The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Beauty & The Bachelor with Allyshia Gupta

Episode Date: February 25, 2025

Former beauty pageant queen Allyshia Gupta gave Grant his first lip lock during his season of “The Bachelor,” and she was just as shocked to go home so early as the rest of America. She’s opening up to Ben & Ashley about her surprising early exit and who has slid into her DMs from the franchise since departing. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your eggs. No, no, no, we're not doing that this season.

Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. Get in here. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Jenna Lopez, and in the new season of The Over Comfort Podcast, I'm even more honest, more vulnerable, and more real than ever.

Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? Join me for conversations about healing and growth, all from one of my favorite spaces, The Kitchen. Listen to the new season of the Overcombered podcast on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your 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.

Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts with IHartRadio. This is the Almost Famous Podcast. We are here today with a very special guest. We're so excited for her to be joining us, Alicia, from this season of The Bachelor, probably one of the most talked about eliminations of the season still to date, even though it happened so early on. And that's really what we want to talk about throughout this episode.

Alicia, I do want to start with saying this. Before the season started, we kind of always go through our top four of who we think will make it based on knowing nothing about any of you and really having no clue of anything that's going to happen through the season. And you were up there. So for you to be eliminated was shocking to us here. But we'll kick it off with kind of your backstory, if that's okay with you. Yeah.

You have a fairly similar backstory to a lot of the very well-known contestants that have come through the Bachelor franchise. You are a former pageant queen. And you're also just very accomplished outside of that. So can you give us a little backstory of your pageant years? And have you known or competed against anybody that's been on the show before? well thank you firstly for that um and yeah so interestingly the pageant world is so small and yes i do come from the pageant world i competed at miss usa and held the title is miss california but

i couldn't be further from what you would imagine when you think of a typical pageant girl um i never really competed i had come from a family that was born and raised in england so even pageantry uh the whole concept was so new to all of us. And it really just got started. I was a little kid and I was always a girly girl and I love crowns and sparkles and everything that princesses wore. And that was my dream job. And I was watching our local town.

We had nothing in our local town, but we had this big Christmas parade every year. And so I was watching it and the local queens had gone by on a parade and they were waving. And I just saw the crowns and pretty dresses. And I remember asking my mom, like, how do I, I want to be on that float. I want to wave. I want the crown. I want to be a princess. And I was like five. And my mom is the complete opposite of a girly girl. So she had no idea and she had no idea how to help me. But I did some research and figured it out. And it was a local pageant. So that's kind of how I got started. And then I didn't really compete because I wasn't a

U.S. citizen. So up until I was about 22, I hadn't yet naturalized. And I never, felt any repercussions besides not being able to vote up until trying to attempt to qualify for Miss USA. And of course, you have to be a U.S. citizen first. So my dream of competing in pageants really was put on a back burner. And I went to college. My life continued. That was not in my plans whatsoever. It wasn't on my bingo card. But just so happened that the same director who owns Florida happened to own California at the time, which was the Crisley. family, Todd, Chrisley and Savannah Chrissly. So they

reached out to me and they said, hey, would you want to come out and do California? We knew you were from Florida originally and you wanted to. And I said, no, that ship sailed. Like, I have a job. That was like a pipeline dream. No, I'm not interested. And they said, well, what if we just let you come to the state

level? Because typically you've to win a preliminary pageant on a county or Yeah. A certain original one, yeah. exactly so they said well what if we just say you're miss hollywood and you can calm out and compete so i said okay sure at that point i hated my job i was working in marketing were you a u.s citizen

at this point i had i had naturalized as a u.s. citizen okay because i was confused if i was like when did when totally separate from the page world i had done that for my own so you didn't do it for it okay no um but of course my mom posted something on facebook with you know my naturalization papers And that's when the Chris Lees had seen it and reached out and said, come on out to California and just do it. And I had bought this pageant dress probably. Oh, I bought it when I was 18. And so now going forward, what, it was 20-something. And I had this dress that I was never going to wear anywhere else.

And I thought, sure, I hate my job. I'm just going to use this as a distraction and go for it. And it's just a bucket list item. And I remember inviting my mom and my sister to the pageant. And they're so honest, like we have a very close relationship. and they didn't mean it in a horrible way, but they said, you know, I hope you don't mind, but we're not going to come from Florida to California to watch this because you're not going to win. Like there's just no, you're not a bad girl, you're not prepared, you don't go to the gym,

you don't have a coach, you don't know how to walk, you don't know how to answer a question on stage, and pageants like California are known for being really competitive. And so it was a really big one. And I said, you know what, guys, I'm not upset. Like, don't waste the money. don't my sister's in med school so she has a crazy schedule um and i was fine with them not coming and then long story short i end up winning i don't know how i think it's really a matter of they like the fact that i wasn't the typical pageant girl and that i messed up a million times on my interview and

i was you know walked when i wasn't meant to walk and did circles when i wasn't meant to do circles so i think they probably liked that it was um i was just novice in the pageant world but But, yeah, I do have some connections with past bachelor contestants as far as competing in pageants. No, I've never competed against any of them. And I've never met any of them through pageants either or personally either. Well, so how did you become Miss California, have you were going to Florida? Yeah, so I grew up in Florida, and that's when my pageant journey, I suppose, started, let's say. but then after college I got my first job out in LA and I moved and I was a couple years

and that's when they had contacted me and I'd already naturalized as a U.S. citizen. Okay, okay. All right, I got it, got it. Yeah, and you have to complete where you're living. So at that point, I was in California. Okay, all right, there you go. Okay, so then how did we get from that to signing up for the Bachelor? Well, how did we get from that to signing up for the Bachelor? So much went on in between those two things, I was in a really serious relationship for three years.

And I really thought I was, I saw the future with this person. There was no doubt in my mind. This was going to be my husband, the father of my children. And it was reciprocated. We, he had purchased an engagement ring. We had an engagement ring shopping. You know, he asked my mom for permission to marry me and the book the whole. planned it all out, asked my mom, my sister, and then on a Tuesday woke up and said,

you know, I think there might be other people more compatible for me. So I packed my bags that same day, moved out, and the bachelor just happened to DM me like the next week and asked if I was single. And they reached out previously and I wasn't single or interested in doing the show. But at that point, they just got me on the right day, the right time and the right phase of heartbreak to think it might be worth a shot going on the show. And then you went through with it. Now, before we get into the curiously early elimination, I do want to ask you what did we not see on the show in those first two weeks that are so true to you that you'd want Grant to know

in the world to know that you never got the opportunity to share. Well, there's a lot that's shared that isn't aired, of course. I mean, there's just so many women in conversations, frankly, that happened. You know, it would be impossible to show it all. But I do feel like my short time that I was there, I was 100% myself and very authentic with the women in the house and with my one-on-one time with Grant. So I don't feel like I walked away with any sort of regrets or, feelings of that I missed the shot to show someone who I am or I wish I did this or said

this because I was I was all that and I did show up as Alicia and remained her throughout the entire time. So I feel pretty good in retrospect looking back at my experience. I think that when we watched episode one, we thought that you could have even been the first impression rose recipient. You were definitely in contention for that. at least from what we saw it felt like that and had the first kiss from what we saw first kiss from what we saw yes i know that could have probably been you know fudged now we we just been dying to know like what changed in a matter of the week you know i don't know what changed i think for me i can only speak from my perspective right so i don't know what went on in grant said or why he made the

decisions he made. But I was feeling good about our connection. We had continued conversations that, of course, weren't aired just because, you know, you don't have the time to show everything that were really progressive, in my opinion. And it's funny because the internet reacted to our night one conversation, like, oh my gosh, they have so much chemistry, the connection. And in my eyes, of all the conversations I had with Grant, that was my least favorite, just because it's the first one, you're nervous. It's night one. It's super late. You're tired. Your heels are hurting. All the conversations after that feel even more comfortable, if anything. So, you know, I wish that they were aired because I think it would give more color to who I am and give more color

to the relationship that Grant and I had developed in that time. But to be honest, I'm not sure what changed for him in his head. I really, really thought, I wasn't expecting. I wasn't expecting to go home. as early as I did. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Well, wait a minute, Sam, maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week

on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other,

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

OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no. We're not doing that this season.

Oh, well, this season we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here. Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new Super Secret Bestie is The Diva of the People. The Diva of the People. I'm just like text your ex. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it.

Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreaks, men, and of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the Michael Tura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult. But it happens all the time to people just like you. And people just like us. I'm Lola Blanc. And I'm Megan Elizabeth. We're the host of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology of belief. Each week we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out. Trust me.

New episodes every Wednesday on Exactly Right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 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 you obviously get in the limo after that elimination and you do have time to kind of

process but i'm sure it was confusing then now that you look back on it if you could make some very uneducated uh assumptions about what had happened because it is surprising i mean in the bachelor world to go home week two usually means there's no connection i mean it least when I went through it, it usually meant, like, hey, we haven't even had a conversation yet. So I don't even know, like, remember your name. And so, like, you're going to go home because we obviously, like, aren't finding ways to even talk. Right. You are saying that you did get to talk to him, that you did have some sort of connection with him. And so as you've processed it, you could make some assumptions. Like, what happened? So, you know what they say about

assumptions. It only makes an ass out of you and me. We do them all the time here. But here I go. that's what we that's our bread and butter yeah that's all we do so my assumption would be i wasn't physically his type having lighter hair and skin and eyes maybe i just wasn't physically his type that was one of the first things that crossed my mind because to your point then when you are eliminated that early even though we did have ample opportunities to continue our conversation and grow our connection, you really aren't, you don't have enough time with the women, in my opinion, to make a decision based on their personalities unless you haven't had time to speak with them, which we did have. So I would have to imagine it was purely down to a physical element

that maybe I didn't, I physically didn't check the boxes of what his future wife he imagined her to look like. He kissed you right away, though. I know. I'm not sure. I, I, you know, that's, it is very strange. And we had more kisses after that. And we had time that was one-on-one. I was actually pretty sick the morning of the basketball date, the bus ride over. I just wasn't feeling too great. I had a little bit of a stomach ache. And he really made it a point to pull me to the side and check on me and even I'd been vomiting TMI I know and even made a ask if he could kiss me and I was like you don't want to do that I've been vomiting and he was super adamant on on taking care of me and being there so it was definitely a surprise at that Rose Samarant ceremony and

I will say well I don't know if I'm allowed to say this but they'll stop me if I can I felt like he was giving me a lot of validation that I was staying. So it was surprising when my name wasn't called because I felt like he was intentionally sending me messages that were kind of like, you know, the wink, wink, don't worry, you're here saying he has a connection with me, that, you know, I shared something really personal with my family and some photos with him on that final night. And he asked to keep them and said, you know, I'm going to hold on to these. I'll give them back to you next time i see you so of course i'm reading that like a woman's going to analyze that in her head and we're thinking like okay next time you're fine you're fine you again a hundred percent we have the

connection um and yeah that was like the last thing he said to me before the rose ceremony and then sent me home so it was very confusing but at the same time i do feel like closure is just somebody not picking you you know if it it wasn't meant to be it wasn't meant to be. And, you know, I feel good about that. And I think I had a connection with Grant. I would have liked to explore it more. But if he had already made that decision in his head that he wasn't attracted to me,

I'm glad he sent me home earlier than later. We had you on thinking we were going to get answers. You were going to tell us about some conversation that went awry. And now you've further puzzled us as to why you left week too. Yeah. I wish I could. I wish I could tell you what further conversations like happened. That would have changed things.

But truly, looking back on it, there wasn't anything that would have derailed our progress. If anything, it would have, I think had viewers seen more of our conversations, they would have been even more continued. Probably why they didn't show. And as that's anything? Because they didn't want us to feel even weirder about it. Okay. So we see online that you and.

Devin, Jen's Devin, Devin Strader, are following each other. Now, listen, there's this girl that I know, and he slid into her DMs when, like, he was with Jen or like right after they broke up, somewhere in the very close proximity of their relationship. So, and guess what? Little breaking news here. He just did it again. He said to her, I'm dying to take you out on a date. Like, when can we do this? Literally, they haven't spoken in like six months. Okay. And then less than a week later, he posts a picture of him with some new girl. Like out there on Instagram with another girl. So we know we're assuming. We're assuming strongly that Devin slid into your DMs. what are you guys talking what are you talking about yeah so thanks for bringing this up because

that is a rumor I was certainly not excited to hear circulating um I have no idea how this bachelor nation world works but in my reality of la la land it's like we're all BFFs after this we're going to hang out after the show I'm going to come over and play with Ben's kid like me and Ashley are going to get drunk together that's how that's how I imagine like the tail end of this is. It's not really far off. Right. And so, you know, anybody from Bachelor Nation who followed me, I made it a point to follow

them back. Devin was just one of the many that were included. And I think people forgot to mention the many others who I mutually follow. Yes, he did slide into my DMs as a few other people did. That dude's busy. He's busy. What's so funny is, so he slid into my DMs, I didn't respond. onto him. He slides into my DMs again after I guess. He's persistent. He's rumors start

circling that Devin and I start following it or whatever. He sends me another message and it was, I couldn't believe it. I'm going to spark notes it for you because I can't be bothered to go dig it up right now, but essentially said like, sorry that I caused you all this attention from these rumors, like, as if he's the reason why people are interested in the bachelor right now. Like, oh, oh, are they? See, look, this is what he just posted. Oh, it's Valentine's Day. He posted this girl.

Yeah. These days, my V-day, soothing like beach waves. Yeah. Playing for, playing for keeps, babe. Playing for keeps. Three, four days before this, slid into this girl's DM. saying, what am I taking you on a date? I have a feeling that he's not going to be dating this girl very much longer after this show.

I hope this girl can see. Oh, I'm on Blurred, but for her own personal record, the date of these messages was February 6th from Mr. Devin Strader. So I'm pretty positive he was with her at that point as well. Eight days is a long enough time to play for keeps. Eight days in relationship. But she did not know. That's what I don't. She must have heard something before because if he's doing it to everyone,

rumors like she would have heard that he does this by now. She must not care. It's, uh, Alicia, this is a very interesting conversation to be having because you're not wrong. The Bachelor Nation is a very supportive group of people. There's always events happening. And then back in the day,

there was a lot more events happening. And I hope that. that, you know, the almost famous group can bring you into some of these fun things. We're going to love to have you there. And we all will become best friends and hopefully my wife does bring a little daughter and her and I can have a date night

and you guys can babysit. But there is this interesting thing that happens after the show. You were eliminated, in our opinion, too early. And if we get to talk to Grant again here soon, we're going to tell him that and see what he says about it. Hopefully clear any,

confusion but now you have the opportunity to go on paradise and the reason these rumors were started and the reason i even saw them was because people were kind of making couples up for paradise and devon's name was getting thrown around along with yours because you both follow each other we've gotten to the bottom of that whole scenario he slid into your dms uh there isn't and am i fair saying there isn't like a relationship built right now between the two of you so if you show up to the beach in paradise the first question is would you say yes to doing it secondly uh if devon shows up to the beach in paradise would you be interested in pursuing a relationship with him and if not him then who no i would not be interested that's the easiest answer is certainly no to devon

um for a multitude of reasons but if what we've just covered isn't enough then i'm not sure what is I really, I really want to have a partner for life and a husband and I want to start my family and I'm looking for someone who's serious about that. And I think it's pretty obvious that based on the way he moves, that's not what he's looking for. So, you know, that's a non-starter for me. If you're not serious, then I'm not even going to give you the day of time. So time of day, excuse me. So that would be the answer to that. When I go on Paradise, it depends. I think I would have, it would be something I would certainly consider.

And I think there would be a lot of different variables that I would have to think about before I made a decision when if I went or if I didn't go. Like what? Wait, time out. What variables? Work, my work schedule. My family and life schedule. Like I said, my little sister is graduating from.

med school and as residency starting and match day and those are just big life events i wouldn't miss for anything um and then of course who else is going to be on bachelor in paradise i think if there was men going who i could see a future with then it would be more enticing if it was men like devon going then no i don't think i'm as interested because um a while it would be fun i don't see how anything serious could come of it well it sounds like you're a bachelor's Bachelor fan because of what you said. So in Bachelor's past, which single guys would you like to see show up on that beach? I got to start looking.

I'm going to Google this so I can fill in any gaps that she's not willing to answer. Ben was honestly, Ben, you used to be on like my hot Bachelor guy list before you were married. Yeah. Like you were my type. Dark hair, dark eyes is typically what I go for. oh okay so if that's what you're saying here there's a guy named spencer i think we were uh he was just a few seasons ago right and he's like living next to kelly flanagan that's how he's in my head good looking fella dark hair tall ripped it's hard because so much changes too

in the relationship um and then the interdating in bachelor nation it's kind of hard to know who's single and who's available and then of that group. You know, you don't know anything about people's personalities and as cliche as that sounds, if you looked at any of my ex-boyfriends, you would be able to attest the fact that I go off personality. Even though I do have a type, I'm always finding myself dating guys that go against that type just based on us being able to get along and have a good time and laugh, which is weird because, you know, circling back to this past season, Grant was definitely my physical type, dark hair, dark eyes tall. And we had a lot in common as far as being raised by a single mom and being super close to our sister, loving dogs. We both grew up

on a farm. And my sister was born in the same town. He was born in New Jersey. It's a lot of weird, small coincidences. Well, what about New Jersey? Oh, my gosh. Who's, what's his name? the one from Katie season that everybody thought was going to win. Greg? Greg. He's now not with Victoria anymore. I could see him being a hot shot in Paradise. Yeah.

Wait, Greg is like, as far as personality-wise, that's somebody who I would really get along with because I've seen his TikToks and they're just so funny. That's my type of humor. I mean, these aren't Bachelor people, but have you been watching Traders? because Boston Rob, he needs to come to paradise. He's, I love Boston Rob. I don't watch a shit, Wells loved him.

Great. Wait, so like, but Boston Rob is 50 years old. No, Boston Rob's married with a beautiful family as well. But people like him. Okay, so we're kind of married in. Personality is really catchy. I like, I don't know. I like that type of confidence.

Here's what we're going to tell you. So we're going to speak some old school, almost famous bachelor wisdom over you. You should go to Paradise. You're going to be sought after. It's going to be really fun for you. Ask Ashley. Ashley's married with two kids from Paradise. Thanks to it.

It is something that I know when you sign up for the Bachelor. It does feel overwhelming, very odd. And then you get sent home week two and you're having. have a lot of questions about it. What happens in paradise is it's a whole new world. It's not that long. It's a very intentional time. It's a lot of fun and you're going to do great there. So if the opportunity comes your way and we don't lead you astray here, we have no skin in this game, I think Ashley and myself would both say, go do it. I appreciate that input. And yeah, Ashley, you do have a success story that is envious of. So I think it's like I said,

said, if there was somebody going or a few different people who I think there was a real connection with, I would be excited to take that opportunity because you do see real relationships that come out of it. And I haven't watched Bachelor in Paradise, so I know I need to go and watch a full season of it to know how different it is from the Bachelor, because I have heard that it's a totally different dynamic and a totally different environment completely. Yeah, and this season, they might have air conditioning. So this would be the season to go. Goodness, delicious.

My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Oh, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up.

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

To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the Iheart Radio app, podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult. But it happens all the time to people just like you. And people just like us. I'm Lola Blanc. And I'm Megan Elizabeth. We're the host of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and the psychology

of belief. Each week we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out. Trust me. New episodes every Wednesday on Exactly Right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. 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. The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy chisement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, no.

We're not doing that this season. Oh. Well, this season, we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it. Get in here. Today we have a very special guest with us. Our new Super Secret Bestie is the divo of the people. The deeper of the people.

I'm just like text your acts. My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot, go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya.

In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heart breaks, men, and of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the Michael Thura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple, podcast or wherever you get your podcast. Ashley, I do have two final questions. Yeah. Just to kind of summarize here. Ashley and I just broke down that the Bachelorette is not returning for the next season. However, when we did our investigation, your name did get brought up in the mix of who they

were thinking about asking to lead the franchise if they would have came to you with the Bachelorette or maybe even in the future. When the show comes back, would you consider it? Yes. I don't think I would ever shut the door. I had an incredible experience on The Bachelor, and I've said it before, I'll say it again, even knowing how my journey ended and knowing I would go home night or two or week two, I would go back and do it all again. I had a really, really great time. I have nothing but the best things to say about Grant and the production and the entire show. So because I had such a great experience, I would definitely. be open to doing anything as far as Bachelor Nation goes. Yeah, I absolutely feel like part of the family already. And I've felt their outreach from the fans. And I love it. I'm obsessed with it. I've had a great time. And I have no complaints from what's portrayed or what's not portrayed. The women on the seasons, I mean, we've just had a really, all around, I had a really great

experience. And then the final thing I have to bring up, because it was mentioned. and it feels like more and more we talk about it here on the Almost Famous Podcast. It's a complete pivot point, but you have been open about your Lyme disease. If you don't listen to the Almost Famous Podcast, one of my best friends in the world suffered from Lyme disease and it actually increased to a whole different disease and that he still deals with this day. Obviously, we have Kelly Flanagan. We had Daisy.

Lyme disease is a very important topic that doesn't get talked about enough, that isn't studied enough, that isn't even considered a real disease. by most, which is outrageous to me. So in closing here, we have a minute. Do you mind sharing about your Lyme disease and kind of where you're at, how you're healing, and any advocacy efforts that you're doing or that you know of on behalf of this disease that so many people are unfamiliar with? Yeah.

Thanks for, thank you for loving that up to me because it's such an important cause and one that I've personally suffered from. I was about two and I contracted Lyme's disease and unfortunately I was in New Jersey and the tick had bit me on my hairline and because I was so young, a lot of the symptoms are really similar to the flu and the one really sign that you can tell it's Lyme disease is a bull's eye rash that you get around the tick bite and because that was on under my hairline it was undetectable and so I was so young my mom kept taking me to doctors and and everybody kept saying it's a flu, it's this, this, this.

And then one day I woke up and I was completely paralyzed my entire right half of my body. I was in a wheelchair. They rushed me to the hospital and put me in a, place me in an induced coma. So my brain swelling wouldn't keep on increasing and got me on antibiotics and a direct pick line to my heart, which I stayed on. And from there, it's something that I've lived with. That is, I've never really had a normal baseline because, it happens so young in my life. I've lived with it, what feels like my entirety of my life,

and it's just something I've learned to manage, and it's ongoing. There is no cure for it, sadly. So a lot of Lyme's disease patients have different experimental, holistic remedies that they'll try. I love cryotherapy and infrared saunas. Of course, there's the antibiotic route that I've also partaken in, and it has helped me tremendously, but it's not a forever solution. It's something that I continuously have to go back on and do rounds of antibiotic treatments every couple of years. So it's a lot, and it's something that I think a lot of people are starting to talk about more. Thank goodness. And I love that there is so much of it's shown on Bachelor because we need to talk about it more. And I think we're finally getting to the point where people are

addressing the severity of it and how serious it is, which is wild that it's taken this long. But I do advocate for the Lyme's disease community. Bay Area Lyme Society is out of California. I've partnered with them previously and continue to partner with them on really educating an awareness for Lyme's disease. If you follow their social media pages, they also share about events and fundraisers that they have throughout the year. but the biggest part of their cause is trying to educate people and just bringing the statistics

of this disease to the forefront. So if you're interested or you have Lyme's disease, knows someone who has Lyme's disease or suffering with it, I would highly encourage you to check out Bay Area Lyme's disease as a resource for learning more and for learning about events in your area or ways you can help. Yeah. It is something that needs to be talked about more. Thank you for bringing it up. It is interesting that The Bachelor has so many contestants that have suffered with this disease, but I also think it's not only because the Bachelor looks for people with Lyme disease, because I don't think they do. I think it's because a lot of people have it. It's the statistic of Lyme's disease of how many people have it. That is, I mean, if you think about the statistics of who has had it or experienced it from the Bachelor Nation, I think that would be pretty fitting with what's statistically online with how many people are implicated with Lyme disease. Thanks for talking about it. It means a lot to all of us here.

We've talked about it many times. Alicia, you are great. We hope to watch you on Paradise. We hope to have you at some almost famous events. Thank you for taking the time to chat with us today. We leave this conversation with some nuggets. Devin works hard at some things that he just shouldn't be working at. The second thing takeaway is we have no answers to why Alicia was sent home.

We're still as confused as ever, but it doesn't mean that her love story is over. And hopefully we get to see it on the beaches, wherever those beaches exist in the world here coming up soon. Until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. See you, guys. Thanks, Alicia. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly.

and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever. you get your podcasts. Hi, I'm Jennifer Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcomfit Podcast, I'm even more honest, more vulnerable, and more real than ever. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really

just devote myself and my time? Join me for conversations about healing and growth, all from one of my favorite spaces, The Kitchen. Listen to the new season of the Overcomper podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your 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. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The Super Secret Bestie Club podcast season four is here. And we're locked in. That means more juicy cheesement. Terrible love advice. Evil spells to cast on your ex. No, no, no, we're not doing that this season. Oh, well, this season we're leveling up. Each episode will feature a special bestie, and you're not going to want to miss it.

My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. Get in here. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.