The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Bachelors & Tiaras

Episode Date: January 19, 2021

Did you catch Ashley on this week’s episode of The Bachelor?? She’s ready to tell ALL about the drama you DIDN’T see that might completely change how you look at one of Matt’s contestants. Find out all the juicy behind the scenes gossip from Ashley’s trip inside the Bachelor bubble and hear who Ashley thinks is the frontrunner now that she’s been up close and personal with the girls. Plus, we talk to the original Bachelor Princess Erica Rose about her honest thoughts on “Queen” Victoria. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. 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 gotcha this technology's already solving so many cases listen to america's crime lab on the

the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately from Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

Answer, a new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story. Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack, available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. When your car is making a strange noise, no matter what it is, you can't just pretend it's not happening.

That's an interesting sound. It's like your mental health. If you're struggling and feeling overwhelmed, it's important to do something about it. It can be as simple as talking to someone, or just taking a deep, calming breath to ground yourself. Because once you start to address the problem, you can be a simple. go so much further. The Huntsman Mental Health Institute and the ad council have resources available for you at loveyourmind today.org. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHeartRadio. We're back for another week of the almost famous podcast and yes, we're breaking

down Matt James's season of The Bachelor. But for one week and one week only, Matt James shared the screen with her very own Ashley I. Kennedy and she's here live to talk about everything behind the scenes. Ashley, what up? oh hey what's up yes it was an honor and now finally i can tell everybody where i actually met matt because you and i have been alluding to talking to matt previously and people are like in the covid age how the heck did you actually meet this guy well i hosted a date and i have a lot of things to say about how kind he is and the connections that i saw forming but first we want to tell you a little bit about our live event that's coming up it's right around the

corner. It's Thursday, February 11th. It's at 5 p.m. Pacific time. We're giving away 100 tickets to the event for free. All our listeners have to do is go to looped live.com slash almost famous. That is L-O-O-P-E-D-Live.com slash almost famous and enter the code famous. Now, Ben, isn't that right around the release of your book? A hundred percent is around the release of the book. So we're going to be talking about the book a lot and hopefully answering some questions. If anybody wants to send them in. The first 100 that enter the code famous gets access to the event. It's a meet and greet package will also be available, which will also include a copy of my book. This is going to be really fun. I hope that we can talk about the book. February 2nd is the official

launch date. So this will just be a few days after the book launches. And it's going to be something special. I'm really pumped to be doing this. Ben, how do you feel about your book coming out in mere weeks my honest opinion or my really nice like uh no i want your honest opinion of course i know that your your PR opinion is going to be like i'm so excited blah blah blah but like i know that it's got to be nerve-wracking and that you have expectations for yourself yeah i'm i'm pretty incredibly anxious um and like not super looking forward to it mostly because it is like it's a personal memoir and it includes a lot of my friends and a lot of stuff that like i wrote wrote about and if the book doesn't do well, I just know myself and I know my ego and I feel

like I'll take it as a personal like hit more than other stuff. And so like I'm, I'm anxious because this is a really, this is the biggest thing I've ever done. I've wrote it, produced it, marketed it, talked about it and we're getting close. So yeah, I'm not like, I'm not in great spirits. I'm excited about it. I believe in it. I'm happy and proud of the book and I'm really glad with what came out of it. I'm just now, now is the part where like that part's done and now it's just the sales and that part just gets a little bit intimidating. Is there like a certain number you're hoping for or are you hoping that it just kind of strikes a certain audience? Well, how are you going to judge success in your own mind? Well, it's interesting because I was talking to a few friends

of a couple months ago and I was telling them how like anxious I was getting and how nervous I really am like for this. And they said something really intriguing to me. I said, well, you can be nervous, but you've got to work on getting your mind right. I was like, what does that mean? They're like, well, you wrote this book. It's done. It's out there. And you believe in it. And so you've got to get to the place where if you believe, and this sounds super corny and like, oh, you know, fluffy, but it's true. I have to get to a place and I'm starting to where if one person's life is better or they feel less alone by reading the book, then it's worth it. Like, then I'm happy with it. So like, that's where I'm sitting. I don't have a number of like books I want to sell necessarily as much as,

is like now it's just like hey i'm happy i did it and i have to be happy i did it and if not it's all going to be worth it worthless i think that your criteria for judging its success is the perfect mentality that is the most important thing that it affects somebody out there yeah and just just to reiterate guys if you want to be one of those people talking about ben's book february 11th looped live dot com slash almost famous enter the code almost famous and unlike other live podcasts we do, this one's going to be free. The first 100 people that enter that code are going to get access to the event. So put on your calendars.

Well, actually, in addition to this, you know, we will start this up. We're going to bring Erica Rose on here in just a second. But before we do, we also have a line at myfanthreads.com, backslash, almost famous, that people should go out and check out. It's a line of apparel, bags, shirts, hats, et cetera. So go to myfanthreads.com, check that out. Yes, bring your questions to that event. I want to answer this.

I want it to be a good time for all of us to talk and chat. Hey, Ash, let's take a break here. When we come back, we're going to recap this episode of Matt James' season of The Bachelor. And who better to do it than somebody that was on the show, like in real person, Ashley Ikenetti. We'll be back with the Almost Famous Podcast. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison? or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth. Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced.

He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months.

The first night was so overwhelming and you don't know who's next to you. And we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed.

Hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer, and my mom is a cousin. So, like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago.

I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. On 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club?

A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable.

These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors.

And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford. And in session 421 of Therapy for Black Girls, I sit down with Dr. Afea and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal.

Because I think hair is a complex language system, right, in terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right? That this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or a reel is how our hair is styled. We talk about the important role hairstylists play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss Session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett,

where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweeten. Monica Patton.

Elaine Welter-A. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like, I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes. and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivotts, now on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, guys, what I've been waiting for for the past week is to talk about what you didn't see on my date. let's start in chronological order as we always do we left off last week with the rose ceremony we saw Sarah faint and we all wondered of all people to faint during a rose ceremony why Sarah who was one of the three women who had a rose of course there's rumbling that Sarah is doing it for attention that she just wants to have extra time with Matt I don't believe that at all but you know the girls had their thoughts so with this rose ceremony like in most rose ceremony number twos we see a lot of girls whose names we don't really know get eliminated but the name that we know that gets eliminated and that we're all feeling really really bad for is um is maryland last week we talked so much about maryland and you know bet and i we were talking about how based on the you know the scenes from the next episode it It looked like Marilyn was going to get cut, and she did. But what was weird about this was that they didn't really focus on her departure once that night was over.

Like, we didn't go back to the house and have this big powwow like, holy crap, I can't believe that Victoria stayed and Marilyn left. No, the drama was no longer about Victoria. It started to become about Sarah. Uh, so, so Ben, didn't she think that was like, bizarre? yeah i mean there's so much bizarreness to this episode right um but again and like let's be clear okay before we kind of dive too far in like you and i wanted to give sarah the benefit of the doubt initially too we're like hey nobody like wants to i mean i don't think people want to fake pass out like you stand up there for a long time then you get pushed into this scenario like there is a lot

of nerves there's a lot of anxieties but i think i watched a lot of this episode um And it, you know what, maybe this is like, maybe this is going to really show my true colors. It moved too fast for me at times. Like, I couldn't keep up with all the stuff going on and like how everybody was feeling about Sarah and who was like breaking it. Like, it's just too much. Yeah, well, now everybody thinks that Victoria's funny and Sarah is the, is the villain now of this episode. Yeah, I don't know. It just doesn't sit right because I think we know as viewers what she's going through with her dad at home.

and we know it wasn't an easy decision for her to go. And I can't imagine, like, how she's feeling every day. Because like she even says, and this is so, so sad. But, like, her dad may not even have months that we're talking about. Like, he may have weeks. Like, he may have days. And she's here away from him not being able to communicate with him. And that's a lot to deal with already on top of a very emotional experience that is The Bachelor.

But hold up. And, like, there is something here. and it is skipping ahead a bit. But there's a comment made and I just want to get your clarity on this because it would really, first off, I don't love the fact that Sarah's being viewed as a villain.

I think there's a lot going on right now in her life and I think she's processing it and trying to keep up with it and I think like is she processing it well? Is she keeping, is she taking an account everybody's emotions as she do it? No, but like right now

her situation is not like trivial. It's a big deal that she's there. And so she makes a comment later on in the episode that her dad only has maybe a few weeks left. Now, did you catch that? Yeah. So that's what I'm saying. So, like, if that's the case, like, no wonder things are heated.

Like, there's no way she can be the villain. No way people can be angry at her. These girls have to understand that, like, she has something in front of her that is pressing. Well, so that's the thing. She didn't tell the other girls. The only person she tells in this whole episode is Katie. and because Katie was the person, you know, that she interrupted, that she really maybe directly stole time from. Yeah.

And Katie was, I mean, yeah, we are jumping ahead a little bit, but so sweet and receptive, specifically because, you know, Katie's dad had passed away in 2012. So she's been there. And she said that she wasn't there when her dad passed away. And that's something that she didn't want Sarah to have to, you know, live with. She encouraged her to leave, but she just had, like, a greater sense of empathy for her. And I'm just glad that they had that powwow. What I was worried about was that Sarah was going to say, you know what, I made the decision to leave. I didn't tell you, but, like, my dad has ALS, and this is just, like, not what I need to be going through right now.

I thought she was going to go back to Matt's place and then come back again and say, you know what? He convinced me to stay. And that would have been a really bad look. That would have been really, really bad. So I'm glad that didn't happen, even though I felt the narrative leading that way. Yeah, I'm with you. I'm glad it didn't happen either. But not because I'm glad to see Sarah go. I just, I mean, this is a big, like, I think we should all just take a deep breath and recognize, like, how this whole episode plays out and what we find out in the end. Like, what we've known the whole time, right, as viewers, is that Sarah has something going on at home that is very important and very serious. And like, yes, there's like moments in this episode where you're annoyed or you're

frustrated, you know, but let's take a deep breath and recognize that like her going home takes a lot of courage in itself. Her being there took a lot of courage in itself. And I hope she goes home and I hope people celebrate her for just trying to go on the show and doing what she did, you know, when she did it. Yeah. I think the. audience is going to have probably had a much different reaction than the girls in the house just knowing about her dad and the fact that the other girls didn't know um and i understand why she would be more insecure and needing more comfort from that because if she didn't like know exactly where he stood which honestly was pretty obvious you know they had a great date last week it was maybe

a little bit ridiculous for her to have all these insecurities about their relationship like their status when it's pretty obvious that she is ahead of the game right now. But that aside, I understand her needing to know more frequently where they stand just because she's like, is this worth it? Is this worth my time? Is this worth me not being with my dad? So it makes sense to me. It makes sense. And I don't think that anybody should hold anything against her, like you said, like celebrate both of her decisions. Yeah. I don't remember, I don't remember in recent history at least a storyline like Sarah's. on the show i i know we have really hard storylines like right but like the the idea that your family

member is at home that time is is running short um like i just don't remember that and it get gave me it gives me uh like a lot of like i just couldn't be there i put myself back in those shoes and you know i went on the show uh a month after my dad had uh triple bypass and um actually three weeks after he had triple bypass and i remember just the anxiety that was like looming over the me at that time completely different scenario right he was fine he was healthy um but like i just i have a lot of a lot of feels i think is what the kids are saying these days uh for sarah throughout this experience absolutely okay so now that we have fully covered sarah let's talk a little bit about how victoria just wasn't really villainized in this episode anymore she kind of made a

transition into like a Corinne-like character where the girls were kind of laughing with her and they were like kind of bitching with her too because they all found somebody else to get annoyed by which was Sarah so they're all like okay like we're bonded together against Sarah now instead of bonded together against Victoria and then she kind of became the spokesperson for them for them in ways I hope this isn't a theme that continues I'll say that now I hope I just hope that the drama doesn't continue to, like, be laughed about and accepted. Yeah. Yeah.

And I don't know. Like, is Victoria just going to stay around for laughs now? Are people going to think that she's funny? I guess, like, we'll only know until next week. But I will say that the group date that I was on was really that transition period where people just started kind of laughing at Victoria. And it's because her erotica story. was the most erotic, the most rated X, as I said. You guys have no idea what it was about.

You have no idea. The entire thing was bleeped out. And I don't even think I can discuss it here because this is kind of a PG-PG-13 program. But let's just say that she was referring to a fetish that she has. And I'll let you in on what went on behind the scenes when you didn't get to see. so the first person that I sit down with to kind of like go over not really coach but like listen to their stories see if we had to make any tweaks um see if they were in line with something that Matt would be interested with I sit down with Victoria and immediately I'm like oh this

this girl's a little bit of an odd ball you know but like I didn't know what I know now of her I was like, this is an interesting outfit. You know, her outfit kind of like reflected her personality a little bit. What was she wearing? Remind me what she was wearing? She basically like had her whole bra exposed through like a tight like. It was like a shirt. It was like a see-through transparent shirt.

Anyway. So I sit down and she's just telling me all about this fetish. And my little innocent ears as she actually called me. me out on were I was taken aback only because I was like this girl has known him for seven days now it was seven days and I know this because I was quarantined starting on their night one and I shot on night seven day seven and she was going in depth about what she likes to physically happen to her during sex and I was just like okay do you do you want to tell Matt this right now, like in front of the audience, do you think that this is going

to be like something that Matt is going to be into hearing right now? Because I like got a kind of a gauge on Matt when I got to meet him backstage a little bit. And he seems so much more innocent and sweet than I imagined. And, you know, I thought he was going to have like a little bit more like hefty swag if that, if you know what I mean. But like he actually has like an an air of innocence and he's just it was so sweet we've seen him like have religious moments and I was just like are you sure that this is something that you want to do like right now seven days into knowing somebody um in front of an audience and she was like yeah I'm okay cool all right do your thing girl as I said in the episode this is going to be bold and then a couple

minutes later after I sit down with a couple other girls and go over their stories, she goes up to me and she says, um, can I, can I steal you for a second? And I was like, my heart dropped. I'm like, I'm back on the show. Oh my God. This is scary. What does she have to talk to me about? And she was like, I think you're kind of rude and like kind of judging me for wanting to talk about my fetish. Um, you know, maybe she didn't say the word fetish, but she's like about, you know, you know, fill in the blank. And I said, and I was like, no, not at all. If that's like what you're into, like, you should be into it. I just meant like, are you sure like this is the right timing for it? And like, Matt's going to be somebody who's interested in hearing it right now. And she was like,

well, I have to figure out whether he's into it. Because if he's not into it, then I may not want to be with him. And I was like, okay, fair. And that was the end of our little powwow. I was a little scared and and then when I sat down to listen to her story with the crowd she said plug your plug your virgin ears Ashley I was like excuse me I'm married but that was my little drama with the drama queen herself Victoria now Ashley there's so much to break down here first off sorry that was like a monologue that's your moment you take it um but now obviously if there's a period of time where Victoria felt like you were sex shaming her the part about this that people listen to the podcast know or people that know you know

is there's no sex shaming there in fact you you probably were like intrigued and interested and supportive yet like this isn't like something that you like speak of often and there's no more like awkward person when it comes to like talking about intimacy before you you're married, then you, uh, because it, you get giddy, you would giggle. Like, it's just, it's like, it's not something you like love diving into. Like you're, you know, you're, you're, you aren't a totally. I was a completely, I was already going to be awkward. You're already going to be awkward at the point. Yeah. Yeah. You're already going to be awkward. And so there was no sex shame in there. But like, it is still shocking. Like you have to, you're, you're, you're into it.

You're invested. You're listening. And it's shocking to hear this. Now, it's so shocking that I, You called me, you know, you called me afterwards on the phone and you said, Ben, I just got off the show. I said, okay, how did it go? And you said, I don't think it went well. I was like, what do you mean? It didn't go well. You're hosting the date.

How can that not go well? You said, because I just got like ran over. Like, they sucked me in. How? Okay, so we got to ask you here. Knowing that you weren't sex shaming Victoria, she can do what she wants to do, knowing that this is going to be an awkward date no matter what. It's set up to be awkward and funny.

How did it feel when you like suddenly found yourself in the midst of the drama of the show again? Like that has to be so scary. It was terrifying. My heart, I'm telling you, like dropped and I felt like I was back on, I felt like I was back on the show. I was like, oh my God, I'm a cast member again. I did not sign up for this to be a cast member. I am scared. I don't remember how to deal with drama.

I can't believe I used to at one. point be like okay with this i used to call people out sometimes and now i feel like i'm like totally blank minded when somebody comes up to me and wants to have a you know have a steal you for a second have a word have a word with ashley yeah it was um it was awkward but other things that were awkward i'll tell you was reading that passage from chris from christerson's book i could not believe how many passages were just straight up erotica in that book because we went through a few. I had to read a couple different ones

and then of course they selected a few lines to air which I told my mom. I was like, mom, whatever you do. Do not watch the first like minute of me on screen. Turn it on mute. Nobody needs to hear this. For all of you out there listening who have watched the episode,

I'm so sorry you had to listen to me read that stuff. Great novel by Chris Harrison but holy shit Ashley Econetti should not be the narrator for it. isn't it hilarious though that that is chris harrison's book like i mean his brain like when he put this on paper his brain was in not a place i've ever known him like i've never seen i've never known him to be that like that's hey that's intense it's intimate it's lovely okay ashley

before we move on to the rest of the episode because yes this part was super fun for me to watch and i think fun for many people to watch was there anything going on behind the scenes when it came to like Matt's connections or how people were interacting with each other. Anything that we didn't get to see on the show that we should highlight here on the podcast. Totally. So you guys know that I've been a fan of Rachel's from the beginning. And that's because I did have such a good first impression of her from that date. You felt his connection, the way he looked at her was different than the other girls. He was, I feel like touching her more. You even see when they exit the room that he kind of like has his hand on her lower back and he was like so who do you

what do you think of the girls and I was like I was like Rachel is your girl in the sponge for sure and you can just kind of tell that he knew that as well and what was so sweet was her erotica or whatever you want to call it was so narrative it just felt like a romance novel it felt like a Nicholas Sparks book with like that single sensual scene at the end or something like that. It wasn't like as explicit as the other girls. It was a romance novel. But wouldn't you say she was probably the most, well, okay, I guess when you're there in person, was she the one that was kind of most reserved going into this? Yes. And that's why I liked her story because it wasn't like she was doing it for shock value and for laughs.

she was doing like she was being herself in this story she was telling a story that she felt it was just true to her and that's why she said like as you guys see as you guys like saw she was like okay i'm getting to it it's coming now it's because she read for a solid three minutes before she got to the like the sex scene of her of her writing it was just like more subdued and i liked it for i liked it for matt There are a couple other notable things. Katie's was so explicit that they didn't show any of it. Like, if you notice, if you go back and watch with Katie's reading,

they showed the audience faces a lot instead of her actually on stage. And that's because I'm not even joking you, she was like dry, humping mat on that couchy thing. She was all up in his grill. It was hilarious to watch. But yeah, definitely not ABC, 8 o'clock television programming. And then the other notable thing is, if you guys remember when Matt's reading his story, a lot of the girls were like, aw, aw, and like, none of what aired was really like, aworthy.

Well, he had a great zinger at the end of his story. The two, like the parent, like, okay, so him and him. whoever his wife is, like have this sexy scene in the kitchen. But then he was like, and then we had to like quickly break away from each other as we heard the pitter-patter of like two sets of feet run down the stairs. So he was alluding to his future kids. And that's what was so cute. Oh, Matt.

Oh. Matt. So sweet. Oh, unbelievable. No, it's, it was a, I thought it was a super fun day to watch. I mean, yes, I think it was hilarious. that they had you host it. And so that's the final question then before we move on to the rest of the episode is,

why you, Ashley, like out of anybody in the Bachelor world, why were you the one that got to host or was asked to host this date in particular? Well, they want, you know, as somebody who was so openly a virgin for so long on the show, I had to come out of my comfort zone to talk about that stuff. I needed to be vulnerable and grow in that department. And I did so on the show. And they thought that it would be a good parallel for me to have Matt and his girls open up about that department. There you go.

Well, that makes sense now. Why I watched it? I was like, this is the best thing I've ever seen. Ashley, I can Eddie up in front of these girls. And then Victoria just goes at her. And I was like, I love Ash. Oh, but I want to see how this one plays out. All right.

Hey, Ashley, let's take a break here. When we come back, we're going to continue with the rest of the episode. Okay, sounds good. And before we do that, can I just say that I also felt like he did have a pretty solid connection with Brie and Lauren? Those are the other two. I think Lauren really stood out to me that day as well. Okay. Now we can take a break.

Let's do it. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it.

He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors. And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases, to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello, Ed. Hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. Dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin, so like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different.

On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. Well, 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth. Unfortunately from Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number,

a New York State number, and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock of prison life,

emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months. The first night was so overwhelming, and you don't know who's next to you. And we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts,

or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Brandt. And in session 421 of therapy for black girls, I sit down with Dr. Athea and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal. Because I think hair is a complex language system, right? In terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right? That this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or,

we're real. It's how our hair is styled. You talk about the important role hairstylists play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss Session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety.

Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it. Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweeten.

Monica Patton. Elaine Welter-Roth. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like, I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about. the why behind these changes and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next

pivot listen to these women and more on she pivots now on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts well the episode picks back up again and it's serena's day yes serena's day and they go horseback riding which i think is always a special day and good no matter where you're at in life. You can do that when you're married, when you're dating, or when you're on a show. Well, here's the part that you always have one or two or multiple of them,

but Serena usually likes to take things slow, and that becomes very obvious to us. But The Bachelor doesn't allow for that. And so these are always the girls that either surprise you because of how quickly they can come out of their shell or they stay reserved, they end up going home. This was kind of my clue to say, I'm excited about how this date plays out

because is she going to be able to pick up the steam, and pick up the speed at which the Bachelor needs her to be. Well, she made quite a point of saying, I'm not falling in love, but I am falling in like with Matt. And she probably doesn't even really fall in like very fast. So she is going to the speed of the Bachelor. She's adapting pretty well.

What I thought was super weird about the first part of their date was that they were like going to make a charcutory board, but they didn't have a board. They had like a placemat. and they're just like putting the meat and cheeses on this mat. I'm like, come on, this is The Bachelor. Why don't we have a pretty board here? Good point.

Yeah, it's like the art department. The art department had a lot of work to do, Ashley, this season. I mean, they were bringing everything in and out of this resort the whole time. There was no, like, stage setting. So let's give them a break here. Okay. All right. Well, then she talks about how her dad was not supportive of her going.

on The Bachelor, that he had a linear life, which she kind of makes sound like not her style, went to school, got married, career, you know, kids, all that, and she wants to be a little bit more adventurous and true to herself. How did your parents react when you were going to go on The Bachelorette? Like, were they gun ho? Because my dad was not. My mom was so into. it. I mean, I remember them both being confused. I think that's probably the best way is like what and I don't get it and what is this going to do? And like, do you have to leave your job and how much is this going to set you back? Like those are the questions. I think a lot of it was more like nobody, like nobody knew what it was going to include. So nobody knew like that I was, it's

end up going to be six months of my life. If not, I mean, a lot more now. I'm still talking about it five years later, but they weren't not supportive. I think they were supportive. They were just like more blazze about it. Yeah. So my dad wasn't against it, but he just thought it wasn't going to be like the best career move. I get that. He, you know, he thought like, you're going to go on. You, what if you look bad? And then like, you can't get a job and blah, blah. I'm like, just trust me. I like have a good feeling about this. I'm pretty sure it's going to work out for me. And it did. But let's get back to Serena.

So Serena has her first kiss with Matt interrupted by a donkey, which I thought was pretty cool because the donkeys are really cute and it's a fun little, you know, blooper-like moment. Matt talks about how he had a pet when he was growing up, but his pet was a turtle. And I was like, I don't know. Like, you really have a, do you really have like an emotional connection to a turtle? I kind of felt Serena on that. I was like, somebody get this man a dog. He needs to feel what it is to have a real pet

You know what I agree And Jessica would agree too She needs to get herself a dog She's been asked me about that Yeah do it do it do it It's time for Ben to have another dog Because you guys Ben was so attached to his dog As a kid that when it passed away

He just couldn't ever I still don't know if I'm ready Bad them having exactly Yeah well a little side check But yeah cannot other people relate with that You have a dog you love so much that when she the dog passes you just can't imagine get another one and I haven't because it hurts so bad but anyways uh yeah get get the guy dog yeah okay so then they go to date night

and this is where she says to him you know like I'm falling in like with you she talks about how her past breakup her one only serious relationship was really really painful for her um she imagined that she was going to marry him um she says that you know they talk about how he dates to marry and she just said that looking back, she knows that she was in love. But he says that looking back on his ex, he doesn't think that he's in love. Like he was in love with her.

Like he did at the time, but then looking back on it, he doesn't think that he was actually in love with him. Ashley, this is where I need your hope. Now, the kids these days are saying this. I'm falling in like with you. Now, I don't know what that means because, When I'm dating or when I was dating, I would like like them pretty much right away or not like them, right?

Like there's no falling in like, like, is that mean like right now? I don't even know if I like you like I'm into this. Like what does it mean to be falling into like? Don't, I mean, if you're there and you're kissing him and you're like going on like, aren't you already liking him? Yes, you're liking him. It's a cute way of saying I'm not ready to say I love you. Yeah. I don't know.

falling in like i think it's just like a cute play on the whole situation all right but you're right it's definitely just like i like you because there's obviously feelings there falling in like would be crushing i think that's just like the verb yeah i'm crushing on you hard well actually obviously this was serena's day uh did you like this date uh to move on then to the final part of the episode okay it was fine i agree see i thought this was fine i thought that uh the last two dates the one-on-ones i saw last week there was a lot more chemistry and this one just felt fine to me well the uh the end of the episode then is when we talked about at the beginning and we'll close with it here is sarah's final goodbyes this was an emotional thing this was tough uh this was you know one of the first like

really important moments for matt as the bachelor uh how did he handle it and then also like how did how did you feel like the girls handled this situation and what can we expect moving forward well i feel like the girls definitely felt like a little bit bad for the way that they acted for her interrupting previously or her being antisocial because they found out that like her dad you know about her dad but i feel like matt could not have handled the situation any better why is he so good at what he does he seriously is so amazing at this he says that he's going to keep thinking about her keep praying for her um you know he's obviously sad that she's not going to be around but you know knows that she's doing this for a very important reason um you know he just could

it's such such a gentleman and and that the guy that she marries he says will be extremely lucky and it's just so sweet so sweet it makes me feel like hey at the end of this if he doesn't end up with somebody or he does and it doesn't work out he should revisit things and sarah i think that he was kind of thinking that in that moment well uh matt handles himself great sarah's exit is one that pulled on all of our heartstrings and uh we wish her the best as she steps away from the show and into her life that she had before. Another great episode, Ashley, as we do every week to close out the thought, your top three contestants at this point and your rating A to F for this episode.

I'm going to keep my top three the same, which is Abigail, Rachel, and Bree. I cannot believe. that next week, there will be five new girls entering. This is insanity. This is actually what I've always wanted. I think that I suggested this to the producers when I was there. I was like, you know, it would be really fun if like a day or two into this a whole bunch of

other girls come in. That's great for me as a viewer, horrible for the girls that are already in there. We thought that we were only going to see Heather and maybe one of Matt's X's join, but it looks like a whole bunch of new girls come and Anna is saying that somebody might be an escort Anna is so funny

she's a little annoying but like Anna is the girl that one she talks like Megan Fox does in the Olson twin movie and two she just is obsessed with drama like she is there to just bitch about people

well it's going to be a wild week yes we have some new guests coming on. Matt has had to learn a lot of people's names at this point. I know his night one felt like there was a ton of people. Just wait till five new girls come on, including Heather, my top three. Well, you didn't give the A to F for the episode. Oh, it gets a B plus for sure. It's like, you know, yeah, it wasn't like the juiciest next week might be the juiciest. So my top three, I'm going to put Katie in this week. I know it was a tough go for a bit on Katie. And I know she She didn't know the whole story, but I really appreciated the way this kind of played out with her on this episode.

I also like Abigail and I like Rachel. I think Abigail and Rachel are far and beyond. And I think Bree is up there as well. Maybe tied for third at this point. Ashley. I take it back. This episode gets an A. Because I was in it.

And how could I not give something that I was in an A? There you go, Ash. Well, I'll give it an A too just for you. Hey, let's take a break. when we come back, we're going to break down Bachelor headlines from this week. And then we're going to close with an interview from Erica Rose. Yes, Erica Rose from Bachelor Season 9. If you don't remember, she was on Lorenzo season of The Bachelor. She's going to talk about what it means to be a queen, a princess, whatever the heck's going on. Hey, we'll be back with the Almost Famous

Podcast. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth. Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number, a New York state number, and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aim to provide a shock a prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting

him the next six months. The first night was so overwhelming, and you don't know who's next to you. And we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change.

Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so deep. tiny. You might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors. And you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Authrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. My name is Ed.

Everyone say hello Ed. Hello Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer and my mom is a cousin, so it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear.

Well, 22nd of July 2015. A 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, and in session 421 of therapy for black girls, I sit down with Dr. Ophia and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal. Because I think hair is a complex language system, right, in terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right, that this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or a reel is how our hair is styled. We talk about the important role hairstyles play in our community, the pressure to always look put together,

and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss Session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship.

I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweetie. Monica Patton. Elaine Welteroff. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like, I got to go.

I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable, pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivots, now on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All right, we're back with Bachelor headlines, the very first headlines. Matt James contestant, Sarah Trott, who we just spoke about, who left this week from the show spotted leaving club with g easy this is pre bachelor but a big story big story yeah back in march early 2020 sarah was seen with g easy at a nightclub it's called delilah it's right around the corner from my apartment in west hollywood and she seems to have been there for a friend's birthday party uh no other info except for uh the fact that that's But they look like they were like maybe leaving together? Yeah, something sweet.

And these paparazzi shots. It's a paparazzi shot. So just so interesting to me how people still find that stuff. Like how do you go back and look at pictures and go, oh, it's Sarah Trott from the back. I just don't. It's so much work to do. Hey, we talked about it last week.

It's something funny that Matt James does. He kisses with his eyes open, not just like one or two times, like pretty commonly. And people started to talk about it last week on the episode. Well, Matt James had a great response to his friend Tyler Cameron, who was trolling him for kissing with his eyes open. So Tyler tweeted him, A-O, Matt James, what we got going on over here with a picture of him with his eyes open? And then Matt responds by saying, got to make sure no one is sneaking up on us. When your eyes are closed, anything can happen.

It's for both of our protection. It is a great response. Super funny. And of course, I had to watch this episode. with his open-eyed kisses in mind, and I did notice that most of them again in this episode were opened-eyed. Now, I got to say that, like, they're like, they're, like, I would say a quarter open, right? Like, they're pretty close, but so maybe he could see, like, a little bit.

He could see, like, a little lip. The open's open. You can't say, like, if they're open, they're open. It doesn't matter if they're half open or, like, one-fourth open. If you're, if they're open, if they're open. Yeah, but I don't think like he's looking at anything. You know, like I'm doing it right now as we speak. Like I got my eyes like a fourth open.

It's like all I see are kind of like my bottom lid. Like I don't really see much else. It's still something to talk about. It's like he's staring at the girl. I don't know. Hey, uh, move on to a story, uh, about Claire Crawley. Um, obviously there's rumors, um, going around this week, uh, that think that Claire, uh, Crawley and Dale Moss have split.

Now, we just want to pause here and see. we have had nothing confirmed and so we can't confirm it here or deny it we just haven't heard but that's beside the point because this headline reads Claire Crawley reunites with mom who battles Alzheimer's after being a part amid COVID time is precious Claire says so there's a picture that she posted on Instagram of her holding her mom's hand and I think it was her left hand and yet that ring part of the left hand is covered. by her mom's hand and that's what people are really over analyzing the day that she posted this Instagram she also um Dale also posted a Bible passage both of them kind of referring to hard days

and I guess they haven't posted anything together or about each other since these posts went up mid last week so people are really speculating but it is really sad that it seems like Claire hasn't been able to like touch her mom like be in the same room as her mom since the beginning of COVID with her mom's Alzheimer's and in the nursing home that she's in the care facility. So I'm really glad that Claire got to see her mom like that has got to be so emotional. I feel so bad for what she's going through. And I really hope that she's not going through any sort of breakup at the moment either. Yeah. Again, we don't know anything about it. We've tried. But then again, you can't really dig to find out what's going on if nobody's knows about it.

We're not going to dig over this. Yeah. But we'll keep you updated if we hear anything, good or sad. But we do know one couple that is thriving right now, Tasha and Zach. And Tasha Adams is keeping Zach Clark close to her heart. This is according to E News. Ashley, how is she doing that? Oh, she's doing it with a necklace.

So she had her T initial on a charm necklace. and then she added a Z for Zacharis. She likes to say Zachary. They also spent his 37th birthday with a road trip to upstate New York this weekend. So the two are cute and cozy and enjoying that East Coast life together. The Bachelorette's Mike Johnson to host new food-focused digital short series that looks good, this according to people. Yeah, this show is called That Looks Good.

and it's supposed to celebrate select culinary holidays with viewers by sharing the history of the food and some fun facts all while eating great meals. It is, it's holiday inspired, like I said, and it'll be five episodes dropping monthly. And the first is Mike's, and he's going to be celebrating National Bagel Day. So when we talk about holidays, we're not talking Christmas, Thanksgiving. We are talking about those silly days that you get pop up on your calendar and on, your Twitter that says like today is national donut day or today is national ice cream cone day so look out for mics that looks good on national bagel day coming up so good

hey a couple other headlines here ashley uh our friend crystal nielsen and boyfriend miles bowls move in together this according to us magazine yeah um not much more to that but they moved into her San Diego Beach House and that house looks freaking gorgeous. So lucky him. And I'm glad that their, um, you know, their, their relationship is progressing as her pregnancy is progressing even more. I can't believe she's in her third trimester already. That's mind blowing. It's crazy. But hey, wishing her the best. Uh, Carly Waddell plans to give wedding ring to daughter Bella after Evan Bass split. I don't need it anymore. And she quotes, oh, she said, I got a ring when got this dress well actually i got a different ring um because if you guys know that they switched

rings she didn't love the ring that she got on bachelor in paradise so they like switched it a couple months in and she said but you're gonna get it one day i'm gonna give that ring to you isn't that cool i don't need it anymore that's what she said on in one of her youtube videos that um she was going through Bachelor in Paradise outfits with with Bella and she was like rating them. I don't know. I saw this and like telling her that to her daughter felt weird to me. Like right? Like you're telling your daughter like I don't need it anymore.

Like that just feels heavy. Yeah. Especially since like that's her dad. It's like I don't need it anymore. Yeah. I mean maybe it's not the best word choice. Just hard. I guess it's the best way to say.

It's hard, but it's hard no matter what. Hey, Matt James has been getting some criticism this week. How can you criticize Matt James? Well, he's getting criticism from somebody for not dating black women. And he says, I've dated across the board, this according to people. Oh, so this was actually brought up on Mike Johnson and Brian Absolo's new podcast. It's called Talking It Out. and Matt says people for some reason think I don't like black women.

The last few women that he dated have all been black. So he says, I don't understand why it's so hard for people to understand. People should want you to be happy regardless if they're white, they're black, they're Asian or whatever. He says, I've dated across the board. My dating life looks like what we saw on night one of the show, Spanish women, white women, Asian women, black women, everything that I've ever dated. and what I'm not into isn't race specific. When you're looking for things that aren't race specific, you have to have a broadcast of characters

to fill out all those things. And thank goodness they had it because it allowed me to enjoy the process the way that it did. Well, obviously, I mean, criticism is going to come, right? It was my advice to Matt. It's going to happen no matter what.

Well, that's been all the headlines for this week. Ashley, great episodes so far, but we still have Erica Rose to come on, which I'm really excited to talk to her about. Let's take a break here. When we come back, Erica Rose will be joining us on the Almost Famous podcast. My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello, Ed. I'm from a very rural background myself. My dad is a farmer, and my mom is a cousin.

So, like, it's not like... What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I just normally do straight stand-up, but this is a bit different. On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear.

The 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club. A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes center stage. Available now.

Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional

programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aimed to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the head. hell awaiting him the next six months. The first night was so overwhelming, and you don't know who's next to you. And we didn't know what to expect in the morning. Nobody tells you anything. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught, and I just looked at my computer screen.

I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors, and you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Brandford,

and in session 421 of Therapy for Black Girls, I sit down with Dr. Othia and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal. Because I think hair is a complex language system, right, in terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyper fixation and observation of our hair, right? That this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or a reel is how our hair is styled. We talk about the important role

hairstylists play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying, don't miss session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweeten. Monica Patton.

Elaine Welter-A. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like, I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes. and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivotts now on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Okay, guys, we got Erica Rose on the phone. If you guys don't remember her, she was a contestant on the ninth season of The Bachelor Lorenzo's. She was eliminated in week three, but so memorable. that who the heck would have thought that she was eliminated week three. She returned to the second season of Bachelor Pad and she was eliminated week five there. And then she returned again for Bachelor Pad season three

and she was eliminated in week five. And if you guys don't remember Bachelor Pad, you should probably go back and watch because it was like the original Bachelor in Paradise. But most importantly, Erica Rose, the original queen of this franchise. is on the line with us. Hey, Erica. Hey, guys. It's good to see you guys and hear from you again.

Good to hear from you. So have you been keeping up this season? I have been keeping up a little bit. I'm not watching it super thoroughly, but of course I've heard about it. And I like Mad as the Bachelor. And of course, I've heard all about Victoria and the fact that she was wearing tiaras. So you the first person on the show ever wear tiara? as far as i know i think i'm the first person on the bachelor franchise to wear one and i feel it's important to add that i wore it because lorenzo was a prince so it made sense for me to wear it it wasn't just like a thing that i did for fun or before going on the show so to me it was in context it's uh okay so let's start here then uh you had a reason to wear this

uh obviously like being the queen or the princess uh is something like kind of matched your season. But if you could put your like self in Victoria's shoes right now, what is the reason for calling yourself a queen? Like what would be the hope that you get out of that? So I have no idea. My mom thinks that she's doing it because her name is Victoria and there was a famous Queen Victoria. I never thought of that. Possibly. I started following her on Instagram after hearing about her and I don't see a lot of pictures on her Instagram in her crowns or tiaras. So I'm not sure if she's doing it to get attention or if it's just something that she's doing to feel empowered.

When you are on the show and you hand up the whole like princess thing, you kind of were playing like into a character. Did you feel like you were? Like were you doing it intentionally? Do you feel like characters like that in the show usually do it intentionally? or do you feel like she's just this is her real self 100% um so i think that i was doing it um intentionally because i wore it to not even the first you know casting thing that i went to but then they did a callback i wore it because i knew that it was prince lorenzo and he was a prince

and of course the producers wanted me to wear it and i was actually embarrassed to wear it on the first night so i wore an understated one because i didn't want the girls to make a thing about it Like I didn't want to stand out that much, honestly. So I felt a little bit uncomfortable about it, but I was encouraged to keep wearing it. And so then it became kind of a thing and I felt like I might as well just own it. But I will say when I came back for Bachelor Pad, like when I first went to 23, but when I came back and it was already in law school at 28, I didn't want to wear the tiara anymore. It felt kind of awkward to me. And it felt like outdated and very juvenile.

And so I just feel like there's certain things you can get away with in your early 20s. So, yeah, I'm not sure if she's being encouraged to wear it. I hope she's not because that just makes me feel like they're encouraged. If the producers are encouraging it, then I do feel like it's kind of popping me and I don't like that. If it's just something that she genuinely does on her own, you know, then I can't hate on that. It's, it's always intriguing to me and we talk about it a lot. But, and you kind of mention it. Like when you're in your early 20s, you can get away with a little bit.

You can be a little funny, silly, goofy, whatever. Right. But it's always interesting. and quite frankly if I'm honest like I don't get this part of the show is when contestants go on they've probably seen the show before they've watched it they know that the characters never really come off well right like it's always like anybody that's like a little bit more like villainous seems to always have their stick and so when you kind of like own a stick and you can it's very clear that like this is not going well for you what do you think the mindset is for people help me

understand this to continue to go go with this like why do they continue down this path so i was actually really um i hadn't really watched a lot of the show when i went on it to be honest so i actually didn't know that um and so i was just doing it you know like i said because i wanted to do what they wanted me to do but also i thought it was all in good fun and i was lucky that lorenzo thought it was funny as well and we became good friends it was even at our wedding we stayed close friends so i guess i was lucky that way but i feel like with her probably it's a similar situation where she feels like she's giving people what they want and she's like enraptured in that character but it can definitely be really really hard um it was for me after the show I thought people were just going to laugh and think it was funny

and I literally got hate mail because this was back when people still sent mail and my mom asking how could you raise your daughter you know to be so spoiled and entitled and my mom's literally like crying and heartbroken over it so you know people can just be really mean so I hope people don't take her too seriously you know she wants them to but it is I mean she seems to really be into this character but it's hard to know what her motivation is unless she's just trying to get it and she's obviously not really thinking that she's going to be the one to end up with Matt either yes Erica before we let you go um can you give us a little update on how your life is these days because you're kind of like Lwood's come to life right now

she's got her platinum blonde hair she's got a pink wall with all her law degrees behind her it's pretty cool so you're a lawyer you work with your husband yes i'm a real lawyer we have a real law firm i actually started it before he joined me um instead then we merged it so it's called rose sanders we're in houston we do i have my specialty entertainment media lab that we really do a lot of family lab and also personal injury and we actually really go to court we're going to in court tomorrow. And I do think of legally blonde sometimes when her friends show up and they're like, you're like a real lawyer because we really are, you know, I really am a real lawyer. And we have two daughters, Holland and Aspen. They're four and a half and two and a half. So life is super busy.

And I don't really sit around and think about, you know, the fact that I was on the bachelor. But of course, it comes up sometimes evening court, you know, it's me and it's fun. But it's not a huge part in my everyday life, other than that. And I don't really think most of them, I never assume that my clients know about it unless they bring it up themselves, honestly. Yeah. Well, I mean, it's going to follow everybody around and somehow, some way. We really appreciate you coming on, Erica, and sharing some insight into Victoria.

You said it best, though, and I think it's something we all have to remember. Like, you don't want to see anybody get hated on, but it's just confusing. I think we watch this, and I think my mindset is like, I'm just confused at what's happening and where this is going to go and how this can be good. and so hearing from you really helps. And hey, come back on soon. Best luck and everything. Tell your husband, hello.

Thanks for having me. Bye. Ashley, it was a pleasure seeing you on this week's episode. I hope we can see you again on more episodes. I know that Chris Harrison stood up for you this week a little bit and said that you did not beg to go back onto this episode. In fact, I can't see you begging to go on to an episode like this and host a date like this. I thoroughly enjoy seeing you. And if you out there enjoy seeing Ashley as well,

please message your comment on something. Make sure she hears from you. Aw. Ben. The girl deserves some love this week. But it was a great episode. Ashley, we'll be back next week, right, with another episode of the Almost Famous Podcast. All right. Well, yeah, I'm excited about next week's episode. I just can't believe there's five more women coming in. This is going to be so good for us at home. And it's so confusing. for Matt. But until then, we will sign off the way we always do. This has been the almost famous podcast. Thank you so much for listening. Write us a little review if you love listening. Yeah, that sounds nice. Yeah, we love you and we love hearing from you. And signing off,

I've been Ashley. And I've been Ben. Make sure, once again, final thing of the podcast, please go join us at this virtual event. I mean, it's pretty much free unless you want a copy of my book, which would be awesome too. Again, that's at loopedlive.com slash almost famous intercode famous at checkout. Hey, you're the best. I've been Ben. We'll talk soon.

Follow the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to 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.

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