The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Jess Girod Tells All

Episode Date: March 16, 2023

Ben and Ashley are hanging out with Jess Girod, who's ready to share an exclusive look at what it was like to be one of Zach's contestants! She's helping us recap the Women Tell All, and has some JUICY behind the scenes secrets to share.  We hear the real story on Anastasia and her "boyfriend", what really happened during her final conversation with Zach, and we find out if we'll see her in Paradise!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Got my wonderful co-host, Ashley Ikenetti, and another co-host for two episodes. Ashley, how pumped are you to have Jessica, Gerard on the show right now breaking this all down with us. I am so excited to have you here, Jess, because one, you're at one, you're at one, you're at one, you'll give us all the inside dudes, and two, you know, you're bringing back body glitter. And three, you were like the hero, the character of the show a couple weeks ago when you're like, uh, I am not going to beg for you.

Yes. Thanks, guys. I'm so excited to be here. Thank you for having me. Are you nervous that Ashley and I are just going to absolutely be so tough and so mean and so just grueling out on the show? We're so hard. I went through a whole season of The Bachelor, so I think I can take you guys too.

No, we're big fans of you. In fact, when we found out that you're going to be on the show with us, we were very excited and we asked to have you help us break down the woman tell all. And then you're going to come back for a separate show and kind of give us an in-depth about you and your life. And so right now, we're going to jump right into the women's law. We're going to skip all the backstory of who you are and what you're about. And we're going to say that for a special time. So, Jess, you're at the woman tall all. To start this out, to give our listeners a little perspective, tell us what the women tell all is like, like the leading up to it, not being on the show,

not being in the seats that obviously your butt is going to get so sweaty because they're plastic and there's light shining on you and there's no breathable room. There's so on. We were very uncomfortable. Yes, your butt bone is truly aching after those four, five hours. I remember, I remember I had, when I was the bachelor, I would, yeah, when I was announced or something as the bachelor, I had to get up from my seat and step up onto stage. And I remember being so nervous because I could tell that like where I was sitting was just covered in sweat.

And I was thinking, I was going to be the guy to walk up on stage with a different colored, you know, back spot than my suit. Okay, so Jess, walk us through like the trailer and the lead up and everything going on. Yeah. So it was a really rainy day that day. And I remember I kept repeating it. I was like, is this foreshadowing something? Like, is this going to be a very chaotic day? It was pouring rain. I think that there was like a really bad storm in California or something, but that weekend. But it was so surreal. I've never been in like a fitting room or like I don't know what it's kind of technically called. dressing room yeah dressing room yeah i've never been in a dressing room before like that i've never you know had my makeup touched up and you know got gone all pampered so it was definitely like i was getting really nervous i was like oh gosh this is like the real deal and like going into the warner brother's

studio i was like i've never been there before i don't know anything about i just was cool i was like what's been filmed here like i want to go explore all of these buildings but um and it was really cool seeing everyone and everyone was excited and nervous we were all kind of on the same page and we knew we were going to see Zach and at that point I knew I was going to get a hot seat so I was just I was freaking out it was just so many nerves and they're all in one and in a very rainy day so I was like oh gosh I don't want my hair to get messed up well you didn't have much to worry about when it came to talking with the girls so you probably really got to sit back and just listen for a couple hours before it's back on stage you really you had no drama with the girls you barely

on air you didn't really involve yourself except for with the little drama between brooklyn and cat you seem to defend cat a little bit in that moment yeah did that feel good that you got to not have to involve yourself in girl drama yeah so i i feel like in general i don't really involve myself with drama like in the real world too as well um i will always defend myself if i feel like i'm in a position where i need to or someone else um at the time you know with brooklyn and cat i felt like that was between them and it wasn't really my place to get involved but there were points where i defended her because cat is a good person and she meant well and you know she was owning up to her mistakes and i felt like it was being dragged out but you know i i don't think that it's my

position to voice and opinion that I'm not, it's something that I'm not involved in. So it was nice to sit back and not be involved when everyone was like screaming at each other. I think there was like some clips of my face where I'm like, I'm just like, oh gosh. Like everyone's in my ear. Yeah. Ashley and I always say this because one of the questions you'll get asked the most now for the next, I don't, I mean, who knows how long of your life will be. Is it real? Like is the show real? and what Ashley and I always say is it is very real like I've never felt like I was told or scripted or given a list of things what to do and there's a very few moments where you're watching things happen in the mansion or on the road or at a tellaw and you're like I cannot

believe I'm getting a front row seat at this because nobody that ever watches this will ever believe it yeah no definitely when I was sitting there and when everyone was kind of like voicing their opinions rightfully so I was like wow this is just as intense as it is on TV as it's in person. It was crazy, but I feel like everyone, when you're in that position, you want your voice to be heard and you feel like, you know, you don't want it to be overshadowed. So everyone's kind of pitching in. And so it was very chaotic and entertaining to watch.

And it was even more entertaining than watch on TV because I was like, oh, my gosh, I forgot that was said and that was said. And I was like laughing at all of it. It was kind of funny and crazy. but it's well let's go down the list of big moments big dramatic moments between the girls so first up well there's the anastasia thing yeah let's go with anastasia so anastasia and carly in that drama do you feel like anastasia was getting like for a lack of a better word like pounded on stage or do you feel like you know there was like a side that wasn't being told yeah so with um Anastasia she had two different

points that were being addressed to her um the microaggression which i feel like that was handled very well um that needed to be said and that we all needed to be educated on that so and i feel like she handled that well and she apologized and owned up to it and then the other side was the following and being there for the wrong reasons and um you know i'm even though i say out of drama i do believe that everyone should be voicing their opinions and uh do i believe that it should be in a respectful way always that i try but it may not always come across that way um i think for the most part everyone was able to to vocalize what they needed to say um i don't really know how i feel about her having a boyfriend i don't think that that's true personally from what i

From what I know from her, I think she's a great girl. I don't think she would risk losing a job and all of that if she had someone waiting for her at home. And I think she's still single. So if she had a boyfriend, I don't think she's dating him now. But so I don't know. I don't really think that that part's true. But I think she handled herself well. And I respect her for that.

Because that's a really tough position to be in when you're getting accused of this. And you can't really defend yourself without any proof. Yeah. I mean, you can't, it's been a storyline now for a few seasons where somebody comes into it with a boyfriend or a girlfriend. And it does. It feels like, hey, if you did that, no, probably not smart. But I could see that you'd be dating up to the show and exploring your options. We've said that I think that's fine. But you can't prove really if you're wrong or right or if you're doing it or not. You know, we're getting into the drama a little bit. And I think your insight is going to be so valuable to help us get perspective. Two questions for you. One, just to give us some

idea. Did you have your own dressing room before Women's Hell? Or are you with the group of women in one dressing room hearing all of the chatter before the show? I was in a dressing room with one of my really good friends, Jen, which is Jennifer be on the show. I call her Jen. But we were just hanging out, hyping each other up, like, you know, just catching up. I haven't seen her in a while so I we didn't really I I was helping her just like discuss um I knew she was gonna you know educate us on microaggression so we were kind of like talking about that topic and you know I was I was asking questions learning more about it and you know understanding it better and so we had really good meaningful conversations um we weren't really gossiping about the girls or

anything and like because a lot of the drama that happened I I don't know if it's pre-planned or not I think everyone was just kind of vocalizing it as they went. So, you know, we didn't get to foreshadow any of that. That's interesting. Yeah. So, you know, the drama isn't exactly where a producer comes in and says, here are the conversations I want you to bring up. And I know you're going to bring them up.

It just happens because people want their moment. They're angry or they're upset. And they voice them on a stage. And then we see how it plays out. And that's what makes women tell all beautiful and also something. times very awkward. Speaking of awkward, Ashley, I want to know if you had a feeling about this. And Jess, I want to hear yours as well. This is the first time I can remember ever, you know, on The Bachelor franchise, a franchise that holds themselves to a very high standard. And I think

this season especially feels like a throwback. It feels like, you know, a really good season of not a ton of drama, a lot of character development, a lot of tough, breakups. It feels like maybe of a season six years ago. But this was the first time I've ever heard the show introduced next week as sex week. I'm pretty sure that that's because Zach coined it himself, right? He said something along the lines of, I know this is fantasy sweet week, which is basically sex week, but I don't want to participate in that. Yeah. So the show's that's what I gather too. Okay. So it doesn't feel weird to you two that it's called sex week now. It's not fantasy sweet no it's not they Jesse made a point of saying like Zach coined it as sex

week so it's only going to be called that this season as a sort of joke okay good I didn't want to keep going I maybe miss Jesse you imagine yeah I don't think I don't think it should keep going I thought it got weird there for a second but okay that's it um Ashley back to the girl's drama. Okay. So the other like sort of villainous person we had this week this year was Christina. Tell us the scoop on Christina in the house. We know that she got kind of a bad rap because she kept talking about her time with Zach, you know, like and people are like, we don't really want to hear about your time with Zach. He's even really self-centered about this. Was, was that who she was or was there more to her? Do you think that she got eliminated too early? Yeah. So Christina is one of the

women in the house that I actually didn't spend that much time with. It kind of how it worked out, like she got that one-on-one right away. And then I had a group date. And then we had the football day and her team once. And she had the after-party. So I didn't like to spend that much time with her. From what I gathered, like, you know, I think she really does mean well. I think she just was unaware of, you know, maybe some comments that she made in the house that made people uncomfortable. I personally was never in a conversation with her long enough to where I could point those things out. I think she's she's kind and I don't think that she intended to go into this budding heads with anyone. And I think that's very obvious with how she kept trying to

apologize and speak on her part. But just from what I heard from the other women, she did make them uncomfortable. And she did put them in positions where they, you know, wanted to remove themselves from, which is unfortunate. But thankfully, like, I never got to experience it. So it's just kind of hearsay from what I got. Can you, can you elaborate on how she made them feel uncomfortable? Yeah. So I know with the situation when Charity got her, her group date rose and Christina, you know, kind of took her moment from her and was, you know, confused and why and, you know, all of that. It really upset charity. And rightfully so, I think if I got that group date rose and someone said they were confused why they didn't get it, I would be like, what? So it's just situations

like that. I think she was free to open to freely talk about it, but it's a time and place when you can. And like, those are the moments that like aren't yours to take. makes sense so i'm curious because you've said it a few times now you stayed out of a lot of this like it's hearsay to you right you're not seeing this you're not a part of it um but you're around a while so you're obviously there for a lot of these experiences how did you stay out of it like what was was it just luck was it kind of your personality what'd you do yeah so pretty much my whole life. I've always been in positions where, you know, in college or in high school as a youth group leader and college as a new member educator with inclusion and stuff. Like, I've just always

been able to understand people's perspectives on situations. And, you know, there was a part, like, in the Bahamas where I tried to speak up about the Kylie and Anastasia situation. And I was told that it's not my place to so i think then moving on like i just kind of realized it's not if it's told you that um am i allowed people i'm allowed to say not people told you that you weren't allowed to get involved in that drama yeah so they're either having her best interest or not you hear it either do it or you don't it's one of those which i understand it's not my place to speak on um so it was just one of those things where i like if i wasn't passionate on something i wasn't going to the voice in my opinion um but i guess it's luck um when the whole thing with cat and brooklyn happened i did speak

with her privately about it and explained to her how it was wrong and um you know we were roommates so that's how i was able to do that because we were together in a room um or else that would have been filmed and aired but we were so it's just i guess it's luck in those situations 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 week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot.

He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them.

I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find 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. 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.

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Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Well, that brings up, I feel like my third and final point of intense girl drama, which when I say intense, you guys probably had the least amount of drama that we've seen in a lot of seasons, which was nice for us, I think as an audience, it was in my perspective, and probably for you as a cast as well. But yeah, I want to get into Kat and Brooklyn a little bit because Brooklyn doesn't seem over it. And it didn't even happen to Brooklyn. It happened to Charity. Charity was the one who, you know, had to go. on a date after a guy already kissed

Kat. And Charity, yeah, she was just like, all right, I mean, that's not the nicest thing. But also moving on, and Brooklyn just like Kat said, just days later, kept bringing it up. Why do you think Brooklyn had such a thing after Kat?

Back a couple weeks ago, my theory was that she was just very intimidated by her, as I felt like she was the obvious frontrunner there, we were very wrong. You know, in that moment, a lot of the women, including myself, were very confused why Kat did that. You know, we are dating the same man, so, you know, you have the right to speak to him, but again, time and place. So all of us were confused.

I remember when Kat walked away, all the women looked at me and they were like, because me and Kat were close, and they were like, why is she doing that? And I was like, I have no idea. Like she didn't run that by me. So we were all confused. And because I think Brooklyn, you know, has a voice and she's not afraid to use it. And that's one of her really, really good friends. I think she wanted to be able to speak for charity when charity wasn't present because she went on her date. And maybe Kat's response wasn't fitting what Brooklyn needed.

And so Brooklyn kind of kept it going. You know, I think Kat, she did, I mean, I know Kat apologized and she was doing her best. I don't really know why the drama continued. I, you know, it wasn't, it wasn't a lot of, it started off where we all agreed that like it was the wrong thing to do. But did it need to be continued into a multiple day conversation? Probably not. Yeah. And really, we didn't solve anything there on the women tell us.

stage, Jesse used that as a lead-in to solving these problems further in Bachelor in Paradise. How much did you hear the word paradise be thrown around at Women Tell All? Amongst the girls, amongst the producers, because a lot of the times we feel like Women Tell All is kind of an audition tape for your spot in Paradise. Yeah. I, you know, heard it here and there, but I think I don't know. I don't really know how to answer that question. I'm going to be honest.

Yeah, Paradise was thrown around a lot. I don't know if some of the women's intentions were to, you know, get a spot on Paradise or not. I didn't really put that much thought into it. But for the most part, the drama that did happen on the show, there was never a resolution to it. And so I think a lot of the women, regardless of Paradise or not, they went into it wanting to get that resolution. And we may not have seen a resolution, really. But I think, you know, that's something that they can work towards on Paradise or off camera as we're all friends and really close. You know, Jess, I have to pause here for a second because we do, we get to interview a lot of people coming off the show.

And everybody's great when you get to meet them. You seem to have a very level head on your shoulders, which oftentimes, from a viewer's point of view, goes, she's too good for this show or she's too good for this experience. And right now, as you're answering these questions and talking through situations that you weren't involved in, you're doing it in a really graceful and kind way, which makes me go, yeah, she is. She's probably too good for this show. But the show needs people, like, just to come on to it because they are great people to have, be ambassadors for the show. So if Paradise came to you and said, hey, Jess, this might not be your cup of tea.

This might make you feel weird. It's going to be a whole new environment, but we want you to try Paradise right now. What would you say? Yes. So I knew going into this, I think one of my biggest fears when I was going, said yes to The Bachelor and was, you know, running towards it was. Are these women going to be nice to me? Like, can I handle that?

And, you know, thankfully we got a season that everyone, for the most part, was kind and respectful to each other. And I am someone that if the opportunity is given to me, that means I'm ready for it. And I would definitely do Paradise if there is someone that I was interested in. I'm a hopeless romantic. And, you know, I'm looking for love and I'm looking for that opportunity. Yes, I'm not someone that brings drama to the table, but that doesn't mean you can't, you're not qualified or good enough to find love.

You know, there are so many great personalities that, you know, everyone brings something different to the table. And, you know, whereas I might not be the loudest in the room, that doesn't mean I'm not a good friend and that doesn't mean I'm not a good partner. And that doesn't mean that I'm not capable of being just as deserving to be there. So I don't think anyone is too good for the show because I think that takes away from the other women. I think it's more so that it's just a different personality. If Jess isn't on Paradise, Ashley, I'm riding. I know. I'm not happy if I don't get to watch Jess in Paradise and just be her biggest fan.

I have a fireside of me. Like, you guys saw that with Zach. Like when I was crying and I like kind of had a little laugh in there, like that like my like best guy friend text to me was like that's the laugh that I know you're about to like go off and you're like holding it like I like I have that side in me like a very passionate and fiery side I just I'm not going to bring it out if it's not organic and there was never a moment like I'm not going to force them I want to watch the screen and be like I recognize that person I don't want to be like confused so well that's a perfect segue then into your hot seat uh you know to get us started on

the hot seat just give us perspective um you look back now on your time with Zach and your time on the show and you're fresh off of the woman's hell all what did you feel for Zach what did you think was there now with hindsight now you may be different during the experience but now with hindsight what did you feel towards him like when I saw him walk out or just looking back on your time on the show was it was it as real as you thought it was yeah so you know I really did have I I, like, worded a lot on the show, but it was the way I described my feelings for Zach was I had a really big crush on him. And that's pretty much as far as he, we took it.

And watching it, you know, I felt very validated in what I was feeling because, I mean, I was seeing myself fall for him. And that's what I felt and that's what I remembered. So it definitely was like a refresher. I think there was a part where, like, in the Bahamas, he said, like, just be strong and like hold out like pretty much is not verbatim but it's kind of what he meant and like it just was like validating to know like yeah my what i felt was real and it was reciprocated and you know although the exit wasn't it felt very one-sided like looking back like i wasn't alone in the relationship that we had so watching it it definitely brought those emotions of like validation

but also just like oh that sucks like didn't work out but like i think he's great and And there was never any hard feelings and, you know, I wish him the best. But it was definitely hard to watch it and be like, yeah, like, I did feel that. And, you know, it was real. There had to have been a little hard feelings after you left so abruptly after this argument where, like, you guys just didn't see eye to eye at all. And as an audience, and I think you feel the audience response, we were all like, Zach, How can you not see why she's upset?

It's very obvious. And as somebody who's on the show, Ben and I talked about this, you know, during that episode that you left, we're like, it really does take a one-on-one for you to feel comfortable in opening up. Because if you start a serious conversation, like, with 10, 15 minutes of one-on-one time on a group date, it just doesn't feel appropriate. So was there more to the conversation that we didn't see on TV? Yeah. The conversation, so it kind of centered around my nerves with him and me not being comfortable. And that was why my argument was I just needed time. And I addressed this literally night one sitting with him on the steps in front of the mansions. I was like, I get nervous around men that I like. It's something I'm not like I learned to love about myself and I'm like I can't help it, but this is who I am. And you know, I get little shaky and this is how I am. And he thought it was cute. And I, like, he was just like, that's so endearing. And so I never felt like there was a reason to worry about it and, like, change who I was because I thought he accepted it and it was okay. And, you know, all the women, like, we get close.

They knew about it. And they were like, that's what makes you just. Like, you have nothing to worry about. So I was like, oh, okay. And then going into Estonia, I was like, something is off. Like, I don't, like, he's giving me all this reassurance, but there's no actions following the words. that he's giving me so like what what could be the reason in the back of my mind it was like is it my like is is he seeing that as a red flag but also he's never told me he's never mentioned that as a

red flag to me before so that would be very dishonest of him if that if he were to bring that up now so that's why I was confused and I think that's why the conversation like we were budding heads because I was like if this was a problem why like I'm confused like that's you know you thought that that was endearing and you liked that about me up until this point and like if if he had told me that sooner what could have happened and if if you knew that I'm nervous and I you know take a second why wouldn't you give me that time for me to get comfortable so it just was like I'm confused there's a solution to this here I don't understand what's the confusion yeah when you looked back or even when you're not looking back

even when you're sitting in the back of like the dump vehicle did you wonder if i didn't bring that up tonight would i still be there oh of course i wonder that because so in the moment when i got sent home like in reality not watching it back when i came home i was so confused like explaining it to my family i was like i don't i don't understand and when i watched it back i was like i think my biggest takeaway was he was that upset like there was no emotion when i was talking to him i thought i was in the wrong for a while um until the show aired and i saw his reaction and i got to actually watch like how he was speaking to me and his facial expressions i was like maybe i wasn't in the wrong and so it took me a while to kind of process the situation because when you don't watch

it back and you're relying on your memory in a situation where you were already anxious and nervous and feeling all these things, you don't really remember clearly. And so on the hot seat when I was watching it, and that's why I was more smiling than crying, because I was like, I was just proud of myself because I didn't remember half of that. You should be proud of yourself.

You handled yourself so nicely, that scene. 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. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. 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. 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 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.

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Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I saw a meme last night. It was awesome. It made me laugh. It said, it had a picture of you standing there talking to Zach and I said how I can't I forget the start of it but pretty much the point was how in the world would this girl expect to get a date on a dating show like why in the world would you think that a date was should be given to her on a dating show I thought it was so good like yes of course you wanted a date you know it it brings up the point we've said it all season I know you listen to our podcast every week so you've probably heard it But, you know, we said, I don't think Zach's a bad dude.

I don't think he's a bad bachelor. I think he's there for the right reasons. And I think he really wants to find love. I think the only critique, which is, again, very minimal compared to most seasons that we watch. We critique pretty heavily is that it felt like he just wasn't hearing some of the messages and words that the women were communicating. And maybe the response, and I want you to respond to this, Jess, would be that he already knew that he was going to send these people home before they voiced their concerns. Like maybe before it even went into it and they voiced their insecurities, he just had bad

luck. And as soon as they opened their hearts up to him, he had already decided they were going home. And so it just played out terribly on television for him. Or he really was not hearing what you were saying. And, you know, when we watch your moment back, what I was hearing was, this girl just wants to spend more time with you. She really likes you. She's interested in you. She just wants to get to know you better. And she's like almost complimenting you by saying, I just, I just want to be around you more, which is a great compliment.

So, Jess, knowing the concern or the critique that people are giving Zach, knowing that you're in that situation, one of the examples of that, what would you say? You know, honestly, I think it's a bit of both. I think he, you know, he has a good head on his shoulder. So I think he has an idea if this is his person or not. So regardless of the conversation, if he knows in his heart, he's going to make that decision. However, I think there's a factor in it of, you know, he could have worked on how he listens and how he approaches conversations.

You can still send someone home, but do it in a, you know, a caring and compassionate way. But also, it's hard to just. judge him when in his position like how do you do that when someone is so invested in you like i it's it's a hard position to be in but um you know i obviously am watching the show and i see how he handles some conversations and he could have he could have easily done it way better and i'm sure he's watching it and thinking the same thing um but you know i i think because he has that good head on his shoulders he knows okay i don't like this like or not i don't like but this girl may not be my wife, my fiancé, so I'm going to send her home.

This is offered that she's kind of venting to me about her life, but kind of got to do it. So, yeah. Sometimes in those conversations, I feel like he's lacking sensitivity. Do you agree? Yes. I mean, I'm speaking on my position. I think, you know, he even brought that up at Women's Hall, all that he wasn't understanding. that he wasn't understanding my point.

And I think it could have been such an easy solution. There was a point where I was like, I hear you. I hear what you're saying. Like, can you hear what I'm saying? And all he had to do was like, maybe I wasn't articulating what I was saying the best way. I could have stopped saying one-on-one, probably, yeah. But I mean, you know, he could have also been like, well, what do you mean by that? Let's figure it out.

Let's come to an understanding. And he wasn't. He kind of just in his head. figured out or kind of came up with an idea of what I'm trying to say and then stuck with it instead of trying to dig deeper and to understand. So speaking for myself, I think he could have been more sensitive. And I feel like his apology kind of sounds like he would agree to that as well. Let's jump in to the other couple of hot seats that existed. Some of them celebratory charity, right? Some of them a little tougher like Greer, you know, Greer situation.

um is interesting to me actually uh as a more of an a curiosity uh i don't think there's anything wrong obviously with greer approaching um something uh that she did on social media you know uh she defended a blackface post uh that was really you know probably why she was in the hot seat uh it was most it was most of the conversation um i'm i'm intrigued to how how this happened though for her and not happening with eric from last season who was gabby's choice at the end uh well i think it's obvious what happened here i want to hear your opinion i think they got a lot of flack for not addressing it with eric when i was watching the scene with greer and having you wondering like trying to rack my brain on whether or not they brought it up

at all yeah so i can't say that they did or did not but i know that if they even did it was a small a little blip on the radar. So I think that that's why Jesse said, like we're not really good at addressing things like this on the show. So we want to really make a point to do so right now. Okay. So you think it was a response? Like learning from mistakes previously,

it was a response to get better this time. That's fair. That's great. I appreciate that insight. So, Jess, you were in the room. You know Greer a lot better than we do because we've never met her. What's your take on the situation? what's your take on the response from the other women and for maybe even grow personally

if you're able to be around her? Yeah. So, I mean, that's a very tough conversation to have and it's even tougher for someone to grow from it and be able to speak on it. So I'm like, props to her for being able to, you know, admit to her wrongs and speak on that. And I think a lot of the women, you know, we're really proud because, you know I know that she when it happened when it came out she wanted to address it and I think she made like an Instagram story or something about it which you know she did that on

her own and I respect that a lot because I think a lot of times in this franchise and just in general people don't like to admit when they're in the wrong and don't want to have those uncomfortable conversations that bring a lot of controversy and for her to kind of want to write her wrongs is very highly respectful and it was the right thing to do. I'm really glad she got to address it. I'm really glad that this franchise addressed that they're not good at addressing this. And I think that speaks volume and I'm hoping that we can continue going towards that direction

of correcting each other and holding accountability for us. but I thought Greer, you know, spoke her truth and did her best. And she's, she is a great person at heart. And, you know, I know that that took a toll on her. And so I, I respect her for being able to go up there because that's, that's nerve acking. And everything she was saying was coming from the heart to what I, to my understanding. So that's very well, um, yeah, it's really well put.

And just, you know, a genuine. response. And I'm glad that you and Ashley both point that out, that the show acknowledged that they aren't good at this and that they wanted to approach it. And so I think with that I say, well, well done. Well, Kat sat in the hot seat. Not a lot there to discuss in depth. It felt like it was kind of just a cyclical conversation that had existed already on the show. And there wasn't, you know, the beauty of that is that Kat now has a better relationship with her mom, which is huge. so let's jump into charity charity obviously

a fan favorite somebody just recently gone home somebody that's still close to the viewer's hearts somebody to also celebrate Jess tell us about charity what do you know and see in charity charity? Charity is just a ball of sunshine she truly

what is so great about her is she is just as kind and generous as you see on the show as she is in person I remember in London And, you know, she was going through her own issues, and she still took the time to comfort career. And I feel like that says a lot about someone to take away what you're going through to be there for someone. And I just feel like that's in her nature. It's what she does as her job.

And it's what she does with her friendships. And I respect her. I think her being the bachelorette is a phenomenal choice. I sent over a devotional book for her to take on her journey. She is a woman of faith and I, you know, I'm excited for her. She is so deserving of love and, you know, it was heartbreaking to watch her hometown episode. Me and my mom are both crying on the couch. Her family is so beautiful and you could just tell like with the community that she surrounds herself with

that she just is a very good person. And, you know, we need, I mean, we've always had good people as leads, but, you know, it's good to continue to have someone that can speak so well, can treat people so well. And, you know, I think she's learned a lot from this season with, you know, how Zach approached things. And I think she's going to be able to take that and be in a phenomenal bachelor's. We've had mostly good leads, mostly nice leads. Season 20 had some issues.

But for the most part, we've had some incredible people. Has to self-deprecate. I can't wait. I can't wait to watch her. I'm so pumped. I do. I think, you know, being somebody of faith, being somebody there for the right reasons, learning from not the multitude of mistakes that Zach made. I don't think there's like a plethora of things that he did wrong yet. I'm worried about what's coming. So excited for next week.

I don't know. But I think it's, she's just going to be an incredible bachelorette. And I'm, I'm ecstatic. I didn't expect it, shockingly. Like, I did not know she would be named the lead. But I'm really glad she did. I think all four of the top girls really are almost equal in their running. And I think I would have been equally as excited for any of them that were crowned bachelorette. Just, do you think that the charity was really genuinely surprised when she was in that dressing room and they brought the camera and Jesse in? Oh, 100%. So where I was sitting, it was Charity, Brooklyn, and then me. And Jesse kept repeating, like, we have a surprise for it's going to change a woman's life and we were kind of like looking around each other i remember looking

at charity because i was like they would be crazy not to you know offer it to her so i was like do you know what's going are you bacheloret and she was like they didn't tell me anything i don't know what's going she was like she literally goes no no way she's like there's no way and i was like oh okay so we had no idea so we were kind of like trying to figure out what was going on like i i think i came up with the idea of like maybe someone's going to get chosen from the audience and gets to like hang out with Zach like I was like what is this because we all left and you know charity left with us so I like I didn't think anything I went into press right after so I didn't see that they took her to a different room or anything but we were all walking towards the exit together so I was like

surprised too watching it back and you know that was her genuine humble reaction to it and you know you could tell she was like thinking they were playing a game you know and so that was really cool to watch and special oh okay well we want to talk more to you but before we wrap up the women tell all episode we got to talk about bloopers the bloopers were on points there have been years and years now of disappointing bloopers these ones really lived up and it wasn't just the blooper real at the end jesse also showed about three scenes and court including that like twerking scene so good it really showed a lot of personality with the girls and that's the kind of footage that people asked to see and they really deliver in showing them during women's at all and

i really i know i say it way too often but if only they peppered some of those scenes throughout the series people would get so much more attached to these characters really feel like they get to know them better like that scene where zach thought that it was mold and oh and L-D wine was amazing. Oh, I was so funny. Mold wine, but it's actually really good. Yeah, I agree. I feel like a lot of the episodes,

they did kind of like the credits. They would show like little bloopers and stuff, which I thought was funny. But I agree, like, you know, showing our personalities more so people can kind of like relate to us and kind of, you know, form a special, bond with you know the contestants and want to continue watching um but those bloopers were hilarious

in the twerking scene like you just see me like freaking out and i like ran this because i was like i cannot be a part of this like i will not so i was watching them do that and i was dying laughing and they all did really really good i was like you guys look great yeah i know i started squeezing my butt cheeks back and forth i was like can i do this and then there's the tortilla slaps yeah i was on a plane I was just going back and forth a little bit. Oh, like in your seat, you're just flexing? Yeah, yeah, I didn't do it up, but maybe later. Then there was a cute, like, tortilla slapping thing.

All of them are very good demonstrations of what we actually do to pass the time when we have no phones, no TVs, and all of that. It's beautiful. And then the tarantula, we must talk about this tarantula. Was that in the Bahamas? No, that was in the mansion. Well, that was, I wait, no, I think I'm wrong. there was some bug that was in the mansion they didn't play it but like we were like all

freaking out and i think mercedes was the one that went and grabbed it um and you don't grab a tarantula and you don't call it a bug it wasn't a tarantula it was like it was like a really i kept saying it was like an oversized ant it was like a really big ants i don't know they have the beetles the big beetle i forget what the kind of beat like they're like the florida the palm beetles or something like that They're massive. They're all over. I'm not familiar with California insects, but whatever that was, I'm thankful it's not in Florida because it was so, so ginormous.

Like, ugh, that's not fun. Yeah. I don't think they showed that. It's, uh, the mansion is an amazing place. It's beautiful. It's luxurious. It also has doors open all day long with lights on inside. So you can imagine what that looks like by the end of the day.

Um, just to close up here. final question for you. Again, we're going to be bringing Jess back for an in-depth episode to get to learn all about Jess because I have a feeling. We're going to be watching more of Jess in the coming years, which we're pumped about. But before we get there, Jess, if you know what happens at the end, just say it. I can't talk about it because I know what happens. If you don't know what happens at the end, what's your theory on what happens? And I'm not giving up to the tradition. What happens during Fantasy Suite Week? I do know what happens. Perfect. Don't talk about it.

All right. We'll be back next time with Jess doing an in-depth episode. Until then, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. And Jess, who've you been? I've been Jess. Yeah. See you soon.

Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Jumanzor. 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. How serious is youth vaping? Irreversible lung damage serious. One in 10 kids vape serious. which warrants a serious conversation from a serious parental figure like yourself.

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