Feeling the Vibes with Katie Thurston

Our new bachelorette is here and talking with Ben and Ashley to recap the episode. It’s the premiere of Katie’s season of The Bachelorette and the woman of the hour is here to spill all the tea with Ben and Ashley!

 

Katie opens up about how her experience with Matt James changed the way she looks at relationships. And she reveals what ACTUALLY goes down in the Top secret Bachelorette group text… with ALL the former leads!

 

Plus, we explore what might happen if one of her contestants falls in love with Tayshia or Kaitlyn!

And we have all your updates on who’s hosting Bachelor in Paradise!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with her radio. Hello everybody, Welcome to the first in
season episode of the Almost Famous podcast four years in
if that makes sense. So, guys, we have Katie Thurston
season to recap episode one. I gotta say I was

(00:23):
pleasantly surprised. I'll be honest. I think based on our
podcast last week, you may know that my expectations were
kind of low. And I'll say that from the scenes
from the rest of the season, I don't know that
we're having we're getting anything monumental or totally different. But

(00:44):
I think that this is a nice group of guys,
and I think that I'm getting tatious season vibes from them,
so I think they'll be fun to watch. Ben Higgins,
what is your initial impression of Katie's season? My initial
imp Russian. Well, here's the truth. I'll be honest. Come on,

(01:05):
it's so much more fun. Yeah. My my honest opinion
is it was kind of what I said last week.
I think Katie is going to be really great. I
think she's uh gonna be very likable. I don't feel
like I still got to know anything more about her,
which is why Big announcement. We have Katie coming on

(01:25):
the podcast today right now, on this episode. After this segment,
the Bachelor at herself will be here. But to be honest,
I'm gonna tell Katie this, I don't feel like I
know anything about her. I don't feel like I knew
anything more about her from watching this episode. I enjoy
her again. I think she has a lot of Caitlin
Bristow in her. I think she's gonna be a very

(01:47):
likable character. I think we're gonna relate with her in
a lot of ways. I think she's gonna take it seriously,
but it's gonna be funny, and she's gonna allow these
guys to relax a lot, which I would always say
was Caitlin's best maybe best skill set for me personally,
was just that she allowed me to relax and be
myself and say stupid stuff and do stupid stuff, and
and But in terms of the episode itself, I thought

(02:09):
it was fine. But if anybody's listening to this thing
for four years, they've heard now eight different times from
me because of eight different seasons we had. I think
episode one is the worst episode of them all. Always,
No matter what, I don't I'm just not a fan
of episode ones because they just there. It feels like
I'm excited for the season to start, and then the

(02:30):
episode one hits and it's a little anti climatic, Like
I'm more of this episode five to the end type
of guy. I know. I mean same here. I think like,
I like the fact that this wasn't so like kitchy
and there weren't a lot of limo exits that were
like trying to be showy or overly funny and wacky.

(02:51):
So I liked that. Um, I think I got to
get to know Katie a little bit more just by
the guys that she was showing interest in, Like she
loved the cat and I love that she loved the
cats so much. There's a moment watching this episode where
I was like, Hey, I already like Katie. Yeah, just
like don't know her, but I like her. And then

(03:12):
the guys that she showed the most like, it wasn't
the most handsome guys, it wasn't the guys that strutted
in and tried to be smooth, the guys that she
showed the most interesting in where the guys I was like,
I could hang out with that dude. Like she seems
to just want to have a good time. He seems
to be somebody that would make life interesting. Like I
was like, Hey, I'm I'm enjoying watching that. Yet You've

(03:35):
made a good point. We got to know her more
this episode by the guy she was interested in. HM. Alright, well,
we are going to get Katie on in a second,
but before we do that, let's take one quick break.
We'll be back with Katie the Bachelorette. We just mentioned

(04:02):
that the first part of the podcast that we have
a very special guest today. In fact, I couldn't think
of a more special guest than who is on the
podcast right now. Katie the Bachelor is here. Welcome Katie.
Hello everybody. Katie. We had just mentioned at the beginning.
I we've made it very clear to anybody listening we're
fans of you for multiple reasons, mostly just who you

(04:24):
are and what we think you can do in this role. Um.
But if I'm going to be honest with you about something,
there's one thing that's been difficult to process coming up
for this season. I don't feel like we know you
as well as others that have been on the lead. Uh,
for multiple reasons. You're you know, not there as long
as some others. Uh. You know, Matt season had a

(04:47):
lot of things going on, a lot of conversations that
had that weren't focused as much on the contestants in
their backstories. And then I watched episode one and I
still don't feel like I know you as much as
I want to. So if I gave you one minute
right now to tell the listeners and myself and Ashley,
who you are a support person, why we should get
behind you, what would you say? I mean? For me,

(05:09):
I'm just a regular person. And I think that's why
I'm so excited to be in this role. As people
get to see things that I've gone through and relate
to that. There's gonna be some really tough conversations, but
important ones that happened, and um yeah, people are gonna
get to know me more than they did. You know,
Unfortunately on Matt season. There's more to me than just
this like sex positive girl, Like I'm I have a

(05:30):
serious I I have an emotional side, a sensitive side.
Are you annoyed that they've made sex such a storyline
or did you kind of know going into this season
that you were going to have that be your theme
because you walked in with a vibrator and it was
kind of your theme on Matt season, I fully expected
there to be some you know, jokes around sex. Um,

(05:51):
But I will say that there's some important conversations that
come up about sex this season that I'm actually very
excited to have with Fashion Nation. What do you hope
I mean, if this is a storyline that you kind
of walked into, and I mean, I know when I
started my season, I didn't really know what this overarching
story was going to be other than the fact that

(06:11):
I felt like unlovable, Like I knew that was gonna stick,
just because that was kind of the thing. Um. And
so I had to and I'm sure you did, but
I had to process, like what do I want out
of this? Like what do I hope this represents? What
do you hope your storyline represents? I mean, there's so
many different things with that. I mean, I want people
to see a love story, and I'll say there's more

(06:32):
than one that happened, um. But more importantly, these men
have great stories and I'm really excited for Bastination to
get to know them as well. Um. And so you
know that's what the show is about is watching people
fall in love, watching these stories, and a little less
of what we saw, you know, last season unfortunately, And
my hope is that this does feel like a refresh,
you know, back to back to basics, you know what

(06:53):
this is all about. Um, there's been a lot of
virgin storylines over the past six years, ever since well
but I don't want to say it, but me, um,
and I think there's a little bit of a double
standard for the girl versus the guy. I mean, the
only real well known guy virgin from the show is Colton,

(07:14):
and well that took a turn, and now we see
there's a male virgin on your season. When you hear that,
are you like, oh that's not sexy or you like, okay,
I can get down with that. I will say, the
moment I found out, you guys will be probably surprised,
just as I was in my reaction. I'll just leave

(07:36):
it at that. But I mean, and clarify for me
because I am not even a lot of these things.
And yes, I'm thirty two years old now, but I'm
learning when you when you say you're sex positive, that
includes the discussions about understanding where people are at and
that that's not just saying like, if you are actively
out there having sex, like you're out of my circle. Right, Oh? Absolutely.

(07:59):
I mean if you're a virgin, that's fine, that's your choice.
Sex positive is just about talking about it, being comfortable
with it, and not making it this like taboo topic
that's off limits and like no one wants to discuss it.
You know, it's something that should be just a normal
conversation amongst adults. It's awesome. Besides that component of you
know what you stand for? What do you feel like? Why?

(08:23):
What are the main reasons that you think the producers
chose you to be the bachelor at You know, I
just think I'm in a good place in my life,
given like my age and my confidence, and I'm just
ready to really settle down. You know, when they asked me,
I certainly was surprised because you know, Ben, like you said,
you hardly got to know me, and that's right. There
were so many women who lasted longer who are just

(08:44):
as deserving. Um. But I think for me, I'm just
in the place in my life where I'm ready and
I'm open and I know that this can work. I think, Uh, yes,
it was a shocking choice because we didn't know you,
but I do see how it fits. One of those
ways it it is. There's just a lot of uh
for the for the best of reasons, and there's not

(09:04):
many negative I could speak of. There's a lot of
Caitlin Bristol qualities that you and her share, Like you're
very like and just like and I and I said
this before you came on. One of the thing that
stood out to me most about Caitlin Bristow was she
allowed the contestants to be comfortable, like from the get go,
Like she just allowed me to take a deep breath

(09:24):
and be Okay, I don't have to be put together
all the time. You did that in episode one. I
think that's the one thing that stood out to me
was like, I know I like Katie now, I really
like Katie because you showed interest and some of the
guys that, like in past seasons maybe wouldn't get as
much attention, like the guy with the cat sue. Um,
is that just who you're attracted to? Like what like

(09:47):
do you feel like you can make people comfortable? There?
Is that kind of one of your goals? Yeah, I
think for me, I don't have a type when it
comes to physical appearance, and so I really had to
get to know these guys on a personal level. You know,
if you see the people I did in the past,
it all look very different. And so whereas you say
like the cat costume or like the shy guy, like,
I'm just very open and getting to know their hearts.

(10:08):
I also want to add that you're kind of similar
to Tatia as a bachelorette in the way that, Yeah,
you're a little nervous before the first couple of guys
came out of the limo. You can sense that, but
once you've got in the group of things, it felt
like you were super comfortable in your skin conducting the crowd,
you know what I mean? Yeah, I think do you
feel that way? Yeah? Initially it was obviously very scary

(10:31):
when I thought I was doing it alone as well,
but when Tatsia and Caitlin kind of surprised me, that
was a big weight lifted. Then the guys started making
me laugh that just kind of broke the ice as well,
and by the end of the night, I was just like, Wow,
this night just flew by. Did you feel did you
think that there's gonna be any host? And how do
you feel about being the first Bachelor Bachelorette season that
Chris Harrison doesn't host. Yeah, when I went into it,

(10:54):
nobody told me anything, and so I really did think
I was doing it alone, or I thought maybe alumni
would show up here and there for dates or whatever. Um.
So I'm standing there and I mean you can see
with my expression like I am shocked and overwhelmed with
emotion that not only do I get one bachelor, I
had too who are they're helping me? And so to
have them there, it really it really made a difference
for me in moments where I thought I was going

(11:14):
to give up the there was a moment and that
I think I always love to ask the leads. Um,
there's a moment when you're standing there and all of
a sudden, I feel like television, as Ashley just mentioned,
we could see you take a deep breath and get comfortable.
But that was also a moment for me where I
was standing in front of all the women, the head

(11:35):
came and it felt more like a dream than ever,
Like I almost broke down with emotion on just like
the idea of like how am I here? Not that
like this is the coolest, craziest thing I've ever like
that life can ever bring you. But like I feel
like I like I was chosen. I feel like people
said they wanted to be here for me. What was
that moment like for you to stand up in front
of them? Uh and two days before you weren't the

(11:57):
bachelor right yet, but that moment you were the bachelor
with all those guys that had arrived, I mean yeah,
like you said, it was like a dream. And even
leading into it, it was very hard for me to
even say it out loud, like I'm Katie on the Bachelors,
Like what is my life? And even now that we're done,
I'm still kind of looking at it like this is
so crazy, like watch me on TV and like that

(12:17):
that was my whole journey, Like it just flew by.
We saw that Matt had such an issue, um kind
of I don't. I don't know what he would the
exact issue was, but like he never had that healthy
relationship role model in his life, okay, right, so he
was like always scared about whether he was going to

(12:37):
be able to do it. And then you say at
the beginning of the episode that your parents that you
didn't you didn't really have that with your parents. Your
parents divorced when you were a baby. So do you
have any of those fears or do you always feel
like you're somebody who wanted to be married. I want
to be married, I think, I just I'm hesitant. And
that's why at thirty I'm still single, because I don't

(12:58):
want to end up like my parents did. But also
in that you don't watch what a healthy marriage looks like.
And so for me, the our mistakes I've made in
the past, that maybe howd I witnessed what a positive
relationship looks like. I would know, you know, red flags
to be on the lookout for, and what's you know
working and what's not Katie, there's one thing that we
can point to though, that you know that we all
know you do very very well. Um, so you obviously

(13:22):
know how to have a relationship somehow because you have
a lot of friends. I watch you on Instagram and
you're surrounded by friends. Well, since we can and since
the world's opened up all the time, Um, what did
your friends think? And like, how have they supported you
through this? I mean they're excited for me and I'm
just like this social butterfly. Uh. In fact, in high

(13:43):
school I was voted most likely to be on reality TV,
so they weren't even actually surprised. I know, it's so crazy,
that's so funny. Okay, So you talked about relations you know,
not having those role models. How many series relationships have
you have? You have you had in the past. You
mentioned that one of the guys looks like your ex.

(14:06):
Did you think that as a good thing, like, oh
my gosh, he's gonna ruin me all over again, or
is that a bad thing? No, he looked like my
high school sweetheart, so there were some good vibes with that.
But I had I would say three serious relationships where
we lived together. Um, you know, there was a boyfriend
where I was going to buy a house with him.
So I've always very seriously dated and so to be

(14:27):
exposed to thirty mental at the same time, that was
more guys than I've ever been exposed to in my
entire life. So it's very different. Now, Katie, let's enter
into breaking down episode one just a bit with you here. Um,
we we've now seen episode one, We're into the season,
We're into the groove of this whole thing. As the

(14:48):
season starts, then this happens with every lease You're not
alone in this. There's gonna be something right now in
the back of your head that you're like, I'm nervous about. Um,
I'm anxious about. I don't know if I want people
to see you. I don't know if I want the
public discussing it. Um. That happened for me for weeks.
In fact, I have more hair than now than I
did when I got off the show. Um. And that's

(15:10):
not a lie, that's true, Katie. What's sitting out there
right now? And if you can't go into details, that's fine,
But what's sitting out there that you're most nervous about.
I mean, nothing really comes to mind right away. I
do feel like I'm going to be watching this and
learn things that I could have done better. As a
generic statement, you know, there's this one moment where there's

(15:31):
a miscommunication and I'm I'm very interested in watching it
back and seeing, you know, was I in the wrong
or what was he or how could it have been
handled better? What about that scene where you're like, book
my flight, I'm out of here. That's dramatic, you saying
to the guys, if you're not here for the right reasons,
get out. Well, we hear that every season, but book

(15:52):
my flight, not every season. Give us a little teeth.
I mean, I felt like I was losing control out
of everything that was happening around me, and I started
to doubt my entire experience and I was just done.
I was exhausted mentally. I wanted to leave for sure. Okay,
I wish I would have said that. And then your season,

(16:14):
per Rumers wrapped about a week early. So I mean,
did your book your flight? Did they book it? Yeah? There.
I mean I think when you guys see the uh,
the ending of things that all kind of makes sense
on on why everything happened the way it did. This is, uh,
you're gonna have to get really good at dodging these questions.
By the way, but there's so many different spins and

(16:36):
twists that people will try to put on you. Uh. Well,
we're excited to watch alongside you this whole time, and
we don't want to spoil anything. But one thing you
had mentioned before. You know, Matt's season had a lot
of topics discussed, and there's a lot of things that
happened in the midst of Matt's season, uh that have
now you know, had some type of consequence good or

(16:56):
bad on your season, right, Chris Harrison isn't there. But
one of the big things that stood out during that
season was the drama, and it was a focus of
the show. And here almost famous we were critical of that.
We didn't know who to blame, if it was the
show itself or if it was the cast. And then
we watch your preview and it looked really great at first,
and then it looks really dramatic with a lot of
fights and a lot of arguments. Um, can you just

(17:19):
let us know, like, is this season what is it
gonna be like Matt's with the cast or does it
feel like a refresher? I think you guys are actually
gonna see a bromance like never seen before. The bond
that these guys have is it's very fun to watch.
I mean, of course there is some drama, but you know, overall,
I don't think that that's going to be the theme.

(17:41):
Do you remember Ben, how we thought that Tatia's season
was so great because it was genuinely generally drama free. Um,
I feel like watching your teaser, it's actually a big
fake out to us because I can like sense by
watching these so many times it's like they used the
Ambulance as drama. That's not really going to be drama.

(18:03):
They use Blake as drama. I don't think Blake's going
to be drama. I think Blake probably comes in next
week and he's not a huge splash with the guys
because he comes in early enough. I think a lot
of the drama that we've seen in The Teacher is
gonna be fake drama. And I'm getting more Tasha vibes,
like we're actually going to see more of the love
and relationships developed. And I think that overall, in general,

(18:23):
we get more of the love and connection through the
Bachelorette franchise and we usually do with the Bachelor. Yeah,
I mean, I agree with you that someone someone who's
watched the show, the bachelorettes are always, you know a
little more successful in finding their person. And so I
do hope that there is more love stories than any
kind of drama, for sure. Yeah, I hope. So Also

(18:43):
it's more fun to watch, and I will and I
don't mean I mean, I think you're gonna be your
own person. You're gonna shine in this in your own
unique way. We just haven't seen it yet. Um, because
we've only seen one episode, but with with Caitlin, which
is who right now? I see the most with Ashley
will say Asha her season was fairly drama free because
of who she was. She allowed the space for us

(19:06):
to talk, She allowed us to be ourselves. She welcomed
the friendships, she didn't fight against them and get jealous
of them. And uh and so far, after watching episode one,
I feel like you you're going to do the same. Yeah.
I mean, I wanted to be a good experience for everybody,
and I don't want anyone to be distracted by the drama.

(19:27):
You know, we're all here for one reason, so let's
make the best of it. And I think that's really
what happened. All right, let's get into the nitty gritty
of episode one. My biggest question after wrapping the episode
for you was I loved Greg. Thought Greg was awesome,
one of my favorites. I'm going to put him into
the top three that Ben is going to ask me

(19:48):
to predict later. But I really felt a stronger connection
with the cont with with the cat Connor. I was
shocked to see you picked Greg over Connor. Be Um
what went into that decision? Um? Was there something with
your conversation with Greg that we didn't see that that

(20:10):
did make him rise above what you had with Connor,
because Connor and that kiss and the black nose and
you guys were like that physical chemistry was intense. I
mean you can view the first impression Rose as you know,
reassuring somebody or encouraging someone you know. And with with

(20:31):
Connor the cat as I call him, um, I think
our connection was very obvious and I didn't think that validation,
where with Greg he was so nervous. In fact, you
only saw just a brief moment of his exits and
the limo of just how nervous he was. And I
just loved that he was himself and not trying to
be too cool or put on any gimmicks, like he
was just like I'm scared, you know. And I was like, look,

(20:52):
here's a Rose know that I'm interested in you. Get
rid of that those nerves and let's you know, figure
out who you are really Okay, So for you, this
was the reassurance Rose, maybe not necessarily you're my most connection, Rose. Yeah,
you want to call it a reassurance Rose that that's
probably pretty accurate. I think that's super sweet. Because it
is they're wracking. And when you stand up there and

(21:14):
somebody gets out of limo and they're not nervous, it
actually kind of feels weird. It's like, I remember my moment,
I was so nervous, right, How are you so confident
right now? Like there's got what have you done? Who
are you? Um? I I do think I know maybe
why Connor didn't get the first impression or as though
why he did something. Maybe the only thing that really

(21:35):
annoyed me this episode really so Katie him are having
a moment, Katie, I think you remember this, um, and
you take off his cat hat and you say, oh,
you're just as cute without the costume. Really good for you.
That was smooth, Katie, great work, um. And then Connor
decided to put back on the cap mittens to make

(21:56):
out with you again, like you thought it was cool.
I was like, on it, What in the back of
your head is thinking at this moment, you have them off,
you have the hat off, you're already kissing. You need
to put him back on so that her face is
full of fur. That that that part was weird to me.
I mean, yeah, it certainly was a moment for sure,

(22:17):
I can't say I've ever made out with a cat
like that, but it was so cute. I thought it
was so cute that you didn't care that all of
his cat makeup is getting over your face. That was
a strong connection and I'm really excited to see continue now.
You you kissed three guys as far as what we

(22:38):
saw justin Connor and Greg. Any other guys get kisses
that night that we didn't see. Hard to say, you know,
when you're there, everything kind of blends together, But I
will say there's more to come. It does blend together.
If somebody asked me right now, like I would be like,
I have no clue. It's it's all a blur. Wait
till you get five years out and you're like, I

(22:59):
don't remember a single thing from that whole day. Okay, well, Katie. Recently,
Ali Featowski said that if she had to give advice
to bachelorette's, she says that you should ignore all the
guys that you know you're keeping around for a while
on night one, Like if he comes out of the
limo and he grabs your attention, you want him around

(23:20):
for a while. You got to ignore that guy on
night one. If you were to quote ignore some of
those guys just out of the limos. Who would you
say that you should have been ignoring at the cocktail party?
Like who like really made your first impression? Like, oh
my god, this guy doesn't have to speak one more word.
He is in with me for weeks. Probably Andrew s. Okay,

(23:44):
Andrew is on my list of going far. You pick
Andrew with the fake accent? He was so sweet. Yes,
I have him in my top four. Um, what was
it about him? He seemed easy going, authentic. Yeah. Our

(24:05):
our connection was just very easy. You know, some people
are so nervous that it is a little uncomfortable to
try and have these conversations with him. I just felt
like I knew him for years. He Uh. He stood
out to me too. Uh and he has He's the
football player, right, isn't that what he does? Yeah? His
story is unique, Like I want to I want to
learn more about how you play football in Austria, Like

(24:26):
what what is that? And I've never heard of that.
I'm a sports fan, Like what does that life look like? Um? Super,
He's just an intriguing guy. Seems to be up to
a lot. You know who else? Uh? And I'm always
bad with names, uh, Katie, so please forgive me here.
I don't mean to make anything the artist um and
yeah like that. That's impressive to me that somebody would

(24:48):
do that thinking about it beforehand, and then also spend
their time during quarantine. I was like, that's who I
want to be. I want to be the guy in
quarantine painting. Like, what a break from life you get
to create art? Why? You know, for me, I sit
in my hotel room and watching Netflix. Yeah, when he
showed me that piece, I thought he was joking, was like,
I painted this for you. I was like, ah ha ha, yeah, okay,
He's like, no, I'm serious, And I was just so

(25:09):
impressed with how talented he is. You were such, like, um,
a supportive person in your bachelor house. You know, you
were the one standing up for other people. Do you
feel like the dynamic is any different when you have
a group of girls living together versus a group of guys.
I feel like guys can move on more easily than women,

(25:32):
and so I think that does change the dynamics of drama.
You know, I know there were some moments that have
happened that were then quickly forgotten about. You know, during
our time together. And there's moments I still haven't seen,
you know, like in the house or in their interviews
that maybe like the night one I didn't even know
that Cody and Aaron spoke about their dislike for each
other speaking thinking about that, What a weird moment. It

(25:52):
was like thirty seconds of I don't like you, I
haven't liked you since I first met you, as if
like they met months ago. It seems super out of
context and as if it was just like thrown in
there for drama. I don't know what was up with that.
Is that going to be a storyline that continues? You think?
I will say, that's just a little intro to uh

(26:13):
their dynamic for sure. Yeah, that's that was weird. That
was one of the weirder That was one of the
weirder coverage stations I've ever seen on on this show.
And there's been some odd ones. Hey Katie, we have
just a few minutes left with you. Uh. And Ashley
always likes to play a game as a tradition here
it's almost fumosus podcast um with the new leads. But
I also like to take a second every year and

(26:34):
have a moment with you and I'm really interested. Katie.
You're sitting there in the seat right now. You're doing
interviews all day. Um, you're probably tired. Your first episode
of the Bachelorette has now aired and you were known
across the country as the Bachelorette. Your life has changed dramatically,
if if human to human? How are you doing? I mean,

(26:57):
you say my life's changed dramatically, but it hasn't. Think
it could it will? I don't know. I think for now,
I still just feel grounded so far. I mean it's early.
I know I'm heading into something. I have no clue
what to expect. But for now, I'm good. I feel good.
But I know there's like this, I don't know, this
new chapter coming, this new storm. Maybe it's not a storm.

(27:18):
I don't know. What do you? What are you leaning
on to stay grounded? I mean, things are about to
change for you, and um, it's just inevitable, Like your
face is going to be on the cover of magazines
and you're going to be on commercials and you're gonna
get a lot of praise. You're also gonna leave a
lot of criticism. It comes with the territory, Like how
are you going to stay stay where you're at now.

(27:40):
I mean, I have great friends and family that are
keeping me grounded. I'm in the bachelorette group chat that
we have, which I think is really cool. It's just
all of us in one thread, um, just supporting each other,
all the bachelorettes, every single every single bachelorrette. Wow, that's
so cool. Well, what's the best piece of advice from
that group chat? Um? I mean, so far, it's just

(28:02):
been like, don't read the comments basically, m that's good advice. Okay, Katie.
So we have a new tradition here. My mom growing
up always used to try to figure out whether my
sister and I really liked somebody by saying their name,

(28:23):
and then we'd have to try our very hardest to
say their name with the straight face, and if we
couldn't do it, that meant that we like probably kind
of liked them. So I'm going to give you some
names here, and yeah, you're on camera and you're being recorded,
and these are the guys that I think might make
you smile. And then maybe I'll throw in some random

(28:44):
ones in there too. Okay, are you ready? I'm ready? James, James,
Andrew Andrew. That was harder Connor b Connor b Oh,
that was even harder. Greg, Greg, Justin, Justin, Gabriel Gabriel. Um, oh,

(29:17):
Who's who's this? Who's the one? Ben? There's no bed,
there's no bad for constant, for a constant Ben, Ben, Thomas, Thomas,
Michael A, Michael A and mhmm, last one, Blake Lake,

(29:46):
last one, Courtney, Courtney and Christian Christian. All right, Katie,
I do think you have a better poker face than
Matt did. But I think I'm also going to over
analyze this tape and we'll get back to you on
who we think you're gonna choose next week. You're gonna
be super now. I know you're gonna be. That's gonna
be on the back of your mind is who does

(30:06):
Ashley and Ben choose for me? Watching me smile? Well, Katie, uh,
your pleasure. You're awesome. We wish you the best, reach
out if you need anything. Thanks for coming on, um,
stay strong and until the whole team around you, because
I know there is probably a bunch of eyes listening
and watching right now that actually and I say, Hi, Hey,
wish you the best, Katie, Thank you so much, bye bye.

(30:30):
So obviously we just had the expert of the season
she knows all, and she stayed uh, very I didn't
get a lot of read on Katie on what how
this like season went and who she ends up with,
if anybody, from that interview. But I mean in great interview,
I think, like incredible to do. I just don't know,
Like I don't feel like I know anymore um after
listening to her, you know, but I do feel like

(30:53):
she uh she said something there and I would agree
with her because she said it about herself, so it
would be weird if I didn't. But she seems she
seems very grounded, and she seems uh, she seems like like,
like she said, a very normal human who got placed
in a really weird situation, which is always the best
type of people for this gig. HM. Totally agree, Totally agree.

(31:16):
So I want to go through my biggest takeaways as
far as our recap goes, because I wrote guys names
down and I'm really bad with names the first couple
of episodes, so I kind of like find celebrity lookalikes
for them, or I get to know them based on like,
well they had a really sweaty face or whatnot. So
do you want to go down my list and then

(31:37):
we can chat about these standouts. Yeah, take it away
for a bit, because I got some questions for you
based on the episode. I really want to talk to
you about, uh, your thoughts on Caitlin and Tasia. That's
obviously gonna be a big storyline. I want to talk
about this new location that they're in, uh kind of
you know obviously some of the guys that stood out
to you. So I do want to get your top three,
but before we do, let's take it away with your
your show notes, your clip notes. The cat slash teacher Connor,

(32:02):
who we talked about a good amount with Katie like
he's one of my big standouts. For some reason, he
was really able to pull off the costume. You know,
we've seen so many costumes in the past and they
don't always play as well. But man, she really liked that,
and I thought that he was just so endearing and
so sweet and genuinely seemed to be very into her.

(32:24):
Did some background research on her. There was a real
physical and I'd like a chemical connection there. He's going
real far. I loved the Boston guy, Christian, who I
already said is Jared's future best friend because he likes
parades and just wants to drive the batmobile and he's
from Boston. I don't know that he's going to hang

(32:46):
around for a while, but I think he's one of
the cuter guys. Then there was who I called the
accent guy, who is Andrew big, stand out, super sweet.
I genuinely bought the accent. I wouldn't have thought otherwise,
would you have? No? No, he was really really good, Yeah,
really good. And then there was Marcus, who I just

(33:07):
think it's super sweet and I um named him as
one of my favorites. Just looking at his picture. I
think he has that sweet puppy dog face and it translates. Ashley,
You're you're using a word right now that we need
to uh kind of focus on because we don't always
do well. Yeah, and that's fine, that's no, that's great.
It's a great descriptor. But well, but most seasons, when

(33:32):
we watch the first episode, I mean there's been many
times where like, these guys are arrogant, these guys are cocky,
these guys are trying too hard, these guys are acting
like they're you know, the cats me out. But you're
saying sweet, which does remind me of Tatious season because
that's how we were describing the guys from her season. Um,

(33:53):
But it's not like that always like it's sometimes there's
been breakdowns that we've had after episode one where we've
been like, I don't know, like these guys just seem
like they want to take their shirt off and post
on Instagram. M hmm. There wasn't like a lot of
big egos from what I've seen so far. I liked Thomas.
He did have a really super greasy, sweaty face. Um,

(34:14):
but he's like a very like classically handsome man who
I think it's going to be around for a while.
Then there was Gabriel, who looks like Orlando Bloom but
he got like no airtime. But he did really turn
her on as he exited the limo, Like she looked
at Tassia and Caitlin and she was like, oh, yeah,
he's hot. And then there's Greg And I liked Greg

(34:39):
a lot because yeah, he was so nervous, but like
leaned into being nervous, like Katie said. He also made
that adorable necklace made out of pasta or he didn't
make it, the niece made it and gave it to
her and then said like, I don't know if you know,
but it's not real gold, and that was funny. I
think it shows that he has a really great sense
of humor that we're going to get to know about her.

(35:02):
Trey was the guy with the trunk full of balls,
and I think they had a really nice connection as well,
and he came across very sweets endearing. She kissed Justin,
and I noticed that Justin has a lot of scenes
in the next episodes. You know, they show him a

(35:22):
lot in the teasers, so I think he's going to
be a prominent a prominent character. However, I didn't feel
the chemistry between them enough in that moment for him
to go for such a sloppy kiss. The way he
did that seemed like he was coming on a little
bit too strong. But maybe there was stuff from that
scene that was missing a bit. Do you remember this kiss?

(35:42):
The first kiss air? Yeah, you know, it's hard to
judge kisses at this point. I was hard on Matt
James for kissing with his eyes open, and people seem
to kind of find that fine. And you know, you
get a camera up in your face with people watching
you start kissing I'm going to give all these guys
a little grace on night one and a. If it's
week five and there's still like, you know, missing her lips,

(36:06):
then we'll give some criticism. But at this point you
just went in for it, and that's that's a big move. Hey,
he was not missing her lips. There was a lot
of lip locking in that. Then there was James in
the Box. Now very funny. A couple of weeks ago,
when we saw the box on the cast list, we
thought that that was going to be Blake, right, We're like, oh, Blake,

(36:28):
for sure, for sure, it was not Blake. It was
a guy named James, and she liked this costume as well.
It really responded well. He was getting pushed around all
night long and then he revealed himself in a room privately,
and I think he went over quite well. It gave
me so much anxiety. It's like, oh, I'm so claustrophobic,

(36:48):
and the idea that he was in a box for
as long as he was like it just like literally
like it's one of the only cringe worthy moments from
this episode for me, was like just seeing the box
roll up one and then seeing him not get out
of the box too, and then being in the mansion
or the house whatever the resort with the box very

(37:08):
hard for me to like watch m Okay, I get it,
that is pretty custrophobic, but it really worked for him
because she seemed so attracted to him. So I think
that he goes far as well. There's somebody in the
house that is the villain, right, there's somebody that all
the guys want out of the house. I do not
think it's gonna be Blake. I think Blake goes in
really early. I think he goes in really early. Like

(37:30):
I said, probably next week doesn't create a whole bunch
of drama. But I think there's another guy in there
that all the guys want out. Don't know who it is.
Don't know if it's the guy that says it's like
he's there for followers. I mean, it could be him.
I'm I'm my vote is being strongly cast behind. Uh
the guy who went to the dude. I was like, hey,

(37:51):
I don't like you because I don't know. Yeah, I
don't really know if I want to get to know
his name, but um, he because then he walked in
through him. It wasn't even him going up to somebody
being like, hey, I don't like you. It was, and
then he walked into the room and his like his
like hypocritical side came out where he's like, loosen up, guys,

(38:11):
he's a party. It's like you're the one that just
like totally like corner to dude was like, I don't
like you. I don't know this this character he has
a story coming. Um, so I'm putting my behind him.
Was that guy's name Aaron, the insurance salesman from San Diego.
I'm looking at the castle list. I have to go
back and rewatch that scene. I don't know people know

(38:33):
who were talking about? Okay um. And then the other
guy I think is worth mentioning is Michael a. He
looks like Sean Hayes to me, and he has a
kid who is staying with his parents. So that makes
me feel like maybe the mom isn't as involved and
he's the primary caretaker for his child. And I think

(38:53):
that was Actually that led to a pretty revealing conversation
with Katie when she said, like she can kind of
like take kids or leave them. She's kind of happy
what a however way her life turns out. Yeah, it
was it was. It was a special moment. I liked him. Um,
So if we're going to as we do every episode, uh,
start your top three Ashley and Eddie, who would it be? Okay,

(39:17):
so it's going to be Andrew Connor, b and Greg Fair.
I I couldn't disagree with any of those. Um. I
think it's a great choice. So we'll mark that and
then next week I'll ask you the same question after
episode two. Uh, Ashley, you're a resident Bachelor expert. Uh what?
And you have strong feelings on the tradition of the show.

(39:39):
We've now seen Nim mccollin. We've also seen Laquinta. We're
now seeing a brand new resort in New Mexico. Ashley,
how do you feel about just I mean the setup
so far after night one, Um, it looks kind of
like desert and deserted, and I guess I prefer more

(40:00):
of a nimical and look like at the temperate forest
fall feel. This looks like really dry flatland, not a
lot of colors. So we're gonna go based on that.
I mean, the aesthetic can be cool. Um, I don't
know if we're gonna get like a whole variety of
scenery though. Yeah, yeah, I mean Nimicle and just kind
of blewed out of the water like that night. That

(40:20):
night one we watched and it was like breathtaking just
seeing the backdrop of the resort behind it, and I
mean this didn't have that. Now we'll wait and see
as the episodes continue kind of what kind of dates
they can put on there and how it looks. Um.
But I would say right now, my vote for all
out of the three of them, if we're gonna rank
those would be Nimical number one, um, just because it

(40:42):
was it was absolutely gorgeous. Uh, this looks very similar
to Palm Springs. I would agree, Yeah, I would agree
with that. Well. Actually, this is the uh, the big
conversation that everybody will be having this week, UM is
on this is the first season that Chris Harrison doesn't host,
and you have two new mentors, Hayleen Bristow and Tatia Adams,

(41:04):
who are there with her now there. Actually, I want
to ask you and the audience because I remember during
my season, uh, and I you know, I don't know
if it was joking, I don't know if they were serious,
but some of the girls from my season, like they
would have a crush on Chris Harrison, they would tell
me that right, or they would have they would have
a crush on one of the producers. Now that steps

(41:25):
into some murky water, because there has been storylines in
the past where a cast member has hooked up with
one of the producers and they kind of leave together.
So just like if we're kind of making this just
a lighthearted conversation, not saying anybody's gonna be doing anything. Um,
it's you know, just knowing that, hey, the cast is
around the hosts quite often. Do you do you would

(41:46):
you be intimidated if you were the bachelorette on having
two former bachelor's there with you walking alongside of you.
I mean, obviously all beautiful, but does that add a
weird dynamic? Listeners, I would love for you to respond
to to this via email on Instagram just kind of
what your thoughts would be, But actually, what do you think? Okay,
If I'm gonna be straight up honest, I would be

(42:06):
a little bit intimidated. But the fact that these two
girls are in such public relationships and they are so
in love, then no, I'm not intimidated by the guys
being interested in them, Because like I know these girls
aren't going to be interested in the guys. Now, if
you had too sexy single ladies, I'd be like, Okay,

(42:27):
don't look at them, please please, um stay far behind me.
That makes sense, I mean yeah, it just adds. I
mean even you know when you get it, like Chris
is a good looking guy, the producers good looking people
like you get it. You're just around and like the
lead isn't around all the time, and so you're around
like the producers a lot more than you are the lead,

(42:49):
and so over time, like and you're having these like
very heartfelt conversations. The producers care about you, you know. Yeah,
this is different because these girls are there for Katie.
They're advising Katie. They're not going to be I don't
think mingling with the contestants that much. I think I
do get the producer love fest, though, because you are

(43:13):
talking to them constantly and you're having such intimate, like
therapy sessions with them that you get so close. There
was times on my season when we were like, do
I have more of a crush on so and so
than I do on Chris? So that's fine, but I
don't think that these girls are going to be playing

(43:34):
that role whatsoever with the guys. Yeah, well, speaking of
Tasian Caitlin, we've watched the first episode. It's obviously just
the first episode. But what were your thoughts on there?
I mean, we're calling mentors, So what were your thoughts
on their mentor role um and how it played out? Well,
it's clear to me that they are like not there
as real hosts. Okay, so they didn't talk to the guys.

(43:58):
They only said, um, here's the final rows, like if
you didn't get a rose, say you're goodbyes, like they
just said classic lines like that, and otherwise they were
really just they're being cheerleaders for Katie. So it seems yeah,
and you and I both know this, moved on this

(44:18):
for four years together. Co hosting is not always easy.
Now you and I have had the benefit of getting
along in on the podcast and outside of the podcast.
You know, uh, both of us understand that this is
not are you know, this doesn't survive if you're gone,
It doesn't survive if I'm gone. Um, but I would
imagine too, like I've co hosted stuff with people that

(44:38):
that's a little bit more competition between Like how did
they decide who gets the rose seramy which night, Like
I want to know the behind the scenes on Okay tonight,
Caitlin you say this is your final Rose, and Tasha
you say goodbye to the guys, Like how that there
had to be a little bit of a difficult dynamic
at least starting out. I think it's just gonna swap

(44:59):
back and forth. You think those classic lines will go
back and forth. And I'm sure depending on the activity,
the date, the issue, they'll either come together or it'll
be the bachelorette who dealt with more of a similar
situation that goes to to be to be Katie support. Yeah,
it's kind of a funny analogy. But like bachel Alive

(45:19):
on stage, like Beck and I did, we traded off
and that was kind of how we decided to do it,
Like we had to be very clear on like, hey,
so that I'm not always overstepping on you and you're
not always overstepping on me, and none of us areta
in competition. Let's just trade off and let's make that
clear upfront. Um. And it worked. You just have to
have that communication. It feels like Tasha and Caitlin like
each other enough and still do that. It plays out well,

(45:42):
like there's no drama between the hosts, and that's why
that's a big deal. Well, it was, you know, it
was weird to watch our first season without Chris standing
up there. I would say it definitely felt different to me.
I don't know if it did to you or any
of the listeners, but it felt a lot different to me.
It felt the most different to me during the opening

(46:05):
scene without his voice doing the voiceover. That's when I
felt kind of whacked out, um, a little bit odd
not having him there to like kind of give direction,
like welcome the audience back, and then to like give
the pep talk to the lead. I think as the
episode went on, they edited in such a way that

(46:28):
we would not feel like it was missed as much.
But the beginning was definitely weird for me, and so
was the voiceover at the end for the scenes for
the next episode. What did you How do you feel
about Caitlin and and Tatia kind of standing inside watching
and like commentating at all. I'm like a little bit
split on it. Um. It just kind of reminded me

(46:50):
of the girls watching through the window when the other
girls arrive on a bachelor season, right, So, it was
like kind of fun and giggly. I could have taken
it or leave it, like obviously as friends of Tatia
and Caitlin, like I will take all their screen time,
but like, I don't know that it really enhanced the episode.

(47:12):
You know, what I was thinking is how much work
that was for them, Like they stood at that window
for how many hours? Now, obviously you know Katie was
there the whole time, also meeting the guys, But that's
a long time to be commentating, and it's just I'm
gonna be really interested to see how much we see
off Caitlin and Tatia as each episode goes on um

(47:33):
and how involved they get and kind of how they
fill the gap. Yeah, that was fun, but I bet
you it took a lot of energy because you have
to really express in a moote. And one of my
favorite things that happened in this episode was not exactly
bachelor related, but it was the amazing trailer for one
of my favorite Broadway musicals, in The Heights. It's by

(47:55):
Lynn Manuel Miranda, the creator of Hamilton's. It was his
first Broadway show that he wrote, and it's such a good,
feel good movie. It's so uplifting, it's family oriented, it's
so cultural. I love it. It's also directed by John M.
Chew who directed Crazy Rich Asians. So if you like Hamilton,

(48:17):
if you like Crazy Rich Asians, this is gonna be
a great movie for you. Um and right now, the
score on Rotten to Mazes is incredible on Rotten Tomatoes.
It's the kind of movie that you want to see
on the big screen. So if you're comfortable going back
to the movies, Jared and I went to the movies
for the first time last week. It felt so good.

(48:38):
This is the kind that you want full surround sound
and to be completely and fully immersed into without your
phone being sitting there and being able to be checked
a lot. You know how Like if you go to
the movie theater, you just have a whole different, immersive experience.
I can't I can't watch a full movie at home

(48:58):
without being distracted. So go to the theater. See in
the Heights. June tenth comes out tomorrow June tent um.
It's PG thirteen, so you know, bring the whole family
out there, and it's going to be on HBO Max
two for thirty one days. No, it looks really good.
I'm super pumped for it. Love musicals, obviously a fan

(49:19):
of both Hamilton's and Crazy Rich Asians. And then if
it gets round tomatoes, gotta trust it, gotta trust it. Well,
we're in one episode now to this kind of I
guess new chapter um with the franchise. Uh and there
is a headline that we want to get it into
this week. Um. But before we do, let's take a

(49:42):
break and we come back. We're gonna talk about a
headline that that speaks to Chris Harrison's future, at least
for what we assume. Um and uh. And it speaks
to it in relation to Michelle's season that will be
coming up right after Katie's. But let's take a break first. Well,

(50:06):
we just got done talking about this new chapter for
the franchise. Um and and it seems like it's here
to stay. Uh, you know, like it or not, it
seems like it's here to stay. And this is why
the headline reads. And this is according to US Chris
Harrison will likely not return from Michelle Young season of
The Bachelorette. Yeah so, a source tells US Weekly that

(50:30):
Chris Harrison is likely to not be back, although final
decisions have not been made. The Insider notes that they
are currently weighing their option for a new host for
Michelle Young season. Uh. News of this comes one day.
This happened one day after it was confirmed that Chris
would not be confum coming back for Paradise and that

(50:51):
there will be a slew of celebrity guest hosts, including
David Spade, hosting Paradise. It's Uh, it's a big announcement,
and everybody's kind of wondering. Right there hasn't been a
lot of clarity on what the future looks like and
if there is one with Chris in the show, a
lot of rumors swirling around. We'll we'll wait and see,
and we'll continue to update everybody as we know more.
But this is the most recent information we have is

(51:13):
that right now it doesn't look like he's going to return.
What are your thoughts on David Spade and then Wells
and Sarah? And has Sarah been anybody else announced? Because
I know one person that's hosting that has not been announced.
What do you like of the announcement so far? I mean,
obviously Wells is a great friend of mine and this
is a big moment for him. Uh, and and Sarah.

(51:34):
But I mean Sarah's you know, been in the spotlight
for a while and she has, you know, a name
behind herself that you know, she can pretty much do
what she wants at this point with within the entertainment world. Um.
So I'm super pumped for Wells, very very excited for
him and Sarah. The David Spade thing really threw me off.
It doesn't throw me off at all. Continue with your thought. Well,

(51:55):
I know, you know, I know some people that know
David's Bayde some producer of this podcast and really like
him as a person. I don't know him at all.
I've only been around him once at an event. Um.
But it's like, I what I don't see is David's
baby being serious. I've we've never seen it. Um. And
I think in Paradise there's so much chaos and there's

(52:16):
so much drama and there's so much ridiculousness being thrown
around that like the moments of peace came from when
Chris would step in. Is kind of that like adult
figure who would like calm the storms. Now, I don't
know if I see David do. I don't know how
that looks. So I'm gonna be intrigued to watch it.
I will say I'm interested, like I'm I'm interested, which

(52:39):
makes me want to want to tune in. Yeah, there's
not clarity on how many weeks he'll be stepping in.
It might be just one, it might be one, it
might be too. Um. I a little disagree with you.
I think because Bachelor in Paradise has so much levity
that because he's funny, it's gonna be fine. I think,

(53:03):
if anything, we're going to get like a lot of
little Raccoon scenes, and I think we're gonna get a
lot of lost with David. I got to have lunch
with him through Amy Amy producer Amy, Who if you
are still on here, Amy, come in. I want to
hear your thoughts on David because you are friends with
him and he is he's such a cool dude. Well

(53:26):
you could assume somethings, Amy, So you know David, Uh,
you know he's a fan of the show. Uh, you've
watched Paradise many times before. What do you how do
you think it's going to be as a host, Like,
how how do you feel like the vibe is gonna be?
What is his skill sets that are going to be
offered to this, like, why should the audience be tuning in? Okay,
I'll give you my two answers, which are sort of polarizing.

(53:47):
One is I love him. He is such a funny guy,
but he is such a nice guy, and he's really
into the show and like the relationships of the show.
And he's also a really really sweet, sweet guy who
I go to for guy like boyfriend advice all the time.
So that makes me think potentially he's gonna be really

(54:10):
great because he knows a lot about relationships and will
have great advice. My concern, which isn't a concern. I
also find him to be hysterical, So my only thing
is like, am I gonna just be watching the show
watching him? Like literally I can see my eyes just
going on to him being like, make me laugh, make
me laugh, and I won't even pay attention to what's

(54:32):
happening in the scene, Like are you going to be sad?
If he doesn't get a lot of airtime and he's
not able to make a lot of jokes, I don't know.
I feel like he will, but I feel like I'm good.
I he's a movie star for a reason, because we're
all sort of like he's sparkly. He's captivating, so I
may just forget to pay attention to like the contestants.

(54:55):
At some point, I think, yeah, I think you guys,
he's gonna be great. He's warm and is kind of
a secret heart throb amy stay on for this. He
has dated some sexy women in Hollywood, including Heather Locklear
Carmen Electra. If he can reel in these girls because
he's a handsome dude. He's handsome, he's cool looking, right,

(55:15):
but he's not a smoke show. It's his personality and
he can help these guys real in ladies with just
their personality, with maybe his advice. I fully I'm attracted
to him. He is a big I'm too old for
him because I'm like I always say, I'm like ten
years younger than him, and I'm way too old for him.
Like he is very dreamy. He will be great at this.

(55:37):
I mean, I missed, I missed Chris, I'm gonna say that,
but and I noticed his absence. But I do think
this is a genius idea for Paradise. And I'm like,
I'm also Wells number one fan, so I think he's
genius too. Yeah, Okay, back to the headlines. Let's start
with the Bachelor stars Matt James and Rachel Kay planning
to move in together. This is a headline according the

(55:59):
page sit. Yeah, so they're thinking about where he wants
to restart his real estate career, and he's thinking Miami.
They both want to stay on the East Coast because
their families are there. Plus apparently the Miami real estate Uh,
you know, life is really blowing up and the weather
is of course a year round beautiful. So there we go. Well,

(56:23):
let's see if they really do move into the same
apartment or house together. That will be something step I know,
not more than just a few weeks ago, we actually
announced that they were even seeing each other. Now we're
getting rumors that they might move in together. Well, here
is another relationship update. I wish we had like one

(56:43):
of those little like ding ding ding things are that
get people excited about This from the Bachelor Nation franchise.
Piper James and Brendan are dating. They're super into each other.
Is the quote that's according to us. You guys, can
you believe? First off, I think there's gonna be some
disappointed people who we're planning on seeing them in Paradise

(57:03):
or who would have loved to see this unfold in Paradise.
But it seems that they may not be going to
Paradise to continue their relationship because the two of them
were spotted in the Boston area, which is where Brandon lives,
over the Memorial Day weekend, which was also the weekend
that the first set of Bachelor in Paradise contestants were

(57:26):
shipped out to Mexico. So don't know that we're gonna
see either of them there. I think there's gonna be
a lot of girls there were that we're looking forward
to meeting with Brandon, and same with guys hoping to
see Piper. They say that they either fly out to
New York um or she'll fly to Boston. And I

(57:46):
guess whether they're pretty close because she's living in New
York and he's living in Boston, so like they don't
even have to fly to each other, they can just
drives only four hour drive. They've been keeping their relationship
under wraps since they're trying to make the long distance
they work. It's still new, but they're super into each
other and they're getting to know each other and they're
having fun going on dates. They also have a ton
of mutual friends in the bachelor crowd. So that makes

(58:09):
you know, dating really fun and easy. Um. Yeah, this
is very exciting for the two of them. Actually, just
a few more big headlines to cover. Kelly Flannagain. We've
talked about it many times of the last few weeks
on how big of a hot commodity should be in Paradise,
but we didn't know if she was going or not. Well,
the headline reads this, Kelly Flanagan sets the record straight

(58:30):
on Bachelor in Paradise rumors. Ben I cannot believe this.
I can't She's not going to Bachelor in Paradise. It's
absolutely wild wild. Bennett thought he was just going to
have the most romantic time down there with Kelly. She's
not even going. Somebody asked her on her Instagram Q

(58:51):
and A on June two, um, how her life life
but her love life was going, and she said going
to Mexico in two weeks smiley face. But then I
was asked about her going to Paradise and she goes
and no, I'm not I'm just going to Mexico. Absolutely wild.

(59:13):
I cannot believe it. I thought for sure she was
a shoe in and Uh, but she's not. She's just
hanging out in Mexico. Well final headline. Uh. And and
we're sharing this one because it's brave. Uh. It's just
really incredible. And I know now you know, as I
mentioned every week, UM, because Jessica's in the skincare world

(59:33):
and I've gotten to talk to Ashley now for four
years about her struggles but also her Um, your passion
for skincare. Um. This is this was big because I
had to message her personally just say, you know, thank
you for so many of the people out there that
would be watching. But um, Christina Schulman goes makeup free,
document painful, red p D flare ups. She says, an

(59:55):
all time low this according to people. Uh. One, Before
you break this down and talk about it, Ashley, I
just want to say, you know, really cool of Christina.
And anytime anybody that has a following, anytime they kind
of breakthrough um the hey everything's perfect facade and share
something that maybe isn't perfect. Um, it's a moment for

(01:00:16):
us all to connect. So kudos to Christina for doing this.
For sure, I loved this. There were so many Bachelor
lums who wrote under her picture, thank you for this,
you know, really appreciate the rawness, the realness she has
I don't know how to say it period real dermatitis,
and it's flares sometimes and it's fine sometimes. She even

(01:00:38):
says in the caption that her and her dermatologists figured
out something that really worked for her for a while, um,
but then it ended up coming back a couple of
months later. So she has this slide show type of
Instagram um reel where she shows her skin on good
days and on bad days. It's kind of like a rash,
like a blotchy rosatia type, small red bumps, and she says,

(01:01:03):
there were hopeful times and a time where I hit
an all time low. She felt like she wanted to
be raw, emotional, unfiltered, and she felt like she woke
up the morning that she posted this and she she
felt really down and overwhelmed and sad and defeated. And
for the past few days, she said, she stayed quiet,
stayed off to social media and hopes that she could

(01:01:24):
get to a better mental state where she could share
her skin's journey in her progress and the progress that
hasn't come just yet. She's um, so many people were
thankful for you know her being so open about this,
because there's so many times when we look at Instagram
and we're like, oh my god, that that doesn't even

(01:01:46):
look like skin. It's so perfect, Like how do you
look like that? Right? And we can really get down
about our appearance because of what we see through filters
and all that. And I know that while I've never
had this type of dermatitis, I've had times where, um,
I had an allergic reaction to something that I couldn't
figure out, and it took like months to figure out
what was causing the allergic reaction, and I would wake

(01:02:07):
up with the puffiest eyes and like such a swollen face,
and it was just experiment after experiment of you know,
what could it could be? And then there was a
time where I had cisti acne and I just didn't
want to leave the house because I couldn't without crying
because I felt so bad about myself. So I think
that almost everybody goes through a period of their life

(01:02:28):
like that. And by Christina showing that she's not Instagram perfect,
Instagram filtered all the time, it's really powerful and it
can help a lot of people's self esteems out there. Yeah. Yeah,
super super cool of Christina and just yeah, there's a
little shot out to say you're awesome. Well before we go,

(01:02:48):
don't forget you can still enter into our for your
anniversary giveaway. This is a big deal, super exciting and
if you want to interstill just go to our Instagram
click the link and the bio and has all the
information there uh that you can use and follow to enter.
We were super excited and was we said for the
last few weeks. This is just a really coo opportunity,

(01:03:09):
so make sure you enter. Uh. Final little thing we
want to do before we head out of here, Uh,
Diggie Diggy Moreland just recently had a baby, so I
gonna say congratulations to diggye uh on his future as
a father. Super cool. Uh, go out on Instagram and
just let Diggie know that you've seen it. You're supporting

(01:03:32):
uh and all of our almost famous listeners that you. Uh.
We celebrate relationships, we celebrate kids. It feels like all
the time now, holy cow, everybody's popping them out. But
it's wild Ashley, Uh, great episode, super cool. UM to
be able to talk to Katie on the first week
that her episodes air. But we'll be back next week,

(01:03:53):
breaking down more of Katie Thurston's season as the Bachelor
and everything wild going on, and I'm sure it's gonna
get wild. Oh with that, I've been been, I've been, Ashley,
and I bet you. Next week we're gonna be talking
about two more Bachelor at Bachelor Births. So stay tuned.
We'll see you next week. Bye. Follow the Benn and
Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on I Heart Radio or

(01:04:15):
subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts