The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S4 #6 Missing in Action

Episode Date: February 6, 2018

Ben and Ashley tackle one of the biggest stories in Bachelor Nation this week: Bekah’s status as a “missing person”. Melody Chiu from People Magazine calls in to lay out all of the facts of Bekah’s mysterious disappearance.  Then, Ben and Ashley recap this week’s Bachelor episode, break down the difference of playing hard to get and being hard to get, and they get an expert opinion on Arie’s season from 10 year old Bachelor super-fan Jack. And no episode of the Almost Famous Podcast is complete without some listener emails, which lead Ben and Ashley to answer some great behind the scenes Bachelor questions. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Hey, Ashley. Yeah. Let's do this. This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast with IHart Radio. Hey, everybody. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast. We are so excited to have you listening to us because I am very excited to talk to Ashley. We're trying something different today.

I can actually see Ashley as I sit in Indianapolis, Indiana and participate in the podcast. It's so helpful. Hey, guys. you guys don't understand how frustrated I get when Ben and I talk over each other during an interview. So this is going to help prevent that. Yeah. Speaking of interviews, we're just going to start right into it here. We have one of the weirdest stories I've ever heard.

Ashley, we've talked extensively about how much we like short-haired Becca during the season of The Bachelor. But something really weird happened this week that I don't quite understand. Do you understand it? I do think I understand it a bit. So back when she was filming The Bachelor in October and November, she, you know, was obviously away from her phone for a while. I think she got back from filming. This is just my understanding, and then we'll get the real interpretation afterward.

She gets back from filming. She says she goes, hey, mom, I'm going to go work on a pot farm. And then didn't have service for a couple days. And then her mom reported her missing, like as recently as November. it's all very odd and I don't I mean I think you're you're right and you're on to something honestly we don't really fully know the the whole extent of the story so we've actually reached out to somebody who does know the story we're reaching out to melody from People magazine to get the inside scoop on this and try to explain this to us a little better because if you

and I just talk about it I think we're just going to make it sound even weirder yeah it's just like one of those things where you and I shouldn't even give our opinions because we're just going to start rumors. Yeah, that seems like you're making a really smart decision, Ashley, by calling an expert in today. Oh, thanks, Ben. It was definitely your decision. All right, let's get Melody on the phone. Hey, Melody? Hi. All right, Melody. Tell us what's going on with Becca. It's kind of a hilarious story. So basically, her mom reported her missing in November. because she wanted to apparently go spend a few days or maybe a week working at a marijuana farm. And I think like any other mother, she was like, please don't do that.

And Becca ignored her. And then just also the police told us reception is really terrible there understandably. So maybe her mom like couldn't reach her. And so reported her missing just to do due diligence. And then the fan saw. her picture on that cover and was like I think that's that girl on the Bachelor

and so suddenly it turned into this huge thing and as we all know Becca is not missing she's on the Bachelor So this was not the mom did not file this missing person's report when she was filming the Bachelor

Yeah I mean it would make sense if she like didn't tell her mom that she was going to be gone as long as she was and then the mom freaked out and thought oh my gosh I haven't heard from my daughter in seven or something weeks I'm going to file her missing. That seemed to be like a really funny. That was an even funnier story, but this just, the timing was very similar.

So she gets back from filming The Bachelor and then they file a report because she went to work at a marijuana farm. It's like, what? Yeah, I mean, it's pretty funny. And it's so Becca, right? It's so Becca. Yeah. And then she like got all that Kate saying like, well, you look totally different. Well, yeah, she was 15 in that picture.

We all look crazy in our, like, DMV photos. I remember having earrings like that. The year that Becca was 15, I was 21, and I definitely wore those at 21. This makes me realize that she is 100% too young for Ari because her mommy didn't know where she was. No. My mom and dad would do the same thing. My mom and dad track me. I have the what's, you know, find my friends app.

And my dad knows where I am. He checks it every other hour. I'm not even joking you. Yeah. So that's like very my parents to do. and I'm 29. And it's fine. Actually,

you have the Find My Friends app and your parents track that? Yeah, but even if the Find My Friends app doesn't work, then we use Find My iPhone. So sometimes it'll be like location unknown and then I'll like go into my sister's

find my friends and I'll buzz her. I'll be like, answer your phone. Melody, Melody, you seem to be up on what's normal and not in the world. Is that normal? Like,

what Ashley's doing? Is that, is that okay? I mean, the amount of times my mom has almost called the police because I had no reception. I mean, I'm like the same age as actually, but I feel like I'll forever be like 12 years old to our parents. Yeah, and I'm totally fine with that. What if I was to be kidnapped, then they'd know where I was.

I'm fine with that. Please track me. And there's this new, I know I'm totally off. I'm off topic a bit right now. But there is a black mirror episode that just came out like two weeks ago. about this mom who she, like, puts a chip in her kid for tracking reasons, which I'm a total proponent of. Don't judge me. I would love to put a chip in my child until they're 18 and they can take it out. And then I wouldn't have to worry about where they are. I mean, they can

go wherever they want. That's the thing. They can go wherever they want as long as I know they're safe. Ashley, this is the weird. Okay. So we're going to get into a couple topics here. Just to remind everybody out there, we have Melody from People magazine on the line with us right now discussing the Becca issue. Becca from R.E.C. season of The Bachelor, suddenly disappeared and showed up on the missing persons report for California. Thanks for bringing it back to the topic. Yeah, but later to be found out that she's never been missing and her mom just couldn't

get a hold of her for us. That's what we're talking about. And Ashley has just said that she would love to stick a chip in her kids. Ashley, coming from Indiana and growing up in a Methodist church, you know that was the one thing that everybody was most scared of was putting chips in people. Really? Yeah. Wait, why?

We can get into it at some point off offline, but, you know, one of the signs of the mark of the beast is that somebody would have a chip in them. That's what we grew up believing. No way. You've never heard that, huh? Uh-uh. Yeah, so for you to say that out loud kind of scares me a little bit.

Oh, that's funny. Because for me, I'm like, isn't it crazy that we put chips in our dogs, but we wouldn't put chips in our kids? If we lost our kid, we're going to be far more freaked out. What's funny is that Black Mirror episode? Yeah. Ends horribly. No, it's the worst.

No, I wanted to say. You learned nothing from that episode. No, no, I'm telling you, okay, this is what the Black Mirror episode taught me. And you guys, if you haven't listened to it, you should probably go watch it. It's pretty fascinating. So anyway, it's not just for tracking. This is where the whole episode goes wrong. They can also blur out, like, traumatizing images.

So therefore, the kids, like, don't know what to be scared of in life or, like how to recognize an emergency. So that's where it all goes wrong. There should never be a blur option. But just say, where's your location option? I'm totally down. Ashley, you're creeping me out. Hey, uh, okay, let's move on.

You know, there's things in your family, Ben, I could talk about that are also highly disturbing. Like what? Oh, I'm not going to go there. Your childhood. Uh, now you're making me weird. No, let's just go there. What is it?

You know how your grandfather, or like made you do certain activities. Oh, yeah. So growing, what she's talking about here. Melody, so sorry. Yeah, sorry, Melody. We're coming back to you here in one second. But so growing up, my grandpa would force me to hunt.

And so as a child, as a young child, I would have to go hunting with him and do some things that have guard me for life. And I think have added to either the darkness in my heart or allowed me to see that I don't actually love hunting. as much as other people do. So anyways, hey, Melody, okay, let's go back to this. Is this as weird a situation as what it seems like? Like, this situation seems very odd and either ironic or just kind of humorous

that it comes up as she's on The Bachelor. I mean, I've never heard of this happening. And I think somewhere along the way someone just forgot to let everyone know that she wasn't missing, it's pretty funny, though. And I think she's also, I mean, the most horrifying part for Beckalo is that her 15-year-old picture is everywhere. And I think I would be just as traumatized by that, too. I definitely agree. One thing we're going to do just to kind of make this story even funnier is on my Instagram after the episode, I'm going to get a picture of Ashley from her when she was 15 and posted on my Instagram just to kind of show the relation between the two.

You know what's going to happen then? People are you going to be like, Ashley has so much plastic surgery. Like, this is going to happen. My nose, like, totally thinned out. And then my cheeks used to just be gigantic. And it's just, like, you know, getting older and your face limbs out. But, oh, yeah. Bring all the plastic surgery rumors.

Well, in honor of Becca, actually, your picture is going to get posted. I think that's too bad. But this is, you said it best, no, the thing I'm hearing here is, is this is so Becca-like. Like, if we thought about Becca, and I know Ashton are both. fans, this is something that doesn't surprise me. No, not at all. And I love her, too. I think she is the youngest one on that show, but the most level-headed.

And, but also, like, she's kind of weird in a really good way. And for anything, like, for this to happen to anyone, I feel like it would only happen to her on this show. Yeah, I agree. I agree. Well, we thank you so much for coming on the podcast and explain this to this. If Ashley and I talked about it, I promise you, we both just make Becca seem even weirder than what this situation

already is. So thank you for coming and clarifying exactly what happened and allowing us both to not make this situation even odder. Thank you guys. Appreciate Melody. You know, I wonder where Becca's mom thought she was sleeping during those days. I'm sure she

wasn't sleeping on a sleep number mattress while she was farming at the marijuana farm. That's good, Ashley. Just keep going. That was perfect. Most Americans, get less than the recommended seven to eight hours of sleep a night. If that's you, science proves that you'll be able to achieve your goals easier if you get more sleep. The sleep number bed lets you choose your own ideal comfort and support on each side,

and that's perfect for couples. And the newest beds are so smart, they actually sense your every move and automatically adjust. So you stay sleeping comfortably throughout the night. They even have an adjustment for snoring. Does your bed currently do that? Mine does because it's a sleep number. Oh, Ben, you have a sleep number, too. What is your sleep number setting, you guys? Yeah, what is yours, Ben? Mine right now.

I'm looking at a 77. I'm feeling odd, like an odd number, and I'm feeling like I like it a little firmer than usual. So 77 is what I'm sleeping on this week. I like it soft, so I like it in the 60s. But it is kind of cool, Ben, if you did, if you ever get a girlfriend again, that she could have one number and you can have another

because it does right side, left side. I mean, I think that's, yeah, Amy, your spot on. That's what we talk about every week here is the coolest part about a sleep number of bed is both sides can have different numbers. It's like you have two separate beds. So you can roll out. I mean, right now the best part for me is once I can be firm, once I can be soft, when I'm lonely, because that happens often, I just roll over a couple of times and I have a whole new bed. Pretty nice. well don't miss the best bed for couples or singles at the lowest prices of the season come in now and save $400 to $700 on the most popular sleep number mattresses you only find it at sleep number and that is sleep number dot com or any of the 550 sleep number stores nationwide and be sure to tell them the almost famous podcast sent you hey bet actually you are you a cuddler yeah i'm like too cuddly for every

human man they're like really it's fine if you cuddle with me when you're awake but like if we're sleeping i'm such a snuggler are you that's my well you no well like you like you and i would not get along well because here's my biggest thing is i'm i'm hearing you read about sleep number and it is really one of the best feds out there if not the best in the world i love it i've slept on it for years like i can't like one of my biggest pet peeves is being cuddled in the middle of night it makes me really claustrophobic and I said you're reading that I can just kind of tell that you're a midnight cuddler I totally am and everybody tells me they're like Ashley you can't do that with guys it gets too high I'm always cold so like I don't know I just love it I like to like nuzzle my nose

and like their skin because I love like the man the man smell what is that what is a man smell yeah explain this to me like you guys it's just like a fair moan thing oh yeah so it's It's not like the, like, body odor. It's just like a... No. It's like the distinctive smell of a guy's skin. Not necessarily even color or anything. Next time we're together, I need you to smell me

and let me know if I have that going for me. Oh, you definitely do. You have a Ben smell. I don't know where I was, but was it with you, Amy, that, like, you threw me a sweatshirt of Ben's, and you're like, this is Ben's, and it smells like Ben. It does. Your scent carries.

I don't know if that was me. Oh, I think it was Dean, or it was, like, Jared? I'm not sure. It's better if it was Dean. Yeah, it means like, hey, smell this sweatshirt. It smells just like Ben. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, give me some credit.

Say it smells good or bad. Oh, no, it definitely smells good. You definitely have a homey, warm smell. That's exactly what I'm sure. Everybody out there would think I would know. Oh, I know what it was. I know what it was. We were filming the show.

And you and Todd, a producer Todd, you guys shared the same shirt. And you had already left. And he was like, this is Todd's, this is Ben, smell it. And I was like, oh, my gosh, it feels like he's still here. Oh, Ashley. That's so sweet. Hey, speaking of men, I have a special guest coming up for you next, who is not a man yet, but he is as wise as any man I've ever met.

You are going to absolutely love him. He might become your new favorite person in the entire world. Online, we have Jack, a bachelor expert, and he's 10 years old. Oh my gosh. I'm so excited for this. Somebody else can take over my Bachelor Recaps like every week. Let's just do it. Let's do it. Jack. Hi. Welcome to the Almost His podcast, Jack. Oh, really? Thanks. Yeah. How long have you been a Bachelor fan? Um, I don't know. I just like the show a lot. I don't know, really. Is your mom a fan and she got you into it? Um, yeah, I guess. Yeah. What's your favorite thing about this

My favorite thing about the show is, like, well, I really want to be a bachelor when I'm older, so I just like watching it because of that. That's a great goal in life. I'm proud. All the boys want to be the bachelor. I like this guy. Hey, worked out for Peter Krauss. That was his goal. And, well, you know, that was all his issue. Now, Jack, do your parents have any rules about you watching because it can be a little racy? No, they don't really have any rules. 10 year old can do it so tell us tell us about this season what do you think of Ari I really like him like I like race car driving and he's a race car driver so I like that and I think he's nice and he's fair

and I don't care if crystal says he's a liar because he's not yeah let's talk about that group date so so crystal thought he was a liar because he went back on his word and it ended up inviting all the other girls to that date. Is that a decision you would have made? Would you have ever had everybody come as well, the winners and the losers? Yeah, because like it wouldn't have been fair. And if it was Chris, like, if it was Crystal's team that lost, she would have, she wouldn't have been saying like, um, it's like not fair.

Like I think I would have, if I'm, if I was already right there, I definitely would have, um, let everyone come because it would have been fair. Who's your favorite girl so far, Jack? What girl do you like? I like Tia Ben likes Tia too Are you happy to see Crystal go home Yes I was so happy

When Kendall got the rose So who do you think has had the best two-on-one in Bachelor history I think that was really good because This one because Crystal She said she was ready She was definitely getting the rose And then she didn't And I like seeing her go home

Yeah so you don't like Overconfidence When overconfidence When overconfidence enters into the Bachelor you say you need it's time for you to go yeah and like also going back to that group date when she she also um she said she wasn't going to the um after party and then she showed up and then basically like i just don't think she's like very like i don't like she was calling a liar but then she showed up so she was kind of being a liar so yeah i like i like that she went home

Because I definitely did not think Kendall was going to get the rose. Yeah. How do you feel about short hair and being that young? Um, I don't think she's like, like, like, Ari said once, um, like, he, he likes her, but she's really young and he wants a wife, not a girlfriend. Jack, she's only 12 years older than you. Like, you know that the difference, the age difference between you and Becca is, is shorter is less than the difference in the age between Ari and Becca.

Yeah, that's kind of crazy. That's so weird. Yeah, that's kind of weird. Very weird, Ashley. Very, very odd. But it is true, so we have to think of it that way. She makes a good point. Jack, you're not that far away from potentially becoming our bachelor that we're

going to be watching. If you were the bachelor this year, how would you rate Ari? Okay, let's ask that first. First off, how are you doing his bachelor on a scale 1 to 10? I think he's a 10. I think he's amazing. Like, he's super nice and he's doing like a great job. And I think he's picking the right people.

I think he's picking the right people. Then how do you explain why he's kept Crystal around up until now? Because Crystal knew him the most. Like, he took her to his hometown. And, like, yeah, she knew him the most, and he, like, he liked her, and he wanted her to have a second chance, but I did not think that was right. Like, the last rose, he said, he said Crystal, and I did not think that was good, but she's gone now, so, like, I guess it's fine. Jack, when you become The Bachelor, because after hearing you talk, you're way too sophisticated for your own good, you're going to get, getting a lot of trouble now in life.

How would you handle being a bachelor? What would be your thought process going into it? My thought would be, it's not really like what they look like on the outside, but in the inside. So, like, Crystal, she's, like, she's pretty, but she's not a good person. And so, like, I would not want someone like that. Like, I would want someone who's, like, kind and helpful and like yeah yeah so hey all of you twitter people out there if you if you want to get on the almost famous

podcast all you do is call it a 10 year old uh because he's saying what all of us are thinking okay jack speaks truth well jack you're a fantastic guest we hope to have you on again maybe when rie picks his final girl to see what your opinions are about that and um yeah so we'll talk to you in a bit um jack's season of the bachelor will most likely premiered january 5th 2032. Yep, that's right. Yep. Hey, Jack, you're the man, buddy.

Thank you. Bye. Thank you, Jack. I like Jack. I like Jack a lot. I wish he could take over for me on this podcast. He's got the insight into the show that I don't have. This is a little off topic, but if you know me and follow me on social media, you know

I'm always trying to be my most Olivia Colpo. She's Danny Amandola's girlfriend. And, I mean, you guys, I'm upset. them together. They are like the prince and princess to Tom and Giselle's King and Queen. And she has her own line with La Tote. So I've been shopping at Latote a lot lately just to be more like her. And let me tell you about La Tote. If you're wearing clothes that are old and they look worn out because you don't have time to shop, La Tote is for you. If you find

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letot.com that is l-et-o-t-e-e dot com to get started for as low as fifty nine dollars a month you enter the promo code which is almost famous at checkout and get 50% off your first month so basically what this this whole website does is helps you not be an outfit repeater because us girls we know that that's that's like a fashion crime jeans and a white tank top Once you sign up, you'll receive your completely customized toot within just days. I just did it a couple days ago. It came like three days later. Choose between one or unlimited totes for the month.

Just wear what you want and return everything in the mail when you're done. And it's that easy. Again, that is L-E-O-T-O-T-E.com. Enter our code, almost famous. And you'll have something new to wear with fashion delivered right to your door. Wait, so this is my big question for you, Ashley. Yeah. I'm trying to learn more about women in general, okay?

That's one of my goals for this year is just to become more familiar with women and how I can relate better with them. Is it a true thing that being a fashion or an outfit repeater is looking down upon? Because I know people who literally will not wear a dress to two events, like no only wear it once. And to me, that's crazy. I wear the same pair of jeans every day of my life. I have a couple of pairs of jeans that I wear over and over again. Pants do not get included in this outfit repeating thing. We can't all have a pair of new jeans every day.

It's tops. When I was in high school, I was insane. I would usually not re-wear the same exact outfit, but I would probably never wear the same shirt twice. As I get older, I'm less and less crazy about that. Like, I think you've seen me in this sweatshirt like five times already. But when it comes to events and stuff like that, If it's posted on Instagram or for us Bachelor Girls, if it's like somewhere floating,

the picture of it is somewhere floating online, then we're never going to wear it again. And I think the Instagram rule kind of applies to a lot of girls out there. I think if it's been posted, they're not going to wear it again. But like just like as an adult female, even growing up, my mom would always go buy a new dress for like she and my dad's fancy, like, gala's and stuff. You know, she was never going to wear the same fancy dress as she wore the year before. Does that same rule stick with me? Because I think if you got on my Instagram, every picture on my Instagram, I have a, it's taken in about three different shirts.

Like for the last four months, every picture up there is about three different shirts that I've worn. Okay, well, you know what? I love what you're wearing right now. This is like a female favorite, just letting you know. Well, at least it is within my sister, me and a couple of my friends. We love a guy who rolls their sleeves midway through their forearm, midway to the forearm. That sleeve roll is so sexy. There's something very subtly sexy about a guy's forearm.

And then I like it when you have the three button shirts. I love a three button shirt. It's cozy. Yes, it's cozy, but it like shows off your body, but not in like a flamboyant way in a manly. Yeah, I get that. Yeah, I understand that. I'm just, okay, so if you don't wear a dress twice,

what happens to the dress once you wear it once? Okay, so I can't believe you just said this, because I'm on my way to putting together an event that I'm going to call the Bachelor Girls Yard Sale. I found a venue so that all the L.A. based girls are going to get their clothes together that they've already worn once or twice. But they're too nice to put in the donation box.

I donate clothes all the time. Like I literally go through my closet and donate clothes all the time. But then there's a couple outfits that are like $200 each and they've only been worn twice. So I don't want to just, you know, put them in the donation box. So what I want to do is have all, the girls in L.A. who are on The Bachelor and who happened to be something like the most fashion forward girls, bring all their stuff to this place on one Saturday afternoon and then

all the proceeds will go to charity. But I'm like still in the planning process. But how great of an idea is that? That's a great idea. I mean, because this is the thing. And Ashley, I think you're on to something and this is a good thing to talk about about the show is people expect everybody does the Bachelor or Bachelor to have a ton of money to their name. And that could not be farther from the truth. Like you don't make any money by doing the show. You only make money on sponsorships or endorsements afterwards. And that doesn't happen for everybody. So selling some clothes is a good way for some of these people to kind of recoup some money that they've, you know, lost by taking a break from their lives for three months. That is also a good point. Yeah.

So, no, that's a good thing. People ask me all the time. How much money do you make from doing the Bachelorette? I made $0.00 from doing it. doing The Bachelorette. Oh, for The Bachelorette. I was going to say the Bachelorette. Yeah, The Bachelorette. We make $0 doing The Bachelorette. We make a, you know, we make a couple hundred a day doing the spinoff shows.

Nothing crazy. Yeah. So, I mean, I think it's a great idea. I think it's going to be crazy popular. And one of the things I've always been impressed with The Bachelorette and the Bachelor are the men and women always seem to be so fashionable. For me, I went to Coles before the Bachelorette. bought two suits, one blue, one black, because I could figure I could mix and match those up a little bit. And I got to the show, and I thought I had some of the coolest clothes I'd ever owned in my

life, and I was so far behind the time. Like, I did not look cool, ever. I still cannot consider myself fashionable. So if anybody else there wants to help me out, please shoot us an email at Ben and Ashley at iHeartMedia.com. Help me out with some fashion advice. I need it so much. You know that you had like a really fashionable top three, though. Was Sean Booth looking like he could be like a Hugo boss model? And then there is Nick who, you know, is he wears things so well. Yeah, Nick does wear things so well. Just he pot, speak of forearm.

Nick's got some forearms on him. I'm actually looking at Ash right now and somebody works at the show Erica sitting behind her. And she was, I'm sure she was just looking at my Instagram because she got on her phone as soon as I said, go look on my Instagram about how many different pairs of clothing. And she's sitting back there just shamefully shaking your head like, Ben, you are. So, such a loser. Hey, Ashley, we got to do a quick recap here. This week's episode of The Bachelor, I think it's getting crazier and crazier every week.

One way I would explain this week, in my opinion, is awkward. One of the moments that stand out to me was the first part of the Lauren B date. Now, obviously, that kind of turns around at the end. But that first part of the Lauren B date between Ari and Lorraine B was so, so odd. Or maybe it's just the fact that her name's Lauren B, and I have a hard time watching it anyway. Okay, I was just going to ask you, Ben, like, is this weird, especially as we go further and further in the season? Like, what if this girl makes it to the top four? And there's another Lauren B who's that prominent in the Bachelor world?

Yeah, again, that just seems like a lot of fun for me. It seems like something that I can't wait to see it, you know, how many comparisons come out there. and how many times you know they look a bit alike i know they do trust me i've already seen that this this literally if i could have picked a really bad situation this wouldn't be the worst situation i could think of for this season but this is a situation to be like yeah i prefer to not have a law and be on the show that also looks a lot like you know Lauren b yeah do you think they just made it awkward yeah okay so that's that's what i was i all like you know ben you've been on so many one-on-ones in your life.

And I've been on four, four or five. And when you're like strolling around like that, it doesn't, you don't have to talk the entire time. Like it's kind of hard to have like a full-on serious conversation or even just like a flowy conversation on camera surrounded by all these people while you're standing around and moving and walking. I like to have real conversations.

This is with like a romantic interest. Or even with a friend while I'm sitting down with some food in front of us and it's like time to talk. But if I'm just strolling around, I don't really feel the pressure to fill every moment with words. But he was asking her questions and she just wasn't responding. Like there was a moment I think he asked her about the cheese or was trying to talk about some cheese. And she wasn't giving them anything back. I mean, she was just shaking her head, okay, you know, I thought it was awkward. I think if you were there, it was awkward.

He kept saying, I like you. I'm interested in you. And I really want to know if you're interested in me. And she kept going, mm-hmm, mm-hmm. I don't know, you guys. It was so weird. I was like, what's happening? And then we get to the dinner, and he drops, like, the bomb of the century on her.

What did he say? Remember, he said he had a girlfriend that he got pregnant. Oh, that's right. And I was like, this just took a crazy turn. That's crazy. That was crazy. And that he revealed that. Well, so obviously, he likes it.

Lauren enough that he really wanted to reveal something vulnerable so that she would feel more comfortable being vulnerable with him? Yeah, I mean, do you think that did? Because leading up to that, it just seemed odd. It seemed like almost why would he tell Lauren this scenario? Because I feel like he has deeper relationships with other women. You know, the one thing I did notice with Ari and Lauren, and I don't know if I'm touching on anything here or not, and please tell me if I'm crazy, is it seems like leading

up to this. One of Ari's defense mechanism is when things get awkward, he starts kissing. Okay? Yeah, we all know this. As soon as there's a moment of silence, he grabs the head, he grabs the face and his lips just absolutely consume the other person's body, okay? So this is my, this is my theory. He likes Lauren enough that he doesn't feel like he wants to do that at every weekend because he just wants to get to know her.

So that was actually, in my opinion, a compliment by not making out with her every time the conversation stopped. I think so, too. I felt like we were getting like a lot of their relationship was growing through almost all the awkwardness. Because at the end of the date, they trumped all the awkwardness. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, okay, so here it is. What do you think of Lauren's response when Ari drops the bomb?

I don't know. I'm saying, do I make sense here? Yeah, you are making sense. What do you think of Lauren's response when, as Amy just mentioned, when Ari dropped the bomb on Lauren that he at one point in his life has gotten one of his girlfriend's pregnant? Do you think she responded in a way that showed that she really cares? Yeah. I think that must have been like the hardest thing to respond to on camera. Like, what do you say?

But I think that she just seemed like sweet and understanding. And she didn't seem like... There's not a lot of meat there is what I think. Okay, so that's good, that's nice, that's a nice way of putting it. There's not like a, I don't know, I don't like want. She's nice sweet, she's nicely cute, but she's not giving me anything. Right. But like, I don't know, there's just different kinds of girls out there.

Like, she may not be dynamic on TV and, you know, but maybe she's perfect Ferrari. Right. Yeah. Well, this is something that, you know, that's, you know, different. Amy, if you have any opinion here, I'd love you to chime in because I think you and Ashley have both been around the franchise long enough to hear. if this situation plays out often, but Ari made a comment during his date with Lauren that I found very relatable to me personally. He said, I don't know if Lauren is that into me because I've been so nervous the whole time that she wasn't into me because I haven't been able to give her the

attention maybe that I've wanted to that I feel like I'm chasing a bit. He said that in different words, but he pretty much said, hey, I feel like I've been chasing after Lauren since the moment this show had started, and as a result, that's why he likes it. Yeah, exactly. Don't you think that's why it works? Because he's used to all of these girls chasing him. So the girl who's playing hard to get on The Bachelor, where like it basically is impossible to play hard to get, that's really going to work for him. Wouldn't it work for you? Well, that's my point is I remember over and over and over again of being totally like sick to my stomach at night, especially early on going this Lauren girl, Lauren B, doesn't like me. She's not going to like me.

I'm not giving her the attention that I need. Like, I need to get out of this room right now and just go tell Lauren, hey, please stick around long enough that I can give you the attention that I want to give you. I remember thinking that thought probably nightly during The Bachelor because I didn't know what was going on. I didn't know if she wanted to leave. I remember the first night, Lauren looked at me and said, I missed my dog. I want to go home. And I thought, I like this girl. girl, I can't let her go home. And that was in my head the rest of the season. Wow.

So, whoa. I know you're like not supposed to play games when like the love is real. But playing hard to get always works for you, man. This is the thing. I am, I know this. Playing hard to get never works. Being hard to get will work every time. That's very profound.

Then you become crazy crystal. It's like you're so crazy. and you don't even know who you are. You have to be who you are, but you actually have to be hard to get. Now, what level or to what extreme that is, is up to you, you know, or how- Hey, Amy, Amy, time out here.

Okay, we're going to get to crazy crystal here in a second. We're obviously going to talk about her and her scenario, but this is a nugget of information and wisdom and truth coming from you that we need to elaborate on. What, for all of our listeners out there and honestly myself, because I have no clue what you're talking about. What is the difference between playing hard to get and being hard to get? Playing hard to get is getting a text and then intentionally waiting an hour or three days to text back.

That's playing hard to get. That's playing a game. Like if you want to text back, text back. Being hard to get is being like confident in who you are, being fulfilled in who you are. Being happy in who you are and like as cheesy as it is, loving yourself enough to be. worthy of what the other person wants to give you and the opposite. Like, you need to be able to be like, I want to give love and receive love authentically.

Amy! Gros! See, I would add to that, but there's no need. That was perfect. And that is really the way to be. Thank you. Yeah. Okay.

Ashley, before we move on here, are you, do you play hard to get or are you hard to get? Okay, so I've never been very good at playing hard to get, however I have in the past, but I actually feel like this past year, like for about a year now, I've been hard to get. I agree. Thanks, Amy. I know you and I agree. Yeah. Yeah, you've got some flag.

I mean, I can tell, Ashley, you, you've got something that you, you have ever had before. Thanks. We're all noticing. We're all noticing. Thank you, Ben. And the other person, like, can know you love them, you care about them. you're 100% in with them, that doesn't make you not hard to get.

Yeah, yeah. Like, it's so much bigger than that. It's about being who you are. Playing games is just a giant fail. Yeah, I think something I said over and over again in my pre-interviews with Winter Games was I was like, if I find someone, that'll be really nice. But I'm at this point in my life,

like, in just being comfortable and like loving myself and just being where I want to be with my career and in my friendships that it's just like a nice bonus now. It's not something I feel I need to like complete me. I'm not like going to just like chase after it. And this is why Crystal imploded because she was playing a character that she isn't. She was being so cocky and being so self-righteous

and being so like, glitter, I'm better than everyone here. They're beneath me. Glitter. You know deep down, She doesn't feel that way at all. Yeah, I mean, so here, here's the thing. Ashley just mentioned something here. I need to pause this conversation for a second.

Ashley and I are going to do a Winter Games special podcast for our listeners because we both participated in Winter Games. We're going to give you some behind the scenes information. We're going to talk to some cast members outside of ourselves about what went on exactly in Vermont during these few beautiful weeks that we spent there. Make sure you tune in to the Ashley I and Ben Higgins. almost famous special podcast on the winter games that you will see come up on iHeart radio app here in the next week or so okay moving on then i want to ask you both does crystal play hard to get

or is she hard to get and here's my opinion okay whatever she's doing we have to have a little sensitivity towards her because it's it's hard and it's difficult and you can tell that she's trying but she's missing the mark somehow. And I'll just say that out loud. Crystal missed the mark when it came to pursuing Ari and she didn't allow Ari to pursue her well because something was missing. And I want to hear your opinion, Ashley, what was that?

What is missing from herself that's making her play this game? I don't know if we can say that. What was missing during this experience for her? It always seemed like there's a disconnect between her and the women, her and herself and her and Ari. I feel like a lot of it's just her competitive nature, I feel.

I feel like, you know, she's athletic and she must have a past in sports. Oh, she's a bodybuilder. You ever seen those pictures out there? She was bodybuilder. I have seen those pictures. She's ripped. Yeah. Insane.

So she's just like a really competitive person. And I feel like this whole thing for her is probably about winning and beating the other girls than being with Ari. So do you think that's common in every season of this fear of losing pushes these men and women forward to pursue love? Not maybe that they love the Bachelor or Bachelorette,

but they're just so scared of, in quotation marks, losing that they push themselves through? I think it depends on the personality. I ask you guys a lot of that too. It's like if you, if this wasn't a competition with you guys, would you have liked her much. I don't think about that with you and Caitlin, because I'd be all obsess on Caitlin.

But there's a lot of guys that I'm like, I feel like you just wanted to win because guys always just want to win. I would 100% agree with you. Actually, that's the thing here is watching Crystal for a while, I got judgmental. I got very critical. I couldn't quite figure out why she just was always like every scene she was in. I was like pulling my hair out. Like, why would you say that? Why do you do that voice? Why are you, you know, why are you? taking them away first. And what I started to make sense to me is she was just so scared of losing that she got

very competitive and her competitive nature maybe took over. And I don't know this. I haven't talked to her. I would love to get her on the podcast to ask her personally about this. But it seems like the competitive nature of some of these contestants take over. I agree. Completely. Totally agree.

And it completely changes the dynamic of the Bachelor Bachelorette because some people there are really just excited about the idea of finding. They really like The Bachelor of Bachelor. They really think that they're sweet and that there's a future there. Some of them come into it saying, I don't want to go home early. I don't want to embarrass myself. And I just, at the end of this, I see, I see the trophy and I'm going to take the trophy. I can only speak on behalf of myself.

I really, really liked Chris at the time. And I never thought, like, oh, this is about winning. I even thought if I get to fourth, I'm really going to have to get, I'm really going to have to reconsider things. Like, I'm not about winning. I just, I want to know, I don't want to, I wouldn't want to be that far and know that he probably wasn't my person. I liked him a lot. I liked him a lot perfectly to where I stood, which was seventh place. I liked him seventh place. What about you? It's funny. I'm just laughing at you

because I liked him seventh place. That's such an Ashley comment. Okay, so for me, I was trying to prove my friends wrong the first couple weeks. And so I'll be honest. The first a couple weeks was me trying to prove my friends wrong because as I left for the bachelor uh, bachelor, uh, my friends are like, hey, this is great. This is awesome. But you understand there's some like really cool guys that go on this show. And like it, you know, I think you could be there like two or three weeks. Like I actually think you're cool enough to like make it past night one. And I'm like, I don't know how to take that. Like that hurts a lot to hear that your friends don't even have the confidence in you to make it past, you know, the first three weeks of the show. So that was the first three

weeks was trying to prove something wrong to them. And then I started to realize the timeout. I actually like Caitlin a lot. I don't want to leave because I want to see if something else is here. And here's another point. I had a lot of good friendships on this show. I get really enjoyed the guys that were on the show. And so I didn't want to leave them either. And so it became that I wasn't, the competitiveness was no longer existed, but the relationships, the relationship with the Caitlin and the relationship with my buddies, we were having a good time. Yeah. Same. This was not something we wouldn't leave. I didn't want to leave the environment. I didn't want to leave the sorority house. Yeah, I would agree with that. So for me, I can't relate

with the competitive nature, but I do know that people out there feel that way. And I think that's what took over Crystal. I think it was time for her to go. Ari made the right decision there. It is time for all of us as fans of The Bachelor and fans of Ari and fans of this season to no longer have to do it through the lens of Crystal. Let's move on to find this true love story. So Ashley, I want to ask you before we close out here, and you're opinion, who's your top three girls for Ari at this point? My top three girls for Ari, Lauren B, Becca, K. And you know what? Crystal is, I mean, Crystal, not Crystal. Kendall is moving up in the game. He really likes her, but I think he likes Becca and more. So I think those are my top three. Am I missing somebody? Oh, Tia. Tia, that's my four. I don't know. I wouldn't know, but I would count that as the four and then I don't know how they're going to place after that. Okay. What about okay Amy and Ashley I want you both to answer this question your opinion who's the next bachelor at long-haired Becca I say Tia you say Tia yeah I don't know if we talked about this

a couple weeks ago I said that Becca M was too young to be the bachelorette I was like no that is so annoying for us like upper 20s early 30s girls out there who like need a parade of men but she has her whole 20s to get a parade of men and her like, you know, biological clock is not taking it at all. But now I love her so much and I have such a girl crush on her and I think she's so fascinating to watch that I just kind of wanted for my own entertainment

for her to be a bachelorette. They're never quite as dynamic as that, though. The bachelorette is always a tiny bit more subdued so that the guys, except for Caitlin, except for Caitlin. I think the opposite. I think the bacheloretts are normally full of personality. Because I think about like Desiree.

No, don't think Desire. I think Caitlin, Rachel, and Jojo. All right, all right, fine, I'll give it to you. Okay. I personally, and here's a crazy thought, and you both have to tell me if I'm wrong. I don't think Becca, short-haired Becca, Becca can be The Bachelorette anymore, even if it wasn't her fault because of what just happened with the missing person report. I don't think The Bachelor would have this storyline leading up to announcing her as a Bachelorette. I don't, I just, it doesn't feel right to me now.

Okay. That actually makes sense. Like her missing on a marijuana farm. Yeah. Not just like, just not really classic bachelorette. Am I off? No, you're totally right. Yeah, like if we were going to have like a hipster version of The Bachelorette,

like she'd be perfect for that. Bachelor Live from Humboldt. Yeah. I mean, I get it though. So that's my thought is as much as we love to feed back. And I think she could do it and do great at it. I just think with her missing on a marijuana farm, we have to throw, that's no longer the thing.

Here's what I am willing to say. Queen of Paradise. I will bet you, I'll bet you both, $100. Okay. $100 each that the Bachelorette is on this season. She's in, she's one of Ari's girls. Yeah, yeah, I would have. Like, we're not going to go into the catalog and bring back Christina or whoever.

It will be one of these girls. I am going to agree with you, so I'm not even going to place. Ben, do you want to go against us? I completely agree. I mean, I honestly, and I said this since the beginning, and I'll say it again, I've said it every week, Ari has an amazing group of girls and amazing in the sense of this is a really great group of women who I think not only is he going to find somebody he really cares about this group, but that's The Bachelorette could be two or three of these girls. And you know I felt that way. I felt that way about Tia, that way about Thien, about long-haired Becca, short-haired Becca. I felt that way about. I forgot about her. Great choice. Yeah. So I, you know, I've said it every week. I think Ari's group of women is absolutely just stacked. So, yes, if, if, if, if, If it doesn't come from this group, I will be shocked because I think they have a lot of really great women involved.

Speaking of shocking really quick, I was very shocked that Chelsea went home. Okay, me too, because Chelsea just had a one-on-one last week that won pretty well, and she's gotten a lot of screen time, and now she's just gone. It was just like a week later. He's like, nope, you're at the bottom of my totem pole. Poof. Like, she's just, poof. Yeah, it's pretty weird.

I thought that was crazy. Like glitter. But then how was Jenna? Jenna lasted as long as Chelsea did. and Jenna reminds me of Amanda Seifred from Mean Girls. Like she would tell the weather with her boobies. What do you mean? You know, I'm now drawing up like, oh, Karen, Karen from Mean Girls.

Like, Jenna's the one who's like always straddling Ari and like saying things that are just random and very spacey. But we never really got to know her very well. And all we did was see her like being kind of drunk. And she reminds me so much of Karen. Yeah. I don't know what you just did with your boots there. grab your boobs and move them in different directions. That's what she does.

She like grabs them and says, you know, I think it's, there's a 70% chance of rain today. Oh, okay. Well, that makes sense. And really quickly, I would love to get both of your opinions because when the girl I don't know her name, I feel like her name might be Jacqueline. Yeah, she's on the one-on-one with Ari. So random. They're literally, I'm like, who are you?

And then they're discussing logistics of their future. Yeah. And it couldn't have been more not going to work. Yeah, it's like she's going to be a doctor, right? He can be like some kind of psychiatrist. He's a race car driver. They live on opposite ends of the country. They're talking all about how the logistics will never work.

But then he's like, but here's a rose. And I'm thinking, well, wow. Huh? So I wanted to ask Ben, like, would you keep someone even though you really know, like logistically? This is unlikely. No. I mean, honestly, that, you know, played a factor in my decision with Jojo as well. because I know that her family really wanted her in Dallas.

They thought she had to be in Dallas. I think Jojo wanted to be in Dallas. Her family was there. It made sense for her to be there. And as I talked to her, it was hard for us to kind of come to terms with where would we live? Would we live in Denver? Would we live in Dallas? It didn't make sense.

And so we weren't making any progress on those conversations. And I think we were both just, I mean, I'll speak for Jojo. I think we're both being a little stubborn at the thought of this seems like a lot to talk about. and we just are like kind of getting to know each other. And it pushed me back a bit because I, you know, we weren't coming to compromise. So I do think it would play a role in anybody's decision if logistics weren't going to work, if you could never be together. But I got to pause you both there and say if they ever do get together,

there's something they have to do and they have to try. And that's cooking together. Cooking together is one of the best ways. It's one of the best ways to spend your Valentine's, which you all know is coming up. Some of us will be spending it with somebody. Wink, wink, Ashley, others of us will be spending it with maybe other people, Amy. But let me tell you all about Blue Apron. How about cooking a special meal for that special someone on Valentine's Day?

What? You can't cook? Nobody out there can cook. I love to cook. So I love to cook for people. Anyone can cook amazing meals with the help of Blue Apron, the leading meal kit, delivery in the U.S. with incredible ingredients and chef-designed recipes, Blue Apron, lets you see what the power of food can do. Blue Apron delivers fresh, pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step recipes right to your door.

That can be cooked in under 45 minutes, offering 12 new recipes each week with only non-GMO ingredients and meat with no added hormone. And check out these recipes for February. Strip steak and potatoes with spicy maple collard greens. Delicious. Do you like that stuff, Amy? I do. Strip steak. Who doesn't love that with potatoes?

She's giving you ideas. I'm with spicy chicken and stir-fried vegetables with Jasmine Rice. Soy glazed Korean rice cakes with broccoli and soft-oiled eggs. Are you kidding me? It's all delicious, but I still want you to make me the steak. I will make you whatever you like, Amy, I promise. And Blue Apron is treating almost famous. It's to $30 off your first order if you visit blue apron.com backslash almost famous.

So check out this week's menu and get your $30 off at blue apron.com backslash almost famous blue apron, even on Valentine's Day. It's a better way to cook. Hey, Ben, every time you record an ad, I'm picking at my fat burger because fat burger was kind enough to deliver some burgers and fries and wings to the Iheart office today. It is like their, I guess it's like your hangover meal from the Super Bowl. Post Super Bowl party. So I woke up this morning.

I made tacos and nachos and just ate queso and salsa all day long yesterday. And I woke up and like, here's your Philly reference, looking like rocky after a fight. My face. Oh, you got puffy. I retained so much water in my face when I eat Mexican food or like other really salty foods. So I was woke up and I was like, you know. know what sounds good today, no joke. It, like, actually sounded good.

I was, like, a day of just juicing, like, how L.A. am I? How gross is that? And then I arrive here, and right by my mic, it's a burger, fries, and wings, and I'm out, maybe we'll juice tomorrow. Yeah, you've made them all. I've watched it the whole time on this guy, because you just picking up the burger, picking out the fries, picked up the wings. Never say no to free food.

I know you guys are going to read some emails, but I would like to say quickly, we're all going on vacation together this week. Oh, yeah, that's so much fun. I'm so excited. Ben, what are you doing at the Celebrity Golf Tournament in Carmel, California? Yeah, so this is a really exciting opportunity for me. Our host of The Bachelor and Bachelorette Chris Harrison is playing in one of his dreams. That is the AT&P tournament at Pubble Beach.

What it is is a celebrity plays alongside the pros in an actual tournament. And Chris Harrison, one of our favorite people and one of the better golfers I know on the amateur level is playing in this tournament. They asked me to host a few things, take over the social media, be a part of the whole and one challenge at the tournament. And as a result, I get to play some of the most exclusive, some of the coolest courses in the U.S. I'm playing Tahama out in Monterey and Carmel. And I'm playing Cypress Point. There's both these things I'm so ecstatic about. So I'm going to be working the tournament.

A bunch of our friends are coming out to watch as well. We're going to come to support Chris, just have a great time at Pebble. enjoy this tournament for what it is. So I just really, I mean, I got to take the opportunity and say thank you to the PGA and thank you to Pebble Beach and thank you to the AT&T tournament for allowing me to come out and have a great time. And also, thank you for Chris Harrison for playing the tournament so we can all get together and have a part of this and just cheer him on, however you cheer people on in golf. I don't really get Star Trek anymore, but like Tony Romo and Rogers, Josh Jumel,

they're all going to be there. And guys, like, look out for my picture with Josh Jumel. I'm going to live out my win a date with Todd Hamilton Dreams. Oh, my God. And I'm so supportive of his relationship possibly with Jennifer Gardner. All right. And that's for another time and place. I feel like we can't go on and move to our emails for the week until we talk about

the two-on-one, just like a little, like two minutes of the two-on-one. Because Kendall and Crystal go on the two-on-one, and if we don't talk about it, our fans are going to be like, how did you guys miss out on that? How did you miss talking about the two-on-one? What I loved about this, it wasn't very dramatic, guys. Like I still say I'm holding the crown of the best two on one ever What I know

A time out of I know that's why you ask the question Who was your favorite two on one of all time? Oh yeah that was a joke Yeah it was you Ashley for sure Yeah that was me joking around I was trying to see what he was gonna say But I don't think he watched Crystal season He was like seven back then

That's really really young So Kendall has this amazing skill Of being so calm and analytical And just not letting her emotions catch up with her trying to like communicate something like her she she's a very calm communicator and i think that really helped her in this two-on-one don't you think that yeah i mean i agree i mean i think that we were impressed with crystal last week we're we're impressed with crystal this week she's calm Kendall Kendall sorry Kendall she's calm she's collected she she communicates

yourself well i think Kendall uh you know you said it last week i think she's a force to be reckoned with I would completely agree. Honestly, it just showed the difference in, I guess, personality types and what was more relatable to Ari between Crystal and Kendall. And so it wasn't even a question in my mind that Kendall will be staying around. Yeah, I was really impressed, by the way, that she was just like, Crystal, this is how I think your mind works. And just like when Crystal goes and says stuff behind her back, she didn't get feisty.

she just was like she calmly expressed herself and that is a skill I wish I could obtain Kendall give me a lesson yeah but hey we're impressed with Kendall I think she is gonna be around a while so Kendall we plan on watching you for long time hey who knows she's also a bachelor at contender we can't throw her out there hey Ashley let's do one email before we say goodbye to our listeners and before we say goodbye to our listeners I got to give take this second because you know you and I put a lot of time into this. Our producers put a lot of time in this. We, I've talked about Generous Coffee Company a couple times on this podcast.

I promise not to bore you all with it very often, but Generous Coffee Company is a coffee company that my buddies and I started. All profits are donated back to nonprofits and causes that are trying to do something good in the world through sustainable change and through sustainable action. We launched our new website this week. It's GenerousMovement.com. Please go out, check it out. Order your coffee today.

you can subscribe will show up to your door as many times as you want a month we need you I need you because it is a passion project in mine so I got to take that second I'm sorry for doing that that's very selfish of me but oh no no now that you bring up that it's my turn so my new show it's a YouTube show with kinetic content it is the people that brought you 90 day fiancee and married at first sight we I got to team up with them and do a passion project of my mine, which is telling stories of how people met and fell in love. So I sit down with eight couples and over the course of a couple 15 minute segments on YouTube, you can watch the story of their love story. So from the day they met to their first kiss, to how he proposed to their wedding

day, I just tell their entire story. It's my little way of bringing romantic comedies, chick flicks back to this world. And Hollywood seems to be in a drought of those kind of stories. So all you're going to get from this is you're going to watch it with a smile on your face the entire time watching these two different kind of perspectives the guys version the girls version on how they met and fell in love and it's uplifting and if you just want to feel good a little quick feel good 15 minutes turn on the story of us just type it into youtube Ashley I can add a story of us I love that actually good luck with that I think everybody should tune in because you're always entertaining and you're always interesting okay I'm going to read you one question here one of our emails

And then if you want to pick one for me, that's great. Okay, let's do that. You do one. I'll do it. From Megan in Georgia. From Megan and Georgia. Hey, Ben and Ashley, hope you're all having a great week. Something I've always wondered about The Bachelor is what do the ladies men do when they're

not on date? Are they allowed to bring books with them or at least the Bible? I know Big Brother, the only books they can take with them is the Bible. And it got me wondering about the Bachelor's rule on that. As a bookworm, I would not be able to have that much free time without a book. I would just sit around running my mouth all day. I love listening to you all each week. Y'all are a hoot and a half.

Oh, a hoot and a half. I like that. A hoot and a half. Hey, other hoot to my half. What can you do in your free time on The Bachelor? For me, we played a lot of heads up when we could. When a producer would give us one of their phones, we play heads up, you know, the Ellen game. So much fun.

And as far as like alone time, alone time goes on The Bachelor and kind of, On any show, I usually, like, go to my bed, which is, like, my little sanctuary to just kind of, like, decompress. I, like, think that I'll pretend I'm napping. I usually am not able to nap, but I'll say I'm napping so I don't see me anti-social or, like, emo. I say, like, I'm going to go and I'm going to go and just be by myself for a minute. So I'll go nap, and then during The Bachelor and in Paradise, I journaled a lot during that time. I'd like to take the top bunk because the top bunk is where, you know, you can be even more private and secluded from the rest of the group.

Yeah, I agree. I mean, and Megan, just to answer you, the rule on books is that you can't have any electronic. So you can bring books, but you can't bring too many. They'll definitely check and wonder if you bring too many books. But I read during my time on our games, I read during my time on The Bachelor, not as much on The Bachelor because you're so busy. But, yeah, I think reading is important.

I brought my Bible. I brought a couple other books to kind of go along with that, that you're more novel-based. So reading is definitely allowed, but you cannot have any electronics. That is a big deal. You also cannot bring your Fab Fit Fun Box. So it's a pretty big deal. And I know Ashley gets really sad because the Fat Fit Bunbox is one of her favorite things. Ben, but you're lying.

I brought plenty of things from the Fab Fit Fun Box. In fact, no, yeah, of course I bring stuff from it. In fact, everybody knows that I like to ice my face in the morning. If you don't know that, you find out quickly enough. If you're living in The Bachelor House with me, it is my way to depuff. I always feel like I get puffy overnight. And it is actually good for your skin. It doesn't just have to do with your puffy eyes.

But, you know, between eating a lot and drinking a lot and long nights, you get puffy eyes. And Fab Pit Fun set me up with an amazing ice pack a couple seasons ago. But this season is the editor's box. So if you want the editor's box, It's valued over $300. And here are some of the things that this one contains. It's got real her eye shadow palette, a wish-nourishing dew mask, which is going to make your skin feel bouncy and glowy. A sponge gel body buffer, the shower gel is infused in this.

And it was so great. My skin was really flaky a couple weeks ago because I was, like, flaking a tan off, which sucked. But this just slothed it right off. Did you? Did you? Gross. then there's the way of the way of will bath salts to make your bath a little more relaxing and a makeup drop silicone applicator which I love because it doesn't absorb the makeup like a beauty blender would all these are full-sized products you normally pay $49.99 each season but the box is guaranteed a value of over $200 but get this because you guys are almost famous listeners.

If you go to fabfitfund.com and use our promo code almost famous, you're going to get $10 off the editor's box. So your box is actually going to be $39.99. So you're getting this editor's box, which, by the way, is valued at over $300 for $39.99. That's insane. It's FabFit Fun. If you're not familiar, it's a subscription box of full-size fashion, beauty, fitness, and lifestyle products.

It's pretty much like Christmas, four times. a year it's going to show up to your door and you're going to be able to discover all these good items and it's for it's a great value that is fabfitfund.com use our promo code almost famous it really is a fat fit fun the box uh i was you know i was a little critical of it at first because i you know i saw just a lot of my friends kind of using it and i would see it show up to the house sometimes and after receiving the box myself and being able to give it out of yes i i really love the that FitBum box. I really think that, you know, I might put my 100% guarantee behind it to any of our listeners out there that order the box because I think once you order it, you're going to

realize how great it actually is and you're going to keep ordering it. It's that awesome. Ashley, I know you have one last email for me. Please read it and then we're going to say goodbye to our good old listeners out there because they've been great. Okay, so this is from Carrie and I really like this question. It's pretty much designed for you. They say, hey Ben, Ashley and Amy, you're so fun to listen to. I have one silly question that I've had for a year, so I'm really hoping you have a quick second to answer it. How much are the leads,

aka the Bachelor of the Bachelorette's, involved in planning the one-on-one dates? I don't think I've ever heard Ari say it yet this year. I feel like we often hear them saying something like, I have a fun day plan for us, or something that infers that they actually plan the date. Do they plan the date for you? Do the producers give you options to choose from?

I've been really curious about this. Keep up the good work. You're very entertaining. Carrie from Utah. So, Ben, tell us. Did they tell you what, did they ask you what you want to do at the beginning of the season? And then they kind of arrange the dates around your interests? Yeah.

So that, yeah, you're spot on, Ashley. So what happens is this? At the beginning of the season, once you're announced to The Bachelor, the producers call, and you have this big old meeting with everybody involved, all the big talking heads. And they say, you know, Bachelor or Bachelorette, what do you like to do? And the Bachelorette or Bachelors goes, I like to fish. I like to hike. I like to race cars, whatever that is.

And you name off all this stuff. And then they say, okay, if you could make these in the dates, what would those ideal dates be? And you give them an example of all the ideal dates that you would love to have, right? And all your favorite musicians, you know, my season, Amos Lee was there. I love Amos Lee. If you remember, right, he actually came on the season. I said, hey, I love Amos Lee. I think he's a great artist.

They made that happen. Now, here's a little behind-the-scenes truth. I'm going to be able to personally name off. 10 things at most that I really love to do. And I'm going to be able to come up with about at most five to 10 dates that I could like definitely plan myself. There's a whole team of people on The Bachelor that kind of take these ideas, but the Bachelor of Bachelorette give and explode them into these incredible cool dates that you could never imagine or dream of. So I would say that the Bachelor and Bachelorette have a lot of stay in the dates in terms of planning and kind of the idea

of it. But there's a whole team of people to help it operate and help it go on. Like there's no way Ari went out and found a yacht that he could cruise on. You know, that's just not going to happen. That's not, that's impossible to do. So there's a team of people that helped him do that. And honestly, after a while, the dates aren't as important as just the moment that the dates bring about. And so you're just excited to be with the person. And that's all you really care about. You don't want to have to stress about planning the date. So over time, you kind of like step away from the date and you're more just focused on, okay, who am I bringing on the date? you know, what I want to talk to them about, what I want to get to know from them, that kind of thing.

And so anytime I watch the show, I know that Ari or whether a bachelorette is or whoever the bachelors probably came up with some of the ideas, but not all of them. But now the bachelor and bachelors job is to make the most of whatever date they're on. That's my thought. There you go. All right, guys. Well, we love you. Email more questions or compliments or this is, whatever your heart desires, to Ben and Ashley.

at iHeartMedia.com. Let us know if we're forgetting to talk about some major point lines in episodes or if you guys have any more behind-the-scenes questions. We love letting you in on the behind-the-scenes gossip. Ashley's right. You know, please send us in with your critiques, your reviews, your thoughts.

Review us on the iHeartMedia app. We need to hear from you. We want to hear from you. So please rate us nothing lower than a 5.0. That's what we prefer. email us all your questions that Ashley said hey we love you guys

yeah thank you to really great so great I love this episode thank you to Melody from People magazine for shedding some light on the missing Becca story thank you to Jack

our 10 year old bachelor critic maybe he can fill in for Ben when he's in Honduras that would be awesome and thanks to you guys for listening so so much yeah we appreciate you I've been Ben

we appreciate you and I've been Ashley Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.