The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast - What Ifs with Rachel Recchia

Episode Date: December 11, 2023

Ashley is going deep with Rachel Recchia in the place where it all began… the Bachelor Mansion! Rachel reveals intimate details with Tanner that we DIDN’T see on Bachelor in Paradise. She opens up about how it felt going home alone from Paradise and why she wanted to explore more with Brayden.  And, she lets us in on some of the biggest drama that happened off-camera!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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

Yes, yes. Then Emergency Intercom is the podcast for you. Open your... free iHeart radio app search emergency intercom and listen now why are tsa rules so confusing you got a hood of you on take it all i'm manny i'm noah this is devon 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

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AXS.com. Get your tickets today. A.X.S.com. Let's start with a quick puzzle. The answer is Ken Jennings' appearance on The Puzzler with A.J. Jacobs. The question is, what is the most entertaining listening experience in podcast land? Jeopardy-truthers believe in... I guess they would be Kenspiracy theorists. That's right.

They give you the answers, and you still blew it. The puzzle. Listen on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcast with IHartRadio. Guys, I'm in the closet with Rachel Reckia right now. We have really great girl chats and we're together. We're giddy right now because we're in the Bachelor Mansion main closet. And it is just got so many feelings for us.

like every single room in this house brings back so many feelings and I'm obsessed with nostalgia and I'm obsessed with just like feeling me and Ashley are Pisces yes that's what it is I feel like when you think about the two Pisces women in Bachelor Nation 100% us it's me and Ashley so of course we're walking around upstairs going oh my God and we showered in this shower and like we are like tearing up about it yeah it means so much to us this place every little aspect of this house means so much. And it's weird because we did not live in it very long. No. But it's just like, oh, this is home. This is one of my homes. It's like I lived here. Yeah. And like I, I, every time I come in, it's like, you think it's going to be the last time. Yeah. The fan girl in you though,

like, and I feel like, because you're a bachelor fan beforehand. Of course. Yeah. I wrote here with Trista and Ryan. Talking about Bachelor fans, my mom watched their wedding live. Yeah, I know, right? And I had to tell them. And I'm like, I know you hate to. hear this, but like, my mom watched your wedding. Like, I remember watching your wedding. And so the Bachelor fan, not only in me just being back here, but Trista's here. Yeah. You're here. Like, it's just, we're having a great time. But when I look at this house, I'm just like, I can't believe that, like, I accomplished that dream. I was on that show. I pulled up in a limo to this house. It's so crazy. Ash, you have a Bachelor baby. I have a Bachelor baby, too. I know. So not only did you

pulled it to this house you pulled it to the beach that's so crazy and now dawson is downstairs yeah well we can keep talking about we're just gonna go down or we could ask you so many questions about what happened on that beach with you oh please because when you left it really made me feel like out of all three of your experiences you were you i don't know you were the lead so i and you got so far on clayton season but did you like learn more about yourself in paradise than anywhere i don't know you tell me obviously it's so crazy and i feel like people always ask me and they're like what's your favorite season and paradise is the one time i truly feel like i was myself yeah being the bachelorette i feel like i had to fill the role of being a bachelorette and i had to

be next to gabby who's the most incredible women i know and so paradise is the first time we got to be me so really leaving paradise was so emotional for me i learned so much about myself on the beach and yeah, it was a really, really hard goodbye. I think that you not only looked at your most stunning in Paradise, you were just really glowing, but also I thought you were most fun to watch in Paradise, probably because you were just no holds bar. Yeah, no, I, even watching back, I know that that's the one time I really just let myself fully be me.

Yeah. And it was really great to watch back and it was really sad. And it was the most emotional goodbye. I feel like I've had because this is the first time I've really said goodbye. And so, yeah, it's just, it's been such a journey. And I'm so thankful for all my experiences. But Paradise for sure was just so amazing. And I learned so much.

Oh, I love that. I'm so happy that you got that experience because Paradise for me, like there are so many emotions, right? But like, you just left. And it was so positive and such a growing experience. But I do want to talk, you know, juicy stuff. Because you had like three love interests there. You had Brayden first. Then was there anyone in between the Tanner and Jordan of it all?

No. So when Brayden, Tanner, because Jordan kind of came in and Tanner, the night that me and Brayden really broke up, which I mean, they didn't really get to see. But the night we did have that conversation was the night Tanner happened and Jordan happened the next day. okay wow oh man that happened faster than it felt really just 24 hours really yeah realistically so why was it that jill chen our good friend our queen our shared friend she told me in the summer i'm not sure if it was after i thought it was after paradise raps she was like she left with brayden like is there more there oh my god there is more oh my gosh because she said to me something like she left with Brayden but they're like not together now

there's not more me and Brayden are not together now but there was a moment post paradise where there was like a maybe okay so you guys have made out post paradise like off camera no no no no no but I did and this is I haven't told anyone this I did I did write my number down on a piece of paper and gave it to a producer the night we were both at the airport and I was like hey because you guys both left the same day

we love the same day like maybe we can outside like maybe we'll just like be friends let's see yeah but nothing came of it so you chatted we chatted he's in a very like from what I hear happy relationship

so happy for him is it with a bachelor contestant? It is with a bachelor contestant my goodness gracious is her name christina it is it is christina mendrelle yes yes 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 I-HeartRadio app. Search Emergency Intercom and listen now. My name is Ed. Everyone say hello, Ed. Hello, Ed.

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incarceration on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. So you and Braden, not a thing. But what Ben and I were so confused about was what the heck happened the week that you left between you and Tanner. and you and Jordan because one, your date with Jordan seemed super, one, romantic, too sexy, chemistry. It seemed all reigniting. And then you came home and then you were like, oh, wait, maybe I'm, like, down for the Tanner thing. Because Tanner had told you, I see you as more a friend that wasn't a friendship rose. Like, I really want to do this. And then he said that swoony thing where, like, he daydreams about being in a relationship. And then you were so attracted to. that what the heck unfolded that we did not see rachel this has been actually a lot on my mind i know

it was so crazy because that night with me and tanner when he gave me the rose at first when he kissed me i was like this could go somewhere this was something i really wanted to happen i was so interested in him but then he looked at me after we kissed and he said do you want to stay so to me i was like Oh, okay. This is a friendship pro. So when Jordan asked me on that date. That clarifies that a little bit. Yeah.

When he asked me on that date, I was like, you know, of course, like this is us having our first date for the first time. I was so excited. Oh, is it a first date for the second time? Yes, but it really felt like our first, first date. Oh, okay. We really felt like we were meeting each other for the first time again. So much has changed in the year.

And he asked me, he was like, what does it look like when we get back to the beach? Mm-hmm. And I was like, like, you know, I got a rose from Tanner, but I'm not sure that that's a relationship. And I really want you to explore the beach. And I really want you to get this experience. And I don't want to take that away from you. You must not have liked him enough then. I just feel very guilty that I took the Bachelorette experience away from Jordan. So I wanted him to come down to the beach. And if he chose me, I wanted him to choose me because he wanted me and not because he felt like he needed to.

Okay, that makes so much sense now because, like, yeah, could you imagine if he felt guilted into just being with you? Exactly. Because of, yeah, and you're like, oh, no, I took that. Yeah, okay. All makes sense. Yeah. But so, like, what did it look like for him when he went down to the beach and he explored?

So we had a discussion that night before we went down with the rest of the group, I said, I'm going to kind of leave you to have your space. I don't want to go down with you and have the other girls feel like they can't approach you. He could have a connection that might not happen if I was down there with him. And then that all happened with Tanner, which I wasn't expecting. And Tanner telling me that he wanted to try this and that he wasn't giving me a friendship rose. And Jordan was exploring. So I feel like, of course, I was interested in Tanner. I wanted to also give that a chance. And I really wanted to give it a shot. And I think where it kind of went a little bit wrong was the roast night.

And I think that night was a problem for a lot of couples, more than just me and Tanner. But I think the next morning waking up on that roast ceremony, me and Tanner did get into a little fight the night before. I mean, they kind of saw that. Just the roast. And he wasn't sure what he wanted to do. And we were just in a little bit of a tiff. And I remember seeing him the next day. And it was kind of like that feeling.

that we both just, like, knew. Yeah, okay. And it was almost like, we don't have to have a conversation. Like, we just know. Don't we wish we saw all this? Didn't it not make sense? I, you know, there's a lot of things this season. I wish people saw.

There just isn't enough time, unfortunately. But, I mean, I really, I remember looking at him and I remember saying, like, we don't even have to talk like, I know. Like, it's fine. Like, we know. And so I don't, I feel like people saw kind of the night before. they knew it wasn't going any further. He thought maybe something could go further with Jess.

And that's kind of just where the night was going at that point. Okay. So then when Jordan went to go talk to Mercedes, like this was just like, yeah, we're like not together. The second, I think we sat down together and we talked, I knew that it was my time to go. So I didn't even see the talk with Mercedes because at that point I was already so emotional because I wasn't expecting to really leave that night, but I always knew going there if there is a point where I know it's time to go. I'll know. And in that moment,

I was like, all right, well. And it's nice to eliminate yourself. It wasn't, I mean, I've never experienced anything like that. That's never something I thought would happen to me. Because every time I've come on the show, I found love every single time. So of course, I'm thinking, paradise isn't going to be different. I'm going to find love. Yeah. And so in that moment, realizing that I'm going home alone, like, basically for the third time, like, it was something I wasn't expecting, really.

Okay. This is like so, this is very, it's healing the gaps. And we love this. And I'm assuming that, like, because of what you said earlier, if you did have to revisit any of those relationships in real life, it would have been Brayden. So it's just like interesting. And you guys left the same night. It's like, what if you would have continued to explore that a little bit more because you had so much fun together.

Right. You were so bright and shiny together. Yeah. I feel like out of like, Jordan was kind of like this conclusion of my season and the what if and what if. What a full circle moment. It really was so full circle. But Brayden was the only like what if in that situation. And I mean, we are such good friends.

Like we really are like I feel like in a great place. So I don't like have any regrets. But yeah, I feel like that was kind of the one like, what if moment of Paradise, me and Brayden. Before we let you go, I have to know if, can you give us a few moments that didn't make air that you would have loved to have seen made air? I think a big one that I've seen online is a lot of people talking about the Jess and Tyler situation. Yeah, we were all very confused, but we recently had Blake on and Blake kind of clarified. Yeah, I feel like that was something where. all of us kind of knew they were both interested in each other so seeing it happen it was like okay we

were all waiting for this moment and then they never erred a conclusion which is like really unfortunate but I wish that was the one moment that everyone could have seen aired that all the couples kind of talked about it because from what I'm aware I guess Mercedes is the only one I'm not sure of but I think everyone was like okay with it yeah then I wish that would have like seemed like he was almost like encouraged her to like try it out so we just have to ask now because that was brought up the whole speculation in multiple episodes was that Tyler wasn't that into Mercedes did everybody know this because this is a common thing I think overall Tyler is such a great guy he's such a lover and maybe this time when he went down to the beach he wanted to not

have that lover boy around him and maybe that that's what it was that he just didn't want to seem like he was head over heels for Mercedes yeah so as an outsider looking at as all of us it didn't seem like the way Tyler was on last season of paradise on my season like that it didn't seem like the same energy okay but to be fair it could have been Tyler just not wanting to seem like he was head over heels as he usually is. See, thank you for that because I hadn't thought that from the second he walked down the stairs, I was like, why is this guy's head so big right now? I felt like there was a little bit more of an ego this season.

I love Tyler. I do. He's one of my, like, greatest friends. But I think it's, there is something that comes with like seeing yourself multiple times. Yeah. And wanting to maybe change something. Okay. And maybe that's something he, he wanted to change.

He definitely had more swag and less sweetness, I felt. little bit more swag. Yeah, a little bit more of an edge. All right. Rachel, thank you so much. I'm sure that I'm going to leave this interview. And then tonight in bed, I'm going to think about all the things that I forgot to ask you. So you'll come back on. And I know you will. And I love you. And you know I will. Thank you, Ash. Bye. Follow the Ben and Ashley I, almost famous podcasts on IHartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to 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.

Why are TSA rules so confusing? You got a hood of you. I'm take it all. 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 IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast.

No such thing. I just normally do straight stand up, but this is a bit different. What do you get when a true crime producer walks into a comedy club? Answer. A new podcast called Wisecrack, where a comedian finds himself at the center of a chilling true crime story. Does anyone know what show they've come to see? It's a story. It's about the scariest night of my life. This is Wisecrack. Available now. Listen to Wisecrack on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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