March 23, 2023 • 22 mins
You first met Mykenna Dorn on Peter Weber’s season of The Bachelor, but there is so much more to Mykenna than what you saw on TV! Ashley goes IN DEPTH to learn how the experience of the show changed Mykenna’s life… for the better or the worse.
She shares some memories from Paradise that didn’t make the final cut, and we hear if a wedding might be coming for her and her new boyfriend!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
This is Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous in Depth.
Hello everyone, welcome to the Almost Famous podcast. Today it
is just me and McKenna who you guys know, McKenna
Dorn who you know from Peters season. I can't believe
how long it's been have you since you were on
the Bachelor? It is it's wild to me to like
(00:21):
shink back like we filmed it in twenty nineteen, and
I mean also with you know, the pandemic, I think
it feels like twenty years ago. Yeah, you guys just
had the perfect timeline. Your season ended up rapping right
around the time, like rapping, rapping, like with the finale
and everything. Now it was March. I remember I was
in La and then like I flew home and the
(00:42):
World showdown, Like it was bizarre. It's crazy. How are
you seing this? Your season to me is one of
like the last like really really memorable ones with a
really memorable cast. You had so many top girls, a
lot of great girls. How do you do you keep
(01:02):
up with anyone from the show now? Like who your
best he's from the show, Because if you're moved, like
as much as you think you're going to be best
friends forever, you usually just keep a handful around, which
is sad but true. Yeah, I pretty much just talked
to like Kelsey and Kelly, and then there's another girl
named Savannah that I talked to from my season. So yeah,
but you don't watch The Bachelor anymore? Correct, No, don't
(01:25):
tell us why I don't. I think being on it,
I was a huge fan of the show too, and
I don't know being on it just and this like
the season that I was on, and I don't know.
I think I just like I can't watch it gets
me anxiety for some reason, Like I just I just
can't watch it anymore. M Yeah, I don't know. There's
(01:47):
just it just doesn't interest me in a way of
like that I used to did you stop right away
or did it just give you some Yeah, yeah, I
haven't watched. I haven't watched the full season. I think
I've watched a couple episode is here and there. But yeah,
I have not watched from the beginning to the end.
And it used to be like I used to watch
with my family, with my friends, and now I just
(02:10):
go on with my Monday nights. So I know that
you've been really open on social media about how much
the show gave you anxiety, and it really try to
crush yourself esteem to a certain degree. I'm sure that
that plays a role in you watching anymore. Yeah. Yeah,
it was just a really I think the Bachelor and
then going on to the Paradise. I remember, like last
(02:32):
time I was on your podcast, it was before I
went on Paradise. Yeah, like, go for it, go have fun,
like go I'm so sorry because when I was last devastating,
I'm so sorry, I like hug out a room for
two weeks and then I went out and I was
last McKennon. My memory from you being on Paradise was
just you showing up to one of those parties as
(02:53):
like one of the other girls, like there to mix
and mingle. Yeah. I went to the party and then
I went back to my room and they're like, you
did great, just here for another week in a bit.
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. What what year was that?
Was that the year that um Chris and Crystal got married?
That Yeah, yeah, okay, Christina, oh, Serena and Joe. So
(03:20):
there's just like recently, Yeah, that was the first Paradise
season back after the pandemic. I believe because we skipped
a year. Yeah, because there's a bunch there was like
Matt season, my season, Everyone's a bunch of different people. Well,
I'm sorry to put you back in that situation. If
I had it, it's all good. What was it about
(03:41):
the show just to get deep here for a second
that you really thought messed with you? Do you think
that it was the filming portion or the after effect
in the social media and all that, which one had
a heavier effect on you? It was I think the filming.
I think the two on one was really difficult for me.
(04:02):
Um in that just like the last thing I want
to do is like get in like an argument with
someone like kind of like yell, and like I think
that was just really like took a lot out of me.
And then to watch it over and to like be
portrayed in that way and then read online and I
think just like I don't know, I think I look
(04:27):
back and I'm like, I wish I didn't do it.
I also, I was twenty two, so yeah, like I
still am. I feel like I was. I was just
so young and I think I like I had a
couple too many drinks and like all the stuff, and
I think it just it's just really hard for me
to look back at it and watch it, Like I
have not watched it since, Like I won't allow my
(04:48):
my boyfriend to watch it, like I'm like he's seen
some clips on YouTube. But but I don't know. I
think it's just it's just a hard chapter for me
to like think back to and the editing, not the
other thing, but just like watching it with the TV
and then people's comments and yeah, all of that was
(05:08):
just like all the whole shebang, the whole mixture of
it all. So well, it's interesting that you say that
your age played into it. I know it's kind of
like cliche at this point for me to be like, yeah, age,
every wed still young? Are we so young? But like
if we were, look look at science and biology, your
frontal lobe, that decision making bard of your brain isn't
fully developed until you're twenty six, twenty seven, and it
(05:30):
definitely plays a role in like what you do when
you're on TV and those high stake situations and these
really overly emotional situations when you're not getting enough sleep
and all of that. So do you think there should
be like kind of do you think they should up
the age require because right now it's twenty one. But
maybe just like for like the mental health sake and
(05:52):
just like knowing yourself, you know, like just knowing yourself
and having like this sort of self esteem that you
get with age, maybe really official. I was, Yeah, I was.
I was. I felt like I knew myself, you know.
I feel like you're like I think I knowell me,
I know this, and yeah, I just I feel like
I just turned twenty six and I feel like I
(06:12):
am starting to really get myself now and like I'm
in like my first like long term relationship and like
just like growing through all of that. And I think
being on the show at twenty two, I was like,
you know, I was. I was really insecure, and I
let like I compared myself to a lot of these
you know, the girls there, and that affected me. And
(06:33):
I think I went in like I'm gonna have fun,
Like that still is my personality today. I'm all about
how it fun. But I think I just like how
like there was too much of that I couldn't really
just like get my feelings into one and just um
like sit down with him, I have a good conversation.
Like I think I was just constantly like anxious about
everything that was going on. Um yeah, I just yeah,
(06:57):
I think they definitely shoot up up up at it.
Like I could never imagine being on the show at
twenty two. At twenty two, I was like over analyzing
eye contact from Joe Jonas from the stage. Okay, now
twenty six is when I went on, and it's just
about the age that I think is perfect. I really
(07:18):
do think that twenty six is probably like if I
had to have the perfect Bachelor's starting age, it would
probably be twenty six. Um, okay, well you you do
have a boyfriend now, a long term relationship. You say
you're first of sorts. It's been over a year. Yeah,
it's for a year and a half now, just moved
into together in January. So I saw the move on
(07:41):
social Yeah. Yeah, thanks have been that. They've been really good. Yeah.
So you kind of kept him secret first. You weren't
showing his face, you weren't telling much. Yeah, my my
my boyfriend London. He is just a very like he
(08:04):
doesn't post on social media. He's he's a he's an engineer.
He's you know, very like private with his life, you know,
just with his friends and his family. And I think
I just I really wanted to respect that, like he
just didn't. You know, even today we don't. I don't
really post a much of him on online. Um you know,
like that's my thing, and like I like to be
(08:25):
very open, but not everyone likes to be very open,
right so um yeah, but I waited a bit. I
think it. Part of it was a little bit of
a teasing thing. It was just kind of just fun
to just like continue to do like the little soft
launches the back of his head, like and like it
just thought we did. I did it for six months
and then I was like boom, this is whom and yeah,
(08:45):
so how'd you guys meet? Um, it's it's a fun story.
Um yeah yeah. So it was back in it was
actually like two months. Well I guess it was just
it was October twenty twenty one, so it was just
like after or Paradise. So everything worked out at the end,
everything worked out. It was Saturday night. I was like
(09:07):
having a bath and my one of my good friends
was like, it's a girl's knight, come out and I
was like, you know what, No, I'm having a bath,
Like I'm not going out to night, Like no, there's
not I'm not really going out to a person anyways,
but she convinced me we're out. We go to this restaurant,
We go to another restaurant, and one of her friends
was newly single and was sitting up a dating profile
(09:30):
and I was like, you know what, I actually just
made him on last week, Like I'm just gonna I'm
gonna check mine and see what's happening. And I had
someone reply Linda and my boyfriend, and we had a
very brief conversation. He said he was downtown. I said
I was downtown. I said I was at this restaurant,
and then he said I'm at this restaurant. So we
were sitting at the same restaurant. Yeah, in the effing world,
(09:55):
that's awesome. That's a great meat cute. Yeah, so it
was was very briefed. I was actually just leaving when
I got his message that he said that he was there,
so he came outside. We said hi real quick, and
then two days later we went on a date and yeah,
that is so like, yeah, so how is it living
(10:16):
together now? Your first living boyfriend. It's been good. It
definitely is a transition. I mean I've I've never had
a sister, so I've never had to like sharing that
kind of sense. I never had a roommate, Like I just, oh,
you've never had a roommate. Yeah, I lived with myself
and you go into living with a boyfriend. Wow, give
(10:37):
us all the dirt, you know, seriously, tell us what's annoying.
I realized yesterday will organized it like we were away.
I was away for on and off two weeks. Yeah.
I popped home for like two nights in between that,
and I was unpacking for basically two weeks. It took
me like five hours to organize the house. And I
was like, I'm realizing that I will never have that
(11:00):
perfect Instagram organized house because I'm married to someone who
doesn't have that priority. You know what the opposite is.
My boyfriend is very clean and organized like that organized
like organized like organizers in the drawers type. Oh yeah,
I am definitely a little best year one. And I
have a lot of clothes. I have taking. We have
(11:20):
a guest room, we have an office. I have every
closet in there. He has one closet upstairs. I feel you,
I have all the closets. He is very clean, like
he is very so we actually have a pretty quick
clean house here, but he actually works at a town
during the week so I'm pretty much here by myself,
and then he keeps home on the weekends. So it's
(11:41):
like we're like living together but like half of two
months and then like half a month or not. But
it's kind of like a slow transition. That's good. But
I think it's been great. I mean I think it's
just kind of learning like whose role is what in
a sense of like who does this? Who does that?
Like like in like the home, you know, like our
responsibilities in the sense so who does what? Um? I mean, well,
(12:09):
I'm here most of the time, so like I pretty
much like I'm always like I clean up. I make
sure that everything's like backing him and stuff. But when
he's tell them, I'm like you clean this bathroom, I'm
backing everything else. Um. I mean I make him do
like all like the outside work, like yeah on everything,
like yeah, you can do the house. Yeah, we live
in like a house people like a friend yard and stuff.
(12:30):
So I make him do all that, and when he's here,
he does all the garbageot like the kind of nu Yeah,
it's really it's kind of a little gender role. But
I get it. When when he's home, we're pretty we're
pretty equal and everything like someone that person cleans like
the other person cleans and opposite away around and um,
(12:51):
I think we have it pretty like pretty good. I
think just learning in the end, like in the beginning,
just like who should do Like I'm mostly here, so
like I do keep things just clean, but I mean
when he's here, I'm like, you can clean all the
bathrooms please. Yeah, all right, let's talk about your work
(13:11):
for a little bit, because you have been a full
time content creator for the past four years since you've
been on the show. Yeah, you crank it out. You
do a great job with engagement. How how do you
go about when people say they don't know you were
on the show, they go, what do you do for work?
What do you say? Because it's always the most awkward
(13:31):
for me to be like, um, I have like if
they have no idea, what's up? I just say that
like I've been like advertising and marketing. Yeah, that's kind
of like what I'll usually say, Like if I'm a
dentist and they're like, what do you do for I
do content creation? You know, like instagraph like that kind
of thing. Even with my boyfriend. I was like, yeah,
(13:51):
like I, um yeah, I think he definitely learned to walk.
I think like he was someone doesn't post online and
then you know, like you have those kind of like
you kind of think, oh, an influencer, they're going to
be like this, like this and that, and you got
to know me and what I do. And he's like, oh,
it's a lot more. There's a lot more to it
than I didn't know. But yeah, it's been it's been
(14:11):
really great. It's been fun and like lots of great
opportunities through it, and um, I love interacting with people
online and getting to show like more me instead of
you know, on the show, like you you're kind of
you only get shown what is shown. So I feel
like I've gotten to just be myself online and people
(14:33):
get to know more layers. You know. I always have
a hard time describing this, so I'm wondering if you'll
do a better job because I'm always like it's a
full time job. And then people like, okay, but like
(14:56):
what do you do? What's like your day to day
and like every day is so different? Can you describe
your everyday? Yeah? I mean I like you said everything
is different. I have an assistant, so you know, she
comes over, we tackle emails to I talk to my agent.
We kind of go over things that are on deadlines
that need to be done or contracts need to be signed.
(15:18):
You know, with social media nowadays, you have to constantly
make content too, Like you know, there's reels, there's TikTok,
there's so many going on, so you have to kind
of be on it. So you have to constantly produce
that content to put out there. Plus you know where
a lot of the money comes from. It's like sponsor
is like sponsorships, or maybe you want to create your
(15:39):
own thing or you have your own blog. Like there's
like I'm like kind of the process of creating my
own like site and like adding more details to just
you know Instagram or TikTok and all that. So there's
definitely a lot more stuff you see, like behind the scenes,
(16:00):
people maybe don't understand, you know, dealing with your taxes
and all of It's so there's a lot of administrative
work that you also have to do. Yeah, you have
to be like on top of it, like you know,
you work for you basically work for yourselves. You have
to like you know, receipts and like oh yeah, invoices
(16:21):
and all that stuff. So there's a lot more to
it than I think just snapping a photo or creating
a video, you know. Yeah, and not to mention with
the whole real sitch. Everything is kind of a production.
Influences don't get away with just like the taking a picture.
I keep picture and like selecting the best out of
like twenty take in. It's like it's like making a
(16:41):
little mini film, yeah that I'm sitting on my phone
and I'm editing and I'm making sure things are like
you know, like it's not you got a film and
then you got to edit it and then you got
to post it. And there's there's so many different layers
and I think I think people are slowly getting to
know it better. I think especially with there's more platforms
now not just Instagram and it's just photo taking. There's
(17:05):
more to it, yeah, which is nice to see. Um,
yeah it is felion and I think you described it well. Yeah,
but how do you get off your phone? Like I've
been struggling with this lately. Especially, I feel like I'm
constantly doing something on my phone, whether it's taking the
footage editing it in contract, in like dialogue with through
(17:26):
message what I need to do I need to get
done where I had to postings, and then um just
like kind of like keeping up with your followers and
just like communicating with them. So like, how do you
do you find yourself just being like, Wow, I'm looking
at a screen way too much. I've got to live
in the real world especially. I mean, I know this
sounds also like wow, first world problem, but like a
lot of times when you're going out and you're doing something,
(17:47):
you're like, how much do you have to document? Yeah,
there's I Yeah, I definitely have gotten better. I feel
like having those healthy balances. My boyfriend is definitely one
person to thank for that, because he like he's home
on the weekends. Like that's kind of quality times I
don't see him. I try my best put my phone
away and if I am snapping a photo or video here,
(18:08):
I won't look at it. I won't edit it until
like later in the evening or Monday, Like I just
kind of put that time outside. Or you know, if
I do a trip with my friend, I will you know,
set some time aside to do that, or I'll just
do a little like everything at the end, like when
I get home, like kind of give people a recap
(18:29):
in a sense, like I just if I take something,
I kind of give myself a break to put my
phone down and do something else, like make myself something
to eat, Like just because I felt like mentally it
really affected me, like constantly being on my phone because
it is very draining and especially if you're you know,
reading comments or watching other videos, or you're comparing yourself
(18:49):
to someone or there's it really does take a lot
of you. So having those healthy balances and just allowing
yourself to go outside for a fresh air off too,
is so important. Yeah, I wanted to ask because it's
not just an influencer thing. It's just I feel like
all of us. Yeah, we can't disconnect from work a lot,
(19:11):
and it's so much different now than it was in
different generations, you know, where it's like they used to
just you know, on the weekend they loved their computer,
buy won't see an email or won't see anything until
the next day. But I feel like we're just like
so easy to reach and oh yeah, it's right out
your fingertips, like you're like, oh, what's happening on the
other side of the world I need to know right exactly. Yeah,
(19:33):
it's been getting a little, just a little. It's feeling
it's almost being so connected, it's feeling disconnecting because it's
like so many times it's like Jared and I are like, oh,
we have a minute without like Dawson, Oh we should
use this to like get catch up on like the
phone all the things that we have to look at
on the phone. All right, Well, so McKenna, I mean,
are you what's up next for you? We're going to
(19:54):
continue the social thing and then we're gonna continue with
the boyfriend. Is their marriage talk? I feel like, I like,
you're still young, Yeah, so young. I like I bug
him about it, like I'll just like just like kind
of like see where his head's at, you know, like, um,
I feel like I don't know, I feel like you
(20:16):
have to talk about it because when you're living together. Yeah,
I think we're both kind of in like we don't
want to waste each other's time, you know. It's like
do we see this Okay? Yeah, but like are we
ready for it yet? No? So I think it's just
we definitely have conversations. I like, I love to bug
him about it, Um, how do you bug about it? Like?
How how do you bring it up? You're like, so
(20:37):
like I love this ring. I'll just feel like it
isn't really like i'd be like Oval Oval definitely, Like
I'm like kind of like tease about that, or I
don't know. My my my brothers both have a little boys,
and so I I have nephews and we're always around them,
and I'm like, oh, look like I kind of just
like love to tease him. But I think we're just
(20:59):
enjoying where we're at right now. Good all right, Well,
good to see you in such a great place and
we are excited to see what other like hashtag team
no Spill it gets put out there. All right, you
guys McKenna if you want to follow her the Instagram,
your ins official Instagram is what's the handle? Um, it's
(21:19):
at McKenna. So M y K, E N N A
and that's it. It's on Instagram and you just have
the at McKenna. Like, how cool I do you that?
You just get your at name. It's just your first name.
It was hard to get, but you had to get it.
You had to fight somebody for it. Yeah, there was
a profile that had it, but they had like twenty
(21:40):
followers and there was no zero post was It looked
very like inactive um and I had a connection that
reached out to like Facebook, I guess, and and got
me the name. So amazing work, but I got it.
I was like, I want this, like, yeah, it's barely
it's not really digging, and yeah it's my name. It's
(22:01):
a little different spellings and why not take it? Yeah?
All right, Well, thanks McKenna so much, and as always,
we must sign off the way we sign off. Until
next time. I've been Ashley and Dive with McKenna who
following the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous in Depth.
Hello everyone, welcome to the Almost Famous podcast. Today it
is just me and McKenna who you guys know, McKenna
Dorn who you know from Peters season. I can't believe
how long it's been have you since you were on
the Bachelor? It is it's wild to me to like
(00:21):
shink back like we filmed it in twenty nineteen, and
I mean also with you know, the pandemic, I think
it feels like twenty years ago. Yeah, you guys just
had the perfect timeline. Your season ended up rapping right
around the time, like rapping, rapping, like with the finale
and everything. Now it was March. I remember I was
in La and then like I flew home and the
(00:42):
World showdown, Like it was bizarre. It's crazy. How are
you seing this? Your season to me is one of
like the last like really really memorable ones with a
really memorable cast. You had so many top girls, a
lot of great girls. How do you do you keep
(01:02):
up with anyone from the show now? Like who your
best he's from the show, Because if you're moved, like
as much as you think you're going to be best
friends forever, you usually just keep a handful around, which
is sad but true. Yeah, I pretty much just talked
to like Kelsey and Kelly, and then there's another girl
named Savannah that I talked to from my season. So yeah,
but you don't watch The Bachelor anymore? Correct, No, don't
(01:25):
tell us why I don't. I think being on it,
I was a huge fan of the show too, and
I don't know being on it just and this like
the season that I was on, and I don't know.
I think I just like I can't watch it gets
me anxiety for some reason, Like I just I just
can't watch it anymore. M Yeah, I don't know. There's
(01:47):
just it just doesn't interest me in a way of
like that I used to did you stop right away
or did it just give you some Yeah, yeah, I
haven't watched. I haven't watched the full season. I think
I've watched a couple episode is here and there. But yeah,
I have not watched from the beginning to the end.
And it used to be like I used to watch
with my family, with my friends, and now I just
(02:10):
go on with my Monday nights. So I know that
you've been really open on social media about how much
the show gave you anxiety, and it really try to
crush yourself esteem to a certain degree. I'm sure that
that plays a role in you watching anymore. Yeah. Yeah,
it was just a really I think the Bachelor and
then going on to the Paradise. I remember, like last
(02:32):
time I was on your podcast, it was before I
went on Paradise. Yeah, like, go for it, go have fun,
like go I'm so sorry because when I was last devastating,
I'm so sorry, I like hug out a room for
two weeks and then I went out and I was
last McKennon. My memory from you being on Paradise was
just you showing up to one of those parties as
(02:53):
like one of the other girls, like there to mix
and mingle. Yeah. I went to the party and then
I went back to my room and they're like, you
did great, just here for another week in a bit.
Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. What what year was that?
Was that the year that um Chris and Crystal got married?
That Yeah, yeah, okay, Christina, oh, Serena and Joe. So
(03:20):
there's just like recently, Yeah, that was the first Paradise
season back after the pandemic. I believe because we skipped
a year. Yeah, because there's a bunch there was like
Matt season, my season, Everyone's a bunch of different people. Well,
I'm sorry to put you back in that situation. If
I had it, it's all good. What was it about
(03:41):
the show just to get deep here for a second
that you really thought messed with you? Do you think
that it was the filming portion or the after effect
in the social media and all that, which one had
a heavier effect on you? It was I think the filming.
I think the two on one was really difficult for me.
(04:02):
Um in that just like the last thing I want
to do is like get in like an argument with
someone like kind of like yell, and like I think
that was just really like took a lot out of me.
And then to watch it over and to like be
portrayed in that way and then read online and I
think just like I don't know, I think I look
(04:27):
back and I'm like, I wish I didn't do it.
I also, I was twenty two, so yeah, like I
still am. I feel like I was. I was just
so young and I think I like I had a
couple too many drinks and like all the stuff, and
I think it just it's just really hard for me
to look back at it and watch it, Like I
have not watched it since, Like I won't allow my
(04:48):
my boyfriend to watch it, like I'm like he's seen
some clips on YouTube. But but I don't know. I
think it's just it's just a hard chapter for me
to like think back to and the editing, not the
other thing, but just like watching it with the TV
and then people's comments and yeah, all of that was
(05:08):
just like all the whole shebang, the whole mixture of
it all. So well, it's interesting that you say that
your age played into it. I know it's kind of
like cliche at this point for me to be like, yeah, age,
every wed still young? Are we so young? But like
if we were, look look at science and biology, your
frontal lobe, that decision making bard of your brain isn't
fully developed until you're twenty six, twenty seven, and it
(05:30):
definitely plays a role in like what you do when
you're on TV and those high stake situations and these
really overly emotional situations when you're not getting enough sleep
and all of that. So do you think there should
be like kind of do you think they should up
the age require because right now it's twenty one. But
maybe just like for like the mental health sake and
(05:52):
just like knowing yourself, you know, like just knowing yourself
and having like this sort of self esteem that you
get with age, maybe really official. I was, Yeah, I was.
I was. I felt like I knew myself, you know.
I feel like you're like I think I knowell me,
I know this, and yeah, I just I feel like
I just turned twenty six and I feel like I
(06:12):
am starting to really get myself now and like I'm
in like my first like long term relationship and like
just like growing through all of that. And I think
being on the show at twenty two, I was like,
you know, I was. I was really insecure, and I
let like I compared myself to a lot of these
you know, the girls there, and that affected me. And
(06:33):
I think I went in like I'm gonna have fun,
Like that still is my personality today. I'm all about
how it fun. But I think I just like how
like there was too much of that I couldn't really
just like get my feelings into one and just um
like sit down with him, I have a good conversation.
Like I think I was just constantly like anxious about
everything that was going on. Um yeah, I just yeah,
(06:57):
I think they definitely shoot up up up at it.
Like I could never imagine being on the show at
twenty two. At twenty two, I was like over analyzing
eye contact from Joe Jonas from the stage. Okay, now
twenty six is when I went on, and it's just
about the age that I think is perfect. I really
(07:18):
do think that twenty six is probably like if I
had to have the perfect Bachelor's starting age, it would
probably be twenty six. Um, okay, well you you do
have a boyfriend now, a long term relationship. You say
you're first of sorts. It's been over a year. Yeah,
it's for a year and a half now, just moved
into together in January. So I saw the move on
(07:41):
social Yeah. Yeah, thanks have been that. They've been really good. Yeah.
So you kind of kept him secret first. You weren't
showing his face, you weren't telling much. Yeah, my my
my boyfriend London. He is just a very like he
(08:04):
doesn't post on social media. He's he's a he's an engineer.
He's you know, very like private with his life, you know,
just with his friends and his family. And I think
I just I really wanted to respect that, like he
just didn't. You know, even today we don't. I don't
really post a much of him on online. Um you know,
like that's my thing, and like I like to be
(08:25):
very open, but not everyone likes to be very open,
right so um yeah, but I waited a bit. I
think it. Part of it was a little bit of
a teasing thing. It was just kind of just fun
to just like continue to do like the little soft
launches the back of his head, like and like it
just thought we did. I did it for six months
and then I was like boom, this is whom and yeah,
(08:45):
so how'd you guys meet? Um, it's it's a fun story.
Um yeah yeah. So it was back in it was
actually like two months. Well I guess it was just
it was October twenty twenty one, so it was just
like after or Paradise. So everything worked out at the end,
everything worked out. It was Saturday night. I was like
(09:07):
having a bath and my one of my good friends
was like, it's a girl's knight, come out and I
was like, you know what, No, I'm having a bath,
Like I'm not going out to night, Like no, there's
not I'm not really going out to a person anyways,
but she convinced me we're out. We go to this restaurant,
We go to another restaurant, and one of her friends
was newly single and was sitting up a dating profile
(09:30):
and I was like, you know what, I actually just
made him on last week, Like I'm just gonna I'm
gonna check mine and see what's happening. And I had
someone reply Linda and my boyfriend, and we had a
very brief conversation. He said he was downtown. I said
I was downtown. I said I was at this restaurant,
and then he said I'm at this restaurant. So we
were sitting at the same restaurant. Yeah, in the effing world,
(09:55):
that's awesome. That's a great meat cute. Yeah, so it
was was very briefed. I was actually just leaving when
I got his message that he said that he was there,
so he came outside. We said hi real quick, and
then two days later we went on a date and yeah,
that is so like, yeah, so how is it living
(10:16):
together now? Your first living boyfriend. It's been good. It
definitely is a transition. I mean I've I've never had
a sister, so I've never had to like sharing that
kind of sense. I never had a roommate, Like I just, oh,
you've never had a roommate. Yeah, I lived with myself
and you go into living with a boyfriend. Wow, give
(10:37):
us all the dirt, you know, seriously, tell us what's annoying.
I realized yesterday will organized it like we were away.
I was away for on and off two weeks. Yeah.
I popped home for like two nights in between that,
and I was unpacking for basically two weeks. It took
me like five hours to organize the house. And I
was like, I'm realizing that I will never have that
(11:00):
perfect Instagram organized house because I'm married to someone who
doesn't have that priority. You know what the opposite is.
My boyfriend is very clean and organized like that organized
like organized like organizers in the drawers type. Oh yeah,
I am definitely a little best year one. And I
have a lot of clothes. I have taking. We have
(11:20):
a guest room, we have an office. I have every
closet in there. He has one closet upstairs. I feel you,
I have all the closets. He is very clean, like
he is very so we actually have a pretty quick
clean house here, but he actually works at a town
during the week so I'm pretty much here by myself,
and then he keeps home on the weekends. So it's
(11:41):
like we're like living together but like half of two
months and then like half a month or not. But
it's kind of like a slow transition. That's good. But
I think it's been great. I mean I think it's
just kind of learning like whose role is what in
a sense of like who does this? Who does that?
Like like in like the home, you know, like our
responsibilities in the sense so who does what? Um? I mean, well,
(12:09):
I'm here most of the time, so like I pretty
much like I'm always like I clean up. I make
sure that everything's like backing him and stuff. But when
he's tell them, I'm like you clean this bathroom, I'm
backing everything else. Um. I mean I make him do
like all like the outside work, like yeah on everything,
like yeah, you can do the house. Yeah, we live
in like a house people like a friend yard and stuff.
(12:30):
So I make him do all that, and when he's here,
he does all the garbageot like the kind of nu Yeah,
it's really it's kind of a little gender role. But
I get it. When when he's home, we're pretty we're
pretty equal and everything like someone that person cleans like
the other person cleans and opposite away around and um,
(12:51):
I think we have it pretty like pretty good. I
think just learning in the end, like in the beginning,
just like who should do Like I'm mostly here, so
like I do keep things just clean, but I mean
when he's here, I'm like, you can clean all the
bathrooms please. Yeah, all right, let's talk about your work
(13:11):
for a little bit, because you have been a full
time content creator for the past four years since you've
been on the show. Yeah, you crank it out. You
do a great job with engagement. How how do you
go about when people say they don't know you were
on the show, they go, what do you do for work?
What do you say? Because it's always the most awkward
(13:31):
for me to be like, um, I have like if
they have no idea, what's up? I just say that
like I've been like advertising and marketing. Yeah, that's kind
of like what I'll usually say, Like if I'm a
dentist and they're like, what do you do for I
do content creation? You know, like instagraph like that kind
of thing. Even with my boyfriend. I was like, yeah,
(13:51):
like I, um yeah, I think he definitely learned to walk.
I think like he was someone doesn't post online and
then you know, like you have those kind of like
you kind of think, oh, an influencer, they're going to
be like this, like this and that, and you got
to know me and what I do. And he's like, oh,
it's a lot more. There's a lot more to it
than I didn't know. But yeah, it's been it's been
(14:11):
really great. It's been fun and like lots of great
opportunities through it, and um, I love interacting with people
online and getting to show like more me instead of
you know, on the show, like you you're kind of
you only get shown what is shown. So I feel
like I've gotten to just be myself online and people
(14:33):
get to know more layers. You know. I always have
a hard time describing this, so I'm wondering if you'll
do a better job because I'm always like it's a
full time job. And then people like, okay, but like
(14:56):
what do you do? What's like your day to day
and like every day is so different? Can you describe
your everyday? Yeah? I mean I like you said everything
is different. I have an assistant, so you know, she
comes over, we tackle emails to I talk to my agent.
We kind of go over things that are on deadlines
that need to be done or contracts need to be signed.
(15:18):
You know, with social media nowadays, you have to constantly
make content too, Like you know, there's reels, there's TikTok,
there's so many going on, so you have to kind
of be on it. So you have to constantly produce
that content to put out there. Plus you know where
a lot of the money comes from. It's like sponsor
is like sponsorships, or maybe you want to create your
(15:39):
own thing or you have your own blog. Like there's
like I'm like kind of the process of creating my
own like site and like adding more details to just
you know Instagram or TikTok and all that. So there's
definitely a lot more stuff you see, like behind the scenes,
(16:00):
people maybe don't understand, you know, dealing with your taxes
and all of It's so there's a lot of administrative
work that you also have to do. Yeah, you have
to be like on top of it, like you know,
you work for you basically work for yourselves. You have
to like you know, receipts and like oh yeah, invoices
(16:21):
and all that stuff. So there's a lot more to
it than I think just snapping a photo or creating
a video, you know. Yeah, and not to mention with
the whole real sitch. Everything is kind of a production.
Influences don't get away with just like the taking a picture.
I keep picture and like selecting the best out of
like twenty take in. It's like it's like making a
(16:41):
little mini film, yeah that I'm sitting on my phone
and I'm editing and I'm making sure things are like
you know, like it's not you got a film and
then you got to edit it and then you got
to post it. And there's there's so many different layers
and I think I think people are slowly getting to
know it better. I think especially with there's more platforms
now not just Instagram and it's just photo taking. There's
(17:05):
more to it, yeah, which is nice to see. Um,
yeah it is felion and I think you described it well. Yeah,
but how do you get off your phone? Like I've
been struggling with this lately. Especially, I feel like I'm
constantly doing something on my phone, whether it's taking the
footage editing it in contract, in like dialogue with through
(17:26):
message what I need to do I need to get
done where I had to postings, and then um just
like kind of like keeping up with your followers and
just like communicating with them. So like, how do you
do you find yourself just being like, Wow, I'm looking
at a screen way too much. I've got to live
in the real world especially. I mean, I know this
sounds also like wow, first world problem, but like a
lot of times when you're going out and you're doing something,
(17:47):
you're like, how much do you have to document? Yeah,
there's I Yeah, I definitely have gotten better. I feel
like having those healthy balances. My boyfriend is definitely one
person to thank for that, because he like he's home
on the weekends. Like that's kind of quality times I
don't see him. I try my best put my phone
away and if I am snapping a photo or video here,
(18:08):
I won't look at it. I won't edit it until
like later in the evening or Monday, Like I just
kind of put that time outside. Or you know, if
I do a trip with my friend, I will you know,
set some time aside to do that, or I'll just
do a little like everything at the end, like when
I get home, like kind of give people a recap
(18:29):
in a sense, like I just if I take something,
I kind of give myself a break to put my
phone down and do something else, like make myself something
to eat, Like just because I felt like mentally it
really affected me, like constantly being on my phone because
it is very draining and especially if you're you know,
reading comments or watching other videos, or you're comparing yourself
(18:49):
to someone or there's it really does take a lot
of you. So having those healthy balances and just allowing
yourself to go outside for a fresh air off too,
is so important. Yeah, I wanted to ask because it's
not just an influencer thing. It's just I feel like
all of us. Yeah, we can't disconnect from work a lot,
(19:11):
and it's so much different now than it was in
different generations, you know, where it's like they used to
just you know, on the weekend they loved their computer,
buy won't see an email or won't see anything until
the next day. But I feel like we're just like
so easy to reach and oh yeah, it's right out
your fingertips, like you're like, oh, what's happening on the
other side of the world I need to know right exactly. Yeah,
(19:33):
it's been getting a little, just a little. It's feeling
it's almost being so connected, it's feeling disconnecting because it's
like so many times it's like Jared and I are like, oh,
we have a minute without like Dawson, Oh we should
use this to like get catch up on like the
phone all the things that we have to look at
on the phone. All right, Well, so McKenna, I mean,
are you what's up next for you? We're going to
(19:54):
continue the social thing and then we're gonna continue with
the boyfriend. Is their marriage talk? I feel like, I like,
you're still young, Yeah, so young. I like I bug
him about it, like I'll just like just like kind
of like see where his head's at, you know, like, um,
I feel like I don't know, I feel like you
(20:16):
have to talk about it because when you're living together. Yeah,
I think we're both kind of in like we don't
want to waste each other's time, you know. It's like
do we see this Okay? Yeah, but like are we
ready for it yet? No? So I think it's just
we definitely have conversations. I like, I love to bug
him about it, Um, how do you bug about it? Like?
How how do you bring it up? You're like, so
(20:37):
like I love this ring. I'll just feel like it
isn't really like i'd be like Oval Oval definitely, Like
I'm like kind of like tease about that, or I
don't know. My my my brothers both have a little boys,
and so I I have nephews and we're always around them,
and I'm like, oh, look like I kind of just
like love to tease him. But I think we're just
(20:59):
enjoying where we're at right now. Good all right, Well,
good to see you in such a great place and
we are excited to see what other like hashtag team
no Spill it gets put out there. All right, you
guys McKenna if you want to follow her the Instagram,
your ins official Instagram is what's the handle? Um, it's
(21:19):
at McKenna. So M y K, E N N A
and that's it. It's on Instagram and you just have
the at McKenna. Like, how cool I do you that?
You just get your at name. It's just your first name.
It was hard to get, but you had to get it.
You had to fight somebody for it. Yeah, there was
a profile that had it, but they had like twenty
(21:40):
followers and there was no zero post was It looked
very like inactive um and I had a connection that
reached out to like Facebook, I guess, and and got
me the name. So amazing work, but I got it.
I was like, I want this, like, yeah, it's barely
it's not really digging, and yeah it's my name. It's
(22:01):
a little different spellings and why not take it? Yeah?
All right, Well, thanks McKenna so much, and as always,
we must sign off the way we sign off. Until
next time. I've been Ashley and Dive with McKenna who
following the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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