The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Could Our Next Bachelor Be A Zookeeper?

Episode Date: October 6, 2025

Ashley is bringing you the good, bad, and the not-so-pretty news in Bachelor Nation. From arrests to engagements, we've got you covered! Is there someone already in the running to be the next Bachelor? Plus, which Golden is making a public declaration of love?? The answer might surprise you!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Meaningful connections often show up when you least expect it in those small, surprising moments. So I'm very excited that today's sponsor, Bumble, makes it easier to notice those little sparks. With features like shared interests and prompts, you can showcase your personality right on your profile and connect with people who get your vibe. So if you're curious about who might bring a little more joy into your life, Bumble is a great place to start. Ready to meet someone great, start your love story on Bumble. Hi there, this is Josh Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast.

If you've been thinking, man alive, I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes, then have we got good news for you. Stuff You Should Know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episodes of all time. There's a shootout in broad daylight, people using axes in really terrible ways, disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards. So check out the Stuff You Should Know True Crime playlist. on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. People called them murderers.

Ten years later, they were gods. Today, no one knows their names. A group of maverick surgeons who took on the medical establishment who risked everything to invent open heart surgery. Welcome to the Wild West of American Medicine. I'm Chris Pine, and this is Cardiac Cowboys. If you like medical dramas, if you like heart-pounding thrillers, You will love Cardiac Cowboys.

Listen on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sponsored by Jasper, AI Build for marketers. Introducing IVF disrupted, the Kind Body story. A podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. It grew like a tech startup. While Kind Body did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patients. You think you're finally, like, in the right hand.

You're just not. Listen to Ivy F Disrupted, the Kind Body Story, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the 1980s, modeling wasn't just a dream. It was a battlefield. It's a freaking war zone. These people are animals. The Model Wars podcast peels back the glossy cover and reveals a high-stakes game where survival meant more than beauty. Hosted by me, Vanessa Grigoriatis.

This is the untold story of an industry built on ruthless ambition. Listen to Model Wars on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHeart Radio. Hey guys. Welcome to another Benless Headlines episode. And that's okay. I'm not making fun of Ben at all. He has been away doing a cool.

cruise thing with Wells and Chris Harrison which I'm bummed that I didn't get to go to but today we have our producer Heather joining us to break down headlines with me

because we have a couple juicy ones we wanted to get them out there before he came back so let's talk about Melissa Rycrofts I mean we're going to be honest

it's a little awkward to talk about she was she got a DUI and she was yes she was driving well and got arrested and um the mug shots not great it was not a great photo um in in the list of you know good mug shots bad mug shots yeah like this one looks like she was arrested drunk driving yeah

does look like that the photo was made public after the news broke that she was arrested on september 23rd in texas with a dw i TMZ reported that she was released on bond after eight hours. She posted bail at $1,000 and promised to appear in court. She allegedly told officers at the time that a driver hit her car and fled the scene. But an eyewitness allegedly contradicted her report, according to a search warrant obtained by the outlet. And the eyewitness alleged that Melissa's car was the only one involved in the

accident said that the police on the scene encountered her bloodshot eyes slurred speech and she stood next to an off-duty firefighter on the scene and then her attorney has of course said I want to remind the public of the fundamental principle of our justice system every individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty totes agree and that's kind of where we stand with that. If you guys don't remember where Melissa Rycroft is placed in the whole Bachelor lore, she came to fame after winning Jason Meznik's final rose, but then he, of course, later dumped her for Molly Meznik, his now wife of over a decade, like, basically it all happened on the after show. And just to say, at the time of this recording, she has still not made any sort of public comment or acknowledge this incident.

as of yet. Yeah, she's been living pretty privately with her husband, High Streetland. They got married in 2009. Yeah, everybody's been together. It's been crazy because it feels like when you think of Melissa Reikroft and Jason Mezzanick, it feels like it was just yesterday. And it was 2009. I mean, you know, that's when she found somebody else and got married. That's nuts. And they have three kids, Ava 14, Beckett, 11, and Kaysen, 9. Let's switch gears to something maybe a little bit more happy. this one is crazy uh gary turner is engaged to his new girlfriend 15 months after finalizing his divorced from teresa you know who we have to have on the podcast now teresa that woman loves to give

us tea she is unfiltered and i love it so has anybody checked on teresa since this week oh my god i cannot even imagine her reaction to this obviously we know that gary has been dating this woman for a little bit now, but I can't imagine that that Teresa wouldn't be greatly affected by the fact that he's now going to get married again after having such a quick divorce turnaround last time. He posted on Instagram, big news. The Golden Bachelor is off the market. I found my perfect match. She said, yes, I love this woman. How long have they been together do we know 15 uh oh like less than a year um they definitely didn't go public until this year but i can't remember the exact date yeah well it's quick um we we definitely are going to be

having gary come on the show uh before the end of the month you know he's got a new memoir coming out as well um so lots to discuss with him i feel like uh gary like probably hates me because like i make fun of him a lot. Let's be, let's be honest. I think the world did. So I think you're okay. I think you're okay.

All right. All right. Then Robert Irwin, who you know of as the crocodile hunters, son and ABC is loving their Hulu crossover and they're like wanting to marry all their shows

together. Somebody asked Robert, who's currently on Dancing with the Star, if he'll be interested in being the bachelor since he admitted that he's still looking for his American girl and he said all I can say is stranger things have happened who knows oh okay that actually sounds like he has been asked if there's been interest I don't think he's like at all close to being cast but I think that possibly ABC has put a little something in his ear his dance partner, Whitney Carson, chimed in, and she shut down the idea for now, saying he needs to focus on dancing.

And then her, and then Robert responded by saying, oh, my gosh, we'll see. Maybe, you know, I want to do it even more now. Now I want to do it even more now that you don't want me to do it. Okay. What do you think? What did you think they've talked to him? I think I've definitely, I know I've said this behind the scenes multiple times to you guys. that I think that he should be the next bachelor.

He is super wholesome. He's really attractive. He did that shoot for People magazine, I want to say earlier this year, where he was like showing off his six pack, had a snake around him. And I was like, yes, I could see this guy being The Bachelor.

And he was one of the early ones announced for the Dancing with the Stars cast. I see it happening. He's wholesome. He's lovely. He's got a great family. He's too young, though. he's only 21 we can't have a 21 year old bachelor but he's mature because he like he helps run his zoo he and bindi are just like so far beyond their years totally i could see it happening um i could see it happening down the road but i don't think that i think they would get so much backlash for the 21 year old bachelor i mean we've had golden bachelors who have not been ready who have not been

very PC to be married. So I don't know. I don't know. We'll see where I'm just saying I've thrown my hat into the ring that I support Robert Irwin being the next bachelor since Bat People magazine shoot. Okay. All righty. I cannot support a 21-year-old bachelor, but I can support him being the bachelor because he is very adorbs. Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast. If you've been thinking, man alive, I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes, then if we got good news for you, stuff you should know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episodes of all time.

There's a shootout in broad daylight, people using axes in really terrible ways, disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards. So check out the Stuff You Should Know true crime playlist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved, until a local homemaker, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her. We know.

A story that law enforcement used to convict six people. and that got the citizen investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her,

or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y'all said. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it off. her. They made me say that I pour gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County in the Bone Valley feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season at free,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. People called them murderers. Ten years later, they were gods. Today, no one knows their names. A group of maverick surgeons who took on the medical establishment who risked everything to invent open-heart surgery. Welcome to the Wild West of American Medicine. I'm Chris Pine, and this is Cardiac Cowboys.

If you like medical dramas, if you like heart-pounding thrillers, you will love Cardiac Cowboys. Listen on the I-Heart Radio app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sponsored by Jasper, AI Build for Marketers. Power struggles, shady money, drugs, violence, and broken promises. It's a freaking war zone. These people are animal. There's no integrity.

There's no loyalty. That's all gone. In the 1980s, modeling wasn't just a dream. It was a battlefield. Book, book, book. Like deals. Let's get models in. Let's get them out.

And the models themselves? They carried scars that never fully healed. Until this day, honestly, if I see a measuring tape, I freak out. The Model Wars podcast peels back the glossy cover and reveals a high-stakes game where survival meant more than beauty. Hosted by me, Vanessa, This is the untold story of an industry built on ruthless ambition. Listen to Model Wars on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I started trying to get pregnant about four years ago now. We're getting a little bit older, and it just kind of felt like the window could be closing. Bloomberg and IHeard Podcasts present. IVF disrupted, the Kind Body story, a podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. Introducing Kind Body, a new generation of women's health and fertility care. Backed by millions in venture capital and private equity, it grew like a tech startup. While Kind Body did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned.

and angry patience. You think you're finally like with the right people in the right hands. And then to find out again that you're just not. Don't be fooled. By what? All the bright and shiny. Listen to IVF disrupted, the kind body story, starting September 19 on the Iheart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

I'm Kristen Davis, host of the podcast. Are you a Charlotte? I'm so excited to share that I got to. to sit down with incredible Bridget Moynihan, who plays Natasha Big's wife. She is telling stories from the very beginning, like why she almost left the audition. I'm calling my agents. I'm like, guys, I have to go to the other one. And they're like, stay for this.

You need to stay for this. I'm like, I can't be late for the next one. She shares her thoughts on the Big and Carrie affair. I think I actually said out loud sometimes, like, no, she was having an affair with my husband. Let's break this down. And what it was like coming back to the show when we did and just like that. I love that it's Natasha who is caring for her. Yes.

I mean, there really is that bond between them. You can't miss this. Listen to Are You a Charlotte on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Escape to the coast at the Portofino Hotel in Marina in Redondo Beach. Wake up to sweeping ocean views. and dine by the marina at the Baleen Kitchen, where fresh flavors meet stunning waterfront views. At the dockside Adventure Center, rent a kayak, or a paddleboard,

or hop on a complimentary bike for a ride along the coast. Now through December 31st, IHeart listeners receive complimentary self-parking and a $50 resort credit with promo code IHeart. Visit Hotel Portofino.com to book or call 800-468-42-92. Okay. Kalyn Bell. It's so crazy not to call her Miller Keys with Kaylin Bell and Dean. They are being open about their fertility struggles. I have talked to Kaylin months ago about this. But she says that they haven't been trying yet for a year. And that Kaylin's age, I know that my doctor told me not to stress until you get to that year point. But she has said, that she's been feeling disappointed in their attempts to conceive. She said in a new Instagram video that Dean and I have been trying to get pregnant for quite some time. And honestly, it's harder than I expected. My mom got pregnant super easily. So I

figured it would happen quickly for me, but that has not been the case. This journey has been emotional. It's been tough. It hasn't been easy. I don't know if this was in a sponsored post with natural cycles, but she did say, and not that that discredits it at all, because lots of times the ads that you do do coincide with your life very closely. She said that she's been using natural cycles to track her basal body temperature while trying to conceive. Having all of my years worth of data in one place has been very helpful for me and spotting my trends and my cycle and any irregularities.

I've been able to bring the data to my doctor to figure out what's going on with me. And she said that she and Dean are beginning to think about next steps if they're unable to conceive soon. All right. So we are just sending them all the good baby vibes, the baby dust. We're hoping that it happens for them. They're going to be such excellent parents. And I'm sure it'll happen one day.

And then in sad sort of news, I don't know why I said sort of, but I'll explain later. Carly Weddell, my friend, said that she's ended her engagement. She has been, she publicly said she's ended her engagement to Todd Alan Tressler. It ended a couple a bit a little bit ago. They did go to Paris in July and they did go and move in together earlier in the year. I want to say it was springtime. And so yeah, they did big life things together and they have decided to call it off. And I will let Carly talk about that more. She wants to talk about it more. But I think that she she knows that is for the very best for her and her family i'm i feel bad that she had to you know move the kids out of where they were living but she said that they love the new neighborhood now and it's just that that's what sucks it's just like that like she uprooted her life out of the

house that she loved that she bought herself and but she did say an instagram video this week real talk um it's a post i've been delaying so that um but so that i can feel a more free here we go. I'm always trying to be real with you guys. So I'm going to be real with you now. I'm not wearing a ring. I did break off my engagement about a month ago. It's not a decision that I personally made overnight. It was really bad timing because the kids had started school in sports and all those things. But you know what? It is what it is. And I feel very at peace of this decision. My kids are loving a life in a new place. And honestly, dating after divorce and dating with kids is super difficult and you have to make the decisions for yourself and your family.

so that's where I'm at and I definitely know that she made the best decision for her family and she's still in the Nashville area I know that and she's close with and her parents are in the area so I'm sure she's doing just fine and I will be seeing Carly for her 40th birthday

this coming weekend because we are doing a Chris Sol's Bachelor girls reunion and we're all staying at Caitlin's house and we are so excited so we'll you'll be following along on Instagram, I'm assuming.

Wait, I love that. I love that. What are you like when you do a girl's weekend, like what kind of stuff do you look forward to the most when you're away from the kids, which you love and you're away from your husband? What's kind of the big thing that you look forward to the most on a girls weekend? I'm just thinking that like morning coffee just sitting around in sweats and then probably just like being cozy and like probably like just having.

having some drinks of the girls at night, too. Just like, I don't know what we're going to do yet. Honestly, I have to like text the group and be like, so do we need to make reservations for certain places? Like, what's the actual, are we going to make an itinerary? Are we going to wing it? Yeah. But we are going to do like some sort of fun witches night.

Oh. Where everybody's going to be a different witch. Wait, I love this. I love this. Please make pocus, pocus, like TikToks. Yeah, we're definitely going to be just doing social media a ton, I'm sure. which will, I hope not feel like work, but it's just like to get, I think there's seven of us together after 11 years. It's just too good not to just do all that stuff. I like really love that

and I think it really is a testament to kind of how special the show is that you still have that kind of fun bond with these girls that you went through this super unique experience with. I really love that. What is really cool about The Bachelor is the friends that you make are, kind of the friends where you can go a couple years without seeing them and then you see them and it doesn't feel weird at all. Yeah. And that's the best kind of friendships. I love that for you guys. This sounds like really fun. Thanks. We're super excited. Our last headline of the day is Gary Levingston. He hard launched a new relationship with the new girlfriend. What? Why do we feel like this is crazy? Why do I feel like this is crazy? Okay. So Gary, everybody's lovable, Gary from

Bachelor in Paradise and the Golden Bachelorette um who had a connection and was like I thought like kind of dating flirting with Leslie is is definitely no longer flirting with Leslie he took to his Instagram to say that he's found love like we're at the love word off screen um and he says it's never too late 66 never too late to find the one that you're equally yoked with on an energy level and he's referring to them as big G and little G, it's real. Okay. So I actually am going to throw this to you because weren't you with Gary in Tahoe? I've never met Gary in real life. Oh my gosh. So I've met Gary so many times, love him to pieces. You know, we set him up on a blind date with Kelly Ben Simone earlier this year. Yes, I was in Tahoe where he was with Leslie. And we were

kind of sussing out what was going on because Paradise was still airing at the time. So they were being very hush, hush. But they seemed like they were canoodling. Like they're definitely seen like a vibe. But yeah, so you're not the only one who was shocked by this answer or this news. I was as well when I saw it. But all I can say is Gary is a lover. We love this guy.

I am so happy for him. He was definitely like to remember on Paradise, he was kind of like the big cheese like everybody all the ladies were kind of like circling around him and like wanting to know Gary he gives off that fun vibe and he's just really really nice and has really great energy so I'm happy for him I'm glad to see that he's got a girlfriend um because I know that finding a partner has been something we've talked you know off camera and stuff and that is something that's been really important to him so I'm happy for him I'm so happy for him too So good job, Gary.

Yeah. All right. Well, that is it for this week. We are so grateful for you stepping in, Heather. Thank you so much. You know where to find me, Ashley. We'll talk soon. Bye.

See you. Until next time, I've been Ashley. I've been Heather. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi there. This is Josh Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast. If you've been thinking, man, a lot. I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes,

then have we got good news for you. Stuff You Should Know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episodes of all time. There's a shootout in broad daylight. People using axes in really terrible ways, disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards. So check out the Stuff You Should Know true crime playlist. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. People called them murderers.

Ten years later, they were gods. Today, no one knows their names, a group of maverick surgeons who took on the medical establishment who risked everything to invent open heart surgery. Welcome to the Wild West of American Medicine. I'm Chris Pine, and this is Cardiac Cowboys. If you like medical dramas, if you like heart-pounding thrillers, you will love Cardiac Cowboys. Listen on the IHeart Radio app or wherever you listen to podcasts. Sponsored by Jasper, AI Build for Marketers.

Introducing IVF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story, a podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. It grew like a tech startup. While KindBody did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patients. You think you're finally like in the right hands. You're just not. Listen to IVF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story,

on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. In the 1980s, modeling wasn't just a dream. It was a battlefield. It's a freaking war zone. These people are animals. The Model Wars podcast peels back the glossy cover and reveals a high-stakes game

where survival meant more than beauty. Hosted by me, Vanessa Grigoriatis, this is the untold story of an industry built a ruthless ambition. Listen to Model Wars on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and on the new season of heavyweight... And so I pointed the gun at him and said this isn't a joke.

A man who robbed a bank when he was 14 years old. And a centenarian rediscovers a love lost 80 years ago. How can a 101-year-old woman fall in love again? Listen to heavyweight on the I-heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.