April 16, 2024 • 13 mins
Ben gets real with his honest reaction to Gerry and Theresa’s split! Find out what he thinks happened in their relationship, where they go from here, and what this means for the future of the “Golden” Bachelor franchise!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We've had the unique opportunity here in the Almost Famous
podcast to have some voices, some wise voices, some voices
who have been through the Bachelor franchise for a bit
share their thoughts on the recent announcement of the Golden Bachelor,
Gary and his wife Teresa's divorce. So I was going
(00:26):
to jump in for a second and kind of share
my thoughts. It's this was this was a difficult announcement.
I think for so many of us to kind of understand.
That's why it's everywhere if you google this divorce. All
the major media companies and journalists are covering this. I
(00:50):
think we're shocked, because we're saddened. I'm shocked. I guess
I can speak for myself personally, because I really believe
the two of them we're gonna make it. For multiple reasons.
Let me touch on those. One. I thought their age
was going to allow them kind of this next chapter
in life, and they were really going to invest during
(01:12):
this next chapter into this new love and this new
relationship they found. Quite honestly, this could come off wrong.
I didn't think there was enough time to necessarily have
major disagreements, major disagreements, especially ending in a separation. I
also thought they were gonna have a lot of fun together.
Obviously both of them have done very well in their life.
(01:35):
From all we know, they're both financially sustainable, and so
they had a ton of opportunity to go off and
to travel, or to spend time on the lakes, or
to go out to dinners and to just enjoy kind
of this next chapter. And so for me, I took
(01:55):
all those into consideration without knowing the two of them
very personally, been able to meet him a few times,
and thought this could be something special. Obviously, now shockingly
they are announcing that they're going to divorce. I also
think the fans here are a little bit confused because
(02:19):
we don't have a lot of information. As so many
who have came on here now the podcast today and
been interviewed, they've shared that we just don't know enough. Yeah.
I believe it was Trista who said that, you know,
if love truly exists, then you can figure the rest out.
So many of us who listen to this, who have
(02:40):
been in a committed relationship or in some type of
relationship that we've had to make tough decisions for understand
that the decisions are tough still, yes, but they're going
to get made because there's love behind them. So if
it's just a matter of where you move and what
family you're closer to, then I would say this is confusing,
(03:07):
especially because Gary, yes, has family fairly close, but he's
they still have to drive. I mean, I believe he
has some children that are you know, five plus hours away.
That's you know, a flight from the East Coast to Indiana.
(03:27):
I and you're retired. I guess I should say that
he's retired, and so there's time to fly, there's time
to travel. I've lived in Colorado, my family's lived in
Indiana for the past eleven years, and I don't see them,
maybe as regularly as I would if I lived in
(03:49):
the same hometown or within an hour's drive, But I
see them often. My dad just retired last year, and
before that, you know, there was weeks every year that
I would go home, or there was weeks that they
would come here. There was flexibility in that, and so
I never have felt like I cannot see my family
(04:10):
when I desire to see them or when they desire
to see me. And spend time with Jessica and I
and so I want to believe their excuse. I do.
I mean, I think their reasoning that it was hard
to kind of figure out where they're going to be
for their family is fair, but I don't believe it's everything.
And honestly, I don't know if they owe us everything
in the explanation of why they're getting divorce. I don't
(04:32):
know if that's really my business or any of our businesses.
But we are invested in their love stories, so we
do want to know what happened here. And I think
the question of what happened here for me is also
confusing because their love story brought so many people hope.
I got to do a segment with Gary that was
never shown on television, but we kind of did the
watch party segment where we went on a bus and
(04:55):
stopped in at people's homes and talk to people about
what they're experiencing watching The Golden and there were tears,
there was hope, there was joy, There was Hey, if
you can do it, Gary, I want to do it too.
There was this belief that no matter what age you were,
that love could still exist and could still be found
and I'm worried, or I guess I'm concerned, or I
(05:20):
guess I know that their divorce so quickly after getting
married will probably make people take a step back. But
here's the truth to it. I still believe what they
showed on television, and what so many of them showed
on television, so many of the contestants, is that love
can still be found no matter what age you are at.
(05:40):
I don't want that to be forgotten here. I think
that's where this whole thing gets so hard for me,
because I know that so many people really truly were
invested into their love story and invested into this story
in general, and I don't want people to forget that, Yes,
loves can still be found. If you talk to any
of the women who came off the show, they believe
(06:01):
in love more than ever. In fact, I'll mention Susan
and Kathy here. I've gotten to speak with them multiple times,
and as recently as two weeks ago. Kind of heard
some rumblings at that time that things were not good
for Gary and Teresa, and so we got to have
a conversation about what did the show teach you? And
(06:22):
both of them said that it taught them that love
can still be found, that this next chapter of life
can be the most exciting chapter yet for them. And
so if you're invested into their love stories, if you're
invested into this separation and this divorce that they're entering into,
please do not forget that love can still be found
no matter what age you are in, that the next
(06:45):
chapter can be the best chapter in your story, in
your life. I also think we should look here now.
Maybe you know the main characters of the Golden Bachelor
was Gary and Teresa because they were obviously the ones
who got married national television. Gary was the lead, Teresa
was obviously the one that he chose and that she
(07:07):
chose him at the end. But I think now the
way I'm seeing it is it kind of levels the
playing field a little bit to where the main characters
are everybody that was on the show, These women who
have came off of The Golden Bachelor and are now
representing all new things. They're representing wisdom, they're representing the
(07:28):
kind of this newfound fame and how to handle it
when you have so much experience in life so that
you don't get sucked up. And maybe the relevancy of
it all but you just enjoy the ride. I'm learning
from them, and I think we now we all can.
I think the cool part would be as we watch
the contestants now hopefully go out and date and go
(07:49):
out and explore new relationships, and then we move on
to now the Golden Bachelorette, we can start to we
can continue to learn from them and continue to invest
into their stories and continue to believe that something good
is in the future for all of them. Now, I
(08:16):
kind of want to close here by by also saying
what is by talking about what like what I believe
the future of the Golden Show is. I don't think
this derails it. I do think the divorce makes us
take a step back and maybe have a little bit
(08:39):
of hesitancy when we watch the Golden Show and we're
kind of waiting to see if there's actually love that
is going to be found, and what the wedding looks like,
what the commitment looks like, what these new relationships will
look like, because I think you build off of what
your first example is. For example, Tristan Ryan from The Bachelorette,
(09:00):
we got to see their love story unfold, and now
twenty plus years later, they're still together and they have kids,
and we now believed in The Bachelor and The Bachelor
I think in large part because we saw their commitment
to each other and we saw what came from that,
and so I do think now there'll be more hesitancy.
But I also believe that the Golden Show can still
(09:23):
be really great, and I think success is still going
to come from so many couples, and I'm still going
to be invested now as much as I was before.
I am confused with all of this. Why they got
married so quickly. I mean, I think there's some financial
(09:44):
benefits from that. I do believe they at the time
believe this was the right thing to do, that this
was going to be a relationship with that lasts. I
don't think either of them were entering into that marriage
being like, hey, we'll get married, but yeah, a couple
months later, like it doesn't really matter, we can separate.
I don't think either of them were things that, but
I do believe coming off the high of the show,
coming off the experience of the show, coming off the
(10:06):
press tours, getting to travel together, having this kind of
upour honeymoon moment right after the show probably made them feel, yeah,
this is amazing, Let's get married. I just never think
that's smart. If you go back into my experience, obviously,
there was some hesitancy coming right out of the show
to get married right away. If you see Joey and
(10:28):
Kelsey season obviously, Joey and Kelsey were talking about, Hey,
we'll have a long engagement. You have to kind of
redate to kind of re establish a foundation outside of
the show, because the show, once it's over, it's over,
and you go back to regular life. The show moves
on to the next lead, to the next season, and
you move on to whatever the next chapter holds, and
(10:49):
so you have to redate, re establish Jojo and Jordan
are a great example of that. Matt and Rachel are
a great example of that. So many of the healthy
couples we see today have re establish a foundation outside
of the show, and I don't think Gary and Teresa
ever gave it time to do that. I think they
got wrapped up in the whole thing too quickly, which
(11:09):
honestly is a little surprising because I thought they would
go about this whole thing very differently than any couples
we've seen in the past. All Right, So those are
my thoughts I'm sad. I wish divorce wasn't their best
option or the option they felt like was necessary. Maybe
it's a better way to say that. I wish they
(11:30):
could have worked through some things. I wish they would
have given it some more time to work through some things.
Maybe it was just getting to a place where they
knew this was going nowhere good fast, and so they
had to get out, both of them. I don't know.
We don't know enough. Again, from everything I've read and
in the interview, the only really reasoning for this is
they just couldn't figure out the family dynamics. I don't
(11:54):
think I'm satisfied with that. I know there's more, but
as I said earlier, I don't know if I'm owed anymore.
So it comes from a place of assumption. I just
wish divorce was not the option they felt like was
necessary at this time. I wish that two of them
could have found something beautiful together. I was wishing and
hoping that the Golden Bachelor was going to lead to
(12:15):
an amazing love story that we'd be able to celebrate
for years to come. But we're not. And so now
we move on and we hope that the next season
works and we hope that the contestants find love again.
And we hope that Gary and Teresa can find love
again because I know and I do believe both of
them desired it. Love is a beautiful thing when it's
(12:39):
at its best. This show is about love. When it's
at its worst, it's about drama. And so the Golden Bachelor,
as we continue, I hope, continues to be about love
and we don't lose sight of the incredible life change
that so many on the show and viewers of the
show have had because they've witnessed people later in life
(13:05):
make commitments to try to find love again. So we
watch hopeful Now. I watch with a little hesitancy, but
I still have a lot of anticipation, excitement and anticipation
towards the next season of The Golden Bachelorette and hoping
hey that love truly will be found.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
We've had the unique opportunity here in the Almost Famous
podcast to have some voices, some wise voices, some voices
who have been through the Bachelor franchise for a bit
share their thoughts on the recent announcement of the Golden Bachelor,
Gary and his wife Teresa's divorce. So I was going
(00:26):
to jump in for a second and kind of share
my thoughts. It's this was this was a difficult announcement.
I think for so many of us to kind of understand.
That's why it's everywhere if you google this divorce. All
the major media companies and journalists are covering this. I
(00:50):
think we're shocked, because we're saddened. I'm shocked. I guess
I can speak for myself personally, because I really believe
the two of them we're gonna make it. For multiple reasons.
Let me touch on those. One. I thought their age
was going to allow them kind of this next chapter
in life, and they were really going to invest during
(01:12):
this next chapter into this new love and this new
relationship they found. Quite honestly, this could come off wrong.
I didn't think there was enough time to necessarily have
major disagreements, major disagreements, especially ending in a separation. I
also thought they were gonna have a lot of fun together.
Obviously both of them have done very well in their life.
(01:35):
From all we know, they're both financially sustainable, and so
they had a ton of opportunity to go off and
to travel, or to spend time on the lakes, or
to go out to dinners and to just enjoy kind
of this next chapter. And so for me, I took
(01:55):
all those into consideration without knowing the two of them
very personally, been able to meet him a few times,
and thought this could be something special. Obviously, now shockingly
they are announcing that they're going to divorce. I also
think the fans here are a little bit confused because
(02:19):
we don't have a lot of information. As so many
who have came on here now the podcast today and
been interviewed, they've shared that we just don't know enough. Yeah.
I believe it was Trista who said that, you know,
if love truly exists, then you can figure the rest out.
So many of us who listen to this, who have
(02:40):
been in a committed relationship or in some type of
relationship that we've had to make tough decisions for understand
that the decisions are tough still, yes, but they're going
to get made because there's love behind them. So if
it's just a matter of where you move and what
family you're closer to, then I would say this is confusing,
(03:07):
especially because Gary, yes, has family fairly close, but he's
they still have to drive. I mean, I believe he
has some children that are you know, five plus hours away.
That's you know, a flight from the East Coast to Indiana.
(03:27):
I and you're retired. I guess I should say that
he's retired, and so there's time to fly, there's time
to travel. I've lived in Colorado, my family's lived in
Indiana for the past eleven years, and I don't see them,
maybe as regularly as I would if I lived in
(03:49):
the same hometown or within an hour's drive, But I
see them often. My dad just retired last year, and
before that, you know, there was weeks every year that
I would go home, or there was weeks that they
would come here. There was flexibility in that, and so
I never have felt like I cannot see my family
(04:10):
when I desire to see them or when they desire
to see me. And spend time with Jessica and I
and so I want to believe their excuse. I do.
I mean, I think their reasoning that it was hard
to kind of figure out where they're going to be
for their family is fair, but I don't believe it's everything.
And honestly, I don't know if they owe us everything
in the explanation of why they're getting divorce. I don't
(04:32):
know if that's really my business or any of our businesses.
But we are invested in their love stories, so we
do want to know what happened here. And I think
the question of what happened here for me is also
confusing because their love story brought so many people hope.
I got to do a segment with Gary that was
never shown on television, but we kind of did the
watch party segment where we went on a bus and
(04:55):
stopped in at people's homes and talk to people about
what they're experiencing watching The Golden and there were tears,
there was hope, there was joy, There was Hey, if
you can do it, Gary, I want to do it too.
There was this belief that no matter what age you were,
that love could still exist and could still be found
and I'm worried, or I guess I'm concerned, or I
(05:20):
guess I know that their divorce so quickly after getting
married will probably make people take a step back. But
here's the truth to it. I still believe what they
showed on television, and what so many of them showed
on television, so many of the contestants, is that love
can still be found no matter what age you are at.
(05:40):
I don't want that to be forgotten here. I think
that's where this whole thing gets so hard for me,
because I know that so many people really truly were
invested into their love story and invested into this story
in general, and I don't want people to forget that, Yes,
loves can still be found. If you talk to any
of the women who came off the show, they believe
(06:01):
in love more than ever. In fact, I'll mention Susan
and Kathy here. I've gotten to speak with them multiple times,
and as recently as two weeks ago. Kind of heard
some rumblings at that time that things were not good
for Gary and Teresa, and so we got to have
a conversation about what did the show teach you? And
(06:22):
both of them said that it taught them that love
can still be found, that this next chapter of life
can be the most exciting chapter yet for them. And
so if you're invested into their love stories, if you're
invested into this separation and this divorce that they're entering into,
please do not forget that love can still be found
no matter what age you are in, that the next
(06:45):
chapter can be the best chapter in your story, in
your life. I also think we should look here now.
Maybe you know the main characters of the Golden Bachelor
was Gary and Teresa because they were obviously the ones
who got married national television. Gary was the lead, Teresa
was obviously the one that he chose and that she
(07:07):
chose him at the end. But I think now the
way I'm seeing it is it kind of levels the
playing field a little bit to where the main characters
are everybody that was on the show, These women who
have came off of The Golden Bachelor and are now
representing all new things. They're representing wisdom, they're representing the
(07:28):
kind of this newfound fame and how to handle it
when you have so much experience in life so that
you don't get sucked up. And maybe the relevancy of
it all but you just enjoy the ride. I'm learning
from them, and I think we now we all can.
I think the cool part would be as we watch
the contestants now hopefully go out and date and go
(07:49):
out and explore new relationships, and then we move on
to now the Golden Bachelorette, we can start to we
can continue to learn from them and continue to invest
into their stories and continue to believe that something good
is in the future for all of them. Now, I
(08:16):
kind of want to close here by by also saying
what is by talking about what like what I believe
the future of the Golden Show is. I don't think
this derails it. I do think the divorce makes us
take a step back and maybe have a little bit
(08:39):
of hesitancy when we watch the Golden Show and we're
kind of waiting to see if there's actually love that
is going to be found, and what the wedding looks like,
what the commitment looks like, what these new relationships will
look like, because I think you build off of what
your first example is. For example, Tristan Ryan from The Bachelorette,
(09:00):
we got to see their love story unfold, and now
twenty plus years later, they're still together and they have kids,
and we now believed in The Bachelor and The Bachelor
I think in large part because we saw their commitment
to each other and we saw what came from that,
and so I do think now there'll be more hesitancy.
But I also believe that the Golden Show can still
(09:23):
be really great, and I think success is still going
to come from so many couples, and I'm still going
to be invested now as much as I was before.
I am confused with all of this. Why they got
married so quickly. I mean, I think there's some financial
(09:44):
benefits from that. I do believe they at the time
believe this was the right thing to do, that this
was going to be a relationship with that lasts. I
don't think either of them were entering into that marriage
being like, hey, we'll get married, but yeah, a couple
months later, like it doesn't really matter, we can separate.
I don't think either of them were things that, but
I do believe coming off the high of the show,
coming off the experience of the show, coming off the
(10:06):
press tours, getting to travel together, having this kind of
upour honeymoon moment right after the show probably made them feel, yeah,
this is amazing, Let's get married. I just never think
that's smart. If you go back into my experience, obviously,
there was some hesitancy coming right out of the show
to get married right away. If you see Joey and
(10:28):
Kelsey season obviously, Joey and Kelsey were talking about, Hey,
we'll have a long engagement. You have to kind of
redate to kind of re establish a foundation outside of
the show, because the show, once it's over, it's over,
and you go back to regular life. The show moves
on to the next lead, to the next season, and
you move on to whatever the next chapter holds, and
(10:49):
so you have to redate, re establish Jojo and Jordan
are a great example of that. Matt and Rachel are
a great example of that. So many of the healthy
couples we see today have re establish a foundation outside
of the show, and I don't think Gary and Teresa
ever gave it time to do that. I think they
got wrapped up in the whole thing too quickly, which
(11:09):
honestly is a little surprising because I thought they would
go about this whole thing very differently than any couples
we've seen in the past. All Right, So those are
my thoughts I'm sad. I wish divorce wasn't their best
option or the option they felt like was necessary. Maybe
it's a better way to say that. I wish they
(11:30):
could have worked through some things. I wish they would
have given it some more time to work through some things.
Maybe it was just getting to a place where they
knew this was going nowhere good fast, and so they
had to get out, both of them. I don't know.
We don't know enough. Again, from everything I've read and
in the interview, the only really reasoning for this is
they just couldn't figure out the family dynamics. I don't
(11:54):
think I'm satisfied with that. I know there's more, but
as I said earlier, I don't know if I'm owed anymore.
So it comes from a place of assumption. I just
wish divorce was not the option they felt like was
necessary at this time. I wish that two of them
could have found something beautiful together. I was wishing and
hoping that the Golden Bachelor was going to lead to
(12:15):
an amazing love story that we'd be able to celebrate
for years to come. But we're not. And so now
we move on and we hope that the next season
works and we hope that the contestants find love again.
And we hope that Gary and Teresa can find love
again because I know and I do believe both of
them desired it. Love is a beautiful thing when it's
(12:39):
at its best. This show is about love. When it's
at its worst, it's about drama. And so the Golden Bachelor,
as we continue, I hope, continues to be about love
and we don't lose sight of the incredible life change
that so many on the show and viewers of the
show have had because they've witnessed people later in life
(13:05):
make commitments to try to find love again. So we
watch hopeful Now. I watch with a little hesitancy, but
I still have a lot of anticipation, excitement and anticipation
towards the next season of The Golden Bachelorette and hoping
hey that love truly will be found.
Speaker 1 (13:26):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
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