The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S3 #6 Passed Loves

Episode Date: October 25, 2017

Ben and Ashley call fan favorite, and Ben's ex, Kaitlyn Bristowe. They discuss her Broadway debut and Shawn Booth's hotness Who the Heck Are You, Juelia Kinney? Is timing everything or is that an excuse when he's just not that in to you? And, Ashley kissed Chris Soules in an elevator?!? Finally, would Ben date Becca? 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. Hey, everybody. Hi, Ben's in studio. I'm actually in studio. This feels weird and nice. He looks like particularly good today, ladies. Like super sparkly. His eyes are just bright and shiny.

I have gotten into the guyliner. So if anybody hasn't noticed, I guess why would you notice? I've been, I've had an invisible line for the last three months. Monday is my last day of Invisaline. So thank you pro-smile dentistry in Denver, Colorado for the Invisaline. Wait a second now. Why did you only have three months? What does that do?

Well, my teeth weren't that bad. I had a couple things moving on the bottom. And they said, if I let that keep going, it was just going to get worse and worse. And so I took advantage of the opportunity to get Invisaline. And now they're leaving me, which is a good thing. But I have to take them out before every podcast or I, like, spit on the mic and I slur my words. I mean, I would do it. It's just, I don't know if it would be the best sound.

Oh, gross. I was at the dentist this week, too, and they're like your bottom teeth are shifting. You need to get a retainer. So, you know, things that. It's not a terrible thing, Ashley. Yeah. It really isn't. And do it during a season of life when you're not making out with a lot of people.

Okay. Like right now for you? Yeah, like right now is the perfect time. It actually did come into play when I got them. So I'm not kidding. So when I decided to get in Visland, I thought, all right, what is on the slate here coming up? A podcast, I can take them out for a podcast. It really comes down to what are you eating and who are you kissing?

Okay. If you're not comfortable with the person you're kissing, like don't get Invisaline yet because you would have to take them out every time. And then you have these buttons on your teeth. And it just, I feel like it could feel weird, a little bumpy. Well, wouldn't it be interesting if since like I've never had a season of my life where like making out with someone was a constant that what if I got Invisaline and then I found that person where it was constant? I feel like that would be a huge step in a relationship and a really positive step. I think so, too. I need to get Envisaline now over Thanksgiving.

If one of the first things you did when you guys are laying on a couch and he leans over and he goes, hey, can I kiss you? And you said, I would love you to kiss me. But just give me a woman. I got to take out my retainers. I don't know anything hotter. This is really hot. Hey, speaking of hot, we have one of my favorite people ever in Bachelor Nation. Me too.

who she is beautiful herself, but she is engaged to one of the hottest men ever to come through the franchise, Sean Booth. We have Caitlin Bristow on the line. Oh, hi, guys. Why is it always that Sean's a hot one in this relationship? Caitlin, I don't get to see Sean much anymore. And so whenever I can talk about him,

I get really excited. And so I'll just give him a ton of compliments to try to fulfill my lack of Sean in my life. Nothing makes me feel better than a Sean Booth compliment. Like at Carlynevin's wedding, when he kept talking about me, I was like, I've never felt better about myself. Yeah, because he could have like a whole pocket full of compliments and you could just need one to save your life and he won't give it to you. So you're lucky to get one. Aw.

Well, Caitlin, we want to talk to you about your big Broadway debut. How did this come about and what's the show about? Oh my gosh. I can't believe it's all happening. I feel like I put it out into the universe since I was like five years old. So I'm like, okay, it took long enough. Like, it's about time this happened. It's basically a Christmas holiday feel-good show for two months.

It has people from American Idol, The Voice, America's got talent, big YouTube sensations. And basically they reached out for me to host a show. And then they found out that I've been singing and writing music in Nashville. So they're like, oh, and you can join the cast for a few songs. So not only am I hosting it, I get to sing in it as well. Are they original songs? Yes. Oh, like old school real Christmas songs, like, Oh, Holy Night, stuff like that.

Oh, I like Holy Night. Hey, Caitlin, there's a lot to unpack there. I want to hear about this. So the first thing that was surprising to me, not that you're hosting, I'm not surprised at all that they would ask you to host. It's that you're singing and writing music. Tell me a little bit more about that. Oh, yes. So, well, I don't know if you know this, but if you live in Nashville, you have to be

to be a singer-songwriter. So basically, I'm just channeling my inner John Mayer, and I'm going for it. That's incredible. I mean, honestly, like, did that just come out of nowhere, or did somebody ask you to do that? Like, what's the inspiration? No, you know what? My whole life, I've always loved singing and dancing. I always did musical theater all growing up, and I took voice lessons.

And then being in Nashville, Sean actually hooked me up with this really good vocal coach. actually used to work with Taylor Swift when she was really young, and I just absolutely fell in love, re-fell in love with singing again, being in Nashville, and the city is just full of talented people that I started meeting songwriters, I started hanging out with other country artists, and I just kind of got involved into that circle, and then I've written four songs now, and I'm recording my last one tomorrow. I'm going to start putting some out soon. I was going to say, okay, that was my big question. When is the album actually dropping? Well, I'm thinking after my Broadway debut, it would be a good time.

Caitlin, the life that you're living right now is wild. After your Broadway debut, I'm dropping an album. All right, Caitlin. That is a first for Bachelor Nation for sure. But seriously, Caitlin, the pop star, like, if you weren't The Bachelorette, I could totally see you as a pop star. Well, maybe being in the Bachelor world was just a little segue, you know? Yes.

You have really done, I mean, you know, living in this world, And watching people kind of post Bachelor and what they do with, I guess, the platform that they're given, you have done more than most. And in such a good way, right? You've always been energetic. You've always been outgoing. People have always loved you. And I feel like I'm just giving you a ton of compliments. Are you hitting on me?

I might be hit on you again. I don't know how to get out of this. Sorry, Sean. I'm stuck in a cycle. Every time I talk to Caitlin, I'm just getting used to giving her compliments. But no, honestly, like, you are the triple threat. You now, I know, you dance. you're singing

you're writing what is next do you have a vision in mind or like where is your life moving um you know I really do feel like singing and doing something in that world is going to be next

just because I am so passionate about it and I do feel like I have the right people around me to succeed in that and I mean I don't like saying I just come off a reality show and be like I'm a singer now but I think I'm willing to put in the hard work

and show people that I've love this my whole life and that it's a passion of mine so I hope to just kind of dive into more singing in the new year um because I think I'll be settled down and everyone keeps wanting me to say well what about wedding planning and I'm like yeah nope singing yeah I get that yeah don't just just ignore those questions hey Caitlin what kind of genre is the music um it's kind of well I mean I'm in Nashville so I feel like I'm gotta do a little country but I grew up loving country music so I'm kind of going like the country pop route just because I feel like my voice is meant to be that way and a lot of people hear my speaking voice and they're like I don't picture you as a

singer but even Sean says you like you have no idea it's you when you hear you sing well I've always thought you were very Miley-esque even the way you look and then the way you speak so I feel like you'd get like a Miley voice out of you oh okay I love that yeah I drink like a couple of whiskeys before and get a little raspy it's all good um I I do want to ask, though, okay, how is Sean, and how are you and Sean doing? Oh, he's so good. He's just killing the fitness thing, and he's just such a little go-getter. He makes me feel lazy when really I'm super busy.

So he's just totally involved in the fitness world, making me feel lazier every day, and his meal plans are killing it. He's, you know, he's been so happy lately because he gets such nice emails from people that he's just, like, changed their lives with his meal plans because this lady, the other day just said, you know, she feels so confident going to her sister's wedding now, and she lost 32 pounds and sits into her dress. And she just, yeah, and he's just been getting a lot of good feedback from that. So it's really nice that he can share his passion for his healthiness. So I don't even know the lingo to use for the health world, but whatever it is, he's killing it. And how is Tucker doodle dog?

Oh, my gosh, he's perfect. Moving to New York, I'm like, I have to be away from them for three weeks, and then they're going to drive up and spend the rest of the time there. But I'm, like, dreading being away from Tucker. Because I'm like, I can FaceTime with Sean and talk to him every day. But, like, Tucker doesn't understand that. And it's really sad to me. I always say that when my parents are like, you miss the dogs more than you miss us.

I'm like, yeah, because I face-time you every day. I don't get to talk to the dogs every day. Ashley, let's be honest, you miss the dogs more than you miss your parents. Like, don't try to hide it. Caitlin, the other day I was, I like to watch. And all my friends do, my friends are huge fans of you and Sean. And I am as well. I watch your videos and I laugh out loud at everything you do.

The other day, I've been working out a lot and I've been on this diet plane myself. I've been trying to get in shape. That's why you're glowing. It must be why I'm glowing. Ashley said I'm glowing today. Anyways, and I got a compliment from one of my friends and they said, Ben, like, you're looking fit. And I was like, oh, yeah, like that's good. That's good.

And I'm not kidding. It didn't take me four minutes until I was checking my phone, obviously. I looked on Instagram and there's a picture of Sean just standing there in one of those tight shirts that he wears. And I was like, gosh, dang it. Like, I'm never, like, there's nothing that makes you feel worse about yourself than seeing a picture of Sean and a tight shirt. I know. Hey, Lynn, you know what's? Try living with him.

Yeah. This is so funny because every guy in the Bachelor family, if you were to ask them who their man crush in the family is, it's always Sean. The guys, like, lose their crap over Sean being just, like, so hot and having everything going on. He's a sexual beast. he does have an indescribable swag that's right he really does um so you're moving up to new york for two months fully like you're you're going to be living there you're moving from nashville uh when does that start um yeah so i'm going november 3rd and i got to tell you i'm a little nervous because we've been spoiled

in the house we just bought it's so gorgeous and i'm going to like this tiny little apartment with no laundry and i don't really know what i'm going to do with myself but that's how new yorkers live I'm going to do it. Did the show set you up with an apartment? Yeah, yeah, apartment, and it's close to the theater, and it's actually close to Sean's family, too, which is nice because they're over in Connecticut, and it's a two-hour drive, so they'll be able to come up

and see the show a lot. My last question about the show is, is there any plot line to it, or is it all just performance, like singing and stuff? Yeah, it's just all singing. I mean, basically I'm introducing each singer for their songs, and then I'll jump in for a couple, And then I think we talk about, like, the holidays and what the holidays mean to us.

And it's going to be the same show every night, but different crowds, so new to them. You ever get worried that you're going to get tired of doing it every single night, like eight times a week? Ashley, absolutely not. If that ever crosses my mind, I'm going to slot myself and be like, Caitlin, you're standing on a stage on Broadway. You're living your dream. Okay, good. I was actually there. I don't know if people remember this, but I was actually there for Caitlin's Broadway to debut.

On Aladdin. On Aladdin. That's right. Yeah, I spent that day watching Cupcake, our good friend Chris Chamber, dances little heart out and sing in the top of his lungs. I brought my Jasmine costume from home, and I've been thinking about who could be my Aladdin for Halloween, and Chris would love to do that. Oh, he's good at it.

I've seen it. He's got some great spirit fingers. He is Aladdin. Hey, Kaelin, before we let you go here, I know you have to catch a flight. Just give a, if you can, give us a quick shout out to. um like again what you're doing on broadway what what's it called when's when does it start and how people can find tickets oh my gosh wait i don't know how you find tickets um google just that's google teletron yes so it's uh it's called home for the holidays it's a christmas show over um from

beginning uh no middle of november to end of december um it's winners from american idol's voice a bunch of amazing talent and uh actually you know what the link is in my bio on Instagram to go buy tickets. So you can do that and come watch me in action. Perfect. Keep crushing it, Caitlin. Seriously, it's fun to watch. And I will 100% be there around Thanksgiving. I'm going to see you. I'm not going to miss this. I'm a big Broadway buff. You can sleep on my weird New York couch. I love that. Thank you. All right. Thank you, guys. Bye. Thanks, Caitlin. Bye.

If you do want to catch Caitlin, it'll be at the August Wilson Theater. Tickets are at Broadway.com. You know, she is. She is absolutely crushing it right now. Caitlin is really like one of the most talented people. And I'm not just saying this because I'm not hitting on her anymore. I don't think so at least. But no, she really is.

You even knew that when she was The Bachelor. Like she is just one of the most skilled and talented people to ever come through this franchise. You knew she was just going to be a star at whatever she did post-bachelorette. All right. Ashley gave me a compliment and I said I'm glowing and I didn't want to tell her why but there is a reason

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And they'll make you glow. Glow dark. We have a very, very special guest in studio with us today. from The Bachelor and most recently WeTV's Marriage Boot Camp reality stars Julia Kinney

Hi everybody Thank you for having me What's been going on since we last saw you Heartbroken during Bachelor in Paradise Season 2? Oh my gosh That was forever ago Well I started obviously dating JJ last year

And okay wait let's backtrack for a second You were on Chris Soul season with me And then we did our first season of Paradise together Season two And you had a little drama with Joe Bailey You Was Joe Bailey And apparently

Since then You ended up falling for our fellow castmate J.J. Lane Who was on Caitlin's season of The Bachelorette And one of Ben's good friends That's right Yeah I mean it was crazy We stayed friends after the show

We talked constantly he's a single dad I'm a single mom so we talked a lot about that and just like the struggles of you know being a single parent and I don't know just bonded we were really good friends for a long time and we go to events together and then finally we're just kind of like what are we doing we should be dating I mean I watched him go on dates I'd be like go get him JJ um but yeah we ended up it was just more of an organic thing I don't know we just decided to start dating and then the opportunity for marriage boot camp came along and we both thought it was a great idea because I live in San Diego. He lives in Denver, and we just wanted to escalate the relationship

to see where it was going to go because, you know, I didn't want to introduce anyone just to my daughter. And so that's why we did marriage boot camp. So it's called marriage boot camp, but you don't have to be married. No, not for the reality stars, I guess. But I think the other ones, they mostly are. So that's a point to bring up here, just in case people don't know. So you do have a daughter, correct? Yeah, tell us a little bit about her. Ireland is four and a half now. She is a Spitfire. She keeps me under my toes. I'm exhausted all the time. But she is literally the best thing that's ever happened in my life. She is so fabulous and wonderful. I want to know when you think is the right time for people to meet your daughter like JJ or did you ever meet his? I never met

Gemma. We would FaceTime. So I met Demma via FaceTime. He met Ireland via FaceTime. But I had never introduced anyone to her in her entire life. So she's four and a half now. I just, I'm very, very protective of her and um i'm not going to just introduce anybody into her life when you know she doesn't have a father and i don't want her to get attacked to people that you know aren't going to be in her life for a long time so here's a deal so you go on you you you're dating j jay okay that's where this is at right now um and you go on marriage boot camp reality stars kind of without ruining the whole show or ruin the whole show i have nothing invested in this what happens how does this play out with you and jj um So on last Friday show, you guys got to see a little bit about, I think, the main reason why I couldn't move forward with JJ in the long run.

Basically, he wrote this letter that basically just picked apart everything about me physically that he didn't like. And it was like nothing to do with our relationship or my personality. And it just was, it was a huge red flag, obviously. And it was something that I thought to myself, like, I can't be with. someone like that long term? What if I get in a car accident or what if I gain five pounds or you know it's just not anything that I was interested. Wait I'm sorry what? Yeah where did that come I mean I'm guess what kind of things are in this letter well I mean I'm assuming that the counselors during marriage boot camp encourage you guys to write a letter about all the things that your partner

wanted you to work on right it was something along those lines it was called the letter that was never sent it's basically a letter that you write all the things down about your partner that maybe you don't like that would hurt their feelings or you want them to work on anything along those lines and we when we wrote the letter we didn't actually think that our partner was going to read it so oh whoa then they kind of like had another drill later that day and I obviously was thinking like come on what are they going to do with this letter what did you say about JJ I just basically said that I think that he was hung up on his marriage and that he needed to deal with you know things with his ex-wife and I think that he just has a hard time moving forward

because it hasn't fully gotten over that yet this is tough I mean I get it right so it doesn't sound like JJ was just doing this out of nowhere right he was prompted to write all the stuff down didn't know if you're going to read or not and then you you have to read this or you get to read this letter that he's wrote about you and it hurts it stings deep right uh and so your response to that was well he actually refused to read the letter and then the doctors kind of forced him he like they framed it and put it in our room so when I walked into our room I was sitting right then yeah they're they're fun over there but um yeah so I I think he thought that I would have never read it and when I did read it it was just so shocking to me because we'd been such close friends for so long and I was

just like really this is what you see when you look at me like that's so sad and um yeah it was hurtful i mean luckily i'm a really confident woman and i don't believe the things that he wrote um but if i wasn't i think that would have been damaging for life honestly yeah i haven't seen the episode so i actually don't know like what it says um i mean the one thing i mean jj's a buddy so i'm going to kind of stay out of this one thing i do know about jj is he he's very honest yeah uh and his filter as we've seen even on shows he just doesn't have one like What he thinks, what he thinks is what he says. I'll have to go back and watch this episode to see what this letter says.

It just doesn't sound like a very healthy exercise. I don't see the benefit. What was the benefit in this? Drama for a TV show. Yeah, exactly. I hope not. Because, I mean, the way that we read the letters was us, half of us, actually pretending like we had died.

And then he was basically at my deathbed. And he was like, and he was admitting the things that he didn't like about. No, the doctor was like, JJ, this is the last. thing you ever said to julia so go ahead and read this to her on her deathbed and it was just probably the worst part was just that he was worried that i was going to get bigger and that he thought that i already was and i mean there was a lot like that oh j j j j we'll need to have him on next week to scold him yeah um that just doesn't sound like a healthy practice like okay here's the deal i'm not defending jj i don't know what the letter said so i really have no basis for this

but the practice in itself doesn't sound healthy to me right you ask somebody to write a letter to be honest to get out all of your issues, which I think is healthy in a relationship, is to say, okay, these are the things that I'm not exactly excited about in my partner or these are the things I have issues with in my partner. I don't think that's a bad practice. If you, like, put it in a journal and you keep it to yourself or you talk to a counselor or a confidant in it. But don't do it with the expectation of, hey, my partner's ever going to see this. So it won't actually affect them personally. This is just a practice for me to get off my chest. Then make you read it. Like totally unfair and totally uncalled for on a part of these relationship doctors. The love. Love doctors. Totally. Jade and Tanner did this last year, and Jade said that it was, like, the most emotionally exhausting 16 days of your life. Do you agree? A million percent.

I wanted to leave as soon as I got there. So, Jay. Yeah. I mean, the first day, it was just, like, super overwhelmed. And, I mean, after the letter came out, I was just like, oh, my gosh. How am I supposed to continue, like, doing therapy, you know, with someone that I don't truly trust anymore. Right.

Yeah. So, yeah, it was exhausting. So today you and JJ are no longer together. I'll spoil that. I happen to know that from my inside sources. And you are dating somebody that Ashley told me about. Yeah, you met him at Carly and Evans' wedding. And he is, he is who?

Aaron Bass. It is Evan Bass's brother. Oh, I was going to say. That darn Bass family continues to pick up the chick. So you've been together for roughly five months now. Tell us about how it was at the wedding. was it love at first sight? You were kind of giddy over him.

It actually wasn't love at first sight just because I didn't know much about him. I was there focused on... Well, you're not supposed to know the person you fall in love with that first sight. I mean, my point was that I was focused there on Carly, and I was there for Carly. We're in Mexico. I'm not thinking about, like, trying to meet somebody. You're a bridesmaid. Yeah, that's true.

Mm-hmm. He was a groomsman, and so I met him when we were trying on our, you know, wedding outfits and all of that. And we all went to dinner together and went out with, um, wells and went out drinking to the bar and just ended up talking to him he's amazing he's um he looks nothing like Evan I wouldn't have even thought they were related amazing no no not at all sorry but um he's very funny he's charming he's sweet um it's just not something that I had thought about at that time just because he lives in Nashville I live in San Diego I just done the long to something, you know, but the more time I spent with them, the more I realized I was like, hey,

this guy's pretty cool. And he ended up coming to visit me in San Diego and the rest is kind of history from there. What an incredible story. I mean, it is crazy how you can meet somebody and then you have them meet a wedding, which I feel like a lot of people meet at weddings. I mean, I think it's a great way to meet. I was going to say, I wonder, I want to ask you, Ashley, when she said, hey, I was there for Carly, I'm going to the wedding for Carly, I was there to support Carly and all of that and you and not meet somebody is what Julie just said. And you go, well, you're at a wedding. Did you and your back of your head think what weddings are the best place to meet people?

100%. You know, not only is there an open bar, which I think can be dangerous in meeting people too, but I think that people are in the right mindset there because love is on their mind and they're seeing this very happy couple dedicate their lives to each other. And then you're like, okay, well, I think this guy, even if he's not in, normally in this marriage point of mind, point of mind, frame of mind. I get it. Frame of mind.

I think that maybe today he's thinking about that. And everybody looks their best. It's just, what do you think? I agree. No, love is in the air. It's always said when love is in the air and you're celebrating love, I think love flows from it. You're a good friend for going to support Carly at this wedding, Julia. But I'm glad you kept your eyes open and your heart open to what was hiding.

neat the bass family and that was you're now beautiful lover did erin bass meet your daughter yet yes oh wow he was the first guy that you introduced ireland to since your husband passed away that's a lot that's a big deal how did he handle it was he impressive oh my gosh he was so sweet with her he got her a giant pink teddy bear that was bigger than her and you know of course that one or over previously and then we went to the zoo and it was just really fun it was only for like four hours but it was just so much fun and now they face them all the time and it's really cute.

That's so cute. Would you ever consider moving to Nashville to be closer to him? I would consider it, yeah. That's a big question. I can see, wait, nobody can see this, but when you ask that,

Julia kind of lit up a little bit like, this has already been talked about. That would make you and Carly sister-in-law. I know. That's something we've never seen before. Yeah, I mean, Carly came straight to my house

after she came, you know, from getting engaged from Evan on Paradise. And I remember thinking, Like, wait, who are you engaged to? She's like, the erectile dysfunction guy. I'm like, wait, what? He's got, he's got talents. And back then, I just would have never thought that I would ever, like, be dating, you know, his brother.

And, like, it's just crazy. But we could get two bachelor marriages out of that one meeting. You just got so excited. I know. I'm sure she was going to kill me after this. That was a beautiful thing. I am my mom. Here's the deal.

We have a couple emails. A lot of people are huge fans of Julia. And so we have a couple emails that came in asking Julia some questions. And before we do that, though, I want to talk about another one of our sponsors. Hey! You didn't flow that one as well. Thanks, Ashley. You should have been like, have you cooked for Aaron Basket?

Oh, yeah, good one. Good one. Nice, Ashley. You got my back here. I just got off a fight. Geez, now I'm self-conscious. Hey, here's a deal. Hey, Julia, have you cooked for Aaron Bassett?

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And so I have a little leftover for lunch the next day. Nice. Just like I like it. Blue Apron is great. So back to the breaking news. Da-da-da-da-da. Try out Blue Aprons all-time customer favorites. By going to Blue Apron.com backslash Almost Famous,

you will also get 30 bucks off your first meal with free shipping. That's Blue Apron, B-L-U-E-A-P-R-O-N.com backslash Almost Famous. Do it today. Get creative in the kitchen. Ben, do you wear a blue apron while cooking for yourself? So I can really get the imagery right?

No, nothing. And I said that as you were saying imagery right, so now it just sounds really creepy and weird that I said nothing. Maybe just some me undies. Yeah, just some me undies. Just in case there's some oil splash. All right.

Ashley, we got some emails. All right, yeah, Julia, our fans knew that you were coming on. So we have a couple emails just for you. This one is this one sad. It's from Susan. My partner died six months ago, and obviously that was incredibly devastating for me. I know I'm not ready for another serious relationship, but it has been very lonely, and I've actually tried to date casually. I hooked up with my friend's roommate. Things got super awkward when he asked me something that brought up my partner. I text him to ask if he wanted to just be friends or if there was something else going on. He said that he did not

want a serious relationship and wasn't good at casual dating. The next week I was hanging out with his roommate. He mentioned hanging out with the guy I hooked up with and his new girlfriend. Obviously, he was lying when he said he didn't want a relationship. This really makes me think that he was overwhelmed by the fact that I'm a widow. Have you ever had experiences similar to this? And do you have any advice for young widows who are dipping their toes back into the dating pool? Well, the first thing is, I can say that there's, I don't think there's a certain time frame that you should be basing it off of. I think it's just based on however you're feeling. everyone's different, every situation is different.

As far as, you know, people being scared off by it, if someone's scared off by, he's definitely not the right person for you. And, I mean, I don't think that's something that truly really matters. I think maybe she wasn't, like, I don't know. Maybe they didn't mesh as well as she actually thought, and maybe she just needs to take time to herself and, you know, figure out who she truly is

and what she truly wants and not try to be dating. Do you think that possibly he was thrown off by the fact that her husband had only died six months earlier? I think six months is a very short amount of time for grief. However, you know, like I said, each situation is different. I don't, I think everyone just has to decide for themselves. I think when we have a loss or we have a hole from whatever it is, you do have to react and try to fill that somehow. And if you don't do it with a positive thing, it can be detrimental to who you are as a problem.

person. I think in general, like if you're losing somebody, no matter if it's a father or a husband or even like a breakup of somebody that you've been with for a long time or divorce, I think any of those situations, you just need to take your time, figure out who you are, what you truly want, and just do take the time to heal for yourself. I think it's important to feel whole before you try to enter back into a relationship because then you're just, you're hoping that they can fill the void, which they never will. So you have to do that yourself, and hopefully you take the time to do that. It's, you are a testament to this, and it's something that is encouraging for me to see and hear about.

And I want you to speak to listeners out there. We do have a lot of young ladies and men that listen to the show. You know, when you go through a tragedy in life, it often feels like it will never go away, right? That just pain and that you'll never heal. But you're a testament that you can heal. that you can move on, right? I mean, can you give some encouragement or just some words of wisdom based on some experience to the people listening?

Yeah, so for me personally, I mean, when my husband died, I had no idea what I was going to do. My daughter was seven weeks old. I had just become a mom. I moved back to Oregon where my family's from because I was living in Southern California and I just had, I was in no state to be, you know, raising a child by myself. So for me, I, you know, went to the comfort of, my family to try to just like rebuild a life and um i think just the main thing is is that you know

i allowed myself to cry myself to sleep probably for an entire year and then after that i was like okay like i have to make a choice at this point like i can wallow in my sorrows for probably ever and probably no one would blame me for that but i look at my little girl and i look at my life is this what i want for my life no it isn't and this wasn't my choice and it is my choice how I move forward so at this point I have to choose to be happy I have to choose to smile at my daughter and I have to choose to show her when you fall down you stand back up and you start something new so I think that's just the main thing is that it really truly is a choice to be happy that's something to sit on for say it is even as you say

it like it's a choice to be happy you know I think for me and in my experience experiences in life, I often wait for that moment to say, okay, now I'm good. You know, when I wake up in the morning, okay, now today's the day that changes everything. And it doesn't exactly go that way. And so coming from somebody like you who has been there and is a testament and has the wisdom to share that, it has to be a choice. And for all the listeners out there, we get a ton of emails about relationships and about breakups and about loss from everybody that listens to this podcast. And oftentimes, I think Ashley and I kind of at a lack of words and wisdom because we just we don't know yeah but the but what you're saying is it's a choice

choose to be happy choose to move on it's okay it's okay to be happy people won't want you to move on because they want you to stay well for me personally well i've noticed and i've talked to people when you know you're in a situation when your spouse dies people have a hard time with you moving on because you're not that person's spouse anymore so i think it it's hard but you have to not worry about that because it's your life, and you're not that person's spouse anymore, and you're you. So you have to, like, reclaim your identity. Right.

How long did it take you to feel like you could start dating again, and you were you again? I would say, like, after the first year, like I said, the first year was just so hard, all the first, everything. And then after that, I just, I just, I literally, I'll never forget the day. woke up and I was like no more of this no more of this I'm going to do things that I want to do and I'm going to have a great life with my daughter I have this beautiful blessing and I moved back to California which is where I initially was before and where I wanted to live and so that was like my first step was just like you know I can do this and I didn't start dating I would say for like it was definitely over a year it was about the bachelor time right bachelor was like almost two

years like a year and a half two years okay do you think that was sort of a helpful way to kind of like you're you're jumping in so hard by no this is the thing i went i went on match dot com because i was like throwing myself back and i was like okay i got to do this i don't think we had like cool like bumble apps back then so we went on match dot com and i went on the worst dates you guys you have oh my god it was so terrible i just remember coming home and being like this is what's left like what the heck am I going to do this is awful um and so i was laughing and i'm like i'm just going to apply to be on the bachelor because the bachelor's screened like i don't have to worry about that yeah um and my friend's like oh my god you actually should apply to be on the bachelor and i'm like what okay so anyways

that's how that happened but and did the sense of community that came with the show really help you get off your feet i mean i feel like i truly was like myself again okay before i went on the bachelor because The thing is I wasn't trying to heal myself by, like, throwing myself on a reality show. That would have been one of those bad decisions. Yeah. That would have been, yeah. Let's fill a void with the bachelor. I know.

For anybody out there, there's a little public service announcement. If you have a void in life, do not fill that void with reality television. Great. That's a great pointer. I have one last question for you. You're talking about how you had to, like, make that choice to be happy and it had to be conscious. So how long did it go from being conscious, like I'm going to smile, I'm going to laugh, I'm going to do what I like supposedly want to do in maybe my brain, but not in like my soul right now because your soul is probably still sad. How long did it take for those things that you were telling yourself to do to come naturally?

Honestly, it was pretty quickly. Once I like made the shift, everything just, I just started doing all the things that I wanted to do. And I didn't worry about what other people thought of me or were judging me for. just was doing what truly made me happy. And I didn't, it's not that I didn't care about other people's thoughts anymore. It's just that I didn't, I had been so sad for so long that I was just done. I like that. It's kind of like that self-fulfilling prophecy.

Like you're saying, I forced myself to smile and pretty quickly, I didn't have to force it anymore. It's true. That's really good advice. It is really good. Because I don't think I've really ever had a time where I was in such grief. But I'm thinking back in the times that I could say were like my darkest, which really weren't that dark in the scheme of, like, life.

It's all relative. I'm just thinking about, like, if one day I had said stop, just, like, wake up and be happy and just keep trying to smile and, like, not feel like this. I just wonder how long that would have taken. Julie, Kenny, you are a testament to perseverance and to making those positive choices. Thank you for coming on today with us.

And thank you for being vulnerable and sharing your story. What I want to tell you is that there are a lot of people out there listen to this and so you know Ashley knows a piece of the story I know piece of this story and there's people out there that probably know pieces of your story but for you to explain it and to be intentional about hey this is the things you can do to to heal means a lot to everybody out there listening so thank you for coming in here today we appreciate you a round of applause for Julie coming in the podcast thank you for driving up from San Diego what's a beautiful day for a drive I know Julie you look good today like Julie you look really

Good today. You're glowing. Yeah, your skin. And you don't have meandies on. So there's got to be another reason. Actually, what is it? I think it must be bioclarity. Bioclarity, as Julia totally knows, is a twice-daily three-step system that's natural. That means no harsh chemicals.

It actually uses Floralux, which is the chlorophyll in plants. And it's clean and green and never mean to your skin. It's actually really calming and cooling. Clinical studies show that bioclarity can. can stop acne before it starts because it attacks acne causing bacteria. It also reduces redness and poor size. It's 100% vegan, cruelty-free, and gluten-free. Let me tell you about the three steps to clear skin. First, you're going to cleanse with this rich foaming cleanser. It's going to remove dirt, oil, and environmental pollutants. Then you're going to treat. This 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. Your favorite part, right, Ben? It's going to leave your skin feeling smooth and refreshed. I like to restore. Our listeners are going to get their first month for only $9.95 plus free shipping. That is 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 you guys are going to love the new sleek packaging.

It looks even better than the old bio-clarity, but it's the same good stuff inside. finally it's an acne treatment that works head over to bioclarity.com and use our code famous all right guys this has been a big bachelor nation news week so first we have katelyn and broadway then we have ari's season with emily now up on hulu so if you want to get to know more about arie go to hulu watch emily's season it's one of the best bachelorette seasons i've ever watched are you going to rewatch it i might i think i'm going to actually No shot. I rewatch that. Really? No. I'm definitely. There's a small percentage actually watch his season. I mean, I'm sure Ari's great, but the binge watch a whole Bachelorette season doesn't seem very exciting.

Well, it is like you have that problem because it's anticlimactic, because you know what happens, so you don't like stay invested so long. But it was such a good season. I love Emily. I can just like watch her talk and her sweet voice. Yeah, that's not worth it to me. I would watch it more for Emily and less for R. I have something crazy going on. So I see this picture, and it's in the group thread with me, group thread that I'm in that I talk about sometimes.

Corinne and DeMario at a Halloween party. Yeah. I guess I'm out of the loop. They look happy together. Are they dating? Are they hanging out? Like, what's going on? Actually, I know you know this.

I actually, I know that they're not dating. I don't think that they. I think they maybe just use it because the magazines use their photo. I think they're very smart because they know what gets publicity. I think they're definitely hanging out. Okay. Is that wrong for? me to say. No, I think they're friends. I think they're totally friends. They get along and they're

like, let's show up together at the party because it'll make a splash. I'm really glad they're friends. That is important. My confusion, I just, I remember going back to a few months ago when the whole scandal happened. And it was, it was heavy and it was dark and there were tears from the producers and from the cast. I remember that there was just this heaviness over our podcast that day. And I think back on that and now I look at this and it's like, okay, I hope they're not using this for fame i don't know if they are or not of course they are um i mean i think they're genuinely friends i just think that it's maybe pictures and stuff like timing when there's gonna be photographs around then yeah that's a little plan i'm not being rude i'm just saying

if she's on the carpet alone and he's on the carpet alone no one's running the photo if they're on the carpet together in their nutty halloween costumes that photo went everywhere it just is yeah i don't know i i feel weird about it does it all the listeners out there please email us do you feel weird about this? I mean, I'm glad they're friends. Like I said, I don't have a problem with them being friends, but it seems weird to me. So if you have an opinion, like it or not, if you agree with me or not, email us at Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. Can we talk about this headline? What's up? Ben Higgins' latest post-batchelor endeavor will make you cringe. Yeah, yeah, thank you for that. So if you keep reading the first sentence of that, I've read this

article goes Ben Higgins who's not known for his sense of humor Ben I think you're so funny what does that feel like to like be I don't know Googling and you see an article that says your own name and cringe yeah it feels awesome yeah it feels really really good I'm telling you what like the last few days have been really like uplifting for me to I did okay so here's a deal let's talk about it yeah last night in Denver Colorado at a place called Comedy Works it was last night it was last night It was last night. Oh, shit.

Yeah, I pursued stand-up comedy for the first time. You pursued it. I did. So it was a part of a television show that I'm going to be a part of called First Look on NBC. I'm guest hosting an episode that takes place in Denver. And part of the episode is to put me out of my comfort zone for me to do something that makes me a more well-rounded partner. Did you get to choose what you're going to do? I mean, no, honestly not because I think the show said, okay, they looked at me and they said,

We need you to be a better, well-rounded partner for somebody. Humor is a huge part of that. Let's see if you have humor or a personality or you don't. So when it was announced that I was doing stand-up in Denver, then the Denver posted a couple articles, Bustle did an article. And the whole article is, like, they're shocked. I mean, you know how good it feels for somebody to be shocked

that you have a personality? Wait, that's just awesome. These people are obviously not listening to the Almost-Hanist podcast because if they do, they know you're, no, no, no. No? They rip on you too. I'll read your part. They rip on me or him. Oh, you, Ashley. They say, I'm not saying. He is now hosting a podcast with the queen of capitalizing on the bachelor franchise, Ashley I. Yeah, proud of it. Ben barely did press after his bachelor season. Now he's interviewing Bachelor alums every week for his own show. And I feel like I needed to offend myself here. So here's a deal. Ashley's proud that she's capitalizing on the fame. She should be. Why would I just do it and then be like, you know what? Let's not. Let's let. Okay, I went to broadcast. I have a master's in broadcast journalism. I always wanted to do stuff like this. So let's like not make it seem like I was supposed to like I wanted to go into obscurity. Well, right. I think you guys own it. You got opportunities. Let me explain myself here. I need to defend myself. So you're right. Post Bachelor. Let me just give you my life story. It's going to be a lot of fun for everybody to listen to. Post Bachelor, I did very little press. Lauren and I were together. We want to pursue our relationship. It was important for us to kind of take a step away. to figure out who we were. That was a different time in my life.

I had somebody that I was not just responsible for, but I was trying to pursue a relationship with. I'm on my own now. I'm a one-man show. I can travel the world if I want, and nobody really cares. And so, life for me looks a little different than it did post-Bachelor.

I was trying to manage my life then in a different way than I'm managing my life now. I do a great podcast. I don't know if you've heard about it, but it's called The Almost Famous Podcast on I Heart Radio with Ashley Iconetti. The queen of capitalizing. Wait, since when in America is it a bad thing to capitalize?

I mean, you had to bring this up, and now she's going to be pissed off the whole show. Ashley, this is really about, no, I'm kidding. This is about Bengy Ben, so keep going, Ben. And so we do this podcast, and then NBC reaches out and say, hey, we'd love for you to guest host a show called First Look. I'm all about it. This stuff's fun. I want to do it. I have no shame in doing this.

This stuff's a blast. I got to do stand-up comedy last night, and I tell you what, Ashley. What? You're good at it. I failed gracefully. I'm sure you did it. I actually did not fail. We got some laughs. Nobody was too critical.

It was a lot of fun. And here's the best part. I would never claim. Never claim I'm the funniest person out there. I would never claim that when somebody thinks of me, they'd go, that knows me to go, oh, yeah, Ben's so funny. But I wouldn't say Ben so funny, but I'd say Ben has a good sense of humor. I hope so. I hope that's the case.

I want that. So here's a deal. I tried something that I was. comfortable with last night. I tried something I'd never done before. I tried something that when I got off stage last night, my heart was pounding, like absolutely pounding. Was your hand shaking on the mic? I don't think so. I was really calm and confident up there because I just taught myself to be, like I told myself I have to be. But when I got off the stage, I was freaking out. And I'm glad I did it because I do actually feel that after last night's experience,

I am a little more well-rounded than I was yesterday morning. That's awesome. So, hey, to bustle to the articles out there that claim I don't have a sense of humor let's get to know each other now I will say I reached out to the girl that wrote the article lady I probably shouldn't say girl the lady that wrote the article and she they did respond but said she was getting on a plane and unavailable yeah to talk to you but we did try we did try so here's the deal we're not mad at or we just want to prove how funny you are I'm not mad at all I mean hey people are entitled their opinions I could I mean I could care I care it hurts a little bit but but bustle like it stings a little bit right here in the heart but it doesn't hurt that much like we could talk about this as friends now right um but you need to judge for yourself so uh check out first look on mbc it's going to air like january 20th look for it uh on after s andl the best time you have anything funny i'm sorry do any jokes you could give us right now yeah yeah i need to do your best bit from last night so this i i'll say this so i walked up on stage how many audience how many uh 350

Oh sold out house So here's the deal So I walk up on stage This is my My weakest joke It's how I opened up But I'm going to give to you guys Why would you open up with your weakest?

Hey here's a deal Because you don't want to leave them With your weakest You want them to leave with the strongest actually It's stand-up 101 Ashley how do you not know this? Did you have a stand-up coach? I did I worked with a group called

The Pussy Bros And that's about that's cat's cat bros So they're a great stand-up group out of Denver It's three females. They're amazing and their story is great. And so what you have to do is check out the episode. But here's my joke.

So can we pretend for a second? Ashley, will you announce me, please? All right, ladies and gentlemen, are you ready for your headlining comic of the night? Ben Higgins. Hey, everybody. Thank you so much for the five minutes on stage tonight, considering I've already had my 15 minutes.

Hey! Nobody laughed. A little bit cringy, a little bit crazy. Hey, hey, that's good stuff, but it gets better. So watch the episode. Choose for us. I just think you're not trying to be a stand-up comic. You're just doing it as a bit for this TV show.

Yeah, and the thing is, I don't want people to think, you know, vanilla, bland. I know, I remember when S&L did the skit about me for my season, it was the bland man, which is hilarious. The fact that S&L did a skit about you, you know, that means you've made it, right? And I talk now on this podcast, so I'm not that boring. Ben, you are one of the least boring people ever. Seriously. So slowly but surely, we're going to keep showing it. For example, we did lip sync battle.

And I'll just give a sneak preview to lip sync battle. My shirt does come off at one point during that. Hey, I'm coming out of my shell. This is a new bin. It's not a new bin. It's the same. It's, you know, I'm just, I'm coming out of my shell. I'm opening myself up to the world, like a flower in the spring.

time no no no yeah we have some great emails um higgies here everyone here watch out higgies here all right so back in college they used to like say that and chant that when he would walk into a room that's how much life he brings a room and so now ashley does it for me on this podcast dean definitely does it in his everyday life you know what i like to do it gets me really pumped up um when i walk into a gym and in my new shorts um that i got from from our next sponsor. You got shorts from Fad Fit Fun. Yeah, they're female, but I like to wear it.

I didn't know that's in the new box. Shorts, interesting. If you guys don't know already, I'm pretty darn sure you do. FabFit Fun sends you the latest in beauty and fashion, fitness, and wellness every season. All products are full size, and you're going to pay $49.99 each season, unless you use our code, which is almost famous. And then you're going to get $10 off that. We are talking about the editor's box right now. The editor's box has some amazing products in it,

including this Summer and Rose black foldover clutch, and this clutch fits so many things in it. It's not your average clutch. There's also a Sterling Forever Wishbone necklace. Dr. Brandt's poor Dermibration! It's back! You guys, I'm obsessed with this derm abrasion stuff. I actually just want on Amazon to get it,

to get a new bottle because I ran out of the stuff that came in for my Fab Pit Fun box. So that's just a demonstration of how many good things you're going to find this box. You're going to use over and over again. It's a world of discovery when you open this box. You're also going to get some Himalayan pink salt and some body oil for, you know, your at-home spa treatment next time you're trying to like really zen yourself out. All of this in the editor's box and so much more. again, the value is $200, but with our code, almost famous, you are going to get your

editor's box for only $39.99 at fabfitfun.com. Ashley, I have an important question for you before we get the emails. Yeah. Are we shifting as humans to where having a hairy chest is now attractive again? I think so. I like it. I like it. It's an important topic for me.

I had a comment made yesterday at one point to me about how. having a hairy chest. You do, but you have the perfect amount of hair. Yeah, well, I'm not ashamed of it. I like it. And you don't understand when I shave, like it gets caught on my shirt. Oh, God. But I just knew somebody to ask.

And so I thought I'd ask Amy and Ashley, having a hairy chest, is it back? Are we bringing it back? I've never thought of it as something that should have gone away. I think that men should probably have hair on their chest. I agree with manscaping. I think you could trim it a little bit. I don't want your chest as a 28-year-old boy, man. As a 28-year-old man, to look like my dad's chest.

But, like, I like you to have a little something there. I hope my chest doesn't look like your dad's chest either. Hey, Bradley Cooper is an excellent example of haughty. He manscapes well. Yeah, Google Bradley Cooper shirtless. You know, you can Google almost any celebrity shirtless. Yeah. And they pop right up.

I knew that. Bradley Cooper is hot shirtless. Can I look at myself? Can I Google Ashley I shirtless? No, but you can do Ben Higgins shirtless. I'll do it. Okay. Everybody at home, give that a hot Google.

Yeah, give it a hot Google. And then everybody at home that's listening, please email your opinions on. Is it cool for men to have a hairy chest or not a hairy chest, but a hair on their chest, email us at Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com with your opinions, your thoughts. All right, Ashley, we got some emails from our listeners. You want to take them over? Yes. Hello, Ben and Ashley. I currently work as a sex and couples therapist,

and one issue I repeatedly hear is the timing just wasn't right. I already love this email. My boyfriend and I lived together for two years, and when our lease was coming to an end, he basically told me that he needed to figure himself out and, quote, be alone. Oh, and quote, be alone to work on his wants and needs before fully committing. He insists that he does want to marry me,

but it's just not the right timing for him because he needs to mature and grow on his own first. This word timing is something that I just constantly hear in breakups and honestly I think it's BS. I would really love for you guys to give your perspectives on this issue. Love you guys, Rachel. All right, before I ask you, Ben, I did a podcast on my other podcast with Jared, Wells, and Cupcake.

And this topic got brought up because so many guys, and just like I mean I'm a girl so I only hear guys saying it so many guys are saying oh the timing I'm just really not into that this timing is not working out for me and I always think it's BS just like our listener Rachel and they basically agreed those three guys were like yeah timing that excuse is BS because normally it's just a nice way of saying like I'm not then into you because if we really really are into you then no matter how bad the timing is and no matter how awful my family life or my work life is, I'm going to make time for you. What do you think? Sure. Yeah. I mean, I think it all comes back and I'm starting to realize this more and more. It's no matter what the excuse is,

let's break it down for it is. You're breaking up. Like, and I mean, I think there's a thousand ways you can sugarcoat it. There's a thousand ways you can say it nicely and you don't want to offend the person or make them feel less than. I think that's what this is. Hey, I think you're great. I think you're beautiful. I care about you a lot. But the timing is not. right or hey I'm not there yet or whatever it is let's just say it what it is you're breaking up and so who if I communicate that to somebody I hope that they understand that I'm just trying to nicely tell them we're no longer going to hang out or if they say it to me I need to accept it and say not fight it and not be like that's BS of course it's BS the truth is they just don't

like you I agree with you except I think there's a few cases where timing like if someone's going through a breakup or getting divorced or something or if they just got fired they just just can't handle it. So I think that I don't know that they don't like you. They just can't handle it. But here's what I want to know. I do think there are cases where years later, the timing is right and that same couple works out.

You know how in, he's just not that into you, the movie and probably the book. They say, you're the rule. You mean your Bible? Yes. No, I don't. No, I actually don't read it enough. Wait, what are we talking about?

Their rule in, he's just not that into you. like it's like you are the rule you're not the exception so it's like out of a hundred cases the word timing is probably just an excuse for like he's just not that that into you but then if you're like the one out of the hundred you're the exception to the rule like when amy's talking about like down the road it really does work out yeah i'm sure i mean but again breaking up is hard and breaking up with somebody is difficult and it's not fun and you probably care about that person unless you that person's done something something to hurt you. And so if you're just not feeling it anymore, the partner that's getting

broken up with has to give that person the benefit of doubt and to say, okay, I get it. What you're trying to tell me is we're no longer going to be together. That sucks and it might hurt. But however you broke the news to me, you broke the news to me. And that took something. And so BS or not, timing or not, or if it's true or not, it doesn't matter. You're breaking up, accept it, move on, move away, go cry in your room somewhere. But Ben, you make it seem like this is like a real thing like it's time you're telling me that timing is always BS I mean I agree no I'm just saying that it's an excuse I mean and if it's valid or not if somebody uses it and it is actually BS and it's just the truth is just not that into you um like I guess that movie's title which is a great

title then if if that's true great if it's not you're still just breaking up would it be better if people just said we done yeah hey that would be great by the way we're done I apologize for the last five months of our life. But all I'm going to give you is we're done. Sit on that for a little bit. Feel it. Yeah, feel the fact that we're done. And I don't even care enough to tell you and use the excuse at the timing time.

I don't have time to tell you all my lies. I have to just mention this one thing. When you blame timing, I know that us girls are like, oh, okay, well, I'll just leave you in the back of my mind. And when the timing is right, it'll all be okay. so like when a guy if a guy I don't think I've ever said timing to me no he hasn't thank God did he say it's not you it's me no but I've gotten like

distance before I'm like oh interesting you're now you're now dating a girl just as far away you know what I mean that's what my point to the very beginning of this was at the core they're breaking up with you you need to move on right so I'm just saying out there don't hold out hope Ashley no but but you guys

if they say it's timing don't be like oh okay well great so in six months the timing will be different and we'll work out like don't on that it's just we done we're done moving on to jessica jessica says hi ben and ashley you guys are always saying we should email you with topics and ideas so here's one of mine while we wait in anticipation for the winter games and more bachelor content you guys should consider having some throwback bachelors and bacheloretts on the pod like jason mznik you can get his opinion on the new school of bachelor nation and what about andy dorfman she'll want to come on and talk

about her new book, maybe Ashley or Jillian, they were the cutest ever. I really, really did love Ashley, didn't watch Julian season. I feel like some fresh old blood would mix up things and get us in the mood for Ari. Not a bad idea, Jessica. I mean, this whole theme of this Bachelor is going to be throwback, right? We're bringing Ari back. So this is going to be a throwback season. Well, speaking of giving you the throwbacks that you're asking for, we're going to have Bob Guinea on the podcast next weekend. That's a big deal. Bob is hilarious. Bob is in your bachelor boy's text message group.

Yeah, he's the oldest person in the text message group. He brings wisdom. We actually, I think his name in the group is goat, greatest of all time. He's hilarious. I love Bob. He actually, and this is when the last few months have happened for me and when things have gotten really hard, Bob actually, and I've only met him once, personally reached out to me just with some encouragement and some guidance and some wisdom from his front. So Bob is a great dude.

He's going to be awesome on this podcast. I'm telling you you'll be laughing the whole time. And if you're not, then he really disappointed. It's not our fault. You know what I have to ask Bob? You know what his rep is in, like, Bachelor history? No, what is it? It's sleeping with the most girls in season than the other bachelor.

Oh, juicy. Apparently, he slept with like, I can't. I don't want to, like, slander him. So I won't throw it out there. But it was more than the three in the fantasy suite. Come on, Bob. You're better than that. Put little Bob away.

All right. Next email. It's from Ali. Hi, Ben and Ashley. First of all, I love you both so much. Well, thanks, Ali. My question is this. Why is it that after the lead of the show, The Bachelor or Bachelor, and his or her winner break up, the lead never dates anyone else from their season. It seems to me that if the contestants have such strong feelings for the lead, then some of them would reach out again after the breakup that sometimes follows the proposal. I know that Jason Mesnick changed his mind and picked another contestant after the finale. But besides, him, I don't think there's any examples of leads dating someone else from their season. For example, Ashley, if Chris Souls were to ask you out after he and Whitney broke up, would you have said no? Oh, should I answer this now? Yeah. Yes. I always say that I kind of knew once I left Chris's season. Like I was really, really infatuated with him during the season, but then when I got on the plane the following day, I was like, okay, I think that may have just been physical attraction and, like, admiring his personality because he was so sweet, but I don't think that was, like, the guy that would move to Iowa for, like, he wasn't my soulmate. I would, like, I would probably have said yes to a date afterward, though.

I would have said yes to a date. He did kiss me in an elevator once. Like after the show? Whoa, whoa, this is juicy. Should we keep that in? Yeah. Ashley, what are you talking about? Should we keep that in?

That's brilliant. Ashley, tell us the story. You were there, Ben. I don't think I was in the elevator. You weren't in the elevator. Okay. Now that I'm spilling beans, let's just spill all the beans. We had been coming from you and Lauren.

You and Lauren had that really nice suite at the one side of the Blasio in Vegas. Oh, okay, during the IHeart Festival last year. And then Chris and I were in the other tower. So once you guys went to sleep and we ate like all the rooms. We walked back the two of us to our tower and then he kissed me in the elevator like what kind of kiss? Like a long kiss? It was really it was very almost pecky, but like it was in Ashley I don't know if you have makeup on but you're like there's like you're shining right now my god. Okay so anyway he like took a step off the elevator and then before the doors closed he walked in he kissed me. Oh my gosh. Yeah. Tell us more. I wish I could have footings. Was there. No, it was very, it was like very brief. It was like really a pack.

What were your thoughts after Chris Sol's step back onto an elevator for you? That he was probably drunk is what I was thinking. But I was like, felt actually very, very weird about it until the next day I thought it was hilarious and a good story to tell. It just felt weird. Yeah, you haven't told it enough. It didn't make you tingly. No, but like maybe like, it made me. like frown like my my facial expression must have just been amazing i wish i had the elevator

footage from the camera because like my facial expression was like i wish you guys could see right now it's like my brow was like what is it furrowed and but like i also was like kind of smiling because i thought it was hysterical i'm just listening you look at me like i have a response to this i'm amazed because i'm pretty sure the next morning i like told you you've always wanted to be a part of a Nicholas Sparks movie. And in my moment, that elevator camera makes a Nicholas Sparks movie. Oh my gosh. I can just imagine. Okay, so then the next one is a question towards me.

Would I date anyone from my season today? And then they say, I always thought you and Becca would be especially cute together. I mean, I still do think this. What? I think that you guys make a lot of sense. I just dropping the bomb on me now. I don't think that's been a secret or anything.

No, I mean, okay. So, let's start with the first question there. Would I date anyone from my season today? I'm not going to say I wouldn't. I mean, it's, I just feel like it's different, right? You've broken up before. You kind of chose somebody else over them. It just doesn't feel natural to step back into a relationship with somebody. I don't know why it doesn't happen more.

It might happen kind of behind the scenes a little bit. I have it. No, but I actually don't think it's having behind the scenes. That's why I think it's curious. I think, like, Crystal's pecking me in the elevator may be the most backtracking there's ever been. Like, you have never done it. the girls are all engaged and they stay engaged I mean that's the thing is so

for me you know a lot of the the woman from my season left the show and found other relationships and they did other people from either the franchisor outside of it and I actually and I don't know how they feel about me but I actually was really happy for them for that so like the bachelor kind of propelled them

and opened themselves up to find other relationships why I don't go back to that there's no like hard feelings or there's no like these women are amazing are you kidding me they're 26 beautiful people that i got to know really well but i just think it's the dynamic that i chose somebody over them i think that's probably and i have to i'd have a lot of explaining to do i mean i had a lot of explaining to do anyways after my season of the bachelor um but you know if i went back to it i i feel like that that woman would need an explanation on why and it chose them initially and so would beck and i be cute together

of course we'd be cute together beck is the best um but beck and i are not dating we We won't be dating. But Becca is one of my favorite people in the world. So of course, anybody that dates Becca, people are going to be like, oh, that's so cute. That's true. Because she just makes it cute. That's so true. Would you tell her it's the timing?

Yeah, you know, the timing's not right with Becca right now. This doesn't make sense for me. But wait, Ben, if there was one girl you had to ask out, like say you, like, had a knife to your throat. This is always a fun game. You had to take one girl from your season out on a date now. Who would it be? Oh, man. You just asked me that like that.

If I had to take one girl from my season back out on a date now, who would it be? So, I mean, honestly, it would probably be Becca. Yeah. That's why I gave you the question. Yeah. I just can't think. I mean, all of them are great, right? But when I go back through, a lot of them are like either super close with Lauren,

so that would not be okay. And it wouldn't be like fair of me to ask that of them. or I didn't get to know them very well. Yeah. I mean, you have like, so Becca would be it. So thank you, everybody. That was a great. That's great.

All right. We both had told stories that we didn't want to tell. Yours wasn't a story, but you know what I mean. Hey, everybody. This has been one of the most fun podcast because I am sitting next to the beautiful Ashley Ikenetti in studio. I feel like I couldn't talk today. You're fine.

My bad. It wasn't like my hottest day. There's a lot of grace given on the, this podcast. They're laughing because they know. Yeah, but here's the deal. Before we go and before I sign us off here, I have one last question that I've been wanting to ask you the whole time. Oh my goodness gracious. You have a rainbow of something painted on your arm. Please explain what the heck is going on. I thought you were going to say on my cheek because I also have like extremely limited to like sparkles on my cheek. I was just had access to Hollywood before. I was doing a demonstration of Kylie

cosmetics new fall collection so these are all Kylie is so you have mat lipsticks on my arm oh that's what that's lipstick on your arm why would you why don't you put on your lips um well it's just what they do today and influencer makeup marketing they're like put it on your arm it's like here's the colors oh oh so you're testing okay I was super confused it really it looks like you have like a tattoo of a rainbow on your arm right now no that that's the lip liner and lipstick okay and I put on this purple. I thought it might be something for your big night tonight, which Ashley is heading out of here right now to go see Hansen live in Las Vegas. And with that, Ashley and I would like

to thank Caitlin Bristow for coming on the podcast today. Make sure you check out home for the holidays at the August Wilson Theater. Tickets at Broadway.com. Julia Kinney, make sure you check her out on Marriage Boot Camp Reality Stars that airs Friday at 9-8 Central on Wii TV. And thank you for listening. We, that's Ashley and I, appreciate you. Appreciate. Be sure to subscribe to our podcast on the IHeartRadio app type of review. It helps us out. It helps you out. Makes us love you even more than we do today. Keep in touch with us. Email us your opinions at Ben and Ashley at iHeartmedia.com. Call us at 855 Ben. That's not and. That's an N. Ash. If you want to leave us a message, that's

855-235-5-2-75-274. Next week, we got the goat. Bachelor Bob Guinea. We're throwing it back. We're bringing it back in preparation for Ari's new season of The Bachelor. Hey, I've been Ben. Hey, Ben, Allison, she says, this is an email we got this week. She said, the almost famous podcast drinking game would be take a shot every time Ben says,

appreciate. So I just had to just say that. That's not a bad thing. I appreciate everybody else. And the way he says it is kind of cute because he almost doesn't say the A. He's kind of like, appreciate. I appreciate all you.

Ashley, I appreciate you. All right. I appreciate you, Ben. Love you. Love you. It sounded a little hostile. Sign it off right. I've been, Ben.

I've been Ashley. Bye. Love you. Follow the Ben and Ashley I. Almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.