The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - The Real Mel

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

Ben and Ashley are back to recap another week of Mel Owens’ season of The Golden Bachelor! Peg’s unicycle ride stole the show, and Ben shares what he really thinks about how the franchise handles the spiritual dates. Ben and Ashley are wondering…is there a “real Mel” that production is hiding from us??But Mel may have redeemed himself by baring his soul at the rose ceremony. Listen to find out what this means for the rest of the season!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Yeah, it's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of fabulous guests. Paul Shearer, Angela and Jenna, Nick Kroll, Jordan, Klepper. Listen to Season 4 of Snafoo with Ed Helms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, a nature reserve, and a spectacular new home. But little by little, they lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins.

out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The murder of an 18-year-old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved for years, until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season, ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts.

This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast, IHartRadio. Hey, welcome back to the almost famous podcast. We're here to break down the golden bachelor with one of my favorite people in the whole entire world, Ashley. Oh my gosh, no way. Me? I'm here.

You know, I was just talking about this yesterday. How just tremendous it is to do this with you week after week after week. One day, it won't happen. And I'm going to be so sad. it's going to be so weird. Like we get fired? No, like I'm talking like 10 years from now. Like in 10 years from now, the odds are we won't be doing this.

Unless it's like an actual 18 year long podcast on The Bachelor, which we might have to like evolve by then into something new. But I hope we are because the dynamics here are one where Ashley and I can discuss. disagree, agree, and still absolutely love each other at the end of the day, I think today is going to be one of those agreement days. Here's what we got into in the past, Ashley. Let's just preface this off the top. We had a season of The Bachelor, and I think fans agreed with us. It was a pretty rough season of The Bachelor, you know, three years ago. There was some tough seasons back to back that we just had a tough time breaking down. We got way too negative though.

I think that was our mistake. We just got too negative because the truth is people listen to this and they watch the show not to then be dumped on with negativity. So I'm only saying this because I think you and I both could come into this a day and be really frustrated with the Golden Bachelor

up to this point and also this season and this last episode. So let's try. our best to highlight the things that were great. And at the end, maybe we'll break down the things that are frustrating to us. Can we do that? Oh, we can do that. And Ben's saying this because I was like saying certain things

before we started the podcast. So I was like, Ben, there's some things. There's some things. We'll talk about it later. Okay, Ben, yes, let's talk about some highlights. My highlight of the episode is Cindy. What about you? I think Cindy is amazing. I do. And I actually, am enjoying, let's say this, I'm enjoying this cast more and more. My problem, though, to back that

up is, I feel like we haven't got to know enough of the cast. I think the cast could have really carried this season if we got to highlight them a little bit more. But we're just getting, I feel like snippets. Maybe it's just me. But do you feel like you know one person really well? I watch it. I'm like, what's her backstory? What's her backstory? Like, I don't remember anything about anyone. And I don't know why. Because I remember on Gary's season, I felt like I kind of like knew everybody's situation. Like, were they divorced? How many? Do they have kids? Was it a death of the husband? So, like, I kind of knew my empathy level going into each sit down. And here I'm just like, wait, what's her story? Like, I like, I like her energy. but I don't really know what's going on. Can you pinpoint maybe from your perspective being on the show, being a part of the show, being around the show,

what's missing? Because I would say I agree with you. I also felt that way about Jones season. I knew I could name six guys right now from Jones season very easily and tell you who they are what they're about. And I think I could have done that right after the season was over, right? Yeah. What is missing or what is different about how this new,

kind of production company is producing this show compared to the past? Well, I feel like we used to have a little bit more substantive conversations between the women in the house. Like their little chats on the couch, those went a little bit deeper. And I, like, don't even know how they're doing this differently because it's the same amount of time, like, because there were 40-minute episodes then, too. So it's not a time thing. and that's interesting.

What are they replacing it with? I really don't know. And Mel is obviously giving less too. He's just not really a vocalizer. I think, though, the lead is the lead, right? They'll protect the lead, they'll make the lead be who they want them to be. I'm with you. I think it's less time amongst the women.

And I think those are really important conversations. There's usually tears, you know, they feel safe. They're not trying to impress. And so it is those conversations one-on-one with women in the house that were missing this year. Also, we had a cast, let's just compare it to the first Bachelor, again, with the Kathy's and the Susan's. But I could name moments from that season, like with people talking about how they had terrible gas because of Susan's meatballs. there was a lot more it was a lot more humor driven and this doesn't feel like there's that humor I'm not watching this with that heartwarming heartfelt moments and I think I have to ask is that

me do you think that's common is am I missing it these ladies just seem like they're a little bit more reserved but as a result of all of this what we get is this kind of week before hometowns and we aren't necessarily all in on anybody the person I would are argue we know the best is Nicole just because of maybe her own personal vulnerability and her her ability to say things even if we agree or disagree but at least she's talking no no I think we know Cindy the most Cindy's being like super emotional but we we know we know Nicole's motive very well she definitely is classic case if not there for the right reasons I will say that there are some ladies that are still here we are in the top six week

and like I don't remember much like Cheryl then I love Carol Carol I'm glad she left because there's absolutely no chemistry between two of them and I was wondering whether or not they were trying to get her to be the next golden bachelorette because I think she's so pretty and I think they were probably like you have a better chance of getting that title if you were to leave right now they do that sometimes so we'll see about her but um ben i guess we know debby a little bit to answer your question um debby you know she doesn't she's never been married before that's a storyline that we do remember yeah we don't necessarily know why but yeah well we don't know much of why and she never had kids

not that you know so yeah it's it's interesting with but let's start episode out with one of the best parts. I do think Peg is an absolute character. I cannot wait to see her hometown. I cannot wait to see how she interacts with the other firefighters. She's on a unicycle. Where she got in a unicycle? I have no idea. But she's on a unicycle to open up this episode. So my initial take on this episode right from the beginning is this is going to be fun. Like she's on a unicycle. Let's get crazy. Let's do some weird stuff. But I think Peg, if you're around her, probably has a similar personality to the Kathy's and the Susan's. I think if they wouldn't let her unleash, she could become like a fan favorite just because of the comments, the commentary, and the stuff that she's willing to say.

Yeah, I see that. So then when do you think about the shaman date? You know, it's tough for me, I think. I'm not against this kind of stuff. There's a lot of it. I think they overdo the spiritual dates. We get a lot of them on Paradise. We do.

You know, I think I come, I personally, and this is my own thing, I don't have any type of feeling other than I would not probably enjoy this date because of my faith tradition. I just don't know enough. I practice meditation, contemplation, prayer in a way that's towards Jesus. and that is my only way of doing that. And so I think my only take, and this might be unfair,

my only take is you're asking people to participate in something that they maybe feel very strongly, like one of their core values in life that they don't necessarily agree with or feel comfortable participating in. They're asking them to do this, which I think is unfair for the show to do. I get it.

I totally understand what you're saying, but like if we break it down, it's like they kind of did a sound, bat, which is kind of like meditation. I mean, like, that doesn't make me feel weird. You know? And the yoga, I actually feel like oftentimes they do connect deeply during, with the whole eye contact and the silence and all of that.

And it could just be because of, you know, my profession outside of this. I speak at churches so often. And I am so ingrained into the, just meeting with people asking questions, hearing about their faith journey, hearing why they. believe what they believe when when he was taught this is going to be so mean no no no i think i know where you're going i think the thing that mel has lacked all season again i don't know this guy i can't see if i like him or not i don't know him but the thing that has lacked this whole season is his ability to go deep his depth has been a question of mind his vulnerability does he really want to be

there or not why is he doing this and and i've i've witnessed these these episodes and that's the question that keeps coming to my mind. And so then we get into one of these opportunities, that depth is almost a necessity in the midst of having conversations around faith and your belief systems. Yet it felt so surface level because the only thing we got from him was I'm a very spiritual person. Right away when that was said, my first response was, I want to ask him if I was one of the women or if I was a friend of his, if you're having dinner is, what do you mean?

mean by that. Like, what does that mean to you? It's not a place of judgment like, hey, I'm going to try to push you to believe what I believe. But let's explore this idea of what do you mean when you say you're a very spiritual person? And we don't get it. And it's like, well, this is another moment of surface level conversations about a topic that is not surface level at any means. It is a vital conversation to have in the midst of a relationship. When these ladies are talking about how they're falling for him, I'm truly like, why? Because of what we've seen, I've seen nothing, I've heard nothing to fall in love with. Like, I feel like, are they just in the Bachelor bubble right now?

Are they just, like, physically attracted to him? Super handsome guy. Because, like, I get those two elements to falling in love this fast. Because what we've seen from him is, like, I, you guys must be getting to, know him much more than us. He must be way chatier than he appears on TV because there's just, there's not much of a personality there. If that's the case, right, then that's a failure on the show's part because they aren't

showing that. Well, our producer just wrote a little note and I am interested to hear your take on this. She said that I feel like all the women are opening up to him and he's not engaging or sharing so they think he's a good listener. See, maybe generationally, I think like, man, this guy's not like, we're not connecting because I am, he's not saying anything of interest to me. He's not even being, doesn't even seem like he's there emotionally very much. Well, as a bachelor. Yeah, as a bachelor.

You know, like when they're telling him stories, he's like, yeah, oh, that must have been tough. Like, I don't feel like it's coming from like the heart. But maybe these women like really like the fact that he's like an old-fashioned, listener. Here's a sign of a listener. And I think it is shown. He's not an active listener. Season after season for the lead. Bachelor to Bachelor. And if we're missing this, if it's not being shown, then the show is doing Mel a disservice. If Mel isn't doing it, then he's not helping out the show. But every season, and I would say Nick did a great job at this when he was the bachelor you would hear somebody explains something to him a story a moment an emotion and he would

reference that when they were together the next time right so not only i don't think it was like meant to be a reminder to the audience i don't think any bachelor bachelor bachelor's there would be like this will be helpful for the audience to hear this again no i don't think that's what's going on it allows you to be more comfortable like how hey he's remembering me and he's he's showing that he actually was listening. Like I actually heard what you said. I know it's chaos around us. I know I'm dating a lot of people. But the thing you said stood out to me enough that I am going to talk to you about it again. I'm going to follow up on that. I'm going to ask another question about it. Or I'm just going to say, hey, last time we talked, it was really nice that you shared with me, X, Y, Z. That

shows to me. You listened. You heard. You remembered. It's as simple as this. Maybe you don't remember it's as simple as asking the producer hey what did we talk about last time yeah yeah help me out with that you take a whole you have a whole notepad of stuff we've talked about help me out remind me what we talked about last time if anything it shows an intention to care we don't get that this season i know like i'm so sorry to say this and like i'm sorry to mel if it's different in real life to me just makes no sense why they would have picked him to be the bachelor i think it was a thought of he's so handsome. His resume is so good. He's wealthy. This guy is going to be a home run. There's a lot of wealthy good-looking guys in their 60s that are single, I feel like. Maybe I'm not looking

in that demographic, but maybe it's more challenging than I thought. I also just wanted to add that I do think, after this short conversation about it, I do think that these women are being taken by the Bachelor bubble and his physical appearance. I really do. I think that, like, you're, you can fall in love with a lot of, a lot of people that you wouldn't normally fall in love with in that bubble. It's, it's, yeah. I mean, I think I was a, I think I was a beneficiary.

No, you weren't, Ben. I knew you were going to say that. Of course, Ben would take it like that. Hey, it's Ed Helms and welcome back to Snafu. My podcast about history. greatest screw-ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu every single episode. 32 lost nuclear weapons. Wait, stop? What? Yeah. Ernie Shackleton sounds like a solid 70s basketball player. Who still wore knee pads. Yes. It's going to be a whole lot of history,

a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of guests. The great Paul Shear made me feel good. I'm like, oh, wow. Angela and Jenna, I am so psyched. You're here. What was that like for you to soft launch into the show. Sorry, Jenna, I'll be asking the questions today. I forgot whose podcasts we were doing. Nick Kroll, I hope this story is good enough to get you to toss that sandwich. So let's see how it goes. Listen to season four of Snap-Fu with Ed Helms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved, until a local homemaker, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her. We know. story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her

or rape or burn or any of that other stuff that y'all said. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County in the Boneville. Valley Feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to binge the entire season ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and on the new season of heavyweight, I help a centenarian mend a broken heart. How can a 101-year-old woman fall? all in love again. And I help a man atone for an armed robbery he committed at 14 years old. And so I

pointed the gun at him and said this isn't a joke. And he got down and I remember feeling kind of a surge of like, okay, this is power. Plus, my old friend Gregor and his brother

tried to solve my problems through hypnotism. We could give you a whole brand new thing where you're like super charming all the time. Being more able to look people in the eyes. They're not always hide behind a microphone. Listen to Heavyweight on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. What's up, everybody?

This is Snacks from the TrapNurts podcast, and we're bringing you the horror every week all October long. Kicking off this month, I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear-inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Silent Hill. Me and Tony Bringing Back Fire Team on Left for Dead, too. and we're just going to be going over some of the greats. Also in October, we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movie and figuring out why black people always got to die first. The Umbril Relequery invites any and all fooling, brave enough, to peruse its many curiosities. But take heed, all sales are final.

Weekly horror side quests written and narrated by yours truly. With a full episode read and a commentary special. And we will cap it all. with horror movie battle royale Jason versus Freddie Michael Myers versus the 80th thing with the little tongue muster

October, we're doing it Halloween style listen to the trap nurse podcast from the Black Effect Podcast Network on the IHard Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast

I'm Ibel Ongoria and I'm Maitego Mishuan and on our podcast Hungry for History we mix two of our favorite things food and history ancient Athenians used to scratch names

onto oyster shells and they called these Oster Khan to vote politicians into exile. So our word ostracize is related to the word oyster. No way. Bring back the OsterCon. And because we've got a very mi-casa is-sucasa kind of vibe on our show,

friends always stop by. Pretty much every entry into this side of the planet was through the Gulf of Mexico, not of America. No, the America. The Gulf of Mexico, continue to be like forever and ever. It blows me away how progressive Mexico was in this moment. They had land reform, they had labor rights, they had education rights. Mustard seeds were so valuable to the ancient Egyptians that they used to place them in their tombs for the afterlife.

Listen to Hungry for History as part of the My Cultura podcast network, available on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So should we go into the details here. The Cheryl and Mel part, they did a cold plunge. And I would, I'd be like, this is my greatest nightmare. You know I've never done a cold plunge. I cannot do it. I cannot and I will not do it. I am cold when it's 68 in the house.

I have a heating pad on at 68. So that just tells you how sensitive I am to the cold. She kind of got screwed, right? I mean, all these dates are meant to bring you together. like tantric yoga felt like to me one wild choice anytime you're going to be on national television with that that's hey you know what he's agreed to show his whole self were you looking at something that i wasn't looking at no no okay i've been a part of the show oh so you're saying that possibly there would be a boner alert yeah okay yeah you can't help it right i mean it's been a thing so Yeah, tantric yoga is like sensual, it brings you together. A cold plunge just pretty much makes you suffer. The opposite of the opposite.

How does that at all bring a couple closer? I don't know. It could be a good story to tell. But some of the other ones, like the Nicole date, obviously was one where there was an opportunity to get closer during that date. What was the other things they did? They do a shaman card reading with Nicole. and he asks her where she sees herself in five years, right?

So she's saying at this moment that she would like to work on her Instagram and she wants to write a cookbook. And then she also said that she would like to have a kiss on camera. It would mean a lot to her. Oh my gosh, this was like the most unbelievable moment because the 20 and 30-somethings, they know not to say these things on camera. It is a big moment for the show though Because up until this point

We only know Mel and Nicole to have this connection Physical Physical This is I mean if this is the first time They're actually talking about something And his like red flags go up I'm surprised because they've spent so much time together I think my question during this was

What happened Because all we get in an explanation is that he heard things that make him, I think he said. Contemplate that like it is maybe what Robin was referring to in last week's episode. And that's all we get. And then, you know, she goes home at the end of this. Well, it was enough for me. He made sense.

Full circle. I'm saying you've seen all of it up until this point. You're like, yeah, this all makes sense. For him, they've been all in frontrunner from the beginning. And then all of a sudden they have one date where they actually talk about. stuff and he asks her kind of what she's into and she's like I'm trying to monetize my Instagram and I want to do a cookbook and he's like there's things that stood out to me and then all of a sudden she goes home I feel like we've missed something I feel like we've

didn't get the full circle moment what I really wanted from Mel is an explanation of him saying hey I am very worried about people that come on this show that want to get famous and at 60 plus years old monetizing a social media is a pursuit that feels not impossible but maybe just not fulfilling. It doesn't have a, it doesn't have the richness that we're looking for at this season of life. Have you read the book Falling Upward by Richard Roar? I didn't read it, but I know of it. Yeah, it's a book on aging. And so it's a beautiful book that you should read 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s. It's a book on aging. And what like each, chapter of life looks like. And what Richard Roar would argue is once you reach that stage,

kind of middle age and on, you are a place of peace, of wisdom, of guidance, of like, focus. You can start to pour into the generation behind you, but also you can continue to make the impact with the knowledge that you have where you are currently. It felt like this conversation lacked all of that because it was this monetization of an Instagram, which, as you said, 30 year olds know not to say. Why? Because it's a bad look. It's a bad look. It's a bad look to say that. You could want it. You could desire it. But if that is like the main focus, it feels like our priorities are far misplaced from why you go on this show, which is to understand yourself better, to possibly fall in love. Yes. Can we also make fun of the fact that she said that her dad still handles her

finances. So I'm picturing a 90-year-old man, just crunching numbers. I think we're getting a sneak peek into a lot there. Yeah. And so it was, I mean, it makes sense for her to go home. It does. It makes sense on why this isn't like maybe the next, you know, step for her and her relational life. Do we know if she's been married previously? No, she, I think she got divorced twice. Divorced twice. And she's looking for that, you know, next final love. of she goes home at the end of this so mel was red flags popped up i wanted more from Nicole i thought we had an opportunity for a two-on-one here that could have been like a robin if robin was still around ben producer ben that would have been so good but you know why i don't think

they did that because i don't think mel would have made a really big deal out of it you know i think that like he would have been like oh you know what whoops she's in it for social media fame. I guess that's not for me. I'll let her go. I don't think he had any strong feelings beyond that. And he does acknowledge when he sends her home that it was like

a physical thing. I mean, not to jump ahead, but let's jump ahead just for a second. When she does get in the car, she holds his face and makes sure that he nods when she says the bitchiest thing. When you

end up breaking up with whoever you end up with you come to me okay and then she waited for him to nod she's like okay you hear me okay bye it was craziness it was good entertainment though yeah and then she says that maybe you know she doesn't notice next but maybe they can make her the next golden bachelorette you think that's a possibility no she was a good villain that they could have made a little bit more villainous, but I know this is, I mean, I'm sure she had more things that she said on camera, but I know it's the Golden Bachelor and they try not to make a lot of drama or a lot of villains. And I'm glad. I don't want that. In fact, I would love to stay away from now always, but it did feel like, you know, when you looked at the headlines last week, Nicole was the

focus of the headlines because of the things she said. Joan and I talked about it. And it was, I mean, I think Joan mentioned it personally. It was offensive for her to say that the last cast wasn't that attractive. I know she's come out publicly and apologize for that. And I'm not going to hold that against her. But I'm sure there was things said that did make you go, this is confusing on how this is the golden show. This is not what this is supposed to be. You're supposed to be way past this pettiness and this infighting. You're supposed to be here to have a good time, to make up memories, and to potentially find your forever partner. Hey, it's Ed Helms, and welcome back to Snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw-ups.

On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu every single episode. 32 lost nuclear weapons. Wait, stop? What? Ernie Shackleton sounds like a solid 70s basketball player. Who still wore knee pads? Yes. It's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of guests.

The great Paul Shear made me feel good. I'm like, oh, wow. Angela and Jenna, I am so psyched. You're here. What was that like for you to soft launch into the show? Sorry, Jenna, I'll be asking the questions today. I forgot whose podcasts we were doing. Nick Kroll.

I hope this story is good enough to get you to toss that sandwich. So let's see how it goes. Listen to season four of Snap-Foo with Ed Helms on the I-Hart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved, until a local homemaker, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her. We know.

A story that law enforcement used to convict six people and that got the citizen investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer, and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her,

or rape or burn or any of that other stuff. that you all said it. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I poured gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go

in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County in the Bone Valley feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and on the new season of heavyweight, I help a centenarian mend a broken heart.

How can a 101-year-old woman? fall in love again. And I help a man atone for an armed robbery he committed at 14 years old. And so I pointed the gun at him and said this isn't a joke. And he got down and I remember feeling kind of a surge of like, okay, this is power.

Plus, my old friend Gregor and his brother tried to solve my problems through hypnotism. We could give you a whole brand new thing where you're like super charming all the time. Being more able to look people in the eye, not always hide behind a microphone. Listen to heavyweight on the I-Heart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

In early 1988, federal agents raced to track down the gang they suspect of importing millions of dollars worth of heroin into New York from Asia. We had 30 agents ready to go with shotguns, and rifles, and you name it. But what they find is not what they expected. Basically, your stay-at-home moms were picking up these large amounts of heroin. They go, is this your daughter?

I said yes. They go, oh, you may not see her for like 25 years. Caught between a federal investigation and the violent gang who recruited them, the women must decide who they're willing to protect and who they dare to betray. Once I saw the gun, I tried to take his hand and I saw the flash of light. Listen to the Chinatown Sting on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or anywhere you get your podcasts.

What's up, everybody? This is Snacks from the Trapner's podcast, and we're bringing you the horror every week all October long. Kicking off this month, I'll be bringing you all my greatest fear-inducing horror games from Resident Evil to Silent Hill. Me and Tony Bringing Back Fire Team on Left for Dead. two, and we're just going to be going over some of the greats. Also in October, we'll be talking about our favorite horror and Halloween movie, and figure out why black people always got to die further.

The umbral reliquary invites any and all fooling, brave enough, to peruse its many curiosities, but take heed. All sales are final. Weekly horror side quest written and narrated by yours

truly, with a full episode read and a commentary special. And we will cap it off with horror movie battle royale Jason versus Freddie Michael Myers versus the 80 thing with the little tongue muster October we're doing it

Halloween style listen to the trap nurse podcast from the Black Effect Podcast network on the IHard Radio app Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcast

Should we talk about Carol and how she's self-eliminated? Yeah I think it's an important moment this season she self-eliminates because she just doesn't feel like they know each other, uh, right? I think that she's the only one who has clarity right now.

I think she's the only one that gets it. I also think that it's always a great thing. I think she's old enough and, you know, mature enough to acknowledge that the chemistry wasn't there, um, that she probably felt uncomfortable bringing him home to a family when she never had a one-on-one, she really never had an in-depth conversation with him. Um, I think that she really could be bachelorette. if they do decide to do another golden bachelorette. She's so pretty, and I found her to be very relatable,

even though we have decades between us. I felt like the way that she acted on the show was kind of the way that I felt like she just is kind of like, oh my gosh, like I'm nervous, and she was always admitting when she was feeling uncomfortable, and I guess I have a sweet spot for that. It was a good moment. I think we did get a lot of clarity.

I also think some foresight there. is when you get with family, they're not going to hold back on the questions. This is weird to them. This is odd to them. They're going to ask you questions like we see in the previews. Do you love this person?

Oh my God, that would be so weird for her to be asked. Yeah, I've never had a date with them. Like, I don't know if I even know this guy. Like, that's a very weird scenario to be put in. And so I don't know if she's a fan of the show, if she knew where things were going. But whatever the case was,

she definitely made the right decision by exiting after she knew that she wasn't going to get a one-on-one this week. Yeah, definitely. So let's go into Cindy's one-on-one. Cindy is just absolutely smitten. And I can't help. Oh, my God, you guys, I'm just pounding this poor guy. That's what she said, but you know what I mean.

She is better than him. Yes and no. I think the only argument I have there is she's smitten for a specific reason. We don't necessarily get why though, right? We get that, you know, I think she's into him, into the experience. We don't get the depth of what in him she sees, but she's all about it, which can go one of two ways. It can either be the most beautiful great thing ever, and it works, or this experience has

got her up in the vacuum that is the bachelor. She's just head over heels and a hopeless romantic. And she actually doesn't know what she's saying. I don't know if we know yet. And this date doesn't really point us, I think, to much more clarity. But thank you, Ben. Yes, I didn't get any more clarity as to why she has the feelings that she has during this date. I do think that she does feel something, though, that's like, I think it's beyond Bachelor

bubble for her. I don't know why. There's something unspoken between the two of them. in my opinion for her. So do you, would you say at this point, she's your frontrunner? Oh, yeah. I think if she doesn't win, I think that it would be absolutely astonishing, especially the way this show is edited.

Yeah, it does feel like it's pushing in that direction. And it feels like it is, if there's one thing we're going to get from this season, it might be that beautiful story kind of coming full circle. The date ends, they go horseback riding in Griffith Park. They do open up a little bit. She opens up about her divorce. and how it's been hard for her to get close to people since then. She's still communicated, which she has for weeks now.

She's shocked by how strongly she feels for Mel. And he, I think, as you said, is reciprocating those feelings. And as a result, when it comes down to the Rose ceremony, even though Mel is nervous and anxious about everything, he keeps Cindy, Pegg, and Debbie to go on hometowns, which means Cheryl and Nicole are going home. Should we talk about their face-times with their family? I also thought Nicole's was telling she was just facetiming with a friend.

Yeah. To me, that said she hasn't built a family of her own, which kind of is sad. And it's like, is he hot? Yeah, he's so hot. Exactly. It's like, yeah, I mean, it's what it is. I know. They did that on purpose.

I'm sure Cindy probably said he's hot, too, to her daughter. They definitely are making Nicole out to be like a teenager. major in a lot of ones you know it feels like that's kind of the edit now if that's true or not we'd have to talk to Nicole or talk to somebody from this season to figure out if that's actually what was like what's happening but her lemon bars from was that last week or this week last last week was lemon bars but he did mention I think Mel said I like her because she like made me lemon bars that's that sounded frank and bitten to me that sounded like he was like I like her because and then they put in the sound bite where it was she made me lemon bars she made me

lemon bars she's one of my favorites because she made me lemon bars I mean if that's where we're at we have a really tough going oh that was so funny yeah oh my goodness I yeah that was wow you just reminded me of that moment the face times of the family I think is a good added touch yeah that's it too goodness Ashley like I watched Joan's season and I watched Gary's season and I remember us talking about it and there were moments where I was emotional

like tears not like bawling but just like this is so sweet I think the show wanted this to be that like the FaceTime moments for us I didn't I thought it was like a good out of touch I didn't feel emotional at all no it made me feel a little bit more like

okay I love to see their family and how they talk to their family because like it obviously you can tell a lot about somebody when they're talking to the person that they're most comfortable with. Yeah. And I think again, like when I think back on the quick scene,

it was Nicole for the fact that it was teenagerish and it was Cindy because of the way that she spoke to her daughter about it just being like seeming so deep for her. And then I guess of Cheryl because Cheryl is like it's more than just like. Yeah. But then Cheryl goes home. Then Cheryl goes home. I was going to say Cheryl and Nicole are going to go home.

We talked about Nicole's. exit. Cheryl is walked out by Mel. Mel. He does get choked up in this moment, saying goodbye to Cheryl. They kiss goodbye. That's not common, I think, on this show that there's a kiss to say goodbye. He does show emotion here. I think it is on Golden, Ben. The Goldens are different. They're like, oh, such a great time. On the Golden, on Bachelor, Bachelorette. Could you imagine? You just done me. Let's make out one more time. Yeah, this will be fun. We do see Mel get emotional, though,

which I think is a moment for us that maybe foreshadows how these next few weeks will be. As I've said since the beginning, the best thing for Mel, the best thing for the show, the best thing for the season, they don't have to force it, but that he shows emotion at some point,

that he shows that he cares at some point. And this is really the first moment we have where I think he's clearly showing that he's cared and that he's invested into this, and I personally found it a very good moment for the show. Yeah, I completely agree. Him walking the two of them out showed something. Here's a question I have for you as obviously we get down to hometowns.

We only have a few weeks left of this season. This is the quickest season of all time. I know that they're short episodes and that it's also short weeks, but wow. It's really wild. Will we have a tell-all, do you think? No. I don't think we had a tell-all for either of the other ones, do we? Oh, maybe we did for Gary.

Maybe we did for both of them. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there will be either. I'm assuming I'm hopeful that the almost famous podcast will get brought back in to do that reunion like we did with Paradise. That was great. We had a lot of fun with that. And so maybe that's how they're going to do it again is the reunion will be on a podcast form and that we can get involved in it in some way because there's a lot of questions. I think that we have about. this season, about the contestants

about Mel. So we'll see we'll see what happens. Ashley, there is a montage at the end with the hometown visits Peg takes Mel to the firehouse. Cindy is crying and saying she's missing something. I don't

exactly know what she's missing there. And then we kind of see Mel just get absolutely hounded by family members. We can't tell who yet on what his intention are if he loves somebody or not and and we see him saying i don't know i don't know if that's like a clipped-in moment or if he's actually that's his response which would be a wild response i think that's

his response but i'm just going along with the fun right now um ben my one thing to say about cindy crying and saying is it about missing something i feel like perhaps that is her family being Like, are you freaking sure, mom, that you're so sure? And then she's like, am I missing something here? Why doesn't everybody else love him the way that I love him? That could be, that could be. Hometowns are fun. It's one of our favorite weeks no matter what, no matter what leads up to it.

It's fun to tease. It's fun to be a part of. And I think the family dynamics are always so vital for us, understanding the contestants more. We'll see how it goes. Anything else to add? honestly this season so far has been tough to break down for me actually because say ben if you guys can't tell yeah i mean and it's like it's it's kind of it's tough because it's just not the investment that i

wanted to have it's kind of like you and i are getting on here and we're like so what are your thoughts about something that there's not really anything thought provoking about yeah it's tough I mean, and the thing that frustrates me is I love the golden idea, the concept, and the first two seasons of the show so much. I do. I did. I want. And it's just, it's so frustrating to me that so quickly,

the thing that made the first two seasons work has now felt so far gone. Is it salvageable? I think so. Is it salvageable this season? I don't know. Yeah. But that's where we're at.

We're entering the hometowns. We'll be here still breaking it down the best we can. So until next time, I've been Ben. I've been Ashley. See ya. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Johnny Knoxville here. Check out Crimeless, Hillbilly Heist, my new true crime podcast from Smartless Media, campside media, and big money players. It's the true story of the almost perfect. crime and the Nimrods who almost pulled it off. It was kind of like the perfect storm in a sewer. That was dumb. Do not follow my example. Listen to Crimless Hillbilly Heist on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

Hey, it's Ed Helms host of Snafu, my podcast about history's greatest screw-ups. On our new season, we're bringing you a new snafu every single episode. lost nuclear weapons? You're like, wait, stop? What? Yeah, it's going to be a whole lot of history, a whole lot of funny, and a whole lot of fabulous guests. Paul Shearer, Angela and Jenna, Nick Kroll, Jordan, Clepper. Listen to season four of Snafu with Ed Helms on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Two rich young Americans move to the Costa Rican jungle to start over, but one of them

will end up dead and the other tried for murder three times. It starts with a dream, a nature reserve, and a spectacular new home. But little by little, they lose it. They actually lose it. They sort of went nuts. Until one night, everything spins out of control. Listen to Hell in Heaven on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. The murder of an 18-year-old girl.

in Graves County, Kentucky went unsolved for years until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and to binge the entire season ad-free,

subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. I'm Jonathan Goldstein, and on the new season of heavyweight... And so I pointed the gun at him and said this isn't a joke. A man who robbed a bank when he was 14 years old. And a centenarian rediscovers a love lost 80 years ago. How can a 101-year-old woman fall in love? again listen to heavyweight on the iHeart radio app apple podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts this is an iHeart podcast