The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Frankie Friday: Wanting To See Men Cry with Caelynn Bell

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

This week's Frankie Friday guest is an avid "Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" watcher - Caelynn Bell! Caelynn and Ben deep-dive on a recent post Taylor made about feeling "heavy" when sharing her faith online. Plus, someone left a shady comment on the official Bachelorette promo...we're giving you all the info! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by black people? Because of what happened in Alabama? This Black History Month, the podcast, Selective Ignorance with Mandy B, unpacked black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was passed to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race. To hear this and more.

Listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yin. And I'm Matt Rogers. During this season of the Two Guys' Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina

2026 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Brian, how Matt. Hey, hello. Hey, Matt, hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway,

and we are in Italy to give you experience. from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the Iheart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings.

Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious. Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, aka neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze.

Her husband, Mike, was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 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. It's the almost famous podcast, and we're back for another Branky Friday. The day we round up all the latest news on Taylor Frankie Paul. Today, I'm really excited to be in Carmel, California, and joined by one of the most beautiful kind and considerate humans who ever walk through the Bachelor franchise, and she married Dean, which is still confusing to me. Kalyn Bell.

Hello, a nice intro. Okay, so I just, for listeners out there as we get this started, Frankie Friday has been a huge hit, but they're used to Ashley breaking down these headlines. Ashley has taken it upon herself to really dig into Taylor Frankie Paul's life. How familiar are you with Taylor Frankie Paul? I feel like, so I've watched all of the seasons.

How many are there, two, three, yeah. Oh, you're way ahead of both of us. So I feel well-versed in that sense. I haven't really kept up with her since she stopped filming The Bachelorette. Are you excited about her getting announced as The Bachelorette? Yeah, I think we desperately needed a shake-up. This is definitely shaking up what we know.

So I'm excited to see how it goes. It's also so interesting that she was filming TikToks the entire time she was filming. It's a whole new landscape for the show. It's wild. Yeah. They allowed her access to her life while she was on the show. And filming with guys that she's on dates with. You know, there's one.

She's on a football field like holding someone's hand. Yeah. So it's interesting. And I actually don't know. This is a good point to kind of kick us off. I actually don't know now if it helped the show much at all. I mean, I think they did it because they wanted people talking about it. And I do think people were talking about it.

But I still think the most important thing they can do is make the season great. Because so many fans of The Bachelor and Bachelor aren't really following people on social media. They might be older. You know, they might just watch the show for entertainment. So I don't actually know if giving her access to her phone like spiked the interest in this season. I think it was already going to be something people are interested in them. I agree. Yeah.

I don't think it was necessary. But I do think what we loved, you know, like your season, old school seasons is the messiness. And it's, I just feel like it's going to be messy. Oh, I agree. I think it's going to be like the, I think it will feel like a throwback season. where people are like grown men are weeping. Yeah. They're crying.

They're frustrated. We need that again. We need investment from everybody involved. Yes. And the one thing we've learned about Taylor, Frankie Paul along the way so far is that she will invest into this. She is, she's passionate, she's outspoken, and I think that's going to make for a great season. Now let's kick it off with some of the headlines that have been happening since last

Friday. We'll start with this one. Taylor Frankie Paul wonders if she's worthy of love in the first promo for the Bachelorette season 22. The promo was recently released. You can go out and watch it or Google it and find it. The quote here is she's questioning if she's worthy of love. Yeah. I just think it's very interesting to have someone who's already been on reality TV. I think it's three seasons now. People have followed her on TikTok. And we've seen her. I'm so curious about this season. We've seen her family be like really mean and vicious to her on these seasons and kind of tell her like you're not worthy of love in a sense.

So it makes sense that she's questioning this. When you say family, we've had her mom on the show. Her mom seems supportive. Does she come off supportive on Secret Lives of Mormon Wives? There is one episode where they're sitting down and her stepdad is kind of like blaming her for everything that's happening in the relationship. I can't remember it. I just remember it being hard.

to watch. And the family is kind of like for Dakota and against her is how it felt. So Dakota kind of has a team. Yeah. Speaking of Dakota, his new girlfriend slams Taylor Frankie Paul in the comments underneath the official Bachelor at Instagram. So this promo was released. Again, you can go out and watch it. Ashley did a whole breakdown of the trailer that you can kind of go listen to on the almost famous thread, if you want like the details of what was going on in the trailer. But Dakota's girlfriend takes it upon herself to comment underneath the official Bachelorette Instagram. Yeah. That feels messy already. I mean, I saw this this morning, Palin. Yes. I'm just looking at it for the first time too. It's just, it's already so messy.

Like this is just insane. And we haven't had, I guess we've had people come Like once the show is airing, like exes come out or or maybe come on shows. Like there was a season, I feel like a few seasons where exes would come on shows. But now you have the ex's girlfriend already slamming the lead. I don't know. Her comment is this. This isn't going to age very well. And then someone else added below it,

can't wait for Bachelor Nation to find out their bachelorette is actually the one there for the wrong reasons. Okay. It's just like that is such an old trope that. we need to get over because, yeah, she's, she's a reality TV star. She's a TikTok star. This girl has millions of followers. She's there for TV, you know? I'm with you. Yeah. I mean, let's be honest. I don't think Taylor Frankie Paul signed up to be the Bachelorette only for the idea that she could find love. Right. And I think we're okay with that. But everyone on the show, you know, like that's been an ongoing thing since, you know, before my season or my season that I was on.

I mean, I was honest. I mean, I think most people would say, hey, this felt like I was not dating at the time. I was excited about meeting somebody. I said yes, because one, I wanted to find somebody. So I had that in my back pocket, right? But the second part was, this sounds fun. Like, this is something new and exciting. The biggest, like, catalyst for me saying yes to being the bachelor or even going on the

bachelor, maybe would have been a better, like, example of this was, I want to shake my own life up a bit. And if in the meantime, I meet somebody that I fall in love with, awesome. Yeah. But I think that's probably similar to Taylor Frankie Paul's reasoning, right? Great. It's really good for her career. Puts her out there. And if she finds somebody in the process, awesome. But what is exactly doesn't mean when you're not there for the right reasons? Like, if you go on to the show thinking, I am going to find my partner in this, going to get married from this. I think that makes for a terrible season. Yeah.

Because somebody is like, that's really weird to think that in 10 weeks, I'm going to be on one knee. And no matter what, this is my partner. I think it works sometimes. Yeah. I just, I don't know if, I don't know if there's a fair argument like you said when you're not there for the right reasons is my point. I think she said yes to this because it was a good opportunity. and I think she is worthy of love and I hope she finds love on this season.

I just hope it is not, I hope it's messy along the way. We need it. We really desperately need it. We do. But it's interesting too, the like wrong reason stuff. Again,

we've never had someone in this way join the show. She's been doing press tours. She's been doing, she's on billboards, she's on the side of buses. She was interviewing with Dina Katz to be on Dancing with the Stars. Like we see all this in the show.

So to say like she's there for the wrong reason, she's already kind of like got that fame. So maybe I'm negating my point. I don't really know. But I think it's just fun. It's just another thing for her to say yes to. And the way the show set up, if she meets the love of her life,

they're awesome. If she doesn't, what we know is we're going to watch good television. Yeah. And ultimately, both those are wins. Find love. She couldn't, but we're going to enjoy watching it. We need to be entertained.

We need to be entertained. I wanted, this isn't a headline here, Kailen, but because you'd have watched The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, we've dug in a little bit to Dakota. I don't know if I quite understand the closeness of their relationship. I know they share how many kids together? One or two. One or two, one kid together.

So that obviously ties them. But it does feel like for an ex, that he is around and he's a very prominent figure in her life, even outside of being, you know, co-parenting. And then his current girlfriend, I find this a little bit odd. If I think about my now wife and maybe an ex of mine commenting on my wife's photo something negative,

I would think that would be a very weird behavior. Yeah, it's inappropriate. I just think Dakota is for lack of a better word, manipulative. It seems like he desperately wants to be on the show. He desperately wants to be famous. So for her to comment, that is kind of ironic. But also, like, the manipulation started,

you know, we saw in the seasons playing out. But then this most recent season, they had a reunion where he was, like, kicked basically all the people off on the stage that he didn't want there and said, I'll only come, like, gave the producers an ultimatum essentially. So it's just, he just has weird behaviors. I don't know.

And is there, I think I remember this from an interview we did with an insider on The Secret Lives. Like there's a team Dakota and a team Taylor, right? Oh, are there? I thought it was like. I don't know. You remind me. I'm asking more of the question. Is there like two, is there like fans of both? I didn't know he had fans, but maybe. Oh, okay. Maybe. I don't know. That's, that clears up everything I was asking. With the station that says bold, vibrant and diverse as you are, I are pride.

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Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Inaleck Lamouba. It's 1969. Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. and assassinated. And Black America was out of breaking point. Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale.

In Atlanta, Georgia at Martin's Almemata, Morehouse College, the students had their own protest. It featured two prominent figures in black history, Martin Luther King's senior and a young student, Samuel L. Jackson. To be in what we really thought was a revolution. I mean, people would die. In 1968, the murder of Dr. King, which tried to be in what King, which traumatized everyone.

The FBI had a role in the murder of a Black Panther leader in Chicago. This story is about protest. It echoes in today's world far more than it should, and it will blow your mind. Listen to the A-building on the I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband Mike was on his laptop. What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing.

And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband. To keep this secret for so many years, He's like a seasoned pro. This is a story about the end of a marriage, but it's also the story of one woman

who was done living in the dark. You're a dangerous person who prays on vulnerable and trusting people. Your creditor, Michael Leavengood. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Bowen-Yin. And I'm Matt Rogers.

During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina-26 Winter Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Bob, hi, hi, Matt. Hey, Elmo. Hey, Matt, hey, Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi.

Now, the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to Two Guys Five Rings on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. Next headline is this. Taylor shares what she's doing for herself in this phase of life. In an IG story last Saturday, Taylor posted a mirror selfie with this text. And I quote, this phase I'm in is fast-paced with high cortisol. So I'm learning what helps especially for my mental health.

Red light therapy has helped my mood. Liquid IV before travel in the arm helps with hydration, vitamins, energy levels. B12 shots are straight to the bloodstream, which is more of, Pulse with my energy levels and mood and most of all pray. The sense I'm getting, Kaelin, is that she's trying to be very intentional about slowing down because it feels like life sped up really fast and maybe more than she expected. Yeah. I wonder too, and maybe I'm totally off base here, but like how much of this is producers being like,

from the bachelor being like, we kind of need to chill out and like you're about to be the Bachelorette. It's about to air. So I don't know how much they have an influence with this. I honestly, if I think back on my time, that role was always played by Chris. And the people I know who have been on the show with Jesse as the host says that Jesse has a very similar, like, way of going about it. So the host, like Chris was always one of the first to call me and be like, hey, you good? Like, just checking in. Like, I saw this video. or somebody saw you at an event and you started crying for no reason. Like, are you doing okay?

And what I know about Jesse is he's doing the same thing for people. He's one of the first that people call or that will call them. I didn't have that kind of relationship with a producer. Yeah. I do hope for, I don't want to say because I've been there and I know. Taylor is in the quiet season of the show. Yeah. Filming stopped, hasn't aired.

Press isn't really out there yet. She's not traveling across the country to Good Morning America, then back to L.A. to Today Show, back to L.A. And the headlines really, you know, we talk about the headlines, but they're not everywhere on our TVs. She's in the quiet part. And for her sake, if she listens to the show,

I hope she does take this chunk of time to rest. Because it just speeds up. And then, like you said, happens after she's the bachelor. She maybe goes on dance with the stars. Yeah. She's still filming Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. She's at every award shown event that exists in the world. Like this could be years speeding up if she doesn't intentionally take time to say no, I'm going to say no to stuff and I'm going to sit in this season. Which it does feel like I don't know Jesse, but it seems like he's a relatively healthy guy like prioritizes health. So maybe

he is guiding her in this or maybe it's just her being like, oh my God, I need to, I need to figure this out before it does speed up. Well, I mean, she, she is a mom. Like that. I forget that all the time. Yeah, that role doesn't stop. Yeah. Like, it's not like that ends. She is a star.

And it's, she, this kind of blew up for her very quickly, right? Like, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. It started on social media. And within the last few years, this is really gone. to become one of the America's most watched shows. Yeah. I hope, Taylor, if you're listening, take it for somebody who's been there.

Don't be afraid to say no and make sure you rest. And I might go as far, Kailen, as saying that some of the social media, and we'll get to the last headline here that I think points to this, it almost feels like when I watch your social media right now, it is like a cry for help. It's not because I think she's like, I don't want to make that sound like she's like losing her mind.

That's not what my point. But it almost looks like she's looking at the camera being like, somebody told me it's okay to stop. Yeah, yeah. Please. Like somebody help me because this is a lot right now. And I wonder how many people are around her like loving on her, even if she's difficult.

Yeah. But like if her family isn't like super supportive and backing up her, like who is wrapping their arms around her right now being like, hey, it's okay. Like you're good. And hopefully they are. And hopefully the family. switch their tune and they're just nothing but supportive.

Something very important in Taylor's life that she's been sharing about recently is her faith. She posted a video that we just watched. Hard for me to watch. It's a lot of like cutting and quick and fast and there's a lot of like... Met for Gen Z. Yeah, it's very much Gen Z and I was lost halfway through. But the point of the video is that she's been sharing about her faith, but she says when she shares about her faith online, her life actually gets head.

heavier. I don't want to dive into the theology of this. This feels like when I watched it, Kaelin, a conversation I would just love, like, as a human to human with her in person. But the point is she said that her mental health is struggling as she shares these positive things and life feels heavier as she's talking about her faith. Yeah, not in a religious sense. I just feel, I've gone through this in so many different ways since starting social media. It's like if you make a mistake, you kind of feel like you can't comment on anything beyond religion, beyond, like, there's so many things that I felt this in a lot of ways. And then I've also gone through phases where I've been like, who cares?

Like, this is the dumbest thing. I'm posting on social media. This, like, truly who cares? So I get what she's saying and then add in the religious aspect to it all. It's just like, it does get heavy. I mean, I think social media has had many seasons for me where heaviness is the outcome of things that are shared or post or even what other people post. Like when I see some of my friends who share something and I'm like, that feels heavy to me. Like it's heavy on my heart.

The one thing she does, and I don't know if I'll get her exact phrasing, she ends that video by saying, don't live in shame. I think was pretty much the message there. And I think that is a message that she needs to tell herself and that we all need to hear. because as you said, if we do something we mess up in life, it feels like we know, I think with social media, especially in so much immediate feedback,

we feel like we're not capable of speaking about anything else in any type of wise or helpful way. It's also cancel culture. The people don't want us to change. They're like, you made this mistake. You're kind of stuck there. And especially with The Bachelor,

I've noticed, like, when were you on it? You were 28. 2016. How old were you? 25 to 26. Holy moly. So you're 25. To a lot of people, you're frozen at 25.

To a lot of people, I'm frozen at 23. So now there's this new added layer that, I don't know, it's really tricky. That's a great point. Yeah, where you get stuck in that time warp. And here's the thing that we forget. Since the beginning of time, humans are on a journey, figuring out, messing up, getting back up again, moving forward. but because of the cancel culture and because of the immediate feedback,

it feels like we don't have the ability to make a mistake or come forward and say, hey, I'm really struggling right now. I'm going to share this message from Jesus calling. This is what Taylor was sharing. That's really spoken to me. And right away, probably there's negative feedback on that. It's like, why are you struggling with this? And, oh, of course, you're like leaning on Jesus, but you're out there dancing on a TikTok.

And it's like, it's so much noise. that it's hard to get clarity on how we can just move through life and gain wisdom and gain a foundation. If she's listening, my best advice to anyone who's ever been on the show. And like anytime, if I'm posting something, maybe it's political. I don't check my DMs. If I know I'm going through something and people are mad at me, like, it's easier said than

done. I find it to be very, very easy because I don't like to bring in hate. and just don't look. Like it really, and that's kind of what's driving me crazy lately with social media landscape is people are like, I lost this follower,

lost this follower, this follower is saying this. You don't have to look. Yeah, I'm with you. Or I made a decision I haven't been on Reddit in years. Oh my gosh. That's crazy that people go on Reddit.

Like, why would you want to read that? It's literally, I'm going to open this up so that I read negative things about myself. Like that is the, that is, I've never been on there

and I've been like more encouraged or felt supported. Yes. Again, we kind of go back when it comes to Taylor Frankie Paul, she is in the midst of a season of life that is busy, that is chaotic. He's about to be the lead of a huge show. And for anybody listening, I think it's okay to rest. It's okay to take a step back.

Even if that means you're saying no to some money or some opportunities, the best thing I ever did. And this was from a pastor in my life when I came off the show, I would block out time in my day to just sit in silence. Like no music, no noise, no TV, maybe go for a walk or just sit and just like let my like thoughts kind of like settle. And it has become one of the most helpful habits because I get back in touch with myself. I maybe can hear from God. I can pray a little bit. I can release some things that are in my mind.

can journal, but just sitting in silence, no matter where I'm at in the world, has been one of the best gifts. And what that does is what you were saying is it takes you off the social media. It takes you from the scrolling. When you think you're resting, no, you're still consuming when you're scrolling. On the Almost Famous Podcasts, we have made the decision to fully support Taylor Frankie Paul. We are excited for this season. We think the show needed to shake up. It doesn't mean that we don't think it's going to be wild and messy and wacky. And it doesn't mean that There's not going to be episodes where we're like, what was Taylor doing? That was wild.

However, it does feel like when she got announced as The Bachelorette, so many people were more excited to see her failed than succeed. They were watching the show to see only the messiness. I want that. But what we really want is for her to benefit from this show that's, you know, helped us in so many ways. Yeah. No, I was sure nothing but success. And that is unfortunate, you know, and I think that comes from me. her having a big platform already. People are just like, you've, you've had enough, you've gotten enough,

money, whatever, followers. But I hope she is really successful. And the messiness comes from like making the men cry, you know? Like, we want her to be happy. Yeah, I want these dudes to be just puddles. That's what I need. This has been another Frankie Friday on the almost famous podcast. Again, we had the wonderful co-host, Kaylyn Bell, with us today. Until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Kaylan. Thank you, Kaelan. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Over the last couple years, didn't we learn that the folding chair was invented by black people because of what happened in Alabama?

This Black History Month, the podcast, Selective Ignorance with Mandy B, unpacked black history and culture with comedy, clarity, and conversations that shake the status quo. The Crown Act in New York was signed in July of 2019, and that is a bill that was presented. pass to prohibit discrimination based on hairstyles associated with race. To hear this and more, listen to Selective Ignorance with Mandy B from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. I'm Bowen-Yin. And I'm Matt Rogers.

During this season of the Two Guys Five Rings podcast, in the lead-up to the Milan-Cortina 2026 winner Olympic Games, we've been joined by some of our friends. Hi, Boen, hi, hello. Hey, Matt, hey Bowen. Hi, Cookie. Hi. Now the Winter Olympic Games are underway, and we are in Italy to give you experiences from our hearts to your ears. Listen to two guys, five rings on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

What if mind control is real? If you could control the behavior of anybody around you, what kind of life would you have? Can you hypnotically persuade someone to buy a car? When you look at your car, you're going to become overwhelmed with such good feelings. Can you hypnotize someone into sleeping with you? I gave her some suggestions to be sexually aroused. Can you get someone to join your cult? NLP was used on me to access my subconscious.

Mind Games, a new podcast exploring NLP, aka neurolinguistic programming. Is it a self-help miracle, a shady hypnosis scam, or both? Listen to Mind Games on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. In the middle of the night, Saskia awoke in a haze. Her husband, Mike, was on his laptop.

What was on his screen would change Saskia's life forever. I said, I need you to tell me exactly what you're doing. And immediately, the mask came off. You're supposed to be safe. That's your home. That's your husband. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

This is an IHeart podcast. Guaranteed human