The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S3 #12 The Host with the Most... Gossip

Episode Date: December 5, 2017

The moment we've all been waiting for...Ben and Ashley score an exclusive in-depth interview with Bachelor Host Chris Harrison! In it he reveals things he's never told ANYONE before. That means there's only two places to hear it now...inside his head or on the Ben and Ashley Almost Famous podcast.  And if you're still standing after that...we'll get into "Who the Heck are You? With Kelly Travis from Juan Pablo's season. Find out her big news and her connection to Bachelor favorite Andi Dorfman! Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ready? Mm-hmm. This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. The announcement's true. This is the Ben and Ashley I almost famous podcast. I'm Ben. I'm Ashley. We might have the most specialist guest.

I think he is. Of all time coming on the podcast today. Yeah. Not only do we have a good who the heck are you, but Ashley, give our listeners a little tease or a little taste of who we have coming up on our first segment. I thought this man didn't like me for a while. And then I realized. He doesn't. I don't know.

And then I realized he's just really snarky. And he has like, he's just, he's so much different off screen than he is on screen because he has to be so put together on screen. You know, like he just, he has his classic lines. Yeah. He needs to be the leader in love, like the mentor. The leader of love. We got to ask him if he likes you, though. I know he does now. No, I know he does. He Instagrammed a picture with me.

This man is the definition of professionalism of friendship. We talk about him all the time. Our producer, Amy, has a special place in her heart for him. My friend, a man I look up to very much, Chris Harrison, the host of The Bachelor, is coming on the podcast today. I believe he's on right now. Chris, welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast. Guys, how are you doing? We're great. This is our turn to be the host of you.

This is fun. I feel very uncomfortable. Let me tell you something. Getting me on a podcast, it's like you might as well see a unicorn flying over a rainbow. Are we your first podcast? This is how much I love you guys. Oh, my gosh. See, I told you he does like me now.

You know, the jury was out on Ashley for a while because I just didn't know her. See, he's being honest. Yeah, he didn't. And I just remember during Chris Soul season, you wrote, like, what is it, your Yahoo reviews of each episode? Well, here's the thing. You were always good TV, which is good for me and my kids. Yeah, I know. You tell me this.

Right. So, bottom line is you're putting my kids through college. That's really what I care about. I didn't get to know you that well. Obviously, Ben, even in Ben's first season when he was, you know, just on the Bachelorette, I didn't really get to know him that well. But then he became The Bachelor. We became friends. I got to know the other side of him.

It took a little longer. We just didn't get to spend much time together. That's something obviously I do on purpose. I don't spend a lot of time with the women. Just, you know, it's smart. It's just politically I don't do that. But then now that I've gotten to know you after the show, you're a lovely person. Oh, thank you.

I was also a star-struck by you. You're a lovely person. We've gotten to know each other very well. And I like the crying. I like that you are who you are. Oh, thanks, Chris. And I'm so glad I could help you and your kids out. Yeah.

Hey, hey, let me tell you something. Private school and college does not pay for itself. That's right. Hey, Chris. You need some Ashley eyes in the world to take care of that. I was just going to say that. You need a couple people like Ashley to make this thing popular. But you've been around since the beginning.

The Bachelor is the beginning of time. The Bachelor is as popular as it's ever been. You've seen the growth. You've been through the ups and downs of everything. In your opinion, where does The Bachelor stand today? Just in terms of popularity and its health and its vibrancy. Oddly, so here's the thing, you know, back in the day when there was, you know, black and white TV and there was like four channels to choose from, the numbers were obviously bigger, the ratings.

You know, the second season, Aaron Bergey season, I think we wrapped up with, say, 33 million viewers. It was insane, the number one show on TV and was really changing television. This is before Idol and before a lot of the other shows. Survivor was on one season, and then the Baxter came on. And so it was a huge phenomenon, and it was changing my life and changing television. A lot of things were happening. But I would argue it's more socially relevant now than it's ever been. You know, whether you go on the campus of UCLA, where I'm actually speaking tonight,

you go into every sorority house around the country, and it is a, a huge socially relevant show. And that's a large part of that is because social relevance has changed in 16 years. There was no such thing as a podcast or a blog or obviously Twitter, Instagram, any of that stuff when we started. We didn't have to worry about it. And now it's evolved into a show that is, you know, perfect for what social media is these days.

Exactly right. It's, Chris, I've always wondered this. And I've never got to ask you one-on-one about this. And someone asked you on a podcast so you're held accountable. your life I mean when you became the host of the bachelor you obviously believed in the show because you wouldn't have accepted the job and I don't think anybody could have predicted 22 seasons of success so your life has as Ashley kind of said at the beginning of the podcast you are now seen as the master of love do you accept that role is that a role that you are a little bit sad to have obtained because you have to talk about the bachelor and love all the time or is this show just such a part of your life now that you feel very very very connected to it. It's definitely the latter at the end of the day. But it's a very good question because I didn't fight it, but I was a little reluctant to embrace it early on because, you know, I knew my life had changed and I knew this show had changed my life and it was a part of it. So

for that reason, I will never, you know, bite the hand that feeds me. And this is my baby and it has been. And I feel like it's as much mine as it is anybody, including Mike Fleiss, the creator of the show because I've put my heart and soul in it. My kids have grown up on this show. You know, my son was six weeks old when I started this. I was just born, and he's now a sophomore in high school. So if you wonder how old the show is, it's driving now and in high school. When people ask me about things that I really remember about the show, it's very interesting particular things that actually revolve around my personal life. It's not about, you know, the Tristan and Ryan wedding. And, you know,

There's highlights on TV, but then there's highlights in my life where I remember the first time I met Mike Fleiss, and I had just, you know, had been up all night, and Joshua had been throwing up on me, and I went in for my first meeting, and I remember having to shoot Meredith's finale a little early because my then-wife was in labor. And so we taped up the windows, and so we had to shoot early just in case I had a baby that night. So there's moments like that where this show is revolved around kind of the most influential, important parts of my life. you know, that'll, that'll, that'll, you can't take that history away. And now that I've seen also what the show is done and the impact it's had in the world, and, you know, again, I don't want to get too deep and too philosophical about it. But when you see the impact it's had, you know, I definitely embrace it. I love what the show is done. I love what it brings. I love when I go to a, you know, my kid's school and someone will come up and say, you know what, I never talk to my mom except on Tuesday mornings. We always talk about The Bachelor. And so if nothing else about our silly show that you guys have been a huge part. of we do we bring people together and you guys see that as much as i do when people will come up and just talk to you about it and you would think um you know it gets annoying because all i do is

talk about ashley and ben and tristan ryan and those people in my life but the good news is they are real people you know i really get to do talk about ben and what a great guy is or actually and does she really cry that much and you know and it's people typically i love and even if I don't love, I don't mind talking about because at least it's real. I have good friends, as you guys probably do, that are actors. And I can't imagine what they go through when they walk through the market. And someone gets mad at them for something they did on an episode. And I'm like, you realize that's not them, right? Like, that was written. They really didn't kill that person. That was on TV. And so at least I get to talk about something real. That's true. And

your weddings, those are real. You've officiated so many weddings. What's the number now? Oh, God, what am I up to, six, seven, eight? Because I've done, you know, I've done some other private ones now for family and friends. And it actually started, oddly enough, in a very weird way. I was in Prague on Emily Maynard season. I was in the middle of my divorce in one of the worst possible moments of my life, and it was still very private. And I called the producers together because I wanted them to know I was releasing this statement.

It was about to go public. Like, it had been real for a while, but I kept it very secret because I didn't want my kids' lives affected. And so I waited, and I called the producers together. I said, hey, guys, I just want you to know this is coming out next week. And they said, oh, so here's the thing. We were kind of hoping you would marry us. We have a wedding coming up, and this was two of our executive producers that were asking me to me. I said, I know who they are.

I just told me the worst news of my life, and you want me to marry you. And so I said, yes, of course. Wow. But that's how it started. That's when I got ordained was for two producers, Cassie and Pete. Yeah, some of our favorites. Did you all even know them? Oh, my gosh.

Pete is like my, like, third father. Your godfather? Yeah, my godfather. Pete was there for a lot of guidance. It's a thing that the first TV wedding I did was Ashley and JP, and it was something that I immediately said no for. When the producer said, look, they want you to do the officiating. I said, absolutely not. And my reason was I didn't want it to be a joke.

And if we could figure out a way where it wasn't going to seem like a cocktail joke that I was marrying these two, then I would do it. But I definitely believe in what we do. And, you know, whether you love the show or not, that part of it is real. These people really do fall in love. And that's, I think, what makes the show so relatable. And so when they asked me to marry him, I was like, I don't know. It seems so cheesy. But we pulled it off.

And then since then, I've done several others. Being married by Chris Harrison. That was a dream of mine. Nope. I thought it was going to happen. People are obsessed with you being the next bachelor, speaking of your own personal love life. And you always say no.

And even if it was the final season, you say no, because you know too much, right? Yeah. And it's just, you know, what's funny is I'm not you guys. You know, you guys know me very well, so you know that I'm a very private person, Despite what I do for a living, I love what I do on TV, and I'm confident in that, and that's my skill set, and that's what I've done for 30 years now. But I'm not a bachelor or bachelor.

I would be terrible. I really do envy how you guys live and how you can live out loud and put everything out there. I can't. I don't have that in me. And so I would be probably the worst bachelor ever. Envy. And it just would be so weird. for me because, you know, as well as you guys know, the producers and the crew, I've, you know,

raised these kids, and, you know, they've come and gone, and I know them very well. So it would be very hard for me to depart from, you know, producing, hosting to, hey, I'm just going to throw it all up in the air and fall in love. And as Ben will tell you, one of the most important bits of advice I give any bachelor or bachelor's is you really have to give yourself up to this. You have to trust. You have to just give it up. and you kind of have to leave your life behind and all your decision-making

and really give it up to this process for it to work. And that's a hard thing to do. It's incredibly difficult. And I want to say, and I've said it before on the podcast, but I want to say it in front of need, too, this, Chris has been a breath of fresh air during this whole process when you do give yourself up and you know that your life is going to be displayed on national television and you're looking for advice and comfort. Not only is he a host, but as Amy said a couple weeks ago in the podcast, outside of the show, he's a support.

And I think that's what makes Chris such a good person to host a Bachelor because his life lives out what he's showing on television. Speaking to television, I want to give a quick shout out here to kind of close up our Bachelor's segment because The Bachelor is not the only thing Chris is known for right now. However, The Bachelor's special, The Road to R.A. air is December 11th. It's the 22nd season of The Bachelor premieres January 1st. So if you're hungover on New Year's Day, what better way to recover than watch

a little Ari. Real quick, Chris, how has Ari changed from the now? Keep this short, because I do want to get into something else that you're a part of right now, but just give a little bit of hit of who Ari was, what, five years ago to who Ari is today. Yeah, you know, five years ago, it was a very different time even on the show. And I know that sounds crazy, but five years ago, Emily season, a lot of people that love our show and watch it, don't even, didn't even see that show. That's how old it was. And I've stayed in touch with Ari, just like I've stayed in touch with you, and he's been a friend of mine for years. And I've actually never said this before, but I even set Ari up on a date. This is off the show. There was this great girl in the area

in Scottsdale where he lives, and she was looking for someone, and I knew he was. So I have actually already set him up before, and it worked for a little bit. They dated for a while. And, you know, he's a guy that just has always been a little bit unlucky in love. He's never found that somebody. And so when the idea was brought up of bringing Ari back, he was such a fan favorite. And I'm so confident in him that even those that are saying publicly, why Ari? Why did you guys go back that far? Why choose Ari? I know him and I know how popular he was and people that didn't get a chance to see him will quickly fall in love with this guy. You know, obviously the looks and all the romance and all that, but he's a really

good guy and he's easy to watch. And the women are dynamic. It's a very good season. But he hasn't changed a lot. He still hasn't found that somebody. And so I don't know. It was kind of a, I like mixing it up every now and then. We do the same thing a lot. And I like to throw the curveball a little bit. And this is, I know it has caught some people off guard, but trust me, you will love Ari and you're going to love this season. Well, we all hope that he finds somebody. And there's a couple other avenues that The Bachelors open it up to find people. And Ashley has been extremely interested in what exactly this is about. We want to know all about winter games. because we don't understand what it is.

You know what? I was hoping you guys were going to tell me. We hear that the first Bachelor of Paradise season, you guys kind of winged it while down in Mexico. Are you just going to wing this Bachelor Winter Games? Well, the fun thing is after doing something for 16 years, you know, I know we'll talk about Millionaire in a little bit. It's fun for me to jump into something new.

And when you have a show that it has the parameters of look, it's a Bachelor franchise show, so you're going to have some of that, and it has a little bit of the summer show, Bachelor in Paradise, but other than that, it's a little bit of a blank slate, and it's very rare in television where you get to do that at this level to create a new show and have fun with it. And really, there are no rules. And so we're kind of, we're not making it up as we go, but we're definitely going to make it up as we go. I've always said, you know, when we, the first year of Bachelor in Paradise is a little bit of the same as we're kind of, we're not. We have a very good idea, but until you really get boots on the ground and you start producing a show, you never really sure where the gold is going to come from. You're not sure exactly what you're going to love. And so once you get into it, you might think, wow, it's the competition that we really like. And that's kind of where Bachelor pad when it first started. That's where we kind of thought the show was going to be more competition.

But what we realized, it was more about The Bachelor, it was more about the relationships and the love. So the show shifted, and then it became Bachelor in Paradise. And my guess is that's where this will lead and that it's a little bit about the competition and, you know, the winter games. But my guess is it's about relationships and love and companionship and the international aspect of it and where that goes. There's absolutely no doubt. Everybody always asked me, you know, you get the question all the time too, Chris. But, hey, how fake is the bachelor? And I say it's not fake at all.

There's no fakeness to it. You get 25 to 30 people in one place competing for anything and storylines are. going to exist. They're going to come up. And so we're all excited to witness what exactly winter games will be. And I want you guys to highlight friendships because people are fascinated by our friendships. Ashley wants friendships. I think what people often mistake is what we create and what we produce is the environment. And then we're going to do that with the winter games. We know where we're going to be. We know what it's going to look like. But what happens within that environment is the dynamic. And that's the reality of it. And same thing.

We know who's going on the two-on-one date. Sorry, Ashley. There's a two-on-one date in Winter Games? Well, what happened? I promise there will be no too well. I can't promise that. There might be two-on-one dates in winter games. But what happens on those dates, that's the reality of it.

And that's kind of the beauty of the show. And, yeah, do we create some of those situations to force something? Yeah, that's, again, that's part of the beauty of when we need Ben to make a decision between two people, you put him in an extraordinary situation where he has to make a choice. And you and I talked about that a lot of sometimes it's time to push yourself a little bit and get out of that comfort zone. So it's going to be interesting. It's going to be fun for me as a host, producer and all that to kind of dive in and figure out what we have.

I know there's a lot of secrets that I have of who's going to be on the show, some very, very special guests and names that will be a part of it and things that we're doing. I do know about that are going to be pretty awesome, that everyone's going to be excited about. That's awesome. Yeah, so going from a new show that we know nothing about to a show that's been around for so long. I can remember the days that this show started and really became a landmark television show in America. It's who wants to be a millionaire.

Chris, you are the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. I was on the show. My episode will be airing actually this week. Chris, can you tell us a little bit about the process of switching over from The Bachelor to do Millionaire? And what exactly Millionaire means to you because you kill it as the host? I appreciate it. And, yeah, your episode air is Thursday. Yes.

So if you want to see Ben play Millionaire in Spoiler Alert, he did a lot better than I thought he was doing. I don't know how to take that. It did really well. I wasn't sure. You never know. You never know. I thought you were a smart guy. I thought you're a good guy.

You never know until you actually get put to the test. But three years ago, I had actually just gotten off the road. shooting The Bachelorette and got a call from ABC, and it's rare you get these calls where they call you, but they said, you know, we want you to host Millionaire. The show is a little bit down and out, but we are going to give this another shot and really try to revive this thing and take it back to its roots. And so three years ago, I took it over, and thankfully the last three years, we've done nothing but bring it back, and the ratings have been up, and we've evolved and kind of getting it back to its old glory days. And I've, it's, it was a project that I could dive into again. It was new. It's a lot more host intensive and asks a lot more of me, which I love, because you have to, you know, keep up with the game and you keep up with the contestants and you, there's a lot going on.

And so I love it. I love hosting it. And at the end of the day, you know, you were on set. I play trivia and I give away money. And it's not my money, which is even better. I give away billions and millions of dollars. And it's not lost on me that you change people's lives. And that's really, you know, I'll be in the middle of the show, and you might be at $5,000 or $10,000, whatever it is, and then you look over and you see some contestant just welling up with tears, and you realize, holy crap, like we just change their life.

You just got them out of whatever trouble they were in, and that's a beautiful thing, and I love it. It's kind of an American way of doing it. You have to earn it. You don't get to come on and just get lucky and win a million dollars. You have to work for it. You have to be smart. There's something very American about that, I love. I was so nervous. I don't, I mean, nervous and myself don't relate much anymore. I don't get that nervous, but for a millionaire. I don't get nervous for anything anymore because of doing the bachelor process. But the millionaire process, when I was walking on, if I would have missed the first question, I knew I'd be so embarrassed.

I was so nervous the whole entire time. I'll never forget that. I don't know if you could tell Chris, but I wasn't, like, calm at all for that. And you're right, because it is real. and it can affect lives. Yeah. You didn't have a poker face. You can tell.

There was the shortness of breath. Stop. I really want. You could have always asked the audience. No. But that's one of the things I love. I love that that's part of my job. And you'd think the Bachelor and Millionaire are very different as far as hosting, and they're really not.

It's all about me listening, me reading people, not worrying about being the star of the show, but allowing the game, the contestant, the bachelor, the bachelorette, whoever it is, to kind of lead me into where we're going. And sometimes in Millionaire, it's all about, you know, trying to get to a certain amount to pay off a house or something like that. But then you might have a game player that just wants to beat the 14 questions. And so I read, you know, the contestant, and they lead me where the game goes. And everybody's different. And I love that. It's a blast for me to host, and it's been fun to kind of bring the show back because it's a classic.

I mean, I watched it with everybody else. It changed television, and so to be walking into that arena that Regis hosted, you know, for so many years, to get to do that every day is pretty cool. Chris, I want to give Ashley has one final question for you, and I know you've got to get going. You're a busy guy. This is about my love life? This is not about your love life at all. I would not do that to you. That is something I care about deeply, but not on this podcast.

I want to tell her. You haven't seemed to help me at all. Well, you haven't helped me. either. You haven't helped me either. But hey, here's a deal. And I wanted to have all of our listeners hear this. I've done a bunch of television shows over the last couple of years.

I've been on a bunch of game shows and I've been on a bunch of talk shows and I've met a lot of people. Something that always stands out to me. And it stood out to me on Millionaire and it stands out to me on The Bachelor. And I didn't know if it was just the Bachelor's, this was the case because it's been around for so long. But from the audio to the production assistance, to the producers, to the camera guys, to the fans, Chris Harrison relates, talks, listens, and cares about each one of these people. When he goes on the millionaire set, it was really cool for me to see because I do care about Chris. He is a friend of mine, and I like that people like him.

I enjoy when I see people appreciating him. But on that set, it reinforced the idea that people on set appreciated him and he appreciated them as well. And that is unique. It is different. It is unique in a world where I feel like people that have a lot of status that are popular

push other people aside. And Chris, you've never done that. You haven't done it to one single person that's done this show. You never did it to me and you don't do it

to the people that that work on the show. So I want to say thank you to that because that's a big deal. Yeah. Chris, you have the best reputation

in Hollywood, really. Well, it's something I take very serious and I appreciate it and for you guys to notice that is wonderful. And it has a lot to do with obviously,

you know, your upbringing. My mom and dad and where I grew up in Texas. But I also think a lot of that comes from where I grew up in this business and the people that raised me in this business. And I started back in Oklahoma City as a sportscaster. And I was easily the lowest man on the totem pole.

And I had an amazing mentor, this man named Bill Teacons, who found me in college and pulled me out and gave me my first few jobs. But, you know, he always made a point. And I took it, you know, very serious growing up as know everybody's job. And back in the day, I used to have to do. everybody's job. You know, I produced, I wrote, I edited, and hosted, and did my own makeup and everything back in the day when I was a sportscaster. And so knowing what the director does and what the lighting guy does and what, you know,

everybody, what knowing their jobs and appreciating what they do and realizing how important it is. And, you know, I have this talk with all of our bachelors. And Ben, you can attest to this. I said, look, you know, by the time you show up on your date, you know, there's been three to four hundred people who have busted their butt and everything look as good as it does. And I know that you're hot and I know that it's late or whatever, but look around you and look who else is here and how long they've been here. And they'll be here long after you're gone. And so having an appreciation for what everyone's doing and knowing their jobs, you know,

I always say that the last thing a production is ever going to do is wait on me. And everybody jokes about, you know, how I'm one take wonder and I always walk on and do my thing. It's like, because I, for me to waste somebody's time to show up late and to not do my job is, I just think, the biggest sign of disrespect. And so every day, you know, if it's within my ability, I'm going to be on time, I'm going to be ready to go. I'm going to be damn good at what I do. And I, because I feel like I owe that to you. And I owed it to you as the bachelor. I it to you, Ashley, on the show. And I want to make your experience good.

And so, you know, I think you have to have that level of respect. Well, you certainly do that. We like to end our interviews with one last funny, fun question. If you were The Bachelor, just humorous for a second, who would you want to take your job as host? Would it be me? I've actually thought about that. I'll let you answer then.

And this isn't just a chicken shit way of getting out of the answer. I think what I would like to do is have a lot of you guys there. Oh, that's cool. I feel like I take, you know, just like friendships and relationships, I kind of take things, different things from each of you. And so I kind of would like certain times. It's kind of like a bullpen. I would like to call certain people in certain situations.

There's times where I would need a woman. And I'm like, look, I'm going to call somebody to be my host. And then there's a time I just want to have a little bromance, and I need to talk to one of my boys. So I think I would need a group. I think it would take a village to get me to find love. I don't see a village being needed. But Chris, man, we appreciate you coming on the podcast.

I know it is difficult to get you on a podcast, but it just means a lot to Ashley and I that you came on the Almost Famous podcast. Before you go, I want to give a shout out to say that Millionaire airs weekdays at 1 p.m. in L.A., check your local listings for air times. And also the Bachelor special, The Road to Ari, airs December 11th on ABC. Chris, thank you so much. We appreciate you, ma'am. Ben, Ashley, I love you too.

And by the way, while we're throwing out congratulations, congratulations on the success of your podcast. I love the fact that you guys are doing this. And I know Amy Sugarman, who's one of the loves of my life, is a big part of this. But in all seriousness, it's been a huge success. And so it says a lot about you guys and about Amy. So congratulations and anything you guys need,

not just on a podcast, but in life, you know, I'm just a phone call away. Oh, thanks, Chris. I took advantage of that this week, didn't I? You gave me a little phone call. And if you need to tee it up, you know, I'm a phone call as well. That's right. Hey, thanks, Chris.

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you couldn't control your body i mean when i do like read our ads actually like use a lot of energy that's beautiful ashley has a lot of energy today even though she's been working all morning um actually we have a a very special guest on one of our favorite segments that we do often Kelly Travis Kelly Travis Are you there Kelly Travis was on Juan Pablo's season We talked about her a little bit

In the last episode Because she was known as dog lover She was on Juan Pablo season And she's pregnant Yeah So Kelly don't take this the wrong way But who the heck are you? I know right

I wonder sometimes myself And like this pregnancy news How about this news? Because you're a bachelor girl Who's pregnant and we're always talking about Bachelor babies. You met your husband soon after Juan Pablo season, correct? I met my husband before Juan Pablo season.

And how'd you mean? Juan Pablo sent me running back, I guess. Okay, okay. Tell us your story. I want to hear your love story. How'd you meet and how did you get back to him? Okay, so we dated for four years. We've met through a mutual friend.

Four years? Yeah, crazy. He's going to hate that I say this. He was on a date. And then ask the friend to set him up. I'm like, I would never go out with a guy that was on a date asking about me. And then now, look, we're married. He was on a date asking about you?

Yeah, it's really bad. Asking about you to who? This random friend of ours. It was like a group date? Yeah. No, he was on a date. I was with the girlfriend, and he saw her, started texting her, and was like, who are you with? Like, this guy is on a date asking about me.

I'm like, I would never go out with him. No way. Yeah, we dated for four years, broke up for a year, went on the show, and then as soon as I got off the show, we got back together. And you thought, wow, Juan Pablo is so horrible. I'm going to go back to my ex. It sent me running back. Like, nothing could be worse than that. No. Yeah, while I was gone, all I thought about was him, even though we had broken up for a year, it was just, I guess, that time of my life where I was ready to settle down. I mean, you know, the Bachelor makes you do that, I guess. How's your dog?

Dog is still kicking. She's great. She has a brother now, so I've got two dogs, and they're good. You have a nice little family. I know, and a baby on the way. Crazy. And so you were known as a dog lover. You brought your dog to the bachelor.

How did you get so lucky? Are we all able to do this? It's so random. I mean, honestly, I just asked. Whenever they were talking about casting, they asked what was holding me back. And I had this rescue dog that I was obsessed with. And I was like, I don't want to board her for potentially nine weeks.

So can I bring her? And they're like, sure. So she lived in the house and thus I became dog lover. And traveling? You got to keep her on the plane with you? She stayed. Well, we've traveled to, like, South Korea. And so I don't know that that's the best place for a dog.

So she stayed with a producer's wife. And then whenever I got off the show, I went back to L.A., picked her up, and then flew home. So she lived her little life on the show. Kelly, this is so intriguing to me. I remember watching that season and seeing the dog walk into the mansion. It did have to be a comfort. I kind of want Ashley to go back on The Bachelor and bring a dog because I feel like she would be so much more comforted. and comfortable and more yourself because you love your emotional support dog.

So you had an advantage. So tell us a little bit to catch us up about your experience on The Bachelor. Really, tell our audience who you are. What happened with Juan Pablo? Why did you leave? What went wrong? Did you love the guy? No, I didn't love the guy.

I'm sure someone loves the guy. He was not my type. Look, I knew going on the show, I was not going. going to be the prettiest girl in the house they're like you know everyone on the show looks great so i use my humor as a way to like stand out and he didn't speak like english he didn't comprehend your humor right so it was a bad mix to begin with he wasn't really my type i go for really smart guys and i'm sure he's smart but he was an athlete and just kind of just wasn't my type so I went on there and just made friends with the girls and hung out with my dog and traveled a little bit.

And then, you know, as the season on, it's like everyone kind of knew that nothing was going on there. So I went home, I think I just said six, he was five when we were in Vietnam and had no regrets. Everything was good. Didn't spend much time with him, but made great friends. Yeah. I think that was like the first season where the girls got really close. and then now, obviously, everyone's so close. I know, Ashley, has a couple questions for you here.

I want to tell you, hearing your store and The Bachelor, you know, hearing how you went home, Ashley and I both can relate with that, I do agree with you. You brought up a great point to Ashley and I talk about often. It prepares you to find love. The Bachelor does a great thing. We just had Chris Harrison on right before you came here. And if anything, the Bachelor opens your heart up to what you didn't know you could feel.

And I think it's great that you walked right back into a relationship. and that you are committed to it now. Congratulations on the baby. And Ashley, take it over. Thank you. Kelly, you have a huge role in Andy's first book. It's not okay because you are one of the greatest friends that she made through the bachelor process. And then you had a deal with the heartache that she dealt with after breaking up with Josh Murray.

Tell everybody about what it was like to have Andy living with you as a heartbroken person. so Andy is the greatest she's one of my best friends still she was here this weekend I love her obviously enough to house her for a couple of months while she was going through a heartbreak because she needed a place being that she and Josh lived together and they lived together and she didn't know she was like in a place she was like do I want to stay in Atlanta do I want to move she was just it was crazy for her to rent a place I'm like he could stay with us um We have plenty of room, so she moved in. And at that point, I mean, she was going through a very public breakup

and seeing your friend go through any breakup is hard, but then she was, you know, all this stuff written about her. And, I mean, it's an eye-opening experience just because you don't realize how much media gets to someone until you're, like, that close to it. But it was good. I think that she was in my house. and able to drink wine all the time with me and get through it. I mean, honestly, we were drinking wine one night,

and I was like, you should just write a book, and then that's how the book came about. We were just drunk. We started with, I was like, you should write a rap song. Our lyrics were terrible. It was like, I mean, the worst rap song ever. I'm like, okay, maybe that's not going to work. You should just write a book.

Well, now look at her because. Now she's on her second book. Yeah, because. of you, she's a New York Times best-selling author, and she has her new book coming out Single State of Mind. Can you give us a little preview?

Single State of Mind, it's like all of her dating in New York, so it's her happy and, like, finding herself again, which is going to be awesome. She's read me a little bit of it. I can't wait. She's an awesome writer. Like, she has success because of her, not because of me. She has

drinking wine with me and dumb ideas that turned out to be brilliant. I guess. You inspired her. It's crazy. I mean, I can remember that night so vividly that it's like, wow, now she's writing her second book and who knows where it will go from this. I mean, New York Times best sell is insane. That's amazing.

And yes, Andy has crazy dating stories and she tells stories so well, like, with such a vivid detail, and she's not afraid to, like, leave in the raunchy details. I can't wait to, like, read the full book. And, of course, I know some of those stories. So it's very interesting what she puts in there. It's, like, everything I know. I'm sure it's going to be just as juicy. I just can't wait. It's going to be good.

She's living the Carrie Bradshaw life, and you are living the mommy life. I know, the exact opposite. When she was in town this weekend, I'm like, I can't drink with you. This is very, very odd. Like, I can't remember the last time I had a sober conversation with her. Find out who you like whenever you're pregnant because you have to deal with them whenever you're sober. Do you still like her? I still love her, so it's good.

That's great. There's a couple other people that are questionable. All the things you learn. All right, Kelly, thank you so much for joining us. Yeah, it was fun, guys. I appreciate it. Hey, Kelly, before you go, what are you up to now? Is it just mom life?

I mean, as we say goodbye to you here, we're not going to get a follow-up. Is it entering the mother season, or are you writing a book? I'm not writing a book. I'm, you know, working on a website, but not writing a book. I don't think that mom life will be that exciting on this then. So, you know, just keeping up with Instagram and part-time marketing, it's very, very boring life in Atlanta. Hey, it's all good.

Good luck with everything, Kelly. Thank you for coming on the podcast. We're glad we know who the heck you are. Yeah, we know who the heck you are. All right. Bye, guys. How great is it that The Bachelor brings about friendships, friendships, as Kelly was talking about, with Andy that have lasted now years and they are to share so many things together. I would imagine, just like my friends and I, and I would bet you feel the same way, Ashley, that your friends share their skin care routines with each other, right?

Oh, oh, we definitely do. We definitely do. What's yours? I tell them to use bio clarity because it just boosts your confidence because it just boosts your confidence, because it's. it clears your skin so well. Bioclarity is a three-step system that you use twice a day. It doesn't have any harsh chemicals, and it helps you maintain clear skin. It's suitable for all skin types. It's dermatologist developed, tested, and recommended. Let me tell you about these three steps. It's so easy. First, you're going to cleanse with a rich foaming cleanser. It's going to

gently remove dirt oil, make-up environmental pollutants. You're going to treat it, and this stuff is going to penetrate your pores and attack the bacteria that causes acne and it's going to clear up your skin. And then you're going to use the restore gel, which leaves your skin feeling smooth and refreshed. And you guys may remember a couple weeks ago, we had like a testimonial from a fan and she has been able to leave the house and socialize with her friends now without wearing foundation and get this. Before she used bioclarity, she hadn't gone out of the house without foundation in six freaking years. So if you want to take it. try it out, you can go to bioclarity.com. Our listeners are going to get their first month for

only $9.95 plus free shipping. That's a $20 savings and it comes with a 100% risk-free money-back guarantee, but you need to enter our code, which is famous. And if you love it, please let us know. It's Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. We'd love to hear any skin clearing stories that you have. Bioclarity.com. Finally, an acne treatment that works. Nice job, Ashley. That was great. Hey, as I actually just mentioned, anybody listening, please fill up our email. Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com with any advice, any tips, any products that we've promoted that you've used. Ashley will read through each and every one of them. I will skim and scan through each and every one of them. Ashley will read them. She cares a lot about you. So do I. I just not a quick. He's not a social media savvy. Yeah, I'm not a fast reader and I'm not social media savvy. Hey, what a good show. Chris Harris. Kelly Travis was great. We pretty much promoted Andy's new book. So I feel like at some point Andy needs to come on the podcast.

Oh, she'll be on in January. You know it. Yeah, she needs to be. Ashley, a couple weeks ago, we talked about how we were getting ready to film and host a show together called First Look. We were going to participate in an episode for the Golden Gloves. I really love hosting things with you. We are a good team. I think we work well together.

I'm comfortable with you, and I think it just makes the whole job easier. I had something happened during this, though. You did. You had something happened, but it happened in front of me. I don't want to say this really affected me too much other than just making us closer. Ashley, can you please tell our listeners, walk them through exactly what happened that day. Okay, so I zip up my new dress. It's really tight, but it's like a body con dress.

It's supposed to be like skin type. I had a little trouble with the zipper but it was fine it went all the way up well we're in the dressing room finishing up final touches and all of a sudden just talking casual conversation

my entire back I mean from the nape of my neck down to my knees the zipper pops open like dramatic fashion it wasn't like it just slowly you know sank down no it was like poof

And if I had been facing the other direction, Ben would have seen all of my body, just like the entire back, like the whole booty-licious thing. I'm glad, I don't know. I'm glad you didn't see it. It's not bad to look at. I don't think it's that bad,

but it would have been just like, that I think it would have been embarrassed by, but now it's a good story. So you blamed it, though. The funniest is so this happens in front of a bunch of people that we've never really met before and it pops open I'm sitting there I leave the room because obviously I'm not going to stand there as they fix her wardrobe and Ashley just is laughing she's not embarrassed she's not a shame

she goes that I this is kind of funny and you blame it on what on my booty blaster Pilates classes I've been taking honestly like two to three booty blaster classes a week because I love I like I am not that girl who like wants to be model skinny like I love curves and And I like, I don't want a Kardashian butt, but like I like a nice round butt. And I think, I think a lot of people appreciate that, right? So I've been taking these classes and I swear to you, if it weren't for them, that zipper would have never popped the way it did. Thank you, Booty Blaster, for blasting open the dress.

Yes, shout out to love for Pilates. Give me free classes. That is amazing. Ashley, we want to end this episode because this has been an amazing podcast. And we could end it right now and it would be a success. I mean, they were amazing guests today, but I want to ask you a few questions to close. Yeah, fun. This is going to be fun.

So I'm going to start with a couple tough ones, okay? A couple of difficult ones, and we'll lighten it up as we go. Okay, well, then I'm going to ask you a couple questions. That's fair. Hey, let's play a game. Ashley. As he crosses his legs and gives me the eyes. Ashley, what is your biggest insecurity?

My biggest one. Well, you know what's sad is that like physical ones came up first in my head? My knees, my knees and my feet. My sister says that my bunions are the reason that I've been perpetually single. I can not be true. Is that really what she says? Yeah. Okay.

Take your time here. I mean, I think this is important. So your mind, you say, goes quickly to physical insecurity. I think those are easy to pick out. I know. I wish I could be more articulate and I wish my vocabulary could be bigger. Like, I think it goes hand in hand. one Dean who's sitting right over there has the best vocabulary

I'm really jealous of your vocabulary and I thought that yesterday when you texted me jest instead of like just joking he said I'm jesting with you I just so as Ashley just mentioned just so everybody can hear it Dean has been sitting in on this whole podcast just to listen looking for advice on tips you know he he does his podcast help I suck at dating and and so he was in studio right before we were so Dean has been sitting in here the whole podcast. We're going to bring him on here for the last segment here in a little bit. But before we do that, Ashley...

But yeah, but then I want your sense of articulacy. See, precisely. I want to be as articulate as you are. You know, you are, though. You do this for a living, and I think all of our listeners out there and listeners, I'm going to call on you for a second. We need you in this moment. We're going to ask for a little help. Will you send Ashley an encouraging email or tweet this week, please? Let her know how much you love listening to her. She knows how to speak no just saying how much you appreciate her that you do enjoy listening to her because what she doesn't realize uh and and i'm as i'm listening and this this is not to the mean or to eliminate your insecurities or to say they're not they're not real um but oftentimes

when we have insecurities and we speak about them openly everybody around you goes what like actually like you have any physical insecurities like that's crazy because you're beautiful wait actually you're you're insecure because you don't feel like you can speak well that's crazy you do it for a living but that doesn't sit but that doesn't work that doesn't work so what you need is a lot of support a lot of guidance and you help and it means that you have a perspective of yourself that is really real and raw and knowledgeable so ashley well that's very very sweet of you thanks for getting our army out but you seriously words just flow out of your mouth and I'm so jealous like he always

finds the right words to describe situation and I'm like yeah yeah that's been growing up being a bullshitter so well see actually I think that that comes in to play I cannot bullshit at all And it goes back to me not being able to lie. Like, I can't lie. Yeah. So I don't know. I just never being able to, like, fabricate anything. And I think that's one of my strengths is that I can't lie.

Well, I can't lie. And I'm like, pretty genuine. Yeah. Okay, final question for you. What inspires you? Okay, so I ask that you're stealing my question. Dean knows that I've been asking this question this month. Dean, Dean, what inspires you?

Jump into the conversation and then I'll answer. What inspired? I think I'm most inspired by my own curiosity. Is that allowed to answer it that way? Yeah. Okay. That's definitely my. It's your platform. You say what you want. I'd say that's probably my driving inspiration, just a general curiosity for all things at all times. It drives me to explore new ideas, new, I don't know, different things that otherwise wouldn't. So that's kind of what inspires me. And I like that, Dean has that because then I'm able to ask him questions that are so random and just pop in my head. And I know that he's not going to judge me for how random. them they are. It's beautiful. And to your guys' point, I know you guys are asking each other what you find, the flaws that you find yourself, I want to say that what I admire most about each of you, Ben, specifically, I admire your enthusiasm about everything. I don't think I've

ever seen you not excited and not incredibly positive about everything that you've kind of taken on, at least around me. And actually, I think what I admire most about you is your authentic affection for all things that you love. I think whether it's your sister, your friends, your dog, your family, whatever it is, I think that you, Taylor Swift, I think that you show us a level of love that is so rare and so I guess hard to find these days and that's like literally like one of the best things about if not the best thing about you it's so cute I'm like just glowing right now I give you compliments all the time and you glow not half as much as what you do when Dean gives you a compliment no that was so well thought out that like means a lot I think

because like I appreciate about myself the fact that like I love things yeah and a lot of people think like oh my god can that girl just like calm down I'm sorry I love it no you can't calm down we can't calm Ashley down she is a force to be reckoned with oh but I should tell you what was you said what inspires me so I've been on this kick my it really branches out for my sister was watching an episode of America's next top model they told this model to to think about what inspires her as she was modeling and they go and Lauren was like I don't even think I'd be able to come up with that like I don't even know what inspires me so then we started asking this question to other people and I came up with three things that I know, like, always get, like, my creativity flowing and, like, my heart and my heart warmed and all that stuff.

Good weddings. I think Carly and Evans was probably the most inspirational wedding ever been at. Actually, I was at a wedding, like, two weeks ago. I felt that was just as inspirational. Then, romantic comedies or just romance movies in general. I guess it makes me think that romance exists. in a life where I haven't experienced much. And then autobiographies.

I love autobiographies. Those are, if I could have guessed three similar categories that would inspire, I would have guessed those. Yeah. A good one? Yeah, you're a romantic. And autobiographies encourage us all a good story does. So I'm not surprised. You know, hey, this has been a podcast full of compliments.

It's Chris Harrison was passing him out. We were giving him to him a hymn. Dean's passed him out. Ashley's passed him out. And it just seems, as I'm sitting here, that this podcast should be a place of positivity and inspiration. It should inspire us, right? It should inspire the people of listening. So this week, between the airing or whenever this little podcast enters your ears, until the next time it enters your ears, make this a week of compliments.

Pass them out. Tell people how much you appreciate them, you admire them, what you like about them, what you, what you, what you feel how you feel they're helpful to the world you can't do that enough and i don't think we're as an intentional as we should be about doing that so this week please i'm challenging you make this about inspiring people and send us your stories to bid and ashartmedia.com hey everybody um what a great podcast actually thank you good podcast so much uh for for your kind words Thank you to Chris Harrison and Kelly Travis. Again, Millionaire airs each weekday at 1 p.m.

Check your local listings for the airings. Dean, thank you so much for sitting in today. We hope that if you didn't learn anything, you just enjoyed staring at us. Everybody listening, we appreciate you. Time for some compliments. You are the greatest listeners, the best listeners. Your stories inspire us to keep going. Thank you to our sponsors.

Everybody, this has been the Almost Famous podcast. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. And you're so smart, Ben. Ashley Romance is heading your way. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio

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