The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Famously Available And Looking For Love with DeAnna Pappas

Episode Date: August 27, 2025

You remember DeAnna Pappas when she was on Brad Womack's season of "The Bachelor", and again when she starred as "The Bachelorette" - but sadly, DeAnna never managed to find love in Bachelor Nation.She got married and started a family, but unfortunately, every rose has its thorn, and the marriage ended in divorce. Now DeAnna is ready to get back out there and take control of her dating life post-divorce! With the help of Ben Higgins, we'll follow her on this journey to finding love...again! Follow us on Instagram @FamouslyAvailableSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hello, it's Daniel Fischel. Writer Strong. And Will Ferdell from PodMeets World. We are back in Las Vegas and giving the people what they want, a full week of Y2K content. Tell me why. Well, for the Backstreet Boys residency at Sphere, of course.

We joke and say this is our second marriage, but it takes a lot of communication. Plus, it's carrot top, baby. And finally, Ashley Simpson-Ross joins us to talk about her upcoming sold-out Vegas residency. Listen to PodMeets World on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then everything changed. There's been a bombing at the TWA.

terminal, just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, terrorism. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of the on-purpose podcast, and today I'm joined by one of the greatest athletes of all time, Novak Djokovic. He's won 14 grand slams in a glittering career. Novak, Djokovic.

When you reach your 30, you start counting your days to your retirement. I'm 38 this year. How long can I push my own limits? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Chetty on the IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. IHart Podcasts bring you the ultimate Summer of Love Tree. This is famously available, Deana Poppice. She did find love in 2008 when she was the Bachelorette, but it didn't quite stick.

Then, through a Bachelor Nation connection, she fell in love, married, had children, and was living the dream. But this wasn't the happily ever after she wanted. So it's time for her story to continue. Deanna, our listeners know you. They're familiar with you. They probably love you. That's my assumption here. But we are sitting here today talking about something very different than what they know you from before.

So let's start this thing by giving our listeners an update, catching them up here a little bit, and then maybe sharing how in the world we got here today. Is it really that different, Ben? Is it really that different than how your listeners might know who I am, where they know I'm from? It's really not. It all comes back around. It's really not. you're just a different host than what I had 17 years ago.

Very much not as charismatic or as handsome, but I'll tell you this, if I can be Chris Harrison's C team, I'll take it. I hear you're as equally as good as a golfer. That's true. Let's say that publicly. I hope he listens. I'll text Harrison after this and let him know. Please do.

Let's see, you knew me many years ago as this young night. Eve, Southern Bale, who was looking to find her happily ever after. And here she is. She's back, still looking for that one true love. It's interesting because what we're attempting to do here, I think is so fun. And I think that's the point of the concept that we're entering into together, really. This is the first time we're trying it. And hopefully the first of many seasons to come. But famously available is supposed to be fun. Let's start this conversation with some things that aren't fun. Obviously, people know you from some headlines recently about a breakup slash divorce. How are you healing as you walk through this process, especially in the

public eye? Because you have been in the public eye before. but now it's been a few years and you're going through this breakup in the public sphere when social media is very much more prevalent than it used to be and opinions are very much louder than they used to be how are you doing through this time there's a saying that you take it day by day and sometimes I'm taking it hour by hour I think the unique thing that I have is that most people get to go through a relationship or get divorced, and they don't have to really allow anyone else to be a part of that. And so that has been a bit of a learning experience for me because I very much want to protect my children. Everything lives on the internet. You know,

back when I was on television, listen, Ben, it's on a DVD. There's a lot of clips that you can't find anymore. So I feel like I have some serenity there and some peace of mind. But everything lives on the internet. So I am very careful what I say, what I share for the sake of my children. And I have said it from the get-go that my children get to love me and they get to love their father. And that's what they deserve. They don't need to hear the pain and the depths of what went on in our marriage and why it didn't work. That's not what my children deserve. So, yeah, it's, it's been trying. I am divorced.

I'm very much single. I have not dated a lot since getting divorced. And most of that is just because I truly wanted to focus on myself and I wanted to focus on my children. And I wanted to make sure that the transition was okay for the two of them. The interesting thing about divorce and something that I have had to learn is that when you get married, you work so hard to become one. There's this whole, and I'm a Christian, I'm very open about that, but there's this whole thing where people tell you, you know, you become one. You become one in this relationship. You no longer operate as two. And then overnight you are expected to be two again. You love someone and you spend so many years loving someone so much. And then it is no joke like overnight. You don't know this person anymore. I wish it was a dream scenario. I so admire those people who are like, yeah, we're still best friends for the same.

take out the kids, we hang out, our new spouses hang out. I admire people like that. That is not my situation. So I am navigating it day by day and trying to remember that I have children who are walking through this and I just want to be the best version of myself. That's all that I want. And a really good lesson for me during this period of time is just, you know, I can only take responsibility for myself and the things that I do and say and everything else has to be silenced and pushed away because I can't control anyone else. I can't control you been. I can't control anyone else. I can only control what I do and how I respond and how I react. So divorce has not been easy for me. And some of the situations that have occurred since have been really difficult.

And I wish that I could be a person that could go through this privately. But that's not my life. And I believe that I have a new disrespect for tabloids who take headlines as clickbait or even the many people who have spoke on it or have had comments on it since because I guarantee you no one knows the truth of the matter other than the two people that were there. And I'm one of those. So I find that fascinating the amount of people who will comment on myself or my marriage or, um, anything that went on when really truly no one was there. So I have had to come to a space that I don't truly understand and nor do I care anyone else's opinion. You are married, Ben, and you know that there's his truth, her truth, and the truth. There's always three sides to every story. And no one should have a seat at the table in your marriage. No one should have a seat.

obviously this whole concept that we're entering into is about moving forward but I do want to spend a second here and still continue kind of in the space we're talking about right now you have gone through divorce you do have kids you want and I think it's a terrific mindset to protect the kids and to make sure that they can love you and their father well but I've always been curious about this personally I don't don't think there's a user manual for how to walk through divorce. And I think there are a lot of opinions, you know, from the outside, probably as you go through this process. So who have you leaned on? Who has been a part of that circle that you've entrusted to help sit with you when you're

feeling great, to sit with you when you're mourning and feeling lonely, to cry with you and to also hold you accountable as you try to make these decisions on should you speak out publicly on this or should you stay quiet? Just all the stuff that happens when you go through this in the public eye. What has your support system been like? I actually have a really great support system. Some friends of mine who have just been with us every step of the way. They were actually friends of Stephen and I as a couple. And they have remained my friends and they walk through me. They're the type of people who put on the boots and they walk through the trenches of shit with you

and carry you on days that you cannot carry yourselves. I have always been the type of person who I keep my side of the street clean. That's what I do. I keep my side of the street clean. I've never been the type of person that believes in gossip or speaking negatively about other people

or telling the dirty truth. I will stand by that. in my marriage, I honored my marriage and I kept things really private for that exact reason. And I think that's why people were so surprised when Stephen and I announced that we were getting divorced because I kept everything really close to heart other than the people that I trust. And for me, that's because I valued my husband at the time and I valued my relationship and my marriage. And with so much of my life that is public, those boundaries are really important. to me because there is so much that I allow for people to have access to in my life because

I chose to go on television, but my children did not and my ex-husband did not. So there are pieces that I hold really close to heart, really close to my chest that I won't share. I choose not to do that. And my goal at the end of the day is, and always has been, I'd love. love to get to a place where I don't loathe my ex-husband. So that is a process and that is a process for me. That's to come to terms with things that I have experienced and things that I have gone through. And it is a healing and a grieving process. I believe not only is the end of a relationship, but the end of a marriage, divorce is very much like a death. There is a process. It is grief. It is grief to its finest. And I am an advocate for mental health and I, God, I love

therapy. And I have walked and rode every wave of grief. And sometimes I still am. I currently still am, you know. But that's important for me, for my healing process. And I'm also the type of person when I am done with something, with someone with a relationship, I'm done. There's no going back for me. I don't backpedal. I believe that things close for a reason for new ones to open. And even still, I'm not that same person who was married to my ex-husband anyway. I'm different and I'm different because of grief and I'm different because of the ending of that relationship and I'm different because I had to learn and I had to grow and I had a process and I am freaking resilient. And I'm really proud of that.

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, 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?

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. Hello, it's Daniel Fischel. Rider Strong.

And Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And we're bringing you Viva Las Content. That's right. We are back in Las Vegas, the city of sin, and giving the people what they want. A full week of Y2K content. Wait, we're back in Vegas? Tell me why.

Well, for the Backstreet Boys residency at Sphere, of course. We sat down with Kevin Richardson and A.J. McLean just minutes before they took the stage and our very own Wilfredel basically became the newest. member of the band. Boy band, please. Plus, the man who has the longest running comedy show on the strip joins us and gets his props. It's carrot top, baby.

And finally, we all L-O-V-E-Her. Ashley Simpson-Ross joins us to talk about her upcoming sold-out Vegas residency. It's a full week of nostalgic interviews you don't want to miss. Listen to PodMeets World on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed.

There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal. Apparently, the explosion actually impelled metal, glass. The injured were being loaded into ambulances, just a chaotic. chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay. Terrorism. Law and Order Criminal Justice System is back. In season two, we're turning our focus to a threat that hides in plain sight.

That's harder to predict and even harder to stop. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of the on-purpose podcast, and today I'm joined by one of the greatest athletes of all time, Novak Djokovic. The world's number one male tennis player. He's won 14 grand slams in a glittering career. Novak Djokovic! You've been through so many injuries, losses.

Oh, he showed himself. What has Novak Djokovic done? What goes through your mind when you lose? I just want to be left alone. What has it taken to become Novak Djokovic? It's a consistent practice. It's prayer work, mindfulness, meditation, conscious breathing. It requires more responsibility from you on a daily basis to prepare yourself for the biggest battle.

When you reach your 30, you start counting your days to your retirement. I'm 38 this year. How far can I go? How long can I push my own limits? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Chetty on the IHeart Radio Al. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. You mentioned the grief part here. And I think it's interesting, because it sounds like to me, and you tell me if I'm wrong,

that you're still in this season of grieving moments, or having grieving moments. For anybody listening who has gone through divorce or for anybody who's going through a breakup that just feels like the end of the world. and everything inside of them is being ripped out and they're lonely and they're nervous and they're trying to process it all. Do you mind sharing a little bit more about what this grief feels like and what this grief is doing to you personally and how it's changing you? Yeah. My grief that I'm walking through right now is very different than the grief that I experienced three years ago when our relationship ended. So although we waited a really long time

to tell anyone that we were separating and divorce takes a long time. It's not something that happens overnight. We truly haven't been together in at least three years or something like that. So I grieved my relationship then. The new grief that I'm experiencing is an outcome of the headlines and the tabloids that everyone is reading and the fact that really difficult things that have taken place in my life have to play out for everyone. to read through clicking a link. You know what I mean? So that's my grief. I'm no longer grieving the relationship. I'm grieving what I thought could be a really good, uh, co-parenting space for my children. I'm grieving the idea that I could have a really wonderful relationship, um,

with my children's father, but I am no longer grieving that relationship or, or that marriage. I'm no longer grieving that. I have come worlds past that, but I think it would be doing a disservice to deny that the things that have taken place recently have not been incredibly hard for me and really, really hard for my children. So that's kind of, it's kind of all I'm willing to share on that because I, again, I work really hard to protect my children. And the things that have taken place are just so unfortunate. They're just, they're so unfortunate. So, um, yeah that's fair yeah you share as much as you feel like is appropriate and and again i i completely appreciate and respect the protection that you're surrounding your family with so let's transition

then into kind of this next season when did you realize or when did you start to feel or when did you come to terms with however you want to describe it because i'm intrigued with the language that you'll use around it, that you are single and available again. I probably was not really interested in any kind of relationship, let alone dating until maybe within the last year. I just wasn't there yet. I wasn't emotionally available. I wasn't emotionally ready.

And honest to God, I just kind of really loved my life. I have, I love where I live. I love my time with the kids. I have an amazing job. I travel the world. and I felt really, really great about that. I didn't have a lot of space or any kind of capacity to take on another human being. For the first time in my life, outside of my children, that was probably the most selfish

that I've ever been. And I am the least selfish human being that I hope any of my people know because I'm a giver. And I love to be surrounded and I love to feed people and I love to have community. And I love those things. And this was the first time in my life where I'm a giver. I was actually selfish. I did what I wanted. I bought what barstools I wanted. I got what comforter I wanted. I took my children and wherever I wanted. Um, it probably wasn't until maybe about a year ago that I, I finally got to a space where I was like, oh, okay, like, I could,

I could desire someone's companionship, but there's a fine line here, Ben. Like, the longer I go, I'm kind of like, yeah, no, like, I'm never living with another person. If I want to let the dishes sit in the sink. They're my dishes. I know I did them. So it's a very fine line of being ready to find someone and also being really comfortable in my space. I'm in a very different place in my life where when I was in my early 20s, when I went on the bachelorette before I met Stephen, I wanted to marry someone. I wanted to combine our lives. I wanted to stay home with our children. I wanted that very traditional relationship where my husband worked and I raised the kids and we shared whatever. I'm not there anymore. I have a career that I really like. I don't need another man's

money. I pay my own bills. I put a roof over our heads. I have a great job that I love. It would just be that component of having companionship. And I have said it a thousand times over. I don't desire marriage anymore. I did that and that was a lot of fun. But I'll tell you. What's really traumatic is divorce. So I don't necessarily need that piece of paper anymore. I've done it. I gave it a good shot. But I believe in partnership and companionship. I believe in relationships. I believe in being loyal to one person and finding someone that compliments me and vice versa. But I would say the traditional aspect of it looks different from me now. I'm almost 44 years old and I don't need to be taken care of. It'd be kind of nice if someone wanted to take me out to dinner, but I don't rely on another man.

for those things any longer. And I believe that just comes with age and growth and security, financial security and just I'm in a different place in my life than probably where I was when I was 26 and that sweet little girl walking out to a freshly washed pavement waiting for the limos to pull up of all these guys. And that feels really good because I'm not, I'm not desperate. I will be picky. I'll be choosy. They got to kind of, they got to kind of bring it because I'm not willing to settle. I wasn't then and I'm for sure as shit. I'm not now.

I mean, and that's wonderful. But is it negotiable? Like, are you crossing off marriage? Like, you have no interest in getting married again or say the perfect, and we're going to talk about what that perfect companion looks like to you in your mind right now. I have some thoughts and feelings from my own experience, but I'll get to that in a second. But if you find that perfect companion for what. you're thinking it looks like right now is getting married again off the table or is it still

an option available. If we're looking at the table bin, it's at the very corner and it's almost hanging off the edge where it's like rocking back and forth. If someone doesn't push it back on the table, it's going to be really hard. It's just not something that is important to me. If I meet someone and it's really important to them, I am always open to understanding and hearing how someone feels and making compromises, but I would say it is not important to me. But if I meet someone and I believe it's the love of my life and it's important to them, I would be open to the conversation.

Okay. 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, 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 him? 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. Hello, it's Daniel Fischel, writer Strong, and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. And we're bringing you Viva Las Content. That's right. We are back in Las Vegas, the city of sin, and giving the people what they want.

A full week of Y2K content. Wait, we're back in Vegas? Tell me why? Well, for the Backstreet Boys' residency It's Fear, of course. We sat down with Kevin Richardson and A.J. McLean just minutes before they took the stage and our very own Wilfredel

basically became the newest member of the band. Boy band, please. Plus, the man who has the longest running comedy show on the strip joins us and gets his props. It's carrot top, baby. And finally, we all L-O-V-E-Hur. Ashley Simpson-Ross joins us to talk about her upcoming sold-out Vegas residency.

It's a full week of nostalgic interviews you don't want to miss. Listen to PodMeets World on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. December 29th, 1975, LaGuardia Airport. The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then, at 6.33 p.m., everything changed. There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal. Apparently the explosion actually impelled metal glass. The injured were being loaded into ambulances.

Just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged, and it was here to stay. Terrorism. Law and order, criminal justice system is back. In season two, we're turning our focus to a threat to a threat that hides in plain sight that's harder to predict

and even harder to stop. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of the on-purpose podcast, and today I'm joined by one of the greatest

athletes of all time, Novak Djokovic. The world's number one, male tennis player. He's won 14 grand slams in a glittering career. Novak Djokovic! You've been through so many injuries, losses. I always showed himself. What has Novak Djokovic done? What goes through your mind when you lose? I just want to be left alone. What has it taken to become Novak Djokovic? It's a consistent practice. It's prayer work, mindfulness, meditation, conscious breathing. It requires more responsibility from you on a daily basis to prepare yourself for the biggest battle. When you reach your 30, you start counting your days to your retirement.

I'm 38 this year. How far can I go? How long can I push my own limits? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So let's dive into the perfect companion. One of the things I've always talked about publicly, and I have a lot of respect for my past relationships in my life. Some of them are close friends, and some aren't so close to me.

And I really have no desire to ever see them again. But the thing that I appreciate is you learn from serious relationships, I think more a few years removed than you can ever understand. So I walked out of a lot of these serious relationships going, okay, this is actually what I'm looking for now. I'm with you. When I was The Bachelor, I had this list of ideals, and none of those were the same ideals I looked for in my future spouse, which is Jessica. They changed kind of based on my experience. So now, because you have years of marriage under your belt. And because you've now gone through a divorce, what does a perfect companion look like to you in the seat you're sitting in? Well, I think if I knew that, I wouldn't be sitting in

the seat, don't you think, Ben? No, I think you 100 will be because you'd be going, this guy, I haven't met him yet, but he's out there somewhere because he's X, Y, Z, but I haven't met this guy. So yes, I think you'd be sitting in the seat because you haven't met him and we're going to help you meet him. I think it's worth noting that I agree with you. What I look for now is going to be very different than probably what I looked for at 26 or 30, you know, or even in my marriage. I absolutely have got to be with someone who is emotionally sound and emotionally mature, someone that can can function in conversation on the most basic level. Reciprocity is so incredibly important to me. And I would like to think that chivalry is not dead. I'm a pretty

independent woman, but look, I find it flattering if a guy wants to open up my car door or take me out to dinner and actually pay for it. Like, I would appreciate that. Those I would say are like my top three things. Like, I need someone who is emotionally well. I need that emotional maturity, someone that can communicate, someone that can express themselves and have a conversation as an adult and be very in tune with who they are and understand their mental health, their capacity to do so. I believe that that is really important in a healthy relationship. And I really want that in a partner, in a companion, in a spouse. That's something that is now really, really important to me. I need that. I need someone who can communicate. Someone.

someone who can say how they feel and someone who can also be supportive at the same time because I don't think that we all know how to do that. I don't believe everyone knows how to communicate in a situation or an argument. And again, I'm a very strong personality. I have pretty big opinions. And I need someone who is willing to stay in that and be able to to handle me and have a conversation and not let me run. I also really want to feel safe in a relationship. That's something that I realized through therapy after divorce, something that I really crave and I've likely craved it from a young age, is that I want to feel safe in a relationship.

And I don't know that I have ever had a really healthy relationship where I have felt safe as a woman with a partner. I don't know that I've ever felt really safe. and I really want that. I want someone who is going to look at me on my bad days and say, you know what? I'm here. I'm not going anywhere.

Like you can have a crap day or you can get upset, but I'm not going anywhere. I'm here. You're safe. You may be yourself with me. You may be vulnerable and I will never use it against you. I think that's really important. And then, yeah, like, I, something about living in L.A.

Like, I've been on a date and a guy said, do you want to split dinner? And I was like, I'm out. I'm out. there's no going back there's no coming back from that yeah la is going to be tough it's a whole new new hurdle that we have here uh to find somebody uh within that area but in closing uh i'm getting this sense that you have a whole new level and again please disagree with me and question me and tell me i'm wrong i would love but i get this sense that you have this whole new confidence in this season of life like you're you're not even need it doesn't feel like

you're needing or wanting as much as maybe it's just like a wishful desire uh which is an interesting place uh in my opinion to enter into dating not this like longing for oh my gosh i need to find a partner yes you're right i think it's a very different a different position to be in in life because i believe We are taught from an early age that you go to high school, then you go to college, then you get married, then you have babies. And there's all of these monumental marks in your lifespan that you're supposed to do. And I've done all of those things. So you're right, Ben, that like I feel I'm in a place in my life that I don't have to check those things off. And again, I'm very grateful that I have a really wonderful job. So I have financial security. I have my children. I don't want any more kids.

so I'm not in this place of like every time you go on a date you're like oh my god am I going to marry this person is this the one is this the one I believe that you can have many great loves in your life and they can be at different times and in the places where you are in your life and I had the high school sweetheart you know then I had the marriage I had that person that I thought I would love and I would say that now I am ready for that like great love that great love that great great love, the one that, I hate to say the word that defines us, but it's the one that makes us. It's the one that when I'm 65, that's the one that I'm like, oh, yeah, that was it. That was the one. And you're also right. I'm in no rush. I am willing to be patient. I don't want to backtrack and be where I was, which is probably also why I say I don't ever want to get married

again because for me that breakup and divorce was very traumatic. I don't want to experience that again. I don't want to make that mistake again. So the red flags that I missed, you know, going into that relationship, I pay attention to a lot of those things now. And that goes back to what you said in the beginning is that you learn a lot of lessons from relationships. My ex-husband was not my first relationship. I've been in several relationships and I have loved and lost before him. But I would say that at this age, that was a great loss to me. that was that was a great loss to me and and again I've come a long way and I have I have grieved that one and I've set it aside and I'm never going back I don't ever want to go back I promise you

that but you learn things and there are certain things now that I know that I'm not willing to put up with if I cook you clean like just do the dishes is that too much to ask like just do the dishes but all joking aside there are things that at my age I'm going to be 44 this year. I just have certain things that I'm not willing to tolerate anymore because I don't have to. And I'm in a rush. It's not like I'm rushing to get married. I'm not in a rush to get into our relationship. But if someone really great comes along, I know that I'm not willing to let that go. Final question for you. As we close up this, I'm excited to be a part of this either very impactful season for you or just a nice blimp on a radar for you as you enter back. And that's, you're

into the dating world. But dating to me now, as I think about it, or as I talk to people who are within this world, it feels still to this day. And I thought it would feel different after years of marriage. It feels scary and it feels intimidating. And it also sometimes feels exciting. There's an excitement to it. An anticipation maybe is the better way to say it. but do you have any fears about entering into the dating world again and actively dating? Is there anything that concerns you about this next chapter? Just narcissists. Just straight narcissists.

They scare me across the board. You live in L.A. Goodness gracious. You're screwed. I'm going to have to move back to the East Coast, I think. No, I don't have a lot of fears. Bad breath really scares me someone who might try. to kiss me on a first day. It really scares me. Um, no, I don't. And I think that's the really nice

thing about coming so far and, and having been through so much is that I, I feel really at peace with myself, Ben, like I kind of really like me. And I'm not willing to negotiate that or change that for anyone. I feel very secure in who I am. I, I like genuinely like myself. And I don't don't mind spending time alone. So something that I'm not willing to do is to bend that for any other person. That's not important for me. And I have faith that if anybody wants to do that to you, to change who you are, to change who you are at your core, they're not the right person for you. So fears, I don't have a lot of them yet. But again, I've barely tipped my, my toe into the dating pond. Like, I'm barely there. And people keep saying there's fish, but I just don't, I don't think

there are a lot of them. But no, I am really grateful to be very secure in who I am and me as a person. And I think you like it or you leave it. You either want to be with me or you don't. There's no more begging. And I have learned that. I will never, ever in my life again, beg a man to choose me. I'll never will. I did that and I've put that to bed and I'll never do it again. this is beautiful i'm so excited thank you uh for for jumping in here tonight and thank you uh for sharing with us here's where what i'm seeing is we have a confident we have a strong we have uh a newly um inspired human on our hands who is walking back out it's exciting you're not 44 you got to stop saying that you're 43 about to turn 44 um you're still 43 let's enjoy the

last few months of the 43 we have okay all right a deal 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 okay story time 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

podcast. Hello, it's Daniel Fischel, writer Strong, and Wilfredel from PodMeets World. We are back in Las Vegas and giving the people what they want. full week of Y2K content. Tell me why. Well, for the Backstreet Boys residency at Sphere, of course. We joke and say this is our second marriage, but it takes a lot of communication. Plus, it's carrot top, baby. And finally, Ashley Simpson Ross joins us to talk about her upcoming sold-out Vegas residency. Listen to PodMeets World on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

The holiday rush, parents hauling luggage, kids gripping their new Christmas toys. Then everything changed. There's been a bombing at the TWA terminal, just a chaotic, chaotic scene. In its wake, a new kind of enemy emerged. Terrorism. Listen to the new season of Law and Order Criminal Justice System on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, I'm Jay Shetty, and I'm the host of the On Purpose podcast. And today I'm joined by one of the greatest athletes of all time, Novak Djokovic. He's won 14 grand slams in a glittering career.

Novak Djokovic. When you reach your 30, you start counting your days to your retirement. I'm 38 this year. How long can I push my own limits? Listen to On Purpose with Jay Shetty on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast. or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.