The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Ben Puts Mercedes Date in the Hot Seat

Episode Date: December 15, 2025

Ben checks in with Mercedes date, Bryce, to get his honest take on their first blind date. Ben is asking the tough questions…like why was Bryce’s Uber receipt time stamped after 2AM, and will there be a second date???See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. If a Lenovo gaming computer is on your holiday list, don't shop around. Just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com. It's your last chance to score exclusive deals on the gaming PCs you want, like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming desktop and Lenovo Lock Gaming Laptop. So avoid all that shopping, chaos, and price comparing, and just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com,

where PCs are up to 35% off. That's Lenovo. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes gentlemen's cut different is me being a part of developing the profile of this beautiful finished product with every sip you get a little something different. Visit gentlemen's cut bourbon.com or your nearest total wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky.

For more on Gentleman's Cut Bourbon. Bourbon, please visit Gentleman'scuturban.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mail Room. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer.

And like most guys, I haven't been to the doctor in way too long. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Every week, we're breaking down the world of men's health from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility. We'll talk science without the jargon and get your real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. What up, y'all?

It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show.

Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kept on stage, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast. Hey, everybody, it's Chuck and Josh from the Stuff You Should Know podcast, and it's that time of year again when we knuckle down to do our annual holiday episodes. We collected our best past classic holiday episodes

and compiled them into a 12 days of Christmas toys playlist that the whole family can enjoy. That's right. Maybe you missed it the first time we detailed the history of Beanie Babies, Monopoly, or yo-yo's and a whole lot more. So listen to the 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

IHeart Podcasts bring you the ultimate Summer of Love Tree. This is famously available. It's famously available. I'm your host, Ben Higgins, and I'm excited today because I've been anticipating this conversation for a while now. To recap, I sit Mercedes on a blind date to Jingle Ball, and I had my trusted spies, Kathy, Indiana,

keeping an eye on her. But today I'm finally going to get to hear all about how the date went from the other side. Please welcome back to the pod. Bryce. Or not bad. This is your first time here.

We've talked about you though. Again, if you haven't listened listeners to the episodes leading up to this date, you've got to go back and listen to those. It's incredible. But Bryce, to kick things off, you were highly recommended from some mutual friends of mine.

I personally think Mercedes is incredible. And so I was very excited to find her somebody that if anything else was a good time, a good date, and you definitely fell into that category. The night started, I was getting pictures and getting some text. The night started, you guys basically wore the same outfit. Yeah, yeah, both had like a silk dress on,

a silk shirt on, all black. I think we kind of matched up there pretty well, which is good. We both had like heels on too. These boots with like these like four inch heels on. I didn't know how tall she was. So I was like, let me just like show up like six, five and just be cool. You know? Yeah, it was fun.

We look good together, I think. You look good together, at least in the pictures I got. You also, I was excited for this date because Mercedes is originally from Iowa. I'm from Indiana. So I love the Midwest. And you're from Kansas. And I think there's something uniquely different. I would say good, but I'm biased, about a midwesterner.

And so those things usually, I would always attribute like kindness, being polite, you know, usually not being too showy to a Midwesterner. And I think that's an attractive, you know, trait to some. Were you excited about it because she was from the Midwest? Like, did that help you out a little bit? Yeah, I mean, when I found out that she was from Iowa, I was like, oh, okay, cool, we're going to be same same vibe, you know, same upbringing type of values, which is cool. But, you know, I mean, that's kind of just how we were grown up so a lot of people can shift and, you know, you can kind of get lost in the sauce. There's a lot of people in L.A. where I'm from who are from the Midwest, but may not be the most Midwest vibes, if you know what I mean.

So, you know, I had to kind of fill it out. But she's, she's great, man. The values were pretty similar. Yeah, I'd say so that Midwest connection was there. Now, you've also both been on reality television. Did you guys talk much about that? Not too much. I mean, we started there. I think the biggest thing was she just wanted to know what show I'd been on.

And I'd been on this show called F Boy Island. So that was really coming out the gates hot, which he asked me. And so, you know, the good thing about it is I came on that show is like a nice guy, right? So there's F boys, half of the guys are F boys, other guys are nice guys. So I was a nice guy and hopefully I showed that on the date as well. But yeah, that was a fun intro conversation and being like, okay, well, it may look like a douchebag. And I know I was on the show called FBO Island. Like, let me just set the record straight here.

Do you have to do that often now on dates? Just kind of like setting the record straight? nah, nah, I think I try not to bring up that show to be honest just because it was like not great experience. It wasn't the vibe. And so but outside of that, I think that

maybe I get judged pretty quickly based on how I look. So instead of like getting that conversation head on, what I do is just I'm just myself super just fun and try to make the other person feel super calm and peaceful.

and just put my best foot forward. So that whole like, oh, shit, who is this guy, you know, kind of falls away pretty quickly. Now, you did a little conversation before the date really kicked off with Mercedes that is airing on famously available. During that conversation, you both said, hey, if the night goes well, we're totally open to have an end of the evening kiss. did that kiss happen no that kiss did not happen and here's why and here's why

to be completely honest with you it's a couple of different reasons one I think I had like one-on-one time with her for maybe 30 seconds the entire night you know it's one thing I'm cool like if I knew her and we had kissed before

and we were surrounded by hundreds of people I would kiss for no problem I don't care about that but it's more so about like her and what she's comfortable with and everything like that um and she had kind of been open with me about how she's kind of moving within relationships right now and so i kind of took that and was like let me just be respectful and just you know have fun just focus on more of the fun aspect of it and not trying to make it any like thing too heavy i don't know

yeah it just wasn't really a moment i feel like i would have to force a moment and i don't do that no you don't want to force it um that never goes well for anybody yeah but let's kind of start at the beginning of the date then um talk about what you thought of mercedes when you first saw her in person so when she walked into the podcast room obviously the first thing i noticed was that she's totally beautiful totally my type stunning girl uh big fan big fan of how she looks and then she had this big smile when she walked in so that was great too yeah i don't know just from a looks perspective from a vibe perspective she carries herself with a cool aura i'd say like just strong like she knows who she is so all of that came into the room and i was like okay cool this is great she's she's on top of it

and yeah the connection was pretty immediate and you can you can probably hear that on the podcast too we uh we had a good time and then i don't know it was just smooth and then when we after we talked we pulled up the Instagram and saw like the mutuals like that's always a fun thing and we have a ton of mutuals

so it was just like okay cool and our universes are connected in a way so then we had a lot of conversations with that which made everything a little bit more easy I feel like in both sides we did get to talk to Mercedes before the date started and there were some like key elements that came up

one she was excited for the first date but it is different when you're surrounded by friends or people like you already mentioned. You had very few moments of just like one-on-one-one time. You took a sprinter van to the show following the podcast that was full of people. Mercedes said her biggest red flag would have been if you paid more attention to everybody else than you did to her. was that something that you were conscious intentional about going into it

or did that just happen naturally because you're like, I only want to talk to her. Yeah, I mean, well, one, I was there for her. So it was nice, you know, I don't know how to move with groups, right? So get into the Springer band, introduce myself, boom, boom. And then make sure everybody knows who I am and that we're all comfortable.

and then me and her sat next to each other and because there was so much traffic from Brentwood to downtown we talked for probably like an hour and a half, two hours it felt like. And so, you know, there was moments where we would bring in a couple of her friends that were on her season

that were sitting right in front of us just for like stories and stuff. So it was fun to create a vibe where everyone was laughing and I was also able to kind of touch base with her and get to know a lot about her. And so I think hopefully she feels those I played the sprinter part perfectly, which I think I did.

So we'll see. Do you get nervous for first dates? Never. I used to. Never? Yeah, I used to. I used to when I was younger. But I think now I just know who I am so much that you can pretty much throw me into any situation.

I'm not going to be nervous and I'll just be myself. And I've seen with my track record of me just being myself how it makes everybody else comfortable and everybody else have fun. And so there's no reason to be nervous if I know I can go into a room and make that room better, like a better experience for people just by being there. So that's kind of why I'm not nervous. But I asked her if she was nervous at the beginning. She said she was.

And then I said, okay, within like 15 minutes, you're not going to be nervous anymore. And it seemed like she was over her nervous pretty quickly. So hopefully that was true. I get nervous. I mean, I'm married. I haven't gone on it. I still get nervous. for dates with my wife.

Like I get really not, yeah, like butter, like I get, I get real excited. Other night we went on a date and we got dressed up and she met me downstairs and I was like excited, I guess. But first dates were always really hard for me. I never loved doing them. That's why, I mean, one of the many reasons why I'm so happy I'm married, I don't have to go on those anymore. It always felt very intimidating.

You did do a few things that stood out to the spies that were really great. You and Mercedes went to a gifting suite together, and you were carrying her bags. Is that something you offered to do? Did she ask you to carry them? No, I mean, my girl is never going to be carrying bags. I'm sorry. If we're in the same room and I see you're carrying something, I'll carry it. If I have enough arms open.

And it was like a fun little gifting suites. You know, that's more tailored to the girls anyways. So I was like, if I can just grab her bags and she's more free to be with her girls and run around and, like, get all the gifts. And so I was like, how, you know, it was. I kind of do it without thinking, honestly. I mean, it's just been so ingrained into my system. I see him like dad and how he treats my mom.

And it's just like, okay, well, this is just what a man does. Yeah. I mean, it's a good move. And it's a great move. I mean, I think it'd be a lot of fun to see her be able to run around with her friends because I'm with you, those gifting suites. There's a few things, maybe, like a mug that I can pull out of there. But it's usually not set up for.

I'm wearing this hoodie from the Gifting Suites. Hey, that's a win. It's the one in itself. If a Lenovo gaming computer is on your holiday list, don't shop around. Just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com. It's your last chance to score exclusive deals on the gaming PCs you want, like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming desktop

and Lenovo Lock Gaming laptop. So avoid all that shopping chaos and price comparing, and just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com, where PCs are up to 35% off. That's Lenovo.com. Lenovo, Lenovo. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes Gentlemen's Cut different

is me being a part of developing the profile of this beautiful finished product with every sip you get a little something different. Visit Gentleman'scuturban.com or your nearest Total Wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky. For more on Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, please visit

gentleman's cutbuburn.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Dad had the strong belief that the devil was attacking us. Two brothers, one devout household, two radically different paths. Gabe Ortiz became one of the highest-ranking law enforcement officers in Texas. 32 years, total law enforcement experience. But his brother Larry, he stayed behind and built an entirely different legacy. He was the head of this gang, and nobody was going to tell him what to do.

You're going to push that line for the calls. Took us under his wing and showed us the game, as they call it. When Larry is murdered, Gabe is forced to confront the past he tried to leave behind and uncover secrets he never saw coming. My dad had a whole other life that we never knew about. Like, my mom started screaming my dad's name, and I just heard one gunshot. The brothers Ortiz is a gripping true story. about faith, family, and how two lives can drift so far apart and collide in the most devastating

way. Listen to the Brothers Ortiz on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA Health, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mailroom. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like a lot of guys, I haven't been to the doctor in many years. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't. Because guys usually don't go to the doctor unless a piece of their face is hanging off or they've broken a bone. Depends which bone. Well, that's true. Every week, we're breaking down the unique world of men's health, from testosterone and

fitness to diets and fertility and things that happen in the bedroom. You mean sleep? Yeah, something like that, Jordan. We'll talk science without the jargon and get you real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. It's going to be fun, whether you're 27, 97. or somewhere in between. Men's health is about more than six packs and supplements. It's about energy, confidence, and connection. We don't just want you to live longer. We want you to live better.

So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Month, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on?

What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, you're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Boo, somebody had tomatoes. I'm kidding. But if they had tomatoes, they would have thrown the tomatoes.

Let's be honest. We've all had those moments we'd rather forget. We bumped our head. We made a mistake. The deal fell through. We're embarrassed. We failed. but this podcast is about that and how we made it through.

So when they sat me down, they were kind of like, we got into the small talk, and they were just like, so what do you got? What? What ideas? And I was like, oh, no. What? Check out Not My Best Moment with me, Kevin on stage, on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcast, YouTube,

or wherever you get your podcast. Before we kind of dive into Mercedes as a person and what you really thought of her. Because of how this was set up, we do have details and information that oftentimes people don't get from a first date. And one of those is your Uber receipt. Your Uber receipt shows that you got home about 2 a.m.

So after the show, did you all go somewhere? Yeah. So we went back to their hotel. Like the whole group, there was like, I don't know, eight of us. at the hotel and then we all like the girls got dressed the guys got dressed and then we all went to this like I end up hole in the wall bar in Brentwood called old fellows or something like that and I'd never been there before but it was a really cool vibe and so we went in there and we just sat and played games and talked and it was a big group though so that was the other thing too it was like it was fun because it's a huge group and you know everyone is knows each other from the bachelor universe meanwhile i'm just getting thrust into this yeah friend group you know because everyone knows each other which is fun i actually really

enjoyed it because i got a lot i got a lot of the tea i was able to like they're like talking about someone and then she would like show me who the person is on instagram i'm like okay god like i'm like getting ingrained into the world so that was fun um but then i had to end up going to a studio session after that so i think they went back to the hotel and i had to go to the studio. At 2 a.m.? Yeah. Music industry doesn't sleep. No, goodness, gracious, brother. That is brutal. I've been asleep for about, I'd say about four hours, five hours almost, about 8.30 is when I'll be, no way more than that, six hours before you got home.

So let's talk a little bit about Mercedes. You guys had this date. You went out afterwards. you got to spend some good time together but not a lot of one-on-one time together what stood out to you about her was there anything that kind of intrigued you or anything that turned you off what was your kind of your overall feeling as you left in that Uber to go back

to work about Mercedes yeah I mean the the key takeaway was you know it's actually right as I got into the Uber and I said hey like I really did want to kiss you because we

had talked about it on the podcast right so it was like kind of like a thing that maybe she had wanted to happen or was expecting and I just never even had that I never really tried to make this situation happen and so I texted her just to be like hey like I really did want to kiss you I just we didn't have like any alone time to where it felt natural um but I had a fun time with you and you know we'll love to come visit you in Nashville and because I'm in Nashville quite often as well so I'll probably see her again and you know that she texted back and was like yeah she had some much fun, blah, blah, blah.

So, you know, I think it went well, but it's tough to really get to know someone when they're surrounded by 80 people that they're friends with, you know? So, you know, I'm cutting her some slack, I'd say, and just the fact that, like, I don't know how much we, like, bonded how to know about each other, but it It was cool. And we, you know, the music was great at Jingle Ball. So people were dancing and the girls loved when Jesse Murph came on. And it was so funny because one of my best friends is her ex.

And so we were FaceTiming in football. She was performing. And all the girls got a kick out of that because he was like throwing an attitude about it. But yeah, so we've had like, we had a lot of fun moments. I'd say the whole night was a lot more lighthearted and fun than any type of serious. But just based on the situation at hand. I got to know a couple things of how she's, you know, kind of changing the way she's dating and with a lot more intention and stuff like that.

So I was cool to hear. Yeah, she's a cool girl, man. I had a fun. Like, if she was in L.A., I'd already have hung out with her again. But she went back to Nashville, like, the next morning or something. But, I mean, it sounded like if you texted her, you guys did exchange numbers, which is, I think, a data point and a step. um so and has there been any other communication since friday uh yeah we texted a little bit i thought she was going to be on this call so i was like i'll just talk to you on monday on the

podcast like i don't i'm not someone who texts a lot so i was like it'll be fun if we're all going to be on the podcast and talking but she's not on the podcast so i guess i'll text her after this i mean like really the main thing is what is there to talk about like she doesn't like l-a and so she's not going to be coming here too often like unless she has like bachelor stuff here yeah i'm in national so i guess i'll hit up from when i'm in national and we have a lot of mutual friends as well in national so you know it could be more of those things like hey i'm in town let's see if this still is the thing you know what i mean yeah definitely and i mean i always think a second if the first date just wasn't an epic failure i think a second

date is always helpful just because it does well one you know the person you're not around a ton of people even like a nice little short hangout just to reconnect is helpful the final question i have for you bryce i mean it sounds like you've already answered it would you be willing excited to go on a second date with mercedes if you know the two of you aligned on location and time yeah totally i think I probably would have already taken around again because it, you know, the one-on-one I think needs to happen. So, uh, not the 80 on one. Mm-hmm. There is definitely, uh, more people on Mercedes side than your side that night. You got absolutely thrown into the madness of a lot of people knowing each, knowing each other, which is a tough, tough world to walk into. I,

I totally get that. It's fun. I think I handled it pretty well and it ended up having new friends at the end of the night which is cool but yeah no it was a little bit more tough no I had to kind of like picking and choose because one of the biggest things too was you could tell that she was excited to see people she hadn't seen

in a while it was like kind of that vibe so she's trying to catch out with people and I'm not going to be the type of guy who's just going to be standing behind you like waiting for you to talk to me so I went on my own there was a couple of the Golden Bachelor girls that I talked to because my friend's mom

was on the first season, her name's Leslie. And so that was really fun to connect with them. And we sent selfies to Leslie. And that was fun. Got to hear more about the story from other people and the Golden Bachelor. And then I knew some of the IHeart media people who were with us. That was cool. And so there was there was security blankets around, I'd say.

Sounds like you did great. I am thankful that you came on here to kind of talk through everything. I hope there's a second date. My hope is that at least if nothing else, you guys get to connect again because you did walk into a really tough kind of situation to navigate and to connect during. But you guys did the best you could. And for that, I am thankful as somebody that set this date up. Bryce, keep us updated.

Let us know if you have any updates. We appreciate you coming on. And we hope you had a blast at IHearts Jingle Ball. It is a really cool event. It was super fun. Thanks for having me and thinking about me and getting me on here. I had a lot of fun. Everybody, that's been Bryce, who just went on his first date with Mercedes,

set up by the famously available show. Make sure you tune in to all the content about this date coming your way, the pre-interviews, the interview with Mercedes and Bryce together, and then we're going to track down Mercedes and get her on here at some point soon as well. But until next time, I've been Ben. We'll talk to you soon. If a Lenovo gaming computer is on your holiday list, don't shop around. Just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com.

It's your last chance to score exclusive deals on the gaming PCs you want, like the Lenovo Legion Tower 5 Gen 10 gaming desktop and Lenovo Lock Gaming Laptop. So avoid all that shopping chaos and price comparing, and just go directly to the source, Lenovo.com, where PCs are up to 35% off. That's Lenovo.com. Lenovo, Lenovo. I'm Stefan Curry, and this is Gentleman's Cut. I think what makes Gentleman's Cut different

is me being a part of developing the profile of this beautiful finished product with every sip you get a little something different. Visit Gentleman'scuturban.com or your nearest Total Wines or Bevmo. This message is intended for audiences 21 and older. Gentleman's Cut Bourbon, Boone County, Kentucky. on gentlemen's cut bourbon, please visit

gentlemen's cut bourbon.com. Please enjoy responsibly. Hey there, Dr. Jesse Mills here. I'm the director of the men's clinic at UCLA, and I want to tell you about my new podcast called The Mail Room. And I'm Jordan, the show's producer. And like most guys, I haven't been to the doctor in way too long. I'll be asking the questions we probably should be asking, but aren't.

Every week, we're breaking down the world of men's health from testosterone and fitness to diets and fertility. We'll talk science without the jargon and get your real answers to the stuff you actually wonder about. So check out the mailroom on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your favorite shows. What up, y'all? It's your boy, Kevin on stage. I want to tell you about my new podcast called Not My Best Moment, where I talk to artists, athletes, entertainers, creators, friends, people I admire

who had massive success about their massive failures. What did they mess up on? What is their heartbreak? And what did they learn from it? I got judged horribly. The judges were like, You're trash. I don't know how you got on the show. Check out Not My Best Moment with me, kept on stage on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, everybody. It's Chuck and Josh from the Stuff You Should Know podcast, and it's that time of year again when we knuckle down to do our annual holiday episodes. We collected our best past classic holiday episodes and compiled them into a 12 days of Christmas toys playlist that the whole family can enjoy. That's right.

Maybe you missed it the first time we detailed the history of Beanie Babies, Monopoly, or Yo-Yo's, and a whole lot more. So listen to the 12 Days of Christmas Toys playlist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human.