out there, don't ask me, ask Ben. He's much better than me. Yeah, I'm going for the hole in one today. No, there you go. Hopefully we'll win a car or something. Maybe we got a prize. I mean, this is a golf tournament. Yeah.

So Natasha Parker, thank you so much for joining us on Almost Famous The OGs. I appreciate it. And I look forward to talk with you again soon. Thank you so much. You're welcome. 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 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. Culture eats strategy for breakfast, right? On a recent episode of Culture Raises Us,

I was joined by Belisha Butterfield, media founder, political strategist, and tech powerhouse for a powerful conversation on storytelling, impact, and the intersections of culture and leadership. I am a free black woman. From the Obama White House to Google to the Grammys, Valicia's journey is a master class in shifting culture

and using your voice to spark change. Listen to Culture Raises Us on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts. Welcome to Pretty Private with Ebeney, the podcast where silence is broken and stories are set free. I'm Ebeney, and every Tuesday I'll be sharing all new anonymous stories that would challenge your perceptions and give you new insight on the people around you. Every Tuesday, make sure you listen to Pretty Private from the Black Effect Podcast Network.

Tune in on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to you. to your favorite shows. Why are TSA rules so confusing? You got a hood of you. I'll take it all! I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that.

Why are you screaming? I can't expect what to do. Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me. I deserve it. You know, lock him up. Listen to No Such Thing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. There's no such thing.

Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes.

Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeart Radio app. Search emergency intercom and listen now. This is an IHeart podcast.