The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - ​S2, #2 'Paradise Wedding​'

Episode Date: August 16, 2017

​Evan and Carly tied the knot and Ashley was there! Details on how it all went down! Ashley tells her on/off screen romance Wells some news he's less than thrilled to hear. Ben reveals what movie brings him to tears every single time.  And Ashley gets candid on what's it like to see former love interests hooking up in Paradise.  All that plus...we play the new B.I.P. game called "Wait...who are you?" Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. Oh, it's been so long. Like, what, like 24 hours or something? Welcome back to the Almost Famous Podcast. I'm Ben. I'm Ashley. And this is Season 2, Episode 2, and we're talking Bachelor in Paradise. And this week's Bachelor in Paradise is a little bit different, actually a lot different than any weeks we're used to.

Not only do we have a wedding, but we also have a little group think tank. led by Chris Harrison, where it feels very elementary school-ish. But to start, I want to talk Bachelor in Paradise wedding. Ashley, you were at this wedding. What a cool experience. It was my second bachelor wedding, and it was beautiful. These are the coolest weddings ever because you were with your friends when they met and fell in love, and now you're watching them get married.

And, well, you're watching them have a kid, too, because Carly was pregnant at the time. and we didn't know, but it is the coolest thing. And I think it was definitely the type of thing that this show needed in an episode like this one. You know, they're addressing this controversy that made the show look, I don't know if Sleazy's the right word, but I think it definitely could have because of all the allegations around Corinne DeMario

and their hookup. And this really proved like, hey, this show is classy and people find love this way. And all of the marriages that have happened through The Bachelor, and there are quite a number, they've never led to divorce. How cool is that? I mean, I think that's awesome. And you said it right.

Like, there did kind of feel, I guess in the first two episodes, I was a little on edge watching because there did kind of feel like there was a dark cloud around this season so far, right? Something, Bachelor in Paradise is usually this very happy, joyous, kind of bright show, but there was this dark cloud. And being able to watch this wedding kind of lighten things up, I guess. It was exciting for me. I was obviously not there.

I've been to one Bachelor wedding, Tanner and Jades. And I think you said it best, they're one of the most beautiful things I've ever been a part of. Why do you like them so much, Ashley? I think for me, like, it's just so cool to be friends with both of them, to watch their love story happen in real life, and then to see it end in the ultimate commitment to each other. I got to talk about some of my favorite parts of the wedding. One, Evan looking at Carly. I was at a wedding this weekend, and I tweeted out 27 dresses, the chick flick, taught me to always look at the groom when the bride starts walking down the aisle and not turn around and look at the bride because you need to catch that glimpse of the guy's face when he first sees her. It is magical.

It's just love. It is love visually on somebody's face. and Evan really came through with that moment for me and obviously led to quite a many tears as you guys saw on TV last night. I, do you, actually, you might know this, and this is just kind of a side comment. Do you know if them, you know, being pregnant

kind of pushed the wedding forward or was the wedding already planned before they kind of found out that they were pregnant? I believe if my timeline is correct, she probably got pregnant a couple weeks after they called me to give the date. Yeah, okay. They called me the first week of May.

And they were definitely planning on a Paradise Wedding. What a cool thing. I mean, this show is so ridiculous. It's so crazy. I think everybody could say it, right? I mean, from The Bachelor to Bachelor in Paradise, there are so many aspects of this franchise that just make you, like, confused and feel sometimes very awkward, sometimes a little dirty.

But these are the moments where everything kind of comes full circle and you say, this is this is what it's all about right i mean we have we were kind of talking uh earlier you and i were about some of these reality television shows that then can work in real life i mean i'm thinking here married at first sight uh you know i've there's people that it came off that i was just in honduras um with with two people that came from an m tv reality show and in dating show and they're very very happily in love so these shows can work and when people ask me hey do you really believe that the bachelor you could find love on the bachelor i very confidently can say yes because we've seen it now yeah you definitely just bond in a different way i remember i

was talking to sammy sweetheart from uh jersey shore ones and people always ask her as if as they ask me and jared why are you guys so close especially since you've like broken up a zillion times on tv and it's just like no one will understand what you're going through more than the person that you're with during those moments. And Ashley, this is a side comment, and we can get into this later, later on in a podcast because it's not eight weeks gone on. You are unique in the fact that you can have a boyfriend break up with this boyfriend or have this boyfriend break up with you, and you're still friends with them afterwards,

and we're actually going to talk to one of your former flings later in this episode, which I'm excited about. But somebody that I know you love and that I love dearly looked real good last night. Chris Harrison in that dude Are you kidding me I mean that dude How long has he been on this show Since the very beginning

And he still ones up The guys every season Chris Harrison is killing it Like he gets better and better I don't know He's just more and more lovable to me With each season that goes on Because I feel like he's just so self-aware

He's like here I am I'm just a man who gets to like Marry people Because I host a show You know it's just so funny That's kind of Chris Harrison's life now. I mean, I can't imagine what his closet looks like. He wears a different suit with a different pocket square and a different tie every time I see him. We're on the golf course and he's

wearing a suit. He should probably have like a charity auction or yard sale, you know, where he goes and he sells all of his suits. Before we get off the topic of the wedding, I do have to talk about the evolution of Evan. And man, Evan is that guy that I watched during Jojo season. And I thought, this mofo is literally the most awkward gross out guy I've ever watched, right? I just couldn't and then I show up to Paradise

and I immediately liked him he's just the sweetest, like, warmest soul. He truly listens. He's like you, Ben, where he, like, really listens and cares about what people are saying. He... Okay, well, I can go on and on with more adjectives. He's very smart, very successful. Oh, my goodness. Goodness gracious, that article that he wrote for the Hollywood reporter following the controversy

and before their wedding was one of the best pieces of journalism I've ever read. And people are going to say, wow, Ashley, you don't read very much. But the thing is, like, I felt it to my soul because I've experienced it. And it was all about just, like, the good stuff that The Bachelor does for people's lives. But, yeah, so it was just cool to watch Evan go from, like, loser who couldn't get Carly to give him the time of day to being his being her husband and having him her just so in awe of him he is truly husband goals he really is I mean he I got to sit down with Evan for only one time my life and it was at a little Mexican restaurant in Santa Monica and

him he and I sat and talked about life just on our first meeting in a way that you don't typically get with a lot of people from the franchise he is just a really great guy he really cares about his now wife and it's great to see um there's no offenses it's great to see the geek win because he is a complete nerd and he is now a nerd that is living just the absolute dream um i want to flash back here to a second we have to give a shout out uh i have a note here that we had to do it right so everybody's always asked me these questions and how does you know who dresses chris harrison or how did the bachelor or bachelorette um always keep up to date with the clothes or whatever it is we have to give a special shout out to the stylist on the bachelor

carrie fetman he is an amazing guy uh and we can just close it with that he's one of my best friends he's a huge support system but that guy had everybody at that wedding looking great last night so go um carry go carry speaking of people looking really great last night two of my favorite people um and two of the most impact two of the people that have been a part of some of the most impactful moments of my life, at least during a season is Caitlin and Sean. We don't get to hear a lot from them. We don't get to see a lot from them. They are two just really funny, fun people to be around. Sean and I were best friends during The Bachelorette, and Caitlin obviously had a huge place in my heart. They're at the wedding last night, and we have a question from Chelsea, an email that was sent in and asked

Ashley and I, but mostly myself, is who I voted for on my season of Bachelorette or Caitlin. And I and I said Caitlin. I think they're both great. They're probably both wonderful women. I only got to know Britt for five minutes. But I voted for Caitlin because she just, when you meet her, you just know there's something special about her. She's just an energetic, loving, fun-loving person,

and that was very attractive to me. Caitlin's the greatest. She's honestly, like, the coolest girl I've ever met. And I've told her, you are one of the few people that I know that I would trade personalities with. Are you, yeah, I mean, that's it. Caitlin has such a big personality. She was an amazing bachelorette because every moment, every date, it was exciting because she made it exciting.

And so I can't say I could go on and on, and I used to, after the bachelor's about Sean and about Sean and who he was to me during the show and vice versa. But they're just awesome. They deserve a huge, huge praise, and it's great to see them out and doing well. And I look forward to seeing them again soon. But, yeah, I mean, the wedding was just full of them. bachelor people you're right i mean this is kind of like a reunion for you yes uh it was the first time i really got to know sean love him what a warm dude and then some massive biceps right massive oh yeah there was that too and he was training for the what's it called the iron man and i was like

dude who are why why but he's the coolest um some of the things you didn't get to see on tv which i think is unfortunate was um wells gave a nice toast at the recess He was one of the groomsmen. We actually have Wells on the line right now. Hey, Wells. Yep. Hi. Oh, hey, Wells.

What's going on, buddy? Oh, is that the sweet, sultry vocalizations of America's most beautiful bachelor, Ben Higgins? Oh, my gosh. That's a lot. I keep forgetting that you're a professional talker, so you're pretty good at this. Why do all the bachelor guys have great radio voices? Well, hold on. To be fair, that is my actual professional.

profession. All I know, Wells, is that, like, over the past year, I found some guys that would probably also do well at it. I can't answer that, but I listen to Wells' Instagram stories just to hear his voice and hear what he's talking about. And speaking of things to talk about, Wells, you gave a beautiful toast at a wedding, and where did that come from? And where did it go?

Are you disappointed it didn't make cut? I know that you knew it wouldn't, but it was great and it should have been on. to be honest with you i'm kind of glad it didn't make cut because i made fun of everybody there and uh i think bachelor nation would have like come at me with like pitchforks and uh torches if they heard what i had said about their their beloved um their beloved bachelors and bacheloretts so you know what ben ben you weren't there so i didn't rip on you you were that's lucky me Lucky me, because we're part, I talk a lot well as on this podcast about a group thread that I'm a part of, and I don't share the details because that wouldn't be appropriate.

But I do talk often about how we rip on each other. And it's a funny thing we're talking the last episode about Ben Zorn and just how ridiculous it was and how much he loves his dog. But you get some good jabs in there. I mean, you know what you're doing when you really want to take a knife to the heart. Listen, Ben, I thought that, like, our group chat was, like, the trust tree and the nest and the safe area and that, like, I could say what I wanted to say without billions of people from your adoring podcast fandom to hear about it. So I'm a little scared right now, but yeah. No details. No details, Wells.

I'm just saying I can't, I wish I could have heard this toast because it probably was beautiful. it probably made everybody laugh because you honestly can make anybody laugh very quickly including Ashley who let's just talk about it I mean you guys have a very long I wanted to talk about the speech still very lively history

that's true I mean I don't know what to say here Ashley and I've had a a torrid love affair on television and off and you know I gotta be honest I always felt second fiddle to to the beautiful Jared.

Oh. You know, and I think that we need to address it. Like, let's just call the elephant in the room here, Ashley. If either Jared, if you had your choice between Jared, well, I'm going to throw in a third one. Me, Jared, or Dean, who are you choosing? Have we played this Mary F. Kill on the podcast before? well okay let's just let's just put it out for all america i had such a frustration when wells last summer would say like i'm second place to jared and i'm never going to i never going to be okay with

being somebody's second place and at the time he wholeheartedly was not second place but apparently didn't believe me um now of course wells i'm going to have to say that i would marry jared over you. See? Oh, jeez right the whole time. I mean, it's just but you know why.

Jared and I have, why? Yeah, why? Jared treats me better. Wait, hold on. Oh, man. The gloves are off here. I wasn't planning on getting into it. This is so funny.

I was going to be like the most poised Ashley I've ever been, but you just asked. You just call yourself second place to Jared and I you definitely weren't and if you'd ask me this question like maybe even in April I probably said I would have married you wait hold on well how does he treat you better than me how does he treat you better than you you dead air right easy for her to say so while she thinks on that wells um are you single right now I am single right now yeah all the ladies are you fucking

I mean, your name's been brought up. I actually texted you the other day and said, hey, man, your name keeps getting brought up to be the next bachelor. If you were asked, Welles, would you do it? I don't know. That's a conversation that I'd have to have with, like, my family, I think. And I don't know. That's not something that I'd take lightly.

I don't know if I would do that, to be honest with you. you, I think it's like, I think it might be nice to be asked to the prom, but I don't know if I'd really want to go. I mean, I get that. No, I get that. I mean, you're doing just fine. You're doing great things. You're busy.

You're traveling all over. You're doing your radio show. But you also just got a huge role in paradise, and I'm loving watching it. You are the bartender this season, right? You've replaced the legend, and you're standing by in the bar now as, I mean, I guess what would you say your main responsibility was is it to mediate is it uh to be a counselor or is it to mix the drinks um okay first of all i want to like get something out there because i feel like a lot of people don't realize this horay is not like gone from the show at all like or hey just has like

another cooler job actually like he got promoted in paradise and then like i came to like replace him so like if you guys think that hori's like not going to be seen on the show like that's crazy um i would say that first i'm a counselor second i'm a drinkmaker third i am like a um sunscreen a plier oh my god and uh i do yes that is that is i don't know if they'll show but there was a moment when i don't know it was christina someone came up and all the guys were around and she was having a hard time like putting the sunscreen on her back And she was obviously, like, doing it in front of the guys to, like, some guy would help her. And no one did anything.

And I was like, well, this is the moment. This is my moment. This is your mom. I was like, I got you, girl. Oh, okay. Wait, so I have my answer. And I want to, I just want to take, I want to just take back what I said. I didn't mean it like that.

I think Jared has characteristics, like, a certain level. He delivers me a certain amount of sensitivity that I personally require. That's, like, another level. Like, most people don't have as much patience and, like, mushyness as Jared does that. And I just need that because, like, I'm obviously, like, the most emotional crying person in the entire world. Does that make sense? I understand that. But can I defend myself?

Yeah. Please. Well, I would say that I would say that I'm more honest to you. I totally agree. And so I feel. like that is that's caring for someone more to be like more like honest about

how you really feel than to kind of like you know what I'm trying to know what you mean actually Shammoth plug Wells is on the I don't get a podcast this week and this week or last week and this week he's me my sister and Naz are talking back

responding to the guy's stuff and one of the things that I complimented Wells about is sometimes he says things to me that make me feel like he's a dick for like five minutes. But then at the end of the day, I like get over and I'm like, okay, understood. Got it. Moving on. Whereas like with Jared, I would linger and linger and linger and I would never be done with

anything because he does sugarcoat stuff so much. Ashley, I've said this once before, and I'll say once again, Wells and Jared are both great guys. I think any girl would be lucky to be with either of them, but you deserve the best. And so whoever that is, whoever you can kind of sort through and figure out, then I'm excited for you. But we both, we need to say that Jared and Wells are both great. You're comparing to amazing men. Oh, yes.

Well, because you're amazing, I mean, I would have to think, and I was watching the show last night, right? I mean, you're a good-looking guy. You're well-spoken. You're sensitive to be care. Do you feel like you got extra attention in paradise? Because you're kind of non-threatening, because you couldn't date, do you feel like, the woman kind of were kind of just around you more because you could just be a friend. And was there any sparks that flew because of that?

Okay. I mean, I think it's very easy for anybody to confide in the bartender. Like the first shrinks were, I think, bartenders. So I think it's easy for people to come and talk to. And then for me, I think I'm an easy person to talk to, especially because I, for the most part, can bring, like, levity to a bad situation. And so I think it was comforting for a lot of people out there. And then there's also that thing of, there's 15 of, like, the most beautiful women in the world, like, walking around, like, the resort, who haven't been told no since, like, high school, right?

And then all of a sudden, I show up, and I'm like, the one rule is we can't ever go on a date. And I think that that kind of messed with those girls' heads because they've never had a guy, especially one that looks like me that's like skinny and like nerdy, being like, we can't go on dates. So I think that kind of mess with their heads. So it was like that forbidden fruit thing. We're like, wait, why can't I take wealth on a date? So I think that that is my appeal there. So you're saying that girls did want to take you on dates?

Well, yeah, I think you got to keep watching. the show but like yeah I think people did I think people were like oh wait wait why can't we take my day like I don't know I don't understand like Amanda I remember Amanda said something about it and you know you gotta keep watching this show

but I when I watch when I watched like last night and the night before like I'm not on it a whole lot and I had this realization when I was on a walk earlier today that the people that are the most memorable aren't the people that get a ton of screens

time. It's the people that do memorable things become super memorable. Like to be honest, I did like three things in last night's episode and my Twitter feed was going nuts. One was I gave I gave Christina a hug when she was crying

and people thought that was like super nice. I made that joke of being like, hey, can you say like we meddle with the election in Russian that people thought was funny? And then like I kissed Evan on the cheek, when we were, like, taking pictures.

I thought that was cute. Those are the three things I did. And I wasn't on the show really at all, and I thought it was really interesting. Everyone is so concerned with, like, how much screen time they get. And, Ben, you can probably attest to this. Like, the most memorable things are, like, the things that,

I don't know, like, at the time probably don't seem to be a big gesture. You know? I mean, you know, Wells, I think. We've talked about it a little bit on here before, but you're exactly right. And I think it's a good lesson for our listeners to kind of hear about in life, too. I'm not here to give life advice. Trust me, I'm not exactly living a dream at all times. But the one thing that I have realized is it's not the things that we do that everybody else does.

You go in paradise and everybody can drink and everybody can hook up and everybody can fight and bicker and cry. And those things happen, right? It's part of the experience. But if you take that back to your life, it's the things that you do that are unique. that separate you, the things that you're remembered for are the things that are different than what everybody else is doing, the things that go against the grind, to get a go against the flow. So for you to reach out and give Christina a hug with no ulterior motives just to say, hey, I'm here for you. I care about you. I'm going to be here the whole time. If you need

support, you know, come back and that I'm not going to be, you know, trying to rub the sunscreen on your back every day because you let me do it once. I think that, I think the viewer watched that and just said man like wells is loving christina very well in a non-romantic way and that is something that that everybody should try to do more of so yeah um you're a good bartender man well i'm actually a horrible bartender but it was yeah i was gonna wait a drink well like so i tended bar when i was like in college and then when i got out of college i waited tables it was a bartender while i was like doing double duty as like a night jock and um but like that was 10 years ago So I took a class right before coming out to, like, learn everything.

And I learned all the crazy drinks, like mitis and pinocaladas and, like, blended drinks and all this kind of stuff. And then when I got there, everyone is so terrified of a carb and a sugar. I made one freaking drink, and it was a tequila soda with a splash of pineapple. No way. It's the only thing I made there. I pot four beers and three of them were for me. Stop. I used to drink my tithes every day there.

That was my go-to paradise drink. Hey, Wells. I just talked to Vinny, and he said that you actually, like, worked a job when you were there. Like, you worked from, like, it was like a nine to five. You had hours. You had to clean dishes? Yeah, like, it was really funny when I was talking to, so there's an executive producer that, like, us three know that maybe everyone else doesn't know, it named Delon.

and he was kind of in charge of this whole idea and he was like, by the way, I'm not giving you a bar back and you don't have like someone like, you know, cutting the lines for you. You have to do all this stuff. And I was like, yeah, that's fine. I love it. So, like, Ben, you've never been to Paradise,

but what's annoying is my bar, which was the beach bar, you can't have glass down there because it breaks and it gets in the sand and then someone that cuts their foot, right? So you could only have these plastic cups down there. And the problem was that I'd make a drink for someone, and then someone would go and they'd chit-chat with someone over and some palapa, and then they'd leave their glass, and then I'd run out of glasses. So I'd be like, I'd be like, I'd be like, God, these swabs.

And so I'd be, like, running around the beach, like, picking up glasses, like, eating in blah. Oh, whoa. Like, I don't think that Jorge would ever do it because he was such a sweetheart, but, like, I was in the bachelor world before. Like, I'm friends with these guys, so I'd, like, chastise them. I'd be like, you can't have a little. drink until you return your cup like a big boy i get it man i would too man that's that's so

funny here i had no clue it's it's the backstory this whole thing that just kind of makes everything make more sense now as i watch it um hey well we got to get going here but i want to play one last game with you i need i'm going to throw a couple names out there and i just need one word answers for for how you define them is that oh is that okay okay everyone's favorite speed round come on it's got to be right it's got to be the word that you think of immediately no pause Okay. We're going to start with Taylor. Thoughtful. Dean.

Beautiful. Raven. Hilarious. Robbie. Oh, say it. I know you want to say it. Falcon wing hair. Oh, man. Wells, you are always a pleasure, dude. You're a great man.

And thank you for being kind to in our speed round. We have a great segment coming up called Who Are You? Because, Wells, as you probably know, there's a lot of people there. That's so great. We have no clue who they are. So, Wells, thanks for joining us, buddy. Also, Wells, you are a very kind soul and one of my very favorite friends from this, and you've treated me very well.

She's backpedaling. Bye, Wells. I love you guys. Goodbye. Ashley. Yeah. We only have this podcast going, and we're only able to talk to people like Wells. By the way, what a great call, man.

That guy, he knows how to talk. He's a good talker, but he's a great guy because of our sponsors. And one of our sponsors that we've consistently talked about because they've been a huge supporter of our show from the very beginning from season one now to season two is Fab Fit Fun. Ashley, you know more about Fab Fit Fun than I do, even though I just received a box. And there's some stuff in there. I'm not going to lie. I'm going to start using. There's a pink water bottle.

I'm all about it. It seems nice. But, Ashley, can you tell us about FabFit Fun? Yes. You're referring to this season's editor's boxes, the fall box that comes out in September. You can go get it at Fabfitfund.com, and you can get $10 off with our code almost famous. All the products in FabFit Fun boxes are full size, and you're going to pay $49.99 each season or get $10 off of that with the code almost famous.

but the box itself is valued at at least $200. Some of the stuff in the new editor's box includes a real her eye shadow palette, which is worth $28. And then there is Dr. Brand's poor derm abrasion, one of my very favorites and a FabFit Fund discovery for me. And that retails at $58. This entire box, the fall editor's box, comes to a total of $359. dollars by you guys like what the heck you're going to get it for less than $50 so make sure to head over the fabfitfund.com plug in our code almost famous and get $10 off great job Ashley Ashley this is a segment that you and I and our producer Amy kind of came up with just based on watching the season of Bachelor in Paradise and this isn't meant to be mean it isn't meant to be rude it's kind of what Wells was saying right some of the most memorable moments within the Bachelor franchise are from people that aren't necessarily getting a lot of screen time, but they just seem to stand out and be unique.

Well, unfortunately, the people we're going to talk about here haven't been that unique. So we're going to play a game called, wait. Who are you? Ashley, I'm wondering, there's a few people that you were talking about. Who are some people in this season of Bachelor in Paradise that you really have no clue who they are? Well, definitely Lacey. And I have a special kinship to Lacey because I feel like she is the me of this season. And she's like, I'm going around talking to everyone.

Everybody kind of wants to talk to me, but nobody wants to get into know me romantically. I mean, so exactly. So you have people like Lacey. I have the Santa Claus feller who thinks he, you know, who try, I guess he tried with Jasmine. So for today's podcast, we're going to talk to two people that people just don't seem to know. And it's unfortunate because I think they're going to have huge storyline. in Paradise this year and hopefully get to know them better. To start today's conversation, we have the lovely Derek Peth on the line.

Derek, who in the heck are you? Ben, that was the best thing you've ever said. Tell us about yourself. The first thing I'm going to do is correct you. Okay. It's pace. Oh, geez. I always tell people, it's easy.

I always tell people have faith and pace. I love it, man Okay, so can you give us just a real quick rundown on I want to hear about how people would know you from the Bachelor franchise Where you're from And one of your favorite little hobbies to do So just so we can get to know you a little better Cool, man, yeah, so I am from Chad's season of The Bachelorette

Which is also a good joke season And, you know, I'm from Iowa I'm sorry, I'm in the airport here, so there's like people talking I'm from Iowa, I'm from the Midwest, as yourself, and, you know, I just came to the Bachelor franchise, really, by accident. My little sister put my information in and got a call, and I said, you are, you're a radio station. This is not real. Like, I don't know who you are, and I don't know why you're staying here with The Bachelor. So, yeah, it was very, very crazy to be, to be tossed in this world to the last couple years.

A lot of people remember me as the guy who, the only guy who cried, I believe. on Jojo's season outside of a couple of years backtrack for a second that's just wait yeah there's the whole season there's only one guy that cried i think like bini you saw like one little tear and like uh i think wells was sweating and people yeah that's right he wiped away that little eye area tear yep yep so so unfortunately you know that that that became pretty tied to me but then i also i think have been focused on as the Jim Halpert diet, like the diet version of Jim Halpert. So, yeah, and the office is my favorite TV show. So, you know, that's, I think, what I get the most.

And I might have thrown a couple of Easter eggs into the season so far with some office quotes. I love that. I love that. So, Derek, we've already seen you kind of build a relationship in paradise, right? I mean, we're a couple episodes in. You've been one of the coolest storylines. I mean, I guess I was kind of comparing it last night to the Evan Carly storyline, right? I mean, we knew Evan, but we knew them about as well as we probably know you.

And look where Evan stands today. So for you, how was Paradise different than your experience on The Bachelorette? I tell you that on The Bachelorette, you know, there was a very different mix of people. Our season was full of a lot of meatheads, some lovable, some were not so much. And so I'd say that, like, it was very refreshing to have, like, a varied mix of men and women. And, like, the nicest thing that comes out of that is that there's a little bit less, like, bravosity and trying to, like, beat each other up to, like, grab the girl by her hair and take her off to your cave. Yeah. because there's, you know, a lot of other, a lot of other options.

So, I mean, they just feel like it was a lot of, a lot more fun and a lot less of a competition than I'd say the Bachelorette was. That's interesting. So, I mean, we're seeing, I guess we're seeing, too, like, the legitimacy of your relationship with Taylor so far seems far and beyond anybody else's in paradise. Why is that? Like, what was it about the two of you that really propelled things forward? Uh-huh.

I'd say it's a weird thing, right? But I'd say the most powerful thing about the two of us was we came on both absolutely saying we do not want to meet that person. So, like, Taylor wanted to have nothing to do with me and I wanted to have nothing to do with her. So it was like this big surprise.

And, you know, I think you see that there's definitely like an attraction there immediately once we did finally talk and get to know each other a little bit. And then something that I think that we didn't really see a lot of, even though we talked about briefly on the episode last night, was that, you know, there was, I don't know, what, 10, 12 days worth of us basically on the phone on FaceTime for like five, six hours when everyone else, you know, went home. So we were already planning for Taylor to actually come and visit me.

Oh, wow. That was a little spoiler. I probably shouldn't have said that, but it's okay. Wait, right. Can you repeat that? Yeah, we thought the show was done. You know, like we thought it was absolutely no way that it was coming back. So during that, during the shutdown, Taylor had, I got our plane ticket to come and actually see me in Iowa. We were like, well, maybe we'll try this thing, right? So, I mean, that's about the stage that we were at when you saw the episode to resume.

It's like what happened in that little between times. Really interesting. I mean, extremely interesting. I think, I'm just, I mean, I've talked to Ashley many times about this, and Paradise just seems to be a place where people build stronger relationships. Maybe not, I mean, not all the time, but it just seems like the masses, like there's more people that can build strong relationships at Paradise, obviously, because there's men and women there. But it's a really cool thing to watch, and I'm starting to believe in it more and more as the seasons go, and you're one of those reasons. I'd like to be your reason, Ben, for believing. No, it's been great to be, it's been great to be put, like, you just, just mentioned Evan, and people said, like, Tanner, you know, and, like, that's a very stressful position to be in L, too, because, you know, like, those relationships are amazing, and, and this is just still a new relationship, as you're seeing so far, and, you know, who knows where it's going to go, so that's, that's the scary part of Paradise, right?

and it's just like it can be a lot of pressure so I think that that also though like you know pressure can can make you build and decide things or break things apart sooner you know and you kind of know where you're going so can I just say that you have really brought out a beautiful side of Taylor I know that she wasn't a character that everybody loved from next season but you've made her so happy and glowy and just like lighthearted and I really like this side of her and she looks freaking gorgeous with her hair natural and curled like that. For the record, that was, she did it one day, and she was like, oh, I really need to straighten my hair. I said, please don't ever straighten your hair the rest of the time. Yeah. That's awesome, man. Well, we are excited, Derek, to, well, first off, hey, nice to meet you, and we're excited

to watch your experience unfold here through Paradise. We wish you the best. And, man, so far, we're very excited about what you and take. Taylor have to offer. So, Derek, thanks for joining us, buddy. Thanks, guys. I hope to see you guys sometime throughout the journey. We certainly will see you soon. All right. Take care, guys. And now we know who is he.

He is Derek, and he seems like a lovely guy. I agree. I mean, I really enjoy talking to me. He seems like he has his head on, right? I mean, I couldn't, I was trying to kind of read through the lines there a little bit. Actually, I was thinking, okay, is he still? with her or is he not? Like, is he going to talk very highly of it or is he not? But I have a feeling. I don't know how you feel. How do you feel? That they're still together. Oh, yeah. Definitely. I mean, he, you could even tell him his voice. He's pretty chipper. I would agree. What a good word. You just keep pulling out these old-fashioned words,

feller and chipper, and I like it. Next are going to say, that seems swell. Let's bring swell back. Coming up next, we have a lot of people don't know, but I seem to know pretty well. He's a friend of mine. And so, Ashley, I'm going to let you just kind of interview this man because the ladies love him. They always have. Like I said, he's a part of Wells and I's group thread. And the only thing I want to share and kind of give a hint to, he loves his dog, which so does Ashley. So Ashley, take it away.

So it is Ben Z. You may remember him as the big cuddly teddy bear from Caitlin season. The other Ben, back when Ben here used to be Ben H. This was Ben Z. Oh, that's good. I remember that time. So, Ben, who in the heck are you? So, I mean, the way that's been going is I'm pretty much the guy that's not Ben H.

That's pretty much how I see. Oh, man, that could be anything farther from the truth. Ben, have you cried since Caitlin's season? I have not. No, I have not. I think it's going to be one of those things where it'll be, a moment in my life that is extremely happy that will bring those tears not something that's sad oh that's sweet yeah we'll see when that happens ben what was the last time you cried

actually i cry all the time do you really oh oh my gosh i am i yeah i'm an emotional wreck half the time i watch uh you know actually you know i watched uh um free willie a couple nights ago. And you know the moment where Willie jumps over and he touches the belly it gets me. It got me. I was done. I mean, it's just such a beautiful moment that represents freedom. So

yeah, I'm a crier. Nobody's surprised by that. I love you. It's a great movie. The Michael Jackson song from that movie is one of the most underrated Michael Jackson songs of all time. Yeah, I was alone. I couldn't agree more. Okay, great. Thank you. I mean, I was alone in my house. I'm sorry, I'm going to have to talk about myself for a second. Please, please. I love

moment for me. And you all can get to know me better from this. I was alone in my house, which doesn't get to happen very often. I travel all the time. This is last week. Free Willey comes on. Watch the movie. I turn on my sonos to the Michael Jackson song. And it's me alone in my house, just arms wide open celebrating life. Yeah. I really wish I could have seen that and been there. That's amazing, Ben. That song is truly liberating. I listen to it every time I'm at the beach and I look at the waves and I feel free. That's right. But enough about me.

We got to know about Ben here. Ben, you're really good at pushing the attention off on other people, as we've just seen there. Ben, can you give us a little bit of a snapshot of who the heck are you? Like, literally, like, tell us about yourself. How would fans know you? What would they remember you for? And then, like, kind of leading up the paradise, what were you hoping for?

So I think the fans probably know we from Caitlin's season of The Bachelor as at Ashley just pointed out that I haven't cried in a long time, so I think that was a pretty big focus on the show, as well as losing my mom when I was 14. So those life moments had a pretty big impact on my life and the way that I go about my life. And it made me grow up very quickly. So I think that's a big reason why in a lot of aspects of my life, I kind of, I've been more of an adult than I think my age put out there. And so, I think that's how old are you to both? He's 28s.

I'm 28 right now. I was 26 on the show. Between me and you, Ben, between me, you and Jared. We were the three youngest ones on the show, but honestly, we were probably three of the most mature guys on the show also. Is that the case? I think so. But there's a lot of great guys from your season. I still say to this day, as anyone who listens to the Ben and Ashley I Almost Man's podcast, does know that I think that Caitlin's season was the most golden.

I completely agree From an extremely biased opinion I completely agree That's right I think so too I mean not only was she a great bachelor at But we have some guys From that season that I plan to be friends with

For a very very long time Including yourself Ben Yeah no I completely agree man I definitely agree So Ben let's talk about your new pup My new pup Yeah Seems like that's apparently all that I talk about

apparently according to tv um but no i got him um i got him in february and i got him as a puppy and i have had him pretty much had him ever since obviously other than going on the show well we've been following your life with him on instagram ever since um is it frustrating to see that they're not showing you speak about anything other than him zeus um a little bit not gonna lie i think that there's a lot more that happened in Paradise, as I'm sure you know. Not everything gets showed, but, you know, the frustrating part is when, you know, you are there and you're talking about your dog, and then Raven's talking about her dog. Right. The actual conversation, and they cut her whole half out of it, and then I was like,

great person. You know, I make a... That was just, that was, I was dying. I make a point to not talk about editing as much as possible, but there are a moment. Like that I mentioned on yesterday's podcast where you just have to be like that was editing and it was funny It was like the one time I was talking to a parrot, you know? It's like did you guys really think that I was just talking to a parrot? Because then this makes you the crazy person Exactly, but a lot of a lot of viewers don't necessarily know that and so it's good to It's good to see the other side sometimes. It makes good TV though It does make good TV and for a while apparently Zeus was trending. So he's doing better than I That is cool. Let's talk about your relationship with Raven right now. And how are you going to salvage yourself and get a rose this coming rose ceremony?

That's a great question. I mean, at this point, what you guys have seen is you've seen Raven get taken on a date by Robbie. And they seem to have fun on the jet skis and whatnot. But, you know, in Paradise, I kind of looked at it as there's no rules. And you can pretty much do whatever you want. I kind of made my own one-on-one day. What you don't see is that Raven actually wasn't feeling good, and she had a cough and a sore throat and all this stuff. And so I had actually set up a little thing on one of the cabanas with tea and honey and cough drops. It's kind of like a joke, but also like a way to show her that like, hey, I know you're not feeling good, but here's some stuff to hopefully make you feel better. Oh, boy, you are getting that rose.

I'm trying. I'm trying hard to get that rose. Ben, yes, I want to give you a chance to respond, and this is, please understand it's in no way to dig towards you at all, but we did talk yesterday on the podcast about how after a few of the seasons, you had reached out to a couple of the women that had been let go and tried to, you know, kind of started talking to them. What was your thought process to that? Can you just explain to the audience so it's not left out there in Lombo, exactly what

you were doing, and just give us your thoughts? No, absolutely. I think in all honesty, since I got off the show, I have romantically reached out to a girl from the show only two times. The other times when I have had, like, conversations with a girl or something like that, a lot of times you niceness comes across as flirting, as I'm sure you've probably ran into in the past. And in some of these situations, you know, when you go from zero to 100 overnight and you have no idea how to handle fame, you have no idea how to handle being in the spotlight, and I know from my standpoint, I didn't have somebody that was like there to help you out or kind of like show you what to do and what not to do. And I wish that I had. And so there were girls that had either reached out to me or I reached out to me or I reached out to. them and say, you know, hey, you know, you're part of the family now, the Bachelors family.

And if you ever need any advice or something like that, let me know I'm happy, I'm happy. I'm here to help, basically. Hey, Ben, Z. Yeah. Can we ask who you've reached out to, who the two girls are? Those two girls are, one of them, one of them was Shoshana. She was in the past, she was on Ben's season, actually. I remember her.

I accidentally called her a Russian hooker during my season of. of paradise. Oh, Ashley. What the heck? Ashley, censor yourself. Familiar. Check yourself before you speak, Ashley.

Oh, the influence that goes down, the peer pressure in that ITM room. Oh, my gosh. My apology, Shoshana, you were, we got along very well the day that you were there. I'm sorry for what I said behind closed doors.

And I actually think that, I actually think that was the only person, actually, now that I think about it. I know that there was some other girls that had originally thought that I was talking to them, but that was definitely not the case. I think I had talked to Amanda post show, I guess you could say, but it was never more than a few texts or anything like that. All right. Well, I'm glad we cleared your rep. Yeah, I mean, apparently you're a thought after man. You are.

I'm not surprised that you being nice and kind and reaching out to women has, has, like, led people to believe that you are flirting or just incredibly interest in everybody and anybody. So I wanted to give you the chance to speak on that. Ben, before we say goodbye to you here, I want to know from your experience because Ashley is very high on Paradise, and she should be. She's had great experiences and met great people. And we just talked to Derek Pate, who had a very similar feeling that Ashley did.

What was your biggest issue? Like, what was the worst part about Paradise to you? The worst part about Paradise. I think that in, it depends on the people that are there, and it also depends on the timing. I think that on previous seasons of Paradise, there were, I mean, you go start to finish 28 days, and you have a bunch of people down there. Some are actually there to find love, and others are there to just have a good time. I think on this season, there was a lot more people down there that were just looking to have a good time. there were some rumors of people who already had relationships on the outside and stuff like that.

And then also with the whole the Mario and Corinne thing, everything was kind of cut short. And so it kind of turned into less of like a longer love story vacation being down there and more of like just a lot of people that genuinely like each other hanging out. I think that paradise is definitely a place where you can go down and genuinely meet somebody and spend a lot of time with that. person but what I found on our season was that because of the way that everything happened everybody kind of everybody got really close and it turned into a large group hangout almost if you will mine is like a couple couple here and there actually do you have that same experience at paradise um like more friendship group hangout vibes versus coupled up vibes yeah definitely um I definitely feel the opposite I feel like during my seasons

Everybody was very coupled up, and I felt like the one that was left out because I was always struggling to be with someone. What do you think is changing? I think that it goes back to, like, the last seasons of being, like, the golden era, being your season of girls and, like, and, like, and, like, Caitlin's season and older, being, like, you were there more for the right reasons, more for, like, the love and the romance and less for the social. media fame less for just being like famous for being friends together and now everybody kind of gets along everybody that kind of bonds over the fact that they're like a famous group of friends that's so I mean I honestly had never thought about it that way no I I definitely agree with that with that point that actually just made I talked to Amanda and well both down when I was a paradise and I was asking was like is this is this how paradise was last year and they both said that that was not

the case. It was the opposite. And so, yeah, I definitely second what Ashley was saying. Well, I think for all of our cases, and especially for the viewers, we hope that the show can get back to the people that are pursuing relationship and pursuing love over fame, because fame is fleeting. It always will be. It always is, especially in reality world. And so I hope that the people that are involved from here on now understand that no matter how memorable they are, no matter how unique they are, no matter, no matter what they do, if they make a fool themselves or their stand-up people, that they will be forgotten and that they aren't the biggest thing out there. So I hope the cast can kind of take a switch back, and we can get back to people pursuing love, which, Ben, we hope that you do on this season of Bachelor in Paradise. We will watch anxiously, I will as a friend to see if you're with anybody, because honestly, I don't know because you don't tell us anything

on our thread. So, Ben, thanks for joining the almost famous podcast. Thank you, Ben. So I'm glad to know you now. Thanks for having me, guys. Actually, what's your thoughts on Ben? Women love him, huh? Oh, yeah. He's, like, such a, like, a big, nice, warm teddy bear. I mean, like, I'm not just saying, like, in a teddy bear way.

Like, I feel like coming off the season of The Bachelorette. He was actually maybe desired more to be The Bachelor than anybody else. I just, I think women just really have this infatuation with Ben Zorn. I think he's very masculine in appearance and in personality. You know, I think because he's a little bit more. mysterious because he doesn't show too much emotion there's just something manly about that and it's a mystery that they kind of want to crack I I'll be very interested watching Ben out from here on out in Paradise I was he was one of

my favorite cast members going in I was really excited to see exactly who he is and how he deals with the pressures and and the people involved because we didn't get to see a lot of him on Caitlin's season speaking because now he's on wait who are you so nobody really knows who he is Ashley, we're running into our final segment here, and I know this is one of your favorite segments, and so take it away. Okay, so one quick moment for an email from Michelle. She says, hi, question for you, is it weird for the Bachelor franchise that in Paradise, it's pretty much everyone's ex is getting together? Is it weird for Rachel, Ben, and Jojo to see their past contestants there, other people hooking up with each other?

And then is it weird for previous Bachelor in Paradise cast members to see the people that they've had connection? with on the show, hooking up with others. And the answer to your question is yes. Like, I don't like it. Did I have some thoughts about Wells being there this season and being like, oh, this sucks. I don't want him to go. I don't want to see him making out with anyone else.

Like, it's natural. It's just a natural thing you're going to have to experience. It's actually, it's a jealousy is a natural thing to experience. thing to experience, but having to watch your exes make out with somebody else on TV is very unnatural. Yeah, I would say the same. I mean, but Ashley, I want to ask you, I mean, you're a little bit more

emotionally attached than most. Like, you do, you give your full hearts of these people that you meet. They're not only this show, but also outside of the show. Do you think your thoughts and your feelings are similar to how everybody else is on the franchise? I guess it just depends who you're talking to. I mean, yeah, I do

think that I have, my emotions are stronger than most. But JoJo, I mean, I can't really put it, I don't know, I can't really flip this on you, you know what I mean? Because you are very happy with Lauren when you went on to watch Jojo be with other guys. Yeah, no, I was saying the same thing as I was reading this question was, yeah, I can't really relate with this. Like, I mean, I guess I can in a sense of some of the women from the season of The Bachelor that I was a part of are now on Paradise. They're still on Paradise. But it never has really been hard for me because once I left the show, I was.

was happy. And then all I really wanted was for the women that I think are great. I mean, I think Amanda is wonderful. She's a great mom. She's a great person. I had a blast with her. And I've gotten to watch her now. You know, she's good friends with Lauren. She's best friends with Lauren. So I don't get to talk to Amanda and I don't necessarily know where we stand. But I'm happy to see her happy. And that's really it. You know, I can't really relate with the fact that I get jealous because there's been no residual feelings post-Bachel for me. Right. And I always have residual feelings. Let's be real. Oh, Ashley.

Okay, so I guess that's it. We're going to do more reader emails next week. Make sure to email Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com if you want your questions answered on air. Love you so, so much. And I love you, Ben. I love you, Ashley. Ashley, I mean, we said it last time. We'll say it again.

Like, it is incredible that we have listeners and sponsors that allow us to work together to just talk. and it is one of my favorite parts of the week, if not my favorite, is getting to talk to you about all the ridiculousness, all the love, all the memories. Ashley, you're the best. Ashley, I think today,

let's try some different. How about you close this out? Okay, you guys, if you want to have a free moment, you should go listen to Michael Jackson's free willy song and make yourself feel good. And until then, I have been Ashley.

And I have been been, and this has been the almost famous podcast. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.