The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S3 #1 Deep and Deeper

Episode Date: September 20, 2017

Ben and Ashley go deep to track down Danielle L. for her side of the Instagram post story. Lacey M. goes deeper into her version of what went down with Daniel from Canada. Plus we find out who the heck Chris Bukowski is and what can he tell us about Arie the Bachelor! 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. What's up, everybody? We are not stopping anytime soon. I'm Ben. I'm Ashley. And you're joining us on the Almost Famous Podcast. It's our offseason, but we don't stop. Ashley, you're just going to keep going, aren't you? Yes, we're going to talk about Bachelor Nation for our whole lives. That sounds like the best thing I could ever, ever think of. But honestly, at this point in my life, it does kind of seem what's going to be happening, and we're going to keep doing it.

And there actually is a lot going on in Bachelor Nation still, even though there's no shows airing. And so we thought, why not catch our listeners up on all the kind of behind-the-scenes drama? We're also going to talk about Ashley and I's upcoming trip together. Eyes, my God. Oh, no. Ben, you said Eyes. We are just going to make fun of a comment that had Ben and Eyes. Danielle L.

also does not know that eyes is not will never be a word it'll never be a word okay well nobody would have even said anything if if my producer did not call me out on this it's one of her biggest pet peeves and something i've learned this year and every time i'm about to say eyes now i say my and if you watch the bachelor i guarantee you every episode someone says eyes and it makes me die inside every time you know Bennett the producer he said if he corrected everyone's grammar they would never finish the show

I don't blame you but we can keep having grammatical lessons on the show but we got a lot to talk about Ashley there is a ton going on right now it seems like the most talked about character in Bachelor nation is Daniel L catch the listeners up on exactly

what's happening and then I want to read an Instagram post that he did just so our listeners can kind of hear and make a decision for themselves if this is normal, if it's crazy or whatever it is. So Ashley, go ahead with this. Okay. Well, apparently Danielle Elle had an interview with us

weekly magazine this week and she talked about I guess like the love triangle with Christina and Dean and how she feels like she was kind of like less sympathetic and I guess she feels like she should have been as much of a sympathetic character.

Am I correct of that, Amy? That's about what I got from it. Okay. Well, what I learned about Danielle L this week was that she posted a really cringe-worthy, personally, I found it cringe-worthy Instagram. And it's been a topic of conversations with a lot of our listeners so much so that we got two emails right in front of me. A hundred. I know, yeah, yeah, right in front of me that kind of question the same things that I have. So this is how it goes.

an email from Alex Please talk about the post Danielle L put on her Instagram And what does it even mean The picture and the caption Just don't go together Is she just doing this to make her seen a mad Wait

Why are we doing this before we read the caption? We should be reading the caption first All right Ben read the caption because I can't read very well But let me describe the picture guys It's a picture from July post show, but pre-reunion show, with Danielle, with a pink baseball cap on Dean's lap, kissing him. Yeah, so here's the deal.

We want all of you to kind of judge for yourself. You don't have to judge. I guess we just want to start a conversation here because I guess none of us quite understand exactly what's going on. The first sentence in the caption, I'm going to paraphrase, says, I've always been criticized and ridiculed for my looks. And Daniel, I don't know if you listen to this or not. Let me be a man to tell you there, if anybody's criticizing you for your looks, they are the ones in the wrong. You are absolutely beautiful. No, no, no, no, Ben.

This is a gross day. Oh, I didn't get, I did not get this out. Oh, my God. No, no, no. Okay. This is where I have a problem. This is the part of the caption that I have a problem with, and I'm not going to, like, hide my feelings about it. She said, I've always been criticized and ridiculed for my looks, making me work 10 times harder to prove that success comes from my ethics and not my physical.

appearance. She is literally saying boo-hoo, feel bad for me. I'm so pretty. It's hard. I'm so pretty. Nobody pays attention to my brain. Okay, you guys, I'm... I've always thought that about myself, too. I can relate. I can relate with that. So if you just, I mean, I guess I lost the whole meaning to this caption, so I'm going to learn this myself and kind of listen to, I guess, the two of you kind of explain to me, but it goes on to say, Dean and I's connection was so much deeper. Eyes. Again, sorry, Ben, but eyes. But that's what I said. I know it's not a word.

She said, Dean and Eyes. I'm reading the caption, Amy. Oh, my God. I know her. This is like a big fight right now, but I do think it's important to read. It's heartbreaking and disappointing to see how my relationship was depicted as something that it was only surface level when our connection was much deeper. She's blaming her looks, like her beautiful looks on the fact that I guess nobody looks. like into her heart and soul and that they just look at her looks and then therefore they don't take anything that she feels seriously. And that's ridiculous because every girl on this show is beautiful. Sure. So I do know a behind the scenes that she's got a chip on her shoulder because

they made it seem like Dean had the emotional connection with Christina. Yeah. But he just thought Danielle L. was hot. Okay. That I can understand. Then I would rather her say, Dean and I simply in the caption with this picture. She could have used the picture and she had said, I wish you guys got to see the deep meaningful connection that Dean and I truly had

and not just the physical connection. Because blaming your looks on the reason that you weren't shown having a deep connection with this guy doesn't explain anything because everybody on this show is pretty. And I don't want to be hateful because I'm sure she does feel that she's had challenges because she's so pretty.

I'm sure she does genuinely feel that, but there are just things that you say and you don't say out loud. It's like if somebody said, life is so hard for me because I'm a billionaire. Yeah. It's the same thing. It's like, oh, seriously? My mom and I were watching Sinner yesterday of Jessica Beal and my mom can't watch anything with Jessica Beal anymore because like eight years ago she said something like, I don't get roles because I'm too pretty. And it's like, well, Charlize Theron and Halle Berry both won Oscars for roles in which they looked pretty gross in.

Right or wrong, Ben, you comment on this. But people don't like when people say, life is hard. I'm so pretty. Yeah. I mean, yeah. I've listened to the two of you gone. And I'm hearing you out. And I get it.

I mean, I think, Amy, you make a great point. Right. It is like complaining, hey, I have too much money or, hey, life's too easy. So nobody ever thinks that I have. any like grit and grind in my life. I want to say, was this the most appropriate caption to post on an Instagram? I do not think so at all. But we do have to give her credit for trying to be vulnerable and transparent with her, with the people out there. I mean, she's obviously feeling this. She obviously is feeling an insecurity that maybe I've never dealt with. I'm not

pretty enough to really have to complain about. I fight every day to get people to take me, you know, when I have to pose for photos, there's a lot more makeup on my face than probably Danielle's. But I do, I mean, I do think she has, I'm reading this through as the two of you were talking, and it is tough. Like, she's trying to show here, she has a comment. It says, just because they never show me crying or being upset doesn't mean that I wasn't. Like, she's watching the show back and seeing, I look cold, I look distant, I look too good for school, and it's not. not who I am, and I want to show people that I'm deeper than that. So I can't judge her for that.

I just don't think this is appropriate. It is weird to say, nobody takes me seriously because I'm too good looking. That is a problem that I wish I had for the rest of my life. Here's where I throw a red flag. And I don't want to be mean. I'm trying really hard not to be mean. Amy, this is the most fired up you've gotten in the two seasons of our, three seasons of our podcast. Here's the thing.

The red flag for me is if she posted this. and was being truly vulnerable, I find a red flag and that she follows it up with an interview with Us magazine and then all these red flags to me. The one thing, Amy, I think you do, you might forget in this situation at least,

and also it's a good lesson for the people that do The Bachelor or come off The Bachelor, right? Is they do think of themselves. And it happens every time. It's happened with myself. It happens with everybody. You do, for a short period of life, some last longer than others.

think of yourself higher as a bigger deal than you actually are. And so everybody's giving you attention. Everybody's talking about you. Everybody's interested in your love life. Everybody's watching on TV. And soon that fades and changes, like very quickly. That doesn't last very long. But, you know, for some people in their mind, that just sticks with them.

And so, Amy, you're used to dealing with the Justin Timberlakes of the world where they've been around the block. They get it. Like, they know it. Like, they know that. But people in Bachelor world, man, they're soaking up any opportunity for attention they can. And that makes sense for all, I mean, even this caption makes more sins coming from the perspective of she's just trying to figure this whole thing out still. Ben, I don't believe it when you say that you've had that phase. What do you mean?

I don't think you ever went through that phase where you thought you were better than anyone else and thought that you should be catered to. Well, I mean, part of it, and I've told you both this, I think, in our conversations, I mean, I really do. And I have to give credit to my friends and my family for that. And that's not pushing the attention off. I have consciously tried hard to keep a foundation. I will give myself credit for that. But I remember when I was announcing The Bachelor, I was so pumped, right? And there was like a couple hours there after I was announced at The Bachelor

where my chest was a little, you know, stuck out a little more, and I felt a little cooler, and my hair lines seemed to be a little better. And, you know, I was confident. And I opened up my phone and one of my best friends. friends. Jordan Fuller had sent me a text that said in a group thread with a bunch of people, congratulations, you're now king of the nerds. I think it was Jordan. It was one of my buddies. And I was like, all right. Like that now, like that's a good perspective to keep because, you know, these are some great people to do this show, but don't think of myself that cool because I was

announced to The Bachelor. Like, I have a lot to prove still. And I have, I have to hold myself to a standard that allows me to be confident before I can be confident. I'm just not cool because I was on the show. That's not the case of anybody. Well, I think what she's frustrated about here is the fact that her personality didn't come through at all. So my question here is, do you have a personality that's been hidden? Or are you, like, blaming other things to hide for your lack of personality? It's good questions, right?

That's a fine question to ask. We're not saying that she doesn't have a personality. It's a question we ask about everybody does a show. Or let's make it even a bit, you know, Bachelor Nations or Bachelor seasons are over right now. Let's talk about it in a larger perspective, right? with any celebrity, with athletes, anybody that we know from television or know at a distance, do we really know them? And that's a good question.

Like, we've talked about on this show. Does editing count out our personalities? And I would say sometimes, yes. But other times, if I have to come out and publicly say, hey, I have a personality. Let me prove it to you. I probably don't have a personality. I spent my conversation last week. Like, if you have to give yourself a compliment, like there's a reason why nobody else has

given you compliments. and you should probably look into that first. Ben, you're so smart. Here's what I think is fair. I'm going to text her right now and give her the opportunity that we're going to be here for another 45 minutes and have her call in

because otherwise I do feel bad. Because I would say to her face, hey, it kind of, I said it to her when she asked me for the water. I was like, really? Let's ask her. Okay, yeah. So I'm texting her right now. I just want to say the only problem I have about this whole Instagram thing

and about Danielle, like, in general, is really just this whole first line about being critical. for her looks because whenever I'm criticizing somebody on the show who I don't really know very well personally I always think about how like my season three of paradise and all the things that just overwhelmed me with frustration because so many people I believed weren't seeing a lot of the things that they should have seen for a balanced scenario right so if this is Danielle responding in a way that I wish that I could have and I kind of did last season, then, like, I get it.

Get it off your chest. It's so frustrating. So I just, like, always have to come from that point of view with these people. Yeah. And I just, like, want you guys to know that out there, too. It's, like, just always remember you don't actually know everything. Well, I mean, Ashley, let me ask you this, okay? And you do think so much.

Like, your brain doesn't stop. You're very concerned about things. I mean, there's about five different times during this podcast that you say, hey, can we edit that out? Because I don't think it sounded right. Like, you do overthink things. And the truth is, Ashley, if you look at your life right now, right? For all the things that you're worried about the people thought about you or felt about you, you have a very successful career doing podcasting, doing journalism, traveling around to L.A.,

doing appearances, doing shows. Like, people love you, Ashley. So it just shows that your concerns, and I'm not trying to invalidate your concerns, but I'm also invalidating your concerns. Your concerns a year ago during coming off a Bachelor in Paradise were not true because people actually really like you. Well, that's true, but what I think I've done successfully is found enough outlets for them to actually get to know my personality beyond the show. And that's what I've gained a lot of people who probably didn't love me from the show. And then I had a core base coming off of it.

Well, okay. So to close up this conversation, and hopefully Danielle L can come on the podcast here later this episode. She's texting back. It's like she said when, and I said right now. She's bubbling. I'm waiting. She's sending the text numbers. So hopefully she can come on the podcast later on the show.

We'll wait in here from an update on here. We'll make sure to keep you tuned in as we go on. You know, this is an interesting world. There's a comment made by Amy a little bit ago that asked, hey, what is it like being a normal person? and going zero to 100 based on the show. And how does your mind react to that? And it is difficult. I don't ever want to say it's not.

It's really hard to process the fact that all of a sudden there is a tension for you, that people are paying you to be places, that your life has kind of opened up in a whole new arena. The key to that, the key to that is to keep a foundation and know who you were before. And like I've said over and over again, I might have said it every podcast. Just use this experience to enhance your life. Don't change it. Like, get up and get yourself a glass of water.

I'll tell Daniel that later. Like, you know, don't let anybody, don't have any, don't reach out for people to serve you. Use this time to serve others better because now you have a platform to do it. And one way that Ashley has always served me well is through my fashion styles. I mean, I wasn't sure where you're going with this. Okay, but you did it. Very windy road getting there. I don't dress very well.

I'm a jean, a t-shirt, a boot type of guy with maybe a hat every once in a while to spice things up. But, Ashley, there's a way at which we could all enhance our fashion. And this way is somebody that supports us very well. So, Ashley, can you tell them about Latot? Okay, guys, if you ever wanted to be more fashionable, but you don't think you have the eye for it, or you maybe hate shopping or you can't find the time, well, this is the time to try out Latot.

It is a one-time box of stylist-selected fashion handpitched for you, and it is conveniently delivered right to your door. They have personal stylists that will help you find the looks that you love and all the styles and sizes that fit you just right. Just order your box for a $20 styling fee and they'll apply that fee to anything you decide that you want to buy in the box. It is so easy. So head over to latote.com slash select. That is Latot, L-E-T-O-T-E dot com slash select to start. You're going to enter our promo code, which is almost famous at.

checkout and they are going to give you a $25 purchase credit and even waive the styling fee for your first box. I did letotin. It's so easy to have someone just decide for you. It really does make life easier. Yeah. You just kind of click the styles that you like and then they come up with it from there. So once you sign up. I typically said anytime anybody's making a decision for me in life, it does make life easier. That's true. And when it comes to your door and you don't have to go to the mall. once you sign up for the box you're going to receive your stylus selected box within just days order a box whenever you like keep the items you love and return the rest unworn you'll be charged for the pieces that you keep and it's just that easy so enter your code almost famous and

feel fab with stylus selected fashion that is delivered right to your door so Danielle L we're going to call her in 15 minutes she's on her way home so just to put between us okay I think we should all be strong and say our opinions, but maybe just not beat her up about it. Right, right. Like, I just want to know what she means for that. And I know what she's going to say. She's going to say, I've had job interviews and stuff where they don't take me seriously because of blah. And, like, I guess I've had job interviews where I leave and I'm like, eh, my looks probably not right for that company.

All right. Let's move on. Okay. Okay. Well, I'll talk about it if she brings it up. All right. We're moving into a segment. The reason we're talking about with this person coming up is because after last week's podcast,

we got a ton of reader emails and calls about the conversation that we had with Daniel. They seem to think that Daniel kind of spewed too much information, kind of threw some of the people on the bus. And we had Lacey, who is on the line now, that dated Daniel in paradise, reach out and say, hey, let me talk. And so we want to have Lacey on. Lacey, you out there. I am.

Hey. Hi. How are you doing, Lacey? I'm good. I'm good. I'm, you know, get my life back together. Well, welcome to the Almost Famous podcast. Ashley and I are ecstatic to have you.

And thank you for coming on to tell your side of the story about what happened in Paradise. Yeah. Yeah, thank you. Last week, we had Daniel on, and I know that immediately got a little nervous Lacey, right? And then you listen to it back and you're like, ugh, this is, this is just not completely accurate or at least not the way that I saw the whole scenario go down. So you messaged me on Instagram and you're like, uh, can I tell my side of the story? I was like, yes. I'm glad you're

here. Let's know. I'm glad I'm here. Tell us your story. Well, I mean, the one thing I really want to, the one point I want to drive home is I really want to explore people to just think a little bit. It's obviously impossible to fall in love with someone in five days. So maybe there's more to the story, right? Maybe there's more we don't know about. Maybe there's more one half is not being truthful about, whichever side it is people choose to believe. Situations like this, unfortunately, are a lot of he said she said. Um, fortunately for me, half of what he said ended up on camera. Actually, that clip on the finale of him having that sidebar conversation with the producer, I didn't know that existed. That was the first time I had ever seen that. It was on

stage with him. And I was just like, wow. So, like, I really am not crazy. This is actually happening. So. What clip again? What clip? Can you explain that clip to us? Yeah. So it was the next morning in the fantasy suite that Daniel and I had spent the night together and it was him talking to a producer about how he could never ever be in a relationship with me whereas 12 hours before he had said to me on camera that he wants to be in a relationship he doesn't want me going back to New York and dating anybody else so he said I don't want you dating anyone else on camera yeah yeah mm-hmm it aired during this Molly mm-hmm okay yes and then you know there was that clip from the next morning of him saying to

producer, I could never, ever be in a relationship with her. So I didn't know that clip because it did. So sitting next to him was the first time that I saw that. I didn't think that he said in that clip, I could never be in a relationship with her. He said, I could never change my Facebook status. So he and I use the whole, like, Facebook status thing. It's like a figure of tape. Right, yeah.

Like, form of speech. We're like, you know, we're adults. We're not actually talking about changing our state's status. Dating is just so different now. especially in this world, too, that we were kind of just using it in the sense of, like, are we, like, boyfriend or girlfriend? Are we in a titled relationship? Or are we just, you know, figuring it out? And it was my takeaway from the night before when he said, I don't want you going back to New York and dating anybody else, that we were in a relationship.

And then that whole thing happened where we had a conversation. And so we have had a private conversation off camera. When? In the fantasy suite? In the fantasy suite, following that conversation. We want to know everything that happened in the fantasy suite. I mean... Wait, wait, wait, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Wait. I can go back to January if you want. Yeah, we want to know everything that, like, the conversations that happened in the fantasy suite. Well, also... Well, yeah, but if we are going to get a little... It was actually only conversations that went down. Perfect. All right.

That's all we need to know. Yeah. So, yeah, so the cameras left, and this is what I discussed with Chris, is that when the cameras left the room and we were actually legitimately alone for the first time for our entirety, for the entirety of our time in Mexico, I just didn't feel comfortable with how that conversation went down. Something in my gut just didn't seem like that is what Daniel wanted to say. or that that's actually how he felt. It just didn't feel right.

It was like a women's intuition thing. That he was lying, that he was lying about the conversation that happened on camera. Not necessarily that he was lying, but maybe he just said some things he didn't mean. Maybe he got caught up in the moment. It's really easy to get caught up with a camera being in your face. And I do understand that.

I want to give him a little bit of credit. But at the same time, it's like those are some pretty big, things to say if you don't mean them, you know, that you're falling for someone. So I brought it up. You know, he and I throughout our whole relationship and even our friendship before Paradise have really, really good communication, usually. We talk about everything.

We never kept secrets from each other or anything. So I didn't have any problem talking to him about it. So I brought it up. And not necessarily in these words, but what we ended up talking about was that. He didn't, he did not, that it wasn't just me. Like, he did not mean that in that way. And he brought it up because we were on camera. So he admitted that conversation had gone down for the first time off camera would

be completely different. He said I exaggerated on camera for the sake of camera pretty much. Pretty much, yeah. And I want to know more about the history. You met him in January. You made out with him in January? So I actually met him in October. Last October.

In New York. Yeah. In New York, and Vinny's birthday party, there was a big group of bachelor people there. And we, so we met for the first time there, and we, like, made out at the bar, and then I went back to his hotel room with him where literally nothing else happened. All we did was just hang out and kiss a little bit. I realized I used the word on camera, hooked up, and that means something different to everybody. We could have an entire podcast one day about the meeting of hookup. and what it means individually.

So I realized I probably should have used a different word. To be completely clear, Daniel and I did not have sex that night. Because that's another rumor that's swirling around because I did use the word hookup. And that was pretty much it. You know, he went back up north. I stayed in New York. But we did keep in touch sporadically until about January. In January, we started keeping in touch a lot.

every single day, every hour What turned it around? Sped it up. To be honest, and this is going to sound so, so, so, so strange and ridiculous. But Daniel doesn't have an iPhone, so he doesn't text. And he, like, we became Facebook friends,

so we just started Facebook messaging all the time. That's why Facebook official was something between you guys. I was like, as bizarre as that sounds, it's like, you know, he doesn't i method it's technically international texting so we became facebook friends and that kind of just help in a way i know anyone's listening to this is probably like what the hell no no no no i get how her communication could be faster with him via facebook but all right so you just like you saw him on october and you did not see him in real life until you started filming paradise

in june correct yeah we had been talking every single day up until then from like january up until filming and video chatting and all that stuff, but we physically had not been in the same place since October. I'm just more stressed out the idea that you were messaging each other every hour on the hour for a few months. That gives me to hives. Well, but now do you understand why I'm so disturbed by what's going on a little bit? Yeah.

I mean, I do, but I'm just not a great, I guess I'm just not a great texter. And so the idea of being on my phone that often just does stress me out. I have some things before Ashley continues on with the questions because she just crushes these questions. She gets to the heart of the core of the story. I do want to clear up a few things, okay? One is you started out this conversation and say it's not possible to fall in love and the amount of time you're in paradise. Do you really believe that's true? Well, for us, to Daniel's point, the two of us were only there together for five days.

So I think the five days part is unrealistic. But I think for people who are there together the entire time, it could totally happen. Right. Okay, so just too short of a time, five days wasn't long enough. Love at First Site doesn't exist in your eyes, especially in Paradise. I think Lust at First Site exists, for sure. All right, perfect. My next question is to clear up here, and this is mostly based on,

I'm kind of doing this on behalf of a lot of the Bachelor contestants out there, because it's been a question that I've had, that a lot of us have had, that we can't figure out for the listeners out there, does this thing right now. I don't get it. He has a videographer around with him all the time. I don't know why. I don't know what he's doing with it. But he seemed a video. There's like out on YouTube somewhere.

I got it sent to me two weeks ago from a fellow bachelor contestant asking me what the heck is this. There's a video of like a birthday party. I don't know if it's like a commercial or whatever it is. Everybody's in suits and dresses and they're looking nice. What's up with Vinny in these videos? I wish I knew. Okay. There's no good reason.

Ben, that's a great question, and I've been around Vinny and his videographer at, like, a couple club appearances. It's a little bizarre. I thought it was, like, for hire once or twice to show off, you know, his DJing. But the fact that he's, like, documenting. I think it's also, I think it's one of his friends, too, so kind of just helps his friend get his name out there and stuff. Well, hey, you know what?

We're a podcast about helping people. You know what? We might be about the bachelor. But we're mostly about helping people. So for all the listeners out there, if you're, wondering, go to YouTube, type in Vinny, Vinsanity, I don't know what he calls himself these days, birthday party video, watch it, get some YouTube hits, help him out, promote it a little bit. It's the weirdest thing I've seen in a long time. But hey, if the guy's trying, the guy's

trying. So go ahead and go out and watch it. And you know what? You'll actually say if you pay attention really, really close to one of those videos, if you find Vinny's birthday party video from last year, you'll see me in it. before all the magic started to happen. Lacey, I just want to clarify your bottom line as to where you and Daniel differ on what's been aired is that you're like, hey, we've been talking like crazy since January. This is why I had such intense feelings for this guy.

I'm not a crazy person. And he could have been feeling just as much as I was given the amount of communication we had. But I think what ended up happening with, you know, just the way the finale was presented, but you know, none of us know how that's going to happen until it happened. I think maybe just sent him into this survival mode where he felt he needed to defend himself so much.

And in doing that, there's so many holes in the story and so many pieces missing. Like, even I myself got confused in the glory of Facebook Messenger is that you can go back and check everything. So I, like, went back to reread. I'm like, is this really, like, in my head, is he right? Like, what is going on here? Wait, give me an example from Facebook, some juicy stuff that he said to you that you haven't typed. I might have to save those for his next interview.

See, my thing is, this is only the second interview I've done talking about this. I think you could tell on the finale it was really tough for me. I was like, my voice was shaking. I couldn't even really like get through the story because this is actually pretty serious for me. Whereas for him, it's like, you know, he's taking. any interview he can get and in that he's just continuing to spread all this stuff that's not true

so that's why I reached out to you. I was like at some point this has got to stop and maybe this is me reaching out via podcast world saying hey Daniel let's move on with our lives and stop talking about this. Where do your current feelings for him lie? You know

as much as I want to hate him he's not a bad person. He just did a bad thing but he's not a bad person and it actually really breaks my heart to see, like, there's, you know, the whole social media world, like, writing awful things on his photos and, like, that's not what I wanted. I just wanted, I just wanted the truth to be out there. So when I see kind of people turning on him, it breaks my heart because even I don't hate him,

you know, again, he's not a bad guy. He just did a bad thing. Got it. Before you leave, I thought we could have a nice little off-topic conversation, on-topic, off-topic conversation. Do you guys like to text the person you're, quote, talking to, dating? all day long? Or do you like to have a call at the end of the day and that's it? Because I am like this with my friends and with people that I'm quote talking to. I just need it

sprinkled here or there. I'd rather one substance call than a whole bunch of like blah blah blah all day long back and forth. And I'm just curious because Lacey, you seem like somebody who wants me in constant contact. What about? And then Ben seems like he's on the other side of the spectrum. I think it's circumstantial. I mean, I live in New York City. I live a really busy life. I work. I'm not around a lot during the day. So when it comes to, you know, having free time, I love to spend that free time talking to my people. Yeah. I mean, I agree with Lacey, I guess. Like, you know, life does catch up with you

and you get busy. There's moments of busyness. I found out recently, and this is my own personal struggles. I have a to-do list every morning that I do it before I go to bed at night, so I wake up and I have this list. And I'm starting to see that I'm adding in, phone conversations in that. So call my buddy Corey or, hey, call, you know, one of my friends at this time because I have 30 minutes free. And that's not really necessarily the life I want to live because it feels like I'm doing a checklist. And instead of investing in relationships, I'm just fulfilling relationships. I'm just making, just kind of crossing them off the list. But when it comes to dating relationships, I'm definitely not a texter. No,

there's just, I feel like so many things that we could be doing outside of sending memes to each other or selfies. It's definitely... It's important, Ben. They are. It's definitely a generational thing, I think. I think, like, people, you know, lower 20s, they need that constant texting all day long, but for me, I'm like, oh, it's much more meaningful if you even call and have a

10-minute conversation with me. Ben, I think it was nice that you are even... I kind of think it's nice that you're penciling conversations just because you're dedicating time to your friends, and, like, sometimes I feel like... Like, I ignore texts, and I'm like, why am I ignoring the text of my best friends? Yeah. No, I've done that before, too. I have.

I think it's a security thing for me when it comes to dating. It's like I want to know that that other person is thinking about me. And if they're, you know, just texting me, then I know that they're thinking about me when I'm, you know, not physically seeing them. I think you speak for a lot of girls out there. I think that Daniel will be thinking about you after listening this podcast. Thank you for clearing everything up today. We really appreciate it. I hope listeners get a little more clarity now.

Yeah, you know, and we just appreciate you coming on and trying to tell the truth. It's a hard situation. Like you said, you don't hate Daniel, so nobody out there should hate Daniel. He did maybe a bad thing or just this situation was a difficult one for him. But the end of the day, you both invested into a relationship that you allowed all of us to have up close and personal look at, and we have to appreciate that. But now we appreciate you coming on the podcast because this is what this podcast is all about. It's telling the behind the scenes to a world that we just get to watch on TV.

So, Lacey, thank you for joining the Almost Famous Podcast today. Thank you so much for having me. Thank you. We'll talk to you soon. You know what else we appreciate, Ben? I mean, I appreciate sending a good selfie, Ashley. And you know why I appreciate sending a good selfie? You've never sent me a selfie.

How weird would that be if I looked at my phone and there was like Ben's face? He just decided to send me a selfie. I'm going to do this later to you. But I am more confident sending selfies than ever because my skin is looking real good. And that's because of one of our sponsors, BioClarity. Let's talk about bioclarity. Bioclarity is somebody who has supported this podcast really from almost the beginning. And the reason is because we believe in this product.

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That's F-A-M-O-U-S. Again, that's Bioclarity.com and enter our code famous. Finally, an active treatment that actually works, go to Bioclarity. spectacular job and you have a spectacular skin ben and i can't wait to see that face in Vegas this weekend that is right and i cannot talk to i cannot wait to talk to you about Vegas here in an upcoming segment actually we have a lot to talk about a lot to break down a lot of things that we think will happen will actually fall in love in Vegas this weekend we'll have to wait and see but we are lucky enough before that segment to talk to some talking about earlier

Danielle L is on the line Daniel hello I'm Ben thank you for joining the almost famous podcast Hey Daniel Hi Oh hello

How are you guys Good how are you We were just talking about your Instagram The other day And how much buzz it's gotten Oh goodness Yeah I know I'm like I just need to agree to that photo

You need to look that photo? Oh like just get rid of it There's like so many questions Post posting that photo But yeah I mean What did you get more reaction to the photo or the caption? It was a pretty interesting mix

because I feel like the people who reacted I mean the photo and the caption definitely don't correspond necessarily. I mean, it was the only photo that I had of us posed Paradise like outside of the show and I didn't want to take a photo from Paradise because we had a relationship

outside of that so it didn't really make sense for me to post something from the show. That was the only photo you guys had of all the times that you guys went out. as like a group. Yeah, I'm not really the type of person, like, especially in the beginning of a relationship to, like, take my phone out and always initiate taking photos. So that photo was actually taken by a friend. Interesting.

Danielle, before we get started here, I want to clear some things up. And so obviously this is a talked about photo, right? With the caption and the picture and everything, I mean, it's gotten a lot of buzz, a lot of attention. We on the almost famous podcast have our own questions about it. We do. We started out this podcast, honestly, saying, hey, in all honesty, this kind of shocked us. It surprised us. We don't get it. I could understand. I mean, I read the caption for the first time, Daniel, and I was like, wait, she says she isn't pretty. Like, Daniel's one of the most pretty people I've ever seen on television. And then they explained to me, no, she's actually saying she is pretty and that she's not getting the respect that she deserves because people can't look past the outside apparent. And so we just have a lot of questions. We brought up, and as we started to talk as a team here, we're like, you know what, it just sounds like we're making speculation. We're making assumptions. We don't really know. we don't know the true meaning behind it, so we wanted to get you on the phone to explain

yourself, and so that we're not coming off as three people, really two people, but a producer that's very fired up about this topic that are just coming up with things off the top of the head. We want to talk to you at the source. So can you kind of clear it up for us and our listeners? What exactly was the intention with the photo? Yeah, well, I mean, Dean and I had a relationship post-Paradise. It was boyfriend, girlfriend. I definitely wouldn't say so, but we definitely continued things outside of Paradise.

And he had always told me that, you know, no matter what, like you would always have my back and he would stand up for me. And I just felt like seeing how things were portrayed on the show and how it just showed a very physical surface level relationship versus things that I felt like actually occurred on Paradise and post Paradise was so different. And I felt like, you know, I think Dean and I both experienced a lot of backlash from fans, and people in the audience just speculating in terms of, like, what our relationship was and what kind of people we were. And so I was really just expecting him to kind of have my back and stand up for me a little bit more in terms of social media and the press.

And I think he took the route of, you know, just giving more validation to his relationship with Christina. And so I don't know. I had talked to him and he said that he was going to post something, like kind of clearing everything up and having my back. and I just never felt like he did. So after the finale, I was like, this is kind of like my parting gift, and it shows people that, you know, there's more than meets fine that's shown on TV

and that we did have a relationship. And it kind of sucks how they just portrayed me as someone who just looks and doesn't have anything else to offer. So that's kind of what my caption entailed. I guess I wouldn't question the caption at all if it didn't have to, if it wasn't a picture like that. And I guess if you had simply just said, like I wish you guys would have seen like our deeper, more meaningful, communicative relationship on the show versus just the physical side.

Like, why? And then a photo of a kissing, I know. Yeah, it's a little ironic. Yeah. Why did you feel the need to bring in the whole criticized and ridiculed figure looks? Because I think people automatically want to jump to an assumption when they meet someone that, you know, all there is to them is their looks. And I think, you know, there are a lot of people that, you know, love to be recognized for their looks. like, you know, I've worked so much harder on things in terms of my career and who I am as a

person. And that's not the only thing that I have to offer a person or relationship. And I don't think that was, you know, the main reason why Dean and I did have a connection. But I don't think anyone was actually saying that. And here's the thing. I'm going to be brutally honest. It's very hard for people. And I'm speaking just in general to sympathize with somebody who's like, and I'm not trying to put words in your mouth. Oh, it's so hard. for me because I'm so pretty. The analogy I used is it's like somebody saying, life is so hard for me,

I only have $180 million. It's really difficult where I think there are other ways you could have done what your intention was. Yeah, and maybe that's so, but I just felt like, you know, I'm not saying that, I don't know, like I'm not going around saying that like I'm the most charged person or I deserve these things,

but it just came that that's not the only thing that I have to offer a person. And it's not necessarily saying that I think so highly of myself in terms of my physical parents. I'm just saying that is something that does play a factor in my life and my relationship with people and have people for Sydney. Do you think that life has been harder in ways because you're pretty? No, I don't think life has been harder at all. But I'm just saying that, you know, mine wasn't that life has been hard because of my luck. I'm just saying that it's something that I feel like I have to work harder for in terms of proving my roles in work and my relationships with people.

So I don't think it's harder, but I definitely think it's a factor. But Danielle, I understand what you're saying because you had such a frustration because there was like so many things left out and people didn't get to see what you felt, you know, because you guys had conversations and you felt deeper and you were respectable and all that stuff. But that just doesn't seem to be something that people are thinking about and they're just thinking about your physical connection, right? And you just wanted to be like, you guys, there was more. There was more beyond that. Yeah, exactly. It's kind of like, for me, that was my closure. Like, I said my peace.

I said things that I felt like weren't portrayed on the show or afterwards, and now I just want to be able to move on. I mean, it makes sense to me. I mean, I guess, yeah, you kind of hit the firing line there. I tried to set you up to warn you, right? Because there are a lot of questions. But if you're going to post a picture, and I've been there, Daniel, and I think Ashley has, and Amy is usually the firing one.

So, but we've all been criticized for something we've posted, and we've all had to respond to it. And so in order for this to make sense, I think it is appropriate and fair for people to ask you questions and you to respond. And you have. Yeah. The one thing I have is you kind of took it in the caption or the picture, it seemed like there is a bigger purpose behind it, right? You weren't just explaining a television show, and you weren't just explaining your looks and saying, hey, you know, I'm more than just a pretty face. you're talking to a deeper, I guess you're trying, from what I got, you're trying to talk to a deeper audience. You're trying to talk to people saying, hey, if you're struggling out there with not

being respected or being judged for one thing or another, just know that, you know, you're not alone in that because I am as well. Is that true? Yeah, I definitely think so. I think it's relatable. And, I mean, the response that I got definitely a lot of questions, a lot of negativity. But I think women really structured the that it felt like by me posting that and my caption, it was just me kind of standing up for myself. Fair. So, I mean, you're on the phone now.

We've heard your thoughts. Where are you out with Dean? I mean, we got to find out exactly what happened in this relationship post-finali or post-film shutdown. And where does your relationship stand with Dean today? I think my relationship with Dean, I think my relationship with Dean, I think, I think, I I haven't talked to him in a while. You know, I said my peace.

He'll text me here and there just to check in and see how I'm doing. But there's no romantic relationship. I mean, for me, after watching the show and the thing he said, I don't see how or why I would want to continue a relationship with him. And from what I know, I think he's trying to work things about with Christina. So I'm just kind of trying to be respectful and keep my distance. That's fair. I mean, it's got to be a tough situation for you and Christina and Dean.

But, I mean, we're talking to you currently. And so, has this, I mean, has this been tough on you? I mean, how are you doing today? Oh, I mean, talking about it and having to, like, real of it, it's definitely tough, but, I mean, I've moved on. I'm dating. I'm just trying to look at things in a positive light and move forward. You know, I don't, I don't hold anything against Dean. I think I am disappointed by the way I felt, like, he's handled things, but I don't hold anything

against Christina. I think it's just one of those situations where I don't know. a guy like two girls, and it just caused a whole lot of drama in paradise. But I just want to move through with it. All right. Well, Danielle, I think you did clarify a lot, and I really appreciate you coming on. Oh, yeah, of course. We really, and I know this sounds like, we were just, and you're going to, if you listen to this podcast,

you're going to hear the beginning, and we started to talk, and we started to go down a rabbit hole. We're like, hey, this isn't going anywhere good. It just sounds like we're being critical. That's not fair to Danielle, and so we need to figure out from her what exactly the meaning was, and that's why we called you. And it does, thank you for coming on the Almost Famous Podcast to talk about it. Yeah, of course.

Yeah, and thanks for letting me explain. Hey, have a great rest of the day. Anytime you need to get a sense of clarity on a subject that is public, you can come to the almost famous podcast. Yeah. Yeah. All right. Thanks, Danielle.

Of course. All right. Thanks, guys. All right. Well. She, I mean, it's tough, right? Ashley, I listen to her and I can hear that, you know, it's a hard situation. I don't know.

if she realized exactly it sounds like I guess she doesn't realize exactly what she posted when she posted it until the reaction came out right I think at least she did admit that it was a really like ironic picture to choose for the message she was trying to convey that might be the whole thing here it's a poor picture choice and we could probably pretty much leave it at that she knows that now you know she's even talked about taking it down she realizes it was probably mistake but even if she did make a mistake and this is what I don't want to ever communicate you know we're talk about Daniel. We'll talk about Vinny's videos. We'll talk about Danielle on here. We can all make mistakes. It's just owning up to them and moving on past them and learning from them that we want to help facilitate here, I guess. It was a salacious choice. It definitely was

intended to get attention. Yeah. All right. Well, let's move on to something a little bit more fab, a little bit more fun. I don't know if it's good, but it's definitely fab and fun. It is the Fab Fit Fun box. You guys, this fall box is perfect. It has some of the greatest things that you've now seen on Instagram from some of your bachelor family favorites, including a private party gym bag, which would normally be $49, a wish beauty renewing mud mask that would normally be $48, a Mercy company scarf that would normally be $98.00. That would normally be $98. And you're going to get this in a box, all of that, plus more, in a box that is only $49.99 each season. The box is normally valued.

It's valued at $200 a box, but you're going to get $49.99 each season because of us, because you're going to go to fabfitfund.com, and you're going to use the promo code famous, and you're going to get another $10 off the fall box. This box was curated by the one and only Ashley I role model, Juliana Rancic, and the FabFit Fun team. Just telling you, go check out the Instagrams, see the products, see the pictures of the products, posted by me and all the other girls from Bachelor, and you're going to want your own FabFit Fun ballbox. So head over to FabFitFun.com, and don't forget to use the promo code famous. All right, coming up, we have one of Bachelor Nation's longest running contestants. He has a lot of experience on these television shows. He knows this world very well.

In fact, he's been around long enough to actually know in person our next Bachelor, Ari Lyondyke. Hey, guys, this guy has a plaque. Like, he had a plaque or like one of those things, like banners, you know, at stadiums, they have banners for, you know, to commemorate each Super Bowl or each World Series. This guy had his own banner because he's been on five seasons of the Bachelor franchise. That's right. And he's back for his first episode of the Almost Famous Podcast. Hey, Chris, you're on Who the Heck Are You?

Who the heck are you? Well, you've been on the show five times. We know who the heck you are. This is true. What's going on, guys? How you doing, Chris? Not too bad. No complaints.

How about yourself? Doing well. Thanks for joining us on the Almost Famous Podcast. We have one of our favorite segments. And it is titled, Who the Heck Are You for all of our listeners to figure out, you know, who we're talking to. You've been around for a long time. Some of our listeners might not have been born on your first season of The Bachelorette, but you have an interesting perspective because you have been on five seasons of this show,

and you know our upcoming Bachelor. And so I want to start saying, I guess, you know, I'm more interested. I can't wait. I'm anxious. I want to know about your season with Emily. That's how we know you. You're on Emily Maynard season. What do you think of Ari as a person?

What do you think of Ari as The Bachelor? And then I guess if you can also in that little time talk about, you know, how people might remember you. Yeah, sure. Yeah, I mean, I'm punked for R to be The Bachelor. You know, obviously he was on my season. And, you know, he was won the final two and I was final four. So we got to spend a lot of time together. And we actually roomed together when we were traveling to just I got to know him real well.

But, no, he's, you know, he's a good. good guy. He's definitely different than I guess previous Bachelors. How so? You know, he's definitely different.

He's witty and he's kind of got like Are you saying Ben isn't witty? No, Ben. See, I'm like struggling. Ben was a bachelor and Chris, I'm telling you, just be honest. I can take it. Don't be kind. You can talk

Ari up and talk me down. I'll just sit here and listen. No, I mean, you know, that actually, I mean, Ari, you know, he's not your typical like he's not, like, jacked or ripped or anything. You're not going to find, like, all these shirtless photos of him on Instagram and stuff. He's just, like, cool,

like, smooth guy. And, you know, successful, you know, outside of, you know, the Bachelor world, you know, his dad was, is Ari Lewandike. So, you know, that's pretty cool. He's a race car driver. And just pretty down to earth.

Doesn't really be around the bush, and he's, he's an honest guy that just, you know, I have, I really don't have any bad things to say about him. When was the last time you had a real full conversation with him that wasn't via text? You know, recently actually, because, you know, Michael Nance from our season, who passed away, Ari was actually really close with him, and, you know, I knew Michael pretty well, too. So we all kind of connected after that and, you know, spoke about that a little bit. So you're saying you don't have any insight as to this girlfriend that he broke up with in June who seems to have some pretty gnarly things to say about him? Which one?

I actually did know one of his old girlfriends, Jenna, but that was a while ago when he was probably a couple years ago. But, no, I feel like, you know, everyone, you know, once someone gets chosen to be The Bachelor, I don't know if they happen for you, Ben, but I feel like, you know, a lot of girls kind of come out of the woodworks and, you know, I mean, I don't really know what the relationship was, but if it wasn't serious, what's the big deal? I mean, the guys, you know, he got chosen to be The Bachelor, so he's getting after it. Yeah, and they broke up before he was even probably being considered, so. Right. I mean, I don't think it's a big deal at all. She's probably just looking for some attention. Have you ever been intimidated by his kissing skills?

He is the kissing bandit after all. Intimidated, no, but it was funny on my season because I actually had the first kiss with Emily. And, you know, then he had the next kiss, and he was just, like, just eating her face, just, like, owning it. And, like, I was, like, super amateur compared to his kissing skills. But so I guess a little bit after seeing that. Let's take a second here. All right. Chris, we have the opportunity to talk to Ashley,

and that's who I can fight in about my situations with females, women. Is that a good thing, Ashley, I mean, to – he is known as a kissing bandit. I've seen some videos of it. He seems fine at it. I mean, I'm sure he's great, but he does attack the face. Is that actually attractive? I like the thing about Ari. is that he's very lippy.

He doesn't use much tongue, which I prefer for going to get really detailed. And he also is very slow to move in. He knows exactly where to put his hand. It's all about like his smooth motion going in for it. And I wasn't like I wasn't into Ari. Like I was into Jeff watching like that season. I was all about Jeff. But Ari I could not deny his smooth kissing skills.

Wow, you've really studied that, huh? It's been a while since I've even watched it. That's just how vivid the memories are. Yeah. Yeah, he's definitely, I guess, known for that. So it definitely could be worse. Yeah, but then as a girl, you think, wow, how many girls has he kissed that he's perfected? This art like that?

Well, I mean, he's 30, what, 36? Yeah, that's true. So I guess he's probably had his running with a few girls. Can you give us, like, just a little bit of trivia knowledge, something interesting that you know about Ari that the general public doesn't? Oh, um. A story from when you room together on Emily's. One thing that I really remember that was kind of weird is like him and Jeff would cut each other's hair, which was pretty interesting. Nothing really kind of out of the ordinary, because as you guys know, I mean, we were just kind of like locked up in.

hotel rooms and kind of just did pretty basic stuff, but he's a funny guy. I mean, very leady and, you know, just funny in general. Well, oh, my gosh, you just brought up Jeff and Ari and how they used to be such good friends, so now I have to ask, what was the fallout all about? You know, I honestly don't really know the exact details, but yeah, like I said, when we were traveling, it was pretty much the three of us that would room together, and they were like inseparable. Even, you know, right after the show.

And I'm guessing you had to probably do something with, I don't know, Jeff spending up with Emily and something going on there. But, you know, I know they were both at, I believe it was Sean and Catherine's wedding.

And I believe they were at John Wolfner's wedding as well. So I don't know. Like I've seen Jeff a couple times recently out in L.A. I really don't really know the details with that. Do you guys know? I have no idea.

Love to know they were so oddly close for two final two. You know, the final four is close usually. But when you get down to that final two, there's always a bit of hostility. But it didn't seem like that between the two of them, even when Jeff was engaged to Emily. But I do believe, I would just assume that between the two of them, I bet you that that rifts came from a girl. Oh, for sure. It has to be. It has to be that.

Yeah, I don't really know the details on that, but it's definitely something that we're probably going to find out eventually, I would imagine. What's interesting is that season, your season was five years ago, and it's still one of the ones that I remember most clearly, and it's still ones where we still have some names from it. We have Ari, Jeff, you, and Sean. Interesting, right? But you don't remember, I don't remember anyone from Ashley's season or from Dez's season. Yeah, that's true. I guess, you know, I've been on like five shows after that. I think I was really the only one that was kind of on some of the spinoffs

that didn't end up being in The Bachelor. Obviously, Sean was The Bachelor right away. Now Ari's The Bachelor, and Jeff was, you know, the winner. So, yeah, other than that, you know, I don't really remember a lot of people from the other seasons either, I guess. I've come up with so many questions for you in this amount of time. Why do you think that Ari has never done a spinoff, never done Paradise? That's a good question. I know he felt pretty jaded because I feel like he had the opportunity to be the Bachelor.

They actually asked him to be the Bachelor once before. Who season? My season, Chris Soul Season. Oh, really? Oh, right, right, right. Yeah, he had some pretty good jokes on that. That was good. And so I think after that, he just was like, screw it.

But I don't really remember them, you know, him really talking about them asking him to be on one of the spinoff. I know Jeff was always talking about, you know, possibly going on one of the spinoff. Heard that Jeff wasn't really desired for that role. Anyway, a whole other topic. We do need to have Jeff home on here one day. Jeff, this is me begging you. Used to have a hardcore crush on you. I would love to talk to you and have you in studio one day.

Anyway, Chris, thank you so much for being on here. And congratulations for being somebody in the Bachelor Hall of Fame. Did we ask Chris if he has a girlfriend now? Chris, Chris, do you have a girlfriend now? I just, it's a tough one because we're just, I was dating someone for like two years and we just kind of broke it off like a month ago. So it's an interesting time for me. So I guess the answer to that would be no.

Well, I mean, this is one thing we can take from this. is it's never too late, Chris. And so if Ari can be The Bachelor, you're single. Who knows what happens next year? We could be seeing you as the next Bachelor for ABCC, the Bachelor. You know what, Ben? It's in my five-year plan, so I guess. That's awesome, man.

Well, hey, thank you so much for coming on today. Of course, guys. Thanks for having me. That guy has been a round a while. And as you said, Ashley, it is kind of odd that we remember so many people from him least season, but he makes a good point, right? you had Sean as a Bachelor, the most beloved Bachelor of all time, who marries Catherine, you have. I do think that you and Sean are tied for most beloved Bachelor.

You, of course, I truly believe, far higher on the scale, but I know that in the general population's eyes, you're about tied. Well, you're a very biased listener, too, and fans, so. But there's a lot of people, and it was a great season with a lot of big names. Ashley, I am so excited for this weekend, and I want to tell a listener is exactly what we're going to be doing. So I get to spend another weekend with Ashley I, which I'm telling you, when you get to spend a weekend with Ashley I, it's always a blast. We're not only going to be with Ashley I. We're going to have a couple other bachelor people with us in Vegas for the IHeart Festival. Obviously, this is a IHeart podcast.

So we're going to go out to Vegas, support IHeart, listen to some great music. But, Ashley, we have a couple ideas on things that might happen at IHeart. who's going to get married, who's going to get arrested, and who's just going to fall in love. Okay. Well, I have so many ideas. We have quite the crew. It's going to be me, Ben, Becca, Dean, Peter, meeting Peter for the first time. Very exciting.

And Wells, who also is part of our I-Heart radio family. You guys, there's that little white chapel there. We'd love to marry one of them there. But I have to say, the person that I'm going to bring over there, the first choice, my first choice, would be Harry Styles. But how funny would it, because Harry's going to be there. how funny would it be if Ben and I came on the podcast next week and we were married? Wait, you and I? Yeah, what if we were married this weekend?

That sounds awesome. That sounds really, really great. You know, actually, I am ordained in Nevada in Vegas. I've married people based on my season of The Bachelor. Becca and I actually were able to marry people in Vegas to Little White Chapel. So, Ashley, if next week your last name's Higgins, then this whole new podcast changed. in such a positive way. Oh, my God.

How cute that be, the Ben and Ashley Higgins show. Unbelievable. And one thing I want to give a shout out to is Miley Cyrus is going to be a high heart festival this weekend. And Miley has been one of my favorite entertainers for a long time. And in short, I want to share a quick story. So I did a Humaneane Hope fundraiser with Fierce 45. That's a gym in Denver here a few weeks ago.

And part of that fundraiser, there's a silent, auction, and one of the auction items was a date with me, which is ridiculous, but it's for charity, and it's all great, and two wonderful girls bit on it and actually bought the date with me. Well, through some events, the one girl said, hey, Ben, if you can find us a Miley Cyrus autograph, it will replace us going out to dinner. I would rather have a Miley Cyrus autograph. And so I reached out to Brandy Cyrus and Wells, because Brandy, you know, and Brandy,

and Wells are friends. They reached out to Miley. Miley actually within a week, I'm not kidding you, within a week, sent a magazine with a signature on it from Miley. She actually signed it twice to this young lady to support a foundation that I care a ton about.

So I want to give Miley a shout out right now on this podcast, and Brandy and Wells and say thank you all for supporting Humanea and Hope United and also just doing some charity work but making it fun. And so this girl is so excited for this autograph. I'm excited because now I have a free night that I'm not going to dinner.

But I want to take this time to say, hey, I cannot wait to watch Miley this week, and I'm going to be her biggest fan because of what she's done for me. So, Miley, thank you. And in addition to this week, Ashley and I are saying in some pretty sweet digs at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino. Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino is actually now a sponsor of this podcast, and we are ecstatic about it. I mean, how cool is this? So let me read you what Planet Hollywood's all about. The Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino is celebrating 10 years with all new rooms and suites. Stay in a bright, contemporary, ultra-hip, which is what I'd like to consider myself room,

or upgrade to a spaces suite with panoramic views of the Las Vegas trip. Whatever room you choose, you'll feel like a Hollywood VIP. You might actually feel almost famous. Planet Hollywood's home to Gordon Ramsey's Burger. A casual burger joint that has always fresh and is always energetic. Look for the 30-foot firewall or floor-to-ceiling keg display. And prepare for the kind of dining experience that only Gordon Ramsey can deliver. Planet Hollywood's Axis Theater is home to the hottest resident headliners on the strip.

This is the place to see blockbuster shows like Jennifer Lopez. Paula. Backstreet boys. Yeah. Ow! Oh, my. Britney Spears. Woo!

Oh, my. Brittany and I grew up together. Lionel Richie. Planet Hollywood Sixth Floor Pool Deck features all new cabanas, great entertainment, the city's first and only flowrider. That's Flowrider, not the rapper, but the Flowrider Wave Machine. And, of course, great views of the Las Vegas Strip. We're going to blast it this weekend.

We'll tell you all about it when we get back on the next podcast. But Ashley, I and myself will be in Vegas this weekend at the IHeart Festival. Make sure you tune in and watch. We'll see you there. Yeah, and guys, I was actually staying at Planet Hollywood when I wanted to see the Backstree Boys in June and these new suites they really are their bomb.com and I can't wait to stay

in one again. Also, Ben talking about the good stuff that Miley did, I just want to give out a little shout to Miley. I thought that she's always been like the coolest, kindest, hearted person and I've never met her, but even when she's going through her wild rebel phase, I was like, this girl has a good heart. I like her. I've always liked her.

But speaking of, like, doing things for charity, I did want to give a little shout out to something that a couple of us bachelor peeps are doing for if only um we are trying to help the victims of both hurricanes harvey and irma so we're raising money by throwing the greatest bachelor day of your lives it's a raffle so um amy how do we get them to the link go to if only dot com slash bachelor okay so if only dot com slash bachelor you're going to see the day that we have put together First, you're going to go shopping with Amanda Stanton.

Then you're going to have lunch with me and Becca. And then you're going to go on a two-on-one drink and appetizer date with Nick and Dean. And then you're going to hang out with us all at a Jason Aldeen concert. So if you are interested in having this ultimate Bachelor day, then go to if only.com slash Bachelor and just enter to win the raffle. You know, you put as many raffle tickets, donate as much as you want. the more you donate the higher chance of winning and the day that we will be hanging out

with the winner is October 6th here in L.A. We are setting up hotel and airfare for the winner as well. So please go check that out. All right. One reader email? One reader email? Let's do one. Let's do one.

Okay. This one's kind of funny. So it's from Liz and she goes, hi Ben and Ashley. My question for both of you is how do you get over someone you've dated and have invested so much time in and hoping that it will work and it just wasn't reciprocated in the end. I feel like it's so difficult because they were a huge part of your life and now all a sudden they aren't there anymore. Do you have any advice or words of wisdom for dealing with loneliness or rejection? I really don't because guys I just, nope, I just stay attached to them

for a very, very long time. And all I can say is that I think the way to get over someone is just finding someone new. I normally don't get over the person until I find somebody new. Oh, actually, I might have to disagree with you on that. I'm not saying it's the way to be. I'm just saying that that's how I am. What about you? You know, you, again, I'll say it.

And I think I saw a tweet this last week that says, Ben, you always pump Ashley up so much as getting awkward. Well, dang it, I'm going to get awkward then. I'll be awkward every podcast, if that's what it takes. You do. You just, Ashley, I know you have. have a heart that doesn't leave easily, which is respectful and admirable. I feel similar, I guess, in the sense of I don't have as big a heart as you do.

Oh, my gosh, please now. You're ridiculous. Listen, listen. So the email says something there that I think spot on. The hardest part about a breakup, at least in my circumstances, the fact that you have somebody there beside you, your partner, your partner in crime, your lover, you know, and then all of a sudden, they're gone. They're gone, and they're out of your life, and it's not exactly appropriate to keep

communication. It's not exactly appropriate to keep a relationship because it's hard and it's tough and it's lonely. That's difficult, and my advice to that is allow it to be difficult, and that doesn't sound like the best advice, but feel that moment, feel that time, feel why it's so hard. And I believe that through the loneliness, you will get to know yourself better, that you'll get to be stronger as a person that you will become less dependent on others and more dependent on where you're at with yourself and with your faith and with your relationships with whatever, you know, faith you have.

You know, for me, I leaned on God a lot during that time. But with your family, your relationship, your family, lean on those things. I've always said is in the best relationships, right? And I think we forget this sometimes and it's so easily to cross over. It's so easy to become codependent with your partner. And I think when you become codependent, when you lose that person, if you happen to lose them, then you've lost a huge piece of yourself. But instead, if you're walking in parallel in relationships, if you're just solid partners

with each other that you're not dependent, then when you lose that person, you can look back and say, hey, I've learned a lot, this is a great experience, and now I have to find myself outside of this relationship. So, in short, I would say, breakups are terrible, they're hard, they're ugly, there's not a lot of great ways to do them. They're going to hurt, allow them to hurt, but don't let that pain paralyze you. And that's how I get over it. It's to continue to find yourself in a process that can feel dark sometimes.

And also remember, you're not alone. There's a lot of other people out there, including myself, including Ashley, who have dealt with breakups before as well. You're not an anomaly. You know, you're still lovable. I've been having to be told it a lot, but you're still lovable, girl. So never forget that. Ashley, you're very lovable. Oh, well, thank you.

But there is one little thing I wanted to mention in the email. It's such a brief email, but there's so much to say about it. It is that the death of the daydreams of your future. You know what I mean? Like those daydreams that you have for your future, it's not just losing the person that you're with in the moment. It's also losing all those daydreams and all the things that you hope to happen with that person one day. And that is part of that's, I think that's 50% of the hard part,

is just having to let those dreams die. The fantasy has to fade at some point. But hey, we're not fading. We're fading right in the vein. Vegas this weekend. We'll be back next week with another almost famous podcast. This is season three, episode one. We're a wrap. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Thanks for joining us. We love you. Keep the tweets coming. Bye. Well, I like you, but yeah. All right. We'll talk you later.

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