The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Almost Famous Adventures: Bob Guiney and Andrew Firestone Take Over

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

OG Bachelors Bob Guiney and Andrew Firestone are hanging out in Pebble Beach and catching up on life, love and The Bachelor.   Hear their expert opinions on the future of the franchise and why people love The Bachelor after all these years!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. 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. Hi, my name is Enya Humanzor. 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. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in.

That means more juicy cheesement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season. Oh. Well, this season we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie,

and you're not going to want to miss it. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. Get in here. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult.

But it happens all the time to people just like you. And people just like us. I'm Lola Blanc. And I'm Megan Elizabeth. We're the host of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology of belief. Each week we talk to fellow survivors,

former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out. Trust me, new episodes every Wednesday on exactly right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. Almost Famous, the OG podcast. We are coming to you right now from Carmel by the Sea.

And it is the third or fourth annual almost famous golf outing, starring and featuring Ben Higgins. Ben is not here. Ben is too busy having children. He's in the midst of... That's the byproduct of love, right? It is, it is. The byproduct of The Bachelor.

He and Jess, amen, right? That's what this whole show shoots for. So he's getting ready to deliver any day. He and Jess are getting ready to deliver any day. He's very, very excited about it. But I, thankfully, am joined by, in my opinion, the greatest Bachelor of the franchise has ever known, my main man, Andrew Firestone.

It is good to be here with you, Bob. Great to be here to you, Bob. And back again in Carmel, this is actually my old stomping grounds. I went to high school right down the road from here. So this is like old home week for me. I will say this. So last year we got to walk the course a little bit together. And walking the course with you is like nothing I've ever experienced in my life.

And, you know, it's just you have this way of delivering things that are just like mind blowing. And you're like, oh yeah. Well, you know, my grandpa used to own those two houses right there. So I spent a lot of time around across the street and playing. I was like, we're walking Pebble Beach. Like, this is amazing. And, I mean, having that kind of upbringing in this beautiful town and beautiful surroundings, you had to just be...

Did you realize how lucky you were at that age? Oh, absolutely. I mean, probably not really. I mean, hindsight, you know, definitely clarifies things. But Carmel is such an amazing little, you know, town, city right on the water. You know, host to the AT&T, which is coming up here this weekend. But it's such a great backdrop to have... a reunion and to be here with you and Amy, you know, that has gotten us together here.

I mean, this is your third or fourth. I've been coming here for 15 years. I guess you never getting invited or what happened? Yeah, no, no, thank you. Yeah, I, when I said third and fourth, I didn't realize there were that many without me. Oh, we're here all the time. We go out of all the time. We're always. We're always here. Yeah. No, you know, I think this is my, my third annual. The first year, I remember you, you guys called me and I was in Mexico with my family and I was so, I had such foam. You were here for, that was the best, one that that makes perfect sense you a little bit that makes perfect sense yeah and then harrison was here with us last year as well um of course ben um what i do remember uh you know

pretty vividly of my first year here was i was um the youngest or i'm sorry the oldest person here um in fact i remember being i was with like caylin and dean blake and g andena and like so and but i was like wow okay so i was clearly the you know they brought me here to chaperone. They should need someone to drive. They wasn't going to buy beer. Who can buy beer for the party? And I'm like, I guess that's me. This year, however, completely opposite. We are, you and I are the spring chickens. And we are bringing it up with the golden after dark party patrol. Which I think is such a great evolution for, you know, the series and the, in the, the whole, like, I don't know, the bachelor family to, to open it up. And I'm actually, I'm actually

really excited to get to know some of these people that I've seen on TV and you read about them, but to go and spend a little bit of time with them, you know, when they're, you know, kind of the guard is down is when you actually learn the most about it. Honest it is. That's why we're going to be feeding them cocktails tonight. We have already talked about. We've got a little game plan. Yep. Yep. There is a tequila luge that's a quarter mile long. So we'll see what happens here. We're just going to keep a steady pour going. You know, and, but yeah, I've gotten to meet a couple of them, not all of them. Met Joan and Chalk. You know, Joan, of course, was a golden bachelorette. And then Chalk,

was the man left standing at the end there. He is a super cool guy. He and Joan just seemed like they fit. It's kind of like the whole Tristan and Ryan thing. You look at these two people. You're like, oh, yeah, they make perfect sense, right? And Joan and Chalk are like that. And I agree with you, though.

There's a great evolution of the franchise that needed to get back off the skids. Because there was a while there where I kind of quit watching. Really? I did because I wanted to know enough about it when someone would ask me. But I was also like, man, I just don't want to see people fighting. I still, you know, it just doesn't do it. No, I think, and that's what I think has always been the, like, the magic of the bachelor's is always like the desire to see somebody end up happy.

I mean, there's always going to be tears. There's always going to be those moments that someone's heartbroken, but that's not, that's, it's a part of it, but I think the reason that it's, that it's always had its magic is because everyone's rooting for a happy ending. Right. And whether that's to a first love or it might be later on in life, like, no matter what it is you're always rooting for love. And I think that's why Bachelor Nation is so strong. I think that's why people follow the show religiously because everyone has the same kind of commonality,

which is like you want to see it turn out well. You're not hoping for someone to fail. Like a lot of reality shows like American Idol or whatever else. The most popular shows were always centered around the biggest failures, the biggest flops. And I always had this like pain. I'm like, I don't want to see somebody embarrass themselves. And I don't want to see somebody laugh at somebody that's doing what they want to do or believe they can do and then get laughed at and that's the punchline of the show. I want the, not the punchline of the show,

I want like the climax of the show to be like, oh, look it, they're happy. Right. And that's, and the show has had a lot of those success stories over the years. I mean, not as many as I'm sure they hoped for in the beginning, you know, but people tried. But in that, I think there is this unrealistic expectation that every relationship is going to end

with that marriage and the babies and the happily ever after like the ryan and the trista and whatever else i mean you can speak from experience i can speak from experience i don't think that my my um you know that my experience in the bachelor was a failure because i you know didn't have that happily ever after i thought it was an amazing experience and i learned so much about myself i think it made me a better person i think i was able to ask myself a lot of questions about what i wanted in life and it just was answered with a different person but the questions were the were the same, and what I got out of it, I think, shaped me at least a little bit for the person. No, I think it's great that you say that, because I totally agree with you. I mean,

we were both at pivotal times in our life. You know, I mean, do you think we were like at a different time, though? It was a little more of a kinder, gentler, I think, environment around the show, like people, you know, were still, you know, chirping at you and everything else, but social media didn't exist, so we didn't have a lot of negative pressures coming from random people that didn't know us, you know, and there was that kind of stuff that wasn't making us feel bad about ourselves and things. But I think it's still experimental. I guess that's the best way when people have asked me about it when I was on it was experimental. Like nobody quite knew how it was going to end. And so everybody was kind of hoping for the best, cautious for the worst,

but there was this like optimism around it. And not only with people that were on the show participants or whatever you want to call them, but I think for the outcome for people, people watching it was just like enthusiasm for like this is what could happen and I hope it does yeah my boyfriend's professor is way too friendly and now I'm seriously suspicious oh wait a minute Sam maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit well Dakota it's back to school week on the okay story time 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 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 And 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. Hi, my name is Enya Emanzor. 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 Eye Heart radio app, search emergency intercom, and listen now. Hi, I'm Janica Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcover podcast, I'm taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection.

Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? I wanted to be successful on my own, not just because of who my mom is. Like, I felt like I needed to be better or work twice as hard as she did. Join me for conversations about healing and growth. Life is freaking hard. And growth doesn't happen in comfort.

It happens in motion, even when you're hurting. All from one of my favorite spaces, The Kitchen. Honestly, these are going to come out so freaking amazing. Be a part of my new chapter and listen to the new season of the Overcomfit podcast as part of the MyCultura podcast network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance, bro, tell you how to manage your money again. Welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now. When you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would start shopping for a debt consolidation loan, starting with your local credit union, shopping around online, looking for. for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge.

It is so expensive in these streets. I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt when it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. For more judgment-free money advice, listen to Brown Ambition on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

I remember rooting for you guys so much, and then obviously when you didn't work out, and you and Ivana got together, I was like, oh, my God. Then I was really rooting for you because I had had a chance to meet her at something and thought she was lovely. And then I met you, of course, already.

And I didn't even know you guys were together at first. And then I was like, oh, my, wait, I know her. I was like, this is amazing. How do you know her? Oh, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Another episode. Yeah, yeah, that's another show entirely.

No, but it was one of those things where, you know, I think that I remember, like, meeting up with the two of you. We went out to dinner when I was in L.A. with Warren, and we went out to dinner and just had a great time. And I'm like, I love this whole thing. Like, it was, I think the show's gotten back to that. I think the golden, I don't even know what you call it, the golden era. Era, it's called the Era. Golden Era. I like it. The Golden Era of the show.

I think it's gotten us back to that. It's like a feel-good show again. people are wanting to get along. Like, I remember being on Trista season of The Bachelorette, which was a unique experience too, loving the guys I was on the show with. Absolutely loving them.

I think we were a little worried that you loved them too much? Yeah, I did. There's a whole other kind of conversation we could have about whether you were there for Trista or every other dude on the show. My buddies, yeah, I was there for the buddy.

I do remember Trista coming home one night and I had not gone on a date with her that day. She comes home. Did you say no? I didn't turn her down. I didn't. I was like, you know, I'd rather stay here with the boys. Now, I was, I didn't get invited on this one.

And she came back and the house is a mess. And people are falling apart, you know, drunk. She's like, why is it when I go on a date when you're on it? I come home, everyone's reading the Bible. I go on a date with you not on it. I come home to a frat pop. And I'm like, well, what am I supposed to cry? These are my 15 new best friends, you know.

But yeah, it was such an awesome experience. and it kind of informed me when I was The Bachelor. I wanted it to be, you know, the way your show had been and the way that Trista's show had been, where it seemed like everyone actually got along and liked each other. And I was like, I need that. You know, I don't want it to go down a path I can't manage. But there's inevitable part of, I think,

the viewership that wants to see behind the curtain of the locker room, you know, whether that the sorority house or the locker room, they want to see kind of what, you know, what happens when, you know, that person isn't they, and that group of guys or that group of women are, you know, are kind of backbiting and positioning. And so that's kind of a necessary part of this to be able to put the whole story together. Yeah. And also to be able to measure the authenticity of all the participants as well.

That's true. Yeah, you start realizing, you know, and I mean, it's such an overused cliche term and it drives me crazy that, you know, who's there for the right reasons type of things. And people would always say, you know, what are the right reasons for going on a dating game show? I'm like, it's a really good question. I don't know what they are. But you start realizing which people are actually there for that person and which people are there to kind of springboard themselves. So, all right.

Well, anyway, we're here this week. What are you hoping to get out of this whole thing? I mean, you drove a long way. You've had a lot going on. You gave up a lot of your time with your family to be here. Obviously, I think it's to play golf with me. Yeah, it's to play golf with you. So my wife was supposed to be here with us this weekend, or this week.

She got a job. She's been modeling. So she booked a job so it couldn't be here. and I remember I was very anxious on Saturday or Sunday and I called you and I was like Bob I got a deal closing this week Ivana's not going to be there you know and like it's funny how like daily life can get you so sideways and blind to like you just focus on what's just right in front of you and you just kind of call me down you're like we're gonna go play golf we're gonna have some nice dinners we're gonna we're gonna hang out with like this cool group of people Amy's putting this whole thing together and I was like wait what am I'm like yes of course like And these core memories that I've had over the last couple of years of this particular event are so important to me. And so, yeah, I did high tail it from Santa Barbara, shot up the 101, probably a little quicker than I should have. I may have had a couple of quick breaks on the side of the freeway before I got here.

But I'm excited to go and kind of reconnect with my experience 21 years ago, something like that, to be able to hear something. somebody else's perspective of it. And a perspective that I really haven't heard, which is this old, this other generation that's also having this same experience. I mean, the butterflies that you get when you see somebody. The nervousness that you come out of the limo, like all these things. I don't care if you're, you know, 21 or 81, that feeling doesn't change. It's a different perspective, but that feeling doesn't change. And you're vulnerable, you're optimistic, you're hopeful, all these things. And so I'm, I'm interested. to get an account of what these people have gone through in their perspective.

And I think it's going to shape my opinion and my perspective, my own experience. Sure. Oh, no, I love that. I think that's a great attitude to have in this. And I will tell you this, the one thing I've really loved about getting to know the golden era people is that they didn't have an agenda other than, what the hell? Right. You know, it was really the truth.

They're just like, oh, what the hell? You know, they've all gone through some stuff, and they've all. landed here for different reasons, but they're just kind of like, you know, why wouldn't I do it? So my real question is this, is someone that has obviously had life experience isn't quite as, you know, kind of like, you know, doughy-eyed about the world and has experience. Are they more optimistic about this or are they more pessimistic about this? You know, like going into it, what was it? Were jaded? Yeah. Are they going in because, oh, it's just, you know, whatever, it's something, you know, fun to talk about or was it like no this you know this could have a real

outcome that would be interesting whether it's they have the happily ever after or otherwise but what is what are you know going into it what was their perspective what was their anticipation and and still I'm just curious what were the what were the anxieties of it yeah oh I'm sure yeah and I know a lot of them had them because especially I think the guys the women you'll find the women a few of them in particular are just they're just just let's go, you know, they're going to roll. The guys, I think, are what I've found anyways, to be a little bit more, you know, not all of them, but to be a little bit more withdrawn, I guess, a little bit more holding back.

So, yeah, well, I'm excited to do this with you, buddy. This is our first time hosting this thing together. This is my first time hosting anything. Like, I don't know what's with his microphone. It smells wonderful. That's actually not true. I have seen you do live auctions with absolute brilliance. I've seen you do a lot of stuff.

And that stuff I cannot do. I don't know how you do it. I mean, man, alive, but you do such a great job. You raise so much money for different charities with it. And, you know, so I'm honored to have you here, my friend. All right. Let's have a great weekend. Let's get this whole party started.

I hope there's a great editing team. It's going to get us through this. It would be a lot of cussing, a lot of bad jokes. Please make me sound wonderful. They can do this. They do this with me every week. All right, Bob Giddy and Andrew Firestone for Almost Famous, the OG's Pebble Beach. 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. on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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 IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA. Right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. On the new podcast, America's Crime Lab, every case has a story to tell. And the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught.

And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology is already solving so many cases. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement. Terrible love advice.

Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season. Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya.

Get in here. Listen to the Super Secret Festi Club on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.