The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - TempTayshia

Episode Date: December 2, 2020

Ashley has a serious boy band fan girl moment with Kenny (the boy band manager) from Clare’s/Tayshia’s season. He spills some TOP SECRET dirt from inside the Bachlorette bubble and we hear how the guys reacted to the transition from Clare to Tayshia. We catch up with the new DWTS Mirrorball champion Kaitlyn Bristowe! Find out how she prepared for her historic win and the REAL injuries she sustained while training. Plus, Ben and Ashley recap this week’s episode of The Bachelorette and what might be the best “wedding picture date” of all time.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, luckily, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend's been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone.

Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That seems inappropriate. Maybe find out how it ends by listening to the OK Storytime podcast and the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor. 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. Why are TSA rules so confusing?

You got a hood of you. I'm take it off. I'm Manny. I'm Noah. This is Devin. And we're best friends and journalists with a new podcast called No Such Thing, where we get to the bottom of questions like that. Why are you screaming?

I can't expect what to do. Now, if the rule was the same, go off on me. I deserve it. You know, lock him up. Listen to No Such Thing on the. I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. No such thing. Hi, it's Honey German, and I'm back with season two of my podcast.

Grazias, come again. We got you when it comes to the latest in music and entertainment with interviews with some of your favorite Latin artists and celebrities. You didn't have to audition? No, I didn't audition. I haven't auditioned in, like, over 25 years. Oh, wow. That's a real G-talk right there.

Oh, yeah. We'll talk about all that's viral and trending. with a little bit of cheesement and a whole lot of laughs. And of course, the great bevras you've come to expect. Listen to the new season of Dacus Come Again on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, I'm Jenna Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcomfit Podcast, I'm even more honest, more vulnerable, and more real than ever.

Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my, time join me for conversations about healing and growth all from one of my favorite spaces the kitchen listen to the new season of the overcombered podcast on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast this is the ben and ashley i almost famous podcast with i heart radio tisha has still not disappointed uh the guys actually she's so good i mean and the guys actually I feel like for the first time,

Tasha's been great. But these guys after this week, I say, and tell me if I'm wrong, like they're not disappointing now. They had disappointed me up until this week. I just felt like I didn't know them. I didn't know what was going on. And this week, I'm leaving this episode going,

these guys got something special. I wish I could elaborate, but, you know. I mean, so hey, we're back with another episode of the Almost Famous podcast. We're breaking down Tatia season. We have some incredible guests today. We want to tell you all, listeners, to tune in for the whole episode because it's going to be stacked full. We have Kenny from this season of The Bachelorette coming on to talk about everything behind the scenes, his life.

I'm sure Ashley's super curious on his job and what a boy band manager is out. My gosh. And then we're going to have right now the queen of the franchise, Caitlin Bristow on to talk about her victory on Dance with Stars and having the mirror ball by her side now for a long time. Caitlin Bristol will be coming on but hey we have Bachelor headlines to break down and Ashley as usual you're the you are the expert on this and I know I know these headlines do not disappoint so here we go let's dive in okay let's do it Bachelor Nations Arielyne Dyke Jr reveals he tested positive for COVID-19 it's been rough he says this according to People magazine yeah he came out on Thursday said that he was diagnosed with COVID-9 days ago, which is why he was not appearing on social media for a while. He said that, you know, they've been, he and Lauren and their daughter have been pretty far apart from him in the house

at least 25 feet away. Tomorrow, as in like Friday, this past Friday, he got to see if he was cleared and he was. So that's it. He didn't say anything about his symptoms. I actually think that he was pretty much asymptomatic. Well, you know, a lot of people right now around the country and around the world are still struggling with this virus. It's more prevalent than ever. So it's not a shock, right, that Arreline Dyke Jr. has COVID. But we do want to update you anytime people do. Now, speaking of illnesses, there is somebody in The Bachelor Nation that is literally the picture of health typically. I mean, this guy runs ultramarathons. He does triathlons. He is a former professional football player.

I've been around him many times, and he's quite a few years older than me. But his activity level and his endurance has always shocked me. And so this is a weird story, Ashley, and I want to hear what you think. Bachelor Nation's Trista Sutter says husband Ryan is struggling with a mystery illness. This is according to E-Online. I know. This is so sad. So Trista said that he's at the point where he can't work or cook or exercise or he's

and be with the family and they've been struggling this for months and struggling to get answers they did get a huge relief recently finding out that he does not have cancer but there's still no diagnosis for the discomfort that he's feeling um how horrible is that it's just scary with the unknown and and i and again i want to emphasize like this guy is like super healthy i mean he takes health very seriously he always has since i've known him he's pushed me um to you know to be a just more active as I get older and so this is this is not something like gloss over like this is there's something going on and so they're in our thoughts and prayers that and we'll try to update you as this story continues but it is something to

watch as bachelor nation show your support for Ryan and trust in the family so so sad um yeah we'll keep you updated you guys and I just want to go back to Ari's COVID diagnosis for second like the headline was it's been rough but yeah even though he hasn't been symptomatic what he meant by it's been rough is that he hasn't been able to do with his girls for he has been in will touch you know his family and over a week so that's tough that's what sucks about it uh actually there's been rumors around this couple really since uh they got together rumors that things weren't going well things that that that you know they were that you know they were struggling but they continue to prove to us that things are going fine bachelor nation

Claire Crawley and Dale Moss spend first Thanksgiving together after engagement. So I'm a little confused by this because he's from Minnesota and I thought that most of his family was living in Minnesota still, right? South Dakota, I thought. He was in South Dakota. South Dakota. Thank you. So South Dakota. But apparently they spent time with some of his family in La Jolla, California this past Thanksgiving. They drove down to the seven-hour road trip. Claire said that she loved the quality time with Dale and they have a family farm there

so we got chickens she was running around with the chickens on social media we saw them running around at the beach she said that she was you know just seeing what she posted on social she was saying that like they've been getting in bed at like 6 o'clock drinking hot chocolate watching romantic Christmas movies she said that she very much enjoyed her holiday with Dale

and I guess the family sounds like a dream Sounds like an absolute dream to go to bed at 6 o'clock, drink hot chocolate with your loved ones. I don't know. I can't think of things much better. Hey, speaking to Claire, she came out this week on her social media and said she's been going through things after her bachelorette exit. And her quote is, I'm simply trying my best. This according to people.

The caption goes, hi, it's me, Claire. Not Claire that you've seen edited on your television or social media squares, but the human with feelings and securities, emotions, any normal life, just like you. And just like you, I'm going through things big and small that all of us experience at some point or another. Just like you, I can be shy and awkward or even fighting off my anxiety the best I can that day. There are good days and bad days. Being on reality TV does not exempt me or any of us from that. I will do my best to rise above the negativity and find the positive, but I'm not a superhuman. So when you choose to pass judgments without knowing someone personally, or even something as small as a snide comment,

please remember that just like you, I'm simply trying my best. And then Dale responded to this Instagram post saying, you are never alone. Your strength, love, and passion has and will continue to help so many people out there who may be afraid to share their struggles. It can't be easy. I mean, her exit obviously was controversial.

It wasn't what Bachelor Nation was thinking was going to happen. Obviously, Tasha has done a great job. but the feedback coming after her exit has been tough. And so it is always helpful to see people share vulnerability, and Claire has definitely done that. Now, we had it just a few weeks ago our friends giving, and it was awesome. It was really fun,

and we actually had a couple really special guests from Bachelor Nation with us. One of those guests was Crystal Nielsen. Well, Bachelor Nation's Crystal Nielsen reveals the sex of her first baby this according to e she's having a girl i kind of expected it i just vibed it didn't you yeah i mean is this weird i don't know if this is going to get a lot of hate or not but it just kind of feels like crystal is a girl mom girl mom yeah she's just like yeah she's like yeah she's like a girl mom like um i don't know i just get that feeling so feminine that it's almost I almost can't imagine her growing a boy so crystal nielsen is having a girl well hey Ashley this is a

tough story oh this is this is the worst yeah this one really just shook um man I shook me this week uh the headline reads this bachelor's Ashley Spivey is devastated by second pregnancy loss after delivering beautiful son Christopher now you know one thing has happened here recently and moms and dads are starting to become more open about their struggles with pregnancy and it's becoming less taboo to talk about it and which is helpful for so many because so many people a large part of the population do struggle to get pregnant and then to carry a child well this this hit deep this is according to us weekly so here's what happened. Ashley revealed to all of us that she suffered a pregnancy lost on Thursday, November 26th. And

her caption reads, we delivered Christopher James at 4.27 p.m. The Bachelor alum, who was 36 years old, captioned an Instagram post, like his namesake, my dad, he was taken too early from us. His death is a result of a cord being wrapped around his neck. He was absolutely beautiful with my eyes and dark hair and Steve, her husband's nose and lips. The former reality are concluded that she and her husband are devastated by the loss. So everybody at the almost famous podcast. And I think I can speak for all of us listening. All of Bachelor Nation is there to mourn with you, Ashley, to take a second today and just think about how lucky we are if we have had a kid or, you know, that we are alive on this earth. Like it does, you know, it did for me,

Ashley, was it made me take a step back. And every once in a while, we have these moments where like just being alive, like just having breath. feels so sacred. Like it almost just like shudders you in a and just like appreciation and thankfulness. And so we're just, we're thinking of you Ashley and her husband, Steve, during this tough time. Moving on, Kendall Long reveals if she'd return to Bachelor in Paradise and us weekly's candlelight confessions. She said that she tries to live as if she's not depending on Bachelor world to find her future husband because then she would just be holding off on finding love. However, she said she's had nothing but amazing experiences and it has worked for

in the past. So if it worked for her once, maybe it could work for her twice. She said, I'm not trying to put all my eggs in the bachelor basket. I'm still dating and I'm so single. Huh. It's, uh, well, hey, Kendall's always one that, uh, is intriguing, right? There's like a lot of curiosity around Kendall. So who knows what's going to happen next? But the bachelor, next headline is the bachelor finally dropped a bunch of new Matt James promos. This, according to Cosmopolitan. So in these promos, we see a couple of things. We see a contestant rolling up in a carriage.

We see a contestant arriving in lingerie, like I discussed with you last week. There's a contestant literally falling over, hence all the puns that we'll have about falling from Matt. Then, of course, we see lots of Matt wandering in the foliage of Pennsylvania shirtless. and then we have this new phrase the matchler i don't know if that's like going to work it the matchler the bachelor the bachelor the bachelor i guess so what do you think about that is it a stretch i think i don't think it sticks i think matt's going to something else that sticks like the match i don't think people are going to be going around town and be like have you watched the matchler this week no it's not a thing it's no oneuary or prince farming no it's not but hey it works and uh again

we're super pumped for that season. We have a great season of the Bachelorette. Like we said, we're going to break down today with a special guest, Kenny, and then we'll break down the episode between Ashley and I. But it is super exciting to know that Matt just right at a corner. Well, hey, speaking of right around the corner, we're going to talk to Kenny in a little bit about Paradise, see if he'll ever go on or who he thinks will go on. But until we do, Chris Harrison reveals plans for Bachelor in Paradise Return. It's going to be a murderer's row. of choices of people. Wow.

I tell you what, Chris Harrison is on one with the lines this year. I was going to say, what a word choice. Oh, my God. So, I mean, this has just been obvious to me.

It's been something that I think about quite a bit. Because we didn't have a Bachelor, a Bachelor in Paradise season, that means that all the girls from Peter's season are in contention to be on this season of Paradise, as well as the guys from Claire slash Chachis season, and then the girls from Matt's upcoming season.

So I have to say the guys have it way easy in getting a slot in Paradise, and these girls are going to have to fight tooth and nail to end up there. I mean, they better have stayed semi-relevant if you're from Peter's season, and the girls from Matt's season are going to have to really come with a splash because there's still the same amount of spots for Paradise, and there are two seasons of females to fill them. It's going to be exciting. I mean, I'm really pumped, and I know a lot of fans out there who just really, I mean,

some Bachelor Nation fans just watch Paradise. Like, they don't watch the regular seasons. They just love Paradise. I know there's a lot of people anxious and excited about this season of Paradise. And the fact that it is in the works and there are plans being made just gets me all riled up. Well, hey, we do have Kenny coming on in just a second. Before we do, let's take a break. And we'll bring Kenny on.

And then, again, in a little bit, we'll have Caitlin Bristow talking about her time on Dance with the SARS. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her.

Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate. Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor, and they're the same age. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him?

Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Imagine that you're on an airplane, and all of a sudden you hear this. This. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency, and we need someone, anyone, to land this plane. Think you could do it?

It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying like, okay, pull this. Do this. Pull that. Turn this. It's just... I can do my eyes close. I'm Manny.

I'm Noah. This is Devon. And on our new show, no such thing. We get to the bottom of questions like these. Join us as we talk to the leading expert on overconfidence. Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. And then, as we try the whole thing out for real. Wait, what?

Oh, that's the run right. I'm looking at this thing. Listen to no such thing on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hi, my name is Enya Humanzor. 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. The Super Secret Festi Club podcast season four is here.

And we're locked. That means more juicy cheesement Terrible love advice Evil spells to cast on your ex No, no, no, no, we're not doing that this season Oh, well this season we're leveling up Each episode will feature a special bestie And you're not going to want to miss it

Get in here! Today we have a very special guest with us Our new super secret bestie is The divo of the people The divo of the people I'm just like text your ex My theory is that if you need to figure out that the stove is hot

Go and touch it. Go and figure it out for yourself. Okay. That's us. That's us. My name is Curley. And I'm Maya. In each episode, we'll talk about love, friendship, heartbreaks, men, and, of course, our favorite secrets. Listen to the Super Secret Bestie Club as a part of the My Cultura podcast network available on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hi, I'm Janica Lopez, and in the new season of the Overcover podcast, I'm. taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection. Am I ready to enter this new part of my life? Like, am I ready to be in a relationship? Am I ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time? I wanted to be successful on my own, not just because of who my mom is. Like, I felt like I needed to be better or work twice as hard as she did. Join me for conversations about healing and growth. Life is freaking hard. And growth doesn't happen in comfort. It happens in motion even when you're hurting all from one of my favorite spaces the kitchen honestly these are going to come out so freaking amazing be a part of my new chapter and listen to the new season

of the overcomfit podcast as part of the my culture podcast network on the iHeart radio app apple podcast or wherever you get your podcast okay guys i mean it would be wrong if i I didn't introduce the boy band manager. Oh, geez. Kenny, Kenny's on the line right now. He was sadly eliminated last week. Kenny, your last name was Brash? Yeah, yeah, that's right.

All right, Kenny Brash. So, Kenny, you got to tell me. Yeah. Who do you, what boy bands do you manage? Is this really your occupation? Or did they just give you this title because you have fantastic boy band hair? Oh, gosh.

You actually, you should Ben's like, it's actually true to believe it or not it looks like a joke but um it's it's a it's a it's a boy band tribute band so we so we actually possibly even better it is better so like when we play you would see you know we we cover in sync backstry boys one direction all of ben's favorites basically yeah my kid's on the block holy this is my dream come true can we watch what's their name uh it's just it's the boy band night uh and like after the night brothers like come on no it's sort of named as an event so it's like you're going out and it's boy band night so that's kind of where the name came from so it's it's the boy band night

Chicago on instagram but it's a full band it's like seven pieces full band uh the whole deal it's cool do they all have great boy band hair uh well they did they did I don't know. I wouldn't go that far. Yeah, they used to. Okay, how many Bachelorette parties turn out to Boy Van Knight? That's our bread and butter, actually. So when we first started doing this thing, that was like our crowd was like a ton of bachelor parties. The cool, I mean, I don't know. The beauty of the act is that it draws like 85% women, which bars, love to hear that when we play there. It actually is an amazing concept. I mean, you should see Ashley right now. She is literally, her shoulders are up by her ears. She's so getting it anxious.

I mean, I'm just going to stay quiet. Kenny, honestly, like, I was excited to meet you. I'm going to sit back here. I have only one big question for you that I'm going to save to the end. So Ashley, you just keep this boy band thing going because I know this is your bread and butter. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Because I was going to, it was going to be a real downer if we had to get into the show right now. Who's your favorite boy band? You know, I always go in sync only because I like Justin Timberlake. You know, I'm a big J.T. guy. I don't know. Yeah. Well, I mean, like, I do have so many. And like, there are different nostalgic periods of my life associated with each. But I usually go with in sync. But new kids on

the block is really, really close for like personal reasons. But then I, but then like, musically i have to say i think like the most timeless music comes from back street i yeah i agree backstri i think as an actual boy band band uh backstreet because they're still they're still like yeah selling out arenas yeah they're still we actually did a we did a thing with a j in january uh he was doing like a little side thing and he like we we played and he played with like a dj and it was kind of cool that's so fun i was going to say if all the boy banders you've met who has been your favorite because AJ is definitely up there on my list. What a kind soul. He was on this podcast. Oh, nice. Yeah, he's he was awesome. It was cool. We had him at where I work. I'm just,

I work at a venue in here in Chicago and he came out and he was cool. Like he hung out the whole day. They were there. We played. It was pretty awesome. Now, AJ has a podcast with Iheart, right? Yeah. Yeah, it's a big deal. So, uh, give a little shout. out to AJ's podcast, which is called Pretty Messed Up. It's a good podcast, and he is a nice guy. Yeah. Okay. Well, I will move on to other categories of your life that I find to be very interesting,

like the fact that you hate cheese. What in the... Now, that I think, I don't know where the hell that came from. I think they made that up. I mean, I don't put cheese on a lot of things, but like, I'll eat cheese sometimes. Ben's pissed right now. No, I'm actually all for this one. Cheese messes me up.

See? Cheese and I don't get along. I eat it, but we don't get along. In fact, this is a great conversation because Kenny, when somebody asked me about the Almost Famous Podcasts who doesn't listen to it, you know how I explain it to them? And I've never told Ashley this. So I say, I have this amazing co-host, Ashley, I Kennedy,

who could not be more different than me, like in every interest in life. And so I oftentimes feel like the dad. who sits here and learns about what's going on in pop culture because Ashley doesn't miss a thing like when it comes to boy bands who's in a relationship with who who's hot who's not like Ashley is on top of it where well and so like my job's super easy my job is literally to sit here and know nothing ever and just comment as we go it's a great job it's a good gig I got to apply for that job yeah well you can't take it well hey I want to start with my question here, because we do have a lot of the show to talk about. My question to you, Kenny,

is how many buttons is too many buttons to be appropriate? I think we, I came to the conclusion that three is appropriate. Anything past three is inappropriate, which I surpassed a few times. For a guy, like, I think there was a comment made during this season. I don't know if it was by Claire or Tash, somebody said, like, Kenny literally doesn't have an ounce of hair on his body. So a guy like me who on his head on his yeah it's it's all going to the right places um so for a guy like me who uh it likes to stay warm in the summer um how many buttons isn't appropriate for me or you got a lot of you got a lot of yeah i got a thick sweater i got a thick sweater yeah yeah maybe i wouldn't go past one then okay because unless it does it pop out like does it hang out the top or keeps it

trimmed. I just, you know, I was watching this season. It was something I'm always interested in when it comes to watching every season is what's fashionable, what's going on, like, what guys are doing what to, you know, stay in shape. And I watched you and I said, there's nothing that Kenny has that I have. Your tan, you have a lack of hair, but yet you have a full amount of hair on your head. So I'm just impressed with you. And that's really all I needed from this whole interview was just like, hey, how many buttons can I unbutton? Because it feels sexy. He does. I'm a chest tear fan.

So I love, like, the old school. I have another band that does, like, 70s soft rock, and it's like... Oh, my God. I have to go to Chicago. My other thing, there's boy bands and soft rock, okay? Like, I know Richard Marks is more of, like, an 80s, early 90s guy, but, like, oh, I can get just as passionate about Richard Marks as I can about in sync. Continue, sorry, Kenny. Yeah.

No, that was just that. that like we do the those guys have the chest hair out and the open shirt uh they're a little they're a little overweight they got mustaches and all the beard and and it's it's pretty cool so they're just like me that's what you're saying you're you're compared to me right now cool ma'am that feels good hey kenny how many women have you met at these concerts that come out because they're so um geared toward women pretty much your age too you're you're 30 you're one of the older guys right you're 36 39 yeah holy crap how was that possible look at this man yeah i'd say you were 29 looking at you on this zoom i'm not trying to butter you up that's insane all right thank you thank you i was the oldest

after after night one so i think jeremy was 40 and he got after he got eliminated i was the oldest for pretty much the whole time what is how does that feel um because i was the youngest which you know obviously as we see uh with this week like you know Noah and i the same age when we were on the show. Okay. And that was its own unique challenges, right? To kind of prove that you had what it takes to be in a relationship. Or when you get the question, are you really ready to settle down?

You'd have to come to your head and say, I think so. I don't really know, but I believe I am. What does it like to be the oldest sitting in that room? I mean, I personally, I loved being the oldest, but I also don't, people don't think I'm my age, but at least my thought process, I've seen a lot of stuff. experienced a lot of shit being my age so it's cool to like look younger but also be able to like think older if that makes any sense um but like some of the like there's younger guys like Noah and like Damar is they're like the same age but demar was like super more mature he came off more

matured than Noah I felt like so it's like I think it's age does there is a thing with age but it's also the maturity level too that I don't know if that makes sense but totally makes sense we see age is a big um you know a theme in this week's episode is it easy to date in chicago as the manager of these bands who have so many women around your age coming out to and then yeah like how is it have you had good luck with women why go on the bachelorette um yeah I mean honestly I haven't had great luck i haven't i primarily been single for the majority of my adult life uh outside of one relationship that i had a few years ago or not that long ago kind of maybe about eight months before bachelorette i was i had a relationship sort of that was ending at that

point um but it's actually kind of like i i've been in the music a venue band industry forever, like 20 years almost now. And it's just, it's a pretty difficult industry to be in and also like keep a relationship. So the bachelor was good because I, when they, when they were asking me about going on, I'm like, well, ain't working for me under normal circumstances. So maybe this, this would work out. So that was kind of the approach with that. Is it because too many nights out um it used to be that it used to be that but i i i kind of i kind of cooled that down a few a few years back uh you know i don't really drink anymore i i'm i pulled a houdini at the shows like i dip out the back door when no one's looking i don't say bye to nobody i'm i go to bed

early now but so what is it then i mean okay outside of kind of your lifestyle uh because you have pulled it back like we from my memory of the show we didn't get to really see what it is like that has caused you to not be able to date or get out there uh what do you think is holding you back um i i i just think it's me just being like i not wanting to just settle for anything i don't know i'm just very i don't know if i don't want to say it's like i have walls up or anything because I went into the show fully prepared to just let whatever happened happen but I also wasn't going to force anything and that's kind of how I am like you know I I hung out you hang out with girls and I just some

stuff could have worked probably and I just didn't let it the one main relationship I had before the show probably could have worked if if I you know if we wanted it to but she had moved out of Chicago, and it became a long-distance relationship, and it became very difficult. But it's probably just me. I mean, just not wanting to, just, it's just not wanting to settle for, not to steal Clare's, like, settle for guys like that line, but just, I don't know, I'm just, I'm not opposed to anything. It's just hasn't happened, I guess.

I don't know. Speaking of Claire, describe Claire and then describe Tasia in your experience. with them. Good question. Oh, man. Well, to me, it was, they were polar opposites. Claire, I don't even know how to put that into words. And don't get me wrong.

She's, she's not a bad person. I have nothing bad to say. I just, the whole, the way that whole thing went down, it was, to me, it just was like, she was already dating Dale before I stepped out of the limo. It seemed like so I felt like she was closed off to everybody else no matter what. But when Tasha came in, she was like all about wanting to spend time with everybody, like wanting to get to know everybody, like have a conversation, even if it's a few minutes with Claire,

it was like I went like a couple episodes with like I didn't even talk to her for more than like four seconds on like a group date you know you know what i mean so it was like with tasha was like i spent time with tasha all like a lot even though it was like the same amount of time that i was there with clare as i was with tasha but i spent a million more time million more whatever with tasha yeah and then uh and just tasha just was i don't know she was just seemed like a more a lot i don't know i don't want to say nicer but just She just came off a lot easier to talk to sweeter, which, like I said, Claire might be all of those things, but she just wasn't having it with anybody else, I didn't think. Well, it's interesting because, you know, Tasia, Tisha, I think, you know, has done a terrific job at engaging in conversation and trying to get to know the guys.

I mean, it's been maybe the best I've ever seen done. And so what was it like then sitting in the house? because from my experience on the show you know it was very clear to us during our show who Caitlin was most into and that changed it kind of it went back and forth a little bit like as we got farther along all of us were kind of

more on a balanced playing field I felt like but when you do start to sense that hey she's really into this guy and I feel like I'm just like tagging along and kind of getting in the way it's a really hard feeling when you're in an environment that is so unfamiliar and you start to question a lot what was it like sitting in the house

while Claire was there feeling like yeah she's not that into me but I'm here and I don't really know why you know what happened was and since since it since a lot of the guys felt that way because the way things were going down I what really happened is like the guys sort of became very close the you know that's that's kind of what happened and and And there was, I mean, outside of obviously Dale, you know, Blake a little bit and Jason while he was, you know, Jason while Claire was still, you know, because he didn't leave till Claire left. But there was only what, two, three, maybe four guys that thought they had something going on with her. And the rest of us kind of, I mean, not everybody was as vocal as me probably about saying like, hey, she's not into anybody right now, but I'm sure the guys felt it. But we came, we're super close. Like that, the group of guys that were, left after Claire left, we're still to this day pretty close to each other. I know that might fizzle out at some point, but that's kind of, that's kind of what it became. It felt like it was just our house and like Claire was not even part of it anymore. It was just like, hey, this is our place

now. It was weird. Are any of these guys coming across totally different on the episodes than they did in person? Or is there somebody who's not being highlighted? enough that you loved and thought deserved more attention. Yeah, well, you know what? There was a, some of the sweetest guys and the greatest guys were, were quiet and they didn't either so you're not seeing them as much. You're starting starting to now a little bit, like, Ivan, Brendan, um, Zach C, uh, even Ben, you know, like those dudes, like,

they weren't involved in like drama or sort of outspoken about that was going on so um but honestly like those guys are like the nicest dudes uh and the sweet like the sweetest guys like those guys are unbelievable and i think people are obviously i think they're starting to get people are starting to see that now but it's taken how many weeks before people actually knew those guys too much it's taken longer than any other season it's so wild because I think it was like episode four or even five where I was like, I can't believe we're four or five weeks into this. And I still don't feel like I know these guys.

I don't feel attached to any of them. Like, is this a weak group or is it just because of like the way that Claire has like carried the season? And now in week, are you in week eight already? I'm like, holy moly. They're fantastic. I love them. This is a great group. But in the turnaround happened fast, thankfully.

because I just can't believe how long I went feeling detached from them. Do you, did you ever see Bennett break character? No. So I have a theory, Ashley, after this week's episode. I don't think he, I don't, I think we've been saying it's a character. Character, but it's really him. It's not. It's him.

We'll ask, let's ask Kenny. He knows him better. Like, is it him putting on a, like, a front or is that just who he is? No. that's that's that's that's a that's a hundred percent that there's no character there he's just the character and that's him he is a character he was just i mean you can't make this up with this guy i mean i don't even know where to he came from but it's him he came from Harvard um no wait you so i wonder if he's confused by the fact that we all think that he's hilarious because

he's playing a character and leaning into this caricature sorry that there's no other word to say and now is he puzzled by the fact that we are so entertained by him or like is he possibly offended or is he like oh people dislike me i just i think he just thinks people just like him like he just said i don't think he's he's the harbour guy so he was he expects everybody to like him he expects all this you know he's he would have been pissed if he didn't get all that well another behind the scenes question would be this week there's a really interesting thing that happens where Blake makes this like penis out of clay and and so and then like the storyline starts to shift to like hey this is just who Blake is he always talks about sex everything

is about sex but we've never seen it so for me as a fan I was like I don't know what they're talking about now Kenny you live in the house with him this is Blake like what do they mean when they say this yeah I don't know Blake always has some story some weird stories about just random So when he made the penis out of clay, it was like, oh, that's classic Blake. It's just, I don't know. That's why. All right. So, Kenny, you're giving us so much good behind the scenes gossip.

We want a little bit more from you, but we're going to have to do that right after this break. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious. Oh, wait a minute, Sam. Maybe her boyfriend's just looking for extra credit. Well, Dakota, it's back to school week on the OK Storytime podcast, so we'll find out soon. This person writes, my boyfriend has been hanging out with his young professor a lot. He doesn't think it's a problem, but I don't trust her. Now, he's insisting we get to know each other, but I just want her gone. Now, hold up. Isn't that against school policy? That sounds totally inappropriate.

Well, according to this person, this is her boyfriend's former professor and they're the same age. And it's even more likely that they're cheating. He insists there's nothing between them. I mean, do you believe him? Well, he's certainly trying to get this person to believe him because he now wants them both to meet. So, do we find out if this person's boyfriend really cheated with his professor or not? To hear the explosive finale, listen to the OK Storytime podcast on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. Hi, my name is Enya Umanzor.

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. Imagine that you're on an airplane and all of a sudden you hear this. Attention passengers. The pilot is having an emergency and we need someone, anyone to land this plane. Think you could do it? It turns out that nearly 50% of men think that they could land the plane with the help of air traffic control. And they're saying like, okay, pull this, until this.

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Those who lack expertise lack the expertise they need to recognize that they lack expertise. and then as we try the whole thing out for real wait what oh that's the run right i'm looking at this thing listen to no such thing on the i heart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts hi i'm jennica lopez and in the new season of the overcover podcast i'm taking you on an exciting journey of self-reflection am i ready to enter this new part of my life like am i ready to be in a relationship am i ready to have kids and to really just devote myself and my time. I wanted to be successful on my own, not just because of who my mom is. Like, I felt like I needed to be better or work twice as hard as she did. Join me for conversations about

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Listen to shock incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Kenny, we saw you leave last week, which was obviously sad. Did you expect it or not? So I sort of did. just because the day before the group date was the truth or dare and then that night at the cocktail part of it. I just, I don't know, me and her had our little time together and I could just, I could just tell that she, one, I know she didn't think I could be serious because I was always kind of

just having fun, but, which isn't true. I mean, I could be serious, but we didn't have enough time together for her to see that side of me. But I just, I just had a feeling that things weren't clicking. Um, she, she was always like, sort of like, I, me and her retire, you know, that, that was the one thing about the switch. Like, me and Claire were the same age. Tasha's 10 years younger than me. So that kind of threw, kind of threw things off for me a little bit. And, um, she, she always brought up, like, I live in Chicago. She lives in L.A., like when I moved to L.A., that came up in a lot of conversations. Yeah. Okay. And I just, I don't know, I just got the, I just think that she just didn't think

that it wasn't going to pan out, which is fine. It's probably true. So Jason also got eliminated at that Rose ceremony. And he had like a weird storyline. Like first, it seems like she really liked him. He's maybe kind of a frontrunner. Then there was drama. Then the drama kind of disappeared. And then he was eliminated. Can you give us a little more insight as to what happened with him, like who he was in the house? Yeah. But yeah, it was kind of strange how things panned out with Chasen, the whole Chasin Ed thing. At the end of the day, like, Jason is like, he was one of the dudes. He was very cool, nice guy.

You know, he was, I don't know. It was that whole, like, that whole bickering thing. I'm not, I'm not sure if that, you know, obviously it didn't work. I think it hurt Jason, obviously. I'm not sure if it helped Jason or Ed in the long run or if it hurt him. I don't know or it's just nothing but I think that all that bullshit that was going on probably threw tasha off and just you know it's like if there's too much bullshit she she might have just moved on to the next guy and sort of just he might have just got kind of screwed on it I think but

at the end of the day like chasin's he's a good dude to me you know I like him he's still a friend of mine well uh Kenny we did a good question from one of our listeners uh And I think this is a fun one. You can put your name in this category if you want. If you don't want to, don't worry about it. But they wrote in and said, which men do you think will go to Paradise? Which men do you think will leave this season

and we'll never hear from again? So, Kenny, I'll throw it to you. If you had your list of expected Paradise people, and hey, if you know how this season plays out, please, this is not a spoiler show. Yeah. You know, you could just, you don't have to go there. But who are some guys that come to mind?

Um, you know, I, I just, from where we are now, I feel like, yeah, I feel like, you know, maybe Bennett, um, Blake, uh, maybe Chastin, uh, Ed, you know, some of, I just, I feel like those, the, the guys that were a little more outspoken and stuff and more involved, uh, I'd say those, those, those ones, uh, maybe even, uh, maybe even, I don't know. Like I, like I said, I don't know. Like I named those other four guys. They were a little bit quieter, but I think they're starting to come out of the shell a little bit. They're, you know, more of the sweeter guy category. But I definitely, I feel like Bennett, Blake, Chase and Ed type situation, I think. What about yourself? What about you? I mean, if I get the invitation, I, I'm in, you know. I, you know, I, you know. I'm in for it. I just, I don't know. What do you think, Ben? Well, I think you'd be great at it. I mean, come on.

Like, you're set up for it. Like I said earlier, your wardrobe is already set up for the beach. I mean, if it's hot outside, unbutton a couple buttons, and nobody's going to question you on that. And that's great. But, yeah, I mean, the guys that come to my mind, I think you've got to throw some of those quieter guys in there, right? You have to throw some of the guys that are super nice, super sweet,

little quiet out of the drama. those are the guys that you see really find relationships in paradise. Then you always have the shocker that finds a relationship in paradise, like the more outspoken guys. I think you're, I think you'd be a great choice. I think Bennett's going to be there just because he's, he's been it,

and I think he's got to be. I mean, we're saying this not knowing what happens to him next week, but, you're right. But I think we're all assuming that beneditation may not be living happily ever after. It's hard to say. It's hard to say. But, yeah, that would be my thought.

I think there's a good group. I think Paradise will be a lot of fun this year because you have taken a year off. And it's going to be stacked with some incredible, incredible people. I want to wrap this interview up with who was the frontrunner in your mind when you left? So like not now, not after this episode, not knowing what you know in your men group chat, but when you left? when I did my exit interview there was two could I name two or do you want one oh no no no you can name two so when I when I left that night I said Brendan or and or Ivan were my like favorites to end up with tea I love that you just mentioned two people that are quieter like I like that

we don't have this like clear cut frontrunner that we're all like holy cow she's head over heels for and like this is over with i like that we're i mean i'm on edge so many weeks in going i don't know who she's going to choose there's some great guys but like i don't know who it is so i'm glad you said that and it's so and it's so close to the end and it's still like so many guys that could be it's cool i agree with you ben there's no clear cut frontrunner but dude do i have the vibes of the finale being between ben and zack wow ben that's that's really that I would not have chosen that. Really?

No, I mean. We'll talk about him later in this episode. We're going to talk about it later, but I'll tell you why. Ben's doing some things that are really throwing me off. Me too. Me too, but I'm trying to vibe off Tasia. This is great. Hey, Kenny, you're the best man.

Thanks for coming on. Wishing you all the luck. I know that right now during COVID, especially your industry, has been hit hard. And so we're rooting for you're thinking about you. And thanks for taking your time and coming on the almost. famous podcast. Thank you, man. Thanks, guys. Thanks, Ashley. Thank you. It's been a pleasure. Bye. Bye, bye. Now we're going from Kenny to Caitlin, the dancing queen herself. Let's get her on the phone. Hi, guys. Hello, Caitlin. She is the champion, my friends. And she is the bachelor queen to the end.

Ashley's been really big into this singing thing on the podcast recently. It's really good. She's the dancing queen to the end. You're a songbird over there, Ashley. Caitlin, how in the world do you have any energy right now? I don't. I don't know how I'm doing it. Well, you know what?

I'll tell you how because I got out of bed at noon today. And I've been just sleeping as much as possible. And so coffee and sleep has been my best friend. What kind of coffee you got in there? Like, is that a good holiday drink? No, I'm so boring. It's just a black Americano. Ew, not from Starbucks. Those are hard.

I agree. You know what? I just am going to take what I can get at this point. It's not generous, so I don't care what it is. It's not generous coffee. That hurts my feelings. Well, why? Wait, why is it not generous coffee? I'm so sorry. You know what? I'll do better than that next time. Thank you, Caitlin. You know, I was going to offer to send you some coffee, but then I heard a comment by Charles Barkley this week on the match. And he says, you know, the best part about being rich and famous is all the free stuff you get. And so I'm not sending you anything because you just want to dance with the stars. You can afford it.

You know what I think? I think the best part, obviously I'm not rich and famous, but I'm like. You're famous for sure. No, no. I'm almost famous. Ha ha. I, the best part for me about like having friends that are like got their own businesses going on is supporting them. So let me buy your coffee.

Thank you, Caitlin. You're the best. Hey, Caitlin, let's get to it. You've done a lot of stuff recently. I want to backtrack to, I don't know how many months ago it's been now. But, you know, obviously we've spent some time together. I always have known that Dance with the Stars is something that you've been super passionate about, super excited for. It's fit you. Ashley and I talked about like if this show was made for you and it feels like it had to happen at some point, it did. My question for you is why now? That's a great question, Ben. I think things happen in life for a reason. I believe that if I went on the show five years ago when I had the contract, I don't think I would have won.

I don't think I was in the right headspace. I don't think Artem was actually supposed to be my partner. I don't think we would have been the team that we were today. And I think that the universe works in these magical ways where five years later, after dreaming about it and thinking about it, I could appreciate it more and be in a better physical, mental state of my life to do what I needed to do to win it. I recently had Jenna Johnson on my other podcast and she lost to you, which is good for us, but it's sad for her.

She said that there is no sort of choosing your partner. You can't send little notes saying, like, I want to be partnered with this person. And how did you get to be with Arnhem? I think, I mean, I'm sure you can do that, whether they take it and say, okay, we'll do that for you. I doubt it. But I honestly, I honestly didn't really care who I got because I was just so excited to be there. But when I found out Arden was coming back on the show, I just thought it was serendipitous that we were supposed to be partners five years ago. And now we get to be partners.

And I just love his style of dancing. I've always loved his choreography on the show. and I guess I just got super lucky. I don't know if they were like, oh, they were supposed to be partners. That would be really cool if they were again, and this time it worked out. But I would have been happy with anyone,

but now going through everything, I'm like, Artem, he's my partner for life. Now, we always hear from people who've gone on the show. One, I just have to clarify something. You said he was supposed to be your partner years ago. Were you going on the show? Like, I don't remember this.

Okay, so five years ago I was supposed to go on, but because of contracts and certain things, I ended up not being able to go on. And it was so last minute that Artem actually didn't get to dance that season because of it. So, yeah, five years ago I was supposed to, but still under other contracts and couldn't do it. That makes sense. Well, we always hear from people who've gone on the show how difficult the process is,

like physically difficult. Can you give us a picture behind the scenes? I think it would help us all, like, even admire your accomplishments to a greater level. How are your feet? They're so ugly. my feet are the ugliest feet. Like I remember from, how old was I when I went on point shoes? I was young. I remember getting my first pair of point shoes and going in it and I was like, oh, my feet will never look the same. And it's actually such a grind to be on that show. And I've had friends

that have been on it and they all told me, you know, how challenging, physically demanding it was and even mentally challenging because of the hours and lack of sleep and pain that goes in through your body. but it's crazy. I mean, you're in the studio for six hours a day, seven days a week. There's no days off and you're putting your body through stuff that you've never done before for hours and hours and hours and in heels and you're doing these lifts and certain things that you've never done before. I actually have an x-ray coming up because I think I fractured a rib.

I can't even breathe in fully right now without it killing me. My feet are torn apart. Every day was just an actual grind because I think Artem and I really we both were on the same page with wanting to work so hard so we got in there and it was like no messing around we just danced our butts off for six hours a day and i both of us were just dancing through injuries the whole time what was your greatest relief like when you got home from practice like what did you look forward to oh my gosh honestly thank the lord for jason tardick because the dogs he said oh obviously the dogs i would come in the house and the dogs acted like they

haven't seen me in their whole lives. It was so magical. But Jason would always make sure that there was a glass of wine ready for me, that if we wanted like postmates or sushi or he would cook, like he always just made sure when I came home, it was the most zen atmosphere because he always knew how stressed out I was. The first few weeks that I was there, I'm like, nothing can face me. I'm so happy. I'm in the dance studio. And then once, you know, weeks and weeks of doing something like that, I was, I would come home and just be like, how am I going to do this for however many more weeks. But at the same time, tried to have so much gratitude for just being there. I tried to love every blister. Appreciate my like strength with battling through ankle injuries and rib

injuries because it was all just part of it. And can we just talk about Jason being like the greatest cheerleader of all time? It was almost as much fun watching him react to your performances and your win than it was watching you win. Caitlin, I know you're busy and I know you've got a lot going on. So we're going to let you go here in a second. But I do want to ask you something I've been wondering because you, like, if you have listened at all, like we're so happy for you and celebrating you. But there's this thing that happens in the world where you have this like pinnacle moment

and you've done something that you've hoped for for for five years and you finally made it happening you just didn't make it happen you want it like you are the champion of this thing you were the best you were the fan favorite i can't even imagine how that feels that know that people out there voted for you they like you that much um what now and like what is next like how does it feel now to be in a place that this has happened i am such a freak like i swear to god i said okay once i i think i think a lot of people can relate this to um to this too where you say once i of this. I'm going to be so happy and fulfilled and satisfied once I do this. And if I get this, I'll be so happy. And obviously I am. But I'm always like, okay, once I get the mirror ball,

that's it. I'm like, I'm going to focus on my podcast at home. I'm going to just be like involved in my businesses and have babies. And then now that it's here, I'm like, well, wait, I just got the mirror ball. What else can I do? So I don't know. I mean, I really don't know what's next or what even my plans are, I'm kind of just like at this point, of course, in 2020, I'm like, I would love to go just spend time with family. That's what I've been craving so much. I'm so close with my family and I haven't seen them in almost a year. And that's the longest I've ever gone in my life. And it's just devastating. All I want to do is go to spend quality time with people that I love right now. And that's really difficult. So I have no idea what's coming next. Maybe more music.

just because I love doing that. I find writing and singing so therapeutic. It actually really helps with my anxiety when I write music. And maybe I'll do that because I'm in Nashville. Yeah. Well, music fits you. You're obviously really good at it. Caitlin, we are going to, in this here, we are going to bring you back for your holiday gift guide because, obviously, who would give better gifts than Caitlin Bristow.

But Caitlin, we are so happy for you. Ashton I have been celebrating you. It's really cool to be so on team Caitlin. congratulations from all of us here at the Almost Famous Podcast. Thank you. Thank you guys so much. You guys are always so supportive and sweet and great. And I'm just so lucky to have you both as friends and love being on the podcast.

Oh, thank you. Novel. You are truly inspiring. It's like when you want to do something, you do it 100% and you do it so, so well. Thank you guys. Let's start off with Zach's one-on-one date. Ben, why is it that every guy who gets a one-on-one? becomes my new favorite it was like first i didn't even know who brendon was and then brenda became

my favorite then uh who at the one-on-one who had the one-on-one iven last week iven oh and then i loved ivan and now this week we get zach and i feel like he's my front-runner now what about you well can i share a theory with you uh-huh i think we had such low expectations for these guys because we didn't know them and we were so disappointed like three or four weeks into this season where we're like wait none of these guys we know we don't know them we're not going to know them we're not going to have connection with any of them so when a guy finally shows up and we actually get to know their story which again as we say every year when you know somebody's story it's really hard to hate them yeah that's why we do the in-depth yes exactly it's why we do the

in-depth but like once you hear people's stories and you all you start to go wait no this guy would be great for tasha or this guy would be great for somebody like they just become your favorite because you're hoping for that for so long yeah well i have to say with zach the way did they look at each other like you can feel this energy like a little bit of like sexual tension a little bit you feel the the nerves and the butterflies that you don't with some other people you can feel their walls going up which in some ways is a good sign and they even discussed this last week where she was like i feel my walls going up with you which almost makes it feel like there's something so strong there that you're trying to

to protect yourself from from it you know and i'm with you there's something i mean however we said this for last couple weeks like i think tasha has done a tremendous job of getting you know the guys i also think this is going to be really hard for her in the end because what tasha's done is she's invested herself into each one of these relationships and she's connected with these guys in ways that we don't usually see on a season three weeks in i mean she's only a couple weeks into her season right and she's so deep now into it that like we hear the Zach conversations we hear the Ivan conversations we hear the Brendan conversations and we're like wait there's something special here well because Tasha's allowing and I think these guys are too like don't dismiss the guys work here

but like they're allowing something special to happen and that's when things get really fun for the show but it also gets really hard for the lead yeah all these guys have had stories to unveil during these one-on-ones so when I first saw that they were going to do wedding pictures. I was like, are you freaking kidding me? We're doing wedding pictures again. But this was my favorite wedding picture date because both of them were so not really thrilled about doing it because they both have been married before.

And then we find out for the first time that Zach was married. And he has this huge, like heavy history. Can I make a comment here? I'm really not a fan of these wedding picture dates. No, me neither, because you think that that moment should just be reserved for the actual wedding day, right? Yeah, and, like, most of these dates that are done on the show, like, yes, they're luxurious and you, like, we would never be able to do them without the show. However, they're, like, at least somewhat accomplishable, meaning, like, you can at least say, like, think, okay, I could maybe, if I had enough money, flying a helicopter and land at some beautiful island. but like who in their right mind would ever go on a first date and say let's go get wedding pictures

like this is just like so awkward at every level okay you actually have a fantastic point there I felt like this of all the wedding date pictures this one worked the most just because they both have been married before but I also agree with you when you take it out of the context of the show how freaking bizarre is it and I do think it's a sacred moment that should be shared, I mean, shared only on that day. I can't actually imagine, I would actually be pretty pissed if I had to put on a wedding dress, which I never had to do on the show, and then show a guy who wasn't going to end up being my husband.

It would be weird, Ash. Well, hey, speak in a sacred moments, this whole date with him at the, you know, evening portion felt very sacred. They both opened up and related on many things, like you'd mentioned. They've both been married before. But then we got to know more of Zach. Zach had kind of hinted before that, hey, there's a lot more to him than she knows. And he shared it during this date that, you know, he had suffered from a brain tumor and had that removed.

But at the same time, he opened up about his kind of shortcomings when it came to his first marriage. And then how he kind of spiraled from there. I don't know. Maybe it's just me and maybe there's a better way to say this. But anytime there's vulnerability to this level, like we're. you know it's not just somebody saying the right words at the right time to make something work no when it's when somebody's sharing something that they know could be criticized they know is going to have a mixed opinion it's scary but it's their story like i gain a lot of respect for anybody

on this show that does that because i think it i want it it fits into their their relationship and it makes them know each other better but second it's not easy to do especially when cameras are around So I had a lot of love for Zach coming off of this date. Me too. And you can see that he just recovered so well from the stuff that he's been through and it made him a better man in the end. He comes across very mature. I really like it for Tasia.

Now, to skip ahead for a bit, because we are going to continue to break down this episode, but it is the right time to do this. Now, we have all this love for Zach and we've seen him open up and be vulnerable. And we've also seen him share like, hey, things have been a little messy. Like my story's not simple and it's complex and there's a lot of different things to it. Now, we see in the preview for the rest of the season and at the end of the episode, it looks like Zach, something happens with Zach that he becomes like almost the villain or there's something that goes wrong. Now, again, these are previews and they always are meant to get us talking and they're always meant to get us like shaken up. But that was a little bit like sad for me to see, I think coming off of this date.

Me too. I'm trying to write it off as just one line that is out of context. I think that he's going to go very far. What I also liked about what we see from Zach at the very end is in like kind of like the blooper or like lighthearted feeling clip that we get during the credits. We saw that not only does she jive with his serious side, but very much with his lighthearted side too. And they were having a blast on that Ferris wheel. It was just like a fun, very real life. moment. Yeah, it feels like they're comfortable with each other and they're connected. I do. I think Zach's going to go far. Well, so we see the drama in the house with the guys hoping for the one-on-one. Well, we obviously see that the group day is called. And the men on this group day have to walk into, I think, a scene that like I was on the edge of my seat, Ashley, and here's why. You know, The Bachelor got a lot of flack for the dodge ball date at the beginning of this season. And I was like, are they going to do this again? Like, are we going to, are we about to see these dudes get naked again on this season even blake makes fun of it he's like the third

time i'll be getting naked yeah it mean absolutely wow because there's just there's just nothing about being naked on national television and especially when you like you know this girl but you don't know her that well like none of that feels good to me like i would hate like and i maybe i look it from my own perspective and and that's probably a fault but like i and not even really any moral high ground just like i couldn't do that like i just wouldn't either i just wouldn't want to to do that. No, I'm the kind of person that even in a locker room, like, was always, like, covering up every little bit of myself in high school. Like, I'm just not a publicly naked person. Like, even, like, my sister has, like, really never seen me naked. But the date turns

to be something kind of fun. I mean, yes, there's two people, you know, they're professional models that are posing for these guys. And they start to get, you know, the artistic side of things, which, you know, I think was awesome that the show really is highlighting art now. This was art like this was them expressing themselves and creative ways and they had a couple different avenues to do that um but they're still going on this whole time this bennett and noa thing like it's just starting to like fester and it's becoming now less funny to me and more just annoying that it continues to be like i mean i'll say it and it's not going to be a fan favorite here it feels like bennett is the one that's being immature in this whole thing yeah i agree that if

There's one person here that I feel is more likely to get the boot. It's going to be Bennett. But I also like don't even know what it's like about. Like Bennett keeps saying that he's perplexed by like what the tension's about. I don't, I think that's a lie. I think he understands that like there's a lot of belittling but between the two of them. But I also feel like like why did this start? Like what's the start of it?

Also weird freaking thing that happened. you remember last episode when we left off with the whole Noah like did guys really say that he that Tasha gave him the rose to stir or was he just making that up out of thin air that was never really addressed again never it's weird isn't that bizarre it just went away like the episode said you need to apologize to Tasia and these guys and then we're done with it it's just weird so this day has the Noah Bennett drama Bennett's doing his thing by sitting next to Tasia and, you know, making comments back and forth to Noah during this whole process.

Noah kind of goes back with him and says, hey, you know, after Bennett created like a couple houses that him and Tasia were going to live in, the chateaus, the chateaus and the beach house. You weren't laughing at that? No, I don't like it. You don't like that? I don't like it. I mean, it just, I thought it was funny, but I also find it getting old.

I don't know, but let's concentrate on the good parts of this, this group date. there was a lot of depth here and brandon was amazing with his his his his photo like the way that this is a self-portrait of me and if i turn the frame around it's me with my love and it was so sweet and then we also have ivan with the puzzle and like how he wants to add that last piece and how he got emotional about his dad maybe not seeing the man that he that he created one day oh that was heart wrenching and he just continues to be the sweetest. Riley talking about he got that phone call from his mom after not hearing from her for years. And then he asked, you know, she said, what keeps you, what keeps you wanting to have quality time with your future daughter? And then

he said, well, it comes from never having it in my childhood. There was a lot, a lot of goodness here. And isn't that what art does? Like, you know, like art allows us. to express what's on our hearts and like there's obviously there's a lot of depth to these guys and they're expressing that through this date which I really enjoyed watching but there was a part Ashley and I want to hear there was this part and I can't wait to talk to you about it so Ashley during this whole thing it's all going well and then there's a moment that I don't know honestly like my first reaction quite honestly is to be super like negative on it but I don't know how I feel about it because it feels like it never became a thing.

And so I need to hear from you. I need your wisdom. Ben. Then I wanted to hear from you, Ben. Well, quite honestly, I was very much, like, confused by it. Like, my, me, me too. I thought it was super awkward. Now, yeah.

And now, I don't know what Bachelor Nation thinks. In fact, listeners, what do you think? Was this moment awkward? Was it endearing? Was it sweet? I mean, I know Ben is trying to show up. So here's what we're talking about. Ben goes back behind the scenes here.

He says he forgot something. comes out but naked. And he stands in front of his buddies and Tasia and the people butt naked. Now, I don't know what was trying to be proven here. I know he's trying to show up for her. But this was, and like I'm not against Ben. Like I think he's trying his best during this whole thing to connect with Tasha. I think he really likes her.

But this just felt so weird to me and it never got talked about. It was so weird to me and it went over seemingly. so well and it left me feeling even more weird because it went over so well maybe at first she was startled but then you could see in her eyes

that she really liked the gesture which made me feel like I should be liking the gesture part of me understands completely that like when you're naked you are so vulnerable you're at like you're very most vulnerable like it can be emotional it can be

uh physical but uh like i get the meaning behind it but also at the same time there's so many other ways this early on in a relationship to be vulnerable and the other guys demonstrated it so well that it was just bizarre that he was like okay this is what i'm going to go for was it was a little bit part of it him being showy and almost being like what i'm delivering this is what i have to offer exactly um and then she got so emotional after that that i just went with it uh i don't know i still am kind of confused about how i feel about it okay i don't think it's appropriate that's that's what i'll say i don't think it was appropriate i don't think it was asked for i think it was in weird taste and in weird taste is a perfect way of saying it and it was in front

of all of his buddies like this wasn't like this wasn't him showing up for tation this was a moment in front of a bunch of people and yeah like it fits something inside of me and i need more i need so this is where in life so here's a good example in life uh i would get my friends together and i would say hey i don't know how to process this scenario i need you to help me process it can we talk about how you feel about it if it was right if it was wrong um and that's what i need now like so we need you listeners uh write us how do you think how do you feel about it Are we off here? Or was just like the right thing to do?

Was it the wrong thing to do? It just felt it made me feel all sorts of weird. There was so many things he could have done that wasn't this. That would have been just as strong enough of a statement. And to me, in a way, it was almost like him giving up on being more creative and just being like, screw it, I'm going to go with what I've got. Yeah. It's, I don't know.

We need to hear from you. Yeah, Ashley, I'm with you. But hey, we've been wrong before. You could be wrong again. This could be the sweetest gesture of all the time, and we just don't know it yet. But I'm not feeling it. And I felt like at that moment, it just doesn't sit easy.

Well, speaking of easy. I still think she likes him a lot. Yeah, well, hey, maybe she does. Well, speaking of easy, we fast forward now to the one-on-one date with Easy. It seems to be going great, and it seems to be going well. And I don't feel as a fan, Like, I don't feel a connection the whole time. Like, I feel like they get along and they're, like, laughing together.

But there's no connection. Even at dinner, it felt, um, it felt forced. Well, really? Yeah, I did. I mean, because he, it felt like he was repeating himself a lot, like out of nerves. Like, that was a cute date. That was a cute date. Yeah, cute.

Yeah. And he kept saying that and like, that's a space filler. He's not comfortable yet. Well, Ashley, did you expect the result to be easy going home? Okay. So I think this haunted house part, I'm just going to say the haunted house part was like the probably the weakest point that we've seen, a weakest scene that we've seen over the past couple weeks because everything has been super captivating. I just felt like this kind of dragged out a little bit. But maybe it's because I wasn't feeling like that strong of a connection.

It was more of a friendship. It was very giggly. It was fun. It didn't lead to, it didn't, the date's objective didn't lend itself to like huge vulnerability though. you know it's like going to a haunted house like it's cute when you want to touch somebody and like grab their arm but it's not going to like reveal your soul and then when dinner time did roll around i agree with you there was like some fluff convo and i was like why in the world but until a fluff combo until he said i'm falling in love with you and i was like why in the world is this

guy doing this right now this is way too early there's been no scenes between the two of them um in which like this seems like it's the natural progression of things so I like understand her not wanting to lead him on and eliminating him there but I was actually I was very shocked that she went through and eliminated him it seems like to me this seemed like the kind of date where it's like you give him a rose on the date and then like he gets eliminated a week or two down the road yeah you're telling me you weren't shocked by the fact that she was just like no I and that's why I'm not going to give me the rose yeah I misspoke I was shocked at the end result I guess I

I wasn't surprised that he's going home is my point. It's like at that point, yeah, shocking anytime anybody on a one-on-one doesn't get a rose at the end. It's always a pretty pinnical moment because, you know, you get to choose who you're going on one-on-ones with their treasured items. You want to go on one-on-ones with people that you have a future with or that you want to get to know more. And so it's always shocking. Yeah. But I wasn't surprised that he's not the one for Tatia. And it was the first big out of nowhere cut that we've seen her make, which is once you do one, it's hard to stop.

And she'll probably start, you know, chopping people away as she goes. But we move on from Easy then until maybe one of the most captivating parts of the episode. Something that's dragged on for a long time, Jojo comes in, very serious, and says that she needs to get to the bottom of something. And this something is something we've all watched. and understood. Now, again, here's a little hint at the show. When you're the lead, you don't know this stuff's happening behind the scenes. Like, Tasha knows that there's drama. She knows something's up, but she keeps saying, like, I'm going to get to the bottom of it. She hasn't seen it yet. She doesn't fully understand. Well, Tisha calls both Bennett and Noah in for a two-on-one date.

Ashley, you have been on two-on-one dates. Talk us through this moment. And then I'll share a couple opinions I have. Yeah, it's a weird mini two-on-one that's pre-cocktail party. There will be a rose. I feel like Tasha may not give either of these guys a rose, which happened in my situation. Again, like the tension between them seems like it's all about like nothing. They're really just two people who don't get along. And Bennett keeps insinuating that Noah is too young. and that he's childish. He gives him a book on emotional intelligence, which gives us all flashbacks to Taylor Nolan talking about emotional intelligence.

Bennett says that he didn't have it back when he was Noah's age. He also gives him a red bandana, which is a sign of friendship, he says, and he doesn't want there to be any bad blood moving forward. But then when he gives him the emotional intelligence book and the mustache socks, which is, you know, a little. bit of a reference to the fact that he should only be anybody nobody should be wearing a mustache

anywhere but their feet Bennett says all these are little nudges at how much he doesn't think Noah should be around anymore so they're not real gifts however Bennett keeps saying that they are sincere it looks like this gift is going to be the demise of of Bennett because he's Tasha comes and sits down with Noah and Bennett and Benet's like yeah everything's childish I just don't want anything to be childish and I think that she's a little bit confused in the moment but then we get a to be continued when she says what's in that box she's going to open that box and see how demeaning everything is towards Noah and she's going to eliminate Bennett this is just what I think what about you well you just said it right you just said

a word that I think a lot of people are wondering, was this box demeaning? Because Noah's claiming Bennett, this is another sign of you just being demeaning to me, of bullying me, of pushing me around, of making stuff out of nothing. Like, we could have easily came on this date. Instead, here's the part. Like, if Bennett would have sat down and said, no, actually, I don't like you. And I'm going to give you this gift to show you that. I'd be more okay with it. But instead, Bennett tried to wrap it up and manipulate the situation by saying, hey, I'm always a peacemaker. I'm always a guy that likes to make peace So he's lying because this is not him making peace

And then he presents the gift as something that's going to be uplifting And help Noah and he continues to manipulate Noah and say I'm just doing this out of love, man Like I'm just trying to help you out And Noah's sitting there going no Bennett This is another sign of you being demeaning to me of pushing me around It's not okay and I wasn't okay with that either Because what I mean we just witnessed Bennett manipulating a situation

and making somebody feel belittled, which is never okay on the show. Sort of. I don't even know if I agree with the word manipulating because I feel like manipulating is when somebody's like buying into it and Noah is not buying into this, this Bennett BS.

Yeah, but manipulation is also, I mean, yeah, sure. I mean, what is it? Like, I don't know the right word than to use, but like Bennett presents this as, hey, this is something that I'm just trying to cause piece man i'm just i'm just here to show love and then he twists it and it's only something that no has to sit through and feel worse about himself like can you imagine somebody opening this box up in front of you and saying this is what i think of you and i'm gonna i'm gonna act like it's out of love

and care but really you're just going to sit there and have to take me criticizing you for minutes upon minutes like it's not okay okay so we are i think i think some of us me included are watching this being like, oh, but this is sort of funny because it's coming from Bennett and he's using this word, oh, now we've fallen into a folly or something like that. And it's just like, well, first off, he used the wrong word of folly. Folly. Folly has to, if you're going to pluralize it, it has to be follies. Like he, he did not use Folly right. Follies. Okay. Follies is the plural and he's talking about two of them coming into a disagreement. So he was wrong. Oh, smart, smart Ben. Okay. so but could you imagine if there's just like a regular person like not a person who is a walking caricature but like a regular person and they handed you this demeaning gift that person would be villainized so fast that person would be a straight up villain in this case bennett's almost halfway getting away with it because we think that he he seems like an actor for hire well let's see if he gets away with it because obviously as you said tasha is going to open up this gift and we'll see what she says i mean we'll have to base

our opinion on what Tasha does, but I know how I stand right now, and it's obvious how you stand too. Ashley, it's going to be a great episode next week. Obviously, we're leaving this episode on a cliffhanger with a lot of unknowns, a lot to discover another great episode of Tasha's season and another great episode of Almost Famous podcast. Thanks to all the guests who came on. Ashley, you're the best. We'll be back next week. With that, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. Bye, guys. Later all. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. My boyfriend's professor is way too friendly, and now I'm seriously suspicious.

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