The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Fruit - Nature's Candy!

Episode Date: January 21, 2026

Ben and Ashley are breaking down the latest in Bachelor Nation headlines!Ben and Ashley share their reaction to the devastating news that Katie Thurston’s mother has been diagnosed with cancer, just a year after Katie’s diagnosis. We discuss Glen Powell’s link to Bachelor Nation, and we have an update on the Bachelor Mansion Takeover show coming to HGTV!Plus, Ashley reveals a mom hack that could completely change your toddler’s day!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed Human. This is the Ben and Ashley I I, almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. It's the almost famous podcast. We're back with all the latest headlines happening in Bachelor Nation. We've got a lot to cover today.

Some bad news and some good news. But before we get to all the news, I want to say congratulations to the Indiana Hoosiers on the national championship. Congratulations to you? Yeah, it's a big win. How were you last night? How was that?

I mean, like, good at the end, which is, I think, like, the point, but a mixed bag of emotions throughout, ups and downs and nerves. And it was such a good game. Such a good game. Good. And at the end, we're national champions. And that's weird to say, but everybody should be celebrating because here's the lesson learned, Ashley, before I throw it over to you, is for so many years of our existence.

I think it was 1887. when our football program was founded. We have the most losses of any Division I football team in history. Yeah, to be honest, I don't think of you as like... A football school. I know it's the first time, right? You're not a football school. Like Division I sounds big.

Yeah, we're not a football school. We have never been a football school. We're a basketball school. And over the last two years, things have changed. And so here's a lesson learned is when you do things the right way with the right people and you focus on an intention, magic can happen. And for the Indiana Hoosiers, magic happened last night, and it can never be taken away from us.

So we'll celebrate because you can go from worse to first in a quicker period of time than anybody could imagine. And we proved it. Over here in Patriotsland, we concur with that. Oh, shut up. You guys have been good forever. All right, Ashley, take it away. Hey, wait, wait, Ben, that made me think.

Ben, after all these years of doing this podcast together and being such good friends, where did I go to school? Well, you got your master's from Virginia, right? Nope. Oh, wait. I do know this. This will make me mad because I do know it was. Oh, Syracuse. Goodness.

Why do I think Virginia? Yes, okay. My master's from Syracuse. And where did I do undergrad? Your undergrad was, I know this one. too. And it was a surprise for me. I actually just found this out recently. I know because I always talk about Syracuse. I'm more Syracuse oriented. Yes, I am. I want to say, was it a school in D.C.? No. No. Two hours outside. I don't even know if I could guess. I just have always known you as Syracuse, I think. But I just, I saw you post about

something undergrad. And I was like, oh, I learned something about Ashley today. Yeah, you're right. I did recently post about it. I went to James Madison because now their football is also doing quite well. You know our coach is from James Madison. He's an alum or he played football there? He was coaching at James Madison before he went to IU and he brought 13 of James Madison players with him,

seven of them which were on this team that won the national championship and all played. That's so crazy. See? Like he obviously just worked his magic there at Jamie. And then he was like, okay, guys, let's go over here now. And they're still doing very well. So, all right. Well, that's so funny.

Yes. But I've always known you to Syracuse. Yeah, I know. Like, I know it's crazy. I only went to Syracuse first. Like, my program was 16 months. But I always just, I felt very at home there. I felt like I really belonged there.

At JMU is just, I don't know. It was just like a homebody at a party school and just didn't make sense. But I still have plenty of fond memories. Anyway. Moving on to a cute story that I just wanted to share before we go into these headlines. Ben, I just want to you, because I was listening to Dawson and I was like, oh, my God, Ben's going to freak out when, like, when he gets to this age. And he experiences something like this.

So he's, like, kind of phasing out of nap time. And I don't mind that at all because, like, he's so easy now to me, like, especially in comparison to, like, what he was a few years ago. So our nanny, she's, like, a Montessori teacher, too. in training to be a monastery teacher. So she's like very thoughtful about like the day's plans. She's had him start doing quiet time instead of nap time. Also when he does nap time now, it's like actually not a good thing because he's like wired at 10.30 p.m. And I'm just like, okay. Let's not. So now he's having quiet time. So he's in his room reading books to himself. So he's just sitting in this room,

making up stories. Oh my God. It's so much fun. I can't wait to get to this age. It's so much fun. Like he holds my face at night and he goes, you're a beautiful mama. You're a wonderful mama.

It's like crazy. Alrighty. Did you ever look at Jared and be like, hey man, you could do this too? I literally tell. I'm like, I get like all of my like touch

and like my words of affirmation from Dawson now. Yeah. Jared's stepping up a little bit, buddy. Ashley, a beautiful family. It's something wonderful. Hey, I'm a little stuffy today.

I've been sick for the last week. It's not good. But we're going to get through this. We're going to start with some news that is not, as we said, there's some good news and some bad news in the headlines this week. But there are headlines to go over. We're going to start with a headline about Katie Thurston. We followed Katie's story for a while now.

And in fact, in our breakdown of 2025, most shock. moments, Katie Thurston's diagnosis was number one because it threw us all off and it also engaged us into an education about our bodies and our symptoms and what's happening that so many of us maybe have neglected. Well, here's a headline that really saddened all of us over here at the Almost Famous Podcast. Katie Thurston reveals her mom's breast cancer diagnosis. Nearly one year after Bachelor Star was diagnosed herself. How absolutely awful. So horrible. I wonder how it feels to be going through this together, side by side, mother and daughter, decades apart, going through the exact same thing.

So she posted on January 19th. It's just, wow, she just did this the other day. It feels a long couple days. So she said that she flew to Seattle to be with her mom during her first doctor's appointment. She wanted to make sure that she was getting proper care and information. She said, I hate that we have to be our biggest advocate, but also this is what's going to save your life. So a few weeks ago, her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. And she said that she went in for her routine mammogram in December. And it came back negative slash probably benign. but the doctors noted that because her mom has dense breasts,

that, well, she just noted that she had dense breasts, okay, didn't say further imaging should be recommended. It actually, like, they did not say you should go and get further imaging.

So they told her to just come back in another year for another annual mammogram. They never suggested a breast ultrasound, and that's normally what you should do, just for everyone out there, If you have done's breast, it's really a good idea to go get an ultrasound in addition to a mammogram because it can hide. So once she did get the ultrasound, the doctors found suspicious masses and ultimately ended up going and performing a breast MRI in biopsies. And two weeks later, just a couple weeks ago, her mom was diagnosed with cancer.

So we are just so, so sorry. She did say that her own advocacy allowed them to catch this early. So hopefully she'll be totally fine. But it is just so crazy and so sad that they are going to be having to go through this journey together now. It is sad. And I think shocking because obviously the Katie Thurston News threw us all off. And then you have this right behind it. And you kind of, I don't know, actually, you expect bad news to always kind of be

compounded by good news, especially in this situations, right? I mean, there's always been this like, Katie is living this story that so many of us are engaged in, but the good news is to come. You want to believe that, or at least I want to believe that. And then you have this, and you're like, that has to just be so hard on the family at this point. But the underlying thing here is they are doing this together. And I do think there is going to be a massive impact.

Yeah. To see the bright side here, I think this makes Katie's story even more unique. And of course, it's unique in a worse way. But I think it can be unique in a very powerful way. Like, it just makes the story. The experience. For lack of a better word, it's something. I feel like they could, like, write books on this.

Katie could write a book on it on her own, but I just can already imagine them recovered in a few years, just being out together. on the trail making noise for breast cancer awareness. And helping so many. Yeah. Ashley, I'm a huge fan of Landman, a massive fan of Landman. And as a result, a big fan of Michelle Randolph, who is wonderful and Landman.

And Michelle Randolph is also sisters with Cassie Randolph, who was on The Bachelor. Ended up with Colton Underwood at the end. that lasted not very long. Didn't end well. But the headline is this. Michelle Randolph reveals lessons learned from sister Cassie Randolph's time on The Bachelor. Here's the wild part. Ashley, you had Cassie and myself out to Rhode Island for an event at Audrey's like a few years ago.

And I remember talking to Cassie about her sister Michelle, who at the time was, I'm going to say, struggling. actress. She was young. She's pretty. Pretty is an understatement. Yeah, she was going to get her roles, but she hadn't necessarily found that like sweet spot yet, her big break. And sometimes in Hollywood, it doesn't happen. Well, hilarious a few years later, Michelle's a huge name. She's blowing up. She's wanted everywhere. And she's talking about what she's learned from her big sister's time on the show that you and I are both a part of. Give me some context here because you're a Yellowstone fan. Isn't Landman sort of under the Yellowstone umbrella or wasn't or wasn't Michelle on a show?

Was it 19. What was the show the number show? Oh, 1820 or 1923 or 1820? I watched it. Wasn't she on that? Yeah, she started there. So it's all under the same creator, Taylor Sheridan. Landman is the same creator.

And that's kind of how she got her foot in the door with this, you know, this line of work. And now Landman is a more modern show. It takes place in modern times. But yes, she originally started in that show and did an incredible job in that. And then obviously landed her role as the daughter to Billy Bob Thornton and Landman. Yeah, between that and the fact that she's been out with Glenn Powell, she's been the talk of the town lately. So in Style magazine asked her,

what did you learn from your older sister's very public breakup with Colton? And she said what I, I look, basically she says, I don't want to share what I learned. I just don't think anything good comes from that. It's because it's your personal life and it should be personal and reserved for yourself and those who are close to you. She said, ironically, I think what I learned is that I want to keep my personal life private. And interestingly, Glenn Powell had an interesting, Interesting, interesting, interesting,

quote, where he said it would take a very specific type of person for him to pursue a relationship while in the public eye. It's a lot to handle is basically what he said. And so I wonder if Michelle is worth a lot. Yeah, so that show is doing amazing. And that was Michelle's input on what she learned from her sister's public relationship. Bachelor Nations, Caitlin Bristow celebrates, and this is in quotes, weirdo, Zach Clark's birthday amid four years of dating rumors. Four years.

Okay, not four years. Two years of dating rumors because they were first seen together on New Year's Eve when it was turning 20, 24. Yeah. So the other day, Zach posed something that honestly could have been a headline itself. he said that he said f fruit okay so like he's turning 42 he has a cake and the message said f fruit um he has he said he's 42 years old and has still never had a bite of fruit i'm like pardon what i need you to text him right now and be like dude like how much of a hyperbole is this well it's also weird because i could see it with vegetables um but fruit fruits like really good

like I don't know how many people don't like fruit. I like vegetables too. I like vegetables. I'm a big vegetable fan. I'm not saying I hate on any of this, but I could see it more with vegetables than I would with fruit. Like what is wrong with fruit? Well, some people have like kind of like an allergic reaction to fruit.

Like my sister doesn't eat a ton of fruit because she gets kind of like scratchy and like her lips get kind of like scratchy and her like throat might get a little scratchy depending on the fruit. That's certain kinds of fruit. And it has to do like a pollen reaction. You're telling me that it's never like goes to the hot. hospital status, but you're telling me a strawberry is not like universally loved. Yeah, I know. A fresh pineapple isn't like craved.

Those are my two favorites, obviously. I mean, they're like, like Caitlin responds by saying nature's candy. Weirdo, happy birthday. I mean, you know, the two of them aren't like super duper secretive, but they're also never going to post each other. I mean, I hope they do one day. Like, where does this end? Like, they're just going to like, like, like the two of them seem to make a lot of

since they've spent two years like being like side by side at certain events I mean at this point are we really to believe that they don't have some type of interest in each other Caitlin texted me or she didn't text me

we were on a joint interview last week that's where I heard it and she said that if she were married and had kids she still doesn't know that she would be posting her husband and kids not that she she wouldn't address the fact that she was married she'd be like hey what's up i'm married like

she'd say like hey what's up this is my husband but wouldn't necessarily like document their lives together as a family that's fine in which i go that's a thought that you have before you have kids i know lots of people will like obviously not show their kids faces but they still will document their lives i honestly would be more impressed if she did it simply from the fact that i don't know what i would show about my life if my wife and child were not involved like I don't know what else like, what did I post? Yeah. If you were such a cool human that you had so much happening outside of your family that was cool to post and share about, that's awesome.

However, like, I don't know what else I do. I like, I mean, honestly, half my evening is spent with a tickle fight with my daughter and then chilling in bed with my wife like talking about the day. That's not postworthy either. So I'm searching for those moments. I love my life. It's an amazing life. You'll find when the kids get older, you have plenty of interesting things to share that you'll like laugh about. And then you'll also say, hey, is this normal?

Yeah. Yeah, anyways, good for Caitlin. Keep doing Caitlin. She's one of my favorite people in the world. And she's always going to keep me intrigued. That's just the way Caitlin is. Hey, Bachelor Mansion Takeover show was announced. It was given a premiere date.

Ashley, we know some of the people, honestly, we probably know everybody involved in this show, at some level, at least, from this podcast or from hanging out with them in person, some more than others. When the show was originally, like, told to me, I thought, hey, the mansion needs a renovation. It does. Like, nobody's going to question that. It needed a renovation. To build a show around it, sounds great for the homeowners. Good for them. They get a free renovation with a bunch of people trying hard to do it.

Didn't know exactly what kind of television show would make. I am more now intrigued than ever. I actually think it could be good for the franchise and really good for HGTV. Yeah. The cast is really good. So the new show will take 12 Bachelnation stars and they're going to compete against each other to renovate the mansion with a chance to win $100,000. So Jill Chen, my friend, is going to be one of the alums alongside Sam McKinney, who we know from this past season of, well, Jen season and this past season of Bachelor in Paradise.

Joan. How do you say Joan's last name? She's always just Joan to us. Joan Vassus? Like, have we ever even said Jones last name? Yeah, she told me in an interview once, I could say either way. So, like, Vassos is how you could say? Or.

Hilarious. What's that, like, fancy? water that people used to drink. Like Vasos, I think is actually a proper way to do it. Okay, so then Dean Anglert, Bell. Courtney Robertson, Brandon Morris, Sandra Mason, from Golden, Jeremy Simon, also from this past season, Noah, Urb, Christopher Stallworth, Tammy, Tammy Kay, Lee,

and then Alyushia. Okay, so let's go through this castlet. Did you say Jill Chin? Yeah. So Jill makes sense. So let's go. And also, like, the host is going to be Jesse Palmer, which I'm actually kind of like shocked by.

I'm shocked that he has any time. I think they could have Tyler, could have done that. So Tyler and Tasha will be the judges. Tyler, obviously, we know he flips houses all the time. He is like that, this, what this man grew up doing. his family is in construction, has been. Then I know that Jill is here in Rhode Island. She worked for the Preservation Society in Newport,

which is a really awesome job. So she takes care of all of the Gilded Age mansions. So that's on par. Sam McKinney, I also believe, is in some sort of construction. I don't know what Jones is, but you tell me in a minute, I'm just going to go through who I know. then Dean obviously is the handiest guy. Dean has flipped their RV,

built lots of things with his hands, done the cars and all that. He like totally refurbished a car. Brendan Morris, we know that, yeah, he is also in carpentry. Noah also, they flipped their entire house

and they documented the entire thing for at least a year. Tammy works for, she's on, the, oh my God, what is that show? What is the real estate show that everybody loves? Not the, what's the selling sunset? Selling sunset, thank you.

And then, okay, so that is offhand how I know these people work in houses. No, it's a great cast. Alicia Gupta, I think, is an interior designer. Okay. Or aspiring interior designer. I mean, all these people have skill sets, like the Courtney Robertsons of the world. obviously are incredibly creative. It's a really good cast.

I would say of a really a lot of talented people highlighting the talents that are available. And Tyler Cammer makes a lot of sense. You know, Tasia, I don't know her background in this world, but she's there, so good for her. How Jesse Palmer had the time to do an HGTV show is still a question that I'll ask forever, because I don't know how that guy has any time,

you know, in his world. it's going to be fun. It's going to be intriguing. There's a lot of people here that make good television. That's a big one here. And a lot of people that are very talented in their trades. And so we'll get to watch that. The premiere date is March 2nd at 5 p.m. 8 p.m. Eastern Time.

So that's 5 p.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. Eastern Time. That's going to be on HGTV. So again, it's March 2nd at 5 p.m. Pacific, 8 p.m. Eastern Time. We're excited to watch it here. Bachelor Mansion Takeover. get behind the scenes of how the mansion will be revitalized, renewed. Here's an interesting tidbit to close out with, Ashley. This show was filmed before Taylor Frankie Paul's season.

So we will get to see during this show the first looks at what Taylor Frankie Paul's men will be living in when it comes to the mansion and how that will look and operate. I'm excited to see how they change it. Here's the truth. I've lived in that mansion. You've lived in that mansion. I've been escorted in and out of that mansion. I have escorted others in and out of that mansion.

I've spent a lot of months in that mansion. It's a beautiful property. Let's not at all say it's not. But it was outdated. It was beat up. It needed a refresher. And I know that some of the iconic scenes in the Bachelor world have been filmed in that old mansion. However, I'm hoping the renovation doesn't.

change what we know, but enhances what we've always fallen in love with. That's my hope. See, I know I've said it before, but I don't know that I agree. I like the fact that it's like Spanish inspired. We don't know what it's going to change to. It still always be Spanish. It doesn't be outdated to me. It feels timeless, actually. If you took a black light to that thing after Bachelor Pad, it needed to be changed. Okay. All right. We'll leave about that. Last headline of today, Katie Bigger and Zach Shellcross reveal their timeline for kids and share moving updates and so much more. Okay, why do I feel like she's pregnant? Because she posted a picture of her hugging and loved ones, baby, and then says hopefully sometime this year with a little face covered emoji.

I feel like the foreshadowing or just like, ooh, am I actually pregnant? He? Like, I think that they may be trying. We'll see. She also said that their house is going to be kind of perfect for a baby to move into. Says it's going to be ready in May or June. So you know how house things work probably towards the end of summer. But she says she can't wait to decorate it.

And they're going to be having their first wedding anniversary coming up. And they are planning on doing it in Maine. And she wants all the recommendations that you guys have. Let's send it to her. I am with you, Ashley. I don't think time is far away from the two of them, adding in to The Bachelor family. Hey, this has been the headlines for you this week again.

We're with Katie Thurston and her mom as they navigate breast cancer together. And now that announcement just happened. Until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. See you guys. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on Iheart radio, or subscribe wherever you live.

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