The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Almost Famous: In Depth - Arie and Lauren

Episode Date: December 11, 2018

This show is part of a new series called “Almost Famous: In Depth”. Ben and Ashley sit down for an intimate and raw conversation with some of the characters we’ve fallen in love with from The Bachelor. On this first special, they welcome Arie Luyendyk Jr and Lauren Burnham, to see how they’re feeling in the first few months of their engagement, and since finding out they’re becoming parents.   We hear about how they’ve reacted to people doubting their relationship, what they’ve learned while building their life together, and they open up about the new baby they’re expecting.   Tune in for a detailed look at what you didn’t see on TV. This is Almost Famous: In Depth, with Arie & Lauren. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is Ben and Ashley I, almost famous in depth. The candles are burning. Champagne is flowing. And this is the very first episode of Almost Famous in depth. It's kind of a quiet clap because I feel like this is a more intimate, more romantic like scene. I feel like it's like inside the actor's studio, The Bachelor. Kind of is.

So for anybody out there that's listening to this, this is a project that Ashley and I are really excited about. we have our first guests, which I'll introduce here in a second. We wanted to bring them on first because they're special to us. They've been on the almost famous podcast multiple times. But Ashley and I, I think, saw a problem, saw an issue. And so after the show, a lot of the couples that are together, a lot of the leads or maybe higher profile contestants, they just kind of disappear.

And we lose track of where they're at in life. And you see magazines or you see random articles written about, you know, bachelor where are they now but you don't really get to hear from them and hear their voice and this podcast will be a special podcast really just allowing the space for some of our favorite people in bachelor nation to speak openly about where they're at what they're doing the pains and the struggles and also the joys and the successes that have come from being on this franchise so this is how it's going to work i'm going to talk to our guests uh in depth that's just going to join in uh when she has a, what she calls a burning question that she feels like she really wants to highlight

and dig into. But for the most part, I just want our guests to talk about themselves. Following that, we're going to lighten it up at the very end with some rapid fire questions that Ashley has created to help our contestants spill the beans. And then we're going to say goodbye and let them go. But for this almost famous in-depth special series, we want to get to know the people that we have fallen in love with on this franchise all over. again. And this couple is no exception to a lot of people having very strong feelings, very

strong emotions, and ultimately seeing their love story unfold in front of us. Ari and Lauren, welcome to the almost famous in-death podcast. Hi, guys. Thanks for having us. You know, it's no secret your love story. Bachelor nation got to see it play out as every guest that we'll have on this podcast. But for you all, you now sit here, right? Holding hands, smiling. There's a glow about you guys. The love has not faded. Is that true? No, that's true. So I want to start at the beginning though, because I know that, you know, coming off the show and we were getting to talk about it a little bit before we sat down, you know, people watch this story play out on television. They feel like they've seen the full story. And maybe they have and maybe they haven't. But for you guys,

your story was controversial. I don't think there's any secret to that. But it's led to something really, really great. And so I want to hear from you all, starting back in that controversial time, kind of after the show and after we saw it play out, what was that like for you too? Well, I mean, I think it was really difficult for both of us to go through that, but it was easier having each other to lean on. We're obviously not used to having the public kind of scrutinize us like that, but anytime I was having a hard time,

I can lean on him and he could do the same with me. I really enjoy that time because it was the first time that we had been together without anybody else around, you know, during the happy couple weekends. and it was like a really that's what really was the foundation of our relationship I would say I would say the show we knew that we loved each other and we knew that there was something special between us but really the foundation of our relationship started during the happy couple time you know Ari I think back and I remember talking to you a little bit about this but I remember when I was the bachelor and how excited I was to find somebody and and really putting a lot

of trust in a process that I know was going to work or not. And I know for you, it was you were really ready. I kept hearing that as you were filming as, you know, there's one thing Ari really, really cares about is he really wants to find somebody through this process. At any moment, and maybe I'm completely wrong, but I remember how fragile

I felt like a relationship was coming right off the show because of the criticisms and the story. Did you feel like it was an extra level of fragile because of the controversy surrounding, you know, how this all worked out? Or right away, did you both know, know we're in this together we're going to keep going I didn't feel as fragile at all I felt like

it in a way strengthened what we had I don't know I agree totally I think once we were together we're like this is right this feels right and that was it just gave us so much confidence we never felt the sort of outward pressure of the public opinion as a weight on our relationship it almost like pulled us closer together because it was us against everybody you know in a weird mentality digging a little bit more of that i mean Lauren from your perspective you're now dating a guy who was the bachelor who you know many women were flocking over for one time you see this whole thing come out and now it's us versus them mentality i mean how do you switch that or how do you know that you want to back this guy i mean the whole time i was on the show i knew that there was something

different about him that was kind of drawing me to him and i had always dated a different type of guys in the past. So once I got to know him and I gave it a chance, I realized that he was the kind of person that I needed in my life. And knowing that and knowing how strong we are together, it wasn't difficult for me to be confident in us and just make sure that our relationship was like the center of everything at that time because it did feel like people were trying to tear us apart. And when you're in that situation, you can either break and fall apart or you can get stronger and move forward. I remember like Callie Rippa

she wrote something on someone's Instagram she was like someone said I'll give him a hundred days and I screenshot it and we laughed about it because we're like okay we'll retweet this in a hundred days we forgot to do it but it was just like one of those things where like people really don't know your relationship

you know as well as you do obviously we have so much confidence in each other and even at that time there was no doubt so it's just kind of funny to think back on it because obviously watching the show I can see where viewers were confused and they were like oh what is you know what is their relationship it doesn't seem that solid I think it's you know it's hard to watch that show as a bachelor because you do feel like so much is left out and I know everyone says that but it truly feels that way when you watch it

you feel like you know you've read this amazing book and every detail and every moment and then you watch this you know TV version of it that's highlighted the things that didn't jump out to you to begin with. It's you know you're just sort of disappointed when you watch it back

because you're like oh I wish I were shown that and you know that really meant a lot to me I wish that conversation were played out but I understand it's entertainment first and you know our love story I think was something that progressed so late that, you know, to make it interesting

for the viewer, they hit a lot of it so that it was really dramatic at the end and it was a big surprise when really if they showed I think an accurate portrayal throughout the season but I noticed, you know, they edit sort of things,

they start editing at the end and I could tell when I changed my mind and, you know, I ran back to Lauren is about episode three in the season. I could tell a huge shift in the editing because they were like oh okay now the story is about this and then they were just sort of slowly building towards that you watch the season back right arey Lauren you didn't watch the season back at all no we actually watched most of them together oh you did watch it

yeah first one we watched all of them besides the very end yeah okay okay the you know it's it's interesting I remember back and and the only truth I have in all this is my relationship right but I remember how hard it was to be the person chosen because of how the show looks and plays out. And I know how hard that was for the Lauren I was with watching that. And I got it. And there's really nothing I could have done to make it feel any better. I wonder what you guys did during that season if you watched it to make each other feel better. I mean, I really am amazed and I always have been by you guys.

I think I told you this in Mexico that you guys bonded and came together so. so well during a time that felt like if any couple was going to break it was going to be you two because you had so much going against you at one point but then you held it out and now look at you today and it's something to be honored and celebrated and i really want to get to the depth for anybody out to listening going okay how do we make a really tough time and a relationship work very few people are going to go through a stuff of a time than you two did how do you do that there's a lot of communication involved so we've always been extremely open about anything and you have to be understanding in that kind of situation too like i knew going into it he was going to be dating

other girls and that's just a fact so i could i had to be okay with it watching it back and realizing that he had other relationships at the same time so if i if you don't set a different expectation for yourself i feel like it's okay um to watch it back and not be upset about things that he did maybe like when he was talking to other girls or whatever but for us we just have always come to each other and we're super honest if we're feeling a certain way about a situation we would just tell each other we wouldn't hide it um and I think both of us are really intuitive and we know when like I know when Ari's thinking about something or if he needs to say something I'll ask him about it and I'll get it out of him right away yeah I think that's the key is just to let you know

if anything's on your mind you might as well just speak your mind At that moment, because I think a lot of couples sort of, you know, they think, oh, this probably isn't the right time to bring it up. And then it just sort of builds and builds and gets, you know, into something that's way bigger than it should have been. Yeah. We're really good at reading each other and communicating right away. We actually took this funny little personality test when we are. So you know how The Bachelor has a little, what was it called? You know, she has a psychology major, which she doesn't really.

Yeah, the Myers-Brix. Yeah. She doesn't really highlight, but she's very smart. But we, so I took this thing called the Colby A index years ago. We were talking about it during Happy Couple. It basically breaks down your personality between communication. It has four different pillars. Like cleanliness, financial stuff.

What else? It's like more like lifestyle personality testing. Yeah. Yeah, things to understand yourself in a living environment. Right. It's called takes two. And it's really interesting because it actually tells you to be a better partner and tells you the things that you're good at and maybe not so good

at and what and what to be patient with with your partner and so we took that and it was hilarious because our our yeah exactly I want to take this yeah it's really good what's that called again so it's called takes two takes two can you just take it online yeah you take it online and so it was really funny because our personalities are really similar but there are things that are different between us she if she's having um if something's on her mind she needs to to talk about it. She needs to talk through it and that helps her. You know, I'm more calculated. I basically will think about it. And when I say something, it's usually exactly what I mean or what I'm struggling with. Oh my God. That is so me and Jerry. I'm so much like you, Lauren. Yeah. And he uses

every single word to describe like he carefully selects each word. Are you just summed up men and women literally in a 30 second speaker. Exactly. So. So. So now that we know that about each other, it better helped us. So now it was like right away when we first started. Yeah, so we always remember those results we got and we keep that in mind when we have issues. So, I mean, now, if we're going to fast forward a little bit, right? Because, you know, you've talked about the struggles. You've talked about the issues for a while now.

And most of your interviews coming off the show, it was like, how are you going to make this and all the stuff? And that all build up, you've pushed that now behind you, right? Has it at all felt like a whirlwind knowing that, I mean, very soon, you're going to be getting married. I mean, and no matter what, you met on a show. Like, this doesn't happen very often, Ari. Like, bachelors don't make this thing work, right? There's only been one other before you.

I know. I mean, has this felt real now? Does it feel like real life? Are you slowing down? Catch everybody up with kind of the emotions now surrounding this whole thing. Yeah. I mean, now that we've been home for a little bit, I think we've been home for four weeks straight.

When we're at our house, we're hanging out with our dogs. And just running around, going to the grocery store, it feels very normal. It's like, kind of like we forget that we met on a TV show. Okay. So it's just, yeah, there's nothing odd about it to us anymore. And we're just excited about getting married. I wish it was like tomorrow. Oh, no.

Yeah, it's really cool. The planning part was stressful at first, but now we're getting down to, like, the small details. And it's really cool. It's like we're getting, you know, our family is together. And we're obviously have, like, really cool plans that no one knows about during. the whole week when we're in Maui and it's actually fun I think as opposed to doing it on TV and having a plan for you there's something in the planning that makes it both hers and mine you know and I think that's what really does make it cool too because there's a lot of love that's being put into

the planning and I think that's also something that can bring two couples together yeah yeah I agree the one thing I've noticed and as I've been reading a lot and then watch you and been around you what you both do really well I feel like as a couple and a lot of couples don't including you know myself in relationships is you do a lot of understanding and you you compromise often you did it with your house and I want to talk about your house and kind of how you've made it your own for both of you and the wedding and all of that for a second but leading up to that I really want to ask you Lauren because of the compromise and understanding where Ari is coming from what is it about Ari now in this season of life that you most appreciate about him like what is it about Ari that makes you go

this is my husband and I am excited to move on the life with him no pressure Well, there's so many things. Ben asked the hard questions. I know. I'm like, well, if I can only take my heart and put it on this microphone. It's just hard to put it in words, you know? It's going to be awesome. Yeah.

Well, I just, I really do love the way that we interact with each other. And the way, like, I know that I can be a handful sometimes and I can get stressed out and, you know, probably I'm not the most fun person to hang out with all the time. But when I get like that, he knows how to handle me the best way. way, like, over anyone ever has. And I also, I just kind of have to laugh at it because he's so good at it. So if I'm stressed and he comes to me and he's like, hey, you know, just do this one thing. You'll be okay.

And I just am like, wow, he's so right. Like, I feel like he kind of knows me better than I know myself sometimes. So it's just, yeah, I'm just really happy that I found him. I'm going to get emotional, you guys. Oh, I know. Ben asked me crescents. I make me cry too. So feel free.

I mean, Lauren, I mean, I think I'm, listen to you, a lot of people out there, one that they desire to find that person that when you're at your worst they make sure you get to your best and i think that's exactly what when i see you two where it's so exciting for me because i really do think and that's why when we started the podcast how i wanted to kind of approach this was hey how on the world do you make it work in a season of life where it feels like right away the world is coming down on you you know and a lot of people have felt that with a thousand different reasons but you two have kind of rised above you've been the phoenix right and you see here today you're saying this guy right here has gotten to know me better than anybody else and are just to

follow up before I ask you the same thing how have you intentionally gotten to know Lauren and is that has that just came naturally or what is it about her that makes you want to get to know her better I think we always say this in interviews I think we say that we're really similar and I think that's something that has helped us get to know each other so quickly because it doesn't feel like there's a push and pole in our relationship, it feels like everything is just right on the same page. And that's the thing that's really made it so easy. Like, she's my best friend. I love hanging out with her. I hang out with her every minute of every day. And I never get bored of her. And it's just so fun because every day is just something that I can look forward to. I never feel like we need a break. We need

some time apart. I need to go hang out with my buddies. You know, I want to include her in everything because we just feel like we're so similar. I was this weekend this whole thing is never supposed to be about me but I have to explain this to ask the next question I went on my first date

this weekend for the first time at a really really long time and it didn't go well we'll talk about it later but I went to my buddies after it didn't go well and I said

and Ari if you've never been in the season of life please just say no I can't relate with you Ben but I was so excited for this weekend I was anxious and excited for the first time in a long time so that I was super let down

and super bummed out when it didn't go well and my buddy looked at me and he goes you know I'm only 29 years old you know so I think I still have time Ari you got some time at least eight years but my buddy looked at me and said

Ben you know maybe what you should be looking at is not how bummed you are but the fact that you could actually feel excited again and Ari I don't know for you but I know for me, coming off of an engagement and then having a couple, you know, years in between, I have, this is the first time I've, you know, one of two times I felt really excited to hang out with a girl again.

And so for you to sit here and say, yeah, I want to hang out with Lauren. Like, I'm excited to be around her. Was that a new feeling? Was that a common feeling as life continue to progress for you? Or did she just kind of like rock your world in that way? Yeah, I think anytime you're in a relationship, you're like, oh, this is so good.

And then, mm, and you have kind of, a feeling like, but there's a few things that sort of bother me. Let me compromise. You know, and you kind of go, but that sort of weighs on you and it becomes an issue. And I think with her, I've never, I've never had to compromise on my feelings towards her. You know, there's nothing about her that I would change. You know, she is literally the person for me. And so I think that's something that when you find someone like that, things are just easy.

Yeah. Like it's just easy between us. I mean, we have our moments, you know, obviously everyone has, you know, our arguments like she loves, she takes her time to get ready. I'm very on time everywhere. You know, if I'm five minutes later, I freak out. But I know that about myself and I know that she takes her time on things, you know. So it's just adapting a little bit, but it's nothing that will rock the boat, you know. So it's funny you say that about your first, you know, you were obviously engaged, you're on the, you were on The Bachelor.

And I was telling her about this the other day. is that, you know, right after end of the season, I was a runner up, obviously. And I think at that time, I felt like I wanted to be the bachelor. I felt like I was a right for the bachelor. And I obviously wasn't chosen. But I think if I was a bachelor back then, we obviously wouldn't be sitting here. But I think that it was not meant to be for me at that time. I think I had to give myself a few years, remove myself from the franchise and kind of come back with a different

perspective and I think that's you know I think that's helped because you know I'm 37 now you know I think things are different when you're a little older your perspective is a little different and you can kind of see things a little bit more clearly too you know and I think that's what has helped our relationship how awesome is that you weren't the bachelor back then it is really crazy like back then it was frustrating it's probably weird and you're probably like I put all this effort and the time and heartbreak into something and why can I at least see some type of fruit from it, which, you know, we all ask ourselves all the time and then not knowing that how many years later you'd come back and it would be the perfect time. All right, I have to ask you the same

question. You know, now what is it about Lauren that you look at and you go, this is going to be my wife? This is the person I want to stand beside forever. It just never, it just never was a question for me. You know, I think that when we got back together, you know, there was this immense feeling of of loss when we broke up and it was something that I knew just wasn't normal you know and I knew that it was going to take a lot to get back to her I knew that it was going to take a lot of criticism which it did and I think that is something that was sort of the initial feeling and then when we were together you know right afterwards and then obviously through the period of watching the show together and then moving it

together like everything was just like easy and it was just so much fun and I would look at her and be like you know that's my future and I I'm just so happy every day so it's good life is good thrive market is a revolutionary online marketplace on a mission to make healthy living easy and affordable for everyone you can shop for thousands of bestselling non-gMO foods and natural products always at 25 to 50 percent lower than traditional retail prices. You can also filter the catalog by your dietary preferences, whether you're paleo, gluten-free, vegan, kosher, keto. This is why I'm obsessed with Thrive Market. I'm hosting a holiday Christmas party and I'm asking everyone what they want for snacks and drinks at the party and I

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almost famous. Keep in mind, Thrive's markets prices are already up to 50% off. And now they're giving you an extra 25% off your first order and free 30 day trial when you use Thrivemarket.com backslash almost famous. Do you feel like me? You don't know how to spell very well. You spell Thrive, T-H-R-I-V-E-market.com, backslash almost famous. moving into a wedding now you've moved in together your home has been featured all over magazines and I've seen inside and outside of your home not only on Instagram but also I think us weekly did the the feature this house is beautiful thank you and again you know as we mentioned earlier you know you've compromised and I think in the article even says that

you've made this place home for the both of you how have you gone about doing that what were those conversations like? Well, I mean, in the beginning stages of planning the design for the house, we kind of had the same vision in mind, I think. We kind of like the modern farmhouse look, like, I like

tons of throw pillows. That was one thing I had to compromise. I hate throw pillows. Guys, don't get throw pillows. They're a must. You know, when your bed, like, starts in the headboard and it's like ends up all the way at the foot of the bed, there's like 900 bill is you got to take off. Jared and my reoccurring fight is about how to make

bad. Oh, we've had that before, too. But yeah, we definitely compromise on the little things, but overall the design that we both wanted was very similar. Yeah, it was cool. I mean, I'm in real estate in Arizona, so we looked at a ton of places, and

this is the place where we walked in, we're like, wow, this is nice. And then we had to hit a few boxes that had to have a big closet for all of her shoes. Still not big enough, though. Still not big enough. Never. They had to have bedrooms for future babies.

It had to have a big living space And it was in this cool little neighborhood Where we can walk and bike to a bunch of restaurants And so it really is cool It's like she's used to moving all the time I'm I lived in the same place You saw it on the show It was tiny but I lived there for 10 years

Because I get attached to That was actually really funny In itself trying to move Ari out of his condo I would literally go to the empty condo And just sit there and be like I would miss it You'd be like 10 years Yeah Like, I have to go work on something at the corner.

And then he just be sitting there drinking coffee in this empty room. I get it. That's like my car that's 11 years old is dying. And I'm like, I've gone everywhere with my car. How can I ever let it go? She moves like she's a, you know, she's a military brat. So she's moved around everywhere. So she's not like attached to things like that.

I had everything I owned in my car when we moved from her. I was in Virginia at the time and we drove to Phoenix. Yeah. How long has it been now? Since you moved in? Did we move April? We closed just in the beginning of June. But she moved, well, that was on the new house.

But you moved to, yeah, in April. In the pool. The pools all over Instagram. And outside of the house, the pools became a character of its own. It's like the window to your life. I was shocked by how excited people were about the pool. I mean, honestly, so is up. But I'm into it.

I've checked Ari's Instagram as much as possible to see. how you're cool-producing. It looks great. I'm a big fan. So life has began for you guys. Wedding's coming up. I know today you have to leave here very, very soon. They do?

Yeah, because you've got a big day ahead of you. What are you up to? We're going to pick out our rings with Neil Lane. Oh, my goodness gracious. I know our wedding bands were stuck. And then I'm trying my dress on for the first time with Haley Page right after that. Oh, my God, the one that's fitted for you, like after all the alterations. I mean, I know.

that we'll get into that later we'll get into it later we'll get into it no she had a custom design dress by haley page so they kind of came up with it together yeah she's definitely one of the leading wedding dress designers she's really cool i met her oh really that's all i know about it's so cute i love her yeah and so you're going today to pick out wedding bands with neil lane obviously um famously known from the show um how does that work did the show help said that up or is that just kind of on your own no we ran into him when we were in the maldives and he was like Oh, I'm so excited to see you, too. Let's get in touch when you're...

First, he was really shocked. Why are you guys in the Maldives? I think everybody was, and we still don't know why. I know. You don't want to talk about that? You don't want to talk about that? We saw Neil and he was like, yeah, I'll make you some bands. And we're like, okay, amazing.

So, yeah, we're really stoked about that. Because the wedding ring you have, can we see it real quick? Yeah. It's gorgeous. Thank you. I want to see yours. Look at all those all around diamonds. Pretty.

Thank you. Guys, this makes me feel a little left out. All right, let me see yours. It's going to be weird to have a ring on my finger, though. I mean, for a guy, it's obviously a big change. Is that today? So today you're picking out the guy and the girls ring. That's how that works.

Yeah. Moving into the wedding then, I know people are jacked. And it has been kind of kept secret. The show is not doing it. Who, you know, what is kind of the setup, the format, the feel and the vibe of this wedding that's coming up? Oh, I've been asked that so many times. And I always just say, I want it to have a fairy tale vibe.

So it's going to be a sunset wedding. We're doing it in this venue called Haiku Mill. And it's a historic sugar mill in Maui. And we're just going to have tons of twinkle lights, hanging vines, candles everywhere, lots of greenery. Kind of like the twilight wedding. Oh, my God, I can't believe you said that. Because I was just going to say it sounds like the twilight. That's exactly what we told a wedding planner.

She's like, I want it to look like the twilight wait. The wedding planner, I haven't seen that. You're like, you better watch it. You were describing it. And in my head, I was like, this sounds exactly like Bella and Edwards. Oh, really? It's a big wedding. Yeah.

It's like really beautiful and stuff. Will your dress look like that or will it be a little bit more princess fairy tale? Hmm. Give us a couple hints on it. I would say it's kind of like modern princess. Oh, like a, like a Megan Markle? No. Okay.

No, no, no. Are you shaking your head over? You haven't seen this, right? No, I'm not allowed to know, obviously. Okay, so this is a complete secret. Yeah, I'm just, I'm listening right now. My ears are peaked. I'm not saying too much.

Yeah, so I have, the designer's awesome, though. I've met her a couple times, so I'm kind of picturing what she's done before. I mean, walking on the aisle, I can't, I'm just, I'm thrilled for you, too, because we've spent some time together coming off the show and we sit here today. And I know this whole thing is, this whole show, no matter what, is crazy. And I'm thrilled for you to even talk. talking about a wedding and getting excited about it. You know,

one of the weird parts about the Bachelor franchise right now is we have a lot of couples, and unfortunately we lost one couple this last week, that we kind of stop hearing from, right? The excitement over the next step is oftentimes something we haven't been able to celebrate with people. And people fall in love with you too. They fall in love with your love story.

They become fancy of you. They cheer for you. Their heart's invested into you. And on this podcast, it sounds like you both are leaping in this wedding, not as this next step or this burden. It's like, I want to get it done. I'm excited.

about this step. Am I wrong? No, you're not wrong at all. We've always been excited about it. But, you know, weddings take time to plan, especially a destination wedding. Yeah, we were going to try to do it in the same year, but, um, but it was, it's a lot to plan. I mean, I had no idea. As a guy, you're just like, oh, it's easy. I'll just show up. I like that at all. Yeah, we do. We do. Yeah. So we have, we have two people actually, um, our buddy Clint, who's doing a lot of it. And then Kim and Coe, who works with the venue. and her yeah her team is really cool it's interesting though it's like they'll call you and be like

what do you uh what do you want you know do you want a three tier cake do you want flowers on it you want fake flowers on it do you want and like a million questions that's where i said and i think yeah yeah so i think the longer you have to plan something like the more complicated it gets if you had to do a wedding next week you could probably do it and it'd probably be great but like when you have some time it's like oh man it's a devil in the details you're like what do you think it is then I want to hear your opinion because you guys are going to make it you're going to do you're going to make this thing happen what is it about couples coming off the show including my own and you can speak to me here too that people get excited wherever they come off and a lot of the interviews they say I want to get married you know I'm excited for that next step we're excited for kids or whatever that looks like and then that fades why is that what is that what how could we start changing that I don't know for the right people to ask about that I think maybe you would be the right person ask why doesn't it work I don't know well okay maybe the better question is how do you make it work I don't think it was ever a question for us we just kind of we got engaged

and we're like okay cool when can we get married like as soon as possible for us but we just it was never something we wanted to wait for so I'm not sure why there's a level of confidence there though that like doesn't always happen you you feel like you have the right thing you trust you have the right thing you're engaged and you're confident your engagement i don't i still don't believe anybody gets down on one knee or i don't think if this has happened any time in my recent memory gone down on one knee just for the sake of getting down on one knee yeah like i don't i think every time there's an intention behind it saying i think this is right um and so for you two like there was a confidence that far outweighed any doubts you had and you you kept that going i mean i think

for me i've had enough of the wrong thing to know what the right thing is so i just knew deep down that he was the one I never questioned it and that's why I have so much confidence in it I guess and we've just continued to prove that over and over again that's awesome I think as the bachelor it's so hard you know you're I remember being a contestant and being so much more invested in my feelings because like during the filming of the show just because you have one person to concentrate on. I think as The Bachelor, it's in their nature

to make you waver because it's good for entertainment. Oh, yeah. And then when you sort of the smoke clears and then for me, I saw so clearly what mistake I had made, you know, I think that in itself, there's such a pressure with that show as the lead.

You know, your, the easy way would be to continue you your path, but I knew with her I had to do what I had to do to be with her because I knew that she wouldn't just wait around for me for a year, two years or whatever. You know, I think it was just one of those things where I think for me, because I made that decision, I was so confident already because I said, okay, I know what backlash is coming. Like this is going to be really bad for me. Chris Harrison said it. I mean, everyone said it to me. The advice was, going the opposite way because they're like, you know, you could, you could do, you know,

you could make some, you know, a lot of money on Instagram if you just keep, you know, keep your path or you could do, you know, the advice was all pointed the other direction, but I knew my heart was with her and I said, I don't really care about that kind of stuff, you know? And I think that that's why I had so much confidence in it because I thought about it so much before I had made that decision. Can we take a few minutes here? If we'll say or say as much

you want. What were those nights like leading up to that? I mean, to go back to that season when millions of people are watching this on TV, this is right in the heart why people are, you know, well, right before people are watching this on TV. You know that America is already putting it on the cover of magazines.

You're laying in bed at night alone. And thinking about what? Well, I mean, I think it's hard to really go back to that time because we're in such a different place. And we weren't even going to talk about it because we... Yeah. What's been really nice is, okay, so now we had our season, very dramatic ending.

Then we had Becca's season, which we obviously, you know, we got tagged on a million things. We had to see her face all over social media. It was hard for us. I mean, it really was actually hard to, like, it was way harder for her, obviously. And then now that's sort of died down. They're in a great place, but it's not like it's in our face as much. So it's actually been really nice to sort of remove ourselves from that time. But if I had to go back there, I think there's a little bit of trauma where I do remember everything.

But I think the biggest thing that I take away from it is my feelings towards Lauren and how I needed to be with her and how I needed to run to her. And I think that's sort of the overwhelming thing that I think about when I think about that time. Running to her. That's, I mean, and I want to, again, I don't mean to just continue to pat you on the back, but the way you've handled this coming off that, that's a really lonely season, like, of life, no matter who you are, how happy you are, what you're trying to process, you have millions of people watching you while you lay in bed at night going, I don't know how to handle this. It was more, it was harder to do all the media stuff because we were back together.

Yeah. But everyone was still kind of taught, everyone was still sort of, you know, months back as far as the timeline of the show. So I was like, oh, man, just wait. Just wait. Does that cause any trauma? I mean, does that really cause trauma, you think? I wonder for myself sometimes. It does.

I think it does. If that like kind of blocking and compartmentalizing while you're in love, while you're answering questions about other women who you had feelings for at some point, but you're, you're in love and committed to one person and you're hiding it for five, six, seven months. And I'm terrible at that. Yeah. It caused a little trauma, I think, right? Am I wrong here?

It does. You have to be a little deceptive and that's, and that's not me. And I think that that was really. hard during the show too to you know to keep people on for weeks that you didn't want to keep on that you were like I mean not natural no whole thing is not natural yeah I think I'm still recovering and you just did this thing yeah yeah um well you know thank you so much for being open about that because I do think that's the answers a lot of the questions that people are wondering too and they don't get to see that side they get to see the TV part and they get to see they get to get to get angry and go

oh, how could you do this? But they don't see the nights of laying in bed at night like going, I need Lauren. Like I need to run to her and how am I going to do this? And everybody's telling me not to because it's going to cause so much conflict.

But you still chose to do it. And today you stand here strong. Leading in the life today, Lauren, you've got a lot going on. You're designing a swimmer line. Tell us about it. So this is something I started doing when I was in middle school.

I grew up in Virginia Beach. Yeah, I'm from Northern Virginia. Oh, really? Yeah. I didn't know that. Yeah. So I spent a lot of time there at the ocean. and I'd always bring my sketchpad just to like be alone and be creative.

So I've had I've had this book of bathing suits for years. And I kind of felt like now is the right time since I just moved somewhere new. And I'm starting this new journey with Ari to go ahead and actually bring that to life. So I'm planning on launching it next spring. That's awesome. You were going to go into real estate with him so you guys could have your own business together. And that didn't work out. Well, I went to real estate school for a little bit.

And I was just like, holy moly. He's like, man, this is boring. I'm like, yeah, I know. I was like, yeah, I don't think this is for me. So I'll let that be your thing. Like, what do you want to do? What are you passionate about? You got to do what you're passionate about.

Yeah. She's like swimwear. And I was like, let's do it. Cool. So this, I mean, you're full in, right? I mean, you started designing. What does that process looking like? Oh, well, lots of hours in meeting with actual designers because I didn't go to school for that.

So I've met with some local designers who actually produced when we. in Arizona sat down with them and they kind of walked me through what it would be like to start a business and that and like what I need to do what shows I need to go to who I need to hire to help me so it's just it's been a lot of learning for me it's kind of like I'm back at school for something entirely new but yeah it's been a lot of fun you just got to follow what your what your love is you know your passion in life doesn't feel like work then I do actually love selling houses it is boring but I love so yeah it's funny that yeah it's a good it's you know how many months ago you're like I'm going to go back to selling

house and you're like no this isn't for me and look at you now yeah this is awesome that you're passionate you've got a wedding you've got a lot going on I'm imagining Ari's not doing a lot of the detailed planning of the wedding no I get on the call and I'm like what's the budget I'm like hey babe you have to calm down she's like well that sounds good it's like what does it cost it's so funny because we're on these calls together and he's always like price what's the price and I'm in the background going shh

No, I have this question in my list for later. The fun stuff. Ari, what are you up to? Just real estate stuff. Winter for me is all about selling houses. Summer is racing, so the race season is pretty much done. And so it was a fun year. Won some races.

Got to travel a lot. We went to Australia and went all over the world, actually. So it was really cool. But the summertime is predominantly racing. Winter's real estate. For me about those, I get to see our. in action at the Indy 500, I got the chance. I was lucky enough to ride in one of the, the sprint cars.

There's a two-seater. Two-seater sprint cars, indie cars at the beginning of the race. And I thought I was going to get Ari. I thought for sure I was going to be straddling Ari as he drives 200 miles around. It's a separate seat. But no, I had somebody I didn't know. But I was pumped because I had never met. We had never met before that.

And so I was like the first time I want to meet Ari is going to be sitting behind. him watching his head bobble as he drives him. But no, he's legit. And again, we got the time to spend together in Mexico filming a little commercial spot for Bachelor in Paradise. That actually, I think, ended up fantastic. I thought it was brilliant.

Mixed reviews from the, you know, Bachelor Nation. I thought it was great. Your portion was freaking amazing. I'll go down saying that's one of my favorite things I've ever done. Is there anything else you'd like to share with anybody out there listening? I mean, I think

couple of the takeaways that I'm taking from this conversation is you guys have found strength in each other your relationship has defied you know a lot of criticism and I think now has turned the corner to rising way above and people being you know celebrating you for being in love and starting this whole new journey together and you will be a couple from bachelor nation that we'll talk about for years they come because you have been successful um those are my takeaways and I also just again I want to thank you both for being uh just having really good character in a season of life that could easily have turned a different direction um You could have lashed out. You could have been harsh. You could have said, no, you know, you could have stand and said a thousand different things and said you took it for a long time and just let your love prove what was right. So I think I admire that. And that's why I was so excited to have you guys on this first episode. But anything else outside of those takeaways that you'd like to share with anybody listening.

What do you want to say? I don't know. I think that was a pretty good summary. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, we've been having a blast. So it's good to be here. I know that we follow your podcast.

So we're avid listeners. Oh, really? Yeah, we are. I actually listened to it before I went on the show to kind of get an idea of what I was in for. Goodness, that's how long we've been on. Yep. Ashley, I feel old. You know what?

You know, it's crazy. Maybe Colton's next partner will have done the same thing. And they've gotten there. Because you know what I did? I read Sean Lowe's book before I was the bachelor or before I went on the Bachelorette to get some insight into the show itself. And it helped me tremendously because I felt so much more comfortable entering. into that world. Yeah. Actually, I read Courtney's book going into the audition process and then I read

Sean's book right before my season aired. That's funny. So I felt like I was pretty prepared through both of those. Anybody out there listening if you're excited about being on The Bachelor? Just listen to the podcast. Almost Famous is here for you. Hey, that's my segment. I just wanted to talk to you all.

I want to catch up. I appreciate the both of you. I'm going to pass it over to Ashley here because she has a fun little game that she's best out, lighting up the whole room with some super intense. questions with that r and loren you're the best thank you actually take it away all right you guys this is called the rapid fire question segment but honestly it's not really rapid fire because i'd like you to go a little more in depth of just being like one sentence answers i've always just been like the person who loves random fun questions like when i was younger i whenever i meet a

new friend i'd ask them like a set of questions like who's your favorite late night host are you mac or pc what's your favorite fast food restaurant what do you order from there i love it So for some reason, I feel like all those little details about somebody kind of adds up and you get to really know them. So I have a whole bunch of questions like that, just silly fun things. But while we're on kind of the topic of the wedding, let's go through these questions. Why did you pick Hawaii? Why destination? Twofold.

Warm. And it doesn't have Zika. Okay, good because Carly's wedding, Jade had to be worried about Zika because she was still pregnant. And, of course, between she and Carly, they both also wanted to get pregnant soon after, you know. Yeah, we have tons of friends that are expecting. Yeah, my best friend from Virginia, she was actually going to be one of my bridesmaids. Or she's an honorary bridesmaid, but she's having a baby in December. So I wanted to make sure that we picked a place that she could go to.

Nice. Currently, our dilemma right now is Jane and Tanner are trying to get pregnant, but Tanner is officiating the wedding. So they kind of have to skip trying in the month of December, which is kind of really sad. Think about what you're asking Tanner. I know, I know. Big sacrifice. It's brutal. She's a cop-lock.

I feel guilty. That's what Tanner's been saying. Okay. Speaking of Bachelorette, Beth, speaking of your bridal party, you're leaning towards white for your bridesmaid dresses. Have you selected yet? Yeah, actually, we have. And they're going to be white?

They're going to be ivory, like white, yeah. Interesting. So you don't need all the attention on your outfit. No. I've never really been. the kind of girl that he's the center of attention. And you have a Bachelorette alum in your bridal party. You want to tell everybody who that is?

Yeah, Mekyll Cooper is one of my bridesmaids and one of my best friends. That's so nice. And then you also say that Tia and Cien are invited to the wedding. Ari, that's obviously not weird for you. We know as Bachelor alums how not weird it is to have your fiancé be friends, close friends with girls that you also kissed. And dated. It feels like a lifetime ago. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, we've seen most of them since then, too. So it's just, you know, water under the bridge. Right. Right. And how many guests are you having? We're having just under 120. Oh, that's pretty small for these days.

Yeah. Okay. Awesome. And how many people are going to be in each bridal party? There's, well, I have one honorary. So technically there's eight, but seven will be there for each of us. Oh, man. What's the honorary?

She's my friend Taylor that's having the baby. So she's not good. gonna make it okay okay that's sad her little brother's one of my uh groomsman i can't wait to see him in like a tiny little suit oh he's nine nice oh he's nine nice oh that's adorable i remember him from the hometown episode and then my both of my grandmothers are gonna be our flower girls so cute that is a fan's face right now that is the cutest thing i've ever heard that is the best idea i've ever heard oh my goodness we don't have any like little girls in our family Little girls are unreliable

and flower girls. But think about how special your grandmas feel. Yeah, I know. I cannot wait to have a minute. It's going to be beautiful. That's so sweet. That's a headline. Thank you guys.

You're inviting Bachelor producers, but in your GQ article, you said that you felt 100% betrayed by them. So why invite them? It's a love hate. It is. I mean, I mean, I mean, I've known. I don't know.

They have magical powers, I tell you. I've known some of the producers like Alon's, you know, for what, seven years now? I mean, I understand they have a job to do, you know, and they all kind of blame the editing room. So I don't know. But they tell the editing room what to do. But, you know, ultimately, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't be together. Right. So there's just, you know, however it played out for the viewers to see, they still put me in a position to be the,

happiest I've ever been so got to invite him I have to tell you that when Jared and my engagement was airing the couple days beforehand and we got got to see the footage about 12 hours beforehand and we kept sending along a joke list we were like yes a wedding guest list and it was like a lawn was on it then I'd send him a version where he was crossed off off of it and then he was back on it and then he was crossed off on it and it was just we kept joking about that but yeah oddly very love hate relationship but mostly love which you Most of love. Bizarro.

Okay, let's move away from the wedding now. What is your reoccurring fight? Because like I mentioned, Jared and my reoccurring fight, they're silly. It's like he doesn't make the bed tight enough or he has to put his chapsic on the dresser. I'm like, the dresser is for aesthetically pleasing purposes only not for your yellow Bert's bees. So like what are, what's yours? He makes the bed? Well, that's pretty good.

He does. He makes a bed. And then he gets mad because like the two days a week that, I want to make the bed. He's like, I don't get it. You don't make the bed five out of seven days. But then when you do, you want it super tight. And when I do, you complain that it's not tight enough.

Oh, my God. I know. It's silly. But, like, those are our problems. So we're very fortunate for that. Ours is, I'm like, like I said before, I think I'm just obsessed with time, always on time. Okay. She's 10 minutes late everywhere.

No, I want to add one detail to this. Yeah. It was only three minutes late today. That's true. That is true. Very nice. I think it's that. What's your pet peeve for me?

Honestly, I think I'm a little more laid back than Ari. So mostly it's things I do that annoy him, which is fine because whatever. But like the throw pillows thing, I put a ton of them all over the couch. And whenever he goes to sit down, he'll just take him and drop him on the ground. I'm like, I'm like, why do you do that? Throw them. Throw them off. The bed needs throw pillows or it doesn't look like a room, like a beautiful room, you know?

No, it's not true, right? Don't, don't. It's absolutely ridiculous. So waste of my time when I'm tired to throw pillows on it. Terrible. I don't know. I mean, you don't have any for me? I just did an entire podcast of things I don't get about Jared.

Yeah, you have to have some. Come on now. Man, I'm good. I'm just joking. I'm just very chill. The perfect man, Ari, line, like. She can't, you can't find one thing. It's all good.

Remind me. Remind me. I don't know. I'm sure I've said something. She'll think of something as soon as you walk out the door. So I can't stand when you blink. Oh, yeah. You always go blank when you're actually asked the question and then later you find the best answers. But I'm going to keep thinking.

This is kind of like in line with the same thing. Is there something in life that you'll never see to eye to eye on and you've kind of just accepted it? Gosh, I don't think so. I don't think there is. No. Yeah, I'm guys. You really are a perfect thing. Yeah, we're just, we're the same person.

Because you both of it already said publicly that you want kids fairly quickly, right? Yeah. That you're totally on board with that. You've got the house now. You've got a pool. You've got dogs. I mean, finances are getting in order. You have a job.

Yeah. Ashley, I'm learning. I'm watching. I think the biggest, I mean, I think for all the. the men out there just support whatever your significant other wants to do yeah i think you know i think that's it's going to make her so happy to launch a swimwear line i can't wait yeah no we're gonna do a bunch of stuff around it while she is i'm just going to be hanging out we just really want each other to be happy so whatever that takes we're willing to compromise to make that happen okay um that kind of leads

me to my next question i feel like you guys are in the position right now where you can can do entrepreneurial moves like your swimsuit company because you have the opportunity, you have the audience. But in like a couple of years, maybe you'll just have one income and it'll just be coming from Ari. How do you talk about money as an engaged couple? Because this is something that Jared and I find to be interesting all the time because like, like we know in six months that this is going to be a joint bank account and that

whoever pays for this dinner, it's like the exact same. Like we're kind of sharing a banking account right now. But we're also not. So how do you guys split that up? That's a hard way. We've been talking about that. Who pays the rent? Who pays the electricity?

She pays all the utility. Okay. Yeah, I pay like all of the extra bills. He pays the mortgage. Okay. I paid for the pool. Oh, wow. Okay.

So this is kind of what we do too. We pick and choose. Like he'll take us out to dinner one night. I'll take us out to dinner the next night. We just kind of try and not put too much stress on either one of us, even though we know our money is. kind of in a pool. Right.

Okay. So you guys work it out the same one. We have big goals too. Like we want to buy a beach house at some point. So you guys watch HGTV and dream like we do? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I'm in real estate.

So I have a couple of investment properties that we might sell to make that happen. So we're just like, we're making moves. Yeah. I want to have somewhere we can go that's closer to my family too. Same. That's what we want. But money is a hard one. I think like my buddy just got married and he said I switched to a joint bank account and

he's like changed everything. because now she knows how much is left. So she can't go crazy. Oh, good, yeah. So she can't just spend or spend or you can spend and spend. You're looking at the same number. You know, you know, you know what you can do and what you can't do, you know. So I think that's.

Finances are hard. Finances are hard. That's part of that takes two thing. Yeah. It's like that's a big one. Finances is a big one. Communications is a big one. Yeah.

It's so awkward to talk about initially. But then when you start rolling with it, you're like, okay, well, we really are together now. we know that it's joined but yeah some weird you know for because we're not technically married we we have to kind of yeah like my house i put it on my name because we're not married yet but as soon we're married then the house doesn't hurt it's just kind of it's funny everyone was like oh the house is only in his name it's a sign oh come on but Arizona everything's community property property so when you're married literally it's 50 50 everything you guys have an 11 year age Do you ever feel it?

It's only 10. Oh, 10. Okay, I wasn't sure. I mean, is there a point in the year where it's 11? There's a small point in the year where it's 11. Yeah. You ever feel it or not? No, I feel like we're on the same page maturity-wise, which is great.

Oh, my gosh. I'm super immature. No, I'm just very mature for my age. No, I think there's some things like movies. You know, I'll be like, oh, remember that movie? Yeah. Or, you know, music. Sometimes music.

actually music wise we're like the same we like the same like trap crazy really who would have ever thought i read a story about you guys going to one of those concerts though just having a blast which you guys are like the whitest people and yet and yet like trap music with the rock we like yeah i love party bee and nicky minage yeah i'm obsessed with both of them she goes a karaoke bar and she'll like rock cardi beat throw down on it yeah and nicky minage nice she gets really embarrassed so you get a catcher on like no one's looking kind of situation and she's just flowing uh-huh that's awesome you guys actually met before the show and there's photographic evidence about it you talked about it when you first met out of the limo but it was never aired you met Ari how long before you went on his

season so i met and explained the whole story okay so i met him in june in Dallas before we went on the season which was how many months later so it was like Three months later. So you were already in the casting process, were you not? No, I wasn't. Oh, you weren't? So I wasn't in the casting process until July. And I wasn't even thinking about going on the show.

And you probably would have never thought Ari was going to be the bachelor. No. She watched GMA and she was like, oh, I know. I saw that guy a couple months ago. Yeah, so I had never been to a racetrack ever in my life. And my friends were like, oh, let's go. We have tickets. So I was kind of dragged there by my friends.

And I recognized him. because I saw him on Emily's season. So I fan-grolled over him when I met him. I was like, oh, my gosh. She's wearing American Flaggorts. Yeah, so I just- You remember her? Do you remember her?

Was there a cosmic connection? Did you feel sparks, electricity? I was dating somebody, and she was like 10 feet behind me, and I was like, I got to get away from this. So you did feel like, you were like, ooh, honey. Yeah. And then, Lauren, you framed the picture, gave it to him when you came out of the limo it was never

shown but that is so weird it was like God was really trying to put you guys together yeah I always looked at it that way too cool weird destiny for sure you guys did go to the Maldives to tape a segment

for Becca's season finale it never aired and it was odd because it was teased so fans were looking forward to it yeah can you give us like a little brief no no Ari's like no no it's fine we can talk about it. You can. But it took her, I have to commend her because I, that's why I wrote that social media post because it took, you know, it was a very, I think it was a hard time for us. I did

not want to go. She did not want to go. Okay. We were already on that side of the world. We were racing in Perth. So we were on the western side of Australia. So they called and they said, hey, we'd love to do this little segment. I was like, absolutely not. But then Becca called with the producer and said hey this is more for me and Lauren is on speakerphone we all talked about it and she'd be like she was like this would be a good closure for me we've talked a lot about you this season it's been hard we want to move on we all want to move on can we just sit down and have a conversation well my fear kind of stemmed from the breakup scene the way they showed everything there on his season so I was kind of scared that they were going to call him in there

beck was going to act surprised and be like what are you doing here and it was going to yeah it's going to be a weird. He teased that he came back for her. Oh, Lord. So I was mad. I was like, no, we're not doing that. That's crazy. Yeah.

So I was like, Becca needs to ask him on the phone if we're coming. So that we know that she's aware. Okay. Okay. You know? So after that, I was like, all right, I don't like it still, but I'll go. I'll hang out by the pool. I know.

You didn't sit down. She is pretty chill, right? It was all right. Screw and I'm just going to hang out by the pool. She was great. So it was. in this scene that we will never see it was just Ari and Becca talking.

Yeah. And I'm sure it was just like more of a closure conversation. Yeah, it was like, it was actually really good. She wanted some more insight on like where my head was at and then like, she related to you more in that moment than she had before. That's for sure.

I remember her coming off the show and being like, I kind of get it now. Yeah. And that was what that, that segment was a little bit, you know, closure for her, not closure really there was closure a long time ago but it was more just to kind of figure out sort of you know what where my head was at because she was like I can relate to you now and I just want

you to know that I forgive you and I feel like you know you're in a really good place with Lauren and I can see where you are coming from now that I'm in the situation and it was actually a really constructive good conversation and I wish they would have shown it because it would have sort of given people more of an inside of what happened. But it was, I think maybe they thought wrong time. I mean, you know, let's celebrate her relationship and not make it about

the past. I totally get that. So that's why we were kind of confused of why they wanted it. Well, thank goodness you were in Perth and you didn't have to fly halfway across the world. Lauren got a day by the pool. So yes, dang it. Thank you show for giving Lauren a day by the pool. That villa was very nice.

Thank you. I'm sorry for saying closure. Yeah, I should have known. It was obviously not a closure conversation she had had that but yes it was like it was like an i get you now like i i'm in your position almost okay so my final question is something kind of fun to really end this james lipton ask interview if you had a crystal ball what would you want to know both of you i would want to know what our future kids look like what we're going to look like when we're old and gray. Those are the good ones.

I would really ask the same. So you want to say, you're fine, but it's fun. Yeah, I want to know, yeah, I want to know those things, too. How many kids? Because you guys say almost four. I mean, I want to know how many kids actually come to me. Take a one at a time. Yeah.

I mean, I have a ton of friends that have kids now, and they're scaring me a little bit. So I might reel it in a little bit, maybe not four, maybe two, three. start with two figure out three all right Ari and Lauren thank you so much for being here

again this has been the almost famous in death podcast this is a special series that we were doing with some of Bachelor Nations favorites we started with

our and Lauren this podcast is meant to highlight where couples are today some of the favorite characters in the past catching up helping us all fall in love

with them all over again with that Arne you're just going to have to follow our leader right I've been been I've been Ashley.

I've been Lauren. I've been Ari. We'll talk to you soon. They really do listen to the podcast. Bye. Okay, guys. So funny enough, two days after we recorded that podcast, Ari and Lauren announced that they were pregnant.

So obviously we had to get them back on the line and tell us all about how they found out that they're bringing a little Lion Dyke into this world. Ari and Lauren, hello. You guys, you've been. really held out on us. I know. So sorry. We had to. Oh, no, of course.

Yeah, we had to wait. We had to wait for our last checkup, and then we also had to you know, we had to let everybody know at the same time. We totally, totally understand. It was funny because a day after the interview, I posted an Insta story

showing off the champagne that we were drinking, and a couple of followers noticed that Lauren wasn't drinking. and I'm like, whatever, it was 11.30 a.m. That doesn't say anything to me. And then, lo and behold, I woke up the next day and it was announced that you guys are having a baby.

So Ben is also on the line, but he is not exactly having the best reception right now. So Ben, if you do hook up well, interject, but right now the questions are on me. So you guys, how you found out obviously just from a pregnancy test. I read, right? Yep. And are you... Yeah, I love Lauren tell the story. She's good at it.

Okay. I mean, I guess this is a little bit of a crude question, but it's one that everybody is probably asking themselves. Did you guys pull the goalie? Was this... There never was a goalie. Okay. That's all we needed to know.

Yeah. So you guys were kind of like, if it happens, it happens. Yeah. I mean, we just, we didn't really think that it would happen that quickly, but we weren't trying to prevent it. Yeah, I think a lot of our friends struggle with infertility. So we thought, okay, you know, we're not going to not try and we're not going to try, but we'll, let's just, you know, continue on. And if it happens, it happens and then that's great, you know.

All right. So you guys, you guys kind of in a way we're trying ever since you got together. I don't know if I would say that, but not trying. Yeah, yeah. We're definitely more careful. I think now that we had the wedding planning kind of done, and it was on the horizon, we felt a little bit more relaxed about it. Yeah.

So what about the wedding and the dress and how you have now had to alter it to a baby bump? Well, I mean, it's my first one, so I'm hoping I won't be showing that much. but the dress I don't want to say too much because Ari is on the line of me right now but it's not going to be an issue okay so it's kind of like tie at the top and I have no clue what that means

I do and I think our female listeners out there will get it too all right so walk us through the day that you found out Lauren and how you told Ari well actually weirdly enough Ari he told me

he told you what no way tell me more yeah i'll just start from the beginning so the week before we found out i was very emotional and i was craving meatballs which is totally not something that i normally would crave i needed iron yeah i'm like very all about salads and sushi and everything fresh all the time so ari was speaking up on these signs and he was like you are super emotional you're craving meatballs that's just not like you so i think you're pregnant and he kept telling me that all week and I'm like no I'm not I was in denial the whole time so one of my friends who has been trying ordered like a hundred tests on Amazon and she came over that night that I found out with one of the tests and she's like here just take this I have so many extras

and I didn't want to take it because I didn't really want to know either way because I want to have kids soon or I wanted to anyways so I felt like if I wasn't I would have been a little bit let down and I didn't think I was I don't know it was just like a weird mental space. But Ari was all excited about it. He made me take it. And there's, how do we explain that? So she was leaving for New York the next day. And so we had the pregnancy test. And she's like, no, I'll take it in the morning. And I'm like, no, let's take it tonight. Because just in case we are pregnant, then we have the night together to sort of celebrate because she was leaving for New York to go. He was convinced that I was pregnant. Yeah. So, okay, this is where it gets kind of funny because it's

kind of an old school test or like a cheaper pregnancy test where because you bought it in bulk yeah no yeah it was our friends those are friends test but you basically put a sample in a cup and then you take a little dropper and then you drop it in the window if that makes me sense so i was like oh cool science experiment i want to do it so i already wanted to do that so i just like went about my business when like in the kitchen to clean something up or something and Ari came out with the test in his hands like I don't know it was the cutest thing I'm like shaking and talking about it still but he's like holding it up and he had tears in his eyes and he's like you're pregnant and I like I was like no I'm not there's no way she was in like

complete denial and shock oh Ari that's so cute oh I know it was a really a special moment it was like There's nothing that compares, like, I just had this test in my hand, and as soon as it turned positive, I just, I don't know, like, emotion kind of got the best of me, and I was really excited. And I think, I don't, there's, I've always wanted to be a dad, and I think there's, like, this big sort of wave of emotion and almost, like, relief, because you just don't know, you know, you don't know, you can be parents and have your own baby. You know, there's so many people out there that can't. So it was just a really cool moment. That's awesome. How did you guys tell your parents? We told Ari's parents at his best friend's wedding.

And they're super excited. I think they were both tearful, but they were also just ecstatic about the news. Yeah, my mom has been pushing grandkids, like, since day one. Yeah, she has. And then we FaceTime Lauren's parents. so we tried to get them to come out because we're like we should need to check out the new place so beautiful out like the weather's so gray here and we're trying to drop all these hints but they were just too busy because the holidays and everything so they're like no with the wedding coming up we'll just see you at the wedding and so we had to FaceTime them we even screenshot it in their face because they were also like Lauren in shock for a few minutes oh that's so sweet do you guys have any names picked out so far

we have quite a list of names yeah okay uh do you want to share some that probably won't make the it list no no sharing there's so there's this app you can swipe left or right a lot like tinder and loren's like up to how many swipes now are you up i have like almost 600 nos you guys that is such a cool app yeah it's awesome you need to use it when you get to that stage too um whether is there any chance that Ari is on the list since you are

a junior yourself Ari yeah that's not going to happen no no Ari the third no are you junior juniors if it's a boy no junior juniors and no ariel is are you guys going to find out what it is a or a boy beforehand? Are you going to make it a surprise on the birthday? We actually know. Oh, you do know? Yeah. Are you willing to reveal? Come on, right here, an exclusive for the Bennett Ashley almost in his podcast. No, actually, well, here's the thing. So we filmed a little something with Bachelor for the premiere. Oh, my goodness. It could be, if it makes the edit, it'll be on there. Okay, yay.

yeah yay that's so great thank you guys for giving us that little exclusive tidbit and i have one last question before i let you go morin i read that you're having a pretty you had a pretty rough first trimester as far as these sickness goes how'd you get through what made you trigger oh geez there were so many things that triggered me anything like any kind of smells So, like, aren't you close to me if he was wearing body loat or... If I drink a glass of wine, she's like, oh, my God, you smell disgusting. But I love wine. Oh, no.

But, yeah, I was pretty much, like, confined to the house for at least a month straight. I didn't really want to go anywhere or do anything. But luckily, I'm feeling better now. Did you have any Bachelor fans have an inkling of this? because I'll admit I read some stuff and it seemed like people were on to you and I don't know

how hard you have to stock your social media to be on to you but it seemed like there was some rumors that you there was a baby in there for a while I think that someone maybe at our doctor's office tipped someone off but we got a call from TMD

so and there were some rumors out there after that wow all right well that's I mean, it's just, I think it's the one thing if you go to an OBGYN, but it's another thing if your fiance goes with you. Yeah. That's a telltale sign. Yeah, we've been going to the doctor a few times. And, you know, when you're in the waiting room and stuff, it's just, it's going to happen.

People are going to notice you there. It was probably somebody in the waiting room, not necessarily in, you know, that works at the office. But you're feeling better now, Lauren? Yeah. Yeah. No more sick, no more morning sickness? not really i have it occasionally like when we're driving around in the car i have to drive us around a lot of the time so get car sickness but other than that i'm good there's a funny few things that we

that we talk about you know the one thing is she has bread next to her bed so she gets hungry in the middle of the night she grabs that loaf of bread i think that's kind of the funniest thing that's awesome that happens on a regular basis i used to i used to like give her like we used to just bring water to bed. Now she literally has, it's probably like the size of a big gulp. It's like 50 ounce of the water. Oh, that's not cute. Any weird cravings? Um, yeah, all the time. It changes. So like, no more meatballs. Oh, no more meatballs. No more meatballs. Yeah, the whole beginning I was craving meatballs, like beef jerky, anything that was like red meat. And I don't really eat red meat. So for me, that was out of the ordinary.

And anything, like lemonade, I really like lemonade. Anything else? She had, like, a pickle, like, during the road trip to Vegas. That was funny. Yeah, those are so classic. The typical pregnancy-craming pickle. All right, guys. Well, thank you so much for giving us this interview,

especially after you sat down with us for an hour. last two weeks ago we're so appreciative and we are so so happy for you it's so cool and hearing you know it's different hearing you guys tell the story to us through the radio basically than it is to read the articles so thank you so much for being here and telling the story yeah of course yeah of course thank you guys for having us all right we can't wait to find out what the gender is come the sexes, come the reveal on Colton's premiere, hopefully. Talk to you later, Lauren Narnari. Bye.