April 30, 2025 • 28 mins
We’re pulling back the curtain on The Bachelor franchise and looking beyond the rose… and its thorns. Ben and Ashley are getting to know Tino Franco, for the real story behind his engagement to Rachel Recchia and his journey after it ended.
Plus, Tino shares his side of what went down at After the Final Rose.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ben Higgins and Ashley.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I bring you Infamous. Sometimes roses are red flags.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Infamous. Sometimes roses
have red flags. Today our story continues with Tino Franco.
You remember him as Rachel Rekie's short time fiance after
her season of the Bachelorette. Welcome to the show to you?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now, how's it going? Glad to be here?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're good? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Couldn't be ready?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Great? So we want to do on Infamous because you
know your story, as so many are, are unique. You
were one of the instances in which you kind of
had broken up before hitting the after the final rose
couch or you were in a very strange spot in
your relationship when you hit that couch? Was did it?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
What did it?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
We see is what this show wants to cover. No.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I think you guys saw everything.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Really thing you need? Yeah, what do you mean? Everything
you need?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
There's there's not a whole lot like to really expand on.
I mean, I don't I don't like love how everything
went down. I don't like the you know, I heard
her feelings and kind of let down the group. But
you know, I think we can all agree. I got
a pretty noteworthy punishment for it, and we all, I think,
(01:33):
are better off that that relationship ended when it did.
What was the punishment, Well, after the final rose, they
had one of the guys who got eliminated come out
and ask her out in front of me, And at
that point we had already been broken up for a
little bit, so I was kind of like, well, you know,
(01:55):
there's none of really my business. I mean, we already
broke up, so I don't know why I'm here, but
I think the fans took some pretty heavy offense to it.
It certainly wasn't like a nice thing, even though it's
not like it was like, you know, actively my somebody
I was involved with it. I think at that point
we hadn't talked for a month.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, one of the hopes of Infamous Tino is to
get on and let the contestants tell their story, knowing
now you know production, the team of producers at the
Bachelor and Bachelortt have switched over. If you went back today,
you would know very few people that are still on
the show working from behind the scenes, and so Infamous
(02:40):
is here to explain the situations that feel confusing to
the audience or feels like the whole story wasn't shared.
And that's why I wanted to bring you on today
because I know that your hope coming off of your season,
even with everything going down, was to kind of have
that redemption moment, to share your side of the story,
(03:00):
to get people to see that there was two there's
actually three ways to it. There's the truth, there's Rachel's side,
and there's your side. But what you're saying off the
bat here is that the audience saw what they saw
and it's all true. So what Rachel was upset about,
what the audience was upset about, is the truth to
the situation for you as well, and they just are
(03:23):
fine being upset.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Yeah, I guess I like it's forgive me. I'm a
little bit like I haven't been doing podcasts lately or
like really thought about any of this. In fact, like
most of the time I say no, like the few
times people want to have me on. But as I
told Hannah, anything for Ben, Ben, you took so many
(03:47):
of my calls. I still have you a big time.
I mean, so the situation was really tough, and looking
back on it, like it's hard because like I really
don't want to like I want to avoid any cast
of blame, like I want to smart make sure I
(04:09):
own my side of it. And the fact of the
matter is, you know, whether or not it was crystal
clear you know, we were together head over heels when
I did what I did.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Which, let's just say it out loud, you kissed a
girl out at a bar one night when you were
with Rachel. Okay, you were at a house party. Story
and the I think you guys had an unclear, undefined
relationship from what you felt, and she was more of like, no,
we were together.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, and you know, please edit me as to protect
me from getting sued when I say things like this.
But what I think the audience might not understand that
US three would is there's a huge time gap in
what they see versus when things happen. Right, So whether
(05:04):
or not you know there was the moment, which there
should have been, and we can circle back to things
I would have done differently later, whether there was a
crystal clear defined moment we are not together, you are
afraid to do whatever you want, which there wasn't. But
there were moments you know that I think somebody who's
(05:26):
in a heightened emotional state, which I certainly was could
have taken to be that this relationship had no future,
and it was feeling like it was waiting till said
after the rose to just kind of announce, hey, we're
not together, you know, and we're moving on, which at
the time, as ironic as it is, because you know,
the after the final rows that I had to suffer
(05:47):
through was absurdly humiliating. I found that to be, Oh,
my gosh, that is the most humiliating thing that could
ever happen to me. No, but the the just the
idea of getting there right and me going up on
stage having not done anything stupid and her going, yeah,
I got to know this guy and he's not for
(06:09):
me sounded like beyond hell on earth. So then I
went on to overreact in the way that I did,
and you know, whether or not, like Ben said earlier,
there's my half, her half, and then the truth, I
(06:30):
think there's like certainly her side, and whether it agrees
with mine or not. I hate that I made her
feel that we were concrete in this relationship and I
did what I did. Now, my version or my feelings
(06:50):
at the time certainly weren't in aligne with that. But
I hate that I made somebody feel like that. So
the reaction in that part by the show, because they were,
you know, probably acting in a manner that they thought,
you know, reflected the crime. I understand. Like, I mean,
it's the worst thing ever I've I've been cheated on
a long time ago, and it's literally the worst thing ever.
(07:14):
And I hate that I ever made somebody feel like that.
I kind of went on some tangent then so reeled
me in. Oh so like details, details right of what
the audience might not have seen. So whether there was
that conversation of hey, you know, we're done, done f
and done right, there was this waiting period, and to
(07:38):
me at the time, it really felt like, you know,
I was just really in jail of this situation with
you know, public perception and the relationship kind of not
being reflective. So I'm watching, you know, myself on TV.
There's other realities outside of what was going on. Real
(08:01):
life's going on, new jobs, going There was just too much,
I think going on, and I just really slipped up
and not using it as an excuse, I learned from it.
You know, I take myself out of situations where I
could ever really act out in the same manner, and
I really, you know, life and God have really rewarded
me for that.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So are you saying that when you were, like the
time period in between, you felt as if you and
Rachel were probably broken up, but like you weren't really
allowed to do that yet, is how you felt.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That's probably the closest thing so I felt at the time,
and like do and I know if this is accurate,
you guys would have to ask her. It felt to
me like, hey, I really want to break up with you,
but I don't want to be the bad guy here,
so let's just limp our way over to after the
final rows and then we'll cut it there.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
And she was probably like, no, we're gonna be together
until after the final rows and then we can cut
it off there officially.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, yeah, And like I mean, in hindsight, shit, I
probably should have done that hit under a rock for
two months. But for some reason, when you're you know,
feeling insecure, you're feeling a million different emotions, you act out.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
The interesting thing here, Tino, if I remember right, it's
been a bit one this story, probably to your kind
of own liking and strategy, Like you you've kind of
kept quiet like you said, you don't say yes to interviews.
You kind of did the first week of runs after
the show, and then you've kind of gone off and
done your own thing. You've stayed in the same job.
(09:52):
But I remember this season kind of during the show
that you were taking accountability for these choices that you made.
You know, I don't I think you can say yes,
maybe you guys were broken up. Maybe this isn't, as
you know, much of a cheating scandal as it seems
on television, because of the time frame, because of the
conversations that were happening behind the scenes. But you've taken
(10:15):
accountability for this being a bad decision because you were
in still within the Bachelor world at the time, like
the you know, the fans haven't caught up with your
life story yet.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
It was a bad decision that I didn't feel right about.
It was close enough to cheating that I wanted to
come clean about it. And I think I got it
in my head because there were two folds too, you know,
my self destructive path here, right, I did what I did,
and then I with no body like I don't think
(10:50):
a single person from the Bachelor franchise ever told me
I should have told the truth or come clean about
it to this day, but I'm glad I did it
because when I look back on it still, I feel
like I can really hang my hat on, like you know,
I did something I didn't like and I came clean
and I took a nasty punishment for it. But I
(11:12):
wanted to kind of have that like at least like
self image of myself like that, you know, if I
do something wrong, I'm willing to take accountability like Ben said,
and take the punishment forward it. And you know, that
was more important to me than kind of getting the
sugar high of I don't know, maybe a couple thousand
(11:35):
more followers and some brand deals.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
The time has now passed, and infamous is about getting
the sides of the story that felt you know, chaotic, ugly,
unfortunate out there, and sometimes they stay that way. The
stories are still unfortunate, ugly and chaotic. But you had
(11:57):
time now removed. You've already mentioned the decision making that
you would have. You know, maybe if you had hindsight,
said now, I won't go to a house party and
kiss a girl because of the show still going on.
But I'm more interested in the emotions now a few
years removed from the show that you still experience based
(12:19):
on that decision and based on that final finale, and
based on this show that so many people watched.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, I mean I've actually like gotten off of social
media entirely. Well yeah, I mean for the most part,
but no Instagram, right, And that was, for better or worse,
a constant reminder of that experience of the show all
that rarely do I ever get recognized now, Like it's
(12:50):
more surprising when it happens than it doesn't now, So
it really has gotten to allow me to walk away
really cleanly. I think the experience really made me appreciate
and be grateful and see how blessed a lot of
us are in our daily lives. Because you suffered through
(13:15):
that dopamine spike that very few get to experience. All
three of us got to go on some pretty exceptional
adventures and it kind of showed me aside that is
for some people. And I actually found a new value
and a new love for kind of the simplicity of
(13:36):
my life before. Hence I went back to my job
and got to, you know, go and find extraordinary value
in the things that I love. I found my way
back into my faith, which was more recent and more
related to you know, health issues within my family. But
I think it really just overall made me a really
(13:57):
grateful person. And I've even gotten to the point, like
you're touching on then, that I actually and I don't
want to sound like a cheese ball when I say this,
but it's true, and I tell people this all the time.
I think what happened at AFR, if we all remember correctly,
being a little bit brutal, I really think it was
(14:20):
a blessing in disguise. I think God looked at me
and saw somebody who was truly sorry and going through
and said, look, this is going to hurt, and you're
not going to see why for a little while, and
then it's going to become crystal clear one day, instantaneously
that this was something I did for you. And I
(14:43):
believe that with every ounce of my heart right now.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It's interesting so many people could relate with that, just
not even from having a bachelor experience. So many people
could relate with this season of being. You know, some
would say like John on the cross in the valley,
you know, in the valley and walking through this and
then looking on the other side, and you know, kind
of rising up and saying I've learned so much. The
(15:10):
learning so much is such a vital thing. I mean,
it's it's my take for infamous. Ashley and I disagree
on this, and that's great and that's what makes this
show amazing. My take is editing is never an excuse
for a contestant to use. Hers would say editing can
be really bad. Based on our own personal experiences too,
she felt like her edit wasn't fair. I felt like
it was amazing. I felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Mine was great, like for half of the season, and
then we broke up, and boy, I remember it differently.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, but the production side is very intriguing. Now from
your perspective, we go in, you know, the decision was made.
Stuff has happened. Now we've came clean on that. I
want to know how the show supported you, because obviously
it felt like the world was coming down against you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Oh, this is going to be a quick question.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, I want to know how the show came around
you from a production standpoint, knowing that this was going
to get really bad for you. For you know, as
long as you like, no, you can't get it. I
mean maybe I don't know he can big, I don't.
I'm not the one suing you. Figure out a way
(16:21):
to say this without getting sued. How did this show
come around you? Was it good or I.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Don't know if they paid you Nick and Ashley to
be nice to me. But that was about it. I mean,
you know, I will say the one person who I
think you told me to call Ben, I don't know
if we can name him or not, but he was
an ep yeah, yeah, yeah. Although he probably was the
orchestrator of that miserable thing, he was the one person
(16:54):
who reached out after And there were a couple who
actually apologized and said that was too much and I'm sorry,
And I thought that was at least very classy. I guess,
like it's like, yeah, hey, sorry, you know, I tried
to shoot it at you in a miss but I
clipped your shoulder a little bit, and I want to say,
like sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Did you feel like it was genuine?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yes? I did, but like you know, he also was
kind of like, how do I make it up to you?
And I'm like, dude, I'm not signing another flipping thing
you slide across the desk. There's no way.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
How do I make it up for you come to paradise.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. He's like, he's like, name a price,
and I'm like, there's no price, there's no price.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Well, now that that person has probably gone, would there
would there be a chance. No, Well I knew that
was the easiest question ever.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
It would have been a know anyways, because you know,
I just like life. It was just too good to
kind of risk it all with that again. But like,
I have been blessed to find the person I'm gonna
spend the rest of my life with. So I'm I mean,
I don't have this yet, but I'm working on it.
And yeah, she's so exceptional. There's there's no other way.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
How does she feel about this whole thing?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
You know, she's supportive. She wants me to fire back
up the Instagram and see if we can get a
free trip. I'm just kidding, but I'm just like, no,
it takes more than it gives. From my experience, like
some people have turned it into something like really amazing,
but I just I like my day job. I was like,
we'll just have to say.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
We do want to talk about your girl, but we
also just want to go back to the passage for
a little bit longer. Now, when Ben talks about the edit,
and I had a great edit, I mean, like I
look great. I was genuinely I did a great job.
I think there was a new episodes, right, there's a
few episodes, and to me, it was just that it
(19:02):
was more or less so missing contact Sun edit. It
just it was missing context and I feel like you
could probably relate to that. Was there any scenes that
would have made that didn't air that you like wish dead.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
There was a you know, Okay, So now I'm really
gonna sound like I'm panderings, but I don't care. I mean,
what are they gonna do DM, like some random account
DM you guys, oh tell t you know he sucks
he's pandering because I don't have an Instagram. But honestly,
gun to my head, I wish they showed more. I mean,
(19:41):
this is going to sound like such a pander, but
I wish they showed more of Rachel because she was
so much cooler that season than it was, like reflected.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
You said that back in the day.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, Like, I mean, I actually like I thought they
did a super disservice to me and her, Like I
think it was like twofold where they were trying so
hard to make me look bad or or that's just
how I looked. You know, I gotta I gotta play
Devil's advocate here and avoid you know, getting the call
from the lawyers. But I thought it did a real
(20:13):
disservice to her. And I thought like they cut out
a lot of really cool shit that you know, we
did that would have benefited hurt edit more. But they
were you know, I think they they can only show
so much, and they were like, well, we're not going
to show this guy in a good light, so they
showed the other ones. But it like kind of didn't
(20:36):
do it justice.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
You said that back in the day. I remember you
talking very highly of her, which is always a very
unique position for you to be in, because you didn't
want to just you didn't want to destroy friends. No,
I don't think your friends. I don't think she wants
to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I don't think you're like her. I think I think
we're better off. I think we're good.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
But I remember you saying you don't want to destroy
her because you don't have any desire to. Yet you
want to protect yourself. How do you do that in
the face of national television on a hot seat, knowing
that the live finale was going to come at you hard.
So how do you do all this? And what ended
up happening? And tell me if I'm wrong, is you
(21:16):
sat there and you took it and you said, if
I can get out of here, the quicker, the better
and everybody hates me, it's better than the alternative, which
was to try to place blame everywhere else? Was that
your mindset going into that finale totally?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And like we ended up getting into it on the stage,
and like you'd have to ask her, but I'm sure
there were some like you know, birdies in her ears
saying like, oh, he's gonna come out swinging, you better
be hot and boxing gloves on, and you know, I
just was like, look, and I know that because I
(21:56):
was I had the same birdies that we're saying, you
better get out there and go ham and tell you
the story. And I was like, look, I just don't.
I don't really see any purpose in that. I don't
think that will do either of us justice. And at
the end of the day, the production for Better or
(22:20):
Worse invested a lot of time and energy in me,
as did she and it just didn't feel right to
go up there and kind of cowered my way through
and place the blame game, and I, you know, I
know up there somehow we got into an argument, so
I feel like maybe she thought I was trying to
do that, but I mean, it really wasn't my intention.
(22:40):
I think I rewatched it and I was like, I
guess I could have said this differently, and that's what
triggered it. But I really, like, I think I said
something along the lines of like I'm sorry it felt
like I was, you know, blaming you. I was really
trying not to do that, and that's what started it up,
because I think is always hard to hear like I'm
(23:01):
sorry you felt this way, but like I was trying
to say, like it felt this way. You know, I
don't know, but it was un rambling, but yeah, I was.
I was trying to get out of there, and like
my goal would be to like everyone walk away being like, well,
you know, you're sorry, you know, like we can you know,
(23:21):
like he like, I would have loved it if people
were like, well, you know, rarely do we get TV
contestants who actually like come clean and take their punishment
like that.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Well, I remember the way I felt was like, yeah,
wolves and I'm not wolves, but yes, he affed up definitely.
But I left watching that finale being like just kind
of like so sympathetic for you because it was it
was so embarrassing that they brought Avan on stage to
(23:56):
ask her out, and I was just like, it is
just oh no, no, it felt so just felt so demoralizing.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
I think it saved you, and I think, in a
twisted way, I think that was their thought. I really do.
I think I thought they were going to do that,
and I think when I got that call apologizing, they
thought they had the hooks in for like a light
you know, like somebody who'd be still involved with all
this stuff, not just you know, doing it because I
(24:30):
adore you two and appreciate you too. But no, I
think I think it genuinely confused them when I said, like, no,
there's no way I'm doing anything for you guys again,
because I think it's it's so like like every person
from my season, like was in the group chat talking
about can't wait for Paradise and I was like, are
(24:52):
we for real here? Like I'm not, you know, I
just had a bad experience I'm not going.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, well, kind of like in Miss Does. The hope
is that Paradise is a redemption story. I think you
would have got it, you know, but it does sound
like you didn't need it because you mentioned a second
ago as we close here, that you have found somebody
that you're hoping to has been the rest of your
life with. Am I wrong in making it that clear?
She might listen?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, my goal is to know we're spending the rest
of our lives together.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
If I still got to convince her, you know, I'll
keep working on it, but I think it's it's definitely
more than reciprocated.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
And I was going to pull her up on Instagram,
but you don't have one.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Can we know who this is?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Is this a secret?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Sorry? It is? You know, maybe schol post about me
and you all see it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
But how long have you been together?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
And she's like, you don't have an Instagram?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
How long have you been together?
Speaker 1 (25:46):
We're coming on two years pretty.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Soon here, Okay, two years together?
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yeah, well not that soon, but you know about a
year and a half.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
In Yeah, is there a right? Not?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, but it's been designed nay, let's go. Yeah, Yeah,
she's she's so good to me. It's like, I feel
like blessed every day.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
And she knows all this right, We're not going to
like release something here that she's gonna be like, wait,
what's happening?
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah, I want to. I want this to be the
first time she hears it and gets all embarrassed and flusty. No,
I tell her every day, Okay, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
You know, we love Rachel here. And you may have
made your mistakes on the show and with the whole experience,
but I just feel like, you're a very sweet, sweet guy.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
She's hey, and she's she's a cool girl. She was
putting into a really shitty situation largely because of me,
you know, and I I haven't watched anything since, but
I think she's kind of shown everyone that it seems
like and yeah, you know, that's that's good. I have
no like thought of her ever, unless like somebody brings
(26:59):
her up. And if they ever do and they say
something negative, I'm like, hey, you know, you guys didn't
see the right person because she was really rad. I
would not have gone to the lengths I did if
she was not super rad. It's just you know, sometimes
you lose the luck of the job of how it
gets all played out.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
That's true. We love Rachel here, but Tina, were very
happy for you, were thankful that you came on here,
thank you forgiving us the time. In summary, here is
what happened. Tino's owned his decisions. He had a really
terrible finale that a lot of us felt where it
was unnecessary, the Aven situation in a lot of ways.
I believe dig kind of save Tino because it took
(27:40):
the focus off of him and made it this weird,
awkward moment. Yeah, it was very weird at every level.
But Tino, out of all of this, out of all
of this, the thing that's always been impressive that should
not go unnoticed is that your hope and your desire,
(28:01):
And what's happened is you did not want to throw
Rachel under the bus and blame it on her. You
also wanted to take the ownership for the decisions made.
And I think that shows a lot of character. I
don't think it's done a lot on reality television. It
maybe didn't make you the most famous person of all time,
but what it did do, as you said, is it
taught you a way of life that will pay off
(28:24):
in so many great ways. Life comes. Yeah, Tino Franco,
thank you for coming on Infamous. Appreciate it for you.
Appreciate it man. Thanks Benny, I've been Ashley and I've
been Ben. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Ben Higgins and Ashley.
Speaker 2 (00:01):
I bring you Infamous. Sometimes roses are red flags.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
Hey, guys, welcome to another episode of Infamous. Sometimes roses
have red flags. Today our story continues with Tino Franco.
You remember him as Rachel Rekie's short time fiance after
her season of the Bachelorette. Welcome to the show to you?
Speaker 1 (00:26):
Now, how's it going? Glad to be here?
Speaker 3 (00:30):
We're good? How are you?
Speaker 1 (00:33):
Couldn't be ready?
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Great? So we want to do on Infamous because you
know your story, as so many are, are unique. You
were one of the instances in which you kind of
had broken up before hitting the after the final rose
couch or you were in a very strange spot in
your relationship when you hit that couch? Was did it?
Speaker 2 (00:59):
What did it?
Speaker 3 (01:00):
We see is what this show wants to cover. No.
Speaker 1 (01:05):
I think you guys saw everything.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Really thing you need? Yeah, what do you mean? Everything
you need?
Speaker 1 (01:13):
There's there's not a whole lot like to really expand on.
I mean, I don't I don't like love how everything
went down. I don't like the you know, I heard
her feelings and kind of let down the group. But
you know, I think we can all agree. I got
a pretty noteworthy punishment for it, and we all, I think,
(01:33):
are better off that that relationship ended when it did.
What was the punishment, Well, after the final rose, they
had one of the guys who got eliminated come out
and ask her out in front of me, And at
that point we had already been broken up for a
little bit, so I was kind of like, well, you know,
(01:55):
there's none of really my business. I mean, we already
broke up, so I don't know why I'm here, but
I think the fans took some pretty heavy offense to it.
It certainly wasn't like a nice thing, even though it's
not like it was like, you know, actively my somebody
I was involved with it. I think at that point
we hadn't talked for a month.
Speaker 2 (02:17):
Well, one of the hopes of Infamous Tino is to
get on and let the contestants tell their story, knowing
now you know production, the team of producers at the
Bachelor and Bachelortt have switched over. If you went back today,
you would know very few people that are still on
the show working from behind the scenes, and so Infamous
(02:40):
is here to explain the situations that feel confusing to
the audience or feels like the whole story wasn't shared.
And that's why I wanted to bring you on today
because I know that your hope coming off of your season,
even with everything going down, was to kind of have
that redemption moment, to share your side of the story,
(03:00):
to get people to see that there was two there's
actually three ways to it. There's the truth, there's Rachel's side,
and there's your side. But what you're saying off the
bat here is that the audience saw what they saw
and it's all true. So what Rachel was upset about,
what the audience was upset about, is the truth to
the situation for you as well, and they just are
(03:23):
fine being upset.
Speaker 1 (03:27):
Yeah, I guess I like it's forgive me. I'm a
little bit like I haven't been doing podcasts lately or
like really thought about any of this. In fact, like
most of the time I say no, like the few
times people want to have me on. But as I
told Hannah, anything for Ben, Ben, you took so many
(03:47):
of my calls. I still have you a big time.
I mean, so the situation was really tough, and looking
back on it, like it's hard because like I really
don't want to like I want to avoid any cast
of blame, like I want to smart make sure I
(04:09):
own my side of it. And the fact of the
matter is, you know, whether or not it was crystal
clear you know, we were together head over heels when
I did what I did.
Speaker 3 (04:21):
Which, let's just say it out loud, you kissed a
girl out at a bar one night when you were
with Rachel. Okay, you were at a house party. Story
and the I think you guys had an unclear, undefined
relationship from what you felt, and she was more of like, no,
we were together.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
Yeah, and you know, please edit me as to protect
me from getting sued when I say things like this.
But what I think the audience might not understand that
US three would is there's a huge time gap in
what they see versus when things happen. Right, So whether
(05:04):
or not you know there was the moment, which there
should have been, and we can circle back to things
I would have done differently later, whether there was a
crystal clear defined moment we are not together, you are
afraid to do whatever you want, which there wasn't. But
there were moments you know that I think somebody who's
(05:26):
in a heightened emotional state, which I certainly was could
have taken to be that this relationship had no future,
and it was feeling like it was waiting till said
after the rose to just kind of announce, hey, we're
not together, you know, and we're moving on, which at
the time, as ironic as it is, because you know,
the after the final rows that I had to suffer
(05:47):
through was absurdly humiliating. I found that to be, Oh,
my gosh, that is the most humiliating thing that could
ever happen to me. No, but the the just the
idea of getting there right and me going up on
stage having not done anything stupid and her going, yeah,
I got to know this guy and he's not for
(06:09):
me sounded like beyond hell on earth. So then I
went on to overreact in the way that I did,
and you know, whether or not, like Ben said earlier,
there's my half, her half, and then the truth, I
(06:30):
think there's like certainly her side, and whether it agrees
with mine or not. I hate that I made her
feel that we were concrete in this relationship and I
did what I did. Now, my version or my feelings
(06:50):
at the time certainly weren't in aligne with that. But
I hate that I made somebody feel like that. So
the reaction in that part by the show, because they were,
you know, probably acting in a manner that they thought,
you know, reflected the crime. I understand. Like, I mean,
it's the worst thing ever I've I've been cheated on
a long time ago, and it's literally the worst thing ever.
(07:14):
And I hate that I ever made somebody feel like that.
I kind of went on some tangent then so reeled
me in. Oh so like details, details right of what
the audience might not have seen. So whether there was
that conversation of hey, you know, we're done, done f
and done right, there was this waiting period, and to
(07:38):
me at the time, it really felt like, you know,
I was just really in jail of this situation with
you know, public perception and the relationship kind of not
being reflective. So I'm watching, you know, myself on TV.
There's other realities outside of what was going on. Real
(08:01):
life's going on, new jobs, going There was just too much,
I think going on, and I just really slipped up
and not using it as an excuse, I learned from it.
You know, I take myself out of situations where I
could ever really act out in the same manner, and
I really, you know, life and God have really rewarded
me for that.
Speaker 3 (08:32):
So are you saying that when you were, like the
time period in between, you felt as if you and
Rachel were probably broken up, but like you weren't really
allowed to do that yet, is how you felt.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
That's probably the closest thing so I felt at the time,
and like do and I know if this is accurate,
you guys would have to ask her. It felt to
me like, hey, I really want to break up with you,
but I don't want to be the bad guy here,
so let's just limp our way over to after the
final rows and then we'll cut it there.
Speaker 3 (09:07):
And she was probably like, no, we're gonna be together
until after the final rows and then we can cut
it off there officially.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Yeah, yeah, And like I mean, in hindsight, shit, I
probably should have done that hit under a rock for
two months. But for some reason, when you're you know,
feeling insecure, you're feeling a million different emotions, you act out.
Speaker 2 (09:30):
The interesting thing here, Tino, if I remember right, it's
been a bit one this story, probably to your kind
of own liking and strategy, Like you you've kind of
kept quiet like you said, you don't say yes to interviews.
You kind of did the first week of runs after
the show, and then you've kind of gone off and
done your own thing. You've stayed in the same job.
(09:52):
But I remember this season kind of during the show
that you were taking accountability for these choices that you made.
You know, I don't I think you can say yes,
maybe you guys were broken up. Maybe this isn't, as
you know, much of a cheating scandal as it seems
on television, because of the time frame, because of the
conversations that were happening behind the scenes. But you've taken
(10:15):
accountability for this being a bad decision because you were
in still within the Bachelor world at the time, like
the you know, the fans haven't caught up with your
life story yet.
Speaker 1 (10:26):
It was a bad decision that I didn't feel right about.
It was close enough to cheating that I wanted to
come clean about it. And I think I got it
in my head because there were two folds too, you know,
my self destructive path here, right, I did what I did,
and then I with no body like I don't think
(10:50):
a single person from the Bachelor franchise ever told me
I should have told the truth or come clean about
it to this day, but I'm glad I did it
because when I look back on it still, I feel
like I can really hang my hat on, like you know,
I did something I didn't like and I came clean
and I took a nasty punishment for it. But I
(11:12):
wanted to kind of have that like at least like
self image of myself like that, you know, if I
do something wrong, I'm willing to take accountability like Ben said,
and take the punishment forward it. And you know, that
was more important to me than kind of getting the
sugar high of I don't know, maybe a couple thousand
(11:35):
more followers and some brand deals.
Speaker 2 (11:37):
The time has now passed, and infamous is about getting
the sides of the story that felt you know, chaotic, ugly,
unfortunate out there, and sometimes they stay that way. The
stories are still unfortunate, ugly and chaotic. But you had
(11:57):
time now removed. You've already mentioned the decision making that
you would have. You know, maybe if you had hindsight,
said now, I won't go to a house party and
kiss a girl because of the show still going on.
But I'm more interested in the emotions now a few
years removed from the show that you still experience based
(12:19):
on that decision and based on that final finale, and
based on this show that so many people watched.
Speaker 1 (12:27):
Yeah, I mean I've actually like gotten off of social
media entirely. Well yeah, I mean for the most part,
but no Instagram, right, And that was, for better or worse,
a constant reminder of that experience of the show all
that rarely do I ever get recognized now, Like it's
(12:50):
more surprising when it happens than it doesn't now, So
it really has gotten to allow me to walk away
really cleanly. I think the experience really made me appreciate
and be grateful and see how blessed a lot of
us are in our daily lives. Because you suffered through
(13:15):
that dopamine spike that very few get to experience. All
three of us got to go on some pretty exceptional
adventures and it kind of showed me aside that is
for some people. And I actually found a new value
and a new love for kind of the simplicity of
(13:36):
my life before. Hence I went back to my job
and got to, you know, go and find extraordinary value
in the things that I love. I found my way
back into my faith, which was more recent and more
related to you know, health issues within my family. But
I think it really just overall made me a really
(13:57):
grateful person. And I've even gotten to the point, like
you're touching on then, that I actually and I don't
want to sound like a cheese ball when I say this,
but it's true, and I tell people this all the time.
I think what happened at AFR, if we all remember correctly,
being a little bit brutal, I really think it was
(14:20):
a blessing in disguise. I think God looked at me
and saw somebody who was truly sorry and going through
and said, look, this is going to hurt, and you're
not going to see why for a little while, and
then it's going to become crystal clear one day, instantaneously
that this was something I did for you. And I
(14:43):
believe that with every ounce of my heart right now.
Speaker 2 (14:46):
It's interesting so many people could relate with that, just
not even from having a bachelor experience. So many people
could relate with this season of being. You know, some
would say like John on the cross in the valley,
you know, in the valley and walking through this and
then looking on the other side, and you know, kind
of rising up and saying I've learned so much. The
(15:10):
learning so much is such a vital thing. I mean,
it's it's my take for infamous. Ashley and I disagree
on this, and that's great and that's what makes this
show amazing. My take is editing is never an excuse
for a contestant to use. Hers would say editing can
be really bad. Based on our own personal experiences too,
she felt like her edit wasn't fair. I felt like
it was amazing. I felt like I was.
Speaker 1 (15:34):
Mine was great, like for half of the season, and
then we broke up, and boy, I remember it differently.
Speaker 2 (15:40):
Yeah, but the production side is very intriguing. Now from
your perspective, we go in, you know, the decision was made.
Stuff has happened. Now we've came clean on that. I
want to know how the show supported you, because obviously
it felt like the world was coming down against you.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
Oh, this is going to be a quick question.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
Yeah, I want to know how the show came around
you from a production standpoint, knowing that this was going
to get really bad for you. For you know, as
long as you like, no, you can't get it. I
mean maybe I don't know he can big, I don't.
I'm not the one suing you. Figure out a way
(16:21):
to say this without getting sued. How did this show
come around you? Was it good or I.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Don't know if they paid you Nick and Ashley to
be nice to me. But that was about it. I mean,
you know, I will say the one person who I
think you told me to call Ben, I don't know
if we can name him or not, but he was
an ep yeah, yeah, yeah. Although he probably was the
orchestrator of that miserable thing, he was the one person
(16:54):
who reached out after And there were a couple who
actually apologized and said that was too much and I'm sorry,
And I thought that was at least very classy. I guess,
like it's like, yeah, hey, sorry, you know, I tried
to shoot it at you in a miss but I
clipped your shoulder a little bit, and I want to say,
like sorry about that.
Speaker 2 (17:15):
Did you feel like it was genuine?
Speaker 1 (17:18):
Yes? I did, but like you know, he also was
kind of like, how do I make it up to you?
And I'm like, dude, I'm not signing another flipping thing
you slide across the desk. There's no way.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
How do I make it up for you come to paradise.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Yeah, yeah, exactly. He's like, he's like, name a price,
and I'm like, there's no price, there's no price.
Speaker 3 (17:35):
Well, now that that person has probably gone, would there
would there be a chance. No, Well I knew that
was the easiest question ever.
Speaker 1 (17:44):
It would have been a know anyways, because you know,
I just like life. It was just too good to
kind of risk it all with that again. But like,
I have been blessed to find the person I'm gonna
spend the rest of my life with. So I'm I mean,
I don't have this yet, but I'm working on it.
And yeah, she's so exceptional. There's there's no other way.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
How does she feel about this whole thing?
Speaker 1 (18:08):
You know, she's supportive. She wants me to fire back
up the Instagram and see if we can get a
free trip. I'm just kidding, but I'm just like, no,
it takes more than it gives. From my experience, like
some people have turned it into something like really amazing,
but I just I like my day job. I was like,
we'll just have to say.
Speaker 3 (18:40):
We do want to talk about your girl, but we
also just want to go back to the passage for
a little bit longer. Now, when Ben talks about the edit,
and I had a great edit, I mean, like I
look great. I was genuinely I did a great job.
I think there was a new episodes, right, there's a
few episodes, and to me, it was just that it
(19:02):
was more or less so missing contact Sun edit. It
just it was missing context and I feel like you
could probably relate to that. Was there any scenes that
would have made that didn't air that you like wish dead.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
There was a you know, Okay, So now I'm really
gonna sound like I'm panderings, but I don't care. I mean,
what are they gonna do DM, like some random account
DM you guys, oh tell t you know he sucks
he's pandering because I don't have an Instagram. But honestly,
gun to my head, I wish they showed more. I mean,
(19:41):
this is going to sound like such a pander, but
I wish they showed more of Rachel because she was
so much cooler that season than it was, like reflected.
Speaker 2 (19:50):
You said that back in the day.
Speaker 1 (19:52):
Yeah, Like, I mean, I actually like I thought they
did a super disservice to me and her, Like I
think it was like twofold where they were trying so
hard to make me look bad or or that's just
how I looked. You know, I gotta I gotta play
Devil's advocate here and avoid you know, getting the call
from the lawyers. But I thought it did a real
(20:13):
disservice to her. And I thought like they cut out
a lot of really cool shit that you know, we
did that would have benefited hurt edit more. But they
were you know, I think they they can only show
so much, and they were like, well, we're not going
to show this guy in a good light, so they
showed the other ones. But it like kind of didn't
(20:36):
do it justice.
Speaker 2 (20:38):
You said that back in the day. I remember you
talking very highly of her, which is always a very
unique position for you to be in, because you didn't
want to just you didn't want to destroy friends. No,
I don't think your friends. I don't think she wants
to talk to you.
Speaker 1 (20:51):
I don't think you're like her. I think I think
we're better off. I think we're good.
Speaker 2 (20:55):
But I remember you saying you don't want to destroy
her because you don't have any desire to. Yet you
want to protect yourself. How do you do that in
the face of national television on a hot seat, knowing
that the live finale was going to come at you hard.
So how do you do all this? And what ended
up happening? And tell me if I'm wrong, is you
(21:16):
sat there and you took it and you said, if
I can get out of here, the quicker, the better
and everybody hates me, it's better than the alternative, which
was to try to place blame everywhere else? Was that
your mindset going into that finale totally?
Speaker 1 (21:33):
And like we ended up getting into it on the stage,
and like you'd have to ask her, but I'm sure
there were some like you know, birdies in her ears
saying like, oh, he's gonna come out swinging, you better
be hot and boxing gloves on, and you know, I
just was like, look, and I know that because I
(21:56):
was I had the same birdies that we're saying, you
better get out there and go ham and tell you
the story. And I was like, look, I just don't.
I don't really see any purpose in that. I don't
think that will do either of us justice. And at
the end of the day, the production for Better or
(22:20):
Worse invested a lot of time and energy in me,
as did she and it just didn't feel right to
go up there and kind of cowered my way through
and place the blame game, and I, you know, I
know up there somehow we got into an argument, so
I feel like maybe she thought I was trying to
do that, but I mean, it really wasn't my intention.
(22:40):
I think I rewatched it and I was like, I
guess I could have said this differently, and that's what
triggered it. But I really, like, I think I said
something along the lines of like I'm sorry it felt
like I was, you know, blaming you. I was really
trying not to do that, and that's what started it up,
because I think is always hard to hear like I'm
(23:01):
sorry you felt this way, but like I was trying
to say, like it felt this way. You know, I
don't know, but it was un rambling, but yeah, I was.
I was trying to get out of there, and like
my goal would be to like everyone walk away being like, well,
you know, you're sorry, you know, like we can you know,
(23:21):
like he like, I would have loved it if people
were like, well, you know, rarely do we get TV
contestants who actually like come clean and take their punishment
like that.
Speaker 3 (23:33):
Well, I remember the way I felt was like, yeah,
wolves and I'm not wolves, but yes, he affed up definitely.
But I left watching that finale being like just kind
of like so sympathetic for you because it was it
was so embarrassing that they brought Avan on stage to
(23:56):
ask her out, and I was just like, it is
just oh no, no, it felt so just felt so demoralizing.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
I think it saved you, and I think, in a
twisted way, I think that was their thought. I really do.
I think I thought they were going to do that,
and I think when I got that call apologizing, they
thought they had the hooks in for like a light
you know, like somebody who'd be still involved with all
this stuff, not just you know, doing it because I
(24:30):
adore you two and appreciate you too. But no, I
think I think it genuinely confused them when I said, like, no,
there's no way I'm doing anything for you guys again,
because I think it's it's so like like every person
from my season, like was in the group chat talking
about can't wait for Paradise and I was like, are
(24:52):
we for real here? Like I'm not, you know, I
just had a bad experience I'm not going.
Speaker 2 (24:57):
Yeah, well, kind of like in Miss Does. The hope
is that Paradise is a redemption story. I think you
would have got it, you know, but it does sound
like you didn't need it because you mentioned a second
ago as we close here, that you have found somebody
that you're hoping to has been the rest of your
life with. Am I wrong in making it that clear?
She might listen?
Speaker 1 (25:16):
Yeah, my goal is to know we're spending the rest
of our lives together.
Speaker 2 (25:20):
Amazing.
Speaker 1 (25:21):
If I still got to convince her, you know, I'll
keep working on it, but I think it's it's definitely
more than reciprocated.
Speaker 3 (25:27):
And I was going to pull her up on Instagram,
but you don't have one.
Speaker 2 (25:32):
Can we know who this is?
Speaker 1 (25:33):
Like?
Speaker 2 (25:33):
Is this a secret?
Speaker 1 (25:35):
Sorry? It is? You know, maybe schol post about me
and you all see it.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
But how long have you been together?
Speaker 1 (25:42):
And she's like, you don't have an Instagram?
Speaker 2 (25:44):
How long have you been together?
Speaker 1 (25:46):
We're coming on two years pretty.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
Soon here, Okay, two years together?
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yeah, well not that soon, but you know about a
year and a half.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
In Yeah, is there a right? Not?
Speaker 1 (25:58):
Yeah, but it's been designed nay, let's go. Yeah, Yeah,
she's she's so good to me. It's like, I feel
like blessed every day.
Speaker 2 (26:12):
And she knows all this right, We're not going to
like release something here that she's gonna be like, wait,
what's happening?
Speaker 1 (26:17):
Yeah, I want to. I want this to be the
first time she hears it and gets all embarrassed and flusty. No,
I tell her every day, Okay, that's amazing.
Speaker 3 (26:26):
You know, we love Rachel here. And you may have
made your mistakes on the show and with the whole experience,
but I just feel like, you're a very sweet, sweet guy.
Speaker 1 (26:36):
She's hey, and she's she's a cool girl. She was
putting into a really shitty situation largely because of me,
you know, and I I haven't watched anything since, but
I think she's kind of shown everyone that it seems
like and yeah, you know, that's that's good. I have
no like thought of her ever, unless like somebody brings
(26:59):
her up. And if they ever do and they say
something negative, I'm like, hey, you know, you guys didn't
see the right person because she was really rad. I
would not have gone to the lengths I did if
she was not super rad. It's just you know, sometimes
you lose the luck of the job of how it
gets all played out.
Speaker 2 (27:18):
That's true. We love Rachel here, but Tina, were very
happy for you, were thankful that you came on here,
thank you forgiving us the time. In summary, here is
what happened. Tino's owned his decisions. He had a really
terrible finale that a lot of us felt where it
was unnecessary, the Aven situation in a lot of ways.
I believe dig kind of save Tino because it took
(27:40):
the focus off of him and made it this weird,
awkward moment. Yeah, it was very weird at every level.
But Tino, out of all of this, out of all
of this, the thing that's always been impressive that should
not go unnoticed is that your hope and your desire,
(28:01):
And what's happened is you did not want to throw
Rachel under the bus and blame it on her. You
also wanted to take the ownership for the decisions made.
And I think that shows a lot of character. I
don't think it's done a lot on reality television. It
maybe didn't make you the most famous person of all time,
but what it did do, as you said, is it
taught you a way of life that will pay off
(28:24):
in so many great ways. Life comes. Yeah, Tino Franco,
thank you for coming on Infamous. Appreciate it for you.
Appreciate it man. Thanks Benny, I've been Ashley and I've
been Ben. We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on
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Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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