Almost Famous In Depth: Caelynn Miller-Keyes

Ben and Ashley sit down with Caelynn Miller Keyes to go IN DEPTH about her life leading up to “The Bachelor” and how her experience on the show changed her perspective. 

All the information you crave, from getting cast for The Bachelor to her history with Hannah B and  how it felt to be passed over for The Bachelorette.

Get an inside look at her relationship with Dean and the truth about their wedding rings!

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See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous in Depth.
We promised we'd have more. Ashley and I are back
with another episode of Almost Famous in Depth Ashley before
we tell, which I guess you could probably read it
by now in the bio Our listeners, who's on today?
How are you feeling and what are you most excited

(00:21):
for for this interview? I feel like Kaylan for the
past year has just been like so happy with Dean,
and I feel like I'm excited to get to know
more about like the behind the scenes of their relationship
and also so many things that I feel like we
haven't we didn't get to discuss with her back during
like Colton season in Paradise. That's right. Well, before we

(00:45):
bring on our guest, which, as Ashley said, is Kaylan
Miller Keys. Little background on Kayln Miller Keys. She was
born June fifteenth, nineteen ninety five, in Fredericksburg, Virginia. A
childhood illness all left her paralyzed at a young age.
She had a virus that led to inflammation of the brain.

(01:05):
She suffered a complete loss of muscle control, and doctors
only gave her a ten percent chance of walking again. Well,
we know that please start there one hundred percent. I
was going to say, we know where that story continues to,
and it continues to us today on the Almost s
Ofice podcast. Hey Caylen, Hi, thanks for having me. Guy.

(01:27):
Hey Caylen, So tell us about this horrible thing you
experienced as a kid. Yeah. So, when I was two,
I was diagnosed with encephalitis, and my mom took me
to so many different doctors and so many different hospitals,
and she's like, something is wrong with my daughter. And
it just like reminds me of that Grace Anatomy episode

(01:47):
where the mom is like, no, like, something is wrong
with my son. And she finds out that he has
that random disease and so all the doctors were like,
it's a cold, she'll be fine, and she was like, no,
I promise, like something's wrong with her. And so after
a couple maybe like a week or two of that,
she met a doctor and was like, we have to
HELLI back her out, like she is kind of on

(02:08):
the brink of death. She has encephalitis, her brain is swelling,
and we need to get this taken care of. So
it was so far gone at that point because doctors
had misdiagnosed me that They were like, you only have
a ten percent chance of walking if you live, and
your chances of living are very slim. So I mean,
I don't know how I got through it or survived.

(02:28):
But my mom like never fighting, is just she's just
an incredible woman. How how rare is encephalitis? How rare?
I think it was more rare in the nineties or
it was like harder to diagnose I think in the nineties,
but people still have it. It's just it's really bad

(02:50):
for young kids to have it. So how do you
get it, catch it or how to develop it? You know,
I shoul probably do more research. I think it's a vibe.
I think it's a virus that yeah, wow, yeah, just
for my own personal knowledge, did you were you a helicopter?
Were you helicopter to a nova Fairfax? No, I should

(03:12):
have been, but we were to VCU hospital. Oh really
interesting because my dad works at Fairfax. Oh really, they're
much nicer, but we only have Mary wash and fredericksperience
and that's just not the best hospital. So all right,
So then how'd you get through that? Like, did you
have to rehab? Were you in the hospital for days weeks. Yeah,

(03:36):
so I was in the hospital for at least two weeks,
and my mom said I was the smiliest, smiliest, happiest kid.
And she was like, for two weeks straight, you didn't
crack a smile. Like we had people doing everything to
try and make you smile, Like I loved it when
people hurt themselves like chirp and fall and stuff, And
they tried everything. They put on my favorite shows. And
then they brought in a therapy dog on the second week,

(04:00):
fourteen days in and it was a little jack rustle
that hopped in bed with me, and it was the
first time I smiled, And my mom said I started
getting better pretty soon after that. How often does your
mom talk about this? Not too often, but growing up
she definitely let me know, like you're lucky, Like you're
very lucky to be walking, to be living, and she

(04:21):
tells us stories. I get confused. I was just talking
about this. I get confused, like what my memories are
and what the memories that she's told me are. But
she was in the hospital by my side every single day,
had the whole church praying for us, and she said
they were giving me anesthesia. But I wasn't reacting to
it for some type of medicine, and so they just
kept giving me more and more and more, and she said,

(04:43):
I started screaming and just all spiders like crawling from
the ceilings because it all hit me at once, And
just remind everybody and for clarity, you were how old too?
Oh my gosh, so are you even able to speak yet?
Were you speaking? You're like a toddler, so I think
you're like saying little words here and there. Yeah, So, okay,
who else was in your life at this time? Was

(05:04):
your mom was very present? You also have a sister.
You have a dad of course, and a stepdad. So
where was your parents' relationship at this point? My parents
separated when I was three months old, so I don't
remember him being there. I don't remember my mom saying
he came down. I don't really think that sounds like him.
So it was just her, like by my side every night.

(05:26):
And I think my grandma took care of my sister
because she was obviously young and couldn't stay at the
hospital with us. And then how many siblings. I have
three brothers and three sisters. Three It was just me
and her at the time. Oh wow. Okay, so I
said you have one sister, because I'm going off of
what we saw on your hometown date. So why weren't

(05:47):
all your siblings? That are not to jump ahead, but
they were all there, but they just didn't want to
talk to them. I guess my brother was so upset.
He still gets upset. He's like, why did anyone want
to talk to me? And I'm like, I didn't make
that decision. I'm sorry, No way, that's so funny. They
made it seem like you and your your sister was
the one that they had he had to impress. No,

(06:08):
it was weird. I don't know the uh Kaitlin coming
up with a childhood story like this is I mean,
I'm just sitting here. I'm like, wow, that's to be tough,
is there? Did you ever feel growing up like what
was your childhood like? Then? Was there just an appreciation
for you? Yeah? I think my mom was just so
appreciative that I was living that she was also there

(06:31):
through therapy, I had to learn how to rewalk again,
so I started to lose all my motor skills and
I couldn't feed myself, I couldn't walk, so I had
to relearn how to do all those things, to eat,
to walk, to do anything for myself. So she was
there through all that, and it was just She also
like did a lot of research on brains, and she
said that my personality changed drastically when I went through that.

(06:52):
When you go through a brain trauma, you can change.
And so I always like wonder what I would have
or who I would have been if I hadn't gone
through that. Interesting because you said that you were so
smiley beforehand, and I always think of you as smiley now,
So it didn't change I know, happiness. I think maybe
I was more outgoing and then going through that, I
came out more shy. I don't know who knows. Is

(07:15):
this one of the reasons you love dogs so much too? Yes,
I just love him so much. And I think therapy
dogs are just amazing. I want to make Pappy a
therapy dog, but they just I don't know. There's something
about like touching and holding a dog that just makes
you happy. It makes you smile, like Pappy. I feel
like Pappy is a therapy dog, like just by nature, No,

(07:38):
he is Dean, try to take him. He like cuddles
me every night and the other night, Dean try to
take him, and I was like, I literally can't sleep
about this dog, like he can't take him. Well, hey,
just let everybody know we're talking about Pappy, because Caitlyn,
I'm gonna give you a second here to introduce Pappy.
But he is sitting on your lap. He is right
here with us. He is our fourth or I guess,
our second guest on this episode. Yeah, so Pappy. We

(08:02):
adopted him back in maybe February. We were fostering in
January because Dean obviously broke his leg and we knew
we'd be home, so we were like, we might as
well foster while we're here not traveling. So he fostered.
Fell in love with this little man, and now he's
a perfect little son. He's such an Instagram celebrity. People

(08:23):
are so invested in his health and his recovery. He
just had surgery and everyone just loves him. He's so sweet.
He's so sweet. Okay, so let's go back to your
childhood for a second. So your parents divorced the age
of three. How did that affect your relationship with your father?
So they separated when I was three months old? Well,

(08:44):
three bad? I none of that in my head, I
just didn't say it out loud. So for me, I
just I didn't know anything except to have my mom there.
And my mom is just the most incredible, selfless woman,
Like she did such a good job of raising us,
and never I never felt like I was missing anything,
Like I never felt like I was missing a dad.
And then when I was about five, she married my stepdad,

(09:06):
so he kind of if I did have a void
to fill, he filled that. Do you feel like you
and Dean have bonded over the fact that your father
figure in life hasn't been like stereotypical. Yeah, Like we
definitely have a different family dynamic than most, Like we
both do, so we can relate for that. And I,

(09:28):
you know, quarantine has been so tough that I was like,
I've got to go see a therapist what I've been
putting on for so long. So we've been like talking
through what I'm learning in therapy and things like that.
But we definitely have some similarities. Obviously, We've got to
have Dean on an in depth podcast before and he's
always an open book, which I really do appreciate about that. Man,
I love Dean very much. By the way, just to

(09:50):
let you know. I don't know if you knew. That's wonderful.
So growing up then in this family, when did at
what point in your childhood did the did you start
to find a desire for performance? Honestly never, I was
the most shy kid growing up. I could barely speak

(10:12):
to strangers. I was just like I was always the
sidekick and the background person, just like cheering my friends
on who were always loved to be in the limelight
and just loved to the attention. And I never wanted that.
But when I was fifteen, my friend had a little
pin for Miss Virginia, United States, and I was like,
what is that? And I asked her about it. We
talked about it, and I was like, all right, might

(10:33):
as well try it. I don't know what inspired me
to do it, but after my first one, I got
to meet so many girls and I got to come
out of my shell. When you're fifteen and walking in
a swimsuit, it definitely like brings you out of your
comfort zone. And so it was from there I just
fell in love with it, and I loved being on stage,
and I loved just breaking down those barriers that I

(10:55):
built up. So those early you're fifteen. That's wild. I
can't imagine. I can't imagine walking around as some suit
at fifteen years old in front of people. I know,
it's kind of gross to think about. I'm like, why
did I do? What was the hardest part of pageant life? Ooh?

(11:16):
Probably the comparison and yeah, just the comparison and the
competition aspect, Like people can be mean and mostly the
moms can be mean, and it was just tough to
hear people just say not some nice things. And there's
like anonymous boards that people can post on and just
like grip you apart. So that was I learned when

(11:38):
I was fifteen, like what my mental strength is and
what I can handle what I can't, which helped me
in The Bachelor in a sense because there's obviously Reddit
and things that you can read and comments, and I
was like, I know that this will hurt me. I
know I can't handle it, so I'm just not going
to even go there. So this is a common you're
telling me, it's common for the moms to outwardly express
like criticism towards you at like a young teen level.

(12:02):
Like that was an accepting culture. Well, like whispers and
there's one point in a like pageants. I think they're great.
This is just like my one negative. I was sitting
at a pageant in the audience and I was just
hearing people and not all I don't want to like
crap on pageantry in any way, but I was just
hearing people criticize, like a girl comes out, Oh, I

(12:22):
hate that Jess, Oh, I hate her walk. Oh I
hate this, I hate that, I hate her hair. And
I was like, that's not what this should be. And
it's I'm not saying every pageant person is like that,
but it's mostly the moms are just like critiquing every
single girl that walks out there, who's putting themselves out there.
I can't imagine then how that prepped you. Oh I know,
I know. I think that's probably the best prep work

(12:44):
for the Bachelor. Yeah, what's the biggest misconception about pageants
that the girls don't get along? Like my some of
my best best friends are from pageantry. And yes, there
are like those me moments that you would think that happened,
but they're very rare. For the most part, people are

(13:05):
very supportive. And you know that was just me sitting watching.
But when you're actually backstage and you're getting to meet
the girls. For the most part, everyone's great and wonderful,
and you just like developed this really close bond. You
can talk about the work that goes into preparing for
a pageant because you were in it for a good
number of years before you were crowned Miss North Carolina.

(13:27):
So you started fifteen and then you were crown Miss
North Carolina at twenty one twenty two too. Yeah, so
how do you get in that like mindsetke constantly preparing yourself.
It's so funny because I forgot about this podcast and
at eleven am I was like, oh crap, I have
the podcast, and I was literally taken back to pageantry

(13:47):
where I was like, I haven't prepared, I haven't like
thought of the questions. And I'm like, oh my gosh,
Like it's it's not a big deal, but you really
do have to like go through each question and kind
of find the right thing to say, find your stance
on issues at such a young age, of things that
you know most kids aren't thinking about well, I mean, like,
what were the question what are the questions in the
pageant world? I don't know, I don't know pagets at all,

(14:10):
to be to be clear, like I don't know this world,
and and so I come into this, I'm like, there,
I'm still amazed that you're You're able to get up
on a stage at fifteen. I don't get how you
could do that. I just would be I was so insecure.
But then what questions are they asking you? The questions
are the hardest part. I'm like, whenever everybody watches a pageant,
they're like, oh, I just can't wait for the questions

(14:30):
because it's just so awkward. Because even if you are
super eloquent and educated, speaking your opinion on a hot topic,
a political topic, just at the drop of a hat
is so stressful. Yes, and like you've got the intense
music behind you, just like making it even worse, making
your nerves worse. But it is. It's like controversial topics.

(14:53):
It's hot topics in the news. People ask about gun control,
they'll ask about gay marriage, they'll ask about I thinking
about like Miss USA two thousand and nine, it was
about gay marriage, and I think maybe gun control. It
just like anything that's relevant in the news, and nothing's
off limits. What a prep, I mean, what a prep
for a show? That then I know we're going to

(15:14):
jump in and talk about here in just a second.
I mean, what kind of life skills do you think
this pageant world taught you? I think it gave me
the ability to think on my feet, and I tend
to be a very fast talker because I'm like, oh,
I only have fifteen seconds to answer, so I like

(15:35):
get a lot of things out very quickly, which you're
working on. But also it's I don't know, it's taught
me a lot. I don't know. My mind's like jumping
to a million places right now. Well, when you are
doing pageants, you had a sexual assault be one of
your platforms because that was something that you experienced and
we're very open with on The Bachelor in college. So

(15:58):
I kind of want to get into that and how
you decided to make that your platform and when you
started getting comfortable talking about that experience. Yeah. I actually
remember I was at Miss Virginia, USA maybe a year
maybe or a couple of months. It was probably a
year after it happened, and I was talking to one
of my girlfriends and I was like, this happened to

(16:19):
me and it was brutal, and I'm still going through it,
and I kind of want to talk about it, but
no one's really talked about it, so I don't know
if it's appropriate. I don't know what people's response will
be because I think at the time Trump owned Miss
USA for a long time, and I remember people saying

(16:39):
not to talk about it. I think for that reason.
I don't know, but there are a lot of people
saying like yes or no. And I was finally like,
this has been exhausting. This has been so difficult. There
are not enough resources for people to know what to do.
If it happens to you. You wake up and you're like,
I don't know where to go from here. And so
I was like, I have to talk this. If people

(17:01):
shame me, if people guilt me, if people think that
I'm crazy for talking about this, whatever, but if it
helps someone, that's all I could ask for. What was
your hope. I wanted people to know that they weren't alone,
because waking up and just you just have this pit
in your stomach, you feel this hopelessness and helplessness, and

(17:24):
I just wanted to help girls who felt that way too,
and I wanted them to be knowledgeable and know what
to do if this happens. And also I don't know,
there was just such a stigma. I remember my assault
happened a week before the Rolling Stones article came out,
and then there was and it was a girl at EVA.
I believe my brain is scattered, but I think she

(17:46):
was at EVA, and she came forward, did a Rolling
Stones article about her sexual assault, and then it came
out that she maybe fabricated it or things weren't lining up.
So then nobody wanted to come forward. They're like, well,
I'm going to be considered a liar. So I wanted
people to know, like, it doesn't matter what people say,
just speak your truth own, you know, speak up, and
it's an important topic. Do you feel comfortable talking to

(18:10):
us about what happened within the year because you started
talking about it more openly at a year. At what
point did you like tell your mom and talk to
your close best friends about it, because I know that
it all happened when you're with your best friends right
and night going out in college. Are you open to that? Yeah?

(18:30):
So yeah, So in a way it sounds weird, but
I do feel lucky that I went through it with
other people. If there was any luck in any of this.
I do feel lucky that none of us were alone.
We all had each other to lean on, and we
were like, we all woke up that next morning and
we're all confused, and we went to the hospital together.

(18:53):
We filled police reports together, we talked to the detectives together.
And so me thinking about other people just like they
it takes to do all that alone is just absolutely
incredible to me. But yeah, I I didn't tell my
mom until probably five months later. I just felt so

(19:13):
much shame and so much guilt, and I almost called
her in the hospital the night that it happened, but
or the night after it happened, but I was just like,
she's gonna be so ashamed of me. I was drinking,
you know, there were other things in fault, like you know,
sexual things, Like she's going to be so ashamed. And
I remember when she found out, like she was there,
she was meeting with my lawyers immediately, she was at

(19:35):
the school immediately, she was doing everything she could to
fight for me. And I wish I told her immediately
because she just had my back and has had my
back ever since. Oka you tut talk about what you
mentioned the hospital did the night when you reported it
because it wasn't it wasn't there something very strange. Yeah,
So the next day I woke up and I was

(19:55):
like trying to figure out what happened, and you're piecing
things together. It was and just cut and clear, like
this happened. It was. It was over the course of
that entire day where we were piecing things together and
figuring it out. So when I went to the hospital,
I was like, let me just get a to see
let me see if I was had any drugs in

(20:16):
my system. If I was drugged, then I'll know, like
for sure, something was wrong. And so I went to
a hospital and they said we can't and I told them.
I was like, I think I was sexually assaulted last night.
I told them, and they said, I'm sorry, but unless
you fouled police report, we're not going to test you,
which they can't do. And at the point, I didn't
know what had happened. I didn't know if there was

(20:37):
a sexual assault. I wanted to get tested to see
if there were drugs in my system. We were still
figuring things out at that point. So then the day
passes and we're all just feeling more and more weird.
We found out an additional detail, and I was like,
all right, at this point, I'm ready to file a
police report. So so were the other two girls, and
we filed together. I'm so confused how the hospital expected

(20:59):
you to go to the police file the report before
seeking medical advice and attention. Yeah, it didn't make any sense.
And even still today, the only thing that's left with
my case is that hospital bill that I'm fighting. I'm like,
you didn't do anything. You turned me away. I'm not
saying this, and it's like a small hospital bill, but

(21:20):
I'm not going to pay it. When you turned me
away for medical attention that I needed. This is still
this is still something you're fighting today. Yeah, ridiculous, Calu.
I have to ask, then, how did this affect your
relationship with men? People? Just, I mean, everyone who's gone

(21:40):
through this experience, this horrific experience, responds differently. And at
first I shut down, and then I covered it up
by jumping into a new relationship because I just I've
never been good about dealing with things that have happened
to me, like traumas that I've experienced in my life.
I always just down. I went through trauma when I

(22:02):
was a kid, and my mom tried to take me
to therapy, and I just colored the whole time because
I just I can't do it. I couldn't at that point.
So my response was just to ignore it. It happened,
I'm you know, trying to deal with it, and so
I'm just going to jump into a new relationship. This
guy doesn't go to my school, he's graduated college. My
response is just like, everything's fine, which you know, was

(22:25):
not the healthy way to do it at all. But
so my relationship with him, it was fine for the
most part, and then sometimes it would hit me what
happened and the severity of what happened, and I would
just break down and start crying. And I never I
never processed it. So my relationship with him was just

(22:46):
like kind of weird because I would, I don't know,
just break down every so often about it and this
is the new relationship. The relationship right after this is, yeah,
this was the new one. And I just felt like
a sense of trust with him that I just needed,
and so I never felt anything weird with him. But
I do remember if a man would kind of like
touch my shoulder, or even my stepdad who's like been

(23:09):
my dad since I was five, but like touch, I
would still jump. But with that new relationship I was in,
I just like created this bond and trust and like
this necessity that I needed that I didn't feel that
with him. What's your perspective on all to day. Well,
now I've like sought out therapy and I've like gone,
you know, I'm still It's not something that you can

(23:31):
like work through quickly. I'm still working through it. But
I'm happy I came out of it the way that
I did. I'm happy that I'm stronger. I'm happy that
I can now appreciate the incredible men in my life
and the incredible relationship that I'm in now. And just
I think have trust with Dean and I don't know

(23:52):
the I'm sure looking back. Just like most things in life,
you know, there's lessons learned, and obviously in your case
there is a lot of things that you've had to
process and work through. As you mentioned, still working through.
What would if we just kind of give you the
platform which you love doing almost on the end depth
episodes to say there's somebody out there listening to this

(24:12):
who could have been a victim of something similar to
what you have been a victim of what would be
your message for them now? Looking back on you know,
what was this eight years ago? I think six maybe
six years ago? Yeah, six years What would be your
lessons of things learned if someone's gone through it or

(24:34):
going through it. I keep getting so many messages, especially
now when everyone's just sitting with their thoughts and they're like,
all right, it's time that I finally cope with this.
I would say the biggest thing again, it's weird to
say that we're lucky, but we are lucky to be
in this time where we have so many women standing
in solidarity and men standing up and saying me too,
me to, me too. We are lucky in that sense

(24:56):
where we don't have to feel shameful. We don't have
to feel or I guess, feel less shameful. I would
also say to seek help and not do what I did,
Not just cover it up and mask it, because it
will come out and it'll be ugly, and it's better
to just deal with it head on and life gets better,
Life gets much better, and the strength that you'll have

(25:17):
when you come out of this is just will be
amazing and you and looking back, I didn't know I
could be this strong. I didn't know I could be
this vocal and be an advocate for something that is.
It's just it's so horrific that it still happens and
that I'm still getting DMS and I don't know, it's
it's despicable. But it's weird to say that we're lucky.

(25:38):
But we are lucky to be in a time where
we don't feel like our voices are being restricted in
any ways. Beautiful Klen, you've been through a lot, you know,
I mean, think about what we just talked about since
the beginning of this podcast. Yeah, it's weird to think
about and going through therapy. My this is like anyone

(26:00):
else talking about this is going to be crying. But
you're just a practical person. And I am practical in
the sense where it's like I can't change what happened
to me. All I can do is grow through it
and learn from it and try to become a better person. Well,
thanks for sharing. Yeah, thank you, it means a lot.
Let's take a break. When we come back, we're going
to jump into the next stages of your life, which

(26:24):
happens to include the Bachelor franchise and a guy we
know named Colton Underwood. Hey, we'll come back on the
Almost Famous in depth with Kaylin Miller Keys. We're back

(26:45):
with Kaylen Miller Keys. Kaylin, I want to just start again.
We just took a little break. I apologize. First off,
I'm stuffy from allergies and so that's getting me. It's
not the best of voices right now, not that it
ever is. But uh, Kaitlin, thank you for sharing, thanks
for being a good advocate, and thanks for educating me

(27:08):
on a lot of these things. So I just I
appreciate that. That's what I was thinking about during break.
And Ashley, I think you feel the same way totally. Okay,
So while this all went down, you were at Virginia
Commonwealth University, YOUCU, and you were studying broadcast journalism and
you were also doing pageants and you graduated the same

(27:28):
year that you did your prayer that you won Miss
North Carolina the year after. Okay, so all this all
this is happening, and you did you did you want
a career somewhere where like you were going to be
front and center. Yeah, which is so strange because looking

(27:50):
back in my life, I was never that way when
I was a kid. But going through pageants. It's kind
of Most people start studying broadcast journalism, and I was like,
I'm in pageants, I might as well follow along and
try sports broadcasting. I know nothing about sports, though, and
I was like, that is the dumbest thing. I would
be a terrible sports broadcaster. And so I graduated, and

(28:13):
I just I fell in love with journalism. I always
loved journalism, even in high school. I did print, but
broadcast I especially loved. And you know, it was just
it was fun to be in front of the camera.
It's fun to edit your own things, also shoot the camera.
So when you signed up for The Bachelor, was that
during your stint as Miss North Carolina? Because isn't that

(28:33):
illegal in pageant? Or you can't like sign I know
we've talked about this before on the podcast. I won't
bring it back up, but I remember when I was
looking into pageants, I was like, oh, I'd have to
basically choose one or the other. And now we see
a whole bunch of pageant girls on the show. But
back during your day or like when you signed up
for it, I feel like it wasn't legal, right, it

(28:56):
was okay. I don't think there was anything in the contract.
At that point. I remember calling my director and I
was like, hey, I think I'm going to do this,
and she didn't tell me that Hannah was doing it,
which is so funny, but yeah, so I signed up.
I told my director and she said, just make sure
you're back for the crowning of Miss North Carolina. And
I thought for sure I would be one. I'm probably

(29:18):
going home night one and two. They're usually in the States,
and I talked to someone and I was like, is
it possible if we're still in the States for me
to fly back and They're like, yeah, it could be possible.
So I was like, if I don't go for some
crazy reason, don't go home night one, like, we'll still
make it back. But we ended up being in Vietnam.
There's no way I can fly home from Vietnam and

(29:39):
then go crown the girl and then come back. You
were in Vietnam and somebody is trying to convince you
that you could possibly make this whole thing work. Yeah, unbelievable.
So how did it play out? Unfortunately? I missed it,
and I mean, it's a bummer, but my teen is

(30:02):
incredible and she took it over. There's like Miss North
Carolina teen, and she essentially it's like placing a crown
on someone's head, and it is like it is important.
I won't say that it's not important. But also at
the time, I was in Vietnam and I was like,
I think I might really love this man. So am
I really going to place a crown on someone's head
and give up a man that I might love? So

(30:23):
that's how I justified it. And it's you know, it
wasn't the best, but it happened all right. So there's
obviously a lot of jealousy when it comes to pageants
when you weren't crowned Miss USA and you saw a
friend get crowned Miss Usa, Like, you have to be
honest with the feelings that run through your body in
that moment. I remember us like holding hands at the

(30:46):
end and the cameras are spending and we're like, holy crap,
Like neither one of us thought we would ever be here.
We maybe thought we'd make the top fifteen, and even
that we felt like was a stretch. And it's on
national television. What was this broadcasted on? What was it? Maybe? Yeah,
like Box, you are on primetime TV for the first
time too, Yeah, it was. It was insane and just

(31:07):
to know, like the best friend that I made at
Miss USA. It was like me and her at the end,
she was like I think we just kept saying like
I'm gonna come visit you in New York, and she
was like, I'm gonna come visit you in New York
because whoever wins missed to New York and then they
called her and for a split second there was a
pit in my stomach and I was like, dang it.
And then I was like this is incredible, Like this

(31:28):
is so incredible. I didn't think I was going to
place I went to. Miss ten Usa didn't place Like
this is awesome. And I was so happy for her
and she was an incredible in Miss USA. So there
was really no jealousy there with Miss USA. So, but
do you feel like jealousy was the root of your
issues with Hannah Brown during that whole pageant, that year

(31:48):
of pageantry. No, I wouldn't say it was jealousy. I
you guys are roommate's like, tell us about the first
moment you met. Yeah. So also I'm just like I
am such a freaking different person from Miss USA till now.
So it's so weird to think about. But so Hannah

(32:09):
and I met when she was crowned, and I was
already close with Miss Louisiana and she's still one of
my best friends. I love her to death, and she
was crowned and we were excited to bring her in too.
Like the RPM family, we met, we were hanging out,
loved her, we like got along great. What does OURPM
stand for? Yeah, uh Ryan Paul Morgan, it's like their production.

(32:34):
Sorry sorry, And so yeah we met, we like were
great friends and then I don't know, I just there
was like a rift in the friendship and it was
like just small things. And I'm the type of person
all right, used to be that person and I'm not
anymore thanks to The Bachelor, and just like producers pound, like,

(32:56):
you know, hounding it in on me that I need
to grow backbone and I need to speak up for myself.
And I used to be the way where if something
bothered me, I would just let it bottle up and
I would just kind of push that person away because
I would rather do that than deal with confrontation, which
is terrible. So I kind of was doing that with Hannah,
and there were just like little things here and there

(33:17):
that I was like, I don't know if I I
don't know, it's just like hard to explain. So then
we go to Miss USA and you explain one little thing,
like I don't want to pressure you, but like give
us one example. It just it was starting to feel competitive,
and I didn't want our friendship to feel competitive. But
it's natural to feel competitive because we are competing against

(33:41):
one another, you know, Yeah, And I just I didn't
like that. And it wasn't anything like I just felt
that way. It's not necessarily something she was doing or
anything like that. I just felt like it was getting
too competitive, and I don't know, it's just like so
weird to look back on. But so we go to
Miss USA and I just got very quiet, and that's

(34:03):
just who I am, especially when I'm competing. I was
just like quiet, and I would have my headphones in.
I would listen to the news, and I just didn't
like to, you know, hear different things like I just
I like to be in my own bubble and she
likes to have you know, family talking and hyping her up.
But that gets in my head. So I would like

(34:24):
have headphones in and kind of get frustrated. I was like,
I don't want to hear about how amazing your body is.
I know it's amazing. I only worked out three times
before this, Like I feel like, so I just I can't.
It was like those types of things, and it wasn't
anything she was doing intentionally. It was just me not
being confident in myself. Got it. So then when you
maybe that's Chelsea. So then you guys both separately sign

(34:44):
up for the show and you both get cast. I
believe that you guys probably both would have been cast
regardless of whether or not you had a relationship. Was
there anything that you lent to them in casting that
would have made them think, oh, these two had beef
and this will be great drama for the show. I

(35:08):
think we weren't following each other on the time where
we both went into the casting office and she went
in before me and I went in right after her,
or maybe vice versa. But yeah, so I think we
weren't following each other. We come in at the same time,
where like we just got back from his USA, and
they probably saw that we weren't following each other and
they're like, oh, there's something there. I think they're that
good like they they would they would pick up on that.

(35:31):
Maybe did you think she any photos together? Like you
had photos together? Okay, yeah, we had photos together, but
like down a little bit, not too far. I guess.
I don't know. I don't think she would have said
anything like oh I hate Caitlin. But just to give
me some clarity here, did either of you know that
the other person was there? I did. We were both

(35:56):
at this conference and she came in after her casting,
So I guess did I go first? One of us
went in first, and she came back in and she
was like dressed up all cute and it was a
conference where no one dressed up cute. And she told
one of our friends, she was like, I just got
back from the Bachelor casting and I was like, oh, shoot,
that's kind of when I found out. So like this
was like before top fifty in the in LA casting,

(36:19):
Like this is when like you guys were casting in
different states when they like do the tour yeah, and
when they're like if you're in LA, come by. Yeah.
So we were both in LA. So we did like
the combine thing in the office. Oh wow, okay, very interesting.
I want to know what the producers were thinking at
this point. I mean, now, knowing how far and how

(36:39):
much of an impact you've had on Bachelor Nation, I
want to know if they at the time were like,
holy cow, we just hit a jackpot, like two beautiful girls, charismatic,
both know each other, have probably some storyline leading up
to this, Like I bet they were freaking out. Yeah,
So then you show up night one, you see Hannah.

(37:02):
What went through your body at that point? I knew
because I was even in the hotel room when I
was talking producers. I was like, I know, Hannah's here
and they were like what And I was like, no,
Hannah's here. I know it, and it's fine, Like I
don't care. We're like civil, we're fine. And then I
saw her walk in and we were like talking. We

(37:23):
were like boastending by the bar, and she was like,
I haven't talked to me and if you talked to me,
and I'm so nervous. So we were like, we're fine.
I said, where did drama come from? Do you think
that you guys were riled up by producers or do
you think that like the feelings that you felt months
prior started to just regurgitate. Yeah, I mean, you know,

(37:46):
there's so many different factors, and it's easy to competition
jealous when you're competition like it just it was the
perfect pot for us to kind of, I don't know,
hash out everything I really did, Like, how did you
start then talking about it? Well, Colton pulled me aside

(38:07):
the night of the Pirate Date and was like, well,
Hannah said these things about you, and so I mean
a little backstory with that. The reason it kind of
looks manipulative when you watch it back because I'm like
starting crying and I'm like, there's things that you don't know.
And so at the Pirate Date, I was still going
through my case with my sexual assaults and we were

(38:29):
at the point where we were settling with the school
because they had just done so many things wrong in
my case and they were like, you know, you can
take us to court or we can settle. And so
I got a call about the case and it just
really upset me and the fact that this has now
been going on for you know, three years or four years,

(38:50):
and I'm having to deal with this like have my
lawyers call producers and producers call me and tell me
like it was just it was so frustrating and it
was really bad news that we got and it was
super upsetting, and I'm like four years and we have nothing, like,
there's nothing from this. So then Colton pulls me aside
and I'm already just like so upset and I've been

(39:11):
trying to mask it and then he brings that up
and I'm like, this is annoying and I'm dealing with others.
I don't even want to talk about that right now.
So that's kind of and watching it back and like
that looks manipulative and it wasn't. It was just me
like trying to process what was going on in my
life outside of this world. Got it. Did you know
at this point then that the Hannah feud what like,

(39:34):
was it even on your mind? No? Because that date, Yeah,
I was just like I remember, I was just focused
on Colton and I had the Pirate thing and I
was like determined to win. I was like, I am
going to win this and it is obviously a little
rigged for me to win, but yeah, I was just
focused on like having fun and enjoying that Pirate date.

(39:56):
So if we watch a season back and we were
prepping for it, it kind of then like just it
went through a couple episodes, you and Hannah kind of
feuding and then it just ends like why what happened?
I remember, I totally remember that night, and I was like,

(40:19):
I just I don't want to have this thing. I
don't want to like there's no fight to be had.
And it was from my side of things. It was
like me at Miss USA, like processing things differently and
me being passive, way way way too passive and just
being like not being able to vocalize, like hey, this
upsets me whatever. There was just no big thing, and

(40:40):
that's the thing. It's like Also the producers they were like,
we don't know how to deal with this. We've never
had two people outside of the show like have two
different things coming on because we don't know how to
hash this out. And so I was like, well, let's
just or I don't think it was my idea, but
it was someone's idea for me to grab Hannah and
just be civil and be like this is stupid, this

(41:00):
is really dumb. We both like Colton, let's move on.
Let's like be friendly. We don't have to be best friends,
but we can be friendly not have to be separated
all the time. And I remember that next day after
the fight, we got a nailsten together and we were talking.
Everything was fine, which sounds crazy, but I do know
it worked for us. Do you guys like you solved

(41:21):
your relationship problem there in the moment, but you guys
were never going to be best friends ever again? How
did it feel that she became Bachelorette? And mean, like,
you got Miss USA runner up and then she got Bachelorette.
There must have been some envy there. I'm trying to
think back. I remember getting the call that it wasn't

(41:42):
me for Bachelorette, and I was like, dang, that kind
of sucks. But and then I found out it was
her at Woman tell All. We all kind of knew
at Woman tall All that it was her, and it hurt.
It definitely hurt, but I mean, yeah, it's done, and
I was upset and I was like I kind of
was led to believe that it was mine and then

(42:04):
suddenly it wasn't and it was Hannah's. And you know,
looking back on previous seasons, it's always been in the
top four, and then for them to branch out and
pick Hannah, I was just it hurts and I just
felt like, I don't know, like I was. I don't know.
I just have so many thoughts on this issue, Caitlyn,

(42:26):
Do you think I just had a weird thought? Do
you think you guys would have confronted and fixed things
if it wasn't for the show. No, I think it
would have been a thing where the friendship didn't work
out and we just go our separate ways. It's wow
and the show can do that, isn't it. Yeah? Hey, Caylen,
let's take one more break. When we come back, we're

(42:46):
going to touch on your season of the Bachelor with
Colton Underwood, your relationship with Cassie, and then close up
with I think a really really fun segment talking about
your relationship with Dean and your other boyfriend. Do you
consider him a boyfriend Pappy? Oh No, he's my son. No, son, son, Sorry,
son Happy. We'll be back with Kaylan Miller Keys. We're

(43:19):
back with Kaylan Miller Keys. Kaylan, We've talked about a
lot of the things leading up to this point, but
you were on The Bachelor dating a man named Colton Underwood.
I guess we'll just start with a general question. Were
you excited for Colton to be a Bachelor? No? And
I told him that I'm like, maybe the second or

(43:41):
third episode, I was like, I was really hoping for Jason,
and when it wasn't him, I was like, all right,
might as well still, you know, go and have fun.
But I was pleasantly surprised by Colton. I just he's
not the type of person that I would like typically date.
Do you've I mean, we've had a few people now
do in depths from Colton season. It feels like that's

(44:01):
the common response that we get is we weren't excited
for him to be the bachelor. We were pleasantly surprised,
but he still wasn't the type of person we would date.
Was that a theme in the house. Yeah, I know,
like some people definitely had deep connections with him, and
most of the girls were like sitting in their bunk beds,
like I don't really care about him. And I was like, guys,
there's cameras, like they can pick up on this. You

(44:23):
can't just say that. But there were a lot of
girls who just weren't super interested. You definitely weren't one
of those girls, though I felt like you genuinely did
have feelings. It's just so weird. It's so weird now
looking back, but in the moment, yes I did. I
definitely had feelings, and he was just Colton's a great

(44:44):
guy and he was great at making everyone feel special,
and I definitely did have feelings forever ago. Do you
At what point then did it start to switch for you?
I mean, if this would have been you at the end,
what would you have done? If it was us at

(45:04):
the end, we would not still be together. We're just
too different and him and Cassie are like a perfect match.
But yeah, it just it never would have worked with us.
I need someone like Dean to just mellow me out
and make me not take life too seriously, not wear
makeup things like that. A guy like Dean Well, good

(45:28):
news team. We're gonna be talking about Dean Ungler just
a little bit. Why do you think there was so
much tension between the other girls in the house and
then you and Cassie. There really wasn't up until like
the end, but we were like friends with everyone. But

(45:51):
we just had such a close, close friendship, unlike any
friendship either of us have ever had. We were just
like best best friends and it only seemed weird to
a lot of the girls. So, like, you can't be
this close and developed feelings for a guy the same guy,
and I get that, but we were so good at
separating the two and we just wouldn't talk about it.

(46:11):
And that's the only way we could remain friends was
just to be like I'm in my mind, I was like,
I'm gonna present like you guys don't have a strong relationship.
I'm gonna pretend like he doesn't like you, because that's
gonna help me to be your best friend. It seemed
like you and Cassie were hanging out together in LA
and such before the season started airing, but wall Cassie

(46:32):
and Colton were together. Was it weird seeing him with
her so soon after you had feelings for him? Yeah,
I remember when I found out that they were together,
and that same pit that I had in my stomach
when Sarah went with Usa, I had when I found
out that they were together, because I felt I was like,

(46:52):
for sure, it's Hannah Godwin, I know they're together, and
I was like, now me and Cassie can just do
our thing and like and then she I found out
that it was him that Cassie was with him, and
I was like, oh my god, like what and that
same thing. I pushed it out. I was like, I
can't be jealous. I have to be happy for her.
It didn't work out for us, but I hope it
works out for them, And that was kind of my mindset.

(47:15):
But it was weird. The first time I saw him,
I was like, I was super uncomfortable and just didn't
know how to act, and I think he kind of
felt the same way. We just wanted to be respectful
of Cassie. So you thought I was going to be
Hannah in the end, which she makes me curious as
to think. Would do you think that you would have
been as close with Cassie if you thought that she
was actually the one who won his heart. Yeah, I

(47:36):
just because the way that we processed it in our brains,
it was like we just both believed that the other
didn't have a strong relationship, and I guess I believed
it so much to the point where I was like,
it has to be Hannah. I don't know, it's weird
to think about, but I did. I did subconsciously know
like they had a strong relationship. But she also didn't
tell me the things, like the small things that he

(47:57):
did for her, Like she told me he took her
back to his room in Thailand. But she didn't tell
me that he was giving her gifts like every single
episode and that because she knew that would have hurt me,
and I would have probably known. Did she not think
that she was the front runner? At times? She told
me she didn't, but yeah, she did it for a while.

(48:19):
Interesting And then there was rumors that you, you know,
were hanging out with Colton before Women Tell All was tape.
But then at Women Tell All you made it seem
like you weren't over him at all. In hindsight, it
was that kind of like an emotional outburst because you
thought that it would up your chances of being the bachelorette. Yeah, okay,

(48:47):
you advised certain ways, and I was like, screw it.
If this is my last chance, let's try it. And
you know, I had a little birdie in my ear
telling me people think you're fake, people think you weren't
actually didn't have actually have feelings for him, People never
really saw you a mote, So this is your chance.
And I was like, all right, I'm going to go
out with a bang. And so just to be clear
there though, did you have feelings for Yeah? No, I did.

(49:11):
I did I did have feelings for him, and I
just remember being dumped and oh, I was just like,
are you kidding me? And now if you just met
my whole family and I have to go home to
my family, like there's no way it's over between us.
And I remember calling producers every day for like I
don't even know, five days maybe, and I was like,

(49:34):
he made a mistake. I'm telling you right now, he
made a mistake, Like I'm coming back. And they said,
you know what, Lauren said the same thing when Ari
dumped her, and they were like, let's let it play
out a couple days. Let's see what happens. If he
feels the same way, we'll let you come back. So
I was determined. I was like, I know it's me
And then you know, the initial heartbreak, you get over it,

(49:54):
and I was like, oh wait no, that was like
that's not meant to be at all. Yeah. Yeah, so
you were, Yeah, you were, you had the feelings, but
you were definitely over by women tell all, oh yeah,
all the honesty is so fantastic. All right, So you
and Cassie are you still as close as you were then? Now? Yeah,

(50:14):
we are. We're still super close. It's just hard to
Our schedules are so different and obviously not our quarantine.
But I just talking to her yesterday on the phone,
but we are still close. It's hard to get back
to that like level of closeness that we were on
the show when there's no phones, it's just you any
other person. Like it's just a great way to build
friendships in that environment. I completely agree because there are

(50:36):
some girls from my season that, like I was thinking
getting off the season, those are going to be bridesmaids
in my wedding one day. And then those girls, well
they were invited to my wedding, but they didn't even come.
You know. Yeah, No, it's tough and I don't know.
We still are super close and I'm super thankful for that.
But getting to that same closeness where there's no distractions

(50:58):
and it's just like noes and you just get to
live your life free of any any distraction imaginable, it's
pretty cool. Recently, Colton came out with a book and
he mentions you in it a lot, a lot. What
are your thoughts. I've only heard about me and Hannah

(51:19):
be stuff. I haven't heard about anything else. But I
think it's because you were one of the people right
off the bat that he was like, Okay, she's getting far.
You were his first kiss? Yeah, well not really, oh
not really. They made it seem like that who was
his first kiss? Then I want to say Katie, but
maybe I'm wrong or yeah, I don't know, but I

(51:43):
get why I'm in the book. I don't know. I
just hate reliving The Bachelor because I don't know. I
was twenty three going on the show. I didn't know
who I was. I was so insecure. I was just
a very different version of myself. So it's hard for
me to like look back at that time and remember
fond memories. Well, I feel like a lot of girls

(52:05):
said that about you. A lot of them noticed that
you grew and matured a lot between the break between
Paradise and The Bachelor. What do you think happened? Then?
I think I just woke up and I shook off
this pageantry side of me and I was like, this
is so fake, this is not me, and I just

(52:27):
need to be myself, Like no one wants this perfectly
prim let's you know, speak on both sides. Person Like
just I was like, I'm just going to be myself
and if that works. That works all right. So now
we're in Paradise and you had some drama with Blake
that we're not even going to bother with right now.
But I want to know the feeling that you had

(52:48):
when Dean walked down those stairs. Was it love at
first sights? Because I'd say for most women it is.
For me, it was for those men and women, I said, say, actually,
so Dean and I actually met in March, maybe, yeah, right,

(53:09):
the season finale of my season airing is the first
day that we met. And it was at like through
a mutual friend. It was like super brief, like hey, hey,
like how are you? How are you? And I remember
walking out and being like, one, he is so tall,
and two his eyes are so blue. He's so handsome,
and so when he came down to the beach, I
was like just reminded of how attractive he is. And

(53:32):
I remember talking to him and I was just like,
I was a mess that day. You started drinking so
early and the heat and you have like two drinks
and it's just too much. So I was a mess,
and I remember thinking like, there's no way he's going
to take me on the state. Like I just acted
like a freaking lunatic. And then he asks me and

(53:53):
I was like, oh my gosh, and I was so
excited to go on the state with him. But I
remember the whole time we were on the date. I
was like I remember even asking producers. I was like,
is this a friend thing or are we on a date?
Like I have no idea, And so we're talking going
through the date. I'm starting to like him more and more,
and then we jump into the pool and the producer
is like kiss him, kiss him, and then I like

(54:15):
spin us because he's holding me in the water and
the producer's like kiss her, kiss her, and we're both
like spinning each other because no one wants to make
the first move. And then finally he did, and I
was like, Okay, it's another friend thing? What and like
what a magical moment that was watching it because to
see Dean really pursue I mean anybody publicly still feels

(54:36):
a little weird for me, to be honest, because I
just know him privately, and I'm like, I don't think
this comes naturally to him, Like I think he likes
a lot of this stuff private, but he obviously felts
something with you. We got to see your story play out. Obviously,
Dean leaves and comes back, So I'll ask you the
same question. What was it like to see him show
up the second time? I was so happy and I

(55:02):
wanted to like be the cool girl, and he tried
to hold my hand and I was like, nope, you
have to work for it, like you left me on
my birthday, Absolutely not, And so I was so happy.
I remember waking up the next day after he dumped me,
and I was just you know when you wake up
and you're like, oh my gosh, like I still thought
we were together, Like I don't know, I just the

(55:22):
whole day I was looking around for him on the
beach and I was so I just wanted to see him.
And at the wedding, this didn't get showed, but I
was like frying the entire time. Yeah. Yeah, but that
was the part I was going to bring you. Guys
both saw me. Yeah, that was the part I was
going to bring up. I was like, Dean, you idiot. Like,
so Dean goes down. So here's a little backstore here.
So Dean goes down to Paradise, saying telling all his friends,

(55:44):
definitely he was not going to get into a relationship. Yeah,
that he was just going down there to have a
good time and and he didn't want to get into
trouble again, right, He just didn't want to have a
bad storyline. And so I remember my very last conversation
with him, probably very soon before he left, was like,
just don't do something stupid, Like, just don't be stupid, Dean. Okay,
flash forward into the wedding, and obviously we're talking about

(56:06):
Chris in Crystal's wedding, and we all are there, for
all of us here that are on this on this podcast,
and I show up and I'm like, I'm so pumped
to see Dean. And I see you there sad and crying,
and I'm like, what happened? I asked somebody, and they
tell me, yesterday, the day before the wedding, right her birthday,
your birthday, Dean had broken up with you. And my

(56:29):
first response was, Dean, oh, you idiot. And I saw
Caylen sitting over there, and I was just like, Okay,
she looks like as heartbroken as I was in Paradise
with Jared. So I was like, I can tell like
genuine heartbreak sadness when I see it. So I go
over to her and I'm like, Kaylen, I feel so

(56:52):
bad for you, like I'm feeling so much empathy. I go,
but like, I love Dean. He's like one of the
most sparkling creatures I've ever met inside and out. But
that man is not ready for a relationship. And he'll
tell anyone that here we are, here we are a
year later, and you guys are still together, which is magical.

(57:14):
It is so crazy. Oh, that was a brutal day
for me. I was just I remember being pulled out
of my interview because I was crying too hard, and
of course it doesn't get showed. It makes it look like,
oh Connor, like I'm so into Connor. But I was
like I had to take Hannah Godwin's makeup bag and
like from her and pull out something that Dylan had
in his pocket of her makeup, just to like, I mean,

(57:36):
I was Tia and Becka Kufriin saw me in the
bathroom just a mess, like ugly, ugly crying. Connor wants
to talk to you, and I was like what, and
so I don't know. It's just a terrible day for me.
But even though you were like saying you're interested in
talking to Connor. I was like, Connor will always be
her second place, honestly, and I tried to fill that

(57:58):
boy that I was missing the Dean with And then
Deanie came back and I was like, thank goodness, I
was so happy. Yeah, I can't think of anything. It's
almost funny. I'm sorry for laughing, but it's almost funny
to think that you get broken up with by a
man you love. Obviously we know that now, and then
you have to show up to a wedding with all
of his friends the next day. Like how brutal is that? Oh,

(58:22):
it was not fun. It was one of the worst days, honestly.
And we can laugh about it now, obviously because you
two are together, yes, and you're happy. We are very happy.
We are quarantine together and sometimes we get on each
other's nerves, but for the most part we get along great.

(58:42):
We just like have our separate bedrooms. Can we clarify
why he even broke up with you in the first
place in Paradise? Was it truly? Because like his mentality
going in was don't get in a relationship, And then
he was like, oh, gotta stick to the original mentality. Yes,
Because I pulled him aside and I was like, what
is this and he was like, I told you, Like,
I'm not. He's like, I got I have a music

(59:04):
festival to get to in a week. And I was like, Dean,
this goes on for two and a half more weeks
and he's like, yeah, I gotta I'm going to head
out of here soon, Like he was determined just to
not leave in a relationship. How are you so forgiving? Like,
and I say this because like, Dean is one of
my favorite people in the world. I consider one of
my best friends. I love him dearly, but I like

(59:26):
I also some like Dean's the type of person you
just like want to like shake him most of the time.
How are you so forgiving? There is just something that
I have never felt with anyone that I feel with Dean.
It's like, of course, I'll take you back. Like the
second he came down, it may have looked like there
was some contemplating going on, but I was like, oh

(59:46):
my gosh, Like my heart is with you for sure.
Oh yeah, we knew you were trying to be a
whole cool girl. You're like gonna try to pretend like
you're going to take him back, but you had to
give him a couple of minutes of being nervous. But
there is some that I feel like all of us
here can agree on that. Dean is just like he
has something where if he looks at you and smiles,

(01:00:07):
you cannot deny him. Yes, it is ridiculous. You've got
to come in here. Don't let him come in here.
I don't want him to hear this. He doesn't need
to hear us raving about him. Yeah. Yeah, I'd prefer
he never hears me say anything good about him. Yeah.
All right. So you guys are together now, you've been
together for almost a year. You've pretty much lived together

(01:00:31):
because you know, Dean's a nomad and when he's not
on an adventure pretty much always with you, he's at
your apartment, which is kind of shared with both of you.
But you have been really secretive about certain big milestones
in your relationship. Like I remember asking Dean like, have
you guys said I love you? And stuff? And he's like,

(01:00:51):
I don't know, like yeah, no, yeah, no, and so
can you tell us like have you guys said I
love you? And when was the moment I was thinking
about that today? I was like, Kim, are we saying that?
But yeah, whatever, Yes, I love him a whole lot.
I told him, gosh, I don't even know. Maybe when

(01:01:12):
we were in Saint Lucia it was the first time
I told him. So you told him first. Yeah, definitely.
It sounds like definitely something you would have to do.
I feel like, yeah, oh for sure, there's no way
he's doing it first. And he said it back, not immediately,

(01:01:32):
not for a while. I guess I shouldn't say I
want to know about Pappy. So we talked about Pappy
at the beginning. I've been able to meet Pappy. Ashley's
met Pappy. Caitlin, you're not a mom. What does Pappy
mean to you? Okay? I feel like a crazy dog mom.

(01:01:55):
And when people like post their dog all the time
and how much they love them, I've never understood because
I've never had a dog on my own. But I
just didn't know that I could love something this much
like I love him more and more every single day.
He's just my son, and I don't know when he
looks up at me and just stares at me. He's
doing it now, That's why we're He's doing it right

(01:02:15):
now as we talk. He is, Kayln, I understand so
much because like I don't understand being like a person
mom yet like a baby mom. So when people post
about their baby, I'm like, that's great, but like, how
could it be better than my dog? Like truly, I'm like,
I don't think it could get better? Like can I

(01:02:37):
love something and think something is cuter than my dog? Seriously?
And Dean and I are whole camera roll. We take
like a hundred photos of him a day and like
one hundred videos. Anytime you like sticks his tongue out,
We're like, come here, come here, come here. You got
to see this. Like we are very obsessed with him.
He's a beautiful dog. It's a beautiful story, Kaylan. Last

(01:02:58):
question about Pappy. There was a you know, I don't know,
a couple months ago you and Dean were deciding on
keeping Pappy or not. Was it ever a question in
your mind if you were going to continue to allow
Pappy to be a part of your family. Yes. So
I left for Bali for like a week and a half,
and Dean was obviously with Pappy the whole time, and

(01:03:19):
Pappy's behavior changed drastically and he became much more misbehaved,
and so I was like, I just don't know if
we can keep this dog. He was like peeing everywhere.
He was barking and he never barked before. And I
was like, you know, we were traveling in hotels, we
were about to get kicked out because he was barking
so much. And so that was the only time. But
then once I started parenting him again, he started behaving more,

(01:03:43):
but being in quarantine, like, I can't imagine not having him. Yeah,
Dean as a parent, He's gonna be a great dad.
He is. Oh, he's gonna be such a good dad.
But I know, no, but I love to see. Sorry, Yeah,
I just know, I think. Yeah, please tell us if
I think is a big good dad. No, he is.
I feel like I just made him sound like a

(01:04:04):
bad dog dog. But he is like the best dog.
I don't min He loves Pappy so much and he's
great to him. Well, Kaylen, that's the hard part. You've
made it through the gauntlet of questions. We appreciate your vulnerability.
I've appreciated hearing your stories. I've learned a lot about
pageants and and also just your strength. And so now

(01:04:27):
it's off to Ashley for her famous rapid fire round.
All right, what's your favorite adventure you've been on with Dean? Oh, Guatemala,
hiking a volcano. Okay, why is that just because it
was hiking a volcano? Yeah, it was so cool. It
was we hiked, we slept on a volcano which was dormant,
and then we hiked an active volcano and it was

(01:04:49):
just the most incredible thing to see interrupting at night.
And I definitely complained a lot, and Dean and I
got into an argument about my complaining. But looking back,
I'm like, this happens off and where I like fight
him on the things that he tries to push me on,
and then I look back and like, that was the
best experience of my life. How were you able to
adapt to this kind of adventure with him? Because it's extreme.

(01:05:11):
You know, you're not just going on a hike of
running canyon, which is honestly pretty extreme for me. That's
like a real cardiovascular intense workout. And then you are
like going all over the place like sleeping intents when
I'm like a hotel snob, so like, please educate us.
I think it's just like loving someone and loving the
things that they're passionate about and growing with them. And

(01:05:34):
he actually just told me right before we started this
that he bought me some rock climbing shoes. So he's
going to teach me how to rock climb stone, which
will be interesting. But I don't know. I think it
just comes with loving the things that they love because
they love it and you love them. Wow, you're special. Okay.

(01:05:55):
So what has been something that you have taught him
to love that he wouldn't love? Yeah? Like, because if
you he taught you how to love adventure in the outdoors,
then what's the vice versa of that? Uh? Maybe first
class in an airplane probably? What is your plain necessity

(01:06:23):
on all these long travels? Oh? I have to have
CBD oil because I get such bad anxiety with surbulence.
So it just kind of helps me like relax and
not clench the arm rest the whole time. Dean does
a lot of projects around the house, whether that's like
making you furniture or working on the car. What's the
most impressive thing he's done, like hardwar like like to

(01:06:46):
go to manual labor. Thank you. I was gonna say
that he has to go to the hardware store, for
I love our benches that he built. But I think
the fact that he did his ban himself, Like now
you can have people, you know, scrap your van like
the interior and make it all new, but he did
it all himself, and it's I think it's pretty cool,

(01:07:06):
but he did that. What is your favorite food to
deliver that you always agree is a good idea? Pizza?
Have you spoken about children? No? But weirdly, my Google
pop like picks articles that they think will be of
interest in me, and it said Dan Uncler talks about

(01:07:27):
kids with Kaielan and so I read it and apparently
apparently he's opening up to it. So that's good. Are
you surprised that you guys have lasted as long as
you have since Bachelor Nation? Is so surprised? At first,

(01:07:48):
I was like treating this relationship like it was it
It sounds really bad, but I like it was going
to end, and the way that I was like preparing
my heart because I couldn't deal with that heartbreak again.
So I was like, you know, he's probably going to
get tired of me soon. But then like the more
we get to know each other, the more we traveled together,
I was like, oh, like this is actually something. And finally,

(01:08:08):
what is the most annoying thing that he's been doing
during quarantine, And what does he think The most annoying
thing that you've been doing during quarantine is his? For
sure is Call of Duty. I hate that game, but
also I like, we had a conversation about it, and
I was like, I can't really be mad at you
because what is there to do in quarantine And if

(01:08:29):
it's something that makes you happy, fine do it and
play it. And I think the annoying thing that I
do in quarantine is just nag him about Call of Duty? Amazing,
all right, Kaylin? And this was a long haul. Yeah,
you did it to us for an hour and a half.
Can we get three more minutes from you? Though? Yeah?

(01:08:52):
So we we always liked ind it this way because
you're you're obviously one of Bacter Nation's favorite. You have
an incredible story to tell you shared it with us today.
There's a lot of people out there listening to this
that are big fans of you, and we're fans of
the listeners. Kaylin. If I gave you the platform, which
I'm going to give you now the stage, what would

(01:09:13):
you say to anybody listening who supported you, love you,
cared about you Along the way, I would just say
thank you so much. I get DMS and people are like,
I see you, I see your heart. I've watched you
of alve, I've watched you change, and thank you for
sticking by my side as I am in my early
twenties and just learning about myself during this time. So
thank you for being supportive, thank you for sharing your

(01:09:35):
stories of you know, different things that you've been through.
I'm very appreciative, so sweet. Yeah, You're awesome. Kaylin Miller Keys,
thanks for joining Ashley and I on the Almost Famous
in Depth Podcast. Now follow along. I will start Ashley,
you obviously know what to do, and then Kaylan join
on in. Hey, guys, this has been another episode of

(01:09:56):
the Almost Famous in Depth Podcast. Today a really special guest,
somebody that we care about daily, Kaylin Miller Keys with us.
But hey, if you can go to wherever you listen
to podcasts and rate us, review us, we love to
hear from you. Hey, we'll talk to you next time.
I've been Ben, I've been, Ashley, and I've been Kaylin.
Bye guys. Later, follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost

(01:10:20):
Famous Podcasts on iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts,