The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S4 #1 Happy Janu-ARIE!

Episode Date: January 2, 2018

Ben and Ashley are back to kick off the New Year, and a new season of The Bachelor! They give their expert analysis on the premiere of Season 22, including some thoughts on Bachelor clichés, initial impressions of the cast members, and they go through some of the “what ifs”, on girls who get sent home on Night 1.  Producer Amy talks about her run in with "Mask Girl". And, they answer some listener e-mails, one of which involves another horrific wedding speech. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Let's do it. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. Season four has begun. I'm Ben. I'm Ashley, and congratulations, Ben, on four seasons. Oh, wow. What a surprise.

So excited about it, and I don't want this to end anytime soon. And Ashley, we have made it through the roughest part of the podcast. We have literally, for the last few months, just bought time talking about our lives and rumors around bachelor nation and pop culture just to get to this day and this moment because it's January. Okay. So after watching the first episode, I kind of cringe saying January. I don't think we should be, I don't think we should. I was all about the cute little term. But now after watching it, I just like don't know if Ari should have a month named after him. And isn't the show on in February? Yeah, well, it is February as well. We will start those promo ads soon enough. What happens in March?

Right? Marry. Marry. That's good. See, actually, you can have a job with The Bachelor. Here's the deal. Okay. It's season four, episode one of the almost famous podcast.

Ari's season of The Bachelor started today. And as a result, we wanted to get you this podcast as quickly as possible. And so Ashley's in studio in Los Angeles. Easton's there helping her out. Amy's in Cahoe. I'm in Denver. We don't have any Mark.

We don't have any anybody helping us out behind the scene because we want to get this podcast to you as quickly as possible. And so deal with us as we ramble and talk on. And only the four of us dummies were willing to work on New Year's Day. Yeah, we just watched the episode, East Coast Feed. We're lucky like that over here on the, West Coast. It's not as much fun watching on West Coast time because you like watch all the tweets and you hear about it and then you have to, you know, I don't know. How do you feel about that,

Ashley? A lot of people won't look at the, on the West Coast won't look at the internet because people start writing about it. Do you look at the spoilers like as they're going before you watch it? Yeah. I mean, I can't deal with finalities when people see that we post like, congratulations so-and-so on Instagram, and they're like, you spoiled it, I used to like you, and then you made this post, and now I hate you, and I can't believe you ruined my life like this. I'm like, oh, my God, you guys, come on. Then get off the computer if it's going to ruin your life. Hey, Ashley, I got it here. I mean, you are the expert. Let's jump into it. We did just watch Ari's first episode. First episodes, personally to me, are the F.

worse. They're long and they're boring. Thank you. I agree. They're not my favorite, but you can typically get a pretty good sense of how this season will at least initially play out. Can we just get your professional breakdown from the Bachelor expert herself on what you thought of the first episode of the Ari season? Yeah, so I gave you a little preview before by saying that I don't think we should call it January because I don't know if Arroy is going to be able to to lead this season.

I think that it's gonna be the girls. Wow. I know. I feel like he came across a little cold, a little robotic in the fact that like there was some things that he said that just sounded like he was reading lines and being a really bad actor.

I'm sure he's a super nice guy, have not met him. I don't wanna say anything about his character. I'm just saying like as a bachelor, I think that he's obvious about being very interested in some. He's already showing disinterest in others. I don't know. Here's what I can say.

I learned a little behind the scenes in that, and Ben can probably talk about this too, is that from what I heard about Ari, he is not in it to become famous or, you know, an Instagram media mogul, but he is taking it super serious to find a wife. And I wonder if that's why he's coming across a little bit cold because he's being so serious about it.

Like, do I like her? Do I like her? What are my feelings for her? I don't know. That could be true. And I want to say that my friend Naz, a former producer on the show and who now does this thing on YouTube called

Will You Accept This Ride, where you can get to know a little bit more about the contestants behind the scenes. She met him a couple weeks ago and she said he's just lovely and has absolutely no idea how to deal with social media. and he's just, he's just like a regular guy,

and she said that his intention seems super true. Yeah, I've met him a lot of times back in the first round when he was on, and he is a nice guy. Like, he really is. I think it'll be interesting. Okay, this will be interesting, and let's say it now, and then we'll analyze it in a few months, because we all know right now he's saying,

I'm not in this to be famous, I'm doing this to find a wife, I have all the right reasons, blah, blah, blah. I wonder what's going to happen when suddenly NASCAR is wanting him to raise the flag or whatever they do in NASCAR? Do you know what I mean? Like when he starts getting all these offers,

is he going to fall for it? Does that make sense how I'm asking it? Yeah. I wonder if he'll change his mind and be like, how could I say no? I think he's going to do it. I think he'll do all that. And I don't, but that's fine

because I think that what it is is about your intention going into it. Oh, that's a good point. I think that's a good point. Yeah, so you can do whatever offers come his way afterward. Ben, what did you think of Ari? You know, I think it has to be under some...

So I haven't heard nothing negative at all about Ari, and you typically will, at this point, in the Bachelor is. Whoever the Bachelor or Bachelor, whoever's chosen, their skeletons in the closet will come out before the first episode, typically. And you really haven't heard a lot about Ari other than, you know, some past relationships, which, what? You don't expect the guy to date? Like, you know, he hasn't in a committed relationship,

so he chose it to the bachelor. I think Amy is spot on. I think from what Amy has told me and what I've heard, he is taking this so serious. And I appreciate that. I think that is the best way to do it. I was given advice from some former bachelors when I was the bachelor to just have fun and make it funny and laugh.

And it never felt appropriate to me to handle it that way. But the thing you struggle with when you take it so serious is it is hard to have fun. And every moment is intense. from the first night to last because it's an emotional roller coaster. So he did come off cold. He came off very dry. I thought his responses to the women were just kind of like, it just felt like he was just trying to get through night one.

Okay, I agree. I'm excited to see the rest of the episode. Same. Okay, let's go into like act two. Sean and Catherine come back again. And I just pray that Ari will find someone and get married in the next year. year so that Sean and Catherine could have a break from the first episode warm-up. I mean, The Bachelor is using and abusing that.

They are everywhere. I mean, Sean gave me advice. I don't know if he gave Crystal's advice. He gave me Nick advice. I mean, Sean has been around forever, but you got to think about it. Like, they are the perfect couple, the highlight. I mean, they have a kid now. But, yes, actually, I've seen a lot of Sean and Catherine, as great as I'm sure they are, it's time for them to take a break.

Right. My second point, and I'm sorry if I go in, like, super chronological order, I have this long list of things to talk about. I took notes. Okay, I'm just going to sit here and listen. You just start talking, and I think everybody out there just really wants to hear your thoughts. Stop now, Ben. What I want to do is, like, bring up points, and then you can talk. You can tell me your point of view.

about them okay so look um first uh for somebody for somebody who is so entrenched in this franchise of a podcast about it have had it have done it so many times love it talk about it like it is my actual job the one thing that i cannot deal with is all the cliches i can't hear anybody say like i'm ready to fall i'm ready to give it my all i want something like i want something I want someone to say something real that's not like, I'm ready to jump and be caught and all that stuff. The packages...

Why wouldn't you want to be jumping caught? I hate all those packages and the cliches being like, you know, I'm ready for Ari to be the one. I want someone to say something like, you know what? I'm really excited to like experience this and if I like Ari,

well, that'll be awesome. Well, I mean, It's kind of, Ashley, after this episode, I recognize it more than ever. Okay, thank you. Yes, there is a format to this show, right? Even if it's not, you know, produced or scripted, there's, typically, I feel that the contestants that come on are usually saying the same thing. They're coming up with the same little phrases.

And then the episode kind of plays out the same, at least episode one, plays out the same way. Every year, there's always, you know, the first girl to grab them and everybody's mad at her. you know people are going to come in and take goofy lines is that for the entrances there is a they do have a format that works for episode one and i saw it today more than ever Which is why I think that episode one can usually be a bit boring. It's kind of like the hump episode where I just like, all right, let's get this one over with, let's learn names, let's get a general sense of them, and then let's

move the frick on because I can't, yeah, it's just too formulaic for me at this point. I think you're I mean, as horrible as it was to put two girls against each other on night one. It did give a little spice and flavor. So I think they just need to maybe come up with something new with entrances and just

just not have them all come out of the limo at the same time. I mean, for me, they tried to freak us out. Like, they did half the limo, and they made us feel like there was only going to be 15 girls in the season. And then there was, like, a whole other load of 15 more. I don't know. There's something. They gave us something.

They don't get creative. Amy, I want to hear your thoughts. You've been around the franchise, just a little bit of time because you're so young. Were you disappointed in tonight's instances? I felt like more than ever, this is just like, free- No, to me, I just find it. Same. Same. Okay.

That first episode to me is always, for 20 seasons or however many it's been, is always the same. Now, here's what's interesting, because there's nothing I hate more than the weird things they do. The mask girl, the girl that proposes, the weird, even the girl that pulled up in the Mustang and the girl that pulled up in the race car. Like, that stuff makes me cringe. Me too. But yet I remember it. So I was having a conversation with one of the producers because I thought that it was so awkward watching them race those little cars. Do you know what I mean?

Remember when they were racing the Porsche versus the other thing? Although I want to get that Porsche. At least I remember it. I think they have to do it because it's the only way to differentiate any of these people because otherwise you really wouldn't remember. Like imagine if they just walked up and they're like, hi, I'm Lauren. Yeah. There was like 87 Lawrence. They probably do it for us more than they even do it.

for The Bachelor. Well, one, it's good entertainment for it to be corny and creative. But also, like, we are like, oh, that's Red Car Girl, that's Race Car Girl. That's Weiner Girl. Well, I'll tell you, I met the Mask Girl this weekend. Yeah.

And I, so I met her at this store up here in Tahoe. And she had told somebody else she's on this season of The Bachelor. And I had already seen the episode. So I had no way of knowing who she was. I literally was like, I don't know who. you were and then she said I was the masked girl so immediately I'm like oh now I totally remember who she was I remember how awkward and uncomfortable I was when she came up in the mask and then remember she has the like weird reveal of her face oh yeah you remember that I was like and it's very

mysterious I was really into it wait you were yeah I think about yeah she's gonna be remembered she's mysterious and then all of a sudden she reveals her face and I mean you have no idea what he's going to be looking at. I mean, I was, maybe that says a little bit about me, but I was into the mask. Okay, so that's really funny, Ben, because I feel like you like that sense of humor. You would like a girl to show up and be a little bit more quirky. I think Ari was like, I need someone who's just like, woman and it's going to give me a little mystery and it's just to be super mature. But I think like you have more of like a lighthearted sense of fine. Yeah, the mask made me super uncomfortable because it's like, and then she told me also this

funny thing that the mask was putting lines on her face. You know how like Yeah, like a pillow. You're wearing glasses or like whatever. So she didn't want to keep the mask on too long. So at first she was just going to take the mask off when she got inside. And then the producers did say, no, no, no, you got to, because he's not going to know that you were the mask

girl. We have to show him you removing the mask or whatever. 100%. Which made total sense. So Amy, tell me then, was she glowing? Does she look in gait? I don't know. know about that, but this is what I can say about her.

I know that next week and the week after she, the best way to say it is I think she's going to have sort of a meltdown. Okay. So we can watch for that and then talk about it. All right. And she is super nice. She's very cool and nice. She seems like she'd be really nice.

The little we know from her so far. Yeah, I met her in a clothing store and then hung out with her one other time. Wait. Did, oh, you, like, hung out with her. Well, I was, you know, Tahoe so weird. You kind of just go, like, hey, my friend's having this party. So we just invited her to this party, and then she came. And everyone liked her, though.

We called her the- Somehow, you still get involved in Batchar Nation, even when you don't mean to. I didn't even mean to. Like, I literally just stumbled into a clothing store. Yeah. Hey, so, I mean, we've already started to talk about individual women on the show. We talk a little bit about Ari. I want to keep talking about Ari because, you know, this was his first night as The Bachelor.

But, Ashley, I'm sure you have your notes here. Let's just start from the introductions. What are your thoughts and who are your top four favorite and who are the people that kind of are sketching you out of it? Okay. Let's start with the sketchy outers because they stand out to me more. The online health coach, Crystal, with the raspy voice that Ari says is called. calming is just so horrid. Oh, it was terrible.

Terrible. Just skin crawling. Not like the sound of her voice. It's truly the way like, I think she thinks she's sexy. Like I think she really thinks she's sexy and she's using her voice as a tool. Yeah.

I just, I don't know what it is. And this is maybe one of my favorite parts about night one is there's always those moments that do make you cringe. And that was definitely one of them. Basically, I don't get how somebody could sit in a limo or sit in your hotel room before you get introduced on the show. And you come up with what you want to do for your first impression.

And you go, you know what I'm going to do? I'm going to make him close his eyes. I'm going to speak to him very softly and tell him that this is his moment. Like, what at what level was that a good idea? I don't understand that. She's definitely trying to pose herself as the temptress of the season. And I think he's definitely going to fall for it, which is fine. It's fine to be like a sexy tempterist.

I definitely think she's going to ruffle a lot of feathers with the girls. She's kind of like a Brit figure to me. And I think we all like Brit. In my season, I always liked Brit. I knew that there was like maybe, I think like she was just always the most threatening, to be honest, like between her personality and being so bubbly and likable and the look. I think we were all very threatened by her. And I do feel like she's going to be that to the women this year. and I don't think she's going to...

She doesn't seem to be the kind of girl who's going to let that stop her from pursuing Ari. But as a bachelor, I would say that personality type in the show's format is very appealing and intriguing because she's confident.

She seems to have a presence around her. She is calming in the sense that she's so confident and doesn't come off as nervous. Yeah. And so it is a little bit like calming because she just... She exudes kind of like this leadership quality where at some level, you're always going to know that, you know, she's around. And so I get why he could be sucked into that.

And initially until what I believe her true colors will start to show and maybe those true colors are really great. I don't know what color she has inside. He just won't really get to know her because she'll kind of always be mysterious to him. Right. So what else is you guys? What do you guys think of the short-haired Becca? Okay, so Becca is another one that I was going to talk about as somebody who stands out. She seems like a guy's girl, for sure.

I think she's really cool and fun to watch, super pretty. She just seems like she's kind of like going to be like that whip smart weedy girl who's going to keep him on his toes. And I like her for that. And, yeah, I don't know. My only red flag on her is that she seemed like a bleep talker. Really? Yeah. Okay.

Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. She seems to be like a little snarky. Like when the girl pulled up in the race car, you know, she had the red car. And she's like, oh, is that a race car? Uh-huh. Like, you know, I know she's probably thinking she's being funny and she is. But yeah, I can see her like, I can see her not being the girl's favorite as well, but an already favorite.

Right, right. She had one of the most memorable moments to me in this episode. And tell me if I'm weird. Please, because I know I have some odd things about me, but there's one thing that happened during this episode with Ari and Becca that just made me like, just be like, wow, I'd be into this girl. Because I wasn't into her at first. I thought it was, she was a little odd. And then they're sitting on the back of the car talking. And he's like, you know, I'm sitting here with this beautiful.

She said, I'm sitting here with this handsome guy. And he goes, oh, I think the same thing. He's like, I just am wondering. I'm nervous if, like, you like me or not. And she goes, so far so good. Yeah. And it was this like really confident, kind of snarky, but really cute moment for them where you could tell he was like taken back and also calm and at East because that same line or that same kind of like conversation could exist anywhere, especially outside of that show. But for me, that was a very memorable moment.

I like it because she's like, just because you're The Bachelor doesn't mean I'm in love with you already. Right. Or that I like that too. Yeah. She's going to be really cool. I think he's going to really fall for her. I don't know any spoilers. We should say that up front, too.

We know nothing. Yeah, I don't want to know anything because I don't want to know anything either. And I'll leak something. Okay, Ashley, give us one more because we told the listeners you do, the people that kind of drove you crazy and the people you like. So give us one more woman on this show that kind of drove you crazy. Drove me crazy. Oh, the mom.

I think the mom's going to have an issue. What's her in Chelsea? A 29-year-old mom from Portland. Uh, yeah. She seems like she is the, the crap talker. She, that is going to be the girl who's going to talk negatively. She was the one who was like, of course it was the girl who came in with the motor, like, with the race car that interrupt me. She keeps making like all these subtle little digs and his little condescending.

And she's kind of speaking, like she's about to like play the Super Bowl. She's like talking smack. But isn't she the first impression rose girl, too? Oh, yeah. That's a big deal. That's a really big deal. So he obviously likes it or what? Maybe he's not seeing it, which is something that I always say and that needs, that everybody needs to be reminded of, including myself as I watch the show, is when she's saying this stuff or when she's coming off that way to people, the Bachelor of Bachelor, you don't see that.

And everybody, when you get back home, one of the first things they're going to ask Ari is, you know, you gave the first impression to Rose to Chelsea. Why she was always like so negative and always like. speaking down to people and his honest response is I didn't see it I didn't know it I just knew what I saw right that's such a good point for you to make and then I have another point to make first off she's playing a game like she's the girl who's there to like win she's there to win the game you know and I think she's also there to like get a father for her child oh hey good good for her I mean she's there I hope she's not playing a game I hope she actually is in Dari.

But yeah, like you said, like she's obviously strategic in some of the things she's doing and saying. And in just her, I guess, ability to kind of defy anybody's – she didn't care if she was liked or not. And so she just walked up to him twice knowing it was going to ruffle feathers, and she didn't care. That's true. Yeah. Yeah. So she's going to be that girl.

So speaking of that girl, I want you guys to know that when we are like maybe – maybe we're talking a little smack right now going down these lists of girls. We're just going off of what we're seeing and we're going off of what you guys are seeing and this is the edit and this is the characters they wanted

us to see. There are so many of us if you meet us in real life, we're so different and I always say that I used to watch American Idol like hardcore and whenever I was watching the show, you know, they make characters out of them too and I'd be like, oh, I don't like so and so.

I really can't stand so-and-so. And then on the American Idol tour that summer, I would meet that so-and-so, and I would love them. So we're just talking based on their caricatures on the show right now. We're not trying to bring them down as people. Well, I'm definitely trying to bring them down as people. That's the only reason I'm here. I don't know what else we're doing. I'm bad.

Okay, so we've talked about the people that kind of made you aware, a little nervous. Now let's talk about the women you like. We talked about Becca. I think we can both agree she's going to be a major player in this season. And there are two beckas, right? There are two beckas. One, the short-haired Becca, her name is spelled bizarrely. It is B-E-K-A-H.

And then the other one is Becca K. We were talking about the short-haired Becca. I know that just from what I saw, I believe, on the first episode, she's going to be around a while. And I like her. I mean, I think she's going to be intriguing. She's interesting. and she seems like a different personality than what we usually get

on this show. So who else kind of made you interested, Ashley? Well, I love Bibiana. She seems to, she seems to, like, be like me. She's, like, not going to be able to deal with any BS, I feel like. She's going to be like, no, this is

the way things are. She's just going to keep it real. Yeah. I like Vibiana, too, a ton, and she's beautiful. I just think She's going to have an issue on this show because she is so straightforward and she doesn't settle for anything that's not authentic that when she speaks up, I think it's going to come off as very forceful and very loud. And as a result, I think Bibiana might not be shown in the best light, just kind of based on her reaction to things that go on on the show. Okay, so that's exactly how I feel like I relate to her because I think that a lot of. a lot of those feelings that she's going to feel

are going to be maybe amplified on TV in a way that she didn't intend them to look. Interesting. Yeah, I mean, that's it. I mean, amplified or not, they happen. And so I just think a personality type like Viviana it just could come off different. But I like her on night one a lot.

Ashley, give us somebody else you like. So pretty. If not like, in my opinion, like the prettiest girl there. She's gorgeous. Let's see. we have What do you think of the other Becca The one that proposed? You know what's so interesting

Is that that Becca The first time I watched it Because I have watched it twice now It made me cringe I was like oh God I can't believe she's doing this And then the second time I watched it I thought

She did that very awkward thing With a lot of poise And a lot of confidence And I think she actually pulled it off Not that bad I mean the whole night's awkward Like, I think it was great again. I hope that, like, if, you know, when I was back to, I was excited when women would

do something different. And I thought that took thought. It made her confident. And it's something to be remembered by. Yeah, it's that whole night's awkward. You're literally pulling up in a car with a bunch of other girlfriends who are dating the same guy and that guy is standing there and you have to get out and say hi to him and then walk inside a mansion or wait on them.

Like, the whole setup's awkward. So just play with it a little bit. Tia was the 26-year-old girl who went up to him and said, this is a little wiener. I hope you don't have one of these already. Love it. Love it. That's the best interest.

He's absolute best interest. That was, and he like, okay, so again, Ari's nervous. It's a huge night for him. He's taking it very serious. He should. It sounds like he's a great dude. I thought this was like that was his moment to show us

his personality I agree that he has one and he completely failed I know that's when I became concerned that's when I became concerned what did he do he was just like oh ha don't worry

I don't yeah like okay I don't care who you are I don't care how conservative you are whatever like that was so witty and it was funny and it wasn't like crude or whatever like when she made that joke all he has to do is laugh a little bit like loosen up buddy i hope he takes a cute couple

deep breaths realizes that he has a once-a-lifetime shot to find his wife amongst a bunch of beautiful women but also understand that hey like laugh a little bit show us who you are and show us that you are the funny guy that sean claims you are and i was waiting for that this whole episode and i didn't see it ben that was so perfectly put like if you or chrisoles or nick if a girl came up to you guys and did that you'd be peeing your pants Oh, it's so good. It's absolutely great. I mean, it made me, it made me, I wrote down to my notes.

I have, I have notes myself, actually. Oh, nice. So studious. That literally made her my favorite contestant starting at night one based on that. I want to tell you, because I think these companies will surprise you. I'm not great at picking my favorite contestants, obviously, because all of my favorite contestants that go home other than one on night one. No way.

I'm not kidding. What? So the one that didn't go home, I want to talk about her. I really am intrigued. I find her very attractive. The woman who owns the restaurant. She is so striking. Like insanely attractive.

When she walked out, I was like that might be one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. I totally agree. And he doesn't seem to be like ooing over her like the way we are. Yeah, why is that? I don't know. Do I not remember? Did she do something weird tonight on the episode that I am not remembering? No.

I think Ari has a type, and I think that type is Emily, Emily Maynard. And I feel like that that, like, ethnic, exotic look may not be his thing. I think he likes an all-American chika. That being said, her opening line was also super cute, and he didn't really respond to that either. She said, I have a lot of, would you say I have a lot of spice in my mind? life, but I need some salt and pepper. How cute. So great. And I mean, and then she's like, yeah, that's the thing. And I saw Ari's night one. I would give him. I gave Nick, I think, a B, maybe B plus. I would give Ari a C. I thought, I think he's going to be a fine factor

because I think he's going to really try to find somebody. And I think the season is only going to get better. But as I'm grading night one, I just felt like he, he didn't make it fun for me to watch, which isn't his job is to make it fun for me to watch, but it is his job to make it fun to the women who are there. And so I hope that the things we weren't seeing was that he's laughing and being playful with these women. See, if he

was my bachelor and I had to go talk to him night one, I feel like I would have been so careful and so self-conscious about everything that came out of my mouth because he just, he definitely seems very transparent and like, if he's feeling you, he's going to feel you. But like if he thinks that you said something weird,

he's going to be a little judgey. Yeah, yeah, that's the thing. And so he and I could never date because I say to be here. I bet. I love you so much. Okay. Here's, and I think the second woman that I hear that I'm going to say, I need you to tell me if she went home or not because I couldn't quite figure it out

and I couldn't find anything, and I didn't rewind it because I didn't want to take the time. But I like Jessica a ton out of the limo. and she went home on night one which is so weird to me because I thought she was calming she was confident she wasn't nervous

she had a good interaction with him she's beautiful what about Jessica who was she how did she get out of the limo was it just like the woman in the red dress yeah

the woman in the red dress who said that her father had met Ari that was kind of her exiting scene was my father had met Ari I thought maybe my father would get to meet like my husband

did the dad die yeah yeah that was heartbreaking passed away and for me me, it was just weird that she wasn't there any longer. And I have her down as my favorite other than the woman that owns the restaurant on night one. You would think that he'd let that poor girl go at least a week and get to know her. She seems to all to me. I don't remember if

you went home or not. No, she did. She did. She definitely went home. I remember watching and being like, oh, dang. Very sad exit. Now it just makes me question who I spent home on night one that could have been my, you know, my future wife. Wait, I have a question before we do our first commercial. Do they take your watches away? They don't take your watch away, right? No, they don't take your watch away, but because so few girls do wear watches, like I'm always asking what time it is.

And for some reason, I only know why I care what time it is. And will they tell you what time it is? Yeah, they'll tell you. So they'll be like, it's 5 a.m. Just I like to know, like, right, exactly. If it's getting too late, that's what I like to know. And I like to know how much time I have to get ready. Yeah.

On night one, you really don't know. We say, you know, we said it now for last few seasons that we've been a part of this podcast. You don't want to know what time it is on night one. Because as we saw at the end of the episode, it literally starts at 7 o'clock at night. It's when it's dark outside. And it goes until like mid morning, like 10 o'clock in the a.m. Not 10 a.m. But yours was 10 a.m.

Ashley, trust me. I know. It was 10 a.m. I was walking back into my hotel room where I was living as the bachelor after doing all of my interview. Okay, okay, yeah. By the time you got back to your room, yes. Yes. See, Ashley, don't correct me about being a bachelor.

Sorry, I don't know this. I don't know. I don't know. So I get back to the room at 10 a.m. am only to find myself sleeping on the most precious, comfortable mattress I've ever, ever laid on. And as a result, I now sleep on this same mattress. I'm talking about sleep number, our sponsor, and I want to talk about sleep number with you. Making New Year's resolutions is one thing, sticking to them is another.

Whether it's resolving to get to the gym more or eating less sweets, there's one thing that can always help that's more sleep. You need to sleep well. Most Americans get less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours to sleep a night. If that's you, as a listener, science proves getting more sleep will make it easier to hold fast to your goal. I need more sleep. And I really do. I mean that I sleep on a sleep number every night. I have for the last few years my number actually asked me before the podcast what my number is.

And for all you out there, that's kind of the firmness that you like your mattress is a 70. So if you want to sleep like me, set your sleep number to a 70. It's really great. But I want to tell you more about sleep number. Sleep number is smart, effortless, and comfortable. The sleep number bed lets you choose your ideal comfort and support on each side. It's the perfect bed for couples. Oh, that's sad.

Why is that sad? Oh, because you don't have a couple. Don't laugh at me. It's terrible. You're like so cute today. Their newest bet they're so smart. They actually censure every move and automatically adjust that you stay sleeping comfortably throughout the night.

They even have an adjustment for snoring. My question to you all out there listening, does your bed do that? I don't think so. So if you're listening to this and say, I got to get myself a sleep number. I got to figure out what this is all about. Don't miss the best bet for couples,

the lowest price of the season. Come in now and say 400 to 70. on the most popular sleep number mattresses. You'll only find sleep number at fleet number.com or any of the 550 sleep number stores nationwide, and be sure to tell them the almost famous podcast sent you. Actually, I do sleep on a sleep number. I think they're great. I like the ability to customize.

I like the ability that when you are laying there, you know, if on one night I like it firm, on the other side, I like it soft. I can just roll over a couple times. in my nice king sleep number bed, and I can get the best of both worlds without having to get up and out of the covers. Wait, you said it to soft and hard? Well, you can, yeah.

So, like, say one night, actually, I'm laying in my sleep number bed, and I'm like, my back hurt, I need something a little firmer. I'm going to set that left side to the 70 to 80 range, okay? Okay? But my strategy here, before I go to bed at night, is I want to put the other side to about a 30 to 40 range.

Just in case I wake up in the middle night, I'm like, oh, man, this is too firm. I don't have to mess with anything. I just roll over. That's lovely. It's absolutely amazing. That's the benefit of not having a person to sleep with. Hey, there's a couple at least.

You could also far under the sheets. That's a good point. Okay, the last woman that I wanted to say that I really liked that I think went home, but I don't know for sure because it kind of cut out and didn't really show her exit interview. was Brittany. Brittany was the one that did the drive around the driveway with the two cars. Did she go home one night one? Drive away with two cars.

Why am I like blinking on this? Remember they had a little car race? Oh, that's right. That's right. But I can't remember who went home. Me neither because I don't ever remember that first row of ceremony at the girls that go home because you didn't really have to learn about them. I really like Britney.

She's the one that drove around the driveway. I think she is stunningly beautiful. I mean, she had the first kiss with Ari. Everybody freaked out. but that was like a peck right it doesn't matter what is the last time okay Amy if you had a peck right now in your life I bet I get a text message and you just no oh my god you totally want yes you want because I remember I'm like a lip kisser so I always have pecks that's why they mean nothing to me they're so oh yeah Amy like kisses her colleagues on the lips

sometimes. It's like pecks me nothing. You gotta like, it's got to be something for me to let, really, you know. Oh, geez. Okay, so those are my favorite. I have to mention pit stop girl. Pit stop girl at Chigo Home, the one who said, like, smell me. I've been sweaty all day.

I bet you that was the best pit stop we've ever had. That's awful. I have a weird thing with smells. I don't know what it is, but like bodily odor is, I mean, I can accept it. I mean, we all got it. We all have it. But I don't, like, want you to push it on me to test. Like, I'm not a fan of, I actually have a weird thing where, like, I won't share anybody else's deodorant. Yeah.

I just think there is, like, a level of decency that, like, even if you smell good, I know that, like, you're smelling good because you're covering up something underneath. Like, I don't, I just don't like that. That was, that was absolutely horrible. There's no way, in my opinion, he could be physically attracted to somebody that he smelled the pits up. I didn't smell the pits of any girlfriends I've had. Like, okay, I'm going on. No, no, I love this. I love it. I never knew you had such a passion. There's like a secret passion for undercover hate for these smells. Yeah, don't make me smell your pit. If anybody

out there that's listening to this podcast, if we happen to go on a date or if we're hanging out in public or if you see me somewhere, don't ask me to smell anything of yours. This is not a place that I need to go to with you. Interesting. All right. Well, yeah, totally makes sense. I'm so glad I've learned something more about you today. Actually, we have a lot of talking to do for the next couple of years. Hey, Ben, should we move on and talk about us? Yeah, and one second. So to sum it up, actually, I think, no, I'm not done yet.

No, just to sum it up, for all the listeners out there, I mean, this is a big day for us. We do have a bachelor season to talk about again. I think this podcast is going to be a lot of fun because we are going to get the inside scoop. We're going to get the details. with the juicy gossip behind the scenes. We're going to hopefully talk to Ari at some point this season because he is the man on a mission to find love. But we need to break down every episode.

And so actually, I'm going to give you three minutes. I'm going to set my timer. And if you can just tell us, summarize in three minutes or less, the first episode, your thoughts, and then we'll move on to what in the heck our life is doing. Okay. Wow. This is big. Yeah. Start now. All right. So we start with Emily. We have to talk about how he just loved Emily and then we have all the race car driver puns. It's going to last the entire season. We're going to be constantly reminded that Ari was some low tier race car driver. Sorry. That was the last time he was in love. Then Sean and Catherine come back and pour them. Hopefully next year they'll have a break. Then we get our packages. Their standouts are Becca, the 22-year-old nanny with the short hair.

Chelsea, the 29-year-old Portland mom there are so many cliches in these packages everybody is so ready to fall in love with Ari even though they have not met him yet Ari starts out he's a little awkward a little robotic, a little cold he's very he's taking this process so so seriously

let's see as far as the entrances that stood out we got Tia with the little we got Crystal with her focusing on love and health and fitness and having that sexy annoying voice and then we have Becca in the red car who says a perfect line that she goes I may be young but I still appreciate something classic then oh my gosh we have some entrances they're very prototypical we get it we get it now we're moving on and Ari is talking to the girls he's again

seeming to be a little serious but the girls doesn't matter because they're all obsessed with him per usual and Chelsea is a stealer she's very aggressive she's not rubbing the women the right way and then

there's a first kiss there's a first kiss with a girl named who Jessica no Britney Britney okay I was going to say Jessica got left home two minutes was too long I'm almost done

yeah you should I think you have a minute left I have two things I want to say You go add in the first minute Add in the last minute Yeah My two comments To summarize this here

One is I have a hard time Believing he was that in love with Emily I kind of felt cringe-worthy That whole time during that first couple minutes of the episode I really would like to talk to Ari If you did you really love Emily that much Was she really your last love And if she was, then I can tell that he'll take this season so serious because he felt something with her.

My second thing is, and tell me if I missed it, Amy, I know you watched it as well. You guys need to tell me, but this might be the first season that I remember that Chris Harrison did not open it up by saying this will be the most dramatic bachelor season ever. No way. I don't remember him saying it. I don't remember him saying it. Oh, great. We're in first news fest. Yeah. So I wonder what that means or if we'll get that at some point. But there is no typical Chris Harrison letting us know that this will be the most dramatic bachelor season of all time.

I don't remember I'm saying that. Oh, that's alarming. Yeah. So I did pick up on that. Okay, moving on. We have a few things in vaccination. We need to talk about just to touch on. We get a ton of emails. And my Twitter was blowing up this week asking, us to talk about this. Obviously, we are friends with Peter, and Peter was in the news a little bit this week. One of his ex-girlfriends came out claiming that he went on the Bachelorette for all the wrong reason. She had text messages to prove it. She came out publicly to say this.

Ashley, I personally am looking at this situation, and I read through the text, and I have talked to Peter. I feel bad for him because nothing – I have – have no idea why an ex-girlfriend would be disfindictive and this vengeful towards him. I mean, she's literally trying to ruin him as a person. Why would anyone do that, by the way? It's really terrible. It makes you look awful, too. It doesn't make you look good.

It's absolutely terrible. I mean, they were dating at the time, right? So she was probably a little jealous, upset that he was, you know, going on the show, or they had broken up before he'd gone on the show. But she was probably upset with him, jealous because her boyfriend, who's good looking and smart and talented and she knew was probably going to go pretty far on the show was going to be, you know, famous. And so as a result, she chooses to take it into her own hand by trying to ruin him. Now, okay, this is where we should be very clear.

Did Peter go on The Bachelor for all the right reasons? I'm sure he didn't. Nobody does. Right. Right. Should he have said the things in the tech message he said, like, hey, I'm going to use my charm, good looks, and whatever else to win over America? No, that's incredibly confeated and just very unattractive and terrible to say as a person about yourself ever. But, okay, he said it.

So are we going to really try to ruin him and his character by saying this and bringing us attention? I think that's where the huge mistake is, is she chose to speak about a private matter publicly just because her boyfriend's a public figure. I have a question for you both. Yeah, it's pretty gross. Do you care if he went on for the right reasons or the wrong reason? No. I don't think I care. Because like we say all the time, regardless of your reasons, once you're actually there and you actually meet someone, you're not going to fake it.

Like, I don't think anybody who, like, fell in love in the end of this process has ever been like, you know what, didn't really feel anything, acted the entire thing. No, that's never the case. They went on on a whim. Like, they got a call or their friends submitted him, so I just did it. Yeah. It's not like that's that much difference. No. No, I mean, honestly, it's kind of like my scenario, or at least I can relate back to my story in this whole process, is I went on to The Bachelor and Bachelor hoping to find something. Okay, that was about as credible or as sincere as I could get. I just hope something good happens out of this for me. I hope that I find love or I hope that I make a ton of friendships. I just hope that I look back on this process and say, I'm glad I did it. And I think that's the way most people go into the show. If he went in the show saying, I know. I'm definitely going to fall in love, and I'm definitely going to pursue this one.

I think that would be even weirder. I think that would be crazy. Yeah, I would make a bigger deal about that. So with this being said, did he make a mistake by saying some of the things he did in the text? Of course he did. Is it enough for her to now say to go out publicly and call him out? And here is the ironic part of this, Ashley and Amy. And I think this is what drives me crazy about life in general.

And we've all been guilty of it, right? But she says in these text messages, when they're texting back and forth to Peter, she says, you're just going on to be famous. He's going, I'm trying to enhance my career. I'm trying to, you know, get my name out there and all this stuff. And she's like, well, I would never do anything like that. I have a lot more, whatever. She has a lot more hope in herself or whatever you want to say. She should never just go on something to be famous and to get attention.

Well, what in the heck did she do? She blew him attention. I know. Wow. intimate and hypocrisy. Yeah. Wow. It is incredibly incredibly hypocritical of her, and it's sad, and I hope that we can all take a second

when we're angry or jealous or stealing a certain way about somebody. Take a step back and realize that doing anything vindictive is never the right response. And for her, in my opinion, I don't know her, and I probably will never meet it. For her, I just discredit it a lot for me. Yeah, I agree. I didn't listen. I don't really care why he went on because I genuinely think he was, like, surprised by how much he sort of liked Rachel and the whole thing kind of impacted him. Yeah, he's definitely a changed man because of it in a good way, I'm sure.

And we know him. He's a really nice guy. Yeah. Definitely. Yeah, I mean, instead now his Instagram feed and his Twitter and his emails and his texts or whatever are just getting blown up, his family's probably hearing about it. he's getting questioned as a person, which is just sad. And here's the thing, maybe, let me just play, like, another scenario. Maybe he said some of those things to the girl to sort of make her feel differently about the thing.

Yeah, he makes her feel kind of like, look, I'm just doing this for my career. Don't worry about it. I don't mean to hurt you. That's probably what he did. That's a, that I did that. I'm going to be, I'll be straight out. I did that with. Yeah, with some guy that I really love.

liked before I went to go do The Bachelor. When I came back, he was like, why did you do that? I was like, well, you know, it is good exposure and, you know, I want to get into broadcasting. And then that made him feel better about it all. Yeah, I mean, that's it. There's a lot of reasons why he'd say he did. Was it right that he did it? No.

But it's sad that now he is being questioned as a person because of this. And so we had to talk about it. We're getting a ton of emails about it. You know, whatever our thoughts on it. My thought is that Ashley's spot on. Like, who knows why he said it, but he said it. And if he really was acting that whole season, if he was really there the whole time to act, he's a great actor and somebody out there needs to hire him for some kind of role because that was incredible.

Because I, especially that exit scene on his ass. Yeah, Nicholas Sparks would need to hire him. Oh, my gosh. That was insane. I was trying out. home, I was dripping off my clothes, she was dripping off his clothes. It was amazing. I think the lesson is be careful what you text to who. You really got to know who you can trust. Oh, yeah. Also, let me just throw that out there so that people don't get mad at me, that when I did come back

and I did talk to the guy about my reasoning, he was like, did you like him? Did you kiss him? I was like, yes, I liked him, but I kissed him. It was like all a great experience that, you know. We're not worried about it. Okay, I just wanted to throw that out there. I know you want to throw it out there. And you guys really know that, like, I really love, love, too. We're not worried about it. Okay. Yeah.

Hey, everybody out there listening, I just want you to send a lot of hate mail to Ashley right now, just sending the shit all this sort of five reasons. Just to keep her in check, please. Ashley, if you get a kind of hate mail sent to you and guys start to question who you are as a person, you might be single forever. And if you're single forever, I got just the perfect solution for you. to at least feed yourself, and that's Blue Apron. Blue Apron is one of our favorite sponsors.

They've been around a long time. I use them. As she uses them. They are great. If you're single or if you're in a relationship or if you have a family, Blue Apron is the perfect solution to satisfy all of your hunger and food needs. Blue Apron is the leading meal kit delivery service in the U.S. And while many people know what we do,

many don't know about the types of meals you eat when you cook with Blue Apron. You're not just having burgers for dinner. You're making short-ripped burgers with a hoppy cheddar sauce on a pretzel bun. You're preparing seared steak and timed pan sauce with mashed potatoes, green beans, thin, crispy, chalet, all in under 45 minutes and without a trip to the grocery store. Here's the general Blue Apron fact. So I'm just going to read these because they're important to be clear about. Blue Apron is the number one fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service in the country. Blue Apron's mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone.

Blue Apron achieves this by supporting a more sustainable food system, setting the highest standards for ingredients and building a community of home chefs. Blue Apron offers three meal plans. Two-person meal plan? Meals that serve two people choose from eight new recipes per week with the choice to receive either two or three recipes any week. A family meal plan. Meals that serve four people choose from four new recipes per week. with a choice to receive either two, three, or four recipes any week, and a wine plant, six bottles of wine from renowned winemakers delivered monthly.

So with the almost famous podcast, because we love Blue Apron, we use Blue Apron. We want you to use Blue Apron because it really is great. And I think once you try it, you're going to be hooked. I have a quick little story to share here about Blue Apron. My mom, who I grew up in a house where my mom, we would have a meal every night at the house. We would sit around the dinner table and eat, and she enjoyed cooking. It was one of her love languages and ways to get back to the family. And so she takes pride in what she's cooking and how well she's cooking.

She's a great cook. She actually told me, over the holiday break, that I go through the podcast, and after kind of hearing and testing out of some of these food boxes, because we did send her some blue apron, she is sold, and she believes she sees why I guess the blue apron idea works for families because you still get to cook, you still get to, you know, sit down with your family at dinner and it's healthy food. The only thing you eliminate is, first off, the stress of planning out what exactly you're going to cook and also the trips to the grocery store. So my mom sold, which means, you know how much I love my parents. If she's sold, you all should be sold.

Blue Apron is treating the Almost Famous Podcast for the first three meals, a $30 value with your first order if you visit blueapron.com slash almost famous. So check out this week's menu and get your $30 off with free shipping at blue apron.com slash almost famous blue apron. Ashley, it's a better way to cook. Oh, woo-hoo. And don't forget about your Valentine's meal to Amy. She's still waiting. I promise you that I will cook you dinner and make it so special.

And we will peck on your lips and we won't tell anybody about it. I don't know about that. Oh, that's hysterical. Final segment. This has been obviously a long podcast. Wait, it should be at night one, which is a long night. Ashley, let's read through two emails from our beautiful listeners and see if we can get some good responses. Okay.

Man, there's this girl doing some detective work. I don't even know if it's going to fly because... Okay. Okay, let's do it. Let's do it. All right. Hi, Ben, Ashley, and Amy. I am from Utah.

So naturally, when I heard that there was two girls from Utah on R.A. season, I started snooping their social media accounts. I thought you guys might want to know something interesting I found. So, McKell Cooper is the first girl they showed on the sneak peak special. She was photographing a couple. They were getting married. Well, she's 23 and she's already been divorced. She was married to Josh Monday. And if you look up the Monday family, you'll see that they are a very wealthy family and Josh has

several brothers whose wives also have quite a large amount of Instagram followers. What I think is interesting is that Josh Monday has been liking and commenting, like, the emoji, the raise the roof, like praise emoji, the praise emoji on McKell's Instagram posts recently. Remember, this is his ex-wife, and then she liked his comment on the photo. I'll attach a picture of what I'm talking about, but I just think it's super shady. Congrats on three seasons, and I absolutely love the podcast. Her name is Ashley. Thanks, Ash.

Yeah, I guess my only response to that email is, thank you for listening, and you have a lot of time on your hands. But, I mean, that's great. It's something that I never even would have thought about looking into. Is that weird, Ashley, for an ex-husband to be, Still commenting on his ex-wife pictures? I would think so. But I guess it depends on the status of which they broke up, you know?

Maybe they are good friends. That definitely happens. I'm going to feed into your thoughts, Ash, and say that the season-long preview suggests that there's a guy that comes back into the picture. And he's like, I'm here to get my girl. I'm here to get her back, blah, blah. That seems like we can fit in. Mr. Josh Monday into that scenario.

That could be. And wow, tell, okay, this is podcast gold. If we have a listener, do the investigative word and find out about this guy and then he is the guy that comes on to the season. That would be incredible. And Ash, we'd have to bring you on just to celebrate you as a detective. Thanks. And we should mention that maybe they're not actually.

actually divorced. Maybe they're separated. And he's coming back to get her. That seems tricky. And it seems like if that was the case, I would just have had a, I would advise her to not come on to The Bachelor because you knew that would be a storyline. I know. I truly think that there's part of the contract that says that you can't be married at all. I think you have to be formally divorced. Well, that seems fair. Yeah. Hey, Ashley, two more emails. Pick one out here. Okay, here. I'm just going to go with one without even reading it first.

It's from Anonymous, so that must mean it's juicy. Oh, no. Hey, Ben and Ashley, love your podcast. I have a funny story for you. When I was pregnant with my now four-year-old son, Ari, was, oh, I thought his name was Ari. When I was pregnant with my now four-year-old son, Ari was the bachelorette. It was on the bachelorette.

I loved him so much. I just thought he was such a good guy and so handsome too that I thought if my baby ended up being a boy I would like to call him Ari so I was right Oh wow Lo and behold I had a son and we named him Ari because of Ari on the Bachelor Ed I was so excited he was coming back and of course I remembered him

Because my son is named after him Anyways here's my Ari four years old Who knows maybe he'll become a contestant one day Thanks for a great podcast okay so that was more of a comment That's very funny very funny No, that's incredible. Wow. I don't blame her because even watching the back to myself,

there are names that come through that I've never heard before that are unique. Viviana? Yeah, Viviana, that kind of stuff. And so I could see where you'd be watching like Ari. I've never even thought about that name before, but I'm having a baby. That seems like a great name to name my son. But how, I mean, how crazy is it that now like this little guy's life is completely marked and he's named Ari based on The Bachelor.

That's just so weird to me. So funny. But also, I kind of like the name Ari for a guy, too. That I started thinking about it? What about for a girl? For my own girl? Ari. I mean, I think Ari can go both ways.

Oh, yes. I was like, you want me to announce my children's names in the future? I was like, I can't give those away. I don't want anybody stealing. I know you have them. I know. I know you know I have them. So, yeah, anyway, thank you for writing in Anonymous.

We appreciate you listening and great name choice. I got an email here. Actually, I'm going to read out loud. It's from Lauren. I've been in and I've been in and off a relationship for seven years now, and I found myself recently questioning it all. We have the same group of friends and our families get along. Great.

Absolutely love his personality and feel so comfortable around him, but can't help but wonder if I'm only focusing on the comfort of knowing to always be there for me. That's a huge line because this is so typical. relationship. It says, uh, I can't help but wonder if I'm only focusing on the pumper of knowing he'll always be there for me. I know we're still young. I'm 23. He's 24. And that there's so many other people out there. I put him in the friend zone multiple times and he just keeps holding on. I'm not good at being hard on people and it kills me to break his heart, but I think it's what is best for us. Any opinions. Lauren, thank you for that

email. First of, I want to say that your, your ability you to analyze the situation is amazing. I mean, just in this paragraph alone, I think you're touching on a lot of the stuff that Ashley and I would say back to you. But Ashley, what do you think? I was actually just going to say that exact thing. I was like, if you go back and reread your paragraph,

I think you have your answer there. Yeah. I think Europe was probably time to just like put a total halt to it. And it's probably one of those relationships where you're not going to be able to be friends with him for quite some time afterward, because you guys have gone into that zone and then come out a few times.

I just don't, yeah. I don't know. This is tough. I mean, I remember Ali Fittoski, our wonderful guest on the last episode of season three was on. And she said something in our interview with her that, you know, she's always been the type of person that stayed in relationships too long, that she just holds on to it for too long when she knew that she should have gotten out. And it ends up being pretty detrimental to both people and to any type of relationship in the future. and so my advice would be if you're feeling this way you are young maybe maybe life will bring you back together with him maybe you just had to take a break away to realize how much you actually care about him and that that comfort that you think you there's the only thing that you're holding on to is actually like true love and and that's a different kind of comfort that you could deal with anybody else and so I would recommend that just from what you read here take a step away it's going to be really hard but you need to do that it just it sounds like you're already there mentally um and that you're you're already there mentally um and that you're

you're not, you're so far gone, that you're not going to get back to a healthy place with this relationship. And then, uh, understand that you have a little bit of time to find yourself and meet other people. But, you know, don't discount the thought that maybe one day life will bring you back together. That is still a possibility. Um, but for right now, it just sounds like you need to take a break, um, that this relationship is no longer the best thing. I feel like a lot of couples who have been together for so long at such a young age, like they usually come to this point where they are like, I need to discover what else is out there and whether or not like you are my one and I just found you early or yeah I mean like I think

I think you need that space and self-discovery and I think it's very typical for these couples to get back together so even if it's scary right now just just you'll know you'll figure it out eventually yeah definitely I I mean so Lauren thanks for writing in I mean I think this is there's not a lot to say here you said almost all of it yourself but my advice to you would be to to walk away but to try to hold on to any dignity and hold on to that relationship. It sounds like you have something good there, but just maybe not romantically right now. Okay, our last email is from Karina.

I just finished listening to episode 14, and you put a caller who was dumped during a best man speech. How awful. I feel so bad for her. However, it also got me thinking how bad my dad speech was at my own wedding and how it's such an interesting topic. We can all relate to sitting through some pretty unconsored. comfortable speeches at weddings, right?

So if you're looking for a topic for a podcast, whether it's on the almost famous podcast or the I don't get it podcast, I think this is a good one. Yeah, shout out to you. So here's the funny part. And this email is just kind of funny. I think it's good. She goes, if you're wondering why my dad's speech was so awful, it's because during his speech, you count the time having sex with my mom where my brother and I walk in mid-hast.

Oh, my gosh. Oh, my God. That hit a really sore spot with you, actually, I can tell. It's never happened, but it's a fear. If that story isn't bad enough on its own, let me add that my parents are divorced and aren't really friends. I was humiliated and basically locked myself in the back and crying for a while at my own way. It's pretty tragic, and it still makes my skin crawl thinking about it. Just so I throw that idea your way.

I also want to just let you guys know how much I love your podcast and to keep up the good work, respectfully for that. That is, thank you. This is that hilarious. Amy, has it ever happened to you? ever walked in on your parent. Yeah, I had to ask you guys this question. Thanks for taking the words out of my mouth. No.

No, no, no, no. No. Why is it such a bad nightmare? Oh, my God, Ben. Come on now. Why is it a nightmare to see that? Oh, I don't know. It's just the most disturbing thing you could have.

You know, I actually, we don't have to go up on a tangent here. I actually have a buddy, one of my best closest friend who, this, I think, is worse, walked in on his grandparents. No, that's a lot less disturbing to me, honestly, because even, I think it'd be more funny. Like, I think that's kind of hysterical. Because you just don't have the same sort of, like, relationship. It's just, you're so much more removed. Hey, you weren't there.

You don't know. Maybe they're doing some wild stuff. Maybe they were in a very interesting non-elderly position. Yeah, that is a hilarious email, though. I mean, how terrible. And I hope that everybody out there listening, if you're playing a lot of, getting married anytime soon or in the future. I just hope that your speech is and the whole night goes magically.

Or if all else fails, you have a really good story to tell afterwards, which sounds like this is what this is. Ashley, we have one more really great sponsor of this podcast. Please tell us about the wonderful, the beautiful, and it also helps you stay beautiful, bio-clearity. Guys, it's the beginning of a new year, and you know this is the time to make healthy habits a part of your life and finding the right skincare routine and taking care of your skin can boost your confidence and make for a great year. Bioclarity has helped Ben and I with our skin. You know,

normally my skin, I used acne products that would make me dry and irritated and flaky. And ever since BioClarity, which has no harsh chemicals, I have got clear, glowing skin, and it's reduced my redness and it just boosts my natural beauty. So I kind of feel prettier without. makeup. You use it twice a day without worrying about any excess irritation. It's unlike other traditional acne treatments because it's packed with clarifying botanicals and new Floralux that's not going to irritate your skin. Florelux is actually an ingredient derived from chlorophyll. Yeah, the green stuff in plants. It's clean, it's green, and it's never mean to your skin. Bioclarity is delivered straight to you and it's an easy three-step skincare

hair regimen that's 100% vegan and cruelty-free. All right, first you're going to cleanse with this rich foaming facial cleanser that's going to remove all the dirt oil and environmental pollutants on your skin. Then you're going to treat it, and this 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 so smooth and refreshed. So go into the new year with a new healthy habit and get clear glowing skin. Just go to bioclarity.com.

Our listeners are going to get their first month for only $9.95 plus free shipping. That's a $20 savings. It comes with a 100% risk-free, money-back guarantee, but you need to enter our code, which is famous. Again, that is bioclarity.com, and our code is famous. Cannot wait to hear your guys' feedback on all this because all of you have tried it seem to love bioclarity. And that is great for us to hear. Yeah, because the more you love it, the more we love it. because they keep sponsoring the podcast, which is big for us,

and we appreciate all of our sponsors. So thank you today, the Fleet Number, BioClarity and Blue Apron, for keeping the almost-fableness podcast churning. And also thank you to all the listeners out there for continuing to listen, because without you, we don't have a podcast. And we want to make sure that this season of The Bachelor is the best one we've done yet. We do want to get all the inside scoop. We want to talk about the characters, the people, the romance, the love.

This season of The Bachelor and this season, the Almost Famous Podcast, I truly will believe will be a huge step forward for us. The future is bright for the Almost Famous Podcast because, here, I've got to brag about us for a little bit. Okay. As of last week, we were announced as the top 10 most talked about podcasts in the country. So that is because of all the listeners out there. That's also because of the great team that we have back in Los Angeles putting this podcast together for us. So thank you to everybody who's a part of the Almost Famous Podcasts.

With that, this has been season for episode one. Ashley and I have a big week ahead of us on Saturday night. We have our Golden Globes episode that airs on NBC for First Look. So make sure you check that out. It's after SNL. Don't go to sleep. Stay up. Have some coffee.

Yeah. Watch it. How fun with it. Ashnight, I love doing it. You'll be hearing a lot more of us here in 2018. Happy New Year, everybody. I've been Ben. And I've been, Ashley.

Love you all so much. It's been the Almost Famous Podcast. Love you, Ashley. Love you, Ben. Bye. See, everybody. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio

or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.