The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Is It Too Late Now To Say Sorry?

Episode Date: February 13, 2026

Ben and Bob bring you all the latest news from Bachelor Nation. Who is soft-launching their new relationship, and what Bravo-lebrity thinks Nick Viall owes her co-star a public apology? Plus - we have some Bachelor Nation Vacation At Sea breaking news!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Guaranteed human. 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. 1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis. At a Morehouse college, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the Board of Trustees, including Martin Luther King's Senior. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget.

I'm Hans Charles. I'm Minnick Lamumba. Listen to the A building on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can scroll the headlines all day and still feel empty. I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, is where culture meets the soul. Honest conversations about identity, loss, purpose, peace, faith, and everything in between.

Celebrities, thinkers, everyday people, some have answers. Most are still figuring it out. And if you've ever felt like there has to be more, of the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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, unpacks 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.

This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcast with IHart Radio. It's the Almost Famous Podcast. I'm here today with Bob Guinea. We're in Carmel, California. hanging out at the Pebble Beach Pro Am. It's a wonderful place. It's a great, buddy.

A beautiful place. place and I'm here with the wonderful fella. Five years, right? How many years have we been doing this? I bet it's been, yeah, I bet if we look back at six, five or six years, I've missed one. And you covered. That was a dark day. I didn't like that weekend. It wasn't as fun, right? Not at all.

What is your favorite thing about coming up here? I, you know, I will say there are a lot of, a lot of things I love about this trip. I mean, I love going to the preserve, which we got a chance to play, which I didn't even realize it was one of the top 115 courses in the world. I think it will hit top 100 even next year. Wow, it is something else. Granted, it was a downpour of rain, a deluge of rain. Yeah.

But I love going there. I love when the whole I heart team comes up and meets us for dinner, and we just get to kind of have a big kumbaya experience. That to me is probably one of the main highlights. That and just the hang factor that we get to have, where we get to be in the same place for a couple days and not really have a bunch of stuff pulling us all over the place.

I would also add, and I think I've added this this week a couple times, if anybody's curious about Carmel by the sea, like if they haven't heard of it, I would highly recommend you making the trip here. Oh my God, yes. Like golf, not golf, just the views. I walked the beach two days ago

and saw like 20 dolphins and otter. I know there's whales out there somewhere. We're close. Somewhere out there. It's beautiful. Yeah. My wife loves it so much that when she was, when she was sick and couldn't come, like literal depression that she felt by missing this weekend.

I say weekend, but missing these couple days. She looks forward to it every year. Although this is so much fun because everybody's together, I think a couple's trip up here with like a wine by the fire. Yeah. Kind of hang out a nice walk in the beach. That would be the way to do this trip. If it wasn't all of us together, that would be like, that's this vibe.

It's like read a book, hang out in a sweater. Yeah. Have a glass of wine. Always a sweater. It's sweater weather, which I'm a big fan of sweater weather. Yeah, it's good for me too. I will tell you, years and years ago, I came to Carmel and I stayed in a little cabin downtown. Yeah.

And my, my funny part of my memory is I lit a fire in my little fireplace. and I apparently thought I was opening the flute of the chimney and I closed it. So I filled my room with smoke. Oh, yeah. That wasn't great. That part wasn't great. But I just remember that whole time I was here just thinking, God, this has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world.

It's so romantic. Speaking of romance, listeners, tune your ears in. We can officially announce the biggest announcement to come through the Bachelor. in at least the last 12 hours. Yes. Bob Guinea is confirmed for the 2026, November 16th through the 20th. Yes. Bachelor Nation vacation at Sea Cruise.

Oh, yeah. So excited. I will tell you, I was a hard sell on this one at first because it is my 10-year wedding anniversary week. And so how did we make this to sit? I don't know if that's helping you here. I decided. I told my wife, I said, well, we get to go on a cruise. And you know how much I love to be on a cruise ship, which I do not.

But I, you know, I don't know. I don't know how I sold it. But I was basically like, let's do it. It'll be a fun thing to do. It's our 10-year wedding anniversary. We'll go do something fun on a boat. And we'll go to Dominican Republic with a bunch of people we've never met. And she's like, that sounds amazing.

amazing. She's such a social butterfly that this is just right up her alley. But I will say this. I also have a big announcement. And this is easily the biggest piece of news in Bachelor Nation that we have heard in the last 20 seconds. Ben Higgins, the one and only Benjamin Higgins, will be hosting, co-hosting, a scream-along. Wow. Screening with comedian Jared Fried.

You know what that is? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, thank you guys. Ladies and gentlemen, get your tickets now. Don't miss out. You know, no purchase necessary. Do you know what that is? A scream-along?

I believe it's when Jared watches an episode of the show and screams at his television. That's, that one would I guess. What if the actual, what I agreed to was I sit like up on stage at a chair and Jared just screams at me. I think that'd be helpful because you're not a, you're not a super big screamer. I'm not a very angry human, though. No. I couldn't see you really like taking the caustic approach to the show. Maybe it would be nice for Jared to just yell at you.

I do feel like if somebody let me loose though and they're like, hey, we just need you to like make fun of the show and scream at it. I think I could take it too far. Well, I think you, you because you know how the, how the sausage is made, you know, you might be like, that is totally a producer tampering with this poor lady. Yeah. Scream along with Jared Freed.

Bob Giddy is going to be on the cruise ship. Tickets are on sale now at Bachelor Nation. Vacation at C.com. Again, that's Bachelor Nation vacation at C.com. Fans can book a cabin now for just $100 down per person until March 12th. The cruise is again November 16th through the 20th of 2026. I don't see a deal in here. I'm assuming at some point though, if fans want to book a cabin with you, they can.

Oh, yeah, oh yeah, without a question. Yeah, you know, I was going to say I'm looking down here at some of the cast members and some epic theme parties. Activities including pizza making with Kalin. Workouts with Tyler Cameron. I mean, I might even sign up for that. Actually, though, this next one is what I really want to do. Paint and Sips with Justin Glaze.

I am a huge painter and sipper. And then it says, Ben and Bob fans get a chance to hang out with both of you. So that'll be my activity. That literally is what it says. I'll be at the all you can eat buffet. Just pound and carbs. Yeah.

You get those crab legs coming. Oh, man. Just greasy fingers and greasy mouth and all food and basic beverages are included in the cabin fair. What a deal? A sailaway party hosted by the master of ceremonies. Jesse Palmer will be held. This is going to be when the entire ship, guest and talent come together to celebrate the start of the most dramatic cruise ever. I hope not.

I was going to say that would be awful. I don't know if that's the way to sell this thing. That'd be awful. A dramatic cruise would not be up my alley. Yeah, I'd rather just just be a good time. All right. On to other headlines, congratulations again, Bob. Thank you, buddy.

Comming to the courage during your 10-year wedding anniversary. That seems like a bad decision. Well, you know, you're very giving of your time. I mean, today's a very special day in your life as well. It's when he's first birthday. Yes. I am going to fly home for it. As you should.

Yeah, definitely should and want to. But, you know, being here in Carmel and recording all these shows and talking is a valuable and important thing, but it's time for me to get home. Yes, sir. Me too. And celebrate one year of life with my sweet, sweet girl. That's awesome.

Congratulations. And happy birthday winning. This is a big headline, Bob. I know you've been falling along with this story pretty closely, but during Paradise this year, one of the couples to come out of Paradise, Kat Izzo and Dale Moss, they met in Paradise.

We got to interview them at the Bachelor in Paradise Reunion. Yep. And I think it's pretty clear anybody listens. Ashley and myself were very hesitant to think that this was a relationship that could work based on the fact that they had a lot of turmoil during paradise. Yeah. And we met him in person or I met them in person. I came back and I called Ashley and I said, hey, I actually think they might work. Like, I can see it.

They, they're both humans who are passionate. They're both humans who, uh, communicate. very openly. Yes. But there is always going to be that tension. But if tension works for them, like if it's a very passionate tension, maybe it could work.

Right. Not shipping in saying this is going to be the thing, but it could work. Well, to everybody's surprise, just a few months ago, the cat pretty much announced that, Hey, Her and Dale had done. Yeah.

And it did not end well. Yeah, I saw some headlines that she, she was spilling the tea, I believe the kids say today. And that was kind of, I also learned another term last night that I really liked. Riz. Yeah, I didn't know that. I liked that one.

But they both had, they both have some Riz. They both have Riz. They both be attractive. But they did break up and she did spill the tea on the Bachelor Happy Hour podcast. You can also listen to the almost famous podcast where Kat stepped on with Ashley and kind of broke down the relationship. It did not end well. but here's some big announcement. Here's some big news.

Kat Izzo has officially launched a new relationship with her doctor boyfriend. It might be Bob, why she has been so open about the past with Dale. I think it's easier to be open about that probably if you know that you are already in a committed relationship with somebody else. Probably helps that the dude is not affiliated with Bachelor Nation. Yes. Right?

I mean, that allows her to kind of speak freely and not worry about, you know, alienating maybe some of her and Dale's couple friends if they had a bunch. It says her quote is this. It's really scary, she said, because I actually like him and he actually likes me too, which is crazy. Usually my type is a man that doesn't like me. Come on. Come on. Can I continue to reveal that her new man is a doctor? He came into my life and it just happened so authentically.

very emotionally available, perfect age. He's a doctor again. Just double quote that. He's a doctor. We nerd out a lot. We share so much in our worlds where I've never been able to date someone that actually understands my world and I get theirs. And we've grown together from that.

But I feel like with how I've been treated, I feel like I'm going to be healed through him in a way. He's teaching me how to love myself. It keeps going, if it keeps going the way it is. Wow. That's heavy. That is. I've never been able to date someone that actually understands my world.

She's in the health professions. Medical field. Yeah. But she has officially soft-launched her boyfriend in a new post on social media. Good for her. Yeah. It's always nice to see somebody smiling in a picture. I think so, too.

You know what? There's somebody out there for everybody. And, you know, I think sometimes. people get caught up in the drama of the shows, and that can become a vicious circle for them. And good to see her hopping off of that, hopping off of that train, hopping off that cruise ship.

Is she going to be on the cruise ship? I don't know. We'll have to find out. Maybe now. Is her doctor boyfriend coming? I hope so. We would need a doctor in the house, because I might get seasick.

Yo is throwing it back. To the days of huge hits and unforgettable albums, a nonstop stream of the big. biggest and best. Drake, Rihanna, Beyonce, Katie Gaga, the weekend. And more. All your decade defining favorites

all in one place. Hi, it's Katie Perry. Hey, it's Bruno Mars. This is Kesha. Find 2010's The Decade on the free Iheart radio app. Preset the station so it's always one tab away.

Welcome to the A building. I'm Hans Charles. I'm Inelik Lamoma. It's 1969. Malcolm X or Martin Luther King Jr. had both been assassinated. And Black America, was out of breaking point.

Writing and protests broke out on an unprecedented scale. In Atlanta, Georgia, at Martin's Almermata, 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 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 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. So 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 predator might go up and good. Listen to Betrayal Season 5 on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What do you do in the headlines

don't explain what's happening inside of you? I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, is where culture meets the soul. a place for real conversation. Each episode, I sit down with people from all walks of life, celebrities, thinkers, and everyday folks. And we go deeper than the polished story. We talk about what drives us, what shapes us,

and what gives us hope. We get honest about the big stuff, identity when you don't recognize yourself anymore, loss that changes you, purpose when success isn't enough, peace when your mind won't slow down, faith when it's complicated. Some guests have answers. Most are still figuring it out.

If you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Sally Carson says Southern Charms, Austin Kroll, deserves public apology after vile files drama. Bob, were you following this at all? You know I am.

I mean, Sally, I remember her from Clayton's season. And now she's on Bravo. Southern Charm is coming to Austin's defense, calling for more accountability from the Vile Files podcast after an awkward interview involving her co-star and his family. Sally said it honestly kind of broke my heart for him. I did not catch this podcast, but she said she called them and made sure he was okay. I'm not entirely sure what it was that occurred. We covered this story, Bob, on the almost famous podcast a few weeks ago.

they did sit down an interview with Austin Kroll. And if I remember it correctly, Austin had a traumatic event in his childhood where he lost a sibling. Oh, gosh. Austin's sibling fell off a cliff in front of Austin. And the interview from what we broke down, they kind of push Austin to speak about it.

And you can tell he's very uncomfortable during the interview. Right. And the backlash has been, than fairly substantial from it. And so I think what Sally's saying, and I didn't know what had it happened, I guess, would be that the vial files needs to publicly apologize

because it got out of hand. I think it's one of those moments where you don't realize, I feel like maybe they should have. Yeah. But if they did realize it, then that's a different story. But they just didn't realize

how far out of hand it was getting and how uncomfortable Austin was. And I think as a result, Sally's saying, hey, you should apologize this guy. That's a tough thing to talk about, especially in a public setting. Yeah.

Without like... At least without even asking, like, hey, are you okay if we bring this up? It looks like they did reach out and privately apologize. But Sally's... Sally's saying that they should do it. And Sally was on the show. Yeah.

Clayton's season of The Bachelor. If you remember right, Bob, she self-eliminated. That was Sally. Yeah, during the first episode. I've often thought about that move. the self-illimination move, like when people pull it. Thankfully, no one did it on my season because I would have been devastating. I had three people do it.

Did you really? Oh, yeah. They bounced like crazy. And they met me and they said, I'm out. You know, I feel like that's a little bit of an attention grab, maybe. Like, you know, I'm out of here. And you might do it. Some might do it because they think they're not going to get a rose.

So they'll be like, I'm out of here. And then others might do it because they genuinely just aren't feeling a connection. But it happened very, like, it was the first episode, how you feel in anything? yet. Well, they felt nothing. And they said, I'm gone. They're like, I don't even care enough to spend the night in this Bachelor mansion. Oh, my gosh. Yeah, it happened. I think I said a record. Hannah-a-a-a-ant opens up about postpartum mental health and navigating motherhood without child care. This, Bob, I mean, you have your boys. Obviously, we just spoke about Winona.

you prep so much. I remember so many of the words of love and advice and care that you gave me as we were prepping for Winona to enter this world. The one thing that nobody ever spoke to me about, and I wish they would have, is this postpartum season. Yeah. And I read this headline. I'll let you break down kind of the bullet points here. Sure. I read the headline and all I want to tell Hannah-Anne is like speak to my wife because you're not alone.

Oh, yeah, speak to my wife too. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think it's pretty common. And I think, you know, and I actually, you know, I get it. Like when people go through childbirth, me, you got, the dad's got, you know, we're hanging out for the nine months that our wives are, are, you know, creating this life, you know. And it's taking such a toll on their bodies and on their self-image and on everything. On their hormones. On their hormones.

And then, and then they deliver the child. And then especially, you know, I noticed for for for my wife, it probably happened a little bit more after the second child, actually, where she just felt, you know, she didn't have a good self image anymore. Like she thought, oh, she was, you know, she was like in her mind, she was like, she lost herself in the process. And it, and it's a tough thing to deal with. And then, you know, I'm such a glasses half full person that I think sometimes I might not be as sensitive to what's happening in those moments. moments as I need to be. And so you kind of go back and you're like, oh my gosh, I could handle this better, you know. So I get it. And then the child care thing, you know, let's, let's just be honest. I mean, that's, that's been a huge challenge for, for my family in that, you know, we, we interviewed and moved in three different opairs when I was traveling so much for like deal or no deal and stuff. And, and that was a disaster. And then, you know,

couldn't really, you know, my parents were older and my dad had passed away when our second son was born and my mom wasn't always in the greatest health and my family's very busy with their businesses and things of that nature so we had to find help and then sure enough that's never reliable right because no one cares much about your family as you do yeah so you know something better came up they'd cancel in the 11th hour in your left hold in the bag you know so a lot of that stuff really does take its toll it does um and i do think again because it hasn't been something that people talk about. I do think it's always helpful when somebody with Hannah Ann's status opens up. Yeah. Kind of opens up the door for others to say, yeah, me too. And hey, let's talk about this.

Because I do know it can be, it can feel like a very lonely time where you don't understand yourself and you feel like nobody else understands you. And then as she mentions here, without child care. So you're taking care of a baby or on your hands and knees all day. You know, you're trying to figure out. No adult interaction. Yeah. It's tough. It is. But Hanahan, if you listen, you know, hello. And I hope that helps. Absolutely.

Ali Fittatski-Mamano gets candid about cosmetic surgery, Botox, and more. Yeah. So it looks like Ali has been keeping her fans updated with her life online, relocated to San Diego. Oh, I didn't know that. I think we heard that. But I think we knew it was like something was happening. I didn't know that was actually a thing that they chose a city.

Yeah. So she was answering some fan questions on her Instagram page. Always a slippery slope. I've never done it because I don't want to be held accountable. You know, you wouldn't be honest about that? No, God, no. Oh, no.

I just want to hide behind the, you know, the highlights. I honestly don't know how I would even receive the questions. I don't either. I'm so bad at all social media that if someone were to like send me a question, I'd be like, how the hell they do that? It's one of a fear. It's one of the fears I have, like if I'm at like a brand thing or, I'm sitting somewhere there like,

hey, will you jump on and just answer some fan questions on your Instagram? I would have to say, yes, I will do that. If you can do it for me. If you can show me how to make it happen. I knew that a lot, actually. So it looks like Ali was asked some questions about Botox or facial plastic surgery. She said, yes, I get Botox. I get it in my forehead and around my eyes and above my upper lip.

Well, that's pretty specific. Allie continued to explain more about her Botox procedures and why she gets it. It's called a lip flip where it makes your lip look more full by flipping it out. God, that sounds painful. It makes your smile look less gummy. Don't you think like a lip flip you would like probably leak a little bit when you're drinking water? I, well, I definitely would. Whenever I go to the dentist and I've had the numbing stuff, I'm a hot mess.

Yeah. Things are falling out overplace. I miss my mouth with like a drink very often anyways. You flip this lip up and you give me less surface area to. Yeah, it's going to be a hot mess. She has not had any plastic surgery on her face. She has thought about it. I was going to say, she doesn't look like she's had anywhere.

No. I think she's always been a really, really pretty person. And not that that matters, but I've always thought she was pretty and didn't need to have anything done. But, you know, I get it. I mean, everything that I'm reading about here scares me. Like flipping my lip, bluffing my eye. But I know that it makes people look good and feel good.

So God bless them. Go for it. It just does. It sounds painful. It does. Yeah. Everything sounds painful to me, though. I'm not going to lie.

And whenever I think about, you know, anything, from going to the dentist to getting blood drawn, I get a little stressed out. I'm with you. Bob, always a pleasure. I was a blast. We'll see you in November on the Bachelor Nation vacation at C Cruise. Tickets are on sale now at Bachelor Nation Vacationat C.com.

Fans can book a cabin now for just $100 down per person until March 12th. Again, the cruise is November 16th through the 20th of 2026. Yes. It's going to be something special, and I'm excited to have you there. I'm excited that you'll be there as well, and I'm excited that I'll be there with you. And I think most of our crew that has been here will be there. Oh, yeah. So, you know, I was going to say, I had such a, Dean is funny, dude.

I walked back to my room last night, and I was thinking, I was like, you know, I've hung out with Dean at these events. But man, he is really funny. And that segment we did last night with him was, I thought he was hysterical. Dean is funny. And he gets on tangents. And they're, if you dig in, you're like, they're brilliant because Dean is brilliant. Yeah. They also sometimes, like, you don't know where it's going to spit out.

Yeah. Yeah. But you're like, okay, what he was saying is real and true. And it's a good point. Yeah. But it's kind of kind of like, you just got to like, yeah. You just got to wade the waters down to the, to the very end. And you're like, okay, yeah.

I mean, he's, he's a blast. Yeah. He's a joy to be around and always has been, always will be. I love this crew. I've had a wonderful time. And I loved, I loved that we've been back here so many times. And hopefully we get to do it again next year. Have fun at the, uh, Pell Beach pro am today.

AT&T, Pelham, enjoy walking the majestic, uh, the property that is Pebble Beach is iconic in golf. And it's just a wonderful walk. We'll be back soon with more almost famous content. Until next time. I've been Ben. I've been Bob. Oh, that was good.

Thanks, man. I went a little more high energy. Yeah, that was good. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to 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. 1969, Malcolm and Martin are gone. America is in crisis.

At a Morehouse college, the students make their move. These students, including a young Samuel L. Jackson, locked up the members of the board of trustees, including Martin Luther King's senior. It's the true story of protests and rebellion in black American history that you'll never forget. I'm Hans Charles. I'm in a lick Lamouba. Listen to the A-building on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. You can scroll the headlines all day and still feel empty. I'm Ben Higgins, and if you can hear me, is where culture meets the soul.

Honest conversations about identity, loss, purpose, peace, faith, and everything in between. Celebrities, thinkers, everyday people, Some have answers. Most are still figuring it out. And if you've ever felt like there has to be more to the story, this show is for you. Listen to if you can hear me on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. 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 state.

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 Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. This is an IHeart podcast.