The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Cat's Out of the Bag

Episode Date: August 31, 2021

Ben and Ashley get to know Connor B (The Cat) from Bachelor in Paradise!Connor responds to Lance Bass’ accusations that he’s not “there for the right reasons”, and we hear his side of the story about how things went down on the beach.Plus, we finally discover the origin of the Cat suit! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee 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.

Now, 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. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you.

But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh, my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA.

Right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. On the new podcast, America's Crime Lab, every case has a story to tell. And the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught. And I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, got you. This technology is already solving so many cases. cases. Listen to America's Crime Lab 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. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts with IHeart Radio.

Well, Ashley and I promise you a very special mini episode with a guest that could carry a mini episode. And here she is. Hey, Ashley, how you doing? Are you being silly? Hello. Our special guest is right here in the room listening to You Be Silly. It is Connor.

Connor Brennan, he's on the line and he's here to chat with us. This man has been a prominent figure in Bachelor Nation for the past two to three months. Connor, how are you doing? I'm great. It's pretty crazy to be called prominent by Ashley I. Wow.

Does that mean that you've been a fan of the show for a while? Yes, I know who you are. Oh, okay. And you too, Ben. Hi, you guys. I'm geeking out. a little bit. It's great to meet you. Oh, stop that. Okay, that's so sweet. So, okay, you were one of the people that are fans going into it. So that's always fun. Did you sign up yourself or did somebody sign you up? No, I had a friend to nominate me last summer. Not like as a joke, but I always, I was like, there's no way I'm going to get on the show. Like, blah, blah, blah. And then it ended up happening. And then pretty crazy. You're also, I believe you're Carly Waddell's room, her nanny's roommate. Is that right?

That's right. And that is completely unrelated how that happened. And it was right around the same time that I was interviewing to be on Bachelorette. My roommate was interviewing to be Carly Waddell's nanny. And so, like, right around when I left for Bachelorette, that's what that happened. Have you ever met her? She gave you any advice? Yeah.

She gave me a little bit advice about Paradise, which was cool. Basically just that it's good to be on the beach the first day, not like, come in late. Yeah. Which I think was pretty good advice. It's interesting, Connor. you know in today's world of bachelor like back in the day like cast members came off and had like careers based on the show and nowadays you don't see it as much but you've really stood out like you've you've became a character that people recognize they know and and really from

the get-co of your time on the bachelorette like you made a name for yourself and uh the confidence was something that was always appealing or not even appealing I guess it was just like something that made you stand out. We're going to get into that because I said on the episode that we came out with this to break down paradise that your confidence seems to be waning during paradise, less than on The Bachelorette, and I want to know why. But let's start at the beginning for you. We love to talk to some, like, where did you grow up? What was your childhood like? Let's get into it. I was hoping you to ask about my childhood. So I grew up in Columbia, Illinois right near St. Louis. My family is incredible, so I had a pretty amazing childhood.

Very music-based. I started playing piano when I was six years old. My dad's a violinist as well, so I have a tattoo of a violin here for him. And he always wanted to take piano lessons when he was a kid, but he had nine brothers and sisters, so his family couldn't afford it. So he had me take piano lessons instead. It worked out pretty well. So just a musical family, always playing songs always singing uh and yeah really really great childhood well you seem like really a left brainer between music and then you have a master's degree in medical physics and then your resume includes nuclear engineer at some point yeah so i was a radioactive materials inspector for the state of wisconsin which was pretty wild and then you transitioned to eighth grade math teacher

Yeah. I just kind of stumbled into that. I've been a math tutor my whole life because I love math and I love kids and I love teaching math. And so I was working for a tutoring company here in Nashville and then just found out that kind of a friend of theirs needed a full-time math teacher. And I was like, let's give it a try. Why not? What high school are you teaching that or middle school? It was a Templeton Academy in Nashville. So like a small private middle school in high school downtown. I spent a lot of time in Nashville. My fiance is from Franklin. So. but you know you seem like like kind of a renaissance man like you're up to a lot like i feel like the more like you're one of those dudes that we can go out and grab a beer and i just want to sit there for two hours and hear about all the things you've done with your life um what do you at this point now what do you feel like your path is like where do you like really investing into that's a great question uh yeah i don't know because there's there's so many different things i have interest in like I obviously love music and I'm passionate about it but I'm also passionate about

math and physics and nuclear engineering so right now I'm probably I don't think I'm going to go back into teaching I did it for a year and it was a hard job especially in a pandemic it was a really tough job and so I think I might try to get back into nuclear engineering or look into like some medical sales type thing where I can use like my medical physics degree but then always always music will be a part of my life, obviously, in one form or another. I feel like you could really woo the ladies saying that you're into nuclear engineering. I'm not even, I'm not being sarcastic. Like, that sounds, yeah, that sounds so smart.

That's like a real fancy job. Okay, all right. I'll keep that in mind. I would throw that out there more often. All right, maybe I should be leading with that. I was a nuclear engineer. Yes, for sure. Okay, so you get signed up to be on The Bachelor by a friend.

The Bachelorette and then you show up in a cat costume and we've been saying multiple times in this podcast that you had your finest moment in the cat costume and I feel like the strongest chemistry you ever had with Katie in it. Did it have magical powers? Did you feel like you had like a facade on? It was, you know, maybe it was the fact that I, yeah, it had magical powers and I got to kind of hide a little bit in the cat suit. it just I came out guns blazing and when you're in a cat suit you can either you know be full confidence and go for it or you know kind of hide and I went full confidence with it yeah but I think that that probably was one of our best nights was was me in the cat suit it was just it was a lot of fun we were both cracking up and it was just funny and that that was the goal

of it wasn't it wasn't supposed to be like hey look at me I'm in a cat suit it was just I hope Katie laughs I would just want to make her laugh basically you uh if you were to describe yourself you're you're a hard dude to figure out i'll be honest uh we're gonna get that in a bit um and i think that's like a compliment like i would take it and i say that with like um you're you're obviously very intelligent you're good looking you're musically talented um you show up in a cat suit which could say all those things it also could say the opposite of all those things you never know um how would you describe yourself wow uh that's a great question i so if i had to describe myself i would say that i

one thing i pride myself on especially on this show was being very genuine um and you you you know you hear people saying like oh this person so-and-so was here for the wrong reasons blah blah blah i came on and my goal i wanted to fall in love uh that's why i went on the show that's why i on both shows and I wanted to be the fullest version myself and I did that I showed up I brought my whole self my goofy music fun loving whatever self um so I think I would like to say that I'm genuine is is one thing you can say about me uh yeah you got a little annoyed this week or so we hear in our hot topics when Lance Bass said on Nick Nick's podcast that you perhaps were there for a music career Yeah, come on Lance Bass.

So I was annoyed with Lance Bass for saying that because I love Lance Bass. I was so excited to meet him. And we had like some really good conversation and we were really friendly. And I was just like kind of in all of him, obviously. And then as I remember it, all the guys were kind of standing there from Katie's season because none of us had seen any of the episodes. And of course we're like, what happened? Like we showed up. We lived this crazy experience.

You know, we had all these emotions. And now we want to know, what are they showing? like, what do we look like on TV? So I think all of us were kind of asking questions about the show. And then I was like, oh, did my song make it? Because I wanted to know if I was on the show at all. I didn't even know if I was going to show up on TV at all. And so it wasn't like, hey, I want to start a music career.

It was just genuinely interested if they showed my song or not. And so it was, yeah, I was really worried going on to both shows, well, really just Bachelorette, that people were going to say, oh, he's here for the wrong reasons. He's here for a music career. blah, blah, blah, because you've just seen that so many times that people say that. And so I am sensitive about that. And that's why having one of your heroes say it, it's just like, it's a bummer.

You know, it definitely stung coming from him. But the cool thing is all the people coming out of the woodworks to defend me and being like, Connor is one of the most genuine people I've ever met. Like his music was great. It wasn't just me walking around being the annoying asshole with an instrument. It was, you know, I want people to sing along. I want people to have fun. and that's why I play music to bring people together,

not to show off and be like, hey, look at me. I'm a musician. It's to make people laugh. And that's why I play music. And so it was cool to see a lot of people from my season, a lot of people from Bachelor in Paradise, and a lot of strangers just come out and say, yeah, no, he wasn't there for that reason.

He was there to fall in love. And if he played songs, that's just part of who he is. Yeah. It's, I want to talk to you about something for a second because obviously Thomas's storyline is one that's, being highlighted and um it feels very quick these days how a narrative can get created you know so we've watched this as fans and seen uh and i want your inside i thought you'd be a guy to talk to about it where like thomas shows up to bachelorette and we're like hey he wants to be the bachelors

and we're like well who does um and it seems like everybody at least knows that's in the back their head and he goes on paradise he walks down the beach and like right away you know uh the sharks attack and he's you know pushed aside and uh and kind of defined by the narrative that he had from the show and you've now experienced how quickly this narrative can get created like you see how dangerous that can be for for thomas even this week you said something like hey i don't trust he and then comes out of that guy's mouth what is it that we aren't seen because if it's just that he wants to be the bachelor that's the biggest issue people have with him then like i say yeah i knew 30 guys like that.

So what is it that we're not seeing? The Bachelor thing was never the biggest issue. That was just kind of a small part of it. So what I'll say is that I pride myself on being a very genuine person. And what I get from Thomas, at least on the show, was that I couldn't figure out who he genuinely was. A lot of times it felt like he was saying what people wanted to hear. and a lot of times he would just lie

like we caught him in some direct lies and so that's where it really graded on me because the one thing I ask from people is just like be yourself, be genuine if you're an asshole, be that, don't hide anything, you know, just show up as yourself. I could never figure out who Thomas actually was. And so I was going to try to give him another chance

on Bachelor in Paradise, but he kind of just showed up and did the same sort of thing, right? I just did not feel any genuineness from him. So I'd definitely be interested in giving him another chance in meeting him in real life and talking to him. But yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I guess lies are hard to like show, right?

It's hard to trace back on television show. Like, oh, you told me this in secret or you told me this on the side. Now I'm, you did that enough than enough in me. That makes more sense. Yeah. But like Ashton I are watching this and we're like, we don't know what to get like what's wrong.

Like, why people hate this so much. Yeah. just changes his story a lot based on who he's with and who he's talking to. Interesting. Is there anybody else in the Paradise cast that you feel like isn't represented to their utmost on the show or a storyline that you feel like a lot of content is missing? Yeah. Well, there's so much that happened and we only get to see such small parts of it, especially on Badger's From Paradise. There's just so much happening every single day.

It's crazy to see what doesn't make it in. Weirdly, Carl, for me, got a redemption in Bachelor in Paradise because I came in ready to hate it. I could sense that a little bit on TV, yeah. I came in ready to be mad at Carl still because we left and, you know, when he left, I was all pissed off at him. And then we kind of just sat around and talked with him and he became one of the guys with Katie's guys. Like we all had some good discussion with him, talk things out. He was really genuine and honest with us. And I really started to like the guy a lot.

And there was a moment when I was really sad. I was just kind of sitting by myself being sad boy on the beach playing my guitar song. And he came up and sat next to me. There weren't cameras or anything. It was just an off-screen moment. He came up and sat next to me and it was just like, hey, play me a song. I'd love to hear a new song he wrote or something like that. And we just had this cool little moment where he wanted to hear a song.

We sat and talked. And it was nice. So, yeah. That's sweet. We don't get to see enough of that. He still comes off to me as the guy that was on The Bachelor. I like, I like him more, but he's still like, I can do without it. he's a ghost ball he's definitely a ghost ball so it's good to know you know that he had that moment

yeah now we're going to get into your whole storyline of paradise and before we do i want to ask you you know you've obviously had a very accomplished career um you probably don't have a hard time dating uh you've got thrown into this world now and you're talking to us you're talking to nick or I don't know if you're talking to people all the time now about this show and now I've experienced Paradise what do you make of it all? Like, I mean, it's got to be odd.

It's, yeah, in a word, it's pretty surreal, definitely, especially since it all happened so fast as in, you know, Bachelorette was only a few months ago. And before I even saw the outcome of that, I was already on Bachelor in Paradise, meeting a bunch of Bachelor people who I'd seen on TV. So I was starstruck when I showed up. I was just like, oh, my God, like, I get to meet you and you.

This is so cool. It's crazy. And a couple of things that I take away from it are that every person I met, they were so much cooler in real life than on TV. Really, like, everyone's more attractive and cooler in real life. It's just something about, you guys, you guys the coolest. It really is. You meet them in person and you just get a fully fleshed out version of them

rather than just a small, tiny moment on television. So that's one of my biggest takeaways is just like, it's very curated, what you see, and it's really cool to meet these people in real life and realize that, oh, they're awesome people, even more awesome than I would have thought. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious.

Oh, wait a minute, Sam. 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. 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. Imagine that you're on an airplane and all of a sudden you hear this. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency and we need someone, anyone to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control.

And they're saying like, okay, pull this, until this. Pull that. Turn this. It's just... I can do my icecloth. I'm Mani. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And on our new show, no such thing.

We get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence. Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then, as we try the whole thing out for real, wait, what? Oh, that's the run right. I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. 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 backer. joke, but that really was my reality nine years ago. I'd 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 podcast called Wisecrack where stand-up comedy and murder take center stage available now listen to wisecrack 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 cheesman 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 level

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 Deva of the People. The Deep 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 me. Love, friendship, heartbrates, men, and of course, our favorite secrets.

Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the Mycultura podcast network available on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Now, we see you having a thing with Marissa early on. Was there anybody else that you were kind of talking to or were interested in that we didn't get to see you talk with? Yeah, so I went in really, really excited to meet Jusenia. I was, yeah, it talked about her a lot in my interviews. And if you saw my little Paradise song, I had her name in the Paradise song. And so I was really excited to meet her, and we had a conversation the first day that was really good. And then she and I both kind of coupled up pretty quickly, right?

Like she had Ivan and I had Marissa. I don't know if they're going to show this or not. but I actually did end up writing a song for Jacenia because I was really crushing on her and then, you know, hit it off with Marissa and Jacenia hit it off with Ivan. But when things kind of switched up with Marissa, I still found that I had some pretty strong feelings for

justenia. And so I wrote a song and shot my shot in a pretty big way. And that, you know, there's so many things happening that that doesn't, I don't think it makes it into the cut. but yeah a little off-screen moment okay well Connor like this is not technically a spoiler because you can do the math on it on the dates and all that you kiss that girl in the audience that men tell all and you liked it you asked for her number and that was taped in July so I just have this inkling that maybe Paradise isn't go in like the most positive direction for you like maybe you don't find love, did anything happen with that girl? Because we did hear in the aftermath

that she was a hired actress. So, like, they're really putting you through the ringer. Well, um, there, okay, so the hired actress thing, they asked for volunteers to kiss me and she volunteered. So I was. She was really pretty. So I got her number. And we definitely talked and FaceTime to bit. But, you know, she lives in L.A. I live in Nashville. So, I think for now we'll probably just be friends, but she's pretty amazing. And her music is awesome. I mean, if Connor finds love in paradise, I would celebrate it. If he doesn't, I'm not worried about the guy, like, at all.

Like, he lives in Nashville, one. He's going to be the most popular dude in the U.S. because Nashville is the Bachelorette capital of the world. I know how my buddies treated it once we got done with our show in Nashville. I'm not worried about him. He's going to be great. Thanks, Ben. I appreciate that.

Thank you. Now, yeah, so we see this Loessori Playout. I want to dive into it a bit for you. You seem heartbroken, especially this week. I don't know what to ask first about your outfit and why you decided that was a good idea. I think there was a feature. Just to be clear, Connor, I think it is a fantastic idea.

Like, if I went to paradise, I've always had this philosophy on this show. I know I'm not the most fashionable. I know I'm not going to look as good as everybody else in suits and all those like outfits that they put on. So like my strategy in paradise would be to be ridiculous and just to like wear whatever it takes that feels like you picked it out of like a thrift shop. That was one of those moves. I respect it. So I guess I'll start there. Where did you find that outfit?

Why did you decide that was a good idea? And why did that do you think this is going to be something I wear as somebody's looking for their husband? Okay, let me answer those in order. I think I found it on Zara online, and I saw it, and I was like, oh, my God, I want to wear that. And I had one of my best friends here in Nashville helped me plan out all my outfits for both Bachelorette and Bachelorette Paradise. And I showed her that outfit, and she said, no, you are not wearing that on television. And I said, okay, and then I took it anyway. Yeah.

And that morning, I was looking through my clothes, and I was kind of bummed because, you know, the date with Marisian Rale. And I was like, we're going in guns blazing. Let's do it, baby, full confidence. Let's put on something that makes me feel, I don't know about sexy, but makes me feel confident at least. So that did make you feel confident or were you just, you, I looked at that outfit and thought you were like, up, I give zero. Throw it in the towel. Right. But you're saying you felt great in it.

Oh, I felt great. I felt like I looked good. I felt like I was rocking and rolling. I felt like everybody was checking me out. I was like, hell yeah, I'd take some confidence to rock a rock a onesie like that. We're just going to go for it. And so I threw it on and I felt great. And then I went and shredded my stuff.

I like it. Ashley, I feel like you don't like the outfit. I didn't love the outfit for the reasoning that you. I feel like if you, it was not a seducing outfit. And perhaps in the moment, I was hoping that maybe like you would be more. or in a seductive mode. Seductive isn't really my, my M.O. I am a goofball.

I know who I am. If somebody doesn't accept me at my or is one-Zee. I mean, I was going to say, like, you and I both to relate with this. Like, if you and I are trying to show up to the beach and be seductive, like, we're going to fail miserably. It's going to be awful for both of us. Now, here's the other thing. Yeah, well, wait, I have to say this. I have to have to say this.

I trump you as far as imbursed. embarrassing outfit choices in paradise because when Jared dumped me in paradise and he left like the time that it was for real. I was wearing an I'm a Kim shirt referring to I'm a Kim Kardashian with a high-waisted skirt and Jade knew that he was going to dump me and she was like, I don't know how to tell her she should probably change her shirt because it's going to be even more demoralizing. So she didn't. And now in hindsight, I think it's absolutely whole. hilarious. I was wearing I'm a Kim shirt in that moment. But you know what? Now that I remember all this, now I'm saying salute to you. Thank you. So, I mean, just a little piece that we've never talked

about. I'm all for it because in high school, I was the guy in the football locker room who would like get changed for football practice and be having on like the banana hammock that was like leather and just like wait till people commented or not leather, leopard. Sorry, leopard. I was Like, Conor in my faces were like a banana hammock he was wearing like a thong. Like one of those things that the magic mic guys with? I feel like that would translate over to paradise where I would be the one that would show up in a wild outfit. Because if somebody's attracted to that and can giggle about it, then I'm like, hey, we've got something. But if you just want me to be like ripped and show off all the time, I'm never going to be able to sustain that.

Like I got about a day of that maybe. in. I would like to see a picture of you in this leopard print banana hammock. I hope that exists. Let's not bring out the sluice. Let's find that. Bring out the sleuths. Well, the other thing is Marissa and I, and I don't think you got to see a lot of this, we were goofballs together. Like, we would just sit there and crack each other up about the dumbest shit and like literally our conversations were hysterical. Just, and me, Demi and Marissa sat in the pool the day before talking about the dumbest you've ever heard. And it was so funny. And we were like I was crying, laughing with those two.

And so I knew that, like, Marissa's a goofball, too. And she would, you know, I wasn't trying to seduce her. I was just trying to. Oh, see, truly, we wouldn't know that. Because we see her as, like, this, you know, she's like, whoa, like, really sensual comes on with the, with talk about leopard with her boobies in that leopard outfit. Yeah. No, she's, she's so gorgeous and hot, but she's also so, like, just fun to talk to. And she's a goofball.

We didn't get to see that. That's frustrating because, like, I feel like that would have added to the element for us as being like, hey, now I get my Connor so upset. Like, they had a lot of fun. He said we're watching. You were like, of course he doesn't have Marissa. Like, her and Riley have such a bigger thing going on, but we didn't get to see your connection. Yeah, and that's why I was so nonchalant and non-worryed about her going on the date

because I knew the connection that Marissa and I had. And I honestly thought, well, I don't think there's any way that Riley is going to, like, have a connection like that with her there's just no way like we've hit it off we've cracked each other up we've like cried laughing at stuff together so i really wasn't worried um and then i got worried after that all right yeah so let's talk about that moment and like how your heart felt did it sink when you heard that they went to the boom boom room i honestly didn't know if that was a rumor or not until i watched the episode so i heard it yeah so i heard that rumor you know, Taj told me

but then I also heard that maybe they just like cuddled or maybe they didn't even go to the boom boom room. So when I was there, I was also scared to ask people because I'm not going to go up to people and be like, hey, did they go to the boom boom room? Like that just wasn't my like it wasn't for me to know if she wasn't going to tell me, I guess.

So my heart definitely sank and that kind of changed my perspective because Maris and I had that conversation the next morning and I thought we were still on. I thought things were still good to go. And that, like, even if she liked me and Riley, I was okay with that. Like, we would figure it out.

So based on the conversation we had that morning, I thought that she still really liked me and wanted to pursue things. And then that whole rest of the day, she spent her entire day with Riley, like, right next to him. And I was like, oh, okay. Like, I'm starting to make sense of this. But I, that night when I talked to, I basically had to break up with myself for her. She didn't do it. Yeah, because I was like, I just, I think she was afraid to hurt me. And so I couldn't really get a straight answer out of her.

I was like, you know, but after the whole day, it became pretty apparent. And then they kind of showed up to the bonfire together. And I was like, okay, like, I think I understand what's happening here. So that special secret date that you were trying to set up on campus never happened. No, because, yeah, once I found out that she, like, went to the, the boom boom room and then saw the way she was literally just hanging out with Riley the whole day. I was like oh I don't I don't even think she

would want to go on a day with me tonight but I had some cute plans like I had like a list of ideas of the dates I was going to take her on that night. You know just trying to figure out like what I could do on the beach and whatnot. What were they? I wanted to do I thought a wine and

paint night could be fun like where we just set up canvases on the beach and paint and drink wine what else did I have a taco night where we just try a bunch of different types of tacos an ice cream bar or something like that because we talked about ice cream and I had drunkenly eaten a ton of ice cream like two nights before there were a couple others but I can't remember just like fun little beach dates

now not to like I mean I only ask this so to give the viewers and the listeners a little bit more detail I've been shocked this season and maybe it's just because I'm more into this season and it's been a while for paradise but you know with the pain of seeing people date other people. I asked Ashley last week, I was like, how does this happen? Like,

how are you okay with it? How do you process through it? You're not okay with it. Yeah, and she said, you're not okay with it. And she kind of explained, but for you, Connor,

as you're seeing this happen and now you're seeing this person that you care about and that you're interested in come to a bonfire with somebody else right in front of you and that in this environment, it's acceptable,

still not okay. Like still not, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt, but still okay. What are you feeling during that? Yeah, I mean, the confusing is there's not just one emotion you're feeling, right? It's a mix of confusing emotions, and I was still trying to make sense of everything because I hadn't heard from her directly what was happening.

And so I think what I was feeling was just kind of not, there was no anger at all. It was just a little bit of sadness and a little bit of like, well, I was kind of excited about this. And so that kind of disappointment about this really could have been. something like like like I love the connection we had and so it's it's just that kind of like let down of realizing uh you know what's happening and then also that's mixed in with kind of almost still fresh off the breakup with katy thurston of just feeling like well here we go again someone not picking me like someone just not like just not getting chosen again so having that add on to that kind of just made me feel like well what's what's wrong with me like why why do

I always not get picked on the beach or wherever it is. And so I know that's an irrational thought, but that's always what pops up when that sort of thing happens. So that was definitely part of it. We'd probably be bad hosts if we didn't ask how your psyche is doing with the whole kissing thing. Because let's be clear, Katie really just meant that it was a chemistry thing,

not a skill thing. We hope that you didn't ever interpret it otherwise. oh i definitely interpreted it otherwise don't worry i was like yeah this guy sucked i i just to save his life i literally came back from bachelorette and i was like i'm a terrible kisser i that thing on the tell-all i texted my a couple exes and i was like am i a bad kisser like so i was very much in my head especially once i got back and watched all the episodes got back from paradise and then saw all the people talking about me being a bad kisser and whatnot and so it's I won't lie I'm very much in my head when I kiss people now I am you know I wish

I could just relax and kiss somebody but always in the back of my mind I'm like am I doing a really terrible job like is this awful like she hates this blah blah blah like we're getting past that though we're we're getting through that your pillow does not judge you just like it's it's the safest place you appreciate that I'll keep practicing and I'll also say that um once you meet the right person it doesn't really matter how good of a kiss who you are like it does maybe at times but like i'll kiss jess like when i have bad breath i'll kiss just like walking to the door give a little smooch and give it like once you meet the right person man that that goes away you should just feel confident somebody's gonna somebody's gonna fall in love with

you and and that kissing thing will go out the window pretty soon don't make me cry Thanks. That's really beautiful. 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, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzo. 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. Imagine that you're on an airplane.

And all of a sudden, you hear this. Attention passengers, the pilot is having an emergency, and we need someone, anyone, to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying, like, okay, pull this, until this. Do this, pull that, turn this.

It's just... I can do it my eyes close. I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devon. And on our new show, no such thing. we get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence.

Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then as we try the whole thing out for real. Wait, what? Oh, that's the run right. I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing 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 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. Hello, it's Honey German. And my podcast, Grazac, come again, is back.

This season, we're going even deeper into the world of music and entertainment with raw and honest conversations with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't audition in, like, over 25 years. Oh, wow.

That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah. We've got some of the biggest actors, musicians, content creators, and culture shifters sharing their real stories of failure and success. You were destined to be a start. We talk all about what's viral and trending

with a little bit of chisement, a lot of laughs, and those amazing Vibras you've come to expect. And, of course, we'll explore deeper topics dealing with identity, struggles, and all the issues affecting our Latin community. You feel like you get a little whitewash because you have to do the code switching? I won't say whitewash because at the end of the day, you know, I'm me.

But the whole pretending and cold, you know, it takes a toll on you. Listen to the new season of Grasasas Come Again as part of My Cultura Podcast Network on the IHartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. All right, we have just a few more minutes left with you, but I do want to ask about one couple whose relationship we saw kind of fall apart this week. It was Kenny and Mari with the whole Demi triangle. There anything more to that that you'd like to add in? and like are we did you were you as confused about marie's message to kenny as as he was um

i think yeah i don't really know i can't speak on where marie's head was at but i i got to say i'm sure she was probably interested in kenny but just didn't want to lock it down after you know however many days it's been um and then i think i think obviously kenny got a little bit pissed and went off and was like all right it then i'm going to make out with Demi. So it was maybe not the clearest communication between them type of thing. I don't think I think Kenny probably took it a little harder than

Mari meant it to be taken. But also it's a confusing place, the beaches. And you're running on not a lot of sleep, you know, you might be hungover or drunk or anything like that. So it's just, it's a lot of times hard to process emotions and what people are saying in real time. So weird shit happens all the time. now to close up here i have a final question i actually might have a final question she probably has a rapid fire for you prepared rapid fire yeah but i want to ask him a question before we

we get into it here um Connor uh you're a dude from Nashville um who is up to a lot who has a lot of curious things that you're a lot of things that you're a lot of things that you're curious about in life and um you go on the show you come off this show And I would say that from our perspective, you should, I'm not going to tell you how to feel, but I would say, hey, you should have some more confidence maybe than when you walked in. Like, you've gotten a lot of good attention. People have been very interested in you. You've taken your hits and you're going to stand back up and walk into it.

How are you doing today? If you're explaining what it feels like to be Connor Brennan walking into Nashville, Tennessee, as a man that's been on this show and is now getting back. out there. How do you feel? How are you personally? That's a really great question. And thank you for asking. It's been, I will be honest, it's been a roller coaster. It's been mostly great with some, with a couple of lows here and there. Like last week with the Lance Bass thing, not just him saying it, but then all the people coming out and saying terrible things initially about me wanting to be there for music, I was really down. I was really, really, I had a terrible day. I basically just

laid in bed all day. I was really like sad and impressed. And then the next day, this, overwhelming amount of support and love and like my mom made a Twitter account just to tweet something nice to me and just like so many people saying kind things and I was like I was being stupid yesterday I'm so lucky I'm so incredibly like grateful for what this experience is given me so that's where I'm right now that's where I'm back at is just like how lucky am I to have gotten to be on this show to have met such incredible people and to have like been able to really learn things about myself and come out with so much more confidence. I am a hundred times more confident than I was walking in with that cat suit. I was terrified. I thought I was getting sent home

night one. And so it's just like seeing the changes in myself over the past few months has been crazy. So it feels really, really great. And I'm mostly just just a lot of gratitude for everything that this has been. It's, it's interesting because those are the things that we think back on. Ashley and I talk about it even offline a lot. Like where you go on, you think, thinking to be let go on night one and you are now all of a sudden thrust in this whole new world but you never expected but that changes you for better and allows you to meet people actually meets her husband and i i still think you know meeting my fiancee came from you know the show and her trust her mom's trust that i wasn't like some weirdo um that's just you know on the scam but like

life will make sense over time i will say this we warn everybody because you're not the only one that deals with it. There's people listening to deal with it. The hating the trolls don't stop necessarily, but you become a little more resilient. You grow, you grow some grit, some character over time,

but you're not alone in that. And I want to show that with you is Ashley and I talk about. You're not alone in that. We're both we're in it. We've been through it. We'll still be in it. So stay strong, buddy. Thanks for coming on. Now, I'll pass it off to Ashley to close us out with rapid fire because she's great

I got it. Thanks, Ben. I really appreciate that. It's really fun when we wrap with this. Okay, so what is, say you are, you know, doing a set in Nashville, you're doing your music thing. What is your go-to cover song? Walking in Memphis by Mark Cone. So good. Yes. Such a great song. So good. Who was the Bachelor alum that you wanted to see in flirt with in Paradise, but you didn't get it?

other than Ashley and I Other than Ashley and Ben Brittany Galvin For sure from Matt's season Okay very good Let's see She was in your song Wasn't she?

She was, she was yep And just sending you an Abigail Okay So then what about Who is a celebrity That you wish you could slide into Their DMs and get a response from Oh wow

That's a really good one Okay not in a romance way, but I did DM Olivia Rodrigo because Wells posted this photo of saying that I was like the Olivia Rodriguez of Paradise or something like that. And I DM'd Olivia and I was like, hey, we should write a song to make Wells cry. So that's my, she's such a great songwriter. Did she read it? No, she didn't. It's fine. That's fine. What was your go-to order at Wells's bar? So Wells would make this spicy margarita that I would go for every time And basically progressively every day I would tell him to make it a little bit spicier

So he'd put a little bit more like jalapeno in there So by the end I was just like coughing every time I drank it It was great. It kept me alive. It's perfect. Do you have you ever used a pickup line? Oh God. I'm sure I have at some point I'm really really bad at just walking up to like a girl in a bar. I can't do that. Sometimes that's, you know, why I play music. So people come talk to me because I'm too nervous to go talk to people.

But if I was going to use a pickup line, it would probably be something mathy. It would be a pun. It would be a dumb pun for sure. Because you're very punny, as we saw in that one episode. Thank you. Arguably. What's your favorite food? Favorite food is ice cream, hands down.

Love ice cream. I could eat it every day. I actually did. He did every day for like a year once. So, big fan. What's your favorite flavor then? Pretty basic. I like cookie dough. I got to be honest. I love a big chunk of cookie dough. Chocolate's my favorite, so I'm very basic as well. And then my last question for you is, what's your most embarrassing moment of all time?

Of all time. Oh, my God. Shoot, put me on the spot with that one. I don't know if I'm going to be able to think of that awesome spot. There's one that's in your head right now that you don't want to share because you just need to share it. I actually am blanking out completely right now. What have I been very embarrassed by? Went to France with my girlfriend at the time. This was like a few years ago. Went to Paris. We went to the Louvre.

It was awesome. Got really drunk on wine the night before. Like had a bottle of wine each or something like that. We go into the Louvre. So I am crazy hungover in the Louvre, just like hating my life. But seeing this beautiful art and being like, wow, this is great. I'm so hungover. I feel like death.

I want to die. and so we go to the little like the little coffee stand in the Louvre and we're going to try to get some coffee and like a croissant or some sandwich or something like that to bring me back to life and I had been trying to learn a tiny bit of French like just enough to order and so I tried to order something in French it came out in Spanish because I know a little bit of Spanish so I ended up saying something in Spanish with a French accent but also completely. wrong in both languages. And so I, like, walked up, tried to order something, came out in Spanish. And the guy, like this French guy just like stares at me. And all of a sudden, like, my girlfriend at the time looks at me. She's like, what did you just say? Like what just came out of your mouth? And I literally just like let her order and I just like slunked away and like slumped my head down. I thought you were going to say you barfed on the guy. That would have been a better story. And then I barfed on him. Yeah. The, uh, nothing makes you dumber.

than the day after a night out. Oh, God. It's so stupid. It makes you question everything. Yeah. Hey, Connie, thanks for coming on, man. Thanks for spending the time with us. Of course you have.

Wishing the best. We hope you come back on again and break down some episodes with us or just chat life. It's been a pleasure. Ashley. It's been so fun. So thank you for being here and for giving us your time, Connor. You have been a joy to get to know, especially over the past 45 minutes, because I feel like we really have gotten to get to know you more. So Connor, you have to follow our lead. I've been Ashley. I've been Connor. And I've been Ben. Thanks to join the Almost Famous Podcast. Good job.

Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio 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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. 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. 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. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA, right now in a backlog, will be identified in our lifetime. On the new podcast, America's Crime Lab, every case has a story to tell, and the DNA holds the truth. He never thought he was going to get caught, and I just looked at my computer screen.

I was just like, ah, gotcha. This technology's already solving so many cases. Listen to America's Crime Lab 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? 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.

Thank you.