The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Engaging Engagements

Episode Date: May 18, 2021

Ben and Ashley discuss the whirlwind of Bachelor Nation engagements with Desiree Hartsock from Sean Lowe’s season. She’s a wedding designer so she has all the inside info about what to expect from the upcoming Bachelor weddings!Ashley tells us some secrets about Jason Tartick’s proposal to Kaitlyn Bristowe and you won’t believe what REALLY happened. Plus we reveal a huge surprise for the 4 year anniversary of Almost Famous! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble.

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on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, it's Honey German, and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Grasias, come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews 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'll talk about all that's viral and trending, with a little bit of cheesement and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great bevras you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Gracias Come Again on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 podcast with IHartRadio.

Guys, welcome to the most engaged week in Bachelor history. I mean, this week is up there with the end of an episode. of paradise you know this is there's been four bachelor engagements this week which is seriously like a bachelor paradise finale why is that is this like is everybody is it like is the moon you know is the moon turn in circles in a weird way like why is love so prevalent right now i don't know my sister got engaged three weeks ago too yeah do you like this guy oh yeah yeah we love him he's perfect he's my parents dream he is somebody that i've known for gosh like 15 years they they actually met in seventh grade so she's happy she's thrilled yes okay good

she's so happy yeah yeah he's great he fits in with the family very well his parents are awesome and jared loves his new brother-in-law so it's cool oh that's great okay so then we've got a lot of engagements we're going to talk about we also actually need to talk about something that we love which is each other and we've been together now for four years which is longer than you and Jared, isn't it? Yes, because you and I were on the air for almost a year by the time that we came out as a public couple. Wow.

So, wow, Ben. Look at this partnership. This is special. Okay, Ashley, we have some really cool things going on for our four-year anniversary. So if you don't know what we're talking about, almost famous has been around now for four years. This is crazy. I mean, so awesome and so exciting.

So, Ashley, for our four-year anniversary, We are celebrating in what way? Well, we are going to give to our audience because if it weren't for them, if it weren't for them, we wouldn't have a show still. So we're so grateful for you guys for listening for a whole four years that we are going to be giving away for beautiful, like really classy guys, custom made almost famous rings. thereby you can look at the company on instagram it's at love around the neck so we're giving away four of these personalized rings are 14 karat yellow gold with diamonds the rings are all in size seven so if it doesn't fit on your ring finger it'll it'll fit on your index or your middle finger

or something like that um and in the inside a f as in almost famous is ingrained and they're so pretty guys. And in addition to the ring, the winners are going to get hidden garden flowers, two dozen red roses, of course. So we're going to be giving out these sets each week until June 14th. And it starts today. May 17th to June 14th, that is your time to enter. But then we're announcing, we're announcing on June 14. So like, next week we're not giving away one. Like you have a month to enter. And then on June 14th, we're announcing also, actually, we should add in that the ring is made by love around the neck and the flowers are from Hidden Garden Flowers.

So thanks to both those brands for like making this super special for all of us. Yeah, so Ben, tell them what they have to do to enter. It's really, really easy. Okay, here's what you need to do. Follow us on Instagram at almost underscore famous podcast. Okay, so that's one thing. Then click the link in the bio

and register for the content. test. That's all you need to do. And again, as Ashley said, you have till June 14th to do this. And then on June 14th, we're going to be picking four lucky winners. Now, Ashley, if four years ago, let's say four and a half years ago, somebody comes to you and says, hey, you will have to sit down with Ben Higgins every week for four years of your life. And you'll have to talk about stuff going on in Bachelor Nation and going on in your lives. And you're going to have to see each other mature and grow and become less mature, what would you have said? Would this have been exciting for you or would you have been like that sounds like punishment? Oh my gosh.

My fan girl self would have been like, I'm going to talk to Ben Higgins. Like he is just the ultimate, right? Because I mean, you were such a figurehead in the franchise. And like I always thought that you were so much like cooler than me. So I would have been seeing. super honored. I've been like mind blown. I'm like, I'm going to become like really good friends with Ben Higgins. That's awesome. And then four years later. What would you have thought about me? Yeah. Okay. So then I have a follow up question. But yeah. So what I've thought about that, I would have said, I see it. Like Ashley is a great personality who shares her emotions on her sleeve. She would be fantastic for a podcast. I would have asked, what in the world are we going to talk

about now you probably would have been like what's a podcast yeah I'm like I had no clue what this is going to be but um I think I mean I remember I've told you this we've talked about it many times like I was nervous to meet you when I met you at that hotel and Hollywood West Hollywood the first time weird I have no idea why I'm like the least intimidating person in the entire world well maybe now but back then Ashley back then it was different okay so four years later I mean I know I'm very thankful for this opportunity not only get to spend time with you but the listeners, get to meet the listeners. We, you know, up until COVID, we were doing those in-person podcasts that were so much fun.

Yeah. I get to keep up on your life with Jared, your life with your family, your life in Rhode Island now and moving from L.A. This, and I've said it before, but like this podcast has been a gift for so many reasons. Like, it allows me to do generous coffee for free. It allows us to have other adventures and opportunities come to us that. maybe we wouldn't have without this podcast, and then I get to do it with you. And like in four years, I don't remember a time even off air that we've had like an issue. Like this has like been really great. That's true. It has been overall very great. I love the platform that we have

to discuss the issues in Bachelor Nation. And like if we see something and we feel like it's maybe not being interpreted by bachelor nation or the audience as we feel like it probably went down in real life i love being able to talk about that and like kind of giving contestants the benefit of the doubt because there's so many times where yeah yeah sometimes because there's so many times where like there's so much storyline that they don't have time to show and and we can kind of figure out um what possibly went down and of course you know i love the in depth because we get to know these people so much better and like then you really do get to see their whole character instead of the caricature that you sometimes get to know on the show. Do you still think I'm super

cool? Yeah. Yeah, cool. That makes me feel good. I still definitely look at you as somebody who is one of those people in your life that aspires you to be a better human. Oh, Ashley. Yeah. Hey, Jessica. Ashley still thinks I'm cool. because sometimes I question if she does. Hey, we have a big podcast coming up for you today. Yes, the giveaway is there. We'll mention to get the end of the podcast. We have Desiree Hartstock on the podcast.

She is somebody who obviously was passing out the roses at some point in alive. She always has a lot going on. She's always a great interview and super exciting. But as Ashley mentioned, at the beginning of the podcast, this is engagement week. Not that we expected it for Bachelor Nation. We're going to break down all the engagements, all the, all the love, all the stories going on and all the hot headlines right here

on the Almost Famous Podcasts podcast. But before we do, let's take a break. 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 okay story time 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. 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. 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, do this, pull that, turn this.

It's just, I can do my eyes close. 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. 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. What would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison

or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth? Unfortunately for Mark Lombardo, this was the choice he faced. He said, you are a number, a New York State number, and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aimed to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the 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 to. your podcast. My name is Ed. Everyone say, hello Ed. Hello, Ed.

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

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

for this engagement week of Bachelor Nation than Desiree Hartstock, a wedding dress designer herself? Yes. Yes, it's Desiree, guys. Welcome her to the podcast. Oh, thanks for having me. One of my favorite people. She's just like, you.

Chris kind of like light up. the room when they walk in, don't they? I'll never forget when I was on tour. I was in the middle of nowhere on this tour bus and they brought me a like gift bag full of stuff from the area. And like I like that moment where you just feel like you feel like you are a part of something special. Like I don't know. There's just special people. I'm pumped to have her. Oh, well thank you. Yes, we're always thinking about others. But also like you were on the bus for so long. We're like, He needs snacks and a bottle of wine. Yes.

Oh, my gosh. All right. Well, Des, you have a book out. Yes. Or it's coming out. June 22nd. Yes, I wrote a book. So now I'm in the club with Ben.

Yeah. What inspired you to write this book, which is partial bachelor tell all so many years later. Yeah, you know, it kind of is. So I always wanted to write a book regardless of being on this show or not. but that obviously led to some really incredible things in my life. And so, of course, The Bachelor, Bachelorette is a part of my journey. And so I wanted to share all about my life and really like the experiences I've gone through and how honestly my faith has allowed me to continue forward with hope through all of it.

And so I'm just excited. I'm excited to finally get it all out there. it's kind of nerve-wracking too to be like at this point now where you know I spent a year writing it and it's finally here so it's going to be interesting to see um just the response but also just how it can maybe help people who are looking at their lives right now and wondering what they're going to do now you know I uh offers hope I that feeling over the next few months I'm going to tell you right now I had an incredible mentor and author reach out to me the night before my book got released.

And I'm going to tell you something that people out there listening and be like, you are the worst human ever. But it was the best thing ever for me. He reached out to me. He said, Ben, you're about to launch something that's so special to you and means so much to you. And you're going to have so much lead up and so much anxiety and so much stress

and so much like anxiousness about it. And you're going to be so disappointed in what it feels like that day of release. But he says you're not doing it for the day of release. You're doing it because you had a story you had to share. And I'm telling you it was the, best advice ever because like now it's out there and like people will review it people will share stuff about it but like you don't have the intimate hold on it like you did like right now

it's still your baby and so it's i'm just telling you it's a weird time but it's such a special time it's it's so humbling and i'm glad you did yeah no thank you for sharing that that's actually really helpful because it just hit me like last week where i was like oh like you know i'm at this point now i don't want i don't want people to comment about it you know, like negatively or whatever, but I'm also at a point where I needed to come out, like my life, my story. And also just not just as a woman, but also just my life, I felt like I always either my voice was hindered or I wasn't as confident in sharing my voice or sometimes it was dismissed.

And so this is also just a great moment to be like, I am here, this is my story, this is my truth and you know really stand in that firmly rather than backing away from it which i often did so it's kind of a so pumped cool moment thanks would you say that the book is what 50 50 like kind of like pre-batchelor post bachelor in between bachelor right like are you see the good things like in thirds yeah you know um i would say i mean it could be 50-50 because a lot of it does stem from the show but it's a lot of my past dating life as well that kind of was my dating patterns and how that actually played a huge part in the show and how I, you know, made decisions or all of the crap, you know, that happened on my season. It's really enlightening when you know my past to really see what

happened and how I overcame it. So can you can you tease that a little bit for us? like what do you think was the issue for you dating previous to getting with chris yeah you know i it's a little mix of who i would choose and maybe a little mix of who i was but i definitely went after the emotionally unavailable all the time and it's just i'm an empath and i just felt like maybe I could like you know fix them that's you quickly learn that you can't and yeah and also it was a little more passive and I ended up with other guys that were passive and so it's just you're not going anywhere you're not getting anywhere and I also would like keep the relationships going when obviously it wasn't right so who should read this my lessons like who out there right now

who's listening would benefit the most from your story you know know, it actually hits so many different points that it really is for every one in every season. Because I also talk about motherhood. I talk about entrepreneurship. And I talk about just all of that coming off of the show. But I think the gist of like my testimony and my story is really overcoming obstacles or struggles that pertain to heartbreak or pertain to like the feeling of like what now, you know, like, what am I going to do with my life now? Because I was super broke, struggling financially, and just like, oh my gosh, like, what do I do now? And then the show happened. So I don't know.

I feel like a lot of times, I think single ladies or anyone who's dealing with heartbreak would definitely benefit from it to know that, you know, the best is yet to come and they don't need to dwell in their hurt or their pain. And so I think that is really helpful. but honestly, it's for anyone who looks around at their life right now and is like losing hope, you know? Yeah. I hate that when we talked about your bachelor's experience,

that you always have to hear Brooks's name come up. Yeah. You know, is that really hard for you and Chris? She's just like sucks. No? No, you know, Chris, it was a rock during all of that because he just didn't care and he knew like from the... Awesome.

Yeah, he knew from the minute we met. he's like that's my girl so he didn't really care but um it's just frustrating and i talk a lot about that on the show too how a lot of the like it was intense the backlash of people like literally saying oh well yeah that chris was my second choice that i settled that i mean even after we were married people would still comment and it's just mind blowing the perspective people have like we're still human beings we you know like we're not just a character on on a show that they can continue to blast when we're so past it, so past it. I was past at the moment I said, he left, you know?

It's like, it's just an interesting, you guys have been on the show. It's an interesting world you're in. Because the show did make it seem so much so that, like, Brooks was your first place and, like, who's was your runner up? Yeah. Do you explain what was really going on in your head and your heart and behind the scenes in the book? Oh, yeah.

absolutely i go into detail about that so it's kind of nice to finally put that straight to you know but it but it stems from even it all just stems from my past and it's a really i don't know it was very enlightening and everything that happened had to happen for me to be able to be in the place that i'm at now with chris the uh we're in a season where most people would probably say it's disorienting there's a lot of changes and especially being stuck inside for the last you know year or so and um you know you talked about the criticism you talked about the public opinion uh you talked about everybody having opinion about what you're doing then you write this book and i know for me there was it was opening consistently when i was writing opening up wounds that had not yet healed

and that i kind of had forgotten but i need to write about because i felt like they were important for the overall story yeah okay so you take two those two things together if for the people out there listening what have you learned in the last few years with you and Chris being together, with the opinions coming down from the public that kind of aren't true, but they're consistently being told to you, and also now that you write a book

and you open up these wounds again, what have you learned and what would you share? You know, throughout my life and honestly, through the book, through each step of over, like, under, sorry, through each step of discovering like your wounds or discovering, certain things that you need to work on, I realized I really need to work. I found my identity

in Christ. And so I continued to focus on who I was and who God created me to be rather than who these people say I am. So I've gotten to a point after 2020, you know, 2020 was kind of hard too with everyone's opinions. But I kind of just gave up. I lost that fear of what people would think and so with each step writing the book i think it also helped me to like get past that and be like i don't like who i am is not who they say i am i am i am who god says i am and so that actually really helped me stay confident honestly throughout everything and that's actually why i'm at a point too with the book coming out i think i'm at a much better place to be able to handle criticism such an important place to get my buddy once told me

me, people have asked, but my friend just a few months ago told me to write down who you know you are in the face of God and then repeat that you're to yourself every morning. And I'd say if people out there listening are like, hey, I don't have a faith. I can't relate with this. Great. That's your deal. But maybe just write down who you know you are at your healthiest moments and repeat that to yourself every morning. Yeah. Your book's going to be awesome. It's super exciting. Again, it comes out here June. It's June 26th, right? June 22nd, June 22nd. Yeah, called The Road to Roses.

You're going to get to all the details. It is a story worth hearing. So please go pick it up wherever. I'm assuming it's whatever. Yeah. Okay. Well, are you down to stick with us for just a second here? Yes, absolutely.

And talk to us about all the love going on in Bachelor Nation right now. Yes, you're going to have to get me up to speed. I'm a little bit behind on everyone that's been engaged. We can do that. We're here. Yeah, we're here right now to do it. Well, hey, let's take a break and get a water break real quick, Ashley. We come back.

We're going to talk about engagements, and we're going to educate everybody out there if they haven't quite heard about all the love happening in Bastionation. 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 this 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. 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, I'm sorry, do this, pull that, turn this. It's just, I can do my eyes close. 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. See? Listen to No Such Thing on the I Heart 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.

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A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA. Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught, and I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors, and you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum, the Houston Lab that takes on the most hopeless cases, to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hey, sis, what if I could promise you you never had to listen to a condescending finance, bro, tell you how to manage your money again. Welcome to Brown Ambition. This is the hard part when you pay down those credit cards. If you haven't gotten to the bottom of why you were racking up credit or turning to credit cards, you may just recreate the same problem a year from now. When you do feel like you are bleeding from these high interest rates, I would still. Start shopping for a debt consolidation loan, starting with your local credit union, shopping around online, looking for some online lenders because they tend to have fewer fees and be more affordable. Listen, I am not here to judge. It is so expensive in these streets.

I 100% can see how in just a few months you can have this much credit card debt when it weighs on you. It's really easy to just like stick your head in the sand. It's nice and dark in the sand. Even if it's scary, it's not going to go away just because you're avoiding it. And in fact, it may get even worse. more judgment-free money advice listen to brown ambition on the iheart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast all right well des you said that you we need to catch you up well you obviously weren't on the gram last night or this morning oh my gosh it was like crazy it was one after the after the other

so obviously kately and jason kicked off engagement week last week with the most amazing like it was so much fun right so jason proposed to katelyn while recording what he says is a fake was a fake podcast but then they released it so it's kind of a real podcast but it was also that they would have that moment on record and i loved it and it was meaningful in the way that they first met while recording her podcast and then fast forward oh my gosh has a bit they've been together for two and a half years yeah so fast for two and a half years and then he proposed on the podcast and it was crazy because on the original podcast that he was on i think october 2018 she asked like what are you looking for in a future spouse and like little did he know that like when

answering that question he was in front of his future spouse that's awesome i love them they're so cute they're so freaking cute i just listened to the podcast because she put it out yesterday i think sunday um and there's like a whole it's like like 45 minutes and the suspense builds and builds until the moment that he goes katelyn this isn't a real podcast and she goes what do you mean oh my god you haven't hit record and then he starts going into the proposal and it's just so sweet he's crying his voice is cracking and then it changes from like emotion to laughter and i was truly like laughing out loud because when she sees the ring i know we saw a little teaser of it on instagram but she can't stop cursing and like shrieking it's truly hilarious it's the most katelyn thing

ever i love their dichotomy because jason's like a little bit more buttoned up and and kately is totally out there and oh they're wonderful i feel like all bachelor nation has been waiting and waiting for this, right? I think that some of us were kind of suspecting this is going to happen right after the Dancing with the Stars win because we were like, man, could this year get any better for Caitlin? And then she became like the co-host for The Bachelorette. And it's just gotten better and better.

And he said he thought about doing it in Cabo when she saw her mom for the first time in a year and a half. But then thought, you know, she really wanted something intimate. And they said that like they've never felt like they like looked at each other. eyes deeper than they did at this period. Oh, that's my little recap. Thanks for that recap. Wow, that was good.

Yeah, she's good educator. So we're playing a little game with you. Sure. What wedding dress, if you could picture, would Caitlin be in at their wedding? Ooh, that's a good one. She's, like, sexy but sassy. So it needs to, you know, be a little, like, revealing up top of maybe, like, a little fun on the skirt with a slit.

I think I see that Okay All right I can see that I feel like She's not a puffy girl I feel like Her's maybe like

A little more slinky Yeah she's super petite So I feel like A big dress would kind of swallow her up But she needs to show it off I don't know Or she'll do a switch

She'll do like a fuller dress For the ceremony And then like Sex it up for the reception There you go Totally What kind of What kind of a wedding

you, Des, you and Ben, what do you imagine Caitlin's wedding to be like? Because she and I talked about it like a year or so ago. She's like, we just might like a lope one day. Like they're the kind of couple. You know, you're in your 30s. You just kind of know where your future's headed. They knew that they were going to be together forever. And she like mentioned Italy, small wedding, something like that.

I still can see that. I can see. I can see Jason also wanting like a big traditional wedding as well. what do you guys think yeah isn't he east coast he's super east coast buffalo yeah super east coast i kind of picture that i feel like he would probably want a big wedding with all their friends but it would be so fun i see a wine and tequila bar that's about all i see in the picture like i just can guarantee you that will happen um at their wedding oh spades and sparrows you know there's got to be a whole bar for just her wine and then it's so funny in the during their engagement

she was wearing a tank top that says tequila for breakfast and she says she goes oh my god i cannot believe i'm wearing a shirt that says tequila for breakfast at my engagement that's hilarious but it's so her it's so them like it's so fitting you'd want it no other way it's so fitting all right ashley what's the next couple to get engaged sarah heron and her boyfriend dylan they've been together for over four years i chided with her this morning and she said that actually she had designed her ring they've been talking about engagement for about six months and she designed her ring. So it wasn't a real surprise, but it was, you know, she didn't know when it was going to happen. And she said he was so nervous leading into it that she could tell. She was like, oh my God, this is going to happen because

like he was all like shaky and dry mouth. I've been waiting for that one because I thought that would be coming pretty soon. So I'm so happy for her. She looks so happy. Okay. So what wedding dress would she be in? Ooh. That one's good. I mean, they're so adventurous. Like, I feel like their wedding will be like on top of a mountain. So she also can't be in anything too big. I mean, who knows?

Maybe they'll elope. Yeah, like climb up, do a hike and have a beautiful scenery. So nothing too crazy. I feel like I could see her in like a strapless gown. That's what I was going to say. Yeah. I was going to say strapless, like, I would say pretty, like, close, formed to the body until, like, the waist. And then I'd say it comes out, it flows out, but not in, like, a poofy princess sort of way, like mine did, but more kind of like my reception dress where it's, like, sleek and more of a modern.

Yeah, I totally see that. A line out. Yeah, I see that. same same here so the way it's interesting now with both couples and maybe I'm behind the times you guys got to tell me um that we've mentioned like a loping so like you know maybe five years ago I feel like maybe even two years ago like we said a loping everybody's like oh really like that feels like you should have a wedding now after the pandemic it feels like a loping's kind of like not the cool thing to do but like it's making a lot of sense for a lot of couples yeah it totally

makes sense. I mean, it's just easy and you're able to kind of have a more intimate ceremony. So I know a lot of couples who do the elopement, but then they have a big party for everyone to like also celebrate. I think it depends to you in the just personality. Like I think age is a difference. The older you get the like less. Totally. Interested you are for like a huge, huge, huge, huge wedding. Or a lot at times older couples are paying for it themselves. So they're not going to opt for like spending money on a wedding when they want to like put a deposit down on a house. You know, it's like give or take. Okay. I don't know. Well, it's interesting. Ashton, we've had, we have four couples this week that got engaged. We've talked about two of them. Who

are the other two? Then we have Haley Ferguson. She got engaged to her hockey boyfriend. His name is, oh, how do you say it? Uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, Ola, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh, uh he is he um he's professional hockey player he's 29 he proposed to her on Thursday May 13th her ring is also just out of this world stunning and huge and uh it looks like she's hinting at a summer 20 22 wedding so they already talked about it I also talked to to Haley and she said that she was she was surprised at what it happened He apparently just got back to America because he plays overseas. And it was like the first couple days that he was here.

She was expecting it to happen maybe sometime this summer, but definitely not at this point. And she said, I was wearing white just by coincidence. That's amazing. Deep down she knew. So what kind of dressed as Haley Ferguson where? Oh, I feel like both Haley and what's her sister? Emily. Emily, who's also engaged.

And I love that they get to share this engagement period of their lives together. I know, that's so cute. So cute. They love sharing things together and this is like obviously one more special things you can. Yeah, and at least they're not sharing the man.

That'd be weird. Oh, both of those girls are so beautiful. They definitely are like a little sexier. So I would do a deep plunging V with like illusion lace. And like they definitely, I see a fuller, a fuller skirt. Mm-hmm.

Totally same here. You must do this for a living or something. You're really good at this. I know. This is my favorite thing. I love dressing people. And we're going to do it virtually. Maybe they're going to listen and be like, you know what?

This is free advice. I need to follow it. Ashley, final person from Bachelor Nation to get engaged this week. So it's Sydney, Nicole, hi. We know her from Peter's season. And I've been, I love. I think she's so pretty, and I've been following her and her boyfriend's relationship over the past year. He's an NFL player.

His name is Fred Warner. He plays for the 49ers, and they are so cute together, and he posted a picture yesterday that said, when you know, you know of him down on one knee. And then she posted the date, and she says it's you and me. And it's so cute. And guess what? she's holding a red rose a single red rose in her hand and then they're just so sweet that's sweet I'm looking this up right now I I am super pumped about this one because I actually had looked at their

their story a few weeks ago and this this is super cool I know uh guess so so she's saving a spot for paradise because hey she would have been super sought after there and I'm sure the other girls are glad that she won't be there for competition. They're so cute. There you go. Okay. What kind of wedding dress do you see? Yeah, Sydney.

Oh, gosh. It needs to be like definitely like a fit and flare. So super curve hugging. Yeah. And, you know, definitely a little, probably illusion. I imagine illusion lace with a little beating. What's illusion lace? so illusion lace is like it's been trendy for probably probably a good decade now but um it's mesh with lace on top without it being lined and so it's very like the lace is strategically placed so you don't you know have a nip slip or anything but uh it just looks like laces literally applicate on your body oh that's cool yeah okay well i guess to round out this

dress hypothesis session, what kind of dress is Ben's fiance just going to wear at their November wedding? I don't know. Jess is so adorable. I love her so much. Um, same. Oh, good. Good. You know, I picture her in lace. I don't know why. Me too. Yeah, I picture her in lace. A line. A line. Yeah, for sure I know that she's very she picked out her wedding dress um I know that she's so excited about it that she made I think she asked her mom and my mom when they left like hey how inappropriate is it for me to wear my wedding dress after the wedding and they're like Jessica we can't come like Ben can't come home and find you like sitting on the couch in the wedding or he can if that's what you're he can do you guys you both do that do you ever put

it back on? No. I don't know if I can fit in it. Is it weird that I don't have a desire to put it on? It's like so sacred to the day. Yeah. Did you put yours in like, did you preserve yours? It's still sitting on my mom like in the guest room bed.

Still like big goofy on the bed. Did you have, I had two dresses. Do you know what Jess is going to have two? You had two too. Oh, I have you. I too. I don't see Jess having two. I feel like when she loves something, she'll wear it.

Right? then like she'll wear it the whole day. I think that was my thought. I never wanted two dresses. I was like, I want to love my first one so much that I never want to take the other one off. But that's just not how it played out. And I was actually super grateful because we,

I walked into the first dance at all our dances and stuff in my, you know, the church gown. And then I was like, I cannot walk around this ballroom in this ball gown because everybody's stepping on it. all the chairs are in the way. So I was super grateful to be able to change it.

And we changed right before the cake cutting. So like all the dancing, all like the fun dancing and stuff was in a much lighter dress that I didn't have to like walk around like Queen Elizabeth in. Not just like an old Queen Elizabeth. I had a friend too. We like mid reception, we had to like unbutton her and she had to like just breathe because it was a big gown that, you know, it's heavy. Those things are heavy.

oh my dress must have been like 30 pounds and tight and tight yeah you know you want to like squeeze it all in so you're like yeah not breathing well this is a really special time for bachelor nation we couldn't have thought of a better person to come down and break down love with us and deserate heartstock uh now one last time yes your book the road to roses June 22nd 2021 out on shelves please go pick it up thank you for join us today. This is something so special for us. And thank you for talking to us about wedding dresses. That was really fun for me. Sure. Good. It's always great to have Desiree on the podcast, but we're going to transition now to more headlines. No more engagements so far this week. We'll talk about them next week if there is. Who else is on the lineup? Anyone? I don't even know now.

I don't know. Sydney, you know what, Sydney Latwaco, I think, has one come in. you know she's still with her boyfriend i hope so um i hope so too let me do a quick check yeah if not that was very awkward um as you check up uh yeah you know there are some some very happy couples in bachelor nation it's always fun to talk about their love stories see it's fun to see how these these love stories progress and to see who they end up with um Ashley any update is Sydney still with her boyfriend yes they're still together very good i would say that could be the next to you're right what's word for it well hey uh in addition to that uh we have some paradise uh coming up here soon so maybe we'll get some on paradise so we can talk about

but anyways enough of the engagements we're going to talk about some headlines and here's the first the quote is i remember feeling so guilty colton underwood recalls fear of being outed while on the bachelorette this according to usa today you guys we got some tea from this variety interview that came out this like wow So he was afraid while being on Becca Kufrin's season of The Bachelorette that he was going to get outed by one of the other guys or like just by like by somebody in general. Not like one of the guys that was there in the house, but like he was afraid during filming that it was going to come out that he had been on the the gay dating app Grindr and he said, I remember feeling so guilty like what the hell am I doing? it was the first time I'm letting myself even go there he said I need to be on the Bachelorette

because I need to be straight like he just thought that like being on the Bachelorette would lead him to more of a straight life and that hopefully he would get a girlfriend out of it but it's just it's crazy to think that he was on Grindr and he said he did have sexual encounters with men he said well he really was a virgin on the show it didn't mean that he didn't have like hookups to some capacity with men beforehand and he was thinking wait hold up there i know i know i thought when he first came out a month ago he said that he didn't have a sexual encounter i know i know i'm confused now because according to this variety it says quotes like if i'm reading the quote it says he well this is okay so it's not a quote from him but it says that

underwood reveals through the show he was highly it was highlighted that he was a virgin and he was he did have sexual encounters with men he met on the dating app grinder which made which left him anxious than one might find out and out him to a tabloid wait can team behind the scenes here can we do some research and go back to the quote when he first came out because is this, I mean, this does change stuff. I mean, still, like, super happy for Colton that he's able to live his true self now. But if so, it does bring up the question. Like, if we did an interview with him, like, how did you choose to go and be the bachelor

if you would, like, already had relationships with men before it? Because his original statement, I thought, and tell me if I'm crazy, that he had it. Well, our team is telling us now, he said he didn't have an emotional connection. That was his quote. So I guess you cannot have an emotional connection but still have a physical connection. So that makes more sense, more sense. But interesting for sure. And it is surprising in today's world with how much information the Sleuthers get,

especially when he went on the show, it wasn't that long ago, that they didn't find this out because they find everything out. Ben, I'm freaking mind boggled. So Colton had a grinder profile. Before being on The Bachelor, right, did he use a different picture? Did he have a picture up there? Because how did that not get out? The Reddit people find out everything.

The message boards find out all the crazy stuff, and they put everything together. The fact that there was not one person that he had had some sort of physical contact with come out. I mean, he really is lucky in the sense that, like, that was a fear of his and it didn't come true. he continues more tea that we get from this variety article is that he he says that he was blackmailed into coming out so he was at a spa he was visiting a spa for gay men they're known for catering to gay clientele yeah and the anonymous sender he got an email from and they claimed to have nude photos of him from his visit there and said that they were going to leak it to the press he said unsure of what to do he forwarded this email to his publicist and it was the first time him emailing the publicist was the first time he'd ever come out to anybody in the world but he said that he was able to trust that his publicist was like not going to do anything

that would hurt him and that was what started the process of him having to come out to the public and they also go on to say that will watch him come out to his parents on the Netflix reality show this is uh I mean there's a lot going on here right I mean it's been it's had to been a big year for him uh for multiple reasons big and you know but I I mean, this is all interesting, and I'm just surprised. I'm shocked that there was photos taken at this place. I mean, that just seems illegal, like, right? Like, I mean, even if they blackmail, it has to be illegal at some level.

It makes it seem, there's a possibility that the photos don't even exist, but that somebody saw him at the gay spa and then, you know, pretended as if they had photos just to, like, kind of be like, hey, I know you're gay and I'm going to go to the press with it because, I mean, the photos didn't, they never surfaced. So there's a possibility that they don't exist. But, like, how crazy is it? This seems like so much different

than the experience with men that we were gathering from Holton's interviews last month. Because this sounds as if, like, he has known he was gay, you know, because he was kind of acting on it. And in the interviews with Robin Roberts, it kind of made it seem like he was keeping all this in and he was just about to start exploring.

So many questions because then he was, you know, with Cassie for how long after this. Yeah. It's like, you know, it's not like he left the show. So so much going on here. Stories are continuing to unfold. Just a lot to consume. Well, anyways, hey, let's move on.

then um to one of your favorite people in the world jade roper uh her quote is this and it's it's i'm sure you know a lot about this as one of her closest friends but her quote is she thought she was going to die before experiencing postpartum PTSD this according to e she's referring to the fact that she went into labor in the closet uh i mean seriously she said when i was giving birth. I had such a precipitous labor that I thought something wrong was happening. I thought I was going to die. I thought I was going to die. And so after that experience, I would have flashbacks that were not safe, she says. She said that she like kind of had this breakdown to to Tanner. And then she went on to seek to seek treatment through hypnotherapy because of

Like, it was super scarring on her. So I know we've talked about this here on the podcast, but what happened was that her water broke. And then she thought, okay, well, like with Emmy, I know it was a fast birth for her first, especially. It was like seven or eight hours from her water breaking. So she was like, okay, I'm going to take a quick bath. And then we'll head over to the birthing center.

And once she took that quick bath, she got up to get her clothes in her closet and all of a sudden, you know she just could not move it was totally debilitated so there was within an hour of her water breaking that the head that brooks's head was out was crowning so it was so traumatic and so painful um and she just you know it was not like what she ideally wanted to like it was not like the chaos and and it was like yeah i think chaos is a good word it was just not the kind of environment that she wanted to bring a baby into. And she said that when Brooks, you know, was, you know, out and a baby, you know, like a baby, like feeding.

You know, he was just a baby. She said that she felt like he didn't want me. That was the hardest part of it all. I felt like I would look at him and feel so disconnected. And he didn't know I was his mom or he didn't want me to be his mom. So, like, there was this immediate bonding thing that she didn't feel with Brooks, that she did feel with Emmy. And she thought, she thinks she still believes that a lot of that has to do with just how he came into this world. So, yeah, it took some, took some therapy.

And she definitely had postpartum with Brooks. And it was definitely a whole different journey than it was with Emmy and with Reed. Catherine Lowe hopes Chris Harrison returns as The Bachelor host. Her quote is, he's a good base, this according to us. Yeah, she says, I want to see him come back. I think he will. I hope he does because I know so many Bachelor fans out there rely on him to be the voice of The Bachelor. She said, Chris is a good base that everyone could kind of rely on.

She says, if we're giving him the time that he's asking for to reflect on, things. I think it's only fair that we kind of say, okay, you did your work. Thank you for doing your work. She said, and I think we should respect his choices. I mean, maybe he doesn't want to return. I don't know. He might be on to different things. But, uh, bottom line, Catherine is hoping to see Chris come back. We haven't heard a lot from Chris or about the situation a long time. We got to, we got to dig into that a little bit. It's been kind of, no, but speaking of bachelor engagements, I mean, I was super, like the, the most headlining thing I think that has come out about Chris, since all this went down in February is that picture that he posted of Lauren a couple

weeks ago. And I thought that they got married, but they did not. No, they didn't. Big old tease. Well, Ashley, this is another episode of the Almost Famous Podcast. It's been a really great being with you. Again, Ashley, before we go, it's almost our four-year anniversary. We talked about at the beginning. Now, to celebrate our four years together on the Almost Famous Podcast, what are we doing for all the fans out there? You guys don't forget, you have a chance now to win a 14-carat-gold ring. Four of you out there will win a custom-made ring, 14-ter-gold with diamonds, with an A-F engraved on the inside of the band.

And you'll also get two dozen beautiful roses from hidden garden flowers. And all you have to do to enter is follow us on Instagram at At Almost-Ur-Famous Podcast. And then you click the link. in the bio and you register for the contest that's all you got to do and we we can't wait to announce the four winners on june 14th super pumped for this again um thank you to the brands that helped us put this on uh you can follow these brands the ringmaker at love around the neck and the flower the florist at hidden garden flowers dot com ashley always a pleasure always great being with you. We'll be back next week with another episode of the

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