The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S3 #7 All Things Bachelor

Episode Date: October 31, 2017

Ben and Ashley check in with the OG Bachelor Bob Guiney! Then they go deep on the burning questions..."Chest hair yay or nay?"... Corinne and Demario, friends or publicity stunt?" Plus, the latest Bachelor news: Why is a producer suing the show?! And what did Ben really think of Ashley's Taylor Swift costume? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ready, set, go. This is The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast with IHartRadio. This is The Ben and Ashley I almost famous podcast, and I'm Ben. And I'm Ashley. Ashley, what's going on in your life? Well, currently I'm Taylor Swift, so it's Halloween. And you can refer to me as Tay-Tay, all episode long, if you like. I saw on Twitter, I was actually just checking Twitter, and I saw your video that you've made,

which is funny because I've actually seen you do that. without a Taylor Swift costume on. I know. So today is the day I go hard. What's the plan tonight? Well, I'm switching out of this costume midday and I'm turning into Rose and I'm going to Becca's birthday party

or is her birthday dinner tonight? What's Rose? Rose. Oh, I should explain further. Rose, as in Jack and Rose from Titanic. And I have a very, very kind friend named Dean Unglert who is going to dress up as Leo for me. He kind of looks like Leah. Well, yeah, that's why I insisted. I was going to say. So wait, tonight is Becca

Tilly's birthday party. It's also Halloween. And so you're changing into two costumes today and going to a birthday party. Welcome to the LA lifestyle. I know, right? Well, Halloween has always been a big day for me because I just love being creative. So I'm all about, like, putting together my own costumes. I don't think I've ever bought one out of a bag. You know what I love being? What? Scared. I love being scared on Halloween. Well, if you were here right now, we'd probably have a clown in studio, because I hear that clowns are your biggest fear. You can go to my blog, Mahogany Workplace, and read all about it. But I've had just an insane fear of clown since I was a kid. And it really did stem from a terrible experience I had with a very just pushy clown as probably a five-year-old boy. I hated my experience.

So I don't do anything for Halloween. I really don't. I should stay far away from it. No way. Actually, like, it's so funny. Because I'm somebody who, like, loves putting effort into Halloween and I love the creativity behind it, I actually, like, have a, I get, like, a little angry at people who don't participate.

Ashley, don't get mad at me. I promise to have good reasons. So, but, but, like, clowns? Like, you don't go outside because you're afraid that you're going to run into clowns? Yeah, it's not my thing. I don't do it. but I do try to pass out candy as long as there's no if there's any like clowns or there's any haunted houses I stay far away but there's two people from Bachelination that recently were spotted in costume together which is I need to talk you about it's weird we talked about a little bit last night so we've gotten a ton of emails on it but Corinne and DeMario are still hanging out have you figured out is that a thing or not I don't think it's a thing I mean I haven't heard from either of them so I don't really know but I just think they're friends. I mean, it's so weird

that we're all, like, friends, but we'll always get coupled up. Like, people will always ship us. We had that conversation about shipping. Remember that in Vegas? Yeah, and I have no clue what that means. Well, we have a ton of emails about Corinne DeMario. We'll talk about it later in the show. I can give you guys a quick stat from the

emails. I would say, yeah. The emails were about 50-50 for Corinne and DeMario, like, it's too weird that they're hanging out. It's all for publicity and then the other 50% were like we're cool with it they went through a lot it's all good and then i will also give you one quick stat the emails were about 70% yay chest hair 30% boo chest hair okay very very good thanks for the stats me yes yes that's see girls like chest hair i was gonna say so i'm like i'm looking good like tanya's next to me nodding yeah she's

into it it's natural it makes you manly oh today's a good day for me that's good news I needed it. I mean, first off, it's just the maintenance of not having it would take up so much time. And now to know, when I take off my shirt, when I get home from work and I look at the mirror, I can go, Hey, Ben, you're doing all right. Oh, you're doing just fine. And I saw those abs the other day? What?

You're looking good. I'm on a little diet, Ashley. That means your muscles in your stomach are coming out. I'm on this new kick, and I wanted to share with the listeners out there. So on this kick where I'm drinking a smoothie every morning. That's the only thing I drink, but it has protein powder, bananas, green apple, spinach, broccoli, and cucumber, and almond milk. And I'm telling you what, I think, like, my body is adjusting, like, well to it. I feel good.

That's awesome. I'm on a kick, too. I've worked out this will be the third day in a row. How do you, are you a big, like, fitness person? Well, no. I've had times of my life where I've been really, really good at it. like five times a week, like an hour and 15 minutes each day. But I haven't been like that since my early 20s,

and I'm just trying to get back in it mainly because when I take my dog for a walk and like I walk up and down my stairs, like I'm a little winded, and it's actually for my health and not my appearance. Wait, are you sure it's not for winter games? No, I don't know. That has nothing to do with it. Nothing to do with it. Okay.

Anyway, well, hey, speaking of television shows, Ari's promo came out. Yeah, I didn't see it. What? I would love for anybody that is a Bachelor fan that has seen the promo, send us an email. It's still something I can't figure out, right? How is this season going to go down? Is it going to be well received? Are people going to watch?

Are they not going to watch? I want to read your email just on thoughts of are you tuned in? Are you excited for it or are you not? So watch the promo. Make sure you email us at Ashley, give them the email. Oh, it's Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. All of you guys, like, tweet us throughout the week. They're like, what is the email?

Like, guys, we say it multiple times throughout the show. Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. I saw the promo. You saw the promo, how to go. It's just him, like, with roses, like, flying in the background, right? Yeah, and he had, like, a mask. Okay, I'm going to give my honest feedback. Okay.

I like it. I like him. He's old. Yeah. There you have it. That's very honest. Yeah, I mean, and so. I watched a little bit of, I think it's the right one.

I don't know. I saw it on Twitter one day. He's obviously doing like, I remember my photo shoot for The Bachelor and you do this like gaze like stare into the camera where you're looking longingly through the camera's lens and it, you know, it's supposed to bring off this perception of I'm looking for love. And that's pretty much the whole promo is him just staring through the camera lens. It made my heart flutter a little bit, but I mean, it didn't do a lot for me. Okay, I just also think we should mention that Amy goes, he's old.

Nick is a full year older than him. Wait. Ari just has older vibes. Like, Nick looks 29 tops. Yeah, Nick, wait. So wait, let's repeat that. That's a big point here. So Nick is actually older than Ari.

Yeah, Nick is currently 37 and Ari is 36 and they're almost exactly a year apart. That's insane. Well, we, speaking of old, coming up on our second segment in the podcast today, we have a very special guest that I want to tease. Bob Guinea, one of the original, the goat we call them, the original bachelors from the original season of Bachelor that will be on this podcast today. So make sure you tune in for that. But before we get to Bob Guinea, I want to talk about something is really important to me. That's being on time, being able to tell time and making sure that nobody, nobody is ever waiting on me. Ashley, you've consistently been late to this podcast,

but we've made the most of it. But the other day, on our date in Los Angeles. It was a group date. There was many of us. I was late, and you were on time, and why was that? It was because of my new beautiful movement watch. Oh, of course. Yeah, it's so pretty, and it makes sure that I'm punctual. Movement watches was founded on the belief that style shouldn't break the bank. The watchmaker's goal is to change the way consumers think about fashion

by offering them high-quality, minimalist products at revolutionary prices. With over one million watches sold to customers around the world, Movement Watches is the world's fastest growing watch company. This company was started by two broke college kids that wanted to wear stylish watches, but couldn't afford them. So they started their own watch company. Movement watches start at just $95. And at a department store, you're looking at a watch like this to start at like $400 or $500.

Get 15% off your Movement Watch today and get free shipping and returns by going to movement that is mvmt.com slash almost famous this watch is a really clean design seriously we've been getting me and ben have been getting amazing amounts of compliments on these watches ever since we put them on it is time now to step up your watch game so go to movement mvmt dot com slash almost famous and get 15% off your watch today you know there's I was just sitting here thinking as I was listening to your amazing spot that you just put together there. Nice job, Ashley. And about just the watch industry in general.

And I was thinking, you know, is it fading? Is it sticking around? And I thought, what was it like before cell phones? Watches were the only thing available. And then I thought when Bob Guinea was on The Bachelor's watches were the only way to tell time. Bob Guinea, welcome to the almost famous podcast. Hello, Bob. guys.

Hi. Bob, we were just talking about when you're on The Bachelorette, there are no cell phones to keep in contact with anybody. Is that correct? Yeah, I heard you say something about watches telling time. We used the sundial. Man, that brings up. I'm just going to jump into it with you here because I'm so excited to have you on the podcast. You've been, I was talking about last week.

You've been a great friend of me kind of over the last few months, and we're on this crazy group that I talk about often on the podcast because it continues to entertain me. I want to jump into something just to kind of get this conversation started, something that we talk about a lot. Your experience on The Bachelor and Bachelorette, okay, if you could compare it to today in terms of social media and just the publicity that this show gets, I mean, how would you wrap it up? I mean, it's completely different, isn't it? Well, completely different because there was no social media then. So, yeah, I think that, you know, it's kind of interesting because people were often compared it to the fact that, oh, well, you know, like when I was on The Bachelor, I think. think the season had like 20 million viewers a week or something like that. And it was obviously considered it to be a big hit.

Well, now it doesn't have as many viewers every week because it doesn't need to. It's got, you know, it might have 10 million viewing a week on television and then another 50 million viewing on Instagram and, you know, online and every other way that they can watch television. So I always think that's really funny when they try to compare the ratings because it's just not the same thing anymore. It's a total different beast. It is.

And so just to give some clarity here, you were. what number of bachelor? I was the fourth bachelor. I was on the first season of the bachelor's at and then the fourth bachelor. I was the 20th bachelor, Bob. Damn. Yeah, I know. I know. That's crazy. And you're considered a fossil now, too. See how it feels? Yeah, man. It does. It feels weird. I was just thinking about the other day and how I am. I'm almost, you know, two and a half years removed from my little go-around. And I look back and my life has changed a ton from it. But You were also on season one of the Bachelorette, correct? Yes.

Yep, I was on Trista's season, and then after that, they asked me to be the Bachelor. So, yeah, that was an experiment in and of itself, too, because I think I kind of gave, well, Trista really gave birth to the whole, you know, be on one season to lead to the next thing. But as it went from the guys, I think I kind of helped start that trend. And the other guys had before me had been Alex Michelle, who was the first bachelor, and then Aaron Bergey, who was the second bachelor, and then Andrew Firestone. So Andrew and I always joke that we're like, you know, we're the dinosaurs. So we're the ones that are still upright and walking, thankfully, but just barely. And two are the best. Like, honestly, two are the best dudes, though, also.

I want to say that. Like, you and Andrew have been great to me. as you know I was kind of shell-shocked and wide-eyed as I started this whole experience and just through the whole thing I met you at actually Jaden Tanner's wedding for the first time you both and ever since then you've just been awesome so I want to throw that in and make sure everybody listening knows that two of the oldest or two of the best Ashley what do you think I mean if you were on Bob's season how do you see that going down do you think there was a chance that you guys maybe connect Bob I really don't know you well enough to say that I was going to

to answer that question. Probably like seven. I think I was definitely in high school. I was most aware of you because my mom actually loved that you married the girl from all my children because she loved her. Yeah, yeah, that was a big deal back in the day. But you just got remarried. I did, yes. Yeah, and for the record, my ex and I are still very friendly.

So that's actually a nice byproduct of something that, you know, we actually met in an indirect way as, part of The Bachelor. I went on the show to make fun of the Bachelor. That's how I met her in the first place. She hosted a show that, you know, poked fun at the whole franchise, and I love making fun of myself. So I went on, and that's how we met, and then we were together seven years and split up. And then I kind of vowed to never be married again. I've told this to Ben before it. And I was like, you know, I just made me, I don't know. And then when you meet the right person, you know, it just clicks. And thankfully I did. And we are actually celebrating our one-year anniversary technically in two weeks on November 11th but a little insider scoop was we got

married in Mexico and if you get married internationally if you get married in Mexico you have to actually have like your blood drawn and a chest plate x-ray and all this kind of stuff when you're there so even though November 11th is our anniversary we actually got married a year ago today oh hey round of applause thanks hey Bob it's Amy I want to know Hi, I miss you. I want to know. I know you got to let us know when you're here, by the way. We'd love to see you.

But looking back now, do you think you could have fallen in love on the show? Like, do you think it's possible? The way it is now? Yeah. Well, you know, I don't, I mean, I guess anything's possible. You know, I mean, you do still see, you know, some people come out of there successfully, and I think that's great. I think that, you know, I'd be really near-sighted it.

I said there's no way that it could happen. But I feel like for me, I, you know, I'm a little bit skeptical at times. And I think that, you know, you have people going on there that are, you know, before they even get to the show, they're already, you know, making sure they're putting their Instagram on blast or likes to know it and what they're wearing today. So, I mean, it's a kind of a different thing at this point. I think a lot of people are definitely there for what comes next as opposed to, you know, what comes next for them personally. and possibly professionally, as opposed to what comes next for them in a relationship. And I think that, you know, when we were doing it, I mean, it's kind of like, you know, talking to your grandfathering, like, I walked up to school both ways, barefoot, you know.

It's kind of like that kind of a mentality. But when we did it, it wasn't, it hadn't become the vehicle that it is now for everyone to kind of capitalize upon. So it was a, I wouldn't say it was a pure time because there were definitely still people there just looking for 15 minutes and trying to have fun. and then there were people there that were really looking for relationships. So I think I would have probably been hard-pressed. You know, I'm not a – Ben and I have a lot of similar characteristics.

Like, I'm not the guy who, you know, is going to fight for my chance to talk to somebody. And then I'm also a little bit leery of the people that come out there with a game plan ahead of time. So I would have probably gotten killed on the show nowadays. Well, Bob, speaking of professions and after the show, you definitely were a media figure for a while. You were doing a lot of hosting, right? Oh, yeah, I got really lucky. I mean, Oprah thought it was funny on The Bachelorette, and she made me kind of,

she kind of put me in the spot to be the next bachelor. She sort of said that on the air, I shouldn't say she sort of said it, but on the air, she said, I want to be the next bachelor, and that was kind of it. But then... Oprah watched the show back then?

I wonder if she watches the show now. I don't know. I don't know, but she definitely is responsible for me having all the opportunities that I had, and she became a wonderful, sounding board for me and gave me a lot of opportunities, like, just to do things on her show. You know, I mean, I did her show probably seven, eight, nine, ten times something like that, which she had me hosting on the street.

And that was my first reel for hosting was pretty much all Oprah. And then, yeah, and then I just, yeah, you're right. I got a lot of opportunities from it at the time, you know, into this day. I mean, I still do a bunch of stuff, but I don't do as much of the hosting stuff because, frankly, the TV hosting stuff for me wasn't, it was a lot of. travel and you know driving around the van with a production crew for 16 weeks and as much as I loved doing it it was exhausting and so now I do a lot of the live event hosting I still do a ton of that and I really enjoy it one-offs we'd go to a weekend of Chicago go to a week into Orlando and I mean

and that was 13 years ago that I was on the bachelor so I guess you're right yeah I got a lot of a lot of a lot of leg room out of it which has been nice so what do you say your job is now um you know I I think I have a bunch of them. I mean, you know, I'm definitely, yeah, I'm a jack of all trades for sure, but really involved in real estate. And, you know, one of the things I never quit my day job. So even back in the day, I was involved in finance and different things that nature. And I still am today.

And, you know, so, I mean, I have kind of my feet and a bunch of different things, I guess, and my hands in a bunch of different things. But I'd say real estate's big. I still work, like I said, in the finance and insurance industry. And then, yeah, do a lot of live event hosting and a lot of. of fun and stuff like that. And, you know, I also got lucky, too, because I got picked up right away by the guys that we were forming this band called Band from TV, and it was all for charity, and it was all for fun. And Amy, we've done a bunch with Amy back in the day as well,

and Hugh Lurie and, you know, all these guys that I was fans of asked me to be in this band with them, and we would play all these cool events and then just give all the money to charity. And even though I didn't make a fraction of what they made, it was actually kind of a fun thing to be able to do and not have to worry about it, you know, from the standpoint of looking too opportunistic. It was like, yeah, well, we're doing this, but children's hospital gets all my money. Right. And for people that don't, for people that don't know that are just getting to know you listening, Bob is a great singer. He is, he is an awesome, he has an awesome voice, and he's really a great performer. And you're very sweet to say that. Thank you. Hey, Bob, I got a big question

for you. That's to switch gears here. You gave me some amazing advice on, on, like you mentioned earlier like on relationships and on love and about kind of pursuing your match and when you find that person you'll know it you you've been great for me in that in that way we're getting ready to one of the new season of the bachelor with somebody who um you know has it kind of took a break from the show for a while what would be your advice for rari or what do you even think about rye you know i i've gotten to know ari over the years i actually really like rari and i was it was kind of funny i think we were talking about it on our on our buddy thread when we were like you I don't know who the next guy is, but who should it be, and what do you think?

And you and I even spoke a little bit about R.E. in particular, and I think he's a really nice guy. I think that, you know, he has been around the franchise for a long time. And, you know, maybe, I mean, I get it that some people are kind of like, you know, who is this dude, you know? But maybe having a little bit more time in between his experiences on the show, maybe have given him some type of perspective. I don't know. You know, I mean, he might actually be at the point where he's ready to. make a move and settle down and have a relationship. But then conversely, you know,

and I know everyone saw it where the girl was basically saying she got broken up with so he could become a new bachelor. So I don't know what that means. You know, I don't know what it means for any of it. But I think it's just, it's such a, you know, it's living in your life in such a vacuum when you go on the show. And then, you know, as you guys know, you come off of it and it's kind of like your whole world is still kept going

while you were here, you know, handing out flowers or hoping to get a flower, whichever side of the coin you're on. And so I think it's kind of interesting. I think no one can really know what it's like until they go through it. Everyone will have an opinion for sure. But until they actually go through it themselves, they won't know how they're going to react

or what they're going to do. And hopefully Ari will find something. You know, I think somebody said the other day I read it, they're saying, you know, I don't know if he's on a show with a bunch of 23-year-old, you know, how he's going to feel about that. Well, I hear he likes him young.

Yeah, well, that's good to know, I guess. It would be beautiful. But, yeah, I don't know him that well. So, but yeah, I mean, obviously, I go into every season, I think just like every fan of the show does. I'm, like, hopeful and really excited that, you know, for me it's always about, and I hate to say this, but even when Ben was a bachelor and I love Ben, but it was, you know, okay, who are all these people and what their personalities and, you know, who's going to be the one who says I'm not here to make friends? and here's going to be the one that does this and does that. There's become these roles, you know.

Hey, Bob. I got to get to the nitty-gurdy of your own season. Okay. I hear that you were the sluggiest bachelor. I teased this last week, and I must, you know, I owe it to the almost famous listeners. How many girls did you sleep with during your season? Whoa.

You know, all of our listeners, I've said this for years. You go back and watch that season, and you tell me how many women you see me sleep with. I didn't see it. Yeah, of course. They're not going to show you sleeping with more than three. Yeah, I don't know where that story came from. I always thought it was kind of really like a crazy moment when it came out. I was watching a recap show with Mike Fleiss. He's on, I think he was doing either 2020 or something. And he looked at the screen and he's like, that's my man, Bob. And I was like watching it with my mom and my grandma. And I was like, oh my God. What is just what just happened? I don't believe you for a second. Wait, to give us a blast from the past.

Like, who do you stay in touch with from your Bachelorette season or your bachelor season? Well, from the Bachelorette season, Amy, you'll remember this name, but you guys might not have Ben and Ashley might not. But Jamie Blythe. Yes, of course. Oh, he's so sweet. It's awesome. He was a professional basketball player, great guy. Oddly enough, I mean, Estella and Kelly Joe, who were my final two, I keep in touch with them.

quite a bit. Yeah, a girl named Julie Smith, who I actually sent home on the first night because I just really frankly never got to talk to her. I've become great friends with her over the years because of our affiliation of the Kentucky Derby. And then, yeah, I mean, it's kind of crazy. I've had in touch with quite a few of people from the show. And then, as you know, it builds year over year.

You get to know more people from different seasons and stuff like that. So that's pretty cool. Now he's on a text thread with about 10 young dudes. trying to ask his advice. And I'm going to ask you your advice again. I do want to know that you just said it and it brought up a question of mine. So your friends, you stayed in contact with your final two. How have you gone about doing that? Like what was the process of being friendly with him? Because, you know, for me that just seems weird or different, I guess. So how how did that all work out? And Bob, before you answer that, um, parted my ignorance, but did you

get engaged at the end of your season? No, I didn't. Okay. Was there pressure to get engaged? Well, I think there's an inherent pressure You know, you've got at the time Harry Winston was the jury designer for the show And, you know, and that was a lot of pressure Going down to the Harry Winston store in Beverly Hills And having them film to look at rings and stuff That stressed me out to no end

But, and I remember it like it was yesterday, which is crazy But yeah, there was definitely pressure I wouldn't say it was necessarily Like overtly spoken of like you have to do this It wasn't anything like that by any means It was, but it was definitely one of those things that it was expected, you know, and I just, I felt like, you know, I was a little cynical and kind of looking at the show in a way that I was like, man, I like both of these girls, but what if I step out of this vacuum, I don't really know if I know them, and I had this kind of just, I was second guessing everything at that point. And, and so I didn't propose, but I did give a promise ring to Estella, and, and she got to keep it, and, you know, we put it on her right hand, and everyone thought it was a cop out at the time, but thankfully Oprah Jones, in and she saved me, she, you know, kind of told everyone, hey, man, I think that was a good move.

And I said, oh, my God, thank you, Oprah. I knew she was doomed. The second you gave her that promise ring, I'm like, she's dead. I know. Well, you know what, though? It was one of those things, and I really meant this sincerely. I was like, we'll see what happens when the cameras are off. And in my mind, I was like, this could be an awesome story, you know, like six weeks from now,

eight weeks from now, two, you know, three years from now, who never knows what it is, but wouldn't it be awesome if we got engaged and got married, you know? But it just wasn't in the cards for us. And so to answer your question, Ben, it wasn't easy at first because, quite honestly, they both hated me. And I was kind of in that spot where it was like, oh, damn it. I couldn't, you know, win for Liz. But then I have no clue what that feels like. Yeah, I'm sure you.

But it kind of came around, you know, slowly but surely, I would say, I don't know how it happened, but several years later, Estella and I reconnected and, you know, had, coffee and just had a nice conversation and she's just wonderful and then Kelly Joe and I kept in touch again a few years later somehow randomly got connected through friends about something and talked

and you know she's very happy married and has kids and it was it was kind of cool to connect at a different point in your life when it's not that weird kind of pressure of will you or lonely you know it was more like you know okay clearly we didn't and now we're moving on as

friends and we like something about each other so let's focus on the stuff we liked about each other and not worry about trying to make it romantic. And it was pretty adult, I have to say, pretty grown up of us. That's incredible. Okay. I mean, that's good to know. Yeah, that is kind of how that all goes down, too, because you do have this crazy, cool experience together. You've obviously had, like, fond memories with each other, and you have respect for each other.

And so, you know, I think that's incredible that you can still stay close. But it's also, you know, it speaks to who you are as a person, too, that, you know, both all women. And I tell you, the men are the franchise. Yeah, JJ Lane just continues to call you literally the goat, no matter how he refers to you. He's such a funny guy. I love that guy. When I met him at that, you know, so, I mean, you're speaking about at the wedding. You know, I had such reservations about going to the Jaden Canter wedding because, quite honestly, I didn't know them.

You know, and I was really concerned. I mean, I knew what I saw on television and I liked them, and I kind of thought, they don't want me at their wedding. You know, I don't feel like it's right that I go. and I was so glad that I did because I got to meet all of you guys and actually, you know, see that the people I'm watching on TV are just as cool as I thought they would be. And in some cases, like with JJ, I got to know him and I was like, oh, my God, this guy's hilarious, you know,

and just loved him and thought he was just so much fun. And so it was really kind of a, for me, it was awesome to get to meet everybody at that wedding. It's the first time I bet so many of you and, you know, and love kind of connecting the dots that way. So, yeah, I was glad I did it. I wouldn't be talking to you guys today probably. I'm glad you did too, man.

I really am. And thank you so much for calling in today. We appreciate it here. We think this is just a cool segment that we're going to have. We call back some people that have been around the franchise for a long time, talked about life, get their advice, and hear what you've been up to. And so, Bob, thank you for being the first person to join us on kind of our throwback Bachelorette Bachelors segment.

Yeah, we're very thankful to have been on the show, you guys. Thank you. Amy. I love you. Love you, Bob. Talk to you, first of you. Talk to you seen and Ben. I'm sure we'll be texting lady.

Ashley, great to meet. Great to meet you. All right. Thank you so much. Thanks, guys. Bye. Bye. All right.

Bye-bye. You know what's a constant between the old seasons and the new seasons? You know, there isn't a lot, but I would like to know what is a constant, Ashley? Wine. Wine? It is.

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You type out what you like for your wine preferences. They ask you, you know, do you like pepper? Do you like citrus? Do you like something smoky? Do you not? And they send you wine to your door. Here's the deal. Wink will even introduce you to new rare and custom wines that are not available anywhere else.

tell you the story behind each one. Skip any month, cancel anytime, and they have 100% satisfaction guarantee, so you never pay for a bottle you don't like. Wink, W-I-N-C, is offering listeners $20 off your first order when you go to try wink.com, backslash, almost famous. They even cover the cost of shipping. It's worth it. It actually is really, really great. This was my gift to my mom. She loves it. She's excited every time she gets a new bottle in the mail. She calls me. It's funny, actually, I just want to tell you before I close out, we were in Chicago for the Cubs game five a week and a half ago to see them get whipped on by the Dodgers. Your mom really needed the wink wine afterward?

No, no, I wish that was the case. She literally left early the next day. We were going to go out to breakfast and everything. They left early because Wink was arriving to our house and she needed to be there to sign off. That's how excited she gets. So Wink comes before children. How great is Bob? He's very great.

He's a doll and has been for a hundred years since he was on the show. Yeah, I mean, and I mean it's in the bottom of my heart. This world is so odd. And you do get thrown into something that you have no clue how to navigate. You have no clue what to expect. And for me, I was very nervous and very anxious to the whole thing. And, you know, meeting people like Bob and people like you, Ashley, and people like Amy and these people on the thread, you know, the people. The people that have been there before me has really helped me navigate this.

And so Bob has been a huge piece of that. I appreciate Bob, and it's awesome that he comes on the podcast. I think we should have him back more often. Yeah, no, we got to get him in studio. He's great. Maybe we can do some music with him, too. Well, Bob is great. And to switch gears a little bit, we want to talk about some recent news that has just affected

Bachelination. This is a Bachelor podcast. And so if we didn't talk about it, we wouldn't be doing our jobs. But in order to do that, we brought in an educated guest who knows the situation and can just fill us in. On the line right now, we have Jackie from the Hollywood Reporter. Jackie, how are you doing? Hi, guys. I'm doing well.

How are you? We're doing great. Jackie, this worked last time. You're very good to us through the current and demarro situation. When heavy news kind of hits Badd's Nation, we want to report on it, but we also don't want to just add our own personal opinions. We want to get the facts. And so, Jackie, you know more than we do. Can you fill us in on what's going on?

Yeah, so I don't know what you guys have been chatting about before I joined, but... Not that. We haven't talked about anything yet. Gotcha. Okay, well, a former producer in the Bachelor franchise is suing Warner Brothers, which is the company that produces the show, along with five show producers, claiming that she was sexually harassed while she was working on the show and then terminated for complaining about the hostile environment so I read the lawsuit

it was filed on Monday in Los Angeles and it is a 24-page complaint and in there she's alleging sexual harassment hostile work environment sex discrimination retaliation failure to prevent harassment and intentional of distress and wrongful termination to give you an introduction. So, I mean, what exactly does this mean? I mean, I don't understand this process at all. So this is what she's claiming happened. She's filed the report.

What are the next steps? Yeah, so, I mean, these types, I mean, wrongful determination lawsuits are pretty common, but anything involving sexual harassment in this current climate is definitely going to get more attention, especially from the public. That doesn't mean that if this went to court, the decision would be any different. But I think that there's so much going on right now with things coming to light in terms of Hollywood, especially with harassment allegations, that this is definitely anything that's filed along these lines is definitely going to, you're going to see it in the news.

That's kind of my big question. So because I don't know a lot about this situation, you know, but obviously the Harvey Weinstein and those kind of cases are coming. up and we're hearing about it a lot, and people are starting to speak out and kind of take a stand against sexual harassment. Just in general, why now? Like, what do you think sparked this? You know, all this stuff seems to be coming out now? What was kind of the catalyst to make this such a, just a very prevalent issue in today's

society? Well, so I didn't speak to the producer who filed this. Her name is Becky Steenhoek. I'm not sure from pronouncing her last name, right? She did give an interview to the LA Times where she spoke about the complaint details, some of the things that were said and things that she's alleging, and she claims that the producers were trying to embarrass her because of her conservative views.

So I don't know if Harvey Weinstein spurred her to come forward at this moment in time. I mean, the story with him has certainly opened the floodgates of Hollywood, since he was first, since the first report about Weinstein came out early in October. Obviously, the tally to women is now north of 60 and seems to be growing, and there have been a lot of other powerful figures in Hollywood who have also had claims leveled against them and people are taking action. So it does seem to be spurring women and even men to come forward and tell stories about being harassed. But I don't know if that's what spurred her. I can't speak to that because I didn't

speak directly to her. But it is kind of what we're seeing in Hollywood at the moment where people are empowered to speak up. It becomes challenging in that there's so much gray area here. So it's really hard to sort of know what's right, what's wrong, what one person's comfortable with, somebody else isn't. So it's really hard to sort of have opinions on this. Yeah. I mean, Warner Brothers released the statement pretty quickly and they said that they investigated earlier this year I assume when they found out about the allegations and they said that what they found didn't match what was claimed in the lawsuit and they actually used the word disappointed so they were disappointed that the lawsuit was filed so it

does from that statement it sounds like they did investigated and they were aware of these claims and that they were brought to them earlier this year so it really next it comes down to how Warner Brothers is going to respond they could file a motion to dismiss this could be negotiated outside the courtroom and if she you know if she's speaking out she could also continue to speak out and tell her story so there's a few ways that this could go from here we're just I mean I think we said it like in all of this we're just at the tip of the iceberg like this has still has to still play out We don't know how it will, but wherever the case, the claims have been made, the article

came out in the LA Times. Do you plan on speaking to Becky, the producer? I'm not at the moment. We don't have a request in to speak with her. We're just monitoring how this is happening, what's going on, and what the next steps are going to be. It seems like she has said everything at this point that she could say, and I think if there's a next step taken, we would probably reach out and get more of the next step.

the story. Perfect. Well, hey, Jackie, thank you again for coming on the Almost Famous Podcast. You've been great to us. And, you know, again, we just, we want to hear kind of the updates and the facts and kind of put our, just kind of fill in all the listeners on what's going on. So thank you for doing that. And we hope to have you back here soon to kind of catch us back up on everything happening.

Yeah, no problem. Thanks for having me on, guys. All right. Thanks. All right, moving from the series to the fun. We're going into segment emails. Yay! Okay.

Now I have to go through and see which ones I think are the most important. I think this is very interesting. Hi, guys, from Rachel. Six years ago, my college boyfriend and I broke up to go to different law schools. We've been having serious relationships since and grown as individuals during our time apart. Now we're rekindling our relationship at a time in life where settling down actually makes sense. He's all in, but I'm still hesitant. My question relates to something that Amy brought up last week regarding this issue of timing.

Can people really break up and get back together without it being a complete and total train wreck? I, like, we said last week, I was like, I think timing's usually an excuse, but in this case, I think it's kind of romantic. I think, like, you guys weren't in the right place of your life or your careers. Or even just like personal growth to like settle down. But now that you've gotten to know yourself better and you're bold at like this place in life career-wise that you feel like it's ready to settle, you're ready to settle down, I think.

There's actually, this could be really awesome. There's a whole new trend in this. I think it's awesome. I feel like you had that spark and that chemistry initially, but now you're in a place where like you can really explore it. Supposedly because of like Facebook, Instagram, all these things, people are marrying other people, getting divorced, and then reconnecting with their high school or college, boyfriends or friends, and then dating again.

What do you think, Ben? You know, honest, I think I don't, I forget I was talking to about this, but I recently was just talking to somebody, and I said, there's, a lot of my friends are married, and they're in serious relationships, and they all have very healthy, good, thriving marriages and relationships, and very few of them have stayed together throughout the whole dating process. Most of them had broken up at least maybe for a week or two weeks or sometimes longer and then got back together because I think you get really nervous and you start to question, oh, is this the right thing or not? But then when you break up, you separate and you

realize, wait, that really was the right person. That really was the right scenario. So I agree with you, Ashley. I think it's romantic. I think it's somewhat intelligent because now in today's world we're always looking for what's next and what's better. You've tried out what's next and was better. And you've realized that what you had before was the best thing. And so I think you might be actually a little more confident in the relation to, too, if you gave it that time to step away. I was watching Demi Lovato's documentary this weekend. Of course you were. Yeah. And she talks about, you know, her relationship with Wilmer Valderrama and how she was with him from the age of 18 to 24. So it wasn't like they lost their spark or anything, but she said, like, as somebody who's really

never seriously been with somebody else. I feel like I need to take a few years off and get to know myself better, but she doesn't rule out rekindling it in the future. Yeah, I mean, that's the thing. And so you've gotten to know somebody, you separate, you get back together, I think your relationship could be healthier for it. And you've had chance to miss each other, which is such an important little characteristic in relationships, is feeling what life is like without them by your side at all times.

So, hey, Rachel, trust it. It's a good thing. Let the guy back in. He wants you. He needs you. On to the next. Daniela asks, my question for you both is how do you deal with being in a house of gorgeous women for Ashley and very handsome men for Ben and not compare yourself? Or do you let your insecurities psych you out of putting yourself out there?

I can't help but notice that all the women on the show are stunning and yet thin, while all the men are buff and fit. And yes, that includes you, Ben. Is Bachelor Nation not ready for a plus-sized Bachelorette or its cast members? Will the Dad Bod Bachelor ever receive the same sort of love? We just talked to Bob, so he has a lot of love. I think Bob, I mean, I think Bob was the Dad Bod Bachelor,

and he was an early-on bachelor. So I think they're open to that. I would have to say that they're probably more open to a Dad-Bod Bachelor than they would be to a Coolead. pushier bachelorette though um you think that bad um yeah i i mean i don't really know i don't i would think they'd be ready for anything i mean as long as that person's looking to find somebody and i think in today's world the the franchise is looking for healthy relationships so badly that they they don't i mean they're just wanting to find people ready to find love um i don't

i guess i don't know i would have to talk to the casting department about if they're ready for a plus size or not, but, you know, I mean, I think for me, the big part of that question is comparing yourself to everybody, right? If you're plus size, if you have the dabbot, if you're not as ripped as everybody, you know, how do you go about not comparing yourself? And I don't, I just don't think that's true. I compared myself the whole time. It messes with you. I have to stand next to the Shambuze of the world and look at, you know, him doing push-ups with his veins popping out of him. And it's tough. It is. And I just think it's such a, you know, talk about all the time. And it's such a hard kind of world for people to grow up in

until they're really confident with each other in themselves. In today's world, you're going to constantly compare yourself. And the true satisfaction comes from knowing who you are as a person, person, feeling good about who you are, and also taking steps in your life to make sure you feel good about yourself, right? I mean, I think it's a healthy thing to do is to try to take one step at a time. And we're going to talk about But one way to take a good step and clean your skin with her next sponsor and you'd feel better about yourself. But no, you're going to constantly compare. Don't think that you're abnormal for that.

But the truth is you have to continue to work to feel good about who you are as a person. Well, I should mention there was a plus size model on my season. Chris actually eliminated her with night one, but that had nothing to do with her size and more of the fact that she was pre darn drunk. Yeah. I mean, that's the thing. I don't remember that, but I'm excited for the day that The Bachelorette is represented from all people of all shapes and sizes, all colors. You know, I think that's great. It's fun.

It's good to hear people's stories and hear where they come from and hear who they are as people. I mean, I think that's why you fall in love with the Christinas of the world from next season is because her story was so powerful. And you could tell she had so much depth to her. And that's what we want when we watch The Bachelorette and Bachelor is people of depth, people that intrigue us and interest us. not just people that are all the same. And I think we're taking steps to get there. I mean, I hope the franchise is taking steps to get there. I mean, we had our first black bachelorette, so I would assume plus size is the next step.

That's right. That's right. But, hey, Ashley, will you tell all of our listeners about one way to take a step to feel better about themselves? Yeah, they can order bioclarity. Bioclarity is a three-step system that is delivered to your door. It's easy to use twice daily, and it's natural. It doesn't have any harsh chemicals. Bioclarity is suitable for all skin types.

It's dermatologist developed, tested, and recommended. It is 100% vegan and cruelty-free and gluten-free and paraben-free. It's that three-step system, like I just mentioned. First, you're going to cleanse with a rich foaming facial cleanser that gently removes dirt oil and environmental pollutants. Then you're going to treat, 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. Then you're going to use the restore gel that leaves your skin. feeling smooth and refreshed. Ben and I got a tweet yesterday from one of our listeners. So cool. She goes, oh, no, it was an Instagram. And she goes, I look so good in my Halloween costume because my skin is

perfect because Ben and Ashley told me about bio clarity and has been working for me so well. So great to hear success stories. If you want to be one of those, our listeners will 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 almost famous and there's new packaging so don't think that you got a different product it is the same bio clarity but it just looks pretty you're on the outside so head over to bioclarity.com and enter our code almost famous that's right hey ashley that is the podcast today great job great job you great job to you Ashley hey thank you to our guest bob guinea next week this is exciting I know you're a huge fan actually next week

We have former Bachelorette Jillian Harris on the podcast. Can I be honest? I don't know much about Julian Harris. Oh, who did you say last thing that you loved? I love Emily. Can we have Emily on? I think we should definitely be having Emily on. You could have faked it for me, Ashley.

You could have made me sound smart and be like, oh, yeah, Ben, I love Jillian. She's the best. I mean, I think I would get along well, Jillian. I did run into her at the bathroom at Jane Tainer's wedding, and she was so, so nice. Well, hey, that's a start. And that's what we'll build off of when we talk to Jillian next week on the podcast. Listeners, please keep in touch with us. Send us your emails, your thoughts, your concerns, pictures of your dogs, whatever you want.

I love that. Emails at Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. Hey, everybody, I've been Ben. And I've been Taylor Swift. Bye. You're so weird. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen. in a podcast.