The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - S7 E4 Paradise Lost

Episode Date: August 26, 2018

Before Arie and Becca… there was Jason Mesnick and Melissa Rycroft. Ben and Ashley sit down with Melissa and get down to what it was like to be broken up with on national television, and she spills why she turned down being the Bachelorette. As part of our “Chicken Nuggets” segment, we check in with David the Chicken about what we can expect on this week’s episode of Paradise, and he lets us in on some steamy details that didn’t make it to air. And on top of that, Ben gives some more behind the scenes secrets on what happens off-camera during his experience as the Bachelor. 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. Oh, two weeks in a row. Ash, I get to see you again. Yeah, it's so nice. It is nice. I like you with glasses. Yeah, I'm wearing glasses right now. Yeah.

It's kind of my new thing because I noticed my eyes were getting tired because I was looking at a computer screen too much. And so my optometrist Mitch Reinhold in Warsaw, Indiana said, Oh, he's a good dude. Been of friends since I was little. He was the captain of my elementary basketball team. Oh, that's so cute. He said if I got these glasses that have like this, I don't know, computer screen protection and a little bit of prescription, then my eyes want to get us higher. So at night, I feel good.

That's the new thing is getting that protection on there. Also, I've been reading that the light from a screen, whether it's your computer or your phone, could actually damage your skin. Like now new skin products are putting, like, technology light protection in them. This is a good point. So I think everybody in here will shake their heads in agreement. I think in 10 years we'll find out that cell phones are really bad for us. I think we're going to find that out too. I remember when cell phones like really started to get popular, you know, like early 2000s.

And everybody was like, oh, it's going to create brain tumors. Like there are ladies. I remember my mom being like, there is a lady and she got a brain tumor right where she holds her phone. And yeah, I think it might happen. It's really, really scary. It is. And so what are we going to do about it? Because here's...

I don't know. I actually was just talking to a few friends the other day, and they made a comment that happens often, right? But this one hit me. They said she was older. She has a daughter who's in college. She said, my daughter is more addicted to her cell phone than anything else in life. And I'm thinking an addiction to a cell phone.

Is that a possibility? And it is. There's so many people today that hold that thing so close to them around them that it's going to take a medical breakthrough. or just some knowledge being spread for that to stop. And I feel like we should just kind of campaign to put your cell phone away and down. Can this podcast put a firm stance on,

hey, put your cell phone down, put it away after you listen to the podcast. Put it in your pocket. Like, I'm so bad that if it's not in my butt pocket or in my hand and it's just like loose in my purse, I get worried about it being loose in my purse. Really? Yeah.

Wow. That's how close it needs to. to be to me. And I don't know why. Like, everything's backed up on I cloud. It's not as if I, like, I'm going to lose everything if I lose the phone. Can we work on this? Can I hold you accountable to maybe putting it away

and putting it down for a while? I totally believe in that in social situations, but not during the work week. We're going to work on this. We've got us improving to do. If I may, yeah, this is Mark. Thank you. My wife just had a salivary gland tumor removed. And if you Google those,

you'll see that they have really gone up in the past 20 years. So in your mouth? Right there on the side, right by her ear. It was benign and everything's fine. But those have skyrocketed in the past 20 years. And no doctor will tell you it's because of cell phones because they don't want to get sued. But I can't imagine any other correlation than that. Oh my goodness. Interesting. Yeah. It was a major surgery and a real drag. We should at least, I mean, we should at least take this really serious. Yeah, I think so. And now there's the information of the blue light from tablets, laptops, phones are causing us to go blind i i mean i think it's good one of these might be the the marker of this last 10 15 years

you know we've learned what fat-free products are bad for you we've learned um you know that trans fats we've learned all these stuff the oils gluten all these things keep coming up now it's kind of a really interesting time period of living i think gluten is BS but okay um great that's going to be fun for the emails yes wow really excited for that one Well, I mean, I understand if you have a gluten allergy or an intolerance, but, like, the average person doesn't have to abstain from gluten. Yeah, I know. Well, here's the thing. I think I'm with Mark.

I'm with all of you that it's going to be an issue. So think about it. Anybody else else? Just think about it. We love you. I will say. We want you to be happy and healthy. I guess this is part of getting older, but, like, I first started to need glasses while driving at the age of, like, 24.

and now it's like holy crap i'm i mean i can see during the day but at night i can't read any signs yeah it's weird so maybe it's the light or maybe it's just because my phone is always right here in my face yeah this is a really good one especially for the you know for the people in this room to be talking about because cell phones are such a vital piece of our income our lives our community you know for really anybody out there so so let's say that the almost famous podcast believes in putting your cell phones down putting them away for at least oh a couple hours at night um Hey, Ash, we got a huge, huge podcast. One of, I would say, the superstars from the Bachelor franchise, Melissa Rycroft is

going to be in studio with us today. She really is a, she's a huge name that came out of the show. Like, wow. And it was when she was, she was engaged to Jason Besnick for a little bit. And she really took off with hosting and her big television career. It was like, unlike base anyone else. Yeah. I wonder how Jason feels about that.

that. I don't think he cares. Okay. I'm pretty happy. So we're going to talk to Melissa Rycroft. We're going to break down this week's episode of Bachelor and Paradise. Things are getting heated. Things are getting crazy. But beyond all that, love is being formed. Yeah, sure is. It's pretty excited. So we'll talk to that. Walk through and we're listening to some emails. Let's read some emails today. We haven't done emails in a while.

We haven't done emails in a while. I love emails. And it's one of our favorite things. And finally, a very short but very important segment. One of our favorite guests ever on the podcast. We're just going to keep having him back because his, I don't want to call him arguments, but your conversations. We're going to call this segment. We're going to call it Chicken Nuggets with David Rapids. Because you did say, you guys, that you wanted him back, that he should have a weekly spot. So here he is.

And I'm not happy with him. I'm not happy with him. I'm not at all. I think the guy has so much potential. I do like him. He just continues to dig himself a hole. We have so much to break down with him. I'm just not thrilled with David right now.

I want to talk to David's ex-girlfriend if he has one. I think he does. I mean, I don't, yeah, I don't know. Chicken Nuggets with David Rabbits. Melissa Reikroft, breaking down this week's episodes of Bachelor in Paradise. It's a huge show. But before we get to Melissa, hey, Ash, I'm allergic to latex. You know that?

Oh. Did you know that? No, I didn't. You know how I found out? The recondum, I can only imagine. No, no, no, Ashley, come on. it's the live strong bands no way that's

my arms we swelled up got all red got all how old were you uh young yeah yeah was at 10? Not 10 I think I was a junior in college when those were hot so you were a sophomore

oh okay so I was like 6 17 18 I'm sorry I'm the queen of correcting people when it comes to like age and timeline I love timelines I don't know why I can tell you that it happened I can't tell you when so anyways I'm allergic to latex so it was before condoms

I can't wear latex anymore. It's a big deal to me. But I wonder if I could, if the bracelets or whatever you put on your body that's made out of latex were made out of natural latex, I wonder if it would work. And, hey, for anybody out there listening, you get to do what you want in your private time.

Your awkwardness leading into this ad is perfection. But I mean, I don't mind else to do it. Like, hey, do we support this? Do we support sexy for marriage? Do we support, we'll talk about it. We support talking about it. We support you making your own. Now you're making this a bigger issue than it really is.

Because it's going to be one. But we have a sponsor that shouldn't mix things up a bit. We're standing against the gluten intolerance. And we're standing in support of Lola. You've probably heard us talking about Lola, a female founding company offering a line of organic cotton tampons, pads, and liners, which is actually really great. One of my favorite parts about this podcast is talking to you

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I am now. Oh, well, well, that's why Lola's awesome because they have a subscription so you can choose a mix of absorvency timbons or pads, the number that you'll need in a box, the frequency that you'll need them delivered. it's a subscription that's flexible

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So, I mean, we're not naive. People out there are having sex, right? I mean, that happens? Yeah. I think babies are still being born. So if you're out there having sex, please do it responsibly. Do it in the healthiest manner. And Lola can help you do that.

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Not to come off naive here. Is lubricant like a popular thing? this is a whole other conversation have you never used no i can't say i have oh interesting is that like a thing yeah it's definitely a thing okay well good for you then hey so if you're out there using it i mean i'm like i said i'm learning as they go um if it's a thing then we have the solution for you okay there one click no mess system is water-based formula of hypoallergenic and made with 95% organic ingredients to create a long-lasting lubricant that is perfectly mimics natural feminine moisture that's such a gross word moisture and maintains a healthy pH balance

let me just repeat that line because I kind of like saying it organic ingredients to create a long-lasting lubricant that perfectly mimics natural feminine moisture and maintains a healthy pH balance for 40% off all subscriptions visit mylola.com and enter Bachelor Pop when you subscribe again that's bachelor pod not pad pod pod you know it's kind of a play on words there that's mylola.com promo code bachelor pod for 40% off all subscriptions you guys if you just skipped over that ad you should definitely go back and listen to it oh geez all right hey Melissa rightcroft welcome to the almost famous podcast oh thanks guys this is a big deal to have you here is it yeah it really is that because I'm I'm an OG you're you are

OG but you're also like not not no you're only 35 oh thank you for saying only 35 oh my gosh yes yeah look at what you've accomplished you have three kids I get a lot of that you look good for 35 no no you look incredible you you look great I like you take that one Ashley I'll take it yeah yeah but you have three kids and you have created this amazing media career for yourself after you know being dumped by Jason and you know it's all about timing right yeah it happens And thankfully somebody got hurt, not thankfully somebody got hurt on dancing with the stars. But you know what I mean. Can we start at the beginning?

Sure. Because when you're coming in here, I'm saying, your name is everywhere. You're very popular. You've done a great job for yourself kind of moving on from the franchise, which I'm sure, you know, after the heartbreak you needed to do. But for all of the fans out there listening, can you give us a quick recap on how they would know you, what your story is in relation with the Bachelor franchise, and, and kind of where you're at now? You want to recap of that? Yeah.

That's like 11 years of history, right? I want your bio. Give it to a. Let's see. I was on The Bachelor. 11, 12 years ago, I had a friend nominate me because I was going through like a seven-year breakup. What season?

Seven-year breakup? I was with a guy. Oh, you wasn't in a guy. Okay, you're with a guy for seven years, then he broke up with that. For seven years, we broke up. Out. Constantly getting broken up with for seven years.

Yeah. Well, felt like that. So a friend nominated me, and I don't know how they do it now. I got a packet in the mail and filled it out, had to make a video, and... Pretty much. Kind of said, I'll go with it and see. Life in Dallas wasn't really treating me well at the time. I was 24.

Who was your bachelor? Jason. Jason Mezzanick, he had the boy, the little one, Ty, my ex's name. That was fun. That was awkward. Plot twist. Yeah. And, yeah, through the process, we got engaged and sometime between then and the after the final rose.

You're just like, nah. No, he did. Oh, he said nah. He, I guess was talking to the runner up. I thought that it was like more mutual. No, I thought it was more mutual, that's why. We call it an Ari, pulling an Ari. No, yeah.

Well, the only difference was, and maybe everybody knew, but mine had been, mine was on the after the final rose. Yeah. They had moved up the tape date And I'm like, gosh, why did they move up the tape date? I don't understand we weren't supposed to tape this for another month And lo and behold, he had been telling producers Hey, I'm talking to Molly I'd like to start a relationship with her

So of course producers are like, gold, don't tell Mel Let's get this all on camera Did you feel like you're on the rocks though? I mean, I'll be honest, it wasn't great But in my mind, I'm like, listen, it's weird right now The show's kind of airing and it's It's, you know, you come out of it going, I'm engaged. I can't tell anybody I'm engaged.

So it's a weird reality of my life has changed, but I can't act like it's changed. It's a weird mind trip. Let's be honest. Were you guys still hanging out? No. We didn't have time. You didn't have, like, happy couple weekends? We didn't have time for those.

Yeah. There wasn't much time difference between when I accepted a proposal and when he took it away. Oh, gosh. This is crazy. We just saw this this year. We just talked about it. Yeah, it just happened again. It just happened again.

So you're on The Bachelor. It hurt, probably, to get broken up with. You know, it was embarrassing. Embarrassing. I think more than anything. And what was embarrassing for me is I was looking at everybody, Chris Harrison, everybody going, you all knew why I was coming. Oh.

They put me in a dress that I didn't bring. They put me in that little tight tube top. They gave me my engagement ring and sent me out on stage. And so I was like, oh. Oh, Ouch. TV hurts. It does.

But that's sort of what happened to Rebecca at the house. It's a little different when it's at the house and not in front of an audience. Here's one theme I see. The person that gets broken up with in this situation typically does okay for themselves. You do have people rooting for you when that happens. Absolutely. And so they know you from Jason Besnick's season. You were the person that got broken up with.

And from there on out, your career has skyrocketed to incredible places. I mean, The Bachelor wasn't your last reality television show. You did, you're a fan favorite with Dancing with the Stars. You got put on Dancing with the Stars because of an injury, correct? Yes, and that was the timing thing I was telling you about, because my, after the final rose aired Monday, somebody got hurt on Tuesday. And it just happened. It was on ABC, and I'm sure they were like, oh, my gosh, this just happened.

this girl. Well, that's good. Perfect timing. But you didn't get the Bachelorette role. They asked. They did. Yeah. Oh, tell us more. Um, I was just really mad. Again, I had no time to process it. I was in the limo crying, walking away from that. And one of the producers went, but now you get to be Bachelorette. And I'll never forget that moment because I went, do you not just see what happened to me? And now you're telling me the good news is I can be Bachelorette. And you guys have to keep in mind, this is 11 years ago. There's no social media there's none of that people didn't go on the show and get careers out of it you know i mean it was just kind of something silly that you did and so they tried for a month i think to really get me to do it

and they kept saying the audience needs to see you're okay and they're going to be rooting for you but i'm like i just saw you throw your bachelor under the bus and you you made everybody really angry at him and i don't i don't trust the system right now and i don't trust you um i'm over obviously that's so then but in my at the time that was my mind space so i didn't i didn't want to be If you're not over it, this is the place to say you're not. Can I lay on a couch? Like, is there a therapy session? Hey, Ben, I have a question on that.

Would you say that the producers just have to focus on making a TV show rather than get so emotionally invested in it? Otherwise, you can't make a TV show. Yeah, there's a weird, I think, balance there. I think you mostly 80%, 90% have to make a TV show. That's their job. That's why they're there. That's what it's going to keep them going. I get that.

They're storytellers. on anybody's love story. And they're just kind of picking up the pieces or picking up the story as it goes and documenting it. Absolutely. But there's a little piece that I hope they care

because I can't imagine them walking into this year over year every year without caring at all about the personal feelings and emotions from the people. I think that's what continues to motivate them to say, okay, I'm not a terrible person. So I do think it's important that they care. And I have seen, I think, real tears from a producer once or twice.

You did? I think so. Like a unicorn. It's wild. Like not the fake ones that you're like in an interview. You're like, mm, you got me.

It's like, no, you actually like feel for this person right now. So yeah, I think it's a good balance. And in your case, it hurt. This was real life.

But, but it all kind of comes back together. Because you're doing okay. I'm doing all right. Don't we have to blame Jason a little bit for going along with that? Yeah. I mean, there's no way that they were going to force him into that situation.

Like even Ari was like all. do it on camera, but I'm not going to do it in front of people. And like, here's where I defend Jason though. And again, this is after the fact, having had a lot of closure and thinking about it. And now he's married to this. Oh, absolutely. Yeah. But I think

Jason didn't know any better either. I think we were in an age where a producer told you something and you went, okay, I think he was probably told by some higher up, don't tell her, the audience is going to want to see this. And he said, okay, if that's really what you think is

best, then I'll do it. And I think he got kind of blindsided with doing what he's told as opposed to doing probably what was the right thing, which would have been just to give me a little heads up. But, you know, I don't ultimately blame him. He certainly didn't want this. How did you feel about the way they handled the Ari situation similar but yet different? Like, what were your thoughts when that came down? If you want me to be honest, I feel like, well, I feel like they got so much backlash on what happened with me because it was so set up. And because, because the audience knew that everybody knew what was going on except me, which made it look really bad to the audience.

So what they changed this time is let's not set it up to where it's the after the final rose. Let's just make it think that it's just Becca and Ari having this conversation. So she's not blindsided in front of a ton of people. It's an intimate setting. And so I think that there probably was a little damage control after knowing what the decision was going to be made, Ari was going to switch. And they said, let's do this in a way that won't have.

It's more tasteful. if you sure i was there at the finale with jason and i know he still like he still is haunted by that last episode with you he's still getting criticism for it twitter was not nice to him no i don't think that and that's why i i i have to defend him in this because i don't think he would ask for any i mean it's been 10 years and people still he's so awful he's a terrible person i don't think he is i think he got wrapped up in a bad situation a decade and people are still like oh hey mezz Like, you pulled a mezzanick. But could you imagine?

Imagine what happened with me and him happened now. Oh, my God. Could you imagine? No. We just kind of saw. Well, yeah. Yeah, it's different. It's a little different.

But you found your husband, like, very soon after being done by Jason. Because we dated before. And you went back to him. How soon after? Um, so after the final rose aired and done, I went back home. He had been trying to get back together with me, but I was not what? Did seeing him on, seeing you on TV? make him want you back?

Not seeing me on TV knowing I was gone. When I, because my problem with Ty, who's my husband now, when we dated, is that he could always kind of keep me at arm's length and like, we didn't have to be together, but if he called I was there. Totally. I did not have the ability to cut the cord. So thankfully, The Bachelor made me cut the cord. You know, you have to turn in your phone and stuff.

So I legit. Did you marry the guy from the seven-year breakup? No. Okay. No. Thankfully. This is crazy. I mean, really, it's, we've talked about it before.

Being on the show oftentimes cultivates this new level of, like, romance for you. And it opens you up to say, I do really want to find somebody. And you enter into that stage of life. So you enter into this new relationship now with your husband. And Dancing with Stars happens. It goes really well. What was your finish on Dance with Stars? First time, third.

Third. And you came back for the All Time Championship. Yeah. And how'd you do that? We won. You won. You are a Dance With the Stars. I am.

That's impressive. We have a legit star. Well, I don't know about that. I have a trophy, though. That's incredible. Good for you. And so now you're entering into this whole new stage with something that I think you're really passionate about.

You're on CMT. Dallas Cowboys cheer is making the team. Tell us more about this. Well, obviously, that's where everything kind of started for me when I was right out of college. I became a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader. So you're a good dancer. Good dancer. Good faker.

that i can fake my way through it um and so can i you should see it it's really awesome he's quite something i'm a good dancer i like to watch him dance sure yeah see she likes to watch me dance which would make me a great cheerleader because all these 50 000 people would love to watch me dance would you wear the white shorts i would wear anything they want yeah anything they want me in i would where because I'm a good thing. Yeah, there's a picture of you as a Dallas club

so I would look good in that out there. You're so hot. The middrift for me would be a little awkward. The midrift? Well, I got away we've talked about it. I've got away from manscaping a little bit.

Because you're single. Because, well, yeah, because I'm single. And then based on the show that one of the executive producers is like, it's no longer cool to shave, like to. Who told you that?

Alon Gale. Well, look at Alon. His head. His whole head. And so I just haven't in like three years. And so the, the, the, the, The shorts with the mid-drift showing might be a little much for anybody watching. But for me, I would feel very confident and comfortable.

That's all that matters. Confidence is really 90% of it. Are there any men on the team? Not on the Cowboys. Never. And never on an NFL team. There are. I wish I knew off the top of my head.

Really? Yes. There's a group that have men. It's interesting, right? But I think it's a conversation people are having because the social tides, they are returning. Yeah. And I feel like people are afraid to say, no, guys can't do that. It's for women.

The Rams and Saints both have male cheerleaders this year. I love having a voice in our ear. That's amazing. Yeah. I didn't know that. So, go to St. Louis. It's new this year, huh? Make your dreams come true.

Okay, so this is for men and women. The Rams are in Los Angeles. No, no, no, I know. It's all good. So, let's not cowboys. I got it. Okay, so tell us a little bit about the show. So this starts for you as a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader years ago.

How long ago? 12 years ago? Oh, so. 2006 yeah 12 years ago 12 years ago good guess Ben and you go on the show all this happens as we just talked about and now you're back you're back in Dallas on CMTs dancing or Dallas Cowboys cheerlers making the team why should people tune into this um I've been I've been working with them now for five years I don't know if you guys have ever seen it but I've seen it a couple times I think the fascination with this show is that you have a group of girls like the Cowboys cheerleaders and there's always been this facade of like they're just these pretty girls out there with pom-poms and what the show does is,

it kind of pulls back the curtain and lets you see, it's like the inner workings of a reality show. You know, people are so interested to know what really happens. And so it kind of takes you through the tryout process and it's a three-month training camp. And you get to know the girls

and you root for them and unfortunately some of them don't make the team. You know, 10 girls get cut through training camp. But it's just, it's an interesting look at what it takes to make a team like that. How many girls are on the team?

36. 36. It makes me feel like I'm back doing basketball or volleyball tryouts in high school. It's just like a feeling. It's a feeling very unique. A very unique feeling. Did you make the team, Ashley? No, both I didn't make it.

No, not even volleyball. No, no. Didn't really try hard for volleyball. My mom made me do that. She's like, you're going to get active, your first year, freshman year. Get active. Yeah, you're going to get active and involved. I don't want to be involved.

being a Dallas Cowboys Shearleader is a pretty big deal, right? It is a big deal, and especially if you're in the Dallas area and from which I am. I mean, it's a big thing. But you don't make any money. It's like a novelty thing, right? You don't get rich off of it. I mean, yeah, I don't think anybody really does it to become

millionaires. You know, it's supposed to be a part-time job, but the other perks that you get from it with the evolution of social media and the show is these girls have a built-in audience and they can kind of do anything they want afterwards. Did you know that Jasmine from the bachelor? was also a Dallas Cowboys Relatives?

I did. I was actually working with them during trial. So when Jasmine was, I think, her fifth year, completing her fifth year. Oh, wow. She was there five years. She was there a long time. And, like, this isn't, I mean, you have a pretty, like, talented group of women trying out for this spot.

I mean, this season alone, which is crazy and going to be super exciting to watch, there's a huge talent of rookies, as it says here, season cheerleaders from the NFL, NBA, in NHL, Miss America 2017 runner up, professional hip hop dancers and a former competitive ice skater are all trying for these spots. And this is the crazy part of this. At the end of the day, their fate rests in the hands of Kelly Finglass and you. Well, Judy, too, the choreographer. That just rolled off the tongue so easy, that knowledge that you have.

It's crazy. There's only three. I can tell. I can tell. I mean, really, like, all of these people who have crazy stories, amazing back. backgrounds. Their pedigrees are some of the top in the world. And they're coming in and their fate sits in your hands. How much pressure do you feel? Well, it's a ton of pressure. I mean, in the world of dance, if it's a world that you appreciate, I mean, it's kind of, this is the highest level that

you can get. So there are girls that come from other professional teams. We've had girls come from Broadway. We have the runner up from Miss USA. I mean, it attracts them all over. And me now being on the other side of it, I look at these girls going, God, y'all are. are so little. You know, some of them are as young as 18 years old, you know, and they're such at an impressionable age that I don't want to be the one to tell them you're not going to make it. But coming into tryouts, you know, there's only like 11 spots available because you have the veterans that are returning.

Most of them are usually guaranteed to come back. Some of them don't. But there's hundreds of girls that come in 11 spots. It's just, it's the reality of it. Can we get Ashley on the show? No way. You should. My childhood dream of being.

a cheerleader and then I never tried out for it because I just wasn't popular and I felt like you had to be the popular girl you don't have to be popular he's got to shake your palms well I'm that is moving too I'm very poorly coordinated I'll do it if you do it I mean yeah then I would do it for the sake of seeing you do it and then not make it and you'd probably do way better than me yeah we'll see um what gets you like what gets you fired up about this show I mean, because it's obviously in the world that we're living in the day, everything's scrutinized. We're really trying, I think. We're in a generation that's, or in a time period that's really trying to do things right.

And I know this show is really in support of healthy eating habits, a healthy diet. You know, it's really kind of confronting the body image conversation and trying to make it a healthy conversation. What role do you play in that? Well, this year, I'm really proud. In the past, you know, there has been a lot of criticism on how much emphasis is placed on the body and the figure and not so much on the health part of it. And I think that's true. I think sometimes when you're an outsider looking in, all you see is a bunch of skinny girls that have to fit into a uniform. And in reality, all I can speak for is on this squad is they don't necessarily just want a skinny stick figure girl.

I mean, you have to be strong. You have at the beginning of the game five-minute routine kick line and then you're dancing. all four hours of the game and that takes strength and it takes stamina you know and you can't be a waif who doesn't eat not to mention it doesn't really look good and i don't mean to say that but you know abnormally unhealthy skinny does not look good and so this season they really are focusing on helping some of the girls get healthy so that they can be good performers that's great i mean that's that's huge i really i'm hearing more and more and i'm just thinking i'm in for this i think i eat pretty You're training for a marathon.

Well, I kind of stopped. I just got busy. But I mean, as we speak, I'm drinking a green juice that has a ton of stuff in it. And so I think I'm pretty healthy. Sure. Yeah. I think you are too. You just said that you would spend all your money at Whole Foods if you had the opportunity.

I would. And I'm still going to try to finish this triathlon. That's still like in. Triathlon. Why don't you try a marathon before triathlon? Yeah, that's not. something you can just go do right no i'm gonna train i just i've been traveling for a couple weeks guys get off my back i'm not on your back you know it's just i'm getting aggressive i feel like

i'm just asking i'm i'm feeling a little insecure right now i need to go out and run a little bit all right well melissa thank you so much for being here it's dallas cowboy's cheerleaders making the team it premieres thursdays well is it premieres it's on yeah yeah it's about that um it is on on CMT at 10, 9 Central on Thursdays, and it's the highest rated season to date, so congratulations. You're killing it. They're good. 13 seasons, Melissa Reikroft, congratulations on taking something that could have been just really sad.

Yeah. And you could have played the victim, and you could have just gone in the corner quietly and cried, and instead you put your steak down, you said, I'm going to do something. I screamed loud. Great. And you have. I didn't think it all happened for a reason. And sorry to cut you out.

No, yeah. But, like, you know how everybody says, oh, everything happens for a reason? And, like, you'll know one day. Like, do you really believe that, like, you probably wouldn't have married your husband had not for... Yeah, I do. Because I don't think I ever would have cut the cord. You know, I think I just would have been that girl that eventually that relationship would have worn out. I wouldn't have the career that I have either, you know, honestly.

I mean, I owe everything to that one experience. And exactly the way it went down. Yeah. And I've even heard an interview with Jason and Molly where Molly said she's like, I don't know if we would be together if he had picked me right off the bat. I think we need to go through it too. So yeah, I think it's like it was kind of a lull in all of our lives and then we come out of it going, all right, there you go.

A little embarrassment, brush it off. Just for like people listening because in life, the one thing about The Bachelor is like, it's just a heightened version of life. When did you realize that? Like when did you start to feel better? Was it after dancing with the stars when you like said to yourself, oh, maybe this is happening for a reason? When did you start to kind of feel better and go, oh, maybe I can see why this went down?

I think it was after we had filmed our after the final rose, after everything had happened, and the show was airing. And you guys can attest you. It's a really weird time when a show is airing, and it's three months since it's actually happened to in real life. And I'm essentially living in a bubble of all these emotions. I had the happiest moment in my life getting engaged. Then the most embarrassing happened in a two-week span, and I have nobody to talk to about it. got it. And so you're like in this warped space. And all I had to do from the time that the show started airing until when everybody was going to find out what happened was to kind of sit and marinate over what the heck has just happened in my life. And you know what? That's kind of when I got some confidence. And I went, you know what? I'm kind of done fighting for people to want me and like me. And I can't make anybody happy. If I can't make myself happy, all that stuff that you hear. That was the time in my life when it actually hit me. And it's fun. Because once that happened is when everything in my life changed.

And, yeah, you, you spoke a lot of truth there. I'm sitting here thinking, because, you know, a lot of our stories on the show are very similar. Mm-hmm. And it really does make you, like, introspective and start to think about yourself and process yourself. And listen to the criticism enough to know that some of it's truth and a lot of it's not, but, like, understand that you're not going to ever make everybody happy. It's a hard thing to real, like, it's one thing to say it to yourself. It's another thing to actually, like. get to a place where you believe it.

If you're making everyone happy, you're probably boring. Jennifer Lopez can't make everybody happy. Yeah. Come on now. She makes me happy. Me too. She's something else.

Melissa, for all of your success, and like we said, it's the highest rated season of day on Dallas Cowboys cheerlers making the team. You're dancing with the stars champion. You successfully completed the Bachelor franchise. Do you feel like sitting here in this room right now is the moment you really feel like you've made it?

This is it. this is it I mean this is Instagram post worthy let's be honest we're gonna get a picture after this Melissa Wrightcroft thanks for coming in thanks guys thanks she's killing it she really is she's doing a great job

she's so cute yeah she is you're like wish she was single I mean I can appreciate I can appreciate a cute a beautiful put together like successful woman like intel I can appreciate her

and just say you can appreciate her Yeah, like I would love for my wife to be like Melissa one day. She has sexy mom hair. She doesn't say, I told her just a second ago. Can I say that? Can I say that? You can. Yeah. I mean, I'm just saying, like, is that acceptable?

We've talked about this. Is it acceptable for me to say she has sexy mom hair? Yeah, totally. In this case, yes. And there's not like a lot of people that can like make that haircut sexy and she does. You were just talking about it. We have so much to talk about Ashley and Melissa were just out earlier today talking and I overheard a conversation about they wear their hair.

I thought it was because they were saying their husbands and significant others like it like in a certain style and color. And they're like, now we kind of gave that up. But you're still kind of in the stage with Jared where you're wearing your hair a certain way because he likes it. Well, he likes it short and I like it short too. But he'd also be,

I'm sure he'd think it was really hot if it was super long. It's just that in between. That's like, ugh. But he always says that it's maybe, but he says that he likes it shorter than long. Yeah. So anybody out there listening, Make sure you email us at Ben and Ashley, iHeartMedia.com. Let us know why you choose to wear your hair the way you do.

I'm just trying to get educated. I'm trying to get educated today. We can talk about this. Yeah, because I think hair like fashion, I, not right now, obviously. Not right now for me either. Because I'm wearing the worst outfit of all time right now. But typically I dress to look cute for boys. Yeah.

As opposed to like being so fashion forward where it's like, clearly it's for girls. So a lot of girls will say most girls will say that they dress for girls. I am not one of them. I will dress the way that I think Jared thinks it's cute as that I dress. That's so sweet. Yeah. But if you want to talk about makeup, which we should totally talk about guys' preferences on makeup amounts, after we talk about something that's going to make my stomach so grally because I'm really hungry now.

We have a segment coming up called Chicken Nuggets, but before we do that, we got to talk about something else that there's chicken. Blue Apron. aprons back we love blue apron they've been around for a while they support us we love them they love us we're just one big happy family yeah um we both use blue apron often i use blue apron all the time i'm really excited for my september shipment especially with the kids going back to school you got to do the home cook meal you don't have time you're doing carpool you're doing homework you're doing all these things yeah use blue apron and have a home cook meal with fresh ingredients easy blue apron delivers farm fresh ingredients and step-by-step recipes to your door like amy was saying kids are going back to

school, you're in a rush. Blue Apron's mission is to make incredible home cooking accessible to everyone. Blue Apron achieves this by supporting a more sustainable food system, setting the highest standards for ingredients and building a community of home chefs. That's why we love them. That is why we love them because they're quick and easy recipe options. They're perfectly portioned ingredients delivered right to your door. Blue Apron makes dinner quick, easy, and oh yeah, super, super tasty. Skip meal planning and get straight to cooking with Blue Apron. Experience the joy of summer because all their menu options are seasonal so they have grilling favorites for the summer they're seasonally inspired ingredients and mouthwater and grilling options including chicken with

barbecue sauce juicy cheese burgers with spicy slaw it's not boring it's not like regular coleslaw it's spicy slaw and these are chef design recipes with exciting partnerships like they have done in one with chrissey teagan and now they're doing one with bob's burgers and master chef It's, it's, I don't think chicken nuggets would be included. How cute is that? Bob's burgers. Isn't that a TV show? Um, I don't think they would have chicken nuggets on their menu.

I feel like it's too processed. Yeah, it is too processed. Yeah, it is too processed. You can't make, you can totally make healthy chicken nuggets, um, at home. You can take actual like chicken breasts, skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut up, breadum, chicken nugget. I mean, that's not that. I'm sure Blue Apron probably could have a recipe for that.

So check out this week's menu and get your first three meals free at blue apron. dot com slash almost famous that's blue apron.com slash almost famous to get your first meals free blue apron better way to cook okay so I know that we have chicken on the line yeah well he can wait can you wait yeah I think he can wait all right so yesterday Nick Viall was over my house we he was doing a podcast with me and he was like Ashley you look so good right now you look so much better with makeup I can't stand it when you have like an inch a foundation on what is your preference when it comes to girls with makeup do you like with without do you

think that you like without but really they have a little bit on here's my thing and i mean this i just notice this day on instagram uh all those before and after pictures kind of creep me out a little bit honestly like it's like before and you're like you're beautiful before and then you see the after you're like you look like a different person um so let's ask david david uh i i I feel like I'm in the hot seat here. Do you like girls with more makeup or less makeup? Less makeup for sure. You would say that.

Of course. Natural beauty for sure. David, who was it on Paradise that was so hilarious talking about the new girls coming down and how they look so. She was like, they haven't been in Paradise. They don't smell like paradise. They don't smell like paradise.

But you know, Tia and Bibi were totally rocking the natural look. And I think they look so good. Yeah. David, we got to start this conversation off right. On a scale of one to, now you're an educated guy. On an A, B, C, D scale. What do you grade yourself on your performance in Paradise? Yeah, for sure.

I'm glad you said that. I agree. This is why we actually love you. Are we watching the same show I failed completely Made him the email we got You have it there Yeah somebody pull up the email here David you and I have to have a man chat

Ashley's going to look up this email Why and F? I mean First of all I guess like the level of giving the cake to Jenna and then the birthday dog to Jenna I don't know

I didn't do great I didn't do great. I didn't develop anything with a single person. Chelsea and I had something good going for a little while, but nonetheless... Did you kiss? Yeah, they didn't show any of it, but we had a good time together, you know? We did have a lot of fun, and we had something special going for a little bit, and I liked her. Just, you know, didn't go in that direction.

So it's kind of a past fell great for me, I absolutely failed. David, you know I love you. I mean, I do. I really like you a lot. But there was these moments during Paradise. Like, it was a very hard. relationship for you and I as I was watching you through the screen because you'd have moments where I was like that's the David I know and love like he's he's confiding in people and he's

talking to people and he's he's a sounding board for for hard conversations and he's wise and intelligent and then you would just eff it up bad for sure it's hard for me to watch too because I know there's a different person there too and then it's like oh man who is this guy Why? Where does it come from? I don't know. I don't know. Maybe it's just not meant to be on television. Don't say that. Dave, don't say that.

I don't know if I could have got through this year without watching you on television. David, you better be on winter games if they do it again. Oh, you guys are too sweet. That will be both. Why do you think you're so susceptible to a producer pressure? I'm so. You didn't get that dog on your own. Look, chicken.

You didn't get that. dog on your own but let's break this down here one second we can all blame producers and i've said this before and i put it my i'll stand firm on this i never acknowledge the producers but like yeah when it's something like you giving him giving her two gifts but he doesn't need to say yes okay so that's that's the dilemma okay of course of course it's in everybody's best interest to go here's a grand idea like you should do it and we could all just say yes and it would be a crazy show or that's why i said why is he so susceptible i don't believe in this I can't do this, and they'll say, oh, okay.

Like, totally cool. Do you do your thing? So, David, let's go back to that question. Let's not blame producers. Let's blame you. Yeah. No, 100% willing to take complete responsibility for all that's what we love you. Definitely.

I mean, you know, sure, they give you suggestions on what to do, but you can absolutely say no. You can absolutely say yes. And whatever is within the realm of the scope of whatever I want to do, but comfortable with. So absolutely, you know, take responsibility for my actions. That didn't answer Ashley's question. Why are you so susceptible to do the literally worst possible thing in a situation?

Oh, man. I don't know. I don't know. Ashley, I wish I could have a better answer for you, but I don't know. You're about to go take a class right now. I didn't know that you were in school. Is it a class on how to... I'm about to behave.

Economic theory class. What school? The University of Miami. You guys. you're more than welcome down here. It's beautiful. Did your mommy make your lunch? Oh, my God.

No, she didn't. Unfortunately, it would be a lot better than what I ate, though. Does your mommy make you dinner every night? I actually cooked a blue apron last night. All right, David. How much time we got with you? I can hang out for a little while with you.

Okay, cool. Are you, like, enrolled in school? Yeah, I'm getting my MBA at the University of Miami. He just continues to get better. This guy's marriage material. Yeah, you have. are the chicken is marriage material i i absolutely i david i love you you know that like i'm so angry with you sometimes because i know there's so much in there and you do the exact things that

bother me most about people and then i just see where your heart's at and i talk to you and i'm like i get it like you don't want to you don't want to you don't want to make jordan's life miserable either do you no hundred percent not 100 percent not i actually like the guy he's kind of he's pretty funny. Okay. Now you went too far. Do you really like him? You know, look, I accept him for, you know, what he is. I would never want to date the same person as him, but, you know, he's actually kind of funny. Well, then why did you go off for Jenna? Yeah, because at that time, you know, Jenna had just walked on to the beach, a new personality, new person there. Why not try to get to know her? And she had been there for, what,

less than 12 hours by the time that, you know, I talked to her. So, you know, I wanted to get to know everyone there. I tried to become friends with everyone. No, David. You gave her a cake, and then the next day you gave her a dog. Yeah, don't back off of this, David. Ashley, get him. Yeah, I mean, it was a good gesture, and I clearly got her attention. So, in some respect, it

worked. But, you know, I actually, I really didn't know Jordan's level of interest in her at that point, to be completely honest, watching it back, obviously, you can see it. But I wasn't really part of those conversations there, so that's not something I was able to see. They had a cosmic connection what did you feel like when he went to go dump the dog in the water oh my god I was

sitting there cringing like what did I just do oh so you knew you were wrong there that's what I was wondering when you were watching him doing that were you saying I messed this up or I knew this was going to be the outcome no I am not naive I knew that I knew that that was going to be the outcome and I just didn't know the level that he was going to take it and uh yeah he took it pretty far. David, I cannot believe that we've watched you for two seasons and this is still the storyline playing out. I know, it's so dumb.

It's so crazy. I mean, you're literally sitting on a couch watching this poor man say you little chicken, like I cannot seem to just get away from you. Like, I'm not interested in making your life hell anymore and all you're doing is making my life it. And as a result, I am so

upset. Okay, so here's your out. And this is where things got real. We talked about it last week on the podcast um so then jordan goes up to where everybody's sitting after this encounter with you and he's getting laughed at because it is pretty funny like well said uh you know it's one of the funniest things he's ever witnessed with his own eyes but jordan was actually upset and so there's a moment that got really real where he actually kind of lashes out at the the people sitting in the room what were your feelings watching that this little thing that you're pulling and then

all of a sudden it gets real, real fast. Yeah, that's where I was like, oh, man, what did I just do and, like, actual, like, real emotions hit me because I felt like I was the cause of that. You know, I felt like I was the cause of some women being lashed at. And that's really where it, you know, went from kind of a playful type thing to, you know, actual real stuff. And, you know, I sat there, I was like, Jordan, come on, man, you don't need to say these things. If you're mad at anyone, be mad at me.

Yeah. Don't yell at Jubilee. Don't yell at Chelsea. And, you know, they didn't show it, but I actually went down to the speech and, you know, had a chat with Jordan. I said, you know, I'm sorry. I didn't mean for that, you know, for that to happen. And, you know, he apologized. They showed the apology.

And at that point, that's when things got real. And that was never my intended action. And I didn't want that consequence. Ash, I think as viewers here, because David's biased, outside of this one encounter for Jordan, he has the best. redemption story in paradise. I find myself really enjoying him and really rooting for him to find love down there. He's been great. The only

thing he's really messed up on that he seemed to kind of get away with when he was planning with Chris, that whole audition process for Chris's girls. He was like, you have an appetizer with her and then you'll have dinner with her. That was the only time

that Jordan really... Well, and the big meltdown. Well, there's that too. Yeah, I think Ben's talking about besides the meltdown. But like, Yeah, it was overlooked that he was part of that whole Chris thing. Yeah. Agreed. David, do you like Chris? Yeah, no, I do like Chris.

But the only other thing I'll add was, you know, I also didn't love when he put Annalise on the back burner. I just could have done better in that situation. He was honest with her. But I never want to tell a woman that, you know, she's second choice. No, no, no. This is David. Okay. This is where we get confused.

I'll stop you there because last week I was confused on our podcast. talking to Annalise about how these guys get away with kissing multiple people and how these women get away with kissing multiple people and how if you, as long as you're not committed, then it's fair game to do what you want with who you want, when you want. And so you're saying that by him being honest and telling her, hey, like, I'm into you, but like not that much, that was wrong? He's saying that he should say, I'm into you, but not that much,

but not say blatantly, you're my second place. Yeah, he's been blatantly, like, you're my second choice. And, you know, the way I treat Paradise was, which, you know, whether it was a good a good strategy or bad strategy. I never wanted to kiss multiple people. You know, I was there to potentially develop a, you know, relationship with one person

and, you know, that's what happened. I only kissed Chelsea. You know, I only, you know, went in that route and yeah, I just felt like it was wrong for Jordan to say, you know, kind of back burner type material type thing. But you know, here you are with Jordan's name in your mouth again.

I'm just kidding with you. I wanted to follow up on what Ashley asked about Chris. Yeah. Because everybody keeps telling us Chris is a great guy. Chris is so cool. Yeah.

But he comes across. Repulsive. Fuku. Like totally. Yeah. Like, jerky. Like,

what he did to Tia just seemed jerky. Yeah, but like there's like also something in his eyes that makes me scared. You don't like the headband? The headband doesn't help things. Yeah. I like the head boom. Yeah.

I mean, I don't know. I think Chris does, meanwhile. I really like him as a person. And I think that in that environment situation, you know, same thing on The Bachelorette, kind of lost his mind a little bit, played into the whole storyline, played into the situation. You know, kind of the same thing happened. And, you know, watching the back, it's hard to hear some of the things that he said, especially, you know, about women and the whole meal thing. That, you know, that was awful in how he treated to you.

So looking back on it, I'm sure he has a ton of regret, but he is a good guy and does mean at heart. I don't know. I just can't wait until we get somebody in here. David, I thought it would be you. We would ask you a question like that. You'd say, yeah, he just sucks. I can't wait for that day. That's going to be good. That'll be one that we promote. Then are you saying that you think that Leo sucks? I guess we're just trying to get you to say that somebody sucks. I mean, in paradise, in Mexico, Leo definitely sucks. You know, he did some not so great things. And, you know, when he got into the fight at the con. party with Joe he definitely went to went over the top I think what you're yeah it's absolutely incredible to me how paradise brings out the most vicious of personalities especially when it comes to dating Leo I so we got to get Leo on the pocket I got to talk to him you know David you and I've kind of hashed out worked it out I was I was upset with you we've worked it out now and I'm a big fan you know

have my David Rabbit's T-shirt on right now, actually. Big Ten. I got your face with puppy dog ears on my chest. David, you're great. We appreciate you. We wish you would have found love, but I mean... Well, he's admitting that he, yeah, yeah, he didn't. No, he didn't find love.

And now he's in Miami at grad school, you know, looking for a nice little Miami woman. I think you're... Yeah, well, just know that we love to make fun of you, But then I'm also, I also say that you are a very fun person to talk to. Thanks, thanks, Ben. I appreciate you guys are great. And anytime you want to have me on, I'm always down to pop on here.

You guys are great. All right. Chicken nuggets segment, always. Peace. Always. Bye. See, David. Love you guys.

He's so cute. I love him too. Yeah, I know. I was going to say, love you, David. I was like, yeah, me too. It's like my, yeah. Hey, love you, David. We need to hang out with him in real life.

We need to tell him. Oh, I like David. I mean, the guy, I like him because he's like that guy that you can watch on TV and root so for and know you're going to be so disappointed by. I just know that he would be like a really close guy friend of mine if I were all over these shows. And you can see it when he's having conversations with people. Like he's so authentic. He's so generous. He really cares like about what he's saying.

I just think he gets caught up. And then all of a sudden he does something. And I bet he looks back at night and probably bangs his head against the pillow. Like, why did I do that again? Yeah. I feel like if I was talking to him he'd be like my biggest fan I'd be like look I need to do this and he'd be like

you could totally do that you should go do that he'd like always be encouraging even if it's not the right decision though so here's my question and for anybody out there make sure you email us if David Rabbits was your boyfriend or husband or friend would you feel protected in your own home does anyone want to

to meet David romantically because maybe we can start a bachelor David just on the almost famous podcast I mean, he's buff, he's strong. He's very good looking. He's very good looking. I think he's everything that every woman would ever want.

So if you're interested, please email us. He's getting his MBA. I mean, what more could you want? And if you're not interested in dating, David, then you're obviously not interested in being protected by a human. So with that, I have a solution for you. ADT can design and install a smart home just for you back by 24-7 protection. A new smart home at your service customized for your life.

lifestyle explore the vast number of things you can do with your secure smart home set up custom automations unique to your home to automatically do things like lock the doors and set the Cermistat when you leave even close your garage door from virtually anywhere my dad needs this we like I said I was just home a couple weeks ago and does he always forget oh well no he doesn't forget he's he's one of the most on top of people like people I've ever met but it always happens we're driving somewhere maybe a two hour drive and we're about 15 minutes in he goes that I shut the garage door. Every time. A little OCD about it. Yeah, every time. So wouldn't it be great if the solution for the Dave Higgins of the world was, dad, don't worry about it. I got you. ADT in my back

pocket. You can show your smart home with the ADT app or the sound of your voice. Don't worry about installing and configuring your system. ADT will do it for you. Diffy. We're calling that these days do it for you a t will set up your home and multiple smart homes devices and security features like indoor and outdoor cameras locks lights and garage door control even video doorbells ashley you into this yes i'm so into no seriously like how comfortable would you feel if you had videos and cameras not on the inside of your home but on the outside of your home very very safe like watching your every no i kind of like that yeah i'm the kid that what i'm the kid. I'm the woman who wants to chip her children one day. Like, I'm ultimate security.

Really? Yeah. No, we got to talk about that. Yeah, I don't know if I like that. I think we already talked about it. I mean, when it comes to your home, and I mean this, I travel so much that ADT really does help me feel more secure because I can get on my phone and see who's been there. Who's ringing my doorbell? Who's dropping off packages? Who's stopped by at night? Who's in my house? Who's outside my house? Like, this is a big deal. And ADT has the solution for you. All controlled from an ADT app or the sound of your voice and backed by 24-7 protection. Like you can just say, hey, ADT, can you lock my door? Shut the garage.

And all of a sudden, the garage starts going up and down. So smart. Doorman service. ADT automation to unlock the door for packages, friends, or your kids. Turn down service. ADT automation that arms your system, locks your doors and turns down your lights and thermostat. Worry-free getaway service.

ADT automation to arm your system, lock up and set lighting schedules before going on vacation. Visit ADT.com slash smart to learn more about how ADT can design and install a secure smart home just for you. Don't take this lightly. This is actually one of the coolest parts I think about today, the world we're living in today, is that your home, your life can be more secure, your mind can be at ease because of things like ADT. Hey, Ben, do you remember the movie Smart House on Disney General, one of my favorites? I know, one of the greatest, that and luck of the Irish and motocross, right?

Yeah, all of those are great. I mean, there's some, I mean, yeah, I like Cat Strike. Yeah, Ali Cat Strike. I love that. What about Wish Upon a Star with Catherine Hegel? Oh, yes. You remember that? She was in there? That was Catherine Heigel, like the really pretty girl. I thought she was the prettiest girl in the entire world. She was. Yeah. She maybe is. That's Disney movie. Yeah, that's the best. But I was just thinking about Smart House after you've talked about that. And now it's, now it's at our fingertips. Actually, real life. Like, there was nothing that that smart house, if we went back to go watch that movie, which I think came out in like 19.

1999, 2000, I think we have all that stuff on a regular day basis now. It's absolutely, that's kind of crazy. We like thought it was so cool that they were like, hey, whatever your name is, can you play that song and then like five slam dunk to funk, put it up. You would know this song. That's amazing. That's bringing back to, yes. And then it came on.

I mean, that was the coolest thing. And it's like, yeah, that is Amazon. That's, what's her name? Alexa. Alexa. How crazy. Okay. So let's take a second here.

This is important. Let's talk Disney channel movies for a second. If you think back, how crazy is it that you and I grew up in a time? Where was it? Monthly, there would be a new movie designed just for our demographic, put out there on Disney for us all to watch. And our whole generation, if we started talking about it, would relate because most people watched. Oh, we all bond over those throwback Disney movies and the Nickelodeon shows, like Legends of the Hidden Temple. Do you remember that?

When it was a maze. and like a little zombie would pop out. It was so cool. What was the Nickelodeon show where that green stuff would come all of you? Well, that's slime. Slime was just like... Slime was a constant back in the day

on all their shows. It started on the show. You can't do that on television. Oh, really? That's from our generation. Voltaire. Alanis Morissette was on it. You have the hair of Christine Maglade.

Oh, I don't remember her. But remember they come out of lockers? They open their lockers and talk to each other. I was a big fan. And you got slimed if you said, I don't know. Yes, and you got water if you said wet or water. Oh, yeah. There was also a game show where, of course, if you got it wrong, they dumped the grids on your head.

Double dare. Double dare. Thank you. You guys are crazy. We can have Mark Summers call you guys anytime you are. Oh, my God. How cool. Absolutely incredible, though.

I mean, this is something I need in my life. I have a long flight home here coming up in a couple days. If you've watched a Disney Channel movie, maybe more than three. in your life, please email us at Ben and Ashley at iHeartmedia.com or tag us in a Twitter post or an Instagram post. Let us know what your favorite was. Oh my gosh.

Speaking of motocross, Ashley just put her both hands up in the area and like starts like talking with them. It was at the IHeart Festival two years ago that Riley Smith and I knew his name. I was looking at him. I was like, this is Riley Smith from motocross.

You know, he was like the lead guy. You were just with him? In Iowa. He's from He's an Iowa boy. We played in the same golf tournament together. No. Oh, yeah, big deal. You know Riley Smith? Yeah, we play in the same golf room every year.

Riley from the C.W. Lucy Hale show. Yes. He actually does stuff. So Riley's been super tight with Ryan Seacrest for like forever, like 20 years. And you know he's like an actually legit musician. Oh, yes. He sings for us at night at the, at the golf tournament. He can also call you guys anytime you want.

Zach Johnson charity golf tournament, Riley Smith and I are there every year. He's a good Iowa boy. Good looking man. Very good looking. Took a picture together. And he's now he's starting his, he's still an act. He's still acting. He's taking a huge step.

Look at this. I know. So, wait. Oh, well, I just thought I like brought up a throwback, but apparently he's very current. We should have Mark Summers and Riley Smith come in the studio with you guys. I just remember being in the makeup room and he was like, he was hitting on me. I'm not going to try to like say it in a nicer way. He was and I was like, Riley Smith, my 6th grade crush is hitting on me.

How did you know him in 6th grade? though he was a motocrossed what is that that was a Disney Channel original movie oh I thought you meant like he rode bikes oh no yeah it's so cute Tori these sisters like hell's yeah girl way I know I know I think it's right on I think our demographic is gonna say more to interview Mark Summers or Riley Smith both well I guess I don't know who Mark Summers is I know Mark Summers is he was a big Nickelodeon house he was you don't remember more Disney guy I'm a big big Disney guy once I got older fifth grade I moved over to Disney yeah okay I

Everybody out there listening, I know you're freaking out right now in your cars and in your bedrooms or on your, you know, your treadmills. You're going, yeah, I love Disney Channel original movies. I wish you're back. So that was one of my favorite times. Gosh, I enjoyed that last five minutes. I'm going to enjoy this five minutes also, though. We have an email from Ryan. Ryan.

Guys can watch The Bachelor 2, he says, with confidence, all capital letters. Huge fan of the show and even bigger. fan of the podcast. Woo, thank you. That's awesome. He's even bigger fan of the podcast

about the show. Do you want to know how much I make things stereotypical? When I saw the name Ryan, I was like, oh, it's a girl with the name Ryan.

Ashley. And then I saw the second line. Lessons learned. I have a question for both of you, he says. I am probably in the minority

in terms of viewer demographics of the show. I'm a male in my mid-20s and the bachelor is probably my favorite show. I recently broke up with my girlfriend of many years and watching

this show and then listening to your podcast me feel a lot less alone. Dude, trust me, you're not alone. However, no, you're right there with us. However, none of my friends, who are guys, watch the show, and I feel embarrassed to tell them how big of a fan I am. My question is, why is the Bachelor franchise geared more towards women than men?

Oh, good question. I noticed that even most of your sponsors around products that are for women, but really for men. Why does society dictate that it's wrong for guys to like reality TV and better for us to like shows that are more masculine. Why do guys feel like they have to hide being fans of this show and how can we as fans make this franchise better suited for the male audience? Ashley, take it away.

Okay, well, how many times do we have guys come up to us and say like, oh my gosh, I'm a really big fan. My wife or my, the line always follows. My wife or my girlfriend got me into it. And then oftentimes they would have broken up, but the guy continues to watch. Like, Ryan, you are not alone out there. I would say that like a quarter of the people that come up to me to say hi as a fan of the show are guys. And I think as far as the problem that you're feeling, it's a very, it's like that whole thing.

It's like guys shouldn't show emotion or guys shouldn't watch emotional programming. But you should. I mean, if you like it, if it's entertaining to you, I guess the big question there is the why to like why you watch. What's the point in watching for you? Is it to take your mind off of things? Is it to connect with other people who are trying to find their romantic partner? I mean, Ryan, dude, I watched the show. It's just a stigma.

Here's one thing that I've learned as I've gotten older. And I would consider myself middle-aged. Oh, my God. Well, isn't that kind of funny? That, like, okay, you're not, you're 29. You're not middle-aged, as we'd hope you wouldn't die by 60. We never know. But we'd like to call this, like, quarter life, right, when you're, like, 25.

But you're like, but that would be if I live to 100. Yeah. Like third life. I know. So I'm getting there. One thing I've learned is when you stand firm and it's something that's uncommon, when you, Sean Booth told me this, when you ying, when everybody else is yanging, you're typically cooler and you're doing the right thing. So, Ryan, if all of your friends are yanging and not watching the show or not admitting to watching the show and you're saying, I watch show and I enjoy it, I think you're on the right track and at some point, this will all turn to your benefit and they'll say, I wish I was more like Ryan. He's so confident in what he does.

Oh, totally. Just so confident. So great. Okay, actually, we have a super guy fan coming on the line. But first, well, I have no way to intro this. We got to talk about Bowling Branch. Hey, men like soft things too. Men like soft things.

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So you have something to look forward to when you wash your sheets. Three U.S. presidents sleep on Boland brand sheets. They won't tell us who, but I still think that's very, very important. impressive. You won't believe how comfortable 100% cotton feels until you actually try Boland Branch. And you can try them for an entire month. And if you don't think that they're the most comfortable sheets you've ever slept on. And that's like a pretty grand statement because I've slept on some really comfortable flannel sheets before. You can send them back for a full refund. Yeah, you get to test drive your sheets. This is no risk. So it's really no

reason not to try them plus you will get $50 off your first set of sheets at bolinbranch.com with the promo code almost famous $50 that is Bolin Branch B-O-L-L-L and branch.com promo code almost famous for $50 off your first set of sheets. BolenBranch.com promo code almost famous for the softest sheets you'll ever feel. You know I actually I mean this when I had just bought new sheets when Bull and Branch started to sponsor the podcast and I was a little bit hesitant to switch but I thought okay they're sponsoring us

I want to try out the products and I did and I won't go back and so with that I want to intro into Doug the super fan of The Bachelor on the line right now hey Doug before we get started what kind of sheets you sleep on what kind of sheets? Yeah like bed sheets I think they're like

four or 600 thread count but my toenails always rip them Yeah, okay. That happens. Wow. No, I mean, just not any of that kind of stuff. It's just that every time I move, I just like the rip. Oh, I get my calluses do that.

My calluses on my, like, my, are you serious? A callous on my big toe? You guys need to go get pedicures. Maybe. I have a size 14 foot, and they're not, I mean, I'm 49. They do not look good. Doug, you have big feet, man. Hey, Doug, how often do you wash your sheets?

Just curious, because this is an interesting topic for me. It's a big argument. Wash my shoes? Sheets. Oh, my feet? So, probably about once every two weeks. My daughter has this like pumice-down thing and just- Not your feet.

Your sheets. Oh, your sheets. You wash your feet every two weeks? I said that was fine. Oh, two sheets every two weeks? Okay. Your feet every two weeks. You need to wash your feet every day, Doug.

Germophone, Amy, is freaking out. Right. I'm talking like a deep growth. But in terms of the feet, well, first of all, I don't watch the feet, but I don't know. I think it's done like every couple days, I would imagine. Oh, is your wife to do that? Doug, you're clueless. You probably wash them once a week. Doug, are you friends with Amy?

Yes. Okay. You guys, this is Doug that you all know from, we've golfed with Doug. Yeah. This is tough. Yeah. Okay. I was like, this is a familiar name.

Doug, here's the thing. Real quick. I'm with you. Not to take this totally off subject because we've got to get back to the show a little bit but I've always been admitting things during this podcast

that come back to haunt me and bite me in the butt but I get where you wouldn't wash your feet every day because you stand in the shower how many of us actually bend over and scrub our feet Amy I know you do

twice a day Amy you got way too much hate on I will admit to you Ben I don't do it that often no no it's just like they're in the shower what about you? Rarely yeah

if I need you Yes or I do. Do you bend over and wash your feet? You do. That's crazy. I want my feet to be perfect. The hot water cleans them automatic. Yeah, and all the soap coming off of our body anyways.

And did you know you're supposed to then wash your body again after you wash your hair to clean your body from the shampoo stuff? Thank you. No way. You're supposed to wash your body again after you watch my body last anyway. That's what you're supposed to do. Being in California, that's a lot of water. Yeah.

That's a lot of water. water. Honestly, I understand that one day I will probably be sitting in front of my Lord and Savior in heaven. He'll be like, hey, you did a lot of things right. You did a lot of things wrong and you didn't shower enough. And I'll say, dude, you're right. And he would probably also say, Ben, I've seen you in the shower and you do some weird stuff in there. Ben, you have like a weird side of you that none of us have seen, but I'd like love to follow you around your house when you think you're alone. What weird stuff are you doing in there other than that? Well, I've told you before, like, I try to shower after I use the restroom, like, you know, that kind of stuff.

Oh, we heard all about that on somebody else's podcast. I'm just, yeah, they do some weird stuff. I get it. I mean, that's okay. We all do. Don't, I, Doug, I'm sorry. We've gotten off topic here. Enough about me.

Let's talk about you. Here's why I wanted to call Doug. Okay. Because we just had this guy email in that wants more manly men to stand up and admit they watch the bachelor. So I thought, who's the manliest man I know? been there it is it is the best show out there I mean we have we get together

as a family well the kids getting a little risque now kids don't watch too much but it's the best thing ever you feel like it's gotten more risque recently? Yeah a little bit I would say I've heard that I don't think so and I don't know if I agree with you what do you

break that down a little bit like for one like for one the most recent the Bachelorette um she was making out with everybody and i've all been making out with everyone yeah but just remember like years ago it it didn't seem like they just made out all the time and who knows what happens as well you know behind behind the doors but it's like it was like every bachelor she made out with and i was like oh my god yeah my my family said the same thing they've yeah my aunt's been a big fan of the show for a long time and and even recently she said

it's gotten harder and harder for her to watch i think that's a common three bread and I don't know if I don't know what it is and that's just not the bachelor's season that started really during I think she started saying that right like during next season but Caitlin was the sauciest I thought because they kind of acknowledged she was going to like Amy you've watched a show for a long time yeah yeah the best thing about watching is we always watch the very first one because then I can pick I tell my family it's going to be this guy this guy or this guy or likewise it'll be this girl, this girl, this girl. I'll pick the top three.

And they usually, I can get two out of those that go all the way. I can just have to talk about it. Yeah, you're like Jimmy Kimmel. I was wrong with Colton. Do you tell your friends that you watch the show? I'm selective. I'm selective. Wait, I have two important questions for Doug.

One is, are you watching Paradise and what do you think? And two, I want to ask all three of you this about Colton. because I'm really starting to think Colton should be the bachelor. Will you guys think it's weird if we follow Colton's journey to losing his virginity? Oh my God. They were always joking about doing that with me. Right. That's like, I don't know.

They were like Ashley. The more that I've seen him on air, I don't think he's, he's got some issues. Really? Yeah. And I just don't think he would be a good bachelor. I mean, he would, like, probably start making out with someone and start crying or something. I don't know. He doesn't have emotional issues, you guys.

He's just emotional and it's like, okay to have feelings and express them. We're like emotion shaming him then. We're emotion shaming. I don't know. He's not like most 20-year-old guys. It's okay. He doesn't have to be like most 20-year-old guys. I would be going bonkers on that show.

I mean, for my birthday, my kids got me an application to fill it out. But I was like, I'm married. guys to your mom i i i yeah i get it i mean i was i was mid makeout i think it was with amanda stanton during my season and i started crying wait really yeah it started welling up yeah it was outside of her house after hometowns because i just put her kids the bed and i realized that she was going to be going home and i got really sad because it was going to hurt so i was making out with her because i didn't know what else to do because if you don't kiss her after hometowns when you say goodbye like she knows she's going home right so i'm kissing her and

and I'm crying, and I get, oh, did you see? Is it like television? No, no, no, I went in the, I got in the car and I was, like, so mad and let it out. But I did when I was, when I was kissing here, I started crying, which is such an awkward moment for anybody involved.

I mean, maybe she heard. Wait, Dad, you really don't want Colton to be the bachelor. Is that just because your wife wants to date him? Completely, but I think that, no, I just don't think he, he would start gaining these girls and then I don't know I mean I think that he would just be so distracted off getting further into a relationship you know he's I mean he's a pretty serious guy in terms of relationships obviously because he's still urgent but I think that he just I don't know I don't know if he'd make it get faster I mean I'm sure I want to watch him I would

watch that so here's my plan for Colton as he said to Ben in their interview last week he's really grown up a lot throughout this process as I feel like I did. I feel like Colton and my experiences on The Bachelor of really paralleled each other. I think he needs to come back to Paradise next year and then he'll become the

Bachelor after that, a la'all Nick. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I mean, it all depends on what happened next episode. It looks like he's leaving. Yeah, why are we? Yeah, why are we? Doug, I want to sit down with you and just talk bachelor the whole time. But before we go,

We have a couple questions that Ashley has been anxious about asking you about. You love The Bachelor, but do you love? Yeah, we're going to talk about, like, other, quote, feminine shows and movies. Like, do you love Grey's Anatomy? I've never seen it. Oh, do you love Mamma Mia? I thought it was pretty good, yeah. You're talking about the play.

Yeah, you see the play or did you do a movie? So I'm very particular. Like, I liked it. I like most plays as long as I get a good seat. Okay, yeah. Uh-huh. Like, I didn't have a good seat, so I walked out when we were in London with kids. And my wife stayed.

So I didn't like Mamma Mia the Broadway musical either, but I really liked the first movie. Not the second. Yeah. You know, I don't watch too much TV except for Survivor, Bachelor, Bachelor, Badger, and I... What about Magic Mike? I've never heard of it Oh okay Yes you have

Magic Mike We've all heard of it With Channing Tatum Shakes his hips I've never heard of it Oh Doug What about Magic Mike Double XL

Oh yeah That one of those Yeah Hey Doug you're the best Thanks for on a podcast buddy That's very funny Thanks Doug

We'll see you Bye That tells you so much About my life That's one of my closest friends Yeah Doug's a good dude You guys, I just thought that I want my dad to come on the podcast next time we do this

and recap The Bachelor in Paradise because my dad will text me and he'll be like, there's a lot of assholes on this season. That's his take. Yeah. Mr. Icanay doesn't beat around the book. Doctor. Doctor. Sorry, guys, my bad.

So you had to doctor. Yeah. Pretty healthy dude. Yeah. He does take a lot of vitamins. I will tell you this. Does he put them in his body? Yes, he puts them in his mouth.

That a boy. We got to talk about ritual then. I bet he puts a little ritual in his mouth. Here's a not so fun fact. One in every three of you listening right now. Okay, let me repeat that. One and every three of you listening right now. So I know this big things came out with the almost famous listen parties where all of you get together and listen to the almost famous podcast together.

Wait, that's so cool. I mean, it's not a real thing. Is that a thing? No. I thought you were reading our message boards and found that out. One of every three of you listening right now is wasting your time and money on multivitamins full of ingredients that your body can't actually use. This is true.

Why? Because traditional vitamins contain folic acid, a synthetic nutrient that at least one and three of all women can't process thanks to a common genetic variation. Those of us with this gene have no idea that we all have. Those of us women with this gene have no idea. That's a good point. The only vitamin that solves. this is ritual they use folate

which all women can process because they actually care about ingredient forms they make a vitamin that works for all women not just some all why I mean it doesn't make any sense why all these vitamin companies

wouldn't be using folate it's about the money honey oh it's because it's expensive okay so most vitamin companies they skirt costs and they pack their pills full of 20 plus ingredients that you don't actually need. Ritual has spent years researching women's diets to understand what you actually need in a supplement.

So you're not wasting any of your time or, of course, money. These are vegan, sugar-free, non-GMO, gluten-free, and allergen-free. They're made in the USA without synthetic fillers or colorants. It's subscription-based. And there is going to be no gap in your nutrient levels. They're $30 a month. that's $30, that's a dollar a day. And they're delivered right to your door.

Buying the omega-3 yourself is the cost of a ritual bottle. Fill the gaps in your diet with the best sourced ingredients. Everybody out there listening. We want you healthy, won't you happy? Drop your cell phones, put them aside, take your vitamins. We need you alive and thriving because you were created on purpose and for a purpose. 95% of women do not get the vitamins and minerals they need on a daily basis. Ritual created a smarter vitamin with the nine essential ingredients women lack most.

Go to ritual.com slash famous. Choose clean ingredients backed by science like Dr. I Kennedy. He's a science guy. Sign up now at ritual.com slash famous. Thanks, ritual, for keeping us healthy. Let's take one more. Actually, there's two questions. I think you should answer this one about church, but I'll read it.

From Grace and Adele. We are sophomores in college and we've been watching The Bachelor for years. We've been listening to the almost famous podcast since the very beginning and we discuss it in-depth every week. We both love you so much. Ashley is literally Grace's dream life. So nice. She's a hopeless romantic. She's crying frequently and excessively.

She's a Pisces, which is why she's crying frequently and excessively. She added that part too. I just did. I just add to that. And she loves the greatest showman because she's creative and she loves love stories like me. They're exactly alike. We are exactly alike. And they hope that art has crossed one day.

I do too. What else would you like to add about yourself in there? Okay, that's it. Naturally, we have some questions about the show. Do the contestants have an opportunity to go to church while on the show? And we've never heard anyone discuss this before. But religion seems to be an important part of the love. lives of many contestants does the lead know where they oh this is another question yeah let's stop

there let's stop there you talk about the church thing let's do it and then the next question is does the lead know where they're traveling sometimes most of the time um but i think the really key question here is uh the talks on faith and church and all that it's such an interesting topic because it really i mean everybody no matter if you come from a faith background or not you have some feeling on faith you either have a faith you do not like everybody has at least asked the question, I hope, why do I believe what I believe? And so it's such an interesting topic when it comes down to the people you're dating. It's one of the most essential conversations to me and the question to me is, what do you believe in and why do you believe in it? If anything,

I want in my life to pursue truth, whatever that is. And so that's why I follow the faith background that I do. So this is key in every conversation with every woman, especially after kind of like night or week one or week two that's when these conversations start to to happen um and there's some of my favorites now if you can go to church not sometimes i i i know there's holidays if you have a sunday off a lot of times you're filming on sundays you don't get weekends off on on the show and so you know when when you're filming you actually don't get to go to church but for me and i guess in my in my life uh church is incredibly important i go to a great church in denver but i don't get to go very often because i travel so church isn't the the foundation

of my faith. It's something I get to partake in to be around a community of fellow people who believe what I believe. And that's an encouraging time for me. So whether it wasn't a huge issue if I went to church or not, my faith didn't falter or change. It just was, I got out of routine. So no, typically you do not go to church. And to answer your second question, a lot of people actually talk about faith. It's not shown. I think for a thousand different reasons. For me, I wish that was shown a little bit more because it got in some of the depth of why I invest my life into the things I invest into. And that was a lot of the conversations we were having. But it's not shown because I think it's controversial. You'd often get times, don't get the time

in a show to explain everybody's, you know, faith backgrounds and why they believe what they believe. So it's talked about it's not shown very often. I get why. I'm not mad about it. But I do think it's important and it's important in every season. So Grace and Adel, thank you so much for the question. And that has been a podcast. Thank you to Lola. Remember to visit mylola.com. and enter bachelor pod for 40% off all subscriptions. Thank you to Blue Apron. Get your first three meals free at blueapron.com slash almost famous. Thank you to ADT.

Visit ADT.com backslash smart to learn more about how ADT can design and install a secure smartphone just for you, Bull and Branch. Get $50 off your first set of sheets at BullenBranch.com. promo code Almost Famous. Thank you to Ritual. Go to ritual.com slash almost most famous today to get the vitamins you need. We've learned a lot today about each other.

You learned about my hygienic habits. You learned about my showering techniques. I still want to learn more about your showering techniques one day. Actually, we'll talk about it. We're that close. We can share this up. And here's my point. This is the thing.

If you're out there listening and you're like, Ben's so weird. The guy just, we don't get him. He's so odd. He does weird stuff in the shower. You do weird stuff too. I just want to tell you that we're all the same here. We're all weird. We're all so weird.

We're not different. you get in that shower and you do stuff that I don't want to watch or see and I believe in a God but if there is a God and you question that the only person that's watching that is the Lord Above so just know that it's either you and nobody else or you and somebody else so when you're doing that stuff take a step back Ashley do you do weird things with pies no but one of my favorite scenes in any movie is American Pie

that's why I said do you do wear things with pies you would think about that oh well there's if you're If you're interested in getting a pie. I can't think of that. That was a terrible segue because now I can't think of this pie in any other way other than what. Well, I'm thinking about chocolate cream pie, not about anything else. I hope that Winston buys has chocolate cream pie because I need one right now. Pie maker Brianna Abrams turned a passion into a career by opening Winston Pyes. The Brentwood California Pie Shop offers a range of sizes, full-sized mini-pie, small pie,

and even their pie bites. The Los Angeles Times taste returns this Labor Day weekend on the Paramount Studios Backlot. It's a weekend of small bites and drinks from more than 100 chefs, restaurants, and bars, including Winston Pies. No way! Yes, the event features unlimited food tasting, ooh, unlimited, and pours from wine, beer, and spirits, and a selection of engaging cooking and mixology,

demos, wine seminars, and a dynamic panel of discussions, all included with admission. Details and tickets are at laetimes.com slash the taste. You can connect with them on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram at at the Taste LA or hashtag Taste LA. I hate when you go to a food festival and then you have to pay for admission and you also have to pay for the food when you get there. It's like, no, I want unlimited. Just give me at all.

I want a little taste of it all. Everybody in the room shaking their heads. That's a bin-bitches segment. That is. Yeah, I get it. Hey, we learned a lot this podcast. We love you all. Keep being weird.

Because if you're not weird, you're not human. Peace. I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.