The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Planning the Honeymoon with Marina Perera

Episode Date: December 26, 2023

Marina Perera from The Golden Bachelor sits down with Ashley at the Bachelor Mansion and spills everything about a phone call with Gerry that we didn't hear on the show! And, Marina reveals the honeymoon plans she had for Gerry after the first moment she laid eyes on him. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. 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.

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No such thing. 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, 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 will. 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. Hi, it's Honey German, and I'm back with season two of my podcast. Grasias, come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No,

I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in like over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there. Oh, yeah. We'll talk about all all that's viral and trending, with a little bit of chisement and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great bevras you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Dacias Come Again on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast. This is the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio.

Hello, everyone. Welcome to another episode of the Almost Hands podcast. I am here with Marina from Gary's season of The Golden Bachelor. she just told me something amazing she goes i am what you tell them yes this is a size stew dress i'm not supposed to get into a size stew dress but she did get into a size two dress and who does it belong to her daughter that is amazing and also your boots are your daughters the high the knee high boots with the four inch heel you're killing it marina how you feel about six inches All right, well, tell us a little bit about your backstory

before you went on Golden Bachelor. A simple, humble, immigrant from Sri Lanka. I'm so honored to be here and to represent my culture and to recognize diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. And I really feel that Golden Bachelor has really elevated women in our age group and made it made us visible. And I had 27 followers on my Instagram.

When I started this show August 1st, today I have nearly 1, and I don't know who these people who are following me. Amazing. And I am honored. I love that. And I really want to honor each and every woman who is single and older and mature and wants to own themselves. And I want to tell them you have power within yourself and reach it and grab it. And it's great if you have a man to make you feel like a woman.

and if you don't, that's okay too. Because you're a woman, you're a mother, you're a daughter, you're a sister, and you're somebody special. Aw, I love this sediment. That's so special. How do you feel that, I feel like that message really got out there with the Golden Bachelor. People love to see the difference in particularly the way that your community was within

the house. and how all of you were so supportive of each other. Can you tell us about your friendship circle with all those ladies today? I mean, I really feel very honored to have the opportunity to, so many people reach out to me and told me that I represented their cultures

and I was sorry, and they felt like I was one of them, and I am, I felt like I belong into a group of people that was special and to be able to be an older woman 60 plus and to have a minute of visibility, I feel like it's an opportunity that I have to represent all the others who are 60 plus and beyond or whether you're 22 or 60 plus or 102. It doesn't really matter. We have women and we should be able to speak up and be able to be visible

regardless what age you are. And that's what it really means to me, you know. And to have that voice and I really feel like ABC and Bachelor, Colton Bachelor, really gave me that. Oh, I love that. I mean, really, I mean, to me, that's why I'm here. Yeah. I really feel like I had that opportunity to speak for not only for myself, but for all the women out there. Oh, I love this. This is awesome.

Totally switching gears. What was your first impression of Gary? Was he the kind of person that you would normally go for? Well, I was married to my guy. I got two beautiful children mixed culture. So I was actually ready to take Gary to Shurlund. Oh, you were. On my honeymoon.

What would that look like? That would have really been amazing. He would have an opportunity to see a very tropical culture. He would see something that he has probably never seen before and appreciated the other side of the world, literally. Yeah. And he would have embraced diversity. You think that he would have been

You think he would have fit in? Yes. Yeah. Yeah. We are a Commonwealth. I'm trying to picture him. Like, like, like, a Bollywood type movie. In a Bollywood movie. But I know, I really think Gary would fit in anywhere.

Yeah. I think Gary has a personality to fit in with anything and has the adaptability to adapt to any situation. So because when I left, I had a phone conversation with him. He was like, I go and replay that every time. And I see this genuine concern face. Do you say that you had a phone conversation with him? Yeah.

Wait, when? I had a phone conversation with him. After the show. Uh-huh. No, actually, during the show. How so? Tell us. Are you allowed to find out?

Wait, what do you mean? I will not find out. The finale was tonight. I do not think it was aired. This drama. It was before the finale. I mean, like you would see his face is so genuine, so authentic, so real. He has the ability to make any woman feel real, you know?

And I think that's very, very credible. And especially where he comes from Indiana. right across the world to Sri Lanka he will fit in my name is Ed everyone say hello Ed from a very rural background myself my dad is a farmer

and my mom is a cousin so like it's not what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club I know it sounds like the start of a bad joke but that really was my reality nine years ago I just normally do straight stand-up but this is a bit different.

On stage stood a comedian with a story that no one expected to hear. On 22nd of July 2015, a 23-year-old man had killed his family. And then he came to my house. So what do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? A new podcast called Wisecrack, where stand-up comedy and murder takes a stage available now listen to wisecrack on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts what would you do if one bad decision forced you to choose between a maximum security prison or the most brutal boot camp designed to be hell on earth unfortunately for mark

lombardo this was the choice he faced he said you are a number a new york state number and we own you. Shock incarceration, also known as boot camps, are short-term, highly regimented correctional programs that mimic military basic training. These programs aimed to provide a shock of prison life, emphasizing strict discipline, physical training, hard labor, and rehabilitation programs. Mark had one chance to complete this program and had no idea of the hell awaiting him the next six months. The first night was so overwhelming. And, And you don't know who's next to you. And we didn't know what to expect in the morning.

Nobody tells you anything. Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. A foot washed up a shoe with some bones in it. They had no idea who it was. Most everything was burned up pretty good from the fire that not a whole lot was salvageable. These are the coldest of cold cases, but everything is about to change. Every case that is a cold case that has DNA right now in a backlog will be identified in our lifetime. A small lab in Texas is cracking the code on DNA.

Using new scientific tools, they're finding clues in evidence so tiny you might just miss it. He never thought he was going to get caught, and I just looked at my computer screen. I was just like, ah, gotcha. On America's Crime Lab, we'll learn about victims and survivors, and you'll meet the team behind the scenes at Othrum. the Houston lab that takes on the most hopeless cases to finally solve the unsolvable. Listen to America's Crime Lab on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Dr. Joy Harden Bradford, and in session 421 of therapy for black girls, I sit down with Dr. Athea and Billy Shaka to explore how our hair connects to our identity, mental health, and the ways we heal.

Because I think hair is a complex language system. them, right? In terms of it can tell how old you are, your marital status, where you're from, you're a spiritual belief. But I think with social media, there's like a hyperfixation and observation of our hair, right? That this is sometimes the first thing someone sees when we make a post or a reel is how our hair is styled. You talk about the important role hairstyles play in our community, the pressure to always look put together, and how breaking up with perfection can actually free us. Plus, if you're someone who gets anxious about flying,

don't miss Session 418 with Dr. Angela Neil Barnett, where we dive into managing flight anxiety. Listen to therapy for black girls on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. So you had a phone call with him like after you were eliminated? Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. And what was that about?

Who initiated it? well um i had to leave because i had an issue with my family oh okay and so i had to call him and tell him i had to leave um because i had some things that i had to take care of okay so but if you really listen to that phone conversation he was so caring such a beautiful gentleman such a beautiful human being, I wish I could, I mean, I really wish I could tell all the men in his age group, see, I mean, he's a great example of what a man should really be. He has so much empathy. He has so much compassion. Even throughout the seasons, I've seen so much compassion in him, you know, as a human being. Yeah. Regardless, I mean, I think it's a show.

So at the end of the day, it's a show, regardless. But at the end of, you know, the way he dealt with every situation throughout the season, he's a remarkable human being. And I don't know how they're going to be able to find another bachelor to for the next show. Yeah. Because he set us such a high standard. Yes. You know, do you, after all you said about what it did for women of that age group, how disappointed would you be if there wasn't a next golden bachelor perceived?

So my co-host, Ben, has this theory that they'll never be able to match Gary. So they're just not going to do another one. So I, but I find that to be completely disappointing to the entire fandom and to like all the. So I want to agree with you. I won't actually agree with Ben, but at the same time, I think Gary has been able to set the standard, has raised the bar. And one of my Instagrams, I said, Gary actually raised the bar. And so because he has raised the bar, I think we have something to look forward to, and I think we'll be able to find another bachelor. Or 100 more, because we have been able to identify what it should look like.

I love that answer. Because I don't think men really, really knew what it was. In one of the Katie Couric interviews, I said, I'm raising my son to recognize and value women the way Gary values women. Because I think there's three women in this room and that's Ben. So, you know, we need to speak for ourselves. and I think at the end of the day that we will be able to find somebody

to fit into Gary's shoes, I think. All right, well, that's very hopeful, and I certainly hope that you're right. And I have one more question before we wrap. This week, some, I want to say, like sort of fake, salacious news came out about Gary. It was a Hollywood reporter article about how, like,

His work, his past, like, work history was like fluffed up a bit and how he'd actually had a relationship post the passing of his wife. Did that change your mentality of him at all? I'm actually looking forward to seeing him today. Nothing has changed my perception about him. Yeah. It's just a story. Yeah. You know, that's him real.

and there's so many other stories that we probably don't know and there are probably stories that we know but at the end of the day what really matters is who he really is that we know and I don't I can't say I've done a lot of research on it

but from what it sounds like it doesn't sound like anything worth giving a second thought I was always raised with that the past really doesn't matter what matters is the future and the direction you're going to. And let's end with that.

Thank you so much, Marina. This was a pleasure. My pleasure. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Jumanzoor. 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're a 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's the podcast for you. Open your free IHeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. Why are TSA rules so confusing? You got a hood of you. I take it all! I'm Mani. I'm Noah. This is Devin.

And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like this. that. Why are you screaming? I can't expect what to do. Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me. I deserve it. You know, lock him up. Listen to no such thing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. No such thing. I'm Dr. Joy Harden 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, Dr. Angela Nielborn 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 I-Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Everyone thinks they'd never join a cult. But it happens all the time to people just like you. And people just like us. I'm Lola Blanc and I'm Megan Elizabeth. We're the hosts of Trust Me, a podcast about cults, manipulation, and

the psychology of belief. Each week we talk to fellow survivors, former believers, and experts to understand why people get pulled in and how they get out. Trust me, new episodes every Wednesday on exactly right. Listen wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.