The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - Sydney Sells Seashells by the Sea Shore

Episode Date: September 11, 2019

Sydney Lotuaco is back from the beach and here to break down the episode with Ben! We hear what she honestly thinks about Mike and if he’d make a good Bachelor.She gets real about her kiss with Old Matt Donald and tells us exactly why she said Colton was a “bad kisser”. And we hear about the vibe on the beach when Kristian showed up. How did she handle being thrown into the middle of Bachelor world? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble.

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now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. It's been here. With my co-host this week, Sydney Latwako, Sydney and I wanted to dedicate this episode to September 11th and the memory of those who sacrificed their lives and also served before then on that day and for all of us since then. Some of you listeners I know are currently in the military and also are veterans. And we just want to say thank you. Yeah, I just want to take the moment to pause and out of our busy days, even though we're. we're listening to this podcast, just to remember what happened all those years ago and remember where we are today and honor those that have fallen.

So we hope this podcast not only breaks down Patchland Paradise, but also during afterwards and in any moment that you take a step back, sit down, and thank those who have given so much up for the life that we get to live. So thank you. Thank you. Let's get started. This is the Ben and Ashley I almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. This week, like most weeks, we're bringing you two very special episodes. And this week we thought we'd do something different.

We're going to have Ashley, as you heard, on the first episode of Bachelor in Paradise, and then we're going to split up time and bring in guests from each episode to help us co-host, just so we get a clear picture of what is actually going on in the beach, on the beach, in a beach, whatever you do on the beach. And this week, as you heard the giggles, my lovely, very likable, and longstanding Bachelor in Paradise contestant this season, Sydney is my co-host. Hey, Sydney, welcome to the podcast. Thanks, man. I'm excited to be here.

Sydney, I have no clue how to say your last name. Lozwako, like a debut. I would have never got that right. You could say like Taco. That's usually my nickname. People usually get wrong. Just call me Taco. Yeah.

Is it going to be weird if this podcast I call you Taco? I mean, we should start it. I mean, we're talking about Bachelor in Paradise. There was a lot of tacos to be had there. So might as well start it now. You don't see. Okay. And on the Bachelor franchise, it feels like you don't see people eating very often. In Paradise, it feels like people are eating all the time. Is that just something we seem to see? Or is it actually happening? I feel like because on Paradise, it's like kind of a rolling footage. And in Bachelor, it's like you go on the date and then you go here and then you take a break. We're in Bachelor in Paradise. kind of just there all the time, and you've got to eat. So, yeah, I think that's why you see us eat a lot more. It's a little bit more relaxed, I think, in Paradise than in, like, Bachelor World. The rumor is that the food in Paradise is really good.

It is very good. And they make it for you, which is nice, too. And you can kind of order your own thing. And there's, I guess, like, a secret menu that people we learned as some old castmates came along. So you kind of, like, make your own whatever you want and you get creative towards the end. I like the idea of this That'd be dangerous for me

I'm a big chips and salsa fan Oh my god the guacamole is higher Oh paradise would be really bad for me Hey if anybody's out there listening and going Who the heck is Sydney? Well you should know But we should give you a little update as well She's from Virginia

Recently moved to Los Angeles California We'll talk about that She's known from Colton Underwood season Of The Bachelor Also She's been on Bachelor in Paradise She hit it off with Mike Johnson and then was interested in Matt Donald. Matt Donald, though, chose Bree Barnes as we watched last night.

And Sydney, unfortunately, went home. Sydney, let's start here with you personally. Yes. You live in Virginia and you've recently moved to Los Angeles. What was the thought process? I actually figured that I wanted to move to L.A. when I was on Bachelor because I was living in New York at the time. And I had been there for like nine years. And I was sitting, like you just sit around and kind of think about your life all day.

long and I realized from not being in like the rat race of New York and not focusing on work that I was actually unhappy there and took me going on the show and kind of being removed for my life to realize that. So then I was like, okay, at least I know that when I leave the show no matter what happens, I need a change. So L.A. was that change for me. And I'm here. What are you hoping you get out of L.A.? Like what are some of those things you desire from the West Coast? I just wanted a new energy. I was so overwinter. And I think just naturally I'll be happier, just one in sunshine. But I also, I want to keep dancing. I want to keep performing. I want to get more into that world and the commercial part of things. So

LA is the place to do that. And I'm hoping that this will be like a rocket ship into the rest of my career. So yeah. Good for you. Well, hey, how many people do you know? We were talking before the podcast started, you're hoping to meet some friends in Los Angeles. Yeah. How is the best way to befriend you in this world? You know, you can just DM me or in that old work, I'm, I look at my DMs and I will respond. So yeah, let's be friends. We have a, the Almost Famous podcast has a lot of listeners in the Los Angeles area. I'm a feeling your DMs are going to blow up for multiple reasons.

Yeah, as long as you're not private, then we can move forward. That was the problem for before. I was getting like date DMs and I was like, well, unless I know what you actually look like and you're not a predator, I can't tell if you're private. So start there. That's a good point. publicize your step one has your DMs just blown up during Paradise it's always amazing to me

you know we go through The Bachelor you're there for either one week or I don't know 10 weeks but either way you know your social media following does increase but it feels like after paradise it does it jump again or is it stay about the same I think it definitely took a jump when I because I think you saw me a lot more in Paradise

and you get to know people's person And I think people get to know you more and kind of feel like they can easily talk to you, like they know you. Yeah. So I definitely had a bump since Paradise, which they've all been positive and great. So it doesn't hurt to have nice messages, right? Especially when you leave the show. Yeah. I feel like there's only a few this season that are probably getting Hayden on, which brings me to some of the main topics.

Before we break down this week's episode, I want to talk to you about some of the main things that have happened this season on Paradise and get your perspective on it. Let's do it. I have spoken to Blake a few times as a friend. A lot of the stuff I just won't discuss. But one of the shocking things that he told me was he, and you got to feel for the guy in this moment. He told me he's like, hey, everything did not go well.

Like I made some bad decision. This is kind of summarizing what he told me. I made some bad decisions with the paradise thinking like it was going to be okay and it just wasn't. Like that was on me. He's like, but the one thing I didn't expect and the one thing that hurt the most was watching it back and seeing how anti-Blake

everybody in Paradise was because I thought they were my friends. I thought I had friends on the beach. Cindy, from your perspective, did he have friends on the beach or did people really just not like Blake? I think he

definitely had friends in the beach. I just think that as Moore started to come out, people were like, oh, maybe this guy's lying to us. And I think everyone just kind of treaded lightly with him. I mean I had I mean everyone knew deep down he was a great guy but he just kept making wrong choice after wrong choice so we were all kind of like dude get your together essentially um so yeah I mean I was friends with him and I would hear him out but a lot of times he just made a lot of bad choices and he I almost think that he needed to have left paradise to really figure out everything he needed to and he kind of just stuck around I think almost too long because it just kept getting worse um

we got a hand into him for at least like you know sticking it out and um trying to fix it even though it didn't really work out in the end but i mean he had friends i think it was also hard because we were all friends with caylin as well and she was giving us a big part of the story that he wasn't giving us so it was trying us trying to figure out like who to listen to and who side to take essentially yeah it's you know i think for blake i wonder if he would agree but i agree with you it's like all right blake you made a mistake i don't think at your core you're an intentionally bad human like you didn't go into this to like hurt everybody in your weight but then it just did feel like this whole season of paradise

every decision he made was like the wrong like there's a right or wrong like if you get a path in front of you and it seems like he just kept going down the wrong path and then the wrong path and then the wrong path yeah and it just he couldn't get out of it I think because he was just trying to protect what his image used to be and like what he had before where he needed to almost start from like ground zero and build up and said he was like trying to like get back to where he was like kept trying to climb but kept kept getting like pushed off so yeah he just needed to tell rebuild but he was trying to like start from the middle the other big storyline this season Sydney was you and mike johnson you guys hit it off you had something now that ended a few

weeks ago my question for you is it should or how would you feel about mike johnson being the next bachelor i think he i mean i have so much respect for mike and we didn't get there obviously but I think he would make a wonderful bachelor. And I think that he would be a refreshing, a refreshing bachelor. We haven't seen someone of color yet. And not only is he that, but he also is this like extreme light of a person.

He's respectful. He is fun. He has a smile of like the best smile I've ever seen. I think he'd be a great bachelor. What are like his best qualities. So we didn't get to see a lot of them. No. And coming off of the Bachelorette,

I was a Mike Johnson supporter for Bachelor. And then I said, hey, you know, I haven't seen a lot of them on Paradise. I haven't, I'm not invested into his story right now. So I get why, you know, he could be a bachelor still, but I don't know if he's the top choice. Yeah. I don't know Mike Johnson anymore. Sidney, you got to know him very well. What are some of his best qualities?

He has the biggest heart of, I think, anyone on that beach. He also has, like, he said this about me, but he has extreme, like, amazing core values. and he is like just a fun guy to be around and he wasn't there to like be on TV. He was there to actually build a relationship and he represented that I think and that I found the most refreshing because I think the problem with this season

is a lot of us or not a lot of us but a lot of people came onto the beach kind of with a plan for themselves that didn't always pan out where Mike was just trying to be there for the experience of finding someone for him to take outside of Paradise and be with. he was refreshing in that in that crazy beach I wonder what do you think like I wonder if doing

that kind of happening that mindset which is what you'd hope would be the right mindset um I get I mean you know you come on this to try to build a relationship and find a relationship I wonder if that does better when you're the bachelor or on the bachelor than it does in paradise because paradise feels like you need to be really assertive really on top of it it stresses me out because one week you're in love and two days later somebody's walking down the stairs and they take your you know love interest on a date like that stuff doesn't sit well with me and I what do you think do you think like maybe that mindset of hey I'm here to commit to search to find and then if that doesn't work out leave do you think that works out well in paradise I mean that was the mindset I came

into um I guess this just like depends on the person and what you are on the show for I wasn't there to BS and I was there to find a relationship and I unfortunately didn't. I don't know. I think that no matter what you have to be aggressive in that world too and like obviously there's plus pluses to being on the show and things

come out of it but I think for me at least and for people like Mike I think that having authentic experience is better than trying to fabricate whatever's end goal you're trying to get but I mean to each their own right? Like paradise is there's no rules and you can kind of

of do whatever you want um i guess choose how you're going to operate in that very interesting environments speaking of to each their own then why didn't it you and mike work out i mean you you have like really good things to say about them um it felt like it was a good relationship yeah um you know one of my biggest complaints this season about paradise is i don't feel like i am able to see why couples work and why couples don't work like i think that's been missing aside yep yeah they've been pushing aside so i think everybody would be asking if you If you think so highly of him, what happened? I think for whatever reason, Mike and I, we connected a lot, but we were on different pages as far as where our relationship was.

He was moving faster than I was. And I kept pushing myself to kind of meet him where he was at. Because after he went on the date with Kailen, he kind of like beeline for me and like went right into like pursuing me. And it kind of was like abrupt for me at first because I was like, oh, I thought you liked Kailen, like you took her out. I was a little confused. so I was kind of just like playing catch up and I just couldn't fully get there and I out of respect for him

and I know like what he's looking for and what he came here for I was like I don't want to hold you back anymore which is essentially why we kind of broke things off because he went to the wedding with Chris and Crystal and he had talked to Angela and a couple of people that he was interested in

and he had told me about it and I was like well it sounds like your heart's being pulled in that direction and he felt like he finally was himself when he went to that wedding and was able to like get out of like his head and I was like I don't want to hold anyone back and I want I don't want you to feel like you're not yourself around me so we kind of just like parted ways we had a conscious

uncoupling if you yeah for other better terms yeah yeah it was like a it was a kind breakup which yeah mutual doesn't always happen on paradise and especially doesn't always happen as we get farther to the end hey Cindy I'm going to ask you a question and then what we're going to do is we're going to take a break to talk about some of our great sponsors And then when we come back from the break, I'm going to have you answer the question. So you get a little time to think about it. Sydney, what was one or two or three or maybe eight things that happened in Paradise that we haven't seen or have not seen on the show that was exciting, intriguing, weird, different, funny, whatever? Just some stories that the viewers didn't get to see.

Sydney, we'll come back and answer that question in just one second. But first, let's take a break. Hi, my name is Enya Eumanzor. And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect.

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Sydney is co-hosting. Well, let's call her Taco. I feel like I want to say your first and last name. And it's just going to get really weird if I do. Yeah, it just makes everything easier. I'm sorry. It's not good of me. It really isn't.

I just, Lou, let me try one time. to you. Yeah, let me try one time. Lo. Twaca. Tocco. La Twaco.

Almost. Yeah, there you go. Twaco. Yeah, let's walko. There's a lot of house. Sydney was, once again, one of the favorites in Paradise this year. We saw her go home this week. We'll get to talk about that in a second.

But before we do, I've asked Sidney, what are some stories from Paradise that we didn't could see as viewers that we would have liked to seen or that she would have liked to been shown? Sydney, you have an answer? Yeah, I have a few. One, everything that Mike and I talked about, I feel like it would have been a refreshing part of Paradise where you actually saw like a good relationship building and two human beings trying to connect in this insane type of environment and actually being there for the reasons I think Paradise is ultimately trying to create. Also, there's just like funny moments throughout. There is a moment where Nicole and I were teaching JPJ how to dance and we taught him like some. like hair flips and all kinds of wild moves. He is like an alien, honestly, but he's pretty funny to watch dance. That was really, really funny.

I mean, you saw a lot of moments of JPM, but there's millions more. Thank you for answer to that question. And I want to kind of follow up on that. Our listeners have been emailing us like crazy and tweeting us. And then, you know, Ashley and I have talked about it a few times now. I met JPJ once at the wedding. He was super nice. came up to me. He shook my hand. He said, hello. He made me feel welcome to a show that I wasn't on.

But we watch it back and it felt like JPJ had like two weeks of breaking down. Like it wasn't the JPJ that we knew and fell in love with. What happened? Do you have any insight into why all the things changed? This is what I think happened. I think he fell in love with Tasha and didn't know what to do with himself and then didn't know how to express those emotions. I also think he was being respectful to her because she's more of a private person. And I think they had private moments together where she didn't really want to have the whole beach knowing about their relationship. So I think he was trying to essentially keep them a secret or like keep them to each other. And then he started seeing Derek kind of come swoop in on Tasha and start like having a relationship

kind of built with her. And I think he got overwhelmed and just kind of reacted. And we all saw how that ended up happening. Yeah. You know, That's a good point. It's a good lesson for all of us. Love makes us do some crazy things. It truly does. And JPJ was legitimately, you believe,

in love with Tasha. 100%. I think he just... Head over heels, sold out. I think it was unexpected for him, and I think he didn't know how to handle those emotions.

And I think he was there for fun and didn't expect anything to come out of it and then fell head over heels for Tasia. It's one of the best... You gave us the best explanation for what happened than we've heard yet. my thought is this, I wonder, and I have no clue, JPJ's love story, you might. Yeah.

You know, I remember if we go back, I don't know how many times JPJ has been in love in his life, but if we go back to like middle school, right? I don't know if it changes from middle school to when you're 30, that first love, like when it hits you, it hits you hard and it makes you do weird things. Like, it does make you cry at unexpected moments. It makes you text somebody 30 times a day. You call them at every moment you get a chance to. You worry about them every second.

Like that first love. At least for me, like shook me, shook me bad. I mean, do you think that's what happened? Was it his first love? I think so. I mean, I remember talking to him at the beginning, and he had mentioned, like, a girlfriend in college that he dated all through college. It sounded like they might have been in love, but not the way that he was in love with Tasha.

Yeah. So I think it, I think is exactly what you just described. He kind of just lost control and couldn't control his emotions and how he was reacting. And I think that's because he was in love. Love does, like love is a really powerful deal. Isn't that where we watch this show? We've asked it a few times. Like, do you watch it for the drama or do you do watch it for the love?

And last week we asked that question to our listeners. And they mostly came back with the drama, which is a little bit unfortunate. But I do think the love is the thing that keeps us watching. Yeah. Right? You want to have that happy ending after going through all the ups and downs that you do watching these seasons. So, yeah, I think that that's the end goal of everything. We're all rooting for love.

Beautiful. Look at us. Hey, Sydney, we're going to dive into the show now. All right. And what happened in this week's episode. And it just happens to be that I think the very first thing we should talk about is what's led up to this moment in this week. And that's your relationship with Matt Donald. Hey, Matt has been really great to me.

He messaged me on Instagram and said he's a listener of the podcast and he appreciates the nice thing said. And I think Matt Donald seems like the type of guy that you would love to take home to your parents, to your grandparents, that you'd love to take to any situation. He's going to be great in it. I think I talked about last week. I think the whole like bringing up mom thing was a little bit much. I love my mom. He wouldn't stop. But Matt really loved his mom.

Like, Cindy, you know, break it down a little bit for us. Leading up to this moment, Matt obviously had two wonderful women. that we're both interested in him. He was doing this while sabotaging himself by talking about his mom in every romantic sense. What pulled you to this guy? What made you like him so much? And then I also want you to like pick out him a little bit.

He's fine. He's heard me do and he still thanked me for saying he's a nice guy because he is. I think he's a great guy. He's a good sport. He's a good sport about this. But why did he talk about his mom? Here's my thing with Matt. Yeah, Matt Donald.

He, I think, one, he's a fan of. the show. He came into it as a super fan of Bachelor Nation. So that kind of set him behind. And he had only been on Hannah's season for one night and he got sent home. So he came into the end of Paradise. All of us had been there a while. Plus all of us had been on the show before. We were used to the cameras. We were used to being around each other. We're used to just kind of like letting it all hang out, especially at that point. And he was just so concerned about every little detail that was going to come out of his mouth or how he's going to be portrayed and he kept being afraid he was going to be the villain and I was like babe there's no way that you as a person

could ever be the villain I like you just need to calm down and be yourself but he like couldn't do it so I felt almost like felt connected to him because I just like felt really like felt for him and I wanted him to have this experience because I I I felt similar to him when I went on bachelor I was just like concerned for how I'd be portrayed and like being afraid of saying the wrong things, but I learned really quickly that no, as long as you're not like a bad person, essentially, you're going to be fine. And he couldn't get past that. And then he was just, I guess his mom must have given him a crazy speech before he loved because he would not stop bringing up his mom. I was like, okay, I can't really get an intimate place with you if you keep talking

about your mom. So let's like try to move on. But nope. It is funny. I mean, I get it. I talked about last week, you know, it was brought up. Hey, he'd only been there a night before. He wasn't comfortable yet. I get the idea of, I remember the first time I watched it with my whole family, my grandparents, and, uh, and everything. And my grandma was watching me make out on TV. Like, it isn't fun. It's not something I desire or necessarily want. But if you're going to go on the show, you got to get over it quickly. Exactly. Like, you're there. You signed up for it. And he knew what the show was. He watched it every week with his mom. So I just don't understand why you struggled so much, but yeah, I mean, he's a sweet, simple soul, Matt

Donald's. Was he endearing? Like, did, I mean, obviously you and Brie both found him at some level, like, you're attracted to him, you're into him. Was it in, like, was his worries and fears endearing? Um, at first, it was endearing, but towards like a few days, you're like, okay, come on, dude, like, we only have so much time here. Like, don't waste it. Like, let's make the most of it. And I think he started to get there towards the end. And then he got again in his head when he realized he was now in a love triangle and was so concerned with like how our feelings, which was like very sweet. But I was like, dude, we also signed up for that, like knowing that we're all dating multiple people. Like we're going to be okay. Like he almost felt like he was Blake in this

situation where he was doing all the stage coach things, but actually didn't do much besides like kiss each of us after we had to basically do it ourselves. So. Oh, man, if there's one, I mean, this is almost humorous. And Matt, I hope you'll listen to this episode because you have a guy, let's say, like, Dean. And Dean is one of my best friends. I love Dean. He's a good dude. But we know Dean, right?

He's a little bit confused. He has a hard time, but he's like super, like, he is super charming. He is very honest. So Dean does not, like, really lie. He knows, like, what he wants. He says it, even if it's, like, the worst possible thing to say in the moment. And him and a love, Dean in the Love Triangle, I don't know if he can handle it. Like, he's not made for it.

I don't know if anybody is. But he, like, navigates it. And it, like, it gets messy because he navigates it so well. And he, like, can bring everybody along with him. Yeah. But Matt Donald in a love triangle is, like, literally, like, humorous. Like, it's funny. He shuts down.

Yeah. It's like, he's done. Like, poor guy. He's overwhelmed. Yeah. He would, like, be drowning. I know. There'd be points where, like, I was sitting besides him and then Brie was the other side,

and he would just sit there, like, twiddling his thumbs. He couldn't even talk. It was rough. Oh, well, okay, rough. We're going to bring it in here. Matt Donald talks about his mom. You are pushing him to try to get physical in some type of way, even with a kiss. It's a funny kind of like pulled out scene.

And all of a sudden, the kiss happens. And it flashes back to a moment where earlier this season, you mentioned that Colton Underwood was a bad kisser. And it was agreed upon by, I don't know, one or two other people there on the beach. and it became a storyline, a headline afterwards. All right. First off, who's a better kisser? Matt Donald or Colton? I will just say that there was more behind Matt Donald's kisses than there were Colton's.

What do you mean by this? I think everybody owes a little bit more explanation. Yeah. Not to like kiss and tell, but to kiss and tell. I just think Colton, one, he was a virgin, which is like we were all fine with that. I just don't think there was a lot of past. behind the kisses he was giving us, which to like I mean, he didn't like us. So that could have been why those kisses were not that passionate. Um, they weren't messy. So they were clean cuts, not really passionate kisses. So that could have been a lot of different elements. Um, yeah. Were you ever like going home? Because I remember during my time as a bachelor, there was that, you know, you do start to develop stronger feelings for others. Pretty soon, pretty early on. And you can you start to kind of. know who you're into and who you're not. But then again, there's always surprises and you try to

stay open to it. But it is hard. It is really hard to be at a cocktail party and you're kissing somebody and you're enjoying it. And then somebody else comes around. You start kissing them and it's like not as good. And then somebody else comes around the corner. I mean, it could be like five people in one night. Yeah, you get like lazy towards the end of the night, I'm sure. You get tired. So tired. I can't move my tongue anymore. It's so much. And then like as the nights go on, Sydney, I don't know if you can relate. Yeah. I don't want to mention any names, but there was, like, a couple girls that would eat, like, the snacks. And so, like, they'd have, like, the little hot dog rolls.

And then at the end of the night, like, after four hours of champagne and hot dog rolls, their breath is not awesome. Like, it is not fantastic. And mine isn't probably either. But then we're still kissing because it's the time that we have. Yes. And it's all we've got. Using it wisely. I will say Colton has very good breath, which was at least nice.

Yeah, I could see. There's a lot of things that go into it. I think ultimately, Colton and I just weren't a match, and it came across in our kisses. So, yeah, not to harp on him anymore, but it just wasn't for me. It's fine. It was something that brought attention to, that brought its own attention. Even Colton tweeted about it. Talked about it.

I think they laughed it off. I mean, if I'm Cassie, I'm looking back at it and going, I'm glad he wasn't a good kisser to you because it's better for me, but it's still, it comes with its own, you know, when you're The Bachelor, it comes with its own criticism. Right. How good of a kiss you are definitely gets talked about. However, I don't think it ever got brought up with me, meaning I probably wasn't. So you were killing it and the kiss is kissing the environment.

I don't think I was. Like, I think I was so bad. You were like, yeah, we're not going to talk about it. Like, yeah, let's not beat the guy up. Anyways, okay. So Matt, Donald, and you have your kiss. Sparks are flying. At least you think so.

And then we get to the Rose ceremony and you go home. Yeah. Adios. Um, yeah, that last road ceremony was pretty crucial for me and Matt to ever push anything, any further forward. Um, I remember when Chris came in was like, okay, so cocktail parties canceled, figure your shit out and let's, let's do this. And I just, again, saw Matt immediately shut down and just like, almost like have an internal freak out. And I was like, oh, God, I don't think he knows what he's going to do. So I remember saying to him,

I was like, listen, like, as we were walking out, I was like, whatever a decision you make, like, make sure it's yours, don't worry about, like, what your mom's going to think or, like, what everyone's going to think or, like, what you should do, just, like, make it based off of, like, what you want. So I think, because I said that, maybe it was, it turned to me going home, so maybe I shouldn't have said that, but, uh, yeah, but I think he had it coming to him when pre-broker with him the next day. So, oops. so we'll close out this storyline and then move on the next if you are around on the beach do you go to the fantasy suites with Matt if I was around I think that's what's next right fantasy week or yeah so if he chooses you over Bree

and you're there Bree obviously right away broke up with him said hey I don't think we're feeling each other what do you do if you're in her situation um actually I don't know that I would have gone to fantasy suites with him just because he was so torn and so unsure and I never want to feel like someone's unsure about me and I never want to feel like I'm putting myself into a situation where I'm like trying to convince someone to share feelings for me. So I probably at

that point would have gone home myself. Yeah. When stuff gets real, then all of a sudden crazy stuff starts happening. I have one comment to make. Yes. Brees is savage. Like that week or that night or whatever on this episode with Luke going up to him would be like, yeah, this isn't going to work and then walking back and just standing there coming the way she did it and then walked back and stood there and confidently stared at him i was like this girl has major confidence and also like and everybody's laughing like i mean i'm laughing at home because it's so awkward it's not like a funny laugh it's like a yeah very uncomfortable laugh yeah was it that uncomfortable in person oh it's horrible and like no one really knew what luke was going to do with his rose

anyways and then it kind of it was kind of random that he picked Bree we were all kind of like are you kidding like first of all Bree was in this weird love triangle with Matt and then he was like anyways Bree you want to you want to get out of here I don't know um yeah so it was very uncomfortable I think Luke was just kind of floundering around and I guess he wanted to fall with a supermodel as well I don't it didn't turn out for him either

Supermodel I mean hey Brie is a supermodel I don't know what like her status is as a model but we will not use supermodel because I've heard it so much on I know I was like stop saying supermodel it's so rough just stop saying it yeah okay yeah so then Brie goes to the beach and

again well in the storyline with then she does the same thing to map confidently asks him to go home Sydney there's a few moments during this show when you know one of the major questions we always get asked by listeners and friends and fans is is the show what it looks like on

TV and my response is always yes Yes, it's obviously cut down and it's condensed. But for the most part, when I watch it back, at least when I'm on the seasons, I feel like that's what happened when I've been there. There's a few moments when you're a contestant that you're sitting there. And something is happening, similar to the Bree breaking up with Luke thing. And you go, this is what people pay big money to watch. And I have a front row seat and it's awkward and it's weird.

but I'm here. Is that how that felt? Oh, 100%. I mean, it's just like pure entertainment at its finest. Plus, you're just like exhausted and just been there forever. So you're just looking for things to entertain you. And I mean, that was even though really sad to watch, it was pretty entertaining. You see a lot of them.

A couple that is not breaking up. And I want to move on to next is the Demi and Christian storyline. So give a little background information. We're doing all these little little. summaries because the episodes are winding down. Demi had a relationship with Derek mentions that she's in love with somebody back home. Christian comes to the beach and romance flies, but they have their own issues and their own things to work through just like any couple does. And on this episode, we really start to see all of it kind of coming

to an head. Like these really tough conversations are getting done. After seeing them on the beach, Sidney, you know, I definitely understand where Demi's coming from. I, I, I, I, I can't relate because I have never had the confidence or the courage to do what she's done, but I am not interested in the same sex. So I can't relate with what she did. But I can imagine a little bit. I mean, we all can of how difficult it would be to come out, especially on national TV. So there is some worries on Demi's part about PDA and what people are going to think

and how people are going to feel. What's your perspective on the whole thing after watching them on the beach date for so long. Yeah. I mean, I think the thing with Demi and Christian is like, ultimately the show is about finding love and trying to be your most authentic self while you do that. And I think with Demi finally deciding and realizing that Christian was that person for her, that she was being true to herself finally. And she was there to make that connection happen and to really see it like through. And I think Paradise is a perfect place to do that. You have so much time on your hands. You're not worrying about work, your phone, emails, anything, you're just sitting there and you're literally working

on your relationship. So even though it's this huge platform and it's like a difficult and very vulnerable thing to do, it's almost like one of the best places to do it because that's what your main focus is and you can really hash things out. So then by the time you get into the real world, there are all these eyes on you, you can kind of just be confident within each other and just go forth and like hopefully have a successful relationship together. I also found it just It's like refreshing. I think, yeah, I mean, coming into the beach, did you realize how much time you're going to have to actually explore relationships?

We see something that we never hurt here in the real world, which is, it's awkward sometimes to hear. But it's a statement, we had a really great conversation. I think it happened this week. Somebody said it. We had a really great conversation. Now I didn't know if I'm going to propose it or not. It's like, wow, like great conversation proposal.

But there's obviously these great conversations going on for weeks and weeks and weeks. And you do, when you're here during this week of Paradise, you do feel like you know these relationships well. And Christian and Demi are starting to get to know each other really well probably. Yeah. I think you're getting like to the meat of your relationships. It's not like out in the world. Or do you kind of do this like dating dance where you're, you do the whole show and tell and you take them on these fancy dates and you like try to be your best self where Paradise you're kind of like your true self and that you have no option but to just like see if that works for you. If that person as themselves is what you want in your life. And it kind of just like,

takes away all the fluff and it helps you to figure out like if this truly if this person is truly for you and if it's going to work outside of this the there's an interesting parallel um between matt donald and christian and so matt donald had been on the show for one night and then he shows up to paradise and it's all new to him right he's like holy cow i don't know this how this works i don't know how to date and then you have christian who has never been on the show before who fell in love with somebody on the show and I think I would say is kind enough who loves Demi enough to say I'll go to the beach for you like I'll do this because of our relationship and what it can't what it will mean to you to be here without any experience and

she dives right in like she's the one kind of coaching Demi how to be intimate she's coaching Demi how to express feelings she's also you know she's so dove in that Demi's even like you're flirting with everybody like you're too nice to everybody did you feel that on the beach like was there ever awkwardness with christian or she just a total like player like not players a worst word to use there like did she just totally dive in and and soaking in no she was simply there to be with demi and i think we all kind of needed her energy on the beach especially at the end of things she's the chillest person ever and i think we all saw how she is able to ground demi where Demi is like this huge character

and she's awesome and funny and hilarious but like she brings Demi down to earth in the best way and I think that we all love seeing that and Christian is just like so easy to talk to you and she was also this like nice piece of reality that we were all missing after being there for a month so I think we all kind of welcomed her with like arms wide open at that point.

It's a storyline that I can't wait to see continue to play out. It is hey I'm telling you like this is game changing Like this, obviously, like this, you know, we know watching this show, there's moments, you know, last year was some of the religion talk and some of the God talk. And then, you know, then it became Hannah's, you know, her, the sex talk this year, this season. Like, this is a moment that's bigger than their show. And Christian and Demi, I feel like have done, I'm watching as, I'm a fan. Like, I'm watching as a fan. Like, I'm watching as a fan.

I'm going, they've communicated. and prepped themselves for what's going to happen next, like once the show ends really well, because of the time they spent together in paradise. Yeah, I think I agree. Yeah, I think that's what we all knew. It's like, this is bigger than all of us. Even Derek said that,

that like, not only are they being true to themselves in their relationship, but they're going to be able to show a true, like, girl-on-girl relationship that not a lot of people have seen, especially watching this show. And I think it's refreshing. And I think it's what, like, America and the world kind of needs to see.

and I think they're doing a beautiful job of showing that and really working through their issues. And I think that after Paradise, they are going to have this strong unit that they can go out into the world and just be this light and be able to, like, show what a true relationship is, no matter like whether that's man, woman, woman, woman, anything. They're just like what we're all looking for ultimately at the end of the day. Love is the answer. Sydney, we have a couple really successful couples to talk about outside of Christian and Demi. We're going to finish this by saying, I'm just going to mention. And if you have anything to add on these couples, please chime in, like, anything interesting that you think the listeners would love to hear.

But after the rose ceremony, Lucas goes home. Never happened before. We talked about it at the very beginning of Paradise. What would happen if somebody turned down the rose? Like, what goes on then? And what we found out was that the question that gets brought up. Does anybody want to be with this dude? No.

Okay. Yeah. Nope, going home. So, Lucas is going home. home, you and Haley both had the opportunity and Rev all had the opportunity to accept his rose and just stick around. But at that point, it's coming so close to the end, you're probably thinking there's no point, right?

Yeah. No, if that was what any of us wanted to have grown something with, we would have done it already. So at that point, we're like, why start now? I don't know. No one wants a handout rose, right? No. And it's like kind of, like, I wonder what would happen.

if maybe you, for example, I didn't know or raise your hand, like, yeah, I'll take it. Yeah, whatever. I'll stay around. Shut up again. Why? What was about Lucas where he just didn't connect? Why were you into this guy?

He is really great. He, I think he's one of those. That's a nice way to start. I like that. I think he's one of those conspiracy theorist people and he kind of came into paradise with like these ideas of what it was and what like he's being portrayed as. And, like, I think he just needed to chill out a little bit. I think he's a great guy deep down.

I just think he was, I don't know, trying to fabricate this experience, especially at the end. It was a little tough for him, too, because he couldn't start from, like, zero. He was kind of starting from, like, way behind. And, yeah, he just didn't do great in paradise. Yeah, it wasn't his thing. Some of even his, like, social media, like, comments and captions and stuff for, like, you know, it's just not a good look.

It's too much. Pull back. Like, this shows got a lot for you. You're good. Yeah. Exactly. So Lucas goes home. Rev goes home.

We don't see a lot of her. She tries it. She gives it her best shot, but it's just not for her. One of my favorite people who I do not get to talk to anymore, but who was on the season of The Bachelor with me is Haley Ferguson. Haley, you know, I felt like tried hard to find a relationship. It didn't work out for her. She kind of bounced around not because she wanted to,

just because it's kind of the cards that she was dealt. And then ultimately she goes home, Haley just didn't, there just wasn't anybody there for her. Like the JPJ thing seemed like it could work and then there just wasn't anybody else. I was proud of her though, because that was the first time she's ever done the show

without her twin. So it was like the first time her stepping out on, like on her own and she gave it her all. And yeah, she just kind of came in too late, I think. But she gave it a good showing. Like I think she, for doing it without her sister,

Who I think, I do think that was a big deal for her. I think she did really well. She was honest. She was vulnerable. She tried and she pursued people. So, I mean, at the end of the day, you say, Haley, good job. Yeah. Like, you give it your best.

Exactly. I think that's what paradise you have to do. It's like, if you're going to be there, be there and like, give it. You're all. Talk to everyone. Figure out what you want. Figure out, like, what works for you. And if not, like, you can at least leave knowing that you did everything that you

could. Don't go there and just like get a cocktail and chill on the beach because it's like, why are you there? Yeah, don't waste your time. Don't waste other people's time. And I don't think she did any of that. So you're taking up space. And Sydney, you definitely didn't take up space. You had a great showing on Paradise. Uh, you were a blast to watch, not only, uh, because of the way you handled really difficult situations, but because of your grace and your interest and your curiosity and the way you coached a lot of people through some really difficult things happening. Uh, Sydney, I give you an age. plus for your effort because that feels like you you tried hard you just did great and

paradise feels like your playground and i hope we can see you there again hopefully i won't still be single but we'll see that's a good point yeah let's let's we'll see if i figured out um a couple other couples that um stayed together during the road ceremony but ended quickly after the chris harrison comes in um and talks about it being the last week uh of Paradise, or that Paradise is ending, in a sense. And he asked the couples to make the decision, if they're going to stay or if they're going to go. Chase and Angela decide to break it off. JPJ and Tasha surprisingly, surprisingly break it off.

Tasia is the one that pushes for it. Were you shocked? That was what, that one was going to go either way for me. I think that I've never Like I said this on the show I've never seen her laugh like that I've never been seen her so happy around someone As she was around JPJ

So for me as her friend I wanted her I want her to be happy But the thing with this experience is that It's it's like a summer romance And then you kind of have to get to the end of summer Literally and you're like okay now what What is this going to look like in the real world And I think she's been married before

She's been burned before She went to the end of Colton season And she wants to make sure that something that she is going to take outside of this and bring home to her family, again, is going to be the exact right thing. And I just think at that moment, it just wasn't fully there for her. I want to have a little side discussion. Every week, Sydney, we ask our listeners two questions to respond to on Twitter or through email. And we try to read them all and kind of get their perspective and learn kind of where we're at and what they're thinking. Here's the

conversation this week. It hit me after watching a montage of of JPJ and Tasha during the episode. First off, I thought the montage was a little confusing. I didn't know we were that invested in their story. Like, I liked their story, but I felt like they were trying to pull a tear out of my eye. And I was like, I mean, this is great. But like, I'm not feeling it.

Anyways, it's interesting to me that with Paradise, you have this whole time to get to know each other. And it is, it feels like a long time when you're there from everything I hear. And you do get to invest in your relationship. And then there's this, time limit there's this decision point where you say we have to define our relationship and take a step in some way we can't drag this out yeah we can't just continue like it is we have to say

we're into this for the long term or we're going to end it now so before we get into what it's like on paradise i want to ask you and our listeners what do you think it would be like if we did that in the real world when it came to dating like what if we set a time limit on like date one where we're like, okay, I don't know where this is going to go. Liz, I don't even know your name yet. But in one month, if we're still talking, we have to define the relationship. Like, you think that's a good idea? I think so, I think the problem with dating these days, it's just so, like, murky and no one

really knows what's going on. Like, half the time you're, you could talk to a guy for months at a time and you barely even know his last name. Like, it's just, like, weird, it's a weird time to be dating. And I think the, as much as we. can get rid of all the fluff and just be like, okay, is this, this is what I want? Is this what you want? I think it's great. I think that it's hard to do that because that scares people away. And in this experience, you're signing up to do that. So, I mean, I would find that

refreshing. I'm just not sure how we would implicate that. But let's, let's workshop some ideas. Yeah. So please email us at Ben and Ashley, IHeartMedia.com or talk to us on Twitter and hashtag almost famous podcast. Here's something interesting. A couple weeks ago, we started an experiment where we asked people what makes love works, Sydney. So myself and a couple others started asking older couples. Couples have been together for a while, new couples, people that are single. Hey, what do you think love works? And the main answer was it's a choice. Meaning, hey, you fall for somebody, you respect somebody, you appreciate somebody, you have all those things that you say, I like the person you are. But ultimately, after 50 years, 20 years, 10 years a month,

there is a moment where you start to wake up next to that person if you're married or if you're not, whatever you choose to do, you start to look at that person at some point in the day and you have to say, I choose to love you. So the idea in this that you have to make a choice, a decision to move forward or to not, to choose that person or not, it feels like we're close to being really healthy. And this is why I say this all Sydney, as I watch this week's episode and all of a sudden Chris Harrison comes in, he says, hey, it's over. you got to make a choice.

And my first reaction was like, oh, that's so weird. Like, this feels awkward. Like, why are we putting, like why all of a sudden do people need to figure out

if they're going to get engaged or not or move forward or not? And then I started thinking about it. And I'm like, I actually think it is healthy. I think just, yeah, we're all there for that. And I mean,

I just, why waste anyone's time? I think you've had enough time to figure out the core of everyone. You spend a lot of time with them. And it's like, yeah, let's not beat around the bush.

We're leaving here. And because the problem is, It's hard out in the real world, I would assume, with these relationships that they're, like, fun and great when you're in the, like, bubble of Bachelor nation, but when you're out in the world, you're going to deal with a lot of issues and, like, working out a lot of different factors. So I think that it helps solidify you if that's what you're going to do, or it helps to, like, let you not have to do that once, when, if you make the decision to leave separately. So I think it's, it's good. One thing, you know, I've had been in a relationship outside of the show, uh, with somebody from the show before. for, you know, after my season of The Bachelor. And one of the things that really feels good, it, like, really is healthy.

And I still will stick this is when somebody looks across the table from you and says, I choose you. Like when you're on this show and they're saying, I choose you, that feels good, right? It's comforting. But you don't know what happens. Like, when you get off the show, it is a whole new beast. And I think there is a make or break moments where you do know if you're right for each other or not, I think if you decide to continue to say, I choose.

you it can work but whenever the seed of doubt starts to slip in of oh is there other things out there oh is there other opportunities out there oh there's so much attention on me my instagram's blowing up like people are calling me all this stuff then all of a sudden the noise starts to slip in and you start to forget the choice that you made on the show and that's why I think it's so important in this moment this week of paradise for these couples to sit down and say, I choose you no matter what happens because this isn't going to be easy. Exactly.

I think that's why the engagement is the goal at the end because it's like a literal representation that you're choosing someone. And it's a reminder of those choices that you make every time you look down at your hand and you're like, oh, I said those things. And I agreed to this. And I think the more that you can have that solid,

like contract with each other, the better you are going forward. Sydney, you're preaching well. today. Hey, let's take a break, Sydney. We have a couple really successful couples to talk about. I think we covered all the couples that ended up deciding after the row ceremony to split up. I think we have Matt and Bree split up, Chase and Angela obviously split up. We have JPJ and Tasha split up, but we still need to talk. Dylan and Hannah, Clay and Nicole and Chris and Katie. But before we do that, let's take one break, but we'll come back soon.

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Okay, we've talked about the breakups. We've talked about the awkwardness. We've had a great time with Sydney. She's been terrific. One round of applause, like three, four through the podcast. Sydney's killing it today. She's been awesome for us. Sidney, let's have a little fun and talk about the love that we're seeing on Paradise.

We'll start with the one couple that was the shakiest, I think. Chris and Katie. Chris and Katie seem to be struggling. And Katie's had her own moments of like, we haven't always been able to read Katie this season. She's had moments where it's like, are you drunk or are you confused? But she's always been interested in Chris ever since their love kind of blossom. Yeah. And she's been a great supporter to him.

Mm-hmm. Can you break down their relationship? Yeah. So I think the biggest issue that those two are having is the fact that Chris has been on like a bajillion seasons. And he's gone from being like the villain, the guy that gets almost engaged or I don't even remember. but like all he's gone through all the steps also he was there when the show originated which I don't think I think it's when it was a little more savage so like I think he's gone through the gamut with this show and he has a little bit of trust issues which I think anyone would

so I think that he has very strong feelings for Katie but I think he's also scared to show those feelings and fear that something's going to blow up in his face again and I think Katie is just the type of person that's very considerate and like cares very deeply and is like kind of helping him through that. But I think in what's happening is she's not getting a lot back from him right now. Yeah. And it's hard for them to kind of meet in the middle. So they've like made little steps forward.

I think they're just moving kind of slowly together. When you're on the beach, how aware are you of these, like where each couple are at? Um, I feel like I was very aware because I had a lot of time just like hanging out on my own. I was like front row seat watching all the love. happened, which was like great. I mean, it's like refreshing to see. Um, so I think I saw a lot of it. So I was pretty aware of a lot of the things. I also was like friendly with all the guys and all the girls. So I talked to a lot of the people. So I had kind of like a good idea of where everyone was at, which is kind of why I think I was like the narrator for most of this season.

But yeah, I, Katie and Chris, I was like rooting for them. But I think they were, they had a lot of conversations that they still needed to have, especially at this point. The watching this week's episode there is a lot of the time where I was like telling like wanting to tell Chris just talk like you're you know what you want to say you're not saying it and you're like I almost feel like there was a moment where when he was like dragging this breakup out or whatever he was doing he was going to be like but I love you and I want to be with you forever like it felt like you never could get to have place of like any clarity yeah and I got to give Katie credit yeah because when we just talked a second ago about Sydney with about like choosing somebody even

through, like, their difficulties, even through their confusing moments, what Katie did in that moment was one of the most compelling scenes I've ever seen in this franchise, because she said, Chris, I know what you're doing, but I care about you. And I know you care about me. I know you're difficult. Like, I know you have issues. But I want to be with you through those. That was really cool. That was like a real life conversation that we got to witness. It was, I think Katie made that choice back when Chris decided to choose her. So she got her validation. She was like, great, this is, this is it for me. I'm going to push this forward. And then Chris, I think was on that same page, but he was doing the thing where he was like, no, let me just sabotage this maybe and

like almost testing her in a way. And I'm really happy that she kind of like dug her feet in and really like got what she needed out of him, even though it was like a terrible answer like she's it. But I think she was just like going with her gut and knew the man he was and knew like that deep down that they were right for each other, she was just kind of like giving him a little grace in that moment. Yeah, she did a great job. And I mean, she can tell she cares about him. And it's good to see them moving forward together

because I think they're one of those couples that don't quite have it all figured out, but it feels like it's moving in a good direction. And there's going to be big like hurdles in their way as they try to move forward. Yeah, I think they're working through a lot of the things that they need to work through. So then when they're outside of this, they're going to be in a better place. I don't know how you could have an argument with Katie, though, in her eyes. Like, I would just be done.

I would be done. Like, yeah, I can't, like, get mad at you. I think that's probably why he didn't make any sense. He was looking at your eyes. He's looking at her eyes. The ocean was a lot less intimidating than her eyes at that moment. We're kind of go in order here. They had a lot to figure out.

Clay and Nicole kind of have, it feels like they're right on edge. Sydney, I really don't know. know how to read their relationship and I need your help for it. They've, they've been good, then they've kind of gone back and forth, and now it feels like they're good-ish. Yeah, good-ish is a great way to describe what's happening right now. I think they were like solid from the beginning and I was very much on their team. I'm always like friends with Nicole, but I was good friends with Clay too.

And I just loved them together. I was like their child, I felt like. So I was rooting for them. I think what happened was Clay got in his head once. Angela walked down that beach and it kind of just like blew everything up for him. I think that was the last thing he expected to happen and he didn't really know how to deal with it and he was trying to like maneuver this weird, weird world that he was just thrust into. And I think that's why he's so in his head. It's hard for someone just to like jump in

head first when they know they have all these like all this baggage that they're carrying now literally right in front of them. So yeah, it's a little rocky. But they've made it the whole time like they're one of what because i i can't remember is our chris and katie day one couple they're like a they were like a week or two in i think but they were pretty early um but clay and i think they were like that was the first date that clay had it was like the second day there i feel like and they were pretty rock solid from there on out yeah i feel like they have been solid this i want them to work um i like the way they treat each other i know they're so cute and they're just like goofy and he's like this

huge teddy bear and she's this like sassy fiery latina i don't know i like it together it works i just i don't have as a fan right now i'm watching it and i feel like they're the one couple i'm like i don't know i just don't see it right now hopefully we'll see we'll see we're rooting for them though i like to see it work exactly okay finally um the the king and queen of paradise the couple that's been together since the beginning you don't see a lot of them anymore because I feel like they're just either in the boom boom room as we saw once or they're eating exactly there was a whole day where we're like where the heck are Hannah and Dylan they were I'm pretty sure they're in the boom room room all day so good for that honestly god bless them

yeah um Hannah G and Dylan have found love in paradise we saw it uh this week on the one-on-one um they're so happy uh they're they they they feels like there's not a lot to see because they're just good. And it feels like they need to get out of paradise now to move the relationship forward. Tell us, Sydney, from your perspective, what that relationship has been like. It was rough at the beginning. We saw that part. But as you, in the seat that you sat in, like, what was it like to watch this? I mean, from an outsider's perspective, all of those are like, it's obviously Dylan. He's in love with you. He's been patient with you as you've been going from like a couple different

guys and dealing with all of Blake's BS at the time. We were all like, it is Dylan, just pick Dylan, but she was so torn. And so it was hard for us watching it. We were like, he's obviously the choice for you, but I'm glad that she eventually got there. But we're, a lot of us were team Dylan as far as him choosing or Hannah choosing him. Yeah. And then once she did, I mean, it was kind of game over, right? Yeah.

Did you feel the switch? What they kind of, again, let's, I mean, it's a theme of the podcast. But when she said, okay, I know there's going to be a, people coming down the stairs. Some of them might even be intriguing at some level. But Dylan, I, and I think she might even said these words, I'm choosing you. Like, this is what I'm investing into. Yeah. Could you tangibly feel the switch in a relationship? I think that one rose ceremony when she didn't choose Blake and she chose Dylan was when the switch happened. And that's all Dylan needed to like literally run for the hills and go straight to like basically

wanting to marry her. And I think at some point in Paradise, you have to kind of choose. Like, you decide there's people coming in you know that's going to happen but like you can't just get distracted you kind of have to work on whatever relationship that you have if you want to get to where they got in the end where it was engaged or hopefully that what they got or they're at right now and hopefully get to an engagement but yeah it was just that one switch that they needed and they were kind of like sat from there on out and none of us had to worry about them anymore you brought up something that I think is is interesting the boom boom room so I you know a lot of people have different ideas and different feelings on sex and physical intimacy.

And then, you know, you add in cameras and millions of people watching and it enhances those feelings a little bit in some way. At what point, because I think everybody goes in saying, you know, I have some, you know,

type of things I want people to see and not see and, you know, etc. Like some privacy. I know from my own experience at some point that all goes out the window. Like it flies fast away and you forget everything and you just don't care. In paradise, when does that happen?

happen um pretty quickly in paradise you're there all day long with each other and you kind of just stop caring i mean you're there sweating with each other eating with each other talking about left and right like all kinds of nonsense so you're just kind of like whatever at this point like i'm here i signed up for it i'll deal with whatever i'm portrayed as afterwards and you kind of just learn to live in the moment i think and i think yeah that's why people aren't afraid to go to the boom room i mean you're in the heat of the moment why like stop there i mean i can think of one reason your mom my mom yeah i mean can you imagine of matt donald somehow some way made the choice like how his anxiety no way he would have a mental breakdown for

sure which is probably why i wouldn't have gone oh so so sad it'd be the worst funniest worst scene ever No, thanks. And then we've talked about Demi and Christian and their relationship flourishing and moving forward in a really good direction. Hey, Sidney, you have one more second here. We always like to read user emails when we get time, and I have two or three. I just want to throw at you. Let's do it. So there's a question now from Valerie, who set up prom for JPJ and Tasha?

So JPJ set up prom for Tasia. I know they're in paradise and can't go to the store to purchase things. If someone sets up something like that, do you get a producer to help? Um, yeah, I think it's like an art department thing where you, you come up with your idea, you can talk to your producer and then they can kind of get the ball rolling. I mean, I would love to go to like party city and pick up my own stuff to leave the beach, but we're not allowed to. So you kind of have to have people set it up for you. The exit process from Lexi. So I'm sitting here watching Bathroom Paradise.

Lexi says, I can find myself each week wondering, who the heck packs the bags for contestants? When someone leaves Paradise unexpectedly, they are always seeing getting straight into the land. So how do they get their bags packed? Oh, man. This drive circles around and then let the contestants come back and pack? I wish. No, there's these sweet handlers that are with us through the whole process who kind of like our little moms and they pack your bags for you and you hope your stuff ends up in those

bags. I can say from when I left Colton season, I lost a lot of stuff. Yeah, I was not planning on leaving, but you know, you got to do what you got to do. You got to do it. Yeah, it's true, though. I mean, I guess for me, I never got to fully experience that on The Bachelorette because I was, I was in Ireland for another couple days after I got sent home. But you do travel the world with like one bag and you have a lot of people holding on to a lot of different things of yours. And you just hope at some point after like two months that it shows back up.

You don't know where. You have no idea. And Cindy, I will tell you, this is actually a credit to the show. I lost a lot of things during the show. and afterwards, they found each and every one of them. Really? That's impressive. I did get like a jacket and like a couple things back. And I remember texting and being like, okay, this dress is here, this thing is here.

So they work with you. But I mean, all of us are living in one room with big suitcases is, and all of our stuff is kind of everywhere. So you end up losing stuff. But I mean, it is what it is. Which makes me think maybe the show like secretly like takes something just to freak out a bit and then at some point sends it back. I mean, it definitely heightens the drama when you're living out of a suitcase.

Definitely heightens the drama. Of course it does. All right. Final question here for you, Sidney. Yes. This is a cool one. Jojo and Jordan is from Monica. Monica says, have you all discussed the fact that Jordan re-proposed to Jojo?

Does this mean their first proposal was more like, hey, will you be my girlfriend rather than will you be my wife? He even gave her a different ring. What are your thoughts on this? Sydney, I'll let you start and I'll finish. I think that, I mean, you grow in relationships. and I feel like they were in a good place when they got engaged and they were ready to start their lives together. But now they have a completely new life together. And I think that's Jordan and Jojo's way of saying, like, I still choose you again.

And I even know our lives are different and this is where we're at. Like, I still choose you at the end of the day. And I want to keep doing that. And I think that's like an affirmation that everyone kind of wants in a relationship. And it's a beautiful thing that he did. I agree. I think it's awesome. I think after a few years of figuring it out of not.

knowing that they're still the one, getting busy, like we said, tons of pressure getting thrown on you. There's a lot of activity around you in noise. I think the noise, no matter what, it's probably almost impossible to block out all the noise. And so even if you let the noise get in a little bit and your relationship kind of separates or whatever, when you can come back together and say, I know, I still choose you. I think it matters. It's like, in my eyes, it was like renewing the vows. Exactly. You know, it's like renewing the proposal. It's freshening it up. It's making it real again because after a few years, it could feel distant. And it was more them this time, too, or, like, she has a ring that he picked out.

That wasn't, like, he chose from four. He went to the store and decided, like, what was her and, like, what was them? And I think that's just, like, a better way to solidify, like, they are together and they love each other fully. And, yeah, love wins. I'm super pumped for them. I hope and wish them the best. They're both great. And obviously, I think Jojo's amazing.

And, you know, Jordan is a stud. So good for them. All right, Sidney. final two thoughts on the episode. This is a big episode, a lot to talk about. I really do all of our listeners and all of us here at IHeart. Really appreciate you stepping in and co-hosting today. It's been fun to kind of bring in contestants to co-host with us

because your insight is a lot better than ours could ever be. But you've been awesome. So thank you, Sydney. Before you leave, there's two storylines that didn't really fit into the mold of what we were talking about, but we have to discuss them. One is a sad one. I guess both have sad pieces, but one ends in happy. ending what Blake and Christina

is it a real thing was he just looking to fix his time like what was that? Oh I mean I don't know my opinion on that was that if Blake really felt that way about Christina he should have done that from day one and not come in

and be like I'm for Hannah I'm for Tasha I'm over here I'm like he would just if I'm Christina I would be like why now like after all of this after all this mess we're at the end like it's like too little too late and I think that's exactly how she felt and even if it was genuine for like I don't really know um I feel like he was just kind of scrambling at the end and it it wasn't fully like there

um and it was unfortunate yeah it was just hard to track again it was one of those storylines and I think it's the theme Sydney I think you all did a great job I think it was a theme of this paradise that it was hard for us watch or viewers to understand these relationships because I felt like there was so much bouncing around and conflict and then confusing things that it was hard to track exactly what was happening at every moment

for whatever reason it felt more overwhelming to me this season and I've talked to a bunch of other people that are very sold out on watching Bachelor in Paradise and they kind of agree like it's hard to track right now exactly well I will say specifically for Christina and Blake that felt the same way me watching it being there I was like huh you're for you're doing what now so that one wasn't even showed for us

I agree with a lot of the other relationships you didn't get to see them but Blake and Christina weren't really doing anything besides giving each other friendship roses and all of a sudden Blake was like oh it's Christina I'm in love with her I don't it was weird um so that one was panned out correctly that makes sense in yeah so maybe it just what like what we saw

was exactly what happened on the show the next one is Connor and Kaelin have a romance that blossomed after Dean left Paradise again we talked about Dean earlier he's compelling he's great He's a friend of mine, so I speak highly of him, so I'm biased. But then he does a typical Dean move, and he leaves.

And then he comes back, which is not a typical Dean move, which shows how much he cares. She's in a relationship with Connor at the time. They seem to be doing well. But we all knew at least watching, hey, she's going to go back with Dean. Did you know she was going back with Dean? I had a strong feeling that she was going to go back with Dean. I think Connor is great. And she was waiting to meet him towards the beginning.

but I think all of her feelings that she had for Dean were just kind of thrown under Connor so that's why it kind of escalated really quickly but it wasn't fully I think she was just like masking how she was upset about Dean leaving and Connor was unfortunately like took the brunt of that yeah I knew deep down she was going to choose Dean it's hard not to choose Dean I know I mean he's great

even though he's like a hot mess he at least owns his hot messery he's like a he's like a beautiful he's like a beautiful cockroach you know like you want to hate him you don't want to like him but like everything like a lot of things he does you're like nobody would be okay with this and then you look at him you're like gosh dang it like yeah he's not that bad is he yeah yeah not that bad uh but it works out in the end uh whitney shows up to the beach finds out connor isn't there and she goes back to the vedanta in porta viarta to find connor and it feels like yeah it's gonna work like it feels like it It was like it was the right thing and it all worked out in the end.

Two super hot people just finding each other. And I think that was beautiful. Two super hot people. I mean, when Connor takes off his shirt, I feel all sorts of weird. He's like no fat on his body. It's insane. And he's like six, six. So my excuse, listen to this.

My excuse my whole life has been, hey, I work out a lot. I'm in shape. Like, I'm not going to take off my shirt and you're going to be like, holy cow, like that guy is ripped. Like, you're never going to say that about me. But I feel good about who I am. Like, I feel good about it. I've had moments. Like college was a little bit worse than now.

But my excuse is I'm not ripped because I'm six four. Like I'm tall. So like it's hard for me to get the big muscles. Like that happens to small guys. And like that's the thing they got going for them. And like I can't get this six pack because I don't have that body type. That's what I say. And then I see dorks like Connor.

Dorks in a good way. Like I like Connor. I've met him. But I get really jealous because that dude, I mean. It's just like Jeanette. right like you can't even fault in part you're like dude dang it mom and dad

I know we'd do it we'd go back in the womb and figure it out gosh dang it yeah well two beautiful people find each other on the beach and love blossoms hey that's been a podcast Sydney I think we're done

I'm out of breath I'm tired that was a lot that was great are you tired anything you want to talk about anything you want to promote you want to find friends in L.A you've moved to L.A if anybody's listening

and has any opportunities for commercials acting modeling for Sydney in L.A. Please. All the things. You want me to dance at your wedding. I didn't do that anytime in paradise. I'm here for all of it. So, yeah.

Hey, Sydney, you've been the best. Taco. We appreciate you. Hey, we say this every week. Just follow my lead. Trust me on this. I've been Ben. I'm sorry, what?

All right. Repeat after me, but use your name in place of mine. Okay. I've been Ben. I've been Sydney. And we'll talk to you soon. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio, or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Yumanzoor.

And I'm Drew Phillips. And we run a podcast called Emergency Intercom. If you're a crime junkie and you love crimes, we're not the podcast for you. But if you have unmedicated ADHD... Oh my God, perfect. And want to hear people with mental illness, psychobabble. Yes, yes Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you

Open your free IHeartRadio app Search Emergency Intercom And listen now Get fired up y'all Season 2 of Good Game with Sarah Spain is underway We just welcomed one of my favorite people An incomparable soccer icon

Megan Rapino to the show And we had a blast. Take a listen Sue and I were like riding the lime bikes The other day and we're like Wee! People ride bikes because it's fun. We got more incredible guests like Megan in store, plus news of the day and more. So make sure you listen to Good Game with Sarah Spain on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner of IHeart Women's Sports Network. I'm Simone Boyce, host of the Brightside podcast, and on this week's episode, I'm talking to Olympian, World Cup champion, and podcast host, Ashlyn Harris. My worth is not wrapped up in how many things I've won. because what I came to realize is I valued winning so much that once it was over, I got the blues, and I was like, this is it. For me, it's the pursuit of greatness. It's the journey. It's the people.

It's the failures. It's the heartache. Listen to the bright side on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And here's Heather with the weather. Well, it's beautiful out there, sunny and 75, almost a little chilly in the shade. Now, let's get a read on the inside of your car. It is hot. You've only been parked a short time, and it's already 99 degrees in there.

Let's not leave children in the back seat while running errands. It only takes a few minutes for their body temperatures to rise, and that could be fatal. Cars get hot, fast, and can be deadly. Never leave a child in a car. A message from Nitsai and the ad council. Have you ever wished for a change but weren't sure how to make it? Maybe you felt stuck in a job, a place, or even a relationship. I'm Emily Tish Sussman, and on She Pivots, I dive into the inspiring pivots of women who have taken big leaps in their lives and careers.

I'm Gretchen Wittmer, Jody Sweetie. Monica Patton. Elaine Welteroff. Learn how to get comfortable pivoting because your life is going to be full of them. Listen to these women and more on She Pivots. Now on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.