The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Infamous: Peter Kraus

Episode Date: May 14, 2025

He was the runner up on Rachel Lindsay’s season, but now Peter Kraus is ready to take us behind the scenes to reveal what REALLY happened during his time on The Bachelorette.   Peter holds nothing back when sharing how producers influenced his feelings, and he reveals a very personal moment that was shared with production… and then brought up later on camera. Plus, we get Peter’s honest reaction to Rachel and Bryan’s divorce, and we find out why he didn’t become “The” Bachelor.Follow The Almost Famous Podcast on InstagramSee 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. 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. Hello, it's Daniel Fischel, Ryder Strong, and Wilfredel 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.

Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor. 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. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin Bradford, host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. I know how overwhelming it can feel if flying makes you anxious. In session 418 of the Therapy for Black Girls Podcast,

Podcast, Dr. Angela Neal-Barnett and I discuss flight anxiety. What is not a norm is to allow it to prevent you from doing the things that you want to do, the things that you were meant to do. Listen to therapy for Black Girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Ben Higgins and Ashley I bring you infamous. Sometimes roses are red flags. Welcome to Almost Famous. it is another episode of infamous we want to step back to season 13 of the bachelorette when rachel lindsay was the bachelorette and you might remember our guest the bachelor that never was

the bachelor that got away in my opinion he was known for his little gap-to smile and the little silver flex in his hair it is peter cross peter welcome to the podcast thank you very much probably more gray now than ever and the gap tooth is still there. Yeah, you're not, so you're like, you're actually definition salt and pepper now, I'd say. Oh yeah, I'd say I'm more salt than pepper at this point.

When did you start going gray? 18. I was 18 years old when I saw my first gray hairs. Yeah, I feel like I was around that age. Yeah, this is the first time I've seen you with some gray in your beard. Oh, dude. I'm getting old. Welcome to the party.

Jared's beard is the first to go too. I don't know what it is. He's so gray there. Peter, we are so excited to talk to you. I have to just air this before. When you started dating your girlfriend, Hannah, is that how you say your name, Hannah? Hannah. Oh, it is.

A very traditional pronunciation, but yeah, it's spelled H-A-N-A. Okay, so I met her 10 years ago to this month, and we started following each other on Instagram. Yeah, I was at an event. It was a very small, like, girls-only sort of, I think it was

the premiere of The Bachelorette. It was like a viewing party for it at the W Hotel in Fort Lauderdale. And she and I were talking sports broadcasting because we had both gone to school for that. And she was, you know, on TV for it. Yeah. She was like really making her way down there.

And yeah. So, and I've been following her ever since. Like she just comes up on my feed still. I still like have always like kind of engaged and been for some reason just interested. And then all the sudden, I saw YouTube start posting about at each other. I was like, what in the small world is this? You met on Raya. Raya. Raya. Yeah. Well, and she knows, I mean, she's told me the same

story. I'm impressive. You remember all the exact details of it. That's impressive. Oh, she has. Oh, my gosh. That's so crazy. Ben, you actually met her at one point, too. You probably don't know this because I didn't know it. We were in Vegas. The last time I saw you was in Vegas in like 2007 or 2008, something like that. I do the same thing. 2018. Yeah. Sorry, yeah, 2018, yeah, 2018. I was trying to think back. I was like, goodness, this is where we're, I was in college. Now we're really going to make me feel awkward.

Fast forward from then, eight or ten years. Yeah. So she was there on a bachelorette party. And we were at a pool. We had just gotten done surfing at the pool. And she and her friends apparently walked up to us and introduced themselves and chatted with us for a little bit. And so I had met her.

I don't remember this interaction. Met her for like five, ten minutes maybe. They just said hi. And that was the end of that. moved on with their lives planet hollywood 2018 i know wow good memory yeah but you didn't remember this so i'm not like in trouble no or not remembering this interaction no and you've been together for how long now uh it'll be a year next month goodness is this the first major relationship since the show like major relationship uh first one that i'm sharing publicly i i

would say which making like you have some confidence in it right oh yeah we'll we'll be engaged by the end of the year, married next year. Kids by the end of next year, I would guess. Let's go. That's so cute. Oh, I love it. I'm not surprised by this at all. My sister, I told her that I was interviewing you today. And she was like, he deleted all the pictures on his Instagram from his life before he met Hannah. You have to talk to him about that. Well, that started with, so I have a new business venture going on. And I had gotten off Instagram at one point. I just was sick of dealing with it. And the new business venture, I wanted to announce with, like, just a clean slate and just

have everything be pertaining to that. And then she announced our relationship on Instagram, and I just felt bad that she was doing it. And I wasn't. So I decided to just announce my return to Instagram, I guess, early. And so now it's just pretty much she and I is my entire Instagram. There was no life before. Let's be honest. Yeah, that's what's so romantic about it. That's why I said everything starts with this. Like, the whole moment starts now. In the attitude of keeping things healthy, let's start talking. about the Bachelorette. And also.

Nothing healthier than that. No. Well, she was obviously a big Bachelor fan having met us all individually before. Oh, yeah. She, like many girls in this country, watched, I'm sure, her fair amount growing up. Yeah. She watched my season. Ben, she watched your season.

Ashley, she watched you. Yeah. There's a level to that. Like, my wife has never seen it. There's moments, very few, where I'm like, oh, it'd be fun to talk. about some of this with her that's not exactly like a great thing for you know your spouse to have watched but there are some moments from like this could be a fun or maybe we could sit down and watch it together but just not type her type of thing yep and as a result it's really not a part

of our relationship ever we never talk about it um which i also like uh there's benefits to that too uh she does still watch golden bachelor i'll tell you that yeah oh golden yeah big fan Yeah. I haven't watched any of it, but she's still a fan. well we're going to dive in the infamous episodes are all about kind of uncovering what is or what was behind the scenes that maybe we didn't see that maybe it was portrayed in a way that it really didn't happen or maybe it did and you just bringing light to a situation and saying yeah this is exactly how i went down when i watched it back it was this but before we dive into your time on the bachelorette which is always fun we have had some great interviews there was one other public relationship that we have to get cleared up that our fans have written in and asked about. It's the Nikki, I think her name's what,

Nikki Bella? Mickey Bella, yeah. Was that ever really a thing? No. They reached out to me through, they may have even been Amy, to be honest. I feel like there's like, our producing.

Yeah, I think it's like connections and connections. I don't remember what it was. But they said there's a show called Total Bellas. They would love for you to come on and go on a date with Nikki. Would you be up? for her and I said hell yeah like she's gorgeous she's hardworking she's intelligent like this is absolutely someone I'd go on a date with even outside of the show so why not we went on

one date um date went well week or two later I sent her flowers and this special candy that she had talked about during our date and we chatted back and forth a little bit but nothing ever came of it I guess that was the end of that literally nothing more than that I wish it was more exciting you guys but that was that's kind of exciting i mean you got dumped that's romantic i think i say it's romantic you say he was dumped it was great like it didn't suck by any means it was a great date it was fun i guess a week or two of interaction and that was it well we can dive into that but we have other things to talk about like you know rachel lindsay all right so your big thing on the show was that you weren't going to propose at the end especially we're like i'm not going to propose to you rachel

like i would love to be with you but this is just ridiculous we've known each other for eight weeks was it before the show or during the show that you decided that a proposal at the end of it wasn't going to be for you uh the last conversation i have with friends before i went on the show was i'd see you guys in two weeks the thought of a proposal wasn't even ever in my mind going onto the show. I looked at it as this is a great, fun, exciting, and different, unique opportunity that very few people get. And I'm single and I could potentially find love in the process. Hell yeah, let's do it. Like, it was just a fun experience. When it started to get serious, like, oh, this is actually potentially going to like the long haul. Engagement became more

of a conversation. It's like, okay, this needs to be taken more seriously. And she and I started having conversations pretty early on about like this does and an engagement but i don't want to think that was to like at least a third of the way through it maybe half of the way through it and as much as i was falling for her in those moments i knew that it wasn't enough real life experience to say okay i can definitively commit the rest of my life to this person it seemed like on my side of things like that just kind of made sense if i'm going to be with someone for the rest of my life I want to know what they're like in more scenarios in real life. And so we started having more and more conversations about it.

And then it wasn't until, I think, last few weeks of the show that I was really like, this is just not going to end in engagement for me. It's not that it wasn't ever an option. It's just now I really know at this point only having a couple weeks left. Like the next date after our biggest conversation about it was the engagement ceremony. Like, Jesus, we're just having the biggest conversation about it now. And I'm supposed to get engaged to you next. this is this is not a legitimate possibility for me at this time let's sit in this moment then for a

second i'm sure uh knowing you you were not easy to be produced which i think is a credit to you i actually say that in a complimentary way i think both sides he doesn't say that about me i definitely don't say that about actually she is so easy to get produced um but i think there's good to both like one is a trusting person like Ashley who says, hey, like, I believe you have my best interest in mind. I don't want to believe you don't. And as a result, I am going to follow your lead and kind of do whatever you ask of me. And as a result, you have an Ashley, which is an amazing human. I love her dearly. But we also have you, I think, on the other side who says, I'm not going to trust anything you say to me. There is nothing you could input wisdom into me at this time that I would follow.

and as a result, I think I know best, which is good and bad, and this is how I'm going to communicate it. So if you can give the fans kind of underneath the hood of in those moments leading up to that conversation, I'm sure you told somebody, hey, I'm not going to get engaged at the end of this, and they probably panicked, or maybe they didn't, but explain it to us. Yeah. Where should I start? First place I start was early, early on in the show, like our very first. week, I want to say.

I was having conversations pretty regularly with producers. As you guys know, you would do throughout the entirety of the show. And during just like a normal conversation with one of the producers, I won't say who it was, I brought up some pretty, like, important and personal stuff about my family. And I had all the trust in the world of these people. I thought, okay, this is a good person. We can communicate. and my thoughts are safe with this person.

And then like two, three days later, we're in one of the like the confessionals, whatever you call it. And while on camera, she brought it up and wanted to get an answer relating to it or just like a sound bite relating to it. And I just paused for a second. I was like, oh, shit, this is not what I thought it was.

This is a scheme to get me to say something that can be used for the betterment of those behind the camera. And that's when the whole script flipped for me. It was like, okay, this is now serious. I have to be intentional about what I say and do. I can still try my very best to be myself in this situation. But at the end of the day, they have a product that they're trying to produce, and that product is built off of a certain scenario or result that they choose to have.

And I am nothing but upon in that scheme. so be myself but be guarded is what it kind of came down to and I found that more and more throughout time did you call a producer out in the moment or do you just keep that internal no no no need to like why why show your cards if I know what they're doing they're they're just going to find other ways to manipulate play dumb when you have to or else they just try to become smarter in that situation so let them let them do what they had to do and I just went about my way trying to engage my relationship more and more with Rachel without giving the sound bites that they needed for the show to carry on. It's an exhausting and being in it. I mean, I've been in that mindset on the show

before. It's a really tiring mindset because your whole life is being like filmed and you're always thinking like if I say this one sentence, it could be used against me. And so I'm always on guard. It makes it a lot less fun. I always say if I had to do the show again, I'd have more fun. I had very little fun during the experience on both seasons because I was always so guarded. Are you saying then that as you went into this huge conversation with Rachel about where your relationship was going to go, engagement or no engagement, dating, not dating, did any producer have any idea that you were about to say what you said? Well, I mean, there's all sorts of different tactics used throughout to get a result. And another producer,

again, I won't say a name, but a very high up producer in the show, multiple times told me that I was in love, like, you're in love, you're in love, just admit that you're in love, Peter, you're in love, come on, just say it. Like, trying so hard to just coax me into saying something that at that time I didn't yet believe. And it's like, if you just want that result, what's the point? I'm not going to say it. So when it's time it's right, I'll say it. And then once it finally did come out of my mouth because I actually started to feel it for her,

the script basically changed on their side of things. They must have decided at that point, like, oh, we need to actually stick with this different scenario. So now we're going to start to tell you to say, you know, stick to your guns, you don't have to get engaged yet. So then also I started to hear those echoes

through the chambers of just stick to your guns. You don't have to get engaged if you're not ready for it yet. Like you're being true to yourself, be true to yourself. It was the most manipulative experience on that side of things. And that all was fine. I kind of got used to what that was and was able to just internalize it all myself.

But then the hardest part was they had a therapist. on staff who was almost parroting what their messages were. So that's where I actually found the most discomfort in the whole thing, was that a person that I was coming to for like a safe space started to become just another part of the process. It feels a little Truman. Oh, yeah, very much so. And she started giving me like insights how Rachel was feeling.

I'm like, you can't do that. That doesn't seem appropriate. I thought this was like a safe space. What are you giving to those that I've said? So overall, the whole thing was pretty, I don't know, for lack of a better term, gross in that way. But all that aside, like the situation with Rachel and the relationship I was developing with Rachel was always a really great experience. Like she and I had a lot of connection, a lot of fun together. Just, yeah, overall enjoyment of each other's company.

It was very easy to be with her. It wasn't until, like, the end of the show really started to be in the focal point of, like, okay, this is, this is actually happening. Like, we're actually moving into marriage is the next step. Engagement is the next step. Even upon meeting the family, it all seemed so light and fun for the most part. But then it was like, okay, yeah, you're getting engaged in, like, four or five days, I want to say, at that point, a week. Yeah. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly,

and now I'm seriously suspicious. Well, 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. 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. writer strong and wilfridel from pod meets 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 wilfridel 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 I-Heart 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 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. Oh, 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 Chetty on the IHeart Radio Al. app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers. I'm Gretchen Whitmer, Jody Sweeten. Monica Patton.

Elaine Welter-A. I'm Jessica Voss. And that's when I was like, I got to go. I don't know how, but that kicked off the pivot of how to make the transition. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Every episode gets real about the why behind these changes and gives you the inspiration and maybe the push to make your next pivot. Listen to these women and more on She Pivots now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. People like remember this moment. that you and Rachel had your big argument at the end because from what we saw, it really seemed

like you were the one that she wanted. But at the same time, she seemed to be putting, again, the way that they edited it, made it seem like she apparently wanted the engagement more than true love. and you even said, okay, fine, go have a mediocre life. When you look back at this moment, what's your interpretation of it all? What really happened and how was it different than what we saw? I think the entire show needs to be put in context first, and that is it is not a real life situation to start. So to expect real life responses is impossible. the way that we handled ourselves in the situation, I think, was the best we could do in the moment that we were in.

The emotions were high. We were isolated with only connection to people within the show. We had no family to really draw upon or friends to draw upon. There was a lot of stress. She was the first ever black Bachelorette. The amount of stress alone from that, I can't imagine how challenging the entire situation was then to think like this could end without engagement where the show is so dependent

on the engagement being the end result I can't imagine how much stress it felt so I'm sure it was extremely challenging for her for myself it was I didn't want to hurt her I genuinely wanted to see where the relationship went

and seeing her as heartbroken as she seemed at the time was extremely the challenging so I also wanted to make her happy and so at the very end I even said like fine like let's just let's get engaged like if that's what you need I'll do it that was like the final 15 minutes or so of the conversation I want to say and then uh she always said no like that that just felt like it was uh like a secondhand thought at that point and it kind of ruined the whole

situation which obviously I wouldn't want to get engaged in that I guess a scenario either yeah yeah but uh i don't know this is tough for me to talk about right now i haven't talked about this in a very long time i guess i'm so sorry no that's all right it's probably good to bring it up the situation itself was just hard like i don't think there's any right or wrong to it what i said in that moment was very hurtful and inappropriate and i wish i hadn't said it but i did so i have to own it. I did say those words, which I won't even repeat because I think they're really gross. And I try to apologize for it, but that only means so much when it's in front of millions of people and you're already hurt and feeling betrayed, I'm sure, by someone who could say that

to you. Let me dive in here, because for clarity's sake, you can go any direction. When you said those words. I'm assuming you're referencing a statement about what life could look like afterwards. Were you meaning that directly towards Brian or just in general like, hey, you and I could have something great. And the other option here, I don't know if it's going to go the way you want it to. I think I felt that I knew in that moment that I could provide a very healthy, happy relationship with this person. And whether that was true or not, I can't tell you. But in that moment, it's what I felt. And the relationship that I had built with her to that point

seemed like it would be a lot of fun to be in after that time. And I knew Brian for just what I knew of him within that show. And during that time, I knew he wasn't a person that I enjoyed spending time with personally. There was nothing against him, but just he wasn't the type of guy I wanted to hang out with. So I just said exactly how I was feeling in that moment, which was, I think, you're going to be in a very different life with this person, then you will be with me. And if that means mediocre, then that means mediocre to me in that moment. Probably not the choice words I would use now, but I did it at that time.

This is an awkward question, and I'm so sorry that I must ask it. But when they announced that they were getting divorced, did part of you think, I knew that one wasn't going to last? no actually the exact opposite I was surprised by it I figured if they were able to make it through all that hardship that they experienced after the show because it seemed like so many people turned on them and there was so much dramatization of the downfall their relationship prior to it even not you know succeeding

I figured if they can make through that they can make it through anything so I was very surprised when I saw that it happened and I was very sad by the fact that so many people were championing the fact that it did happen I think it was disgusting. I think people have enough challenged in life that they don't need everybody else jumping on them when they falter. And so that was sad to see.

It's been eight years, as you said. I remember the conversation. I remember the moment. I remember a lot of that season. And I remember this being one of the moments that you feel as a viewer. Like you feel it. I think it's one of the last moments.

There's been a few. But one of the last moments where I remember sitting on the couch being like, I am in this conversation with them on the, couch and I'm feeling both directions, remind us the audience's response. Because I think 20, you know, hindsight is us saying this, your mindset made sense. Like, how were you going to get engaged? And if you weren't okay with that, but you still want to date, like, that makes

sense for the show in the format. But I'm sure viewership wanted an engagement. And I'm sure the responses were probably not outrageously supported. towardive towards you. Or maybe they were. I don't remember. I think we create our own, I don't know if it's an echo chamber, but, you know, it's my social media.

No one else sees it but me. So I see all the responses that are on it. And even on the show, producers would say, don't look at the good or the bad. Neither one of them is beneficial. And it's hard not to when you're getting blown up by thousands of comments and

likes and things like that. And it's also cool to see. I mean, for anybody, I think if all of a sudden you gained 100,000 followers, you'd be very curious what is happening in the situation. Who are these people? What do they want? And so I saw all the good and I saw all the bad and all the negative comments. And I would say it was hindsight 2020 realizing that it was a lot more good than bad,

but the bad voices seemed to ring a lot louder. That makes sense. And so a lot of people that were saying negative comments were much more adamant in getting their point across. It was Reddit became the, worst place in human creation in my opinion people that just like all of a sudden I would get an influx of negativity and I'm like where is this coming from and then someone would drop a comment like Peter you're getting blown apart and read it and so I would open up Reddit and church there was this story about my life that I had no clue about that was going off and everybody was just deciding

and turn that into this like it was like a wave of hatred would come on to my page and as soon as it came on it would be gone and it's just this wave back and forth, back and forth for like four or five years. And so it all started with, oh, my God, I mean, at some point, like halfway or two-thirds of the way through the show itself when I started to realize, like, oh, this is going to be a roller coaster. Like, people are going to come in and hate you for anything. And that was all finding good.

I eventually started to find a way to just kind of move past it or ignore it. But then I think when it really got to like a point where I just didn't want to deal it anymore was when it was when it really got to, like, a point where I just didn't want to deal it anymore was when. it started affecting my business. Like people started commenting and leaving one stars and things on my business. And it's like, what is the point of this? This is based off of the show that has no place in reality.

And you're affecting my real life now. Like it was an experience for me. It was a fun experience for me. I know it didn't end in the way that many people wanted to. But at the end of the day, everybody on here is just a human trying to figure out their own for you to come and attack someone because they didn't do it in the way that you did. You would never do that in real life. Why are you doing it here?

So eventually, I just turned it off. that was it well so you mentioned that you've gotten comments on social media for four to five years after and that is because peter you stuck with people people wanted you to be the lead more than i think of anybody of anybody that never became the lead like that's why i said at the beginning of the show like you were the bachelor that just never was you were the one that caught away from the franchise yeah we we know we know that they wanted you to be the lead yeah but it was you your decision not to be. And I know that some people say this. Lots of people like to be like, oh, you know, God asked, didn't want to do it. But I never really believe those people. I do believe

you. Well, the conversations about it started while I was still on the show in therapy. The therapist was the first one who ever brought it up. So as we were getting to the final couple weeks of the show, the therapist on the show is the one who said, would you think about being the bachelor? And I'm like, is this really happening right now? Like, is this a conversation you're bringing up in this situation. No, I guess I hadn't thought about it, but something I'd have to think about should this not work out.

And then in our overnight, Rachel and I, she brought it up. And I had just had this conversation with the therapist, is like, is this like a running thing? So I don't know. I was just like, I guess I'd have to think about it if it came to be.

And jokingly, I was like, they'd have to pay me a lot of money. Part of my language. But then it was right after it. So we were in Rioja, Spain, when everything ended. And I was stuck there for a few days while they, like Brian and Rachel went on like their honeymoon date, basically. And the producers approached me there in that space within 48 hours, 24 hours. I don't even know what it was.

At a coffee shop. And they're like, okay, what did you think about being the bachelor? I'm like, what? I just spent 12 hours laying on a floor crying. with my lead producer Megan as she played the same song 36 times and like you're asking me this now like I don't know guys

like okay let's just let's sit on it think about it we'll see you when you get back to the States and then it started pretty quickly when I got back to the States like the I don't know what you call the courting of me to be Bachelor it was flying me first to Good Morning America

in New York I took a red eye out there and that was I don't know like the day after the final airing of the show and they kind of walk me around town with another one of the lead producers and just said like would you do this we think he'd be perfect for it they were like taking me up to nice lunch they bought me a nice watch like it was just a very interesting experience and obviously like courting me and then it was flying out to uh Mike Fleiss's house out in Malibu and sitting down there and having a longer, deeper conversation about it.

And then upon conversations, like, okay, I can see how much this can affect someone's life. If I'm really going to do this, it's really got to be worth it financially because they could ruin my life. Like, I'd have to start from square one if this doesn't go well. I don't have money. Like, I gave up a lot of what I was doing to go on this show. And then ever since I had to kind of, like, div it.

And so I made a request, and it was, um, later agreed upon and then there was more negotiations about what i would hope to have done on the show to like benefit me and my relationships and those were eventually all agreed upon and then we went to announce the um me becoming the bachelor i guess on the finale of paradise and so i was sitting in the trailer they were pressing my suit and it kept being like okay uh The suit's not ready yet. Okay, so it's not ready yet.

And then it was, okay, we're just not going to do it now. Let's do it tomorrow on Ellen or something like that. Or Jimmy Kimmel, whatever it was first. And I was like, okay, well, let's do it the next day on Jimmy Killil. And then it was, okay, let's fly back out to Good Morning America and do it there. And at that point, the contract still wasn't fully signed. And I was sitting in the airport to go to Good Morning America. The contract was finally signed.

And the other producer, who's, again, name I won't mention. was studying with me and as the flight was literally boarding she turns me and she says okay we're going to go back to the hotel it's not going to happen this time like we're not going to announce you just yet and so we went back to the hotel

and then one of the other like top producers comes in and says you know we're going to send you home for the weekend it was what is that at that point Labor Day right? Is that our Memorial Day? Close yeah Yeah one of those days

Labor Day. So they they said we'll send you home for the holiday weekend think on it and then right before they left the room like do you want to do this and i said straight to his face uh no but i'm going to because i think i would be foolish not to like it would be a dumb opportunity to miss out on if it's here for me and so i went home and i thought of it all weekend and text mike flees on sunday saying okay i'm ready i'm all in let's do it like i'm 100% there and because all that while I was like I was back and forth this is the right decision is it not I was almost going to be announced while still thinking like I don't think

I even want to do this myself uh I'd seen just too much I guess at that point but it also was too afraid I was I was terrified and uh he text me as like okay we've actually decided to go a different direction uh I'm sorry and then the very next morning they announced Ari so Ari was the the bachelor that got announced and replayed okay that I was going to ask that what was

I mean to kind of close everything up here there's a level two where you know I don't I think you would have been an incredible bachelor I don't think it would have been easy on the producers or easy on you because I think you would have pushed back and I think you would have

kind of put your stakes in the ground at places and I think it could have become a very exhausting experience. But I do think you could, you would have had the potential to, you know, find somebody, but I also just think you'd be a great, like, person to watch lead a show. I think though, I actually think the people that are like you lead the show in the best of ways. Thanks. But you find this text out. You're saying publicly you don't know if you really want to do it or not.

but it's a good opportunity and who knows you could have found your wife it's happened but now you found her in a different way but back then was it disappointing to read that text like it feels like in my memory you in a sense disappeared after this kind of scenario was happening behind the scenes i don't remember like hearing from you a ton publicly once this happened yeah uh i think the the emotions were mixed It was a sigh of relief that I didn't have to think about it anymore. It wasn't a thing. But that continued to go on for years after that.

Anytime it was, you know, time to select a bachelor again. I came back up. Producers even reached out to me a couple times. I was supposed to go on to Winter Games with you. And then at the last minute, that got, they just decided, like, literally the day before I was supposed to fly out, like we've decided to go a different direction. I thought that would have been fun.

I'm glad it didn't go because I realized it would have been really bad at all the sports and fall. I'm glad you didn't go either because I really like Ashley and Jared together Yeah Right right That was good

Oh man Yeah so it was relief And yeah Enjoyment 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 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. 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 the meets. 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, 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 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-Hur. Ashley Simpson-Ross joins us to talk about her up-com. 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 place. 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 j sheddy and i'm the host of the on-purpose podcast and today i'm joined by one of the greatest athletes of all time novac jockovic 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, loss. 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 IHart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on she pivots, I dive into the insane. inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers.

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Now on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So you guys, do you feel like they were kind of playing you with knowing that Ari was like a backup and they knew that he would be more easily produced and he was always in the back of their head? Because you did ask for certain caveats in the contract. do you mind me asking what did you ask that would benefit the relationships during the show? Well, the first one is I saw how Brian and Rachel were just getting an onslaught of negativity in every interview they showed for months after. It was one of the main questions was, well, how could you have looked so interested in Peter and then right away gone and engaged Brian?

So I wanted, I guess, a more helpful approach to the relationship. afterwards like champion the relationship not the downfall of the other like give me some support give the relationship some support afterwards don't just let it go off on its own like it seemed like she was just kind of thrown out to the wolves by herself with brian and they they weren't really supporting her after they got the product that they needed and then they were supporting me like they're you know trying to get me to be the bachelor i was almost getting more support and i was like that is not fair to anybody so i i'd asked for that during the show i'd asked that there was more unexpected visits to the house or to the locations that the women were in so I could see people

in their natural environment. Like, what are you doing when you're not on this date that you've prepared 24 hours for? You know, are you hanging out with the other girls? Are you on your own? Are you reading books? Are you working out? Are you kind to everybody? Are you whatever? I just wanted to see people in their natural environments. And that was the two main things. I also wanted therapy sessions, televised or not, I didn't care in the last couple weeks for the top couples, if you all. It'd be me, obviously, and then the other person. But in like three different scenarios, like, okay, we're a couple now. So let's go to couples counseling in the last few weeks of this show to see if we actually do get along or is this just fluff that we're

experiencing right now. Is this just the excitement of the show that makes us think that we're attracted? And so all those things were in some capacity. agreed to. Those are really good asked. I love those. But I, but now back to the question I started asking about Ari, you think he was lingering for a while? You think that he was more producible? I can only say as a business owner now, you have to line up a lot of things because failure is always an option. And if you're not prepared to failure, you've failed as a leader. And as the leader of a show, they had to have a backup. They're probably talking to four or five, six people at all times. You guys remember when we first went on to the show,

and there was 150 people in the final casting stages or something like that. And then what I was told is that even on the last couple of days before the show started, there was like five or six extra people waiting in the wings that just didn't ever go on to the first episode. I think that was the year they asked me to come back. That would make sense, yeah. No, yeah, they asked, I think that was the year they called and said,

hey, would you do it again? Yeah. Because there would have been two, wait, two bachelors, but no, it was Nick. You would have been you, then Nick, then you again. Yeah. I think that was that. So I must have been like your C team.

Like they probably had a list of board. They said Peter 1, R.E. 2, Ben, 3. We're going to destroy Ben if he comes back again. And that's what I was like, you guys are psychos. No, I'm not doing this again. Peter, in closing here, we obviously started this whole conversation out with talking about your new relationship with Hannah. You have made the statement that we're going to hold you to because even if you're doing it and just you still said it you're going to be engaged by the end of the year have kids

by the next year be married and at some point within that too wow you got receipts yeah she's gonna play this podcast for you oh god i hope well i hope she doesn't listen to the rest of it but you may not after all that she's a you had mentioned that at one point she was a fan of the show yeah as you enter into this whole next season of life that will have less and less to do with your time on the show and everything we talked about today and you start this whole new life with somebody. Are you glad now that you did it? Do you look back on it and say yes, it was an opportunity you are thankful you said yes to, or do you wish this would have never existed? I feel like life as it is right now would not exist in the slightest sense if it weren't for the show. I can go off

a list of things that have benefited from me being on that show. So my business at the time was in personal training because of the show I couldn't go into people's homes anymore. It just became too awkward. And so I started doing boot camps. Those boot camps led to me being all over the country for four or five, six hundred people at a time all the while saving up money to open my first gym. And then when the gym opened and things were great, but then the pandemic hit and had I not had social media, my gym would have closed within the first two, three months because I didn't have the reserves to back it up. I was losing tens of thousands of dollars a month. So the social media alone from the show benefited me once again.

The social clout, if you will, that allowed me to open certain doors and create certain partnerships even now because of the name that follows me, because I feel like I did manage to hold myself to a high standard throughout. And people saw me as like, okay, you stuck your guns. You were brave in a difficult situation. We can know and trust you to support our businesses. Now I'm working with multi-million dollar, $100 million investment. on some of these properties I'm working with

and they're putting my name on the side of it. And so it benefited from that. And then I look at going on to Raya. And while it took me seven years on Raya to eventually delete it seven times and pick it back up the last time to meet Hannah, it worked. I met Hannah through Raya,

which I never would have gotten had it not been from Blue Check that came from the show. Yeah, you wouldn't have gotten on Raya because it's kind of elitist type of dating app where you have to sort of have ties to the entertainment industry. Yeah, I had 1,200 followers before I went on that show. that was that was it

I was not going on Raya by any means Peter yeah all that say like it was a great opportunity that while it had a lot of difficulties it benefited me long term no doubt it definitely did and I appreciate you tying the threads and the lines together for us because I think

that's always you know I've loved the producers back in the days that we were on the show and I think some of them are really great and I think others of them were not so great but I do hold the lot of them with a lot of respect because if anything, they're brilliant and they're good at what they do. And I'm always, I always think even in the most difficult scenarios for a lot of the

people that come on the show, the outcome can be of benefit if you allow it to be. And you definitely did. And you just tied so many different ways together. Kind of that, it's on Instagram now, like the butterfly effect, right? Like the things that had to happen for you to be where you're at today, Well, it's beautiful. And we appreciate you being here today on the Almost Famous Podcast, breaking down one of the most, if not the most iconic memories and moments in Bachelorette history. Peter, thanks for joining the Almost Famous Podcast. Thanks for having me, guys. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts on IHart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

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 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. Hello, it's Danielle 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. 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. I'm Dr. Joy Hardin-Brandford, host of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast. I know how overwhelming it can feel if flying makes you anxious.

In session 418 of the Therapy for Black Girls podcast, Dr. Angela Nielbornette and I discuss flight anxiety. What is not normal is to allow it to prevent you from doing the things that you want to do, the things that you were meant to do. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.