The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S4 #3 Wrestling with Bumper Cars

Episode Date: January 16, 2018

Ashley is back this week, and ready to join Ben for a full dissection of episode 3 of The Bachelor. Kenny King calls in to dish about wrestling Arie, and whether or not he “let” him win. And fresh off tonight’s episode, Annaliese AKA “Mask Girl”, joins Ben and Ashley in studio, where they talk all about who should make the first move, what girls will move on, and the very real issue of “Post Bumper Car Stress Disorder”. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the Ben and Ashley I almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. Yo, yo, yo. I'm Ben. I'm Ashley, and I'm back. I heard Nick did a great job filling in last week. I have not listened yet, but... He did a great job, but we missed you a ton, and I'm very happy that you're back. Not only will you give a lot better recap than Nick and I did of the episode. But, hey, I just want to let me know I am in Beaver Creek.

Colorado right now, I took the day to ski a little bit. So if anybody's wondering where I'm at, or if anybody comes in to yell at me to tell me to get out of the lobby, that's why. Are you a good skier? How's your skiing ability then? Oh, his skiing ability is good. I can say that I've seen that skiing. I'm a confident skier. We see that on winter games. 100%. Yeah. So anyways, hey, let's move in.

I know this week was the crazy episode. Ashley, like always, you are the expert. Please give us your rundown. Okay, so our first date is a group day. It's a wrestling day. I think it may have been the worst day ever, or at least the worst day. The date that I would least ever want to be on, I would have had... Completely.

Okay, good. Good, yes, because Bibby, you know, you call her no-chill Bibby or whatever, even though we all know that I love Bibby. She was like the only one who was like, this is bull-oh. Oh, I can't say bullshit. You know what I mean. And then, like, we had those evil... wrestler lady divas from the 80s and everybody was like the two ladies were expecting the girls

to know who they are and they were just given they were so condescending she made fun of bibby's name like what she's like what did your mom what was she thinking calling you bibiana she's like what kind of name is that now ben did you find the wrestling sexy or goofy uh you know i don't think it i could call it sexy i think it was weird i think the whole thing is weird. I think Ashley's right. I mean, it kind of goes back to when I was on The Bachelor, we did a boxing date. And any time on this show that you force aggression out of anybody, there's already so much

built up anger in general that it just gets awkward fast. And I guess maybe that's what the show wants. Oh, yeah. And I think that they continuously put Bibby in these situations where, you know, we know that she can't, she's like the emotional one who can't deal with BS. And they keep testing her. and you can really see that in this wrestling portion of the episode. They like to bring out her no chill.

Yeah, absolutely. They know exactly how to egg her on. Yeah. Do you think Bibiana is in the wrong during, from the first three episodes, leading up until obviously this one, has she been in the wrong? Or do you find that you're agreeing with a lot of her, you know, attitude? What do you mean? I agree with everything she's done.

Okay. I was going to say I do as well. And I think she's just seeing through the craziness that is the show. Oh, absolutely. She and I are so similar in the way that if she sees BS, she needs to call it out, like she cannot help herself. You know? Yeah, I think she does it a little bit more than me than you do. Yeah. But, yes, I think that is spot on.

I think when she sees something that she doesn't appreciate or when she doesn't agree with, she has to speak up. And I think that's why we love her. And that's why, in my opinion, she is such a good person to have on the show because she is relaying. what a lot of people feel that are contestants I show, but a lot of people don't have the courage to say anything. Oh, yeah, and she's able to articulate her feelings really well. She's a little aggressive for me.

You think so? She's a little, a tad aggressive. So this is the difference between me and Bibby is that I think we both have that need to express how we feel in like the wrongness of a situation, but I do it like emotionally in like a sensitive crying way and she does it in a really feisty way. With a little bit of a chip on her shoulder.

Yeah. I feel like she's never been rejected until last night. Oh, really? I don't know. I got that. Like, really? I don't know. Okay, let's move on from Bibi for a second.

So, of course, Chris Harrison says we have a surprise. There's so many surprises this season. And then Kenny from Rachel's season comes on and he wrestles Ari. And we all know that they had to, of course, manipulate the situation to make it so that Ari somehow beat the professional wrestler here. Ari is just so out of his element. You know what's funny, though? This whole thing is being out of his element.

Ben, I have had so many girls come up to me and say they love Ari. What? Yes. Have you guys been experiencing that? No. That's so weird. I haven't. Like, what kind of a girl is like, Amy?

Are you talking like women who are a little older? Yes. It's an older demographic. It's so funny. Ben's right on point. with that. They're all 40 or older. Okay, yes. So my mom has one of our family friends over to watch the episode every week. And she didn't even watch Emily's season, but she's like, oh, I love Ari. Ari's my man. Like all this weird stuff. And then when I walked into Access Hollywood after the

first episode, Kit Hoover and Natalie Morales were like, oh, we like, oh, we like Ari. And I'm like, what? Well, it must be because, and I have no problem saying I'm 43. So I think it's because we've been watching Ben, who's, are you talking? 28 now, Ben? Yeah, he's 28. I am. Right, so you're a lot younger than us, so I think the older ladies

are enjoying Ari. That's funny. But Nick is older than him. I got some gray hairs. Yeah, one. A little baby's face, Ben. But I don't understand. Nicky's older than Ari by a year.

But let's do a poll. Let's have people email us this week if they're older. The older women vote. The 40-plus group, you guys are still young. I really, you know, 40 is very youthful these days. Anyway. Here's the other thing I want, okay?

So please email us with if you're older and you love Ari, but also I want to hear just your thoughts on Ari in general. We haven't gotten a ton of emails on, hey, this is my feelings towards this season of The Bachelor. So I want to hear that. I want to read that because I'm just, I mean, before Ashley continues here and breaks down this episode, But I'm still a little confused because I feel very distant. I'm not into it as much as I want. So please email us at Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com to just let us know what you think. So Ashley, keep going.

Okay, so I don't feel distant anymore. I like the past two episodes. Episodes two and three really warm me up because the girls are really carrying this show. And that's cool. I think it's always about the women. But I don't think I'm ever going to warm up to Ari in the sense that I'm going to be super invested in rooting for him. I think it's really, I think it's interesting because a lot of people I have heard from Ben are like, why are Ben and Ashley like poo-pooing on Ari all the time? Like, why don't they get it?

And I'm like, I don't know. I just don't get it. So I have heard feedback. Well, I mean, I don't want to say I'm pooping on. I think he's going to find out. No, I mean, for who he, I mean, for what he's doing, I think he's doing a fine job. I think the women are obviously carrying this show. I just think that there is this level that I, and I don't know what it is.

is. He isn't as comfortable or he maybe isn't as confident as we would expect the bachelor B. Now, I wouldn't consider myself a very confident person. But I think some of his conversations just feel like he's so distant. Like he isn't actually engaged in the conversation. He's kind of just it feels like forcing it to get through a conversation. Oh my gosh. Ben, I cannot believe you said that because I have my notes here and this is what I wrote verbatim. He doesn't seem super warm or comforting. He seems to go to these women and chat with them out of obligation. I think you're spot on. I find if he's into you, he's into you.

That's true. Like, Becca. If you're a maybe or a no, you out. Oh, out. Like, I've never seen a bachelor show so much disinterest in somebody if he's like sitting, well, we have a guest later that we can talk to. Annalise is here. Annalise got eliminated on last night's episode.

She had some very awkward moments. We won't sugarcoat that. but she'll definitely talk about firsthand how Ari deals with girls that he's not necessarily feeling. And did anybody else think that Lauren S was out from the second she got out of that limo? It was very, the second she got out of the limo.

No, the limo from the show where she's getting on her date. There was something about even the first 30 seconds of that date where there was a looming cloud where you just knew that they were going to not end up together in this. I don't know.

Yeah. Well, before we jump so far forward Ashley continue to break down the episode let's just give another couple minutes here yeah sorry um so first off don't really understand how this uh boxing or wrestling date works it seems to be a theme of this season like last week the race car driving date or it wasn't like the demolition derby i don't get it like what was the point of that was how did you determine a winner and i don't know how you determined a winner here in this wrestling date but anyway who wins um Who was that chick that won? Tia.

Oh, Tia wins. The Southern Bell. She was dressed as a Southern Bell, and she, quite honestly, is a Southern Bell. Is she friends with Raven? Yes. So then Crystal continues to be annoying. Crystal is just so annoying, and I don't really know how to pinpoint and describe it beyond just her voice. And it's more of, like, the fact that everything she says to Ari looks like he's just said the most fascinating, earth-shaking thing.

and I'm like he just said hey hon how's your day going and she's like oh my god and it's so amazing and it's just i don't know it's very she's just very very annoying well again talk to annalise about how crystal is in real life and then we have the you know the one-on-one with lauren s where one-on-ones are so awkward ben talk about how one-on-ones can be awkward at the beginning of a season even if you do have chemistry with somebody because it's so silent and then you have like 15 eyeballs just watching your every word. Yeah, I mean, I think that's it. So at the beginning of a season, you ask these women to go on these special dates.

And the one-on-ones are meant to just really, I mean, it is a time, one of the most important times of the show, because you can really even know somebody. You have eight hours to spend with somebody, which is all day long. Not only do you do an activity, but you also have a dinner. They're really great. But if the one-on-one isn't going well, which I did experience, then you have eight hours of really a lot of awkwardness.

And there's really nobody to help, right? I mean, on television is really funny to watch. And so not only do you have cameras and people standing around, you know, recording your date, but then also those same people aren't really helping you out to make anything less awkward. So just imagine being put in a room that you can't leave. It's not like you can just get up and leave this date, that you can't leave for eight hours, with somebody that you're not that into.

It's rough. And this was rough. When, yeah, when you go on a regular date in real life, you have sound around you, people talking at a restaurant, you have music in the background. Just imagine the most silent room you can and then sit down with somebody that you've known for very little time and just have a forced conversation about the deepest stuff, you know, not about like what's your favorite movie. Ben, do you fully get to pick the one-on-ones or did the producers sort of

of suggest or guide. I'm not, you know, how much of that is up to the bachelor? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I mean, most all of it, I guess. I mean, there is like some strategy in who you're choosing and when you're choosing. So, like, for example, if I were to take somebody on a one-on-one week one, I would have to think in my head, now this probably means I'm not going to be able to take them on another one-on-one date for another four weeks.

Do I really want to wait that long to see them again on a one-on-one? on setting or do I want to maybe wait and take them on a one on next week so I could take you know because then I know week five I'm going to only have four people left and at four people I'm going to see everybody every all the time and the producers will help you with that I mean that's just kind of like thinking through how does the show work but for the most part yeah you get to pick and and you also you know I don't want to I want to hold to remember too and all the fans out there sometimes you bring somebody on a one-on-one because you're pretty confident they aren't the person for you yeah but you but you aren't quite sure yet but you know

that at the end of that date you do have the option to send them home and so you're not just asking people to go on one-on-ones because you are so into them yeah sometimes asking it because you want to say goodbye to them earlier yeah that's true um i had a lot of empathy on with lauren on this day because she's a nervous talker so instead of you know being shy she just kind of said anything that came to her mind which is what i do in those situations I'm like, oh, I'm just going to keep rambling. And he didn't make things any more comfortable with for her. Again, this is like, I feel like Ari's biggest flaw as a bachelor.

He's seeing her nervous talking. And yet he's kind of like judging her for it. And then she goes, I'm so nervous. I'm so nervous. I just want to be myself with you. And then instead of being like, okay, let's calm down. Like, what's a different way where we can get you to calm down and be yourself? He goes, well, like, I'm really.

sorry that you don't feel comfortable with me so I think you should go home but I guess that being said yeah really about that being said if you aren't comfortable with somebody and it doesn't feel natural and you are nervous talking for so long then you're probably just not meant

to be with that person you don't have any natural chemistry maybe but at the same time too I mean Ari is an intimidating figure I would in person so he's a bachelor yeah he's good looking you know these women have been talking about him all the time she gets the one opportunity to be with him and she just might get nervous I get that that's totally

understandable she might just need a couple hours to listen up or and I don't know if he did this or not I cannot say but I do know that one of the most important roles with that when I talked to Nick about this is to settle down nerves and the settle down emotions to help the person feel the help the person on the date with or on you know a group day with feel as comfortable and at ease as possible because Because the truth is this, none of the bachelors or the bacheloretts are any better than any of the contestants. They're no different. They just have a title. And so I think one of the most important roles as the lead on this show is to try to find any way to make everybody comfortable.

And when you see somebody who isn't comfortable, you need to approach that because you are leading this show. And I do need to say one more thing. I feel bad that I said that about Lauren because I'm the girl who on this show has claimed so many times. I just need to have more time with him because I just need him to. people to see my real self and I think it takes a while for me to come out of my shell with a guy that I like so I would love to ask Lauren, not love, that's the wrong word

but I'm so curious if she has total regrets because she wasn't herself and she kept saying, I'm not myself I'm not myself, I'm not myself and then he breaks up with her, all you can do is go but if I was myself, I know, I wonder if he would have liked me. Sometimes it's just that's how it goes and that's why I need

a lot of time. I couldn't have my future with somebody determined on one date, I don't think. If I if I was interested initially. That's not a good idea. Is it to determine your future from one date that's helpful people? Actually, that's a good point. You're speaking truth, girl.

Oh, that is true, right? It's so funny. I feel like just this whole Bachelor process has made me feel like I need to make decision-making in my romantic life so quickly. You're like, oh, you don't know something after like two dates? That's so not normal. You should be saying I love you on the third date. Does it ever warp your sense of time with romance, Ben?

I don't know, Ash. No, I don't think so. I think it's maybe slowed down my sense of timing with romance. I think for me now, when I go on dates or when I'm speaking to somebody, I want to take it a lot slower because I now see the issues when you don't really kind of work through some of the big questions that you have in life. So for me, it's kind of done the opposite, where I've taken a big step back. I said, let's slow everything down. Interesting. That's so interesting because now I feel like on a second date, I should be like,

is this a guy that I could marry? Because that's how we're wired to think. Oh my gosh, it's nuts. These girls are all telling him they have feelings for him. Yeah. And all that I'm thinking is like, I think you just met him. I know. Like yesterday.

Yeah. It's really interesting. Hey, hey, the two of you over there in Los Angeles, I don't want to say this because I love you both, but I know the two of you. You don't get head over heels very quickly as well. So, I mean, Ashley, I have a feeling you did this even before the show. Amy, you have even been on the show and you do this.

Hey, I'm just marriage focused, you know. I've never understood dating for dating, even as like a 21-year-old. I do like to say, I know within the first five minutes if it's happening or not. Oh, if there's like natural chemistry and attraction, that attraction's determined in five minutes. Not a husband. So you're ripping on these girls. day they had feelings for him in three, two, or three weeks. And you just said out loud that you know in five minutes. But I bury it down, Ben. I bury it down deep. And I don't tell the person.

Oh, my gosh. Amy has really realized today that she is broken in many ways. She's just having a day. I came in today in tears and said to Ashley and Annalise, I'm so damaged. Like, we're all damaged. I mean, Ben, don't you think you're damaged? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Ben's definitely damaged i can vouch for this one okay much like people damage us and then the next poor person pays the price that's funny damage from the person before yeah but it's all about growing and you are and that person that you're with is too i know it's true all right let's go back to some fun stuff kenny we have kenny king on the line right now we want to talk about the authenticity of him actually losing to little Ari.

Hey, Kenny was from Rachel's season of the Bachelorette. He also made a really great appearance on this week's Bachelor show. Kenny, welcome to the almost famous podcast. Kenny, Kenny King. Hey, why weren't you on Bachelor Runner Games? I totally felt like you were a fit for that. I definitely was supposed to be. But I had a last pay-per-view of the year for the wrestling company that I worked for

was in New York City on the 15th. So that was an unskered. capable thing for me and I thought that that was going to be okay and initially the talks were hey that's going to be fine you just fly from Vermont to New York and in the back but it didn't work so hey I was watching television um last night Kenny or no last week sorry and I didn't realize that you are a professional like wrestler like on WWE is this a new thing that this happened after the show or have you always been on WWE no I don't wrestle for WWE I wrestle for company what was it that I was watching then

Probably there was, I started on WWE. I was trained on Tough Enough. It was a show on MTV a couple years ago where it's basically like the ultimate fighter is now where they trained. They took eight men and five women and they trained to become pro wrestlers. It's basically like an athlete challenge. That's how it started. That's under the WWE brand. But what I do currently is it's a company called Ring of Honor Rushing.

We're on all the Sinclair Broadcast Network. Cool That makes sense So obviously you're using your skills For the show last night Actually I know you have a ton of questions for Kenny About the authenticity of this take it away Kenny

They made you lose to Ari right I mean what do you think Yes Yes Realness here on the almost famous podcast What are you things? All right All right well

Does Ari have They say they say you don't, you know, you don't go into a person's home and beat him up. So, you know, I was a guest. I was a guest on the Ari show. So, you know, I was a gracious guest. That's funny. You were. Does Ari have any natural skill? You know, Ari is, he's surprisingly big. And we, you know, he took to it pretty fast. Okay. So I will give Ari some credit in that, you know, he wasn't, you know, too left feet. He had some athletic ability. He, you know, he was not completely lost in there.

So I'm sorry. How did you feel about that as a date? Did you find the girls super sexy while they were wrestling? Did you feel like it was kind of pointless and showing nothing about them as people? Well, I definitely liked their costumes, but they were absolutely terrible wrestlers. if it was a date where, I mean, they got, you know, I was in the best wrestler, like, hey, you know, the best wrestler, you have to, you know, you have to give roses to because they would have all went home. They were pretty bad. But outside of that, you know, it was, it was good to see, you know, the girl come out of their shells and, you know, turn into something and just kind of, you know, just go with it and go with the flow and just kind of go out of their own comfort zone for ARI. So I think that maybe would be the biggest takeaway from it.

Those women wrestlers from the 80s, they were really scary and mean. Is that the norm? That's the norm in your profession, isn't it? Well, that's when you're, as they call it in my profession, the Greenhorn, you know, that's kind of how it's supposed to be. They want to weed out the people that aren't, you know, that want to do it on the weekends or the people that aren't, you know, aren't really into it. So, you know, not so much now. The business has changed now, but even when I was getting into it,

and definitely I'm showing those ladies that into it, your trainers would beat your ass pretty bad. No joke. Were those ladies legit? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah. Those were legit, low ladies from the 80s. And, you know, we were kind of in the back,

and they were looking at me like, well, what do you think we should do with these girls? We don't have the time to train them. And I was like, let's just keep it simple, you know, because even it's fun and, and, And they tried to kind of make it lighthearted. Pro wrestling is very, very dangerous still. So, you know, you want to make it, these girls do stuff and learn things that, you know, even if they do it terribly, that nobody gets hurt.

They were better wrestlers than with those dogs. That was a disaster, too. Another date where I didn't really know the point. Hey, Kenny, did you get a chance to chat with Ari? Yeah, yeah. Ari and I chatted for a little bit. I had to kind of teach them a little bit of things. And so, you know, Arri's a really cool guy.

You know, everybody was, I know everybody was all upset about his not being Peter, but Ari's cool. Ari's there for, you know, as the Rose Bois say, he's there for the right reasons. So, you know, it was really cool to get a chance to like to talk to him and get to talk to him, man and man, instead of just kind of, you know, the weed through all the, whatever it is. I mean, I want to clear this up, too. Explain to me, because I really don't know, and I grew up watching. watching wrestling. Now, even though you can say, you know, Ari beat you during the show,

it wouldn't be totally abnormal in wrestling because it's an entertainment sport for that to happen on television as well, right? That whole thing kind of plays out, or is it up at the skill level of the individual wrestler who wins? Well, that is the way that it happened would be the way that you would feed on television. You know, you've got a guy who's obviously way more experienced than the other guy. And, uh, you know, as it, as it was, you know, I'm basically taking advantage of them and, and kind of overlooking him. And when I got attracted by the girls, you know, he, he got one up on me. That is a very viable. I mean, that hell that happens in real life. You know, you get tracked by the girl and then boom before you know what you lose.

So we all know that. That's kind of, uh, you know, that, I tried to make it as plausible as possible where it's not like Ari would be, you know, being me because that's not really what would happen in real life. Did you have a favorite of those girls, Kenny? Yeah, great question. I didn't know their names up until, obviously, the show came out. But I liked the kitty cat with Becca, I think, and McKell were my two favorites.

Yeah, that's Becca. Both very, very pretty girls. That was just me purely using my eyes. Hey, Piddy, before we let you go here, I want to hear, and please feel free to talk about anything. Our listeners are huge, obviously, Bachelor fans, and they like to keep to follow up with any of the past contestants. So can you give our listeners a quick rundown of what your life is like today? Any exciting things going on? Anything you'd like to tell them?

Well, actually, since that's what Kenzie is sitting right next to me, she's been away dying and say hi to you guys. She's the best! She's the best! to MLK parade right now. So hold on one second. Yeah, Kenzie. Hi, Ben. Hi, Ashley.

Hi. Hey, Kenzie. I'm such a fan of yours. You are the sweetest, prettiest, most articulate girl for your age. I'm so impressed by you. Thank you. Thank you. So that's what we're doing.

So that's basically what I'm doing. I'm still with wrestling, Ringavana Wrestling, coming to town near you. we start our 2018 tour this Friday in Nashville, actually, for television tapings. And then next week after that, we go to Charlotte and then Atlanta. So Rohw Wrestling.com is where you can find all of my wrestling exploits. But Kenzie and I are going to be starting a video series this year where we document our exploits, I guess, as we're kind of calling it. So it's tentatively called the Kenny and Kenzie show, but she's pushed her for the Kenzie and Kenny show.

So cute. I can't wait to watch that. I can watch you to interact forever. I think those moments on your season, The Bachelor, were the greatest there were. We have to ask, is there anyone, any other lady besides McKenzie in your life? No, there isn't. It's, you know, she's looking at me right now. It's five-faced you.

I wish you could see this face that she looked at me with. No, it's just me and Kenzie right now. So we're keeping it wide open. And we're going to do our thing and hopefully, you know, hopefully something happens. We'll see. Well, I'd love to see you on Bachelor in Paradise this summer if you are still single around April. Maybe that might be something that could happen. All right.

Well, Kenny, thank you so much. We hope to have you back on. You're like our favorite. Kenny's a doll. All right. Bye, Kenny. Hey, Kenny. We're your family the best, man.

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Blue Apron, a better way to cook and Ashley can't talk right now. Hey, that's okay. There's two hosts on this show. So when you can't talk, Ashley, I've got your back. I can. And we are excited. This is a big deal for us, Ashley. I want to tell all our listeners, we actually have a contestant that just as of this week has left the show in studio with us right now. This is the first time we've had a recent contestant on our podcast. Annalise, welcome to the almost favorite podcast. Yeah, this is so cool. Thank you. All right. Annalise,

you got to tell us about your bumper car drama and your dog scare. Well, and we're sorry you got dumped. Yeah, we're sorry you got dumbed, but I feel like you're fine about that for some reason. Yeah, no, totally fine. Everything happens for a reason, you know. Yeah, bumper car trauma, it's a thing. I've actually gotten a ton of support around it, so I'm, like, super pumped that, like, a lot of people have reached out to me and are like, I have a bumper car trauma survivors. Honestly, seriously. Yeah, continue. Yeah, the football coach at my high school was like, my niece was seriously injured in a bumper car accident as permanent brain damage. Like, it's a thing. I've had multiple people reach out to me and they're like, oh my gosh, I feel you. I'm in the same boat

exactly. So that's making these hilarious tweets from People Magazine that I want to read. Less fun, but I think I can fight through that and still read these. But I know. Sorry. If you read in my Cosmo recap last week, I talk about how I'm not necessarily traumatized by bumper cars, but I never understood the appeal of them. Same. Like why do you want to just ram into people? And I think for me, like, so people didn't really understand what was going on that day and like a big part of it for me was actually like a bullying aspect I was at a birthday party and I had these girls that were like really bullying me that day kind of like that whole year I was like in a new school and I felt very like attacked and so I think that was where like the

trauma came from you know that like deep feeling of like girls just picking on you so did they try to ram into you with their bumper car at the birthday party totally I mean I don't really remember the details because I was probably like seven years old so it's just one of those things that as soon as I got there I was like, oh my gosh, that feeling of just like people picking on you and making fun of you was all coming back. And then I think it was just like being in the house with all those girls and stuff too. It was like bringing up so many weird things. I definitely want to dig into this, but I'd love to read the actual. Let's read them.

So Ben Flannick, we'll start with him. Remember Bachelor Ben Flannick? So this was, People Magazine posted all these tweets last week when this episode aired from Ben. Just when I thought I was out, the dramatic bumper car edit pulled me back in. This is from some guy named Taylor That bumper car flashback on The Bachelor deserves an Emmy. Stellar work, everyone.

And that wasn't really year footage. This is from Kate. And look, we'll dig into the actual trauma of it. But I mean, this is kind of funny. I just had a really bad bumper card trauma. Everyone kept bumping into my car. Who was the one girl that was so bitchy but so funny that was like, oh, that girl's got bumper card drama?

I'm going to ram my car. right into her. Who was that? Did you watch it? The one girl that was going to bump right into you. I didn't see that clip. Did I miss it? Yeah. Maybe it was on a preview or something. Did you get an edited? You get a version? Maybe I got a special version. Who sent me? I don't remember that necessarily

either. No. Did I get a special version? I can't work tomorrow. I've had a relapse of my bumper card trauma. I mean, people are funny, but I am sorry that you had actual trauma. Yeah. Oh no. I mean, the thing is, it's not like, it's not messing with my life now, you know? And my biggest question was, first, the bumper car thing was funny, but then the next week you're afraid of dogs. And at that point, we were, were you like, oh, I'll just ham this up and it'll be kind

of funny. This will be my ongoing theme is like me being scared of every group date. Honestly, I did not think they would air any of that stuff about the dog, like my dog trauma just because then it was so not relevant to like what the date actually was. So, but I was like freaking out. I'm like, oh my gosh, they are just trying to beat me up right now. Like, first the derby, and now they're going to have, like, attack dogs come and, you know, viciously attack us. Oh, you thought they were attack dogs.

I thought, so my initial thought was I thought they were going to have us, like, in jumpsuits and have dogs, like, attacking us and, like, training dogs to be attacked dogs. That is scary. So I was like, oh, crap, this is not going to be another fun day for me. But, yeah, no, I have actually, like, quite a few scars on my face from my dog attack when I was a kid. I almost lost my eye when I was like. Oh, every time we want to be playful about this. I'm bringing it back home. It's like not exactly.

Yeah, they're real things. So are you scared of normal dogs now? No, I actually, I mean, I love dogs. I'm in the process of trying to adopt a dog right now. So I'm like, I love dogs. But there's definitely like, there are dogs that have been abused or been, you know, shifty a little bit. And you can tell their energy is just like a little off.

And those kind of dogs, I get really like knots in my stomach. Okay. Is that why you got the pooper scooper job? I don't know. I think that was, they just were trying to give me the, you know what, um, job, so. Right. Well, I just feel like I was, I was sad for you because I thought maybe you were scared of all dogs and that would be a horrible fear.

I love dogs. No, actually, so I'm an event planner and I have a client and I throw all of her dog birthday parties. So, um, I spent a lot of time with dogs. Oh, good, good, good. I'm glad it didn't ruin dogs for you. No. Now we have to talk about how awkward.

Okay, wait, you're, you had two awkward moments, two very prominent awkward moments. One on the group date. Tell us about your feelings with Ari when you try to talk to him on the group date and you're just like, this is just not happening for us, is it? Yeah. So I went in and first of all, it was like a little bit hard to get time with him at all that night. And so when I finally got some time, I was like, all right, got to make the most of it. And then it just felt like pulling teeth. Like he and I just, the conversation was never there. I always felt like I'd ask him something. And then it was like a one word back. And I'm like, all right, you want to elaborate or like, ask me something now like it was just not a two-way street i felt like his body language was like

totally turned away from me which was like very hard to kind of get him to warm up to me so um so yeah so i was like this is yeah this is not happening so did you feel like that was the way he treated all the girls he wasn't really vibing with oh no definitely not like what you guys were saying earlier i feel like the girls that he liked it was so clear and the girls that he was a maybe or didn't like it was just it was so clear you know and i felt like i was one of the girls that but I don't know if he had definitely made his mind up about me, but I felt like he wasn't taking the time to get to know if there was anything even there.

So interesting. He was really trying to make an uncomfortable environment even more awkward. Yeah. It was just never, it was always, it was always just work with him. And it was never like carefree or fun. And I would have loved if we got to the point where we were just like making out, because I feel like that was like his fallback with a lot of girls. Yeah. Sometimes I'm watching this show and I'm thinking, I think he's just kissing girls because he doesn't really know what to say anymore. And he knows that that's his skill. So maybe intimate conversation, playful conversation. He's not very playful or flirty. But maybe he feels like kissing is his strength. So he goes right for that. Did you like him?

I definitely like in the beginning I'm like okay you know what I'm here for this guy he seems like a great guy I'm gonna give him a shot but then as it was going I mean I have no interest in him now let's put it that way I don't watch it back and say oh my gosh I have so many regrets how long till you got over it that night I was done I was like I had nothing no interest in him all right let's talk about the kiss and that was probably the most demoralizing moment I've ever seen on TV I mean he said I don't don't think we're there yet. Yeah. As you basically said, can I kiss you? Right. So tell us about your feelings. So, yeah, I mean, definitely not a fun moment, but I knew that I didn't want to be, if he was just going to, like, keep me around to be, like, in the background for a couple

more weeks, you know, I'm like, I don't need that. Yeah. And also, it was just, it was hard being with all these girls who were like, oh, my God, I just made out with him or, you know, whatever. And I'm like, okay, really, like, throw me a bone, dude. And then dog date. And they all talked about how you were the only one he didn't kill. Exactly. And I'm like, okay, really guys? Let's rub it in a little bit more.

Right. And so, you know what? Like at the end of the day. Oh, and that was the other thing. So the girls kept saying like, well, he was never the one to make the first move. I always had to be the one to make the first move. But I didn't want to like, you know, sometimes you see those bachelor moments where you, the girl like lunges themselves at the guy. I think I had a moment or two like that. And then they reject it though or it's just a really awkward moment. And I'm like, I don't want to be that girl. So I'd rather like put it out there. And if he doesn't, then he doesn't. Ben, did you make the first move or did the girls make the move on you? I think I always would make them first move. I think it would be weird if I would expect the girls to make the first move. I'm the one, I think especially in the beginning, is like I said earlier, your job is to make everybody feel comfortable, I think, and to make everybody feel like this is at some level a normal deal. And as a result, like, part of that comfortability for me to tell the girls,

hey, I really care about you, was to kiss them, to make the first move, to put myself out there and for myself to take the risk, not make the women take the risk. Right. I'm thinking Ari's like, oh, you know, I'm the kissing bandit. I'm so talented of this. You have to come get it. So he kissed all 18 girls minus you.

That's a lot. I think so. Does that seem like a lot, Ben? A lot. But the thing is there were like two kisses that really, they weren't like kisses, kisses. It was kind of like a dare or a bed or, you know, something like that. So I felt less bad about that when they found out.

later but right like did bibby's kiss make air no i don't think so yeah because she i know she well and like ben like you were saying i mean i think personally for me i think that's a big part of it like i like the man to kind of take control and like guide those situations too and make me feel like they really want me to be there and are attracted to me and so i didn't want to be the one just like throwing myself at some dude you know is it a little weird some of the girls are like climbing on top of him that's making me feel weird every time i watch it okay wait and i also I was going to talk about how everybody was like, oh my God, he's the best kisser ever, best kisser ever, right?

And on Emily's season, I was like, wow, he's a really romantic kisser. And I, like, even when Ari was announced, remember how I described how perfectly he kisses? Now I don't feel the same way because it's like an act. I feel like he's doing it with girls he's barely talking to, barely knows, and now all the romance of what I thought Ari's kiss was like is out the window. And I just don't feel, I don't want to kiss him anymore. I want to know what girls Annalise became friends with

and what girls do she think he likes the best? But wait, Annalise, do you feel the same way about his kissing? Well, I was just going to say that I am so glad that I didn't kiss him on the show because watching him kiss those girls on the show like, yes, you can see he's a sensual kisser, but like it grosses me out how much he's like so over every girl. Okay, so my favorites, is that who we're doing?

Okay, so, well, I think the girls who are going to make it to the top would be Caroline. Chelsea, long-haired Becca, and, yeah, I think those are sort of my top pick. That was Caroline. She hasn't really made much of a debut yet. She, on the dog date, was the one who kissed him at the, during our performance. No memory of that. Okay, maybe they didn't show it.

I just have it, like, you know, screened in my head forever. But, yeah, and then my favorites from the show were Kendall, Cien, Bibiana. of course, love her. And does no one like Crystal? Let's just put it out there. Yeah, tell us about her. Yeah, I feel so bad because I didn't know her story. So after the fact, after watching it back and finding out about her family life,

you know, you kind of feel like, oh, God, it's coming from a place. But she's not a very nice person. Like, I'll just say it. She's not a nice person. So it's hard having a conversation with her. She definitely was constantly digging, trying to make you feel uncomfortable. Or, like, if she wasn't talking to you, It was because she was trying to be, like, omissive and leave things out so that you weren't going, what are you hiding?

I said, Bachelor villain rule number one. If you're trying to be a Bachelor villain, don't tell the other girls what's happening on your dates. Right. Be secretive. We need that. I need to know from Ben, because I know Ben, you and Nick kind of touched on this, and I really want to get your vibe on that whispery baby-talky thing she's doing. Phone sex operator. Yeah.

Is that hot or what? Ashley, can you recreate it for Ben? No. You know what it sounds like. I mean, I think it's probably attractive for some guys. She's trying hard, and I think that's the part. Sometimes when we watch the show, it comes off as mean, and she comes off as distant, and she comes off as a little manipulative.

But then we hear her story, like, this is coming from a place that isn't good. And I think even, like, that little, like, you know, cute. TTC voice, she's, you know, throwing off at him, is coming from a place that is probably a little bit of insecurity because she feels like she has to do something to him, impress him. And that brings me to the end, Elise, I want to know when you left this show this week, what was the vibe in the house towards art? Were the girls head of her heel for him? I mean, obviously, we know Crystal is. She's really excited about the idea of art. Is that a common sentiment for the house?

or when you left, did it seem like they're, things are a little shaky? I think there was definitely some, like, clear people who felt comfortable, but there were also, like, I remember having a conversation with Kendall and CN, and they both were like, I mean, I don't even know at this point, you know, like, I still really need to learn so much about him to figure out if I like him and if this is going to go somewhere. And I think it was still so early, so we were all just trying to figure out if it's, if it could be something and and i mean i found out that it couldn't so i had when loren s didn't come back were people like so i think i was the only one that was really up front that day uh that i thought

there was no way she was coming back and i loved her but i i could see it there was just really no chemistry and um and she did say some things in the house too about how she typically gets put in the front zone with guys and i could just see how that was going to probably happen all over again. I should talk to her about friend zones. Oh my gosh. Can we recreate the Winter Games promo Ben? Why am I always in the Friends?

I'm just so confused. That's Ashley in the Winter Games. I saw the preview. Okay. I have a couple more questions for you, but first we have to take a moment for our sponsor who you probably are a big fan of because you are an event planner. And Zola helps with wedding registry

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towards your registry, go to Zola.com slash Almost Famous. It's a $50 credit towards your registry. That is Zola Zola.com slash almost famous. Again, Zola.com. Z-O-L-A dot com slash almost famous. So I've got to ask you two final questions that I really want to know. And I like to ask anybody who's done this show, and especially as recently left the show. Are you glad you did it? I am. No regrets.

I'm so happy I did it. I met some great people. And, yeah, I'm excited for what's to come. Yeah, what is to come? I mean, that's the big question everybody is talking about right now in Bachelor Nation. And it seems like a lot of contestants go off and they find new careers or they take advantage of the social media fame that they get. What is that for you personally outside of those things? I mean, personally, I'm just excited about this new sort of like sorority fraternity bachelor nation of like dating pool.

You know? Welcome. Welcome to the family. Dating has sucked. And so this. Yeah, exactly. I like that she's not trying to be like, oh, I don't know. She's admitting it like, hey, I get to meet all these people now and I might date them.

Yeah, I mean, yeah, travel. I mean, there's like, there are a lot of perks. I'm not going to lie. But I'm excited mostly to hopefully, like, have some new friends and date and see what happens. Ben, who should we set Annalise up with? Which of your, let's think of someone. What is your type of guy? Now that, welcome to the almost soon as podcast.

You want to date Darren? Jared is my number one pick. No, he's actually not. He's not. Who is your movie? The look on Ashley's face. Just changed a little. Who is your bachelor crush?

What about Luke Pell? Luke Pell? I have had a couple people be like, oh, Luke, you guys should date. So, I mean, Peter would be the pick probably. But, yeah, I don't know. Or Nick. Oh, we can have that happen. Yeah.

Those are definitely my tip. I have to say that when I was auditioning, Ben, I did say that you were my favorite bachelor of all time. Yeah. I mean, well, just because you're like the whole package. If you're going to date The Bachelor, you want to date someone who's like a good guy, handsome, like, kind, smart, funny? Isn't it great how Ben has fooled everyone? I'm just kidding, that.

I play a good joke. Well, that's really sweet of you. You're welcome. And I mean, I think there's a lot of great people that do do this show. And I think that it is a fun little world to live in because you do meet a ton of new friends who live all across the country, sometimes even the world. and we would like to on the almost famous podcast now welcome you into this world of a singleness of a lot of options have fun go out there you know and find your perfect man which brings me my last question exactly i'm hoping is ari's perfect woman thank you

um who do you think ends up with them in the end here from day one i thought it was going to be becca not pixie becca the other beca really okay i don't know anything i don't know spoilers so Girl, she got the one-on-one date. She got the first one-on-one. I mean, how could you not just form this, like, perfect kind of, like, vision of this man after a date like that? And then things, you know, she just, like, calls him her boyfriend from day one. And I feel like makes the other girls feel a little bit like, wait, he's already with her. So taking, I mean, for me personally, when I was on those group dates, I always felt like I was on a date with Becca and her boyfriend.

Really? I was just a friend who, like, tag, you know, like, let's go hang out. Oh, I'm going to bring my boyfriend. Like that was what it felt like. No way. She's a dark horse then to me. Wasn't she the one that someone said they're going to get married? Really?

Yeah. Yeah. Mm-hmm. No way. Okay. Another one of the girls saw them leaving or something and said they were going to get married. She was like, oh, shoot. I saw how cute they were.

They were probably going to get married. Oh my gosh. Well, thank you for bringing her back to my attention because I thought that was a great date and I see that together. But I don't. I didn't think top five. Yeah. She was very non-existent in the episode three that we just watched. Yeah.

Yeah. All right. Well, Annalise, thank you so, so much. This is a blast. You're welcome anytime. Yeah. And we'd love to have you come back and just, you know, give a little more feedback of these girls as the season progresses because you actually know them in real life. Yes. And they're great. Most of them are really great. All right. And I think we should all go on some bumper cars together. Oh, yeah. Let's do it. Oh, no. Our next trip to Nottesbury Farm. She's coming. All right. Bye. Bye. Hi. Thank you so much. Hi, thank you. So before we go to one of our listener emails, I need to give a shout out to movement.

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that is mvmt.com slash almost famous. It is time to step up your watch game. So go to movement mvmt.com slash almost famous and join the movement. Ben, let's take one listener email before we move on. This is from Manavica. Hi, Ben and Ashley. I am talking to you guys from India and I'm fairly new to the Bachelor world as I've only seen the last three seasons of BIP and Ben Jojo in Rachel's season.

and now I'm watching Ari's. My question is, what are your next Bachelorette predictions? Anyone from Ari's season or Wildcard like Christina from next season? Love the podcast and your friendship. Love Manna Kavika. All right. I'm still going with Christina for some reason right now because I think Becca, short-haired Becca, is a good candidate, but way too young.

And nobody would be on board for a 22-year-old bachelor's. I would have to agree. I think Tia from this season has the best chance. I just think he is compelling. Obviously, I said it last week. She's one of my top choices on R.E. season right now. She's beautiful.

She's funny. I think she should would be a great candidate to be The Bachelorette. I would not be surprised if you see Tia stepping into that role. I agree, Ben. I know it's a little early on. I think we should answer this question in three weeks. Well, I'm sure we will. Yeah, I'm sure we will.

But Tia is also the one girl from R.A. Season that is giving me Bachelorette vibes. I wish I would enjoy Becca if she wasn't so young. Oh, yeah. Becca would be a great bachelorette. In a couple years, perfect. Maybe she'll come back a la Emily. All right. Maybe Annalise.

Who knows? I would be the oldest Bachelorette ever. That's okay. I'm 33 now. Damn, girl, you look great. You had thought that, like as if 33, like, doesn't. It looks great. A bachelor's.

Okay. All right. Well, Ben, next time, hopefully we have you in studio. I would love that, but if not, Ashley, I wish you the best. I want to make sure that we think our sponsor's Blue Apron, Zola, and Movement. I want to thank our guests, Kenyon and Elise, for coming on the podcast. Also, our special team back of Los Angeles, our producer, Amy, Mark, Easton. Thank you all.

Ashley, it's good to have you back. Welcome back. Thanks. I feel like I was just a sloppy mess today. Really didn't have my footing. I got off eight. I got only four. I woke up at four in the morning.

So come on. Let me some slack people. I can't talk. Yeah. Nobody is feeling bad that you went on vacation and also went to the Patriots game last night. Ashley, messed up from here on out of day. We love you. Stop being so territorial.

Let Annalise date your exes. So grow up with Jared. And with that, hey, everybody, this has been the Almost Famous Podcast. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. See you later. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, Almost Famous Podcasts on IHart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.