November 13, 2025 • 28 mins
Today on “Happy Hour,” we’re here with the very happy couple, Peg and Mel! “Meg” are here to celebrate their relationship finally being public, and there is so much they want to talk about! We kick things off with the big moments we didn’t get to see; when did Peg and Mel know they were going the distance? Then, we dive into the moment in Antigua that Mel told Peg Cindy left; what was Peg thinking receiving that news? We also get into the behind-the-scenes of meeting the families, a special standout green flag from Peg, and their thoughts on the L word. Tune in now and be sure to subscribe so you never miss an episode, including part two dropping tomorrow!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Hey, well, welcome back to Better halfy Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Joe and I'm Serena.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Now we are here today.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
With the lovely Happy couple, Meg.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Couple, name a couple of names.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Your names are very similar, Melan Peg, Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Yay.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
We're so happy to have you, guys, Megan and Melan Peg.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Mel and Peg, Meg or what is it the other
way around? Pal? Not as good?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Not as good?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Okay, So before you hopped on, we were talking a
little bit about Hi Mom.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Hi James, she's back speaking around.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Before you guys got on, we were talking a little
bit about who we picked.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
And Peg, you you were part. I picked you.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I picked you at the beginning, from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You have a Joe has a really good read.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I feel like on the show, like when you're watching,
I feel like And this is the first season in
a really long time we didn't hear, like any rumblings
of spoilers, so we were really kind of on our
own every week trying to figure out how this this
all ended.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
But you know, Joe, you picked it right out of
the limo though, because I've been listening to you guys,
and you picked it right out of the limod hard.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, we actually, I actually really want we got to
get into the limo. But before we do, how are
we feeling? You guys are finally out in the open.
How does it feel?
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Feels great?
Speaker 6 (01:32):
Yeah, it feels you know, timely.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Has it been a long journey to get here? I
mean we've been where you have been, like the waiting
to tell people and the secret keeping.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
You must be so ready.
Speaker 6 (01:45):
Well I haven't. I haven't told the soul. Really, my friends.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Are upset with me that I have your sons.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Well, my son's no, because they were on the show
at the end. Yes, they but you know they were
a little loose with their lips at the beginning, just
by talking and I straightened them out. And but I
haven't told a soul.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Wow, that's so exciting, Peg, did you tell anyone?
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Okay, No, you're not.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
They're not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
You're lying, You're not going to see you. You can
blame it on Mel Sun's It's.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Okay, good, that's right, that question. Oh and we got
the commitment ring, which is absolutely beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It is gorgeous. Did you have a hard time picking
it out?
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Mel? No, they're all beautiful, but you know, that I
think matched PEG's personality.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I love it. It's gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
So tell me about the commitment ring because you are
wearing it and it obviously looks like an engagement ring.
So are you gonna if you eventually get engaged, Mel,
will you repropose?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Is this like?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Where are we at?
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Well, that's to be seen, so we're not going to
share anything right now moment, but you know, to be
determined and to be seen.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So a commitment a commitment ring is essentially we are
committing to getting engaged, and then an engagement ring.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Is committing to get married.
Speaker 6 (03:14):
We're committed to each other right now, That's what it means.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So it'd almost be equivalent to like a promise ring,
Like you're showing your commitment to Peg through this ring,
and you're saying like, we are locked in on each
other and we're going to see how this goes.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you do get engaged, you expect a new ring.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
No, I love this ring? Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
This is absolutely it's gorgeous.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Do you love it?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I think Mel's gotta get your new ring. I think
I think you should get in. Maybe you know what, Mel,
Maybe you gotta get her like a nice necklace or something.
You gotta get, you gotta, you gotta again.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
Actually, we're traveling down this road together and we'll see
what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Okay, okay, uh, Peg, When did you realize that it
was potentially going to be you at the end what
part of the season.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
I honestly knew as soon as I got out of
the mud bath.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Okay, okay, I knew.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I felt it.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I felt it. I felt at a very deep level
and an intuitive level, I really did. I just right
out of it, and I even told one of the
girls in the house, I said, oh my god, it's
going to be me. And I was kind of actually
taken back by it because I wasn't expecting it, You guys,
I did not come here expecting it. I came here
with an open heart, in an open mind, and you know,
(04:30):
I just had to just be myself one hundred percent
be myself. You love me, you hate me. But I
wasn't expecting it. But as soon as I got out
of that mud bath, I went back to the mansion
and just my spirit just really talk to me. And
actually I wrote it in my journal. I just said,
it's going to be me, and I was just I
was taken back by that. I really was. I was
taken back because I didn't expect it at all. I
(04:52):
did not expect this at all.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
You guys, what did you actually expect? Because like when
I went on the show, I went home right away,
and I kind.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Of expected that.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
But what did what did you really expect?
Speaker 5 (05:06):
You know, honestly, I expected to have a really good
experience and I expected to get to know him, because
that's to me, that's how that's how my love evolves.
A lot of people they jump in with both feet.
My love does not evolve that way. I have to
get to know somebody, I have to spend time with them.
I had to like them before I love them. And
so that's what I expected, honestly, just to see if
(05:27):
he was datable and see if he was you know, uh,
if he was a person that would fit into my life.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh cool guy, I mean you guys. Look you guys,
you guys really do look really great together. Like looking
at you both, you know you both have this Oh
I say that it's not a light blue, but it's
a it's kind of the same color blue.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And yeah it.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Works, Yeah it does, it does.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
When you had that feeling of like I feel in
my gut that it's going to be me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
After that point, did doubt ever creep.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
In or worry that, you know, he has these other
strong connections. You know, I might feel this way for him,
but what if it doesn't end up being reciprocated.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
There was one time in Tiga, and it was when
he knocked on my door and I was really sick
for about thirty six hours. I got sick in Antigua
and I went to sleep for about thirty six hours
and he came knocking on the door and he said,
I need to talk to you. And at that moment,
just for a split second, I was like, uh, oh,
here it is because I know him now and he
has enough respect and enough respect for me and enough
(06:31):
honesty and enough integrity that he wouldn't have put me
through that rose ceremony. And I know that about him now,
So I thought that knock on the door was him
coming to tell me, hey, look, I have a better
connection with this other person, which I was willing to
accept because when we're all except this journey, we all
accept that it's like it might work and it might
(06:52):
not work. You know, is that connection there or is
that connection not there? So, just for that split second,
I was like, well, he's got a better connection with
Cindy than he does me. And that's okay. We're grown
ass adults, and it's not that somebody's better or worse
or any of that than the other person. It's just
truly about that connection. Who has that best connection with
each other? That's all it is. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Well, honestly, watching it when Mel was delivering you the
news in your room that Cindy was no longer part
of the journey, when he started, for a second, I.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Was like, is he freaking up with Pey to like
that was the plan? Was that the plan? You were
kind of pind of pull one over on her a
little bit.
Speaker 6 (07:31):
Yeah. I wanted to make it seem like like, hey,
I made a decision already, I gotta let you, you know,
let you in on it. So I wanted to make
sure that it came across that way.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You were messing with her.
Speaker 6 (07:45):
I was messing with her. Yeah, for sure, it worked.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
It worked because it like if we as a viewer,
if we don't know.
Speaker 6 (07:50):
Being background into it, everything, I go, you know, I'm
gonna make this act like you know, it's over between us. Right,
of course, I go she left, right, and then she
got the whole face changed, yeah face.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
When he was talking to me, right, I just I
was very stoic, and I was like, because am I.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Just feel like you were digesting trying to be like, Okay,
where is this going? Let me brace myself, like what's
he about to say?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And well, you're dragging it out. You're taking as long
as possible.
Speaker 6 (08:22):
You know, you know, you know how much I like you,
you know how much you know you mean to me,
and how much fun we've had, and you know, I
just want to be transparent with you. And I had
the overnight last night and this like building up to like, but.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
I was shocked.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
Shocked.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
We see we see sometimes on the show the Final
the Final two, a person will send themselves home, and
it it always leaves the final person somewhat questioning. Am
I just? Am I the second choice? Which I don't
think is the case in this scenario. But do you
(09:05):
wish peg, do you wish Cindy didn't send herself home?
Speaker 5 (09:11):
No? Because my truth is I think she knew that
there was a better connection between mel and myself. I
think She intuitively knew that and she did not want
to put herself through that because I do. I saw that,
I saw that face, and I felt it in her heart,
and I knew our connection was so strong, and not
a lot of people saw it in the house. The
(09:31):
women in the house did not see it. Because it developed,
it grew. I didn't come into the mansion going, oh,
I want to get married. No, I didn't do that
because for me, that love it grows. It's about like
I said, you guys, it's the fireplace, not the fireworks,
because the fireplace you can continually refuel it. And actually
Mel feels the same way about it. It's like the
(09:52):
reality is it takes time to fall in love, you guys,
and it takes time to get to know somebody. And
you know when we both we both have that same
belief system.
Speaker 7 (10:02):
Basically that might have been the connection as well, where
you know, it wasn't like, oh, by the way, I'm
in love with you after two weeks, because on the
last week's episode, I say, oh, here is Cindy.
Speaker 6 (10:19):
She's in love with me. Oh, and here's Peg She's
not right. The stark difference, you know, it is a
bright line and you know, because Cindy was saying, oh,
I love you, I love you, and Peg was saying,
you know, we're working on this, and that was my
set all along too. I'm not going to fall in
love with somebody, even if I thought I was. I
(10:39):
got to check myself and say, you know, am I
really I s got to give it time to see
if my if my my my brain and my heart
can catch up with my my hormones. Right, like, you
might be in love, but I you got to wait
a little bit here and check it out.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh yeah, you also don't know if it's it's just
situational like you are.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
We are in this.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You know, it's somewhat of an experiment and you want
to make sure that like it's for sure and it's
just not like, yeah, the situation, but you know.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
What, you guys, love is like, it's different for everybody.
Everybody has their own idea of love. Everybody has their
own preconceived idea of what that is and what that
looks like, you know, and everybody has a right to that.
It just so happens at him and I are on
the exact same page when it comes to building a relationship.
I mean, we're realists. We don't live in fantasy land,
(11:26):
and we both realize it takes time, it really does,
but we do have that real connection. And I knew it.
I knew it. I knew it early on. It was
so weird. I can't even explain it, but I just
I felt it, and it scared me because I wasn't
expecting it. I was like, holy shit, what is this?
This is crazy. Especially when we went to oc Fair
(11:46):
and at the case s in the Sunshine ban, I
just realized. I'm like, oh, I'm in trouble because I
was not expecting it. I did not go into this
thing with I'm going to be married and I want
to ring and I'm going to live happily ever after
and this is it. I just came here. It was like,
you know, let me check this out. Let me see
what kind of a person he is. And I had
to suspend judgment because we all know that podcast. You know,
(12:08):
it wasn't the greatest podcast out there, but.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
If you understand it, if you understood it was, it
was okay.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
But you know, but here's the thing. I suspended judgment
because I knew that I had to get to know
who he was not who what the podcast says, not
what social media says, not what any of it. I
needed to get to know who he was as a
human being.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Was there both of you are saying, you know, we're
realists and it takes time to know if we're in love.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Was there a point post.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Show, after the show for both of you that you
were like, oh, this we made the right decision. This
actually is love.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Well, I knew it earlier on right, That's why when
it came down to it, that was Peg. It wasn't A.
I had a crush on her from the first time
I saw her, right, And it wasn't I didn't really
see her in the bombsuit. Is when they it's like
a little diversion because they were trying to make the
bomb go off, and that you know, they they separated
(13:17):
her and they got her changed, and I saw her.
I didn't realize it was the same person that was
in a bomb suit. And from that point on I
had a crush on her. So yeah, you know, right
right then I knew.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
How about for you, Peg, I think the first time
that I really knew is when we right out of
the lima, when we sat down for a couple of
minutes that first night at the mansion. I just felt
it when we sat down and we looked at each
other's eyes. It was just that connection right then and there,
and it just took me back. But I knew that
I needed to get to know him. I need to, like, Okay,
great the connections there. I feel it. I know he
(13:49):
feels it because it was just it' psych electric, it
really was. And now now just to build on that
foundation getting to know who he was and for him
to get to know who I am. Do we fit
in each other's lives because there's you know, uh, the
word love is great, but you know it takes moretal
It takes more than love to have a successful, sustainable relationship,
(14:10):
and especially in our sixties, we both know that we've
been through divorce, we've been through you know, the ups
and downs of life, and realistically, we know that it's
great to be in love, you guys, but you've got
to have that firm foundation.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Everybody wants the word love attached to everything they do,
especially on the show, but you can have a great
relationship without saying it. It's actually how you how you
act towards each other, right, And I knew that the
way she was treating me on the show. I go,
I know she likes me a lot, you know, without
saying like, oh, by the way, I love you, I
love you, I love you. Right. It starts with it
(14:42):
like because you can let you can love somebody and
not like him. You can have your right your crazy uncle.
You go, I love the guy, but I really don't
like the guy. Right, I love him, but I don't
want to be around him. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, well hopefully that doesn't happen with you in peg.
Speaker 6 (14:59):
Okay, I'm an example of like and love.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Right, Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
To show that.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
I go.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
It's not a word I used lightly. I don't have
a lot of different meanings and connotations and expectations. So
it's not something that I just started saying, like, oh,
I've known you for two weeks and like I love you.
It's like, come on, it's unrealistic in my world, it
is anyway.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Right, right, But when you accepted the lead as the bachelor,
knowing the show a little bit, were you worried that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
You may fall into that trap?
Speaker 6 (15:31):
No, because I followed the show a lot earlier on
like from on two thousand and two or three, I
followed maybe for five six years, and then I had
my kids and then I just fell off and then
I actually didn't pick it up again at all. I
just you know, bits and pieces because you'd see it.
But I didn't know any of the characters, any of
(15:52):
the leads, any of the best arras, none of that.
And I only saw The Golden Bachelor when the girls
got out of the limo with Gary, the only part
I ever saw in that one. So I didn't know
about the show. Really I did, and that's you know,
I learned about it after I was really casted for it.
(16:15):
You know, I got more in depth. I started looking
at the clips and things, things of that sort to
get more familiar with it. So no, no, okay, hey.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
How familiar were you with the show before you went on?
Speaker 5 (16:27):
I love Tristan's season. I think the only season I've
ever watched was Tristan's and Ryan and I loved that season.
And it's so funny because we all thought she was
going to choose the other person, and she chose the firefighter.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
So shout out.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
To Tristan and Ryan Man. You know, it's the same thing.
You know, here's the thing. It's like we both were
looking for that connection. Now what we do with that
connection moving forward is up to us how we want
to you know, how we want to go about it,
what we want to call it. But we were both
looking for that connection, and then what we decided moving
forward to do with it, it's what we're going to
(17:02):
decide together. You know. It's really cool, you guys, meeting
in your sixties is really cool because you get to
do what you want to do when you want to
do it, and you get to write your own story.
We get to write our own love story, and that's fun.
It's not going to be like anybody else's love story.
It's going to be our love story and we get
to write it. Yeah, along, it can be a lot
of fun.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
It is, Okay, So let's let's take it back to
the final episode.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
PEG. What was it like to finally meet Mel's family.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Oh, my gosh, I like, adore his boys. They are hilarious,
they're they're great. I adore his boys are They're handsome,
and they're smart, and they're charismatic, and I just it
was really fun to meet them because I was really
I'm really comfortable with the guys, you know, working in
the fire department, you guys for twenty five years. With
all the guys, it's just like, yes, you know, I'm
(17:49):
with my people, you know, yeah, you know, little smart asses,
and I just I love them. They're so cool. And
then Diane, of course, his best one of his very
good friends. I just loved her to death, you know.
So it was great.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
We saw you did the word association game with his boys.
Tell us how that went.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
It was good because you know what I knew, you guys,
I knew by doing that little word association game with them,
I was going to learn more about him because they
have to think on their feet, you know, and then
write whatever came to their mind. Right away. Was telling
me a little bit more about how they view their father,
you know, what's their perception of their dad. And I
(18:28):
got a lot of good information out of them. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, it was fine.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I've never seen anyone do something of that sort out
a family visit or a hometown.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
I didn't see it, so my boys told me about it,
but they couldn't articulate exactly what it was, so I'm
curious to see it as well.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
They were great. My brother and I would have been
we would have went after our dad.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
It just came to me, you know, and then you know,
it's just it was really good because I knew I
needed to get some information out of them, but you know,
they're there eighteen and twenty years old, so I just like, Okay,
how can we make this fun and how can I
get the information I need out of them without knowing
that that's what I'm doing.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
What did you learn from the game?
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Oh my god, that he's a great guy, Because how
I learned it's their relationship with their dad, and that's
what I needed to see. How is your relationship with
your dad? And they gave it, gave me the answers
that I was looking for. You know, they love their dad,
They respect their dad, they look up to their dad,
and he's been a great father to the boys. I mean,
just a really good father. No, you really have you know,
(19:32):
I mean, and.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
You can see that just in that interaction, the way
they were speaking about bal through the game event and the.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Words they were using to describe him. It was a
really sweet moment.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Nol.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What was it like seeing Peg with your family?
Speaker 6 (19:47):
Great? Because I know how Peg is and she's cool
with kids, right and she's the only person on the
show that asked me about my boys, like really, only one, Like, hey,
that's actually she said that. You know, that's another reason why,
(20:07):
just more validation of how much that you know, I
was making the right decision, but she was asking me,
how are you? How are your boys? You know, what
are their names? Or how old are they? What do
they do? You know, I want to meet him, I
you know, I want to do stuff with them. So
and that was it was honest, because you know what,
she kept on asking me more and more questions about it,
so I knew that when she met them and vice versa,
(20:29):
they're going to have a good time. And she still
asked me about even this morning. Hey, how you boys doing.
What are they doing? You know, how school? How's the girlfriends?
You know, that kind of stuff. So that meant a
lot to me, especially not so much in my decision,
but it just validated my decision even more.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Peg.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
This is a little off topic of the Hometown Day,
but I'm just so interested in this because you mentioned,
you know, you worked in the fire department, you worked
on the bonds, while you worked in a very male
dominated fee field for most of your life. What was
it like kind of being one of the few women
in your career for so long and then going into
a house with all women kind of like the complete
(21:17):
opposite experience.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
It was hard. Yeah, I vet so hard, you guys.
And I love these women. They're smart, they're intelligent, they're beautiful,
they're articulate. There I really I really love them. But
it was hard for me. It was really really hard because,
uh just I mean, can you guys imagine and you
guys saw in hometown's twenty five guys or to thirty
guys at a firehouse for twenty five years working with them,
(21:42):
and then I'm thrust it into a house of all
these women, just the opposite. You know, women can be catty,
women can be jealous, women can be you know, they
could be a lot of different things. And I wasn't
used to that. I'm not and I'm very protective. And
when you know, I really love somebody or I let's
somebody into my life, I become very very protective. And
(22:03):
I became very protective of the women in the house
and they don't even know it. I was advocating for
them as a whole, and they didn't even know it.
And that's okay. But I became very I was like
very protective over them because you know, I love them
all dearly. You know, we're all there, and so it
was different. It was really really different, and I had
I learned a lot. I really did. I learned a lot.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
So, yeah, that must be wild, Like for however many
years you're adapting to this world and then thrown into
the complete opposite of what you're used to and having
to adapt to that.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
It was crazy for me. It was really it was
a difficult situation. It really was, because I'm like, all right,
I don't even know how to I honestly, I don't.
I didn't even know how to navigate through it, you know.
And I got a couple of little, you know, tips
with some of the girls, and it's just because I
don't have a lot of experience, you know, dealing with that,
you know. Cindy at one time told me I needed
to have more feathers, and I looked at her and
(22:58):
I'm like, what does that mean. I don't even know
what that means. Cindy, Please help me here, because I'm
very direct and I'm very honest, and people either, you know,
they'll celebrate that or they'll stay away from that. You know, Terry,
I we connected right away, and she's more like me.
We have that kind of like tough exterior and we
say what we mean, and we mean what we say,
(23:19):
you know, and some people like it and some people don't.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
So what does that mean though?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
The feathers? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I don't know either. Softer soff okay, I see, I see.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
And you know what into into her? You know into
her statement? She raised girls right, Yes, she's Cindy's very soft.
She really is. I'm a pickly little porn or not porn,
but right. And I raised my daughter that way, as
you guys could tell at hometowns. We're very direct, we're
very honest. You know, it was my daughter and myself.
(23:57):
I raised her by myself after my divorce. You know,
he stepped out on the marriage. You know, he found
somebody else and it was just her and I and
we I became very protective over her. So it was
her and I just together, you know, navigating through life.
And you guys know life's difficult. Life is not easy, man.
So I always had to have my armor up, not
(24:18):
only to protect myself, but to protect her as well.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, she's also very protective of you. That conversation that
she did have with you, mel what what was your
take on it?
Speaker 6 (24:30):
But you know, talking to my friend an attorney, because
now you've been an attorney more longer than you've been
a football player. Right, So I've done a million depositions.
I've been deposed, I've asked questions, I've been you know,
I've had had clients, so I'm used to the adversarial role. Right.
The main thing you gotta do is listen and answer
(24:52):
the question. Posed, don't add anything, right, So if they're
coming on to you tough, okay, I'm okay with it.
But you just answer the question this post, you don't
add anything else. So it might have been looked difficult.
But it really wasn't that difficult because I've been in
those situations all the time. But you know, she was
direct and I appreciated it. She was protective of her mom,
(25:15):
and she wanted no questions I haven't answered, and somebody's
you know, I was just being truthful with her. I go, I,
you know, I'm not in love with your mother. Right,
We're like a month into it, So, I mean it
might have looked tough, and coming off tough. But those
are the honest answers. And all I could do be
is honest with everybody on the show and not mislead
(25:37):
them or you know, give them head fakes, misdirectum and
give them false hopes. I just never did that, So
I was honest with myself and honest with them.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
I liked that conversation because I thought it really showcased
the love and protectiveness that your daughter feels for you, Peg,
and I respected that she wasn't afraid to make the
most of the time she had with Melan, ask direct
questions and continue asking kind of every question she felt
she needed to get her answers. What did you learn
(26:08):
about Peg or PEG's daughter during that conversation, mal Well.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
Peg Y told me that you know, she was direct
and you know, full of life, just like her mom. Right,
So I was thinking I was talking to her mom.
Like like they said, with the word association game, you
get a lot out of the kids of the mom.
So I'm looking, I go this nothing was rehearsed, right,
We didn't have We didn't have any time to go
(26:36):
in there and go by the way you're going to
meet him, And this is what he's like, and here's
the questions. He was like, take him, sit him down,
take him, sit him down. Talk. So it was it
was basically all extemporaneous, all you know, ad lib questions.
So whatever you came to your mind, you asked. So
my thing was to be direct and be honest, and
(26:58):
so in the exactly way the way her mom was
honest and direct. That's what I got from it. I go,
they're they're the same, like they're twins, right, and we.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Go ahead, No, do one thing about Dakota that I
and I admire this about my daughter. She's fearless and
I'm proud to be that mom that raised her that
way because she nobody intimidates her, nobody on this planet.
She just you know, and she's fearless and she's uh.
I know one thing as a mom, because as you know,
as mothers and fathers, we just want to know that
(27:29):
our children are always going to be okay, especially when
we leave this planet. And I know one thing about her,
she's always going to be.
Speaker 6 (27:36):
And I like the direct questions, but answer them honestly.
So when you when you walk away and you look
at it, go because that guy's honest, be guys, you
know you don't live with your mom. No, no, I'm not.
I'm not there yet, right, that's an honest answer, because
I wasn't. You know, some people goes, well, yeah I am. Yeah,
It's like, no, I wasn't. I wasn't going to, you know,
bullshit her, right. I was gonna tell her that the
(27:58):
truth and how I felt, and she and she deserved
that answer, and I gave it to her. And so
I yea, it's like her mom, just straightforward and direct.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Okay, So I think this is a perfect place the
end the first part. Make sure you guys tune in
for Part two with Peg and Mel.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
We will have new and exclusive interviews every single week.
We are so excited to share part two of our interview.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
With you guys.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you so much for listening. Bye
Hey, well, welcome back to Better halfy Hour.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I'm Joe and I'm Serena.
Speaker 3 (00:05):
Now we are here today.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
With the lovely Happy couple, Meg.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
Couple, name a couple of names.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
Your names are very similar, Melan Peg, Welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:19):
Yay.
Speaker 4 (00:20):
We're so happy to have you, guys, Megan and Melan Peg.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
Mel and Peg, Meg or what is it the other
way around? Pal? Not as good?
Speaker 3 (00:29):
Not as good?
Speaker 1 (00:32):
Okay, So before you hopped on, we were talking a
little bit about Hi Mom.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
Hi James, she's back speaking around.
Speaker 1 (00:41):
Before you guys got on, we were talking a little
bit about who we picked.
Speaker 3 (00:46):
And Peg, you you were part. I picked you.
Speaker 1 (00:49):
I picked you at the beginning, from the beginning.
Speaker 2 (00:55):
You have a Joe has a really good read.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
I feel like on the show, like when you're watching,
I feel like And this is the first season in
a really long time we didn't hear, like any rumblings
of spoilers, so we were really kind of on our
own every week trying to figure out how this this
all ended.
Speaker 5 (01:11):
But you know, Joe, you picked it right out of
the limo though, because I've been listening to you guys,
and you picked it right out of the limod hard.
Speaker 1 (01:23):
Yeah, we actually, I actually really want we got to
get into the limo. But before we do, how are
we feeling? You guys are finally out in the open.
How does it feel?
Speaker 5 (01:31):
Feels great?
Speaker 6 (01:32):
Yeah, it feels you know, timely.
Speaker 1 (01:35):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (01:35):
Has it been a long journey to get here? I
mean we've been where you have been, like the waiting
to tell people and the secret keeping.
Speaker 2 (01:43):
You must be so ready.
Speaker 6 (01:45):
Well I haven't. I haven't told the soul. Really, my friends.
Speaker 5 (01:48):
Are upset with me that I have your sons.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Well, my son's no, because they were on the show
at the end. Yes, they but you know they were
a little loose with their lips at the beginning, just
by talking and I straightened them out. And but I
haven't told a soul.
Speaker 4 (02:04):
Wow, that's so exciting, Peg, did you tell anyone?
Speaker 5 (02:09):
Okay, No, you're not.
Speaker 1 (02:12):
They're not gonna lie.
Speaker 2 (02:14):
You're lying, You're not going to see you. You can
blame it on Mel Sun's It's.
Speaker 5 (02:19):
Okay, good, that's right, that question. Oh and we got
the commitment ring, which is absolutely beautiful.
Speaker 2 (02:25):
It is gorgeous. Did you have a hard time picking
it out?
Speaker 6 (02:29):
Mel? No, they're all beautiful, but you know, that I
think matched PEG's personality.
Speaker 2 (02:36):
I love it. It's gorgeous.
Speaker 4 (02:37):
So tell me about the commitment ring because you are
wearing it and it obviously looks like an engagement ring.
So are you gonna if you eventually get engaged, Mel,
will you repropose?
Speaker 3 (02:50):
Is this like?
Speaker 2 (02:50):
Where are we at?
Speaker 6 (02:52):
Well, that's to be seen, so we're not going to
share anything right now moment, but you know, to be
determined and to be seen.
Speaker 1 (03:02):
So a commitment a commitment ring is essentially we are
committing to getting engaged, and then an engagement ring.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Is committing to get married.
Speaker 6 (03:14):
We're committed to each other right now, That's what it means.
Speaker 4 (03:17):
So it'd almost be equivalent to like a promise ring,
Like you're showing your commitment to Peg through this ring,
and you're saying like, we are locked in on each
other and we're going to see how this goes.
Speaker 6 (03:29):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (03:29):
If you do get engaged, you expect a new ring.
Speaker 5 (03:33):
No, I love this ring? Are you kidding me?
Speaker 2 (03:34):
This is absolutely it's gorgeous.
Speaker 5 (03:37):
Do you love it?
Speaker 1 (03:38):
I think Mel's gotta get your new ring. I think
I think you should get in. Maybe you know what, Mel,
Maybe you gotta get her like a nice necklace or something.
You gotta get, you gotta, you gotta again.
Speaker 6 (03:47):
Actually, we're traveling down this road together and we'll see
what happens.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Okay, okay, uh, Peg, When did you realize that it
was potentially going to be you at the end what
part of the season.
Speaker 5 (04:00):
I honestly knew as soon as I got out of
the mud bath.
Speaker 3 (04:04):
Okay, okay, I knew.
Speaker 2 (04:07):
I felt it.
Speaker 5 (04:10):
I felt it. I felt at a very deep level
and an intuitive level, I really did. I just right
out of it, and I even told one of the
girls in the house, I said, oh my god, it's
going to be me. And I was kind of actually
taken back by it because I wasn't expecting it, You guys,
I did not come here expecting it. I came here
with an open heart, in an open mind, and you know,
(04:30):
I just had to just be myself one hundred percent
be myself. You love me, you hate me. But I
wasn't expecting it. But as soon as I got out
of that mud bath, I went back to the mansion
and just my spirit just really talk to me. And
actually I wrote it in my journal. I just said,
it's going to be me, and I was just I
was taken back by that. I really was. I was
taken back because I didn't expect it at all. I
(04:52):
did not expect this at all.
Speaker 1 (04:53):
You guys, what did you actually expect? Because like when
I went on the show, I went home right away,
and I kind.
Speaker 3 (05:01):
Of expected that.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
But what did what did you really expect?
Speaker 5 (05:06):
You know, honestly, I expected to have a really good
experience and I expected to get to know him, because
that's to me, that's how that's how my love evolves.
A lot of people they jump in with both feet.
My love does not evolve that way. I have to
get to know somebody, I have to spend time with them.
I had to like them before I love them. And
so that's what I expected, honestly, just to see if
(05:27):
he was datable and see if he was you know, uh,
if he was a person that would fit into my life.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
Oh cool guy, I mean you guys. Look you guys,
you guys really do look really great together. Like looking
at you both, you know you both have this Oh
I say that it's not a light blue, but it's
a it's kind of the same color blue.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
And yeah it.
Speaker 5 (05:48):
Works, Yeah it does, it does.
Speaker 4 (05:52):
When you had that feeling of like I feel in
my gut that it's going to be me.
Speaker 2 (05:58):
After that point, did doubt ever creep.
Speaker 4 (06:01):
In or worry that, you know, he has these other
strong connections. You know, I might feel this way for him,
but what if it doesn't end up being reciprocated.
Speaker 5 (06:09):
There was one time in Tiga, and it was when
he knocked on my door and I was really sick
for about thirty six hours. I got sick in Antigua
and I went to sleep for about thirty six hours
and he came knocking on the door and he said,
I need to talk to you. And at that moment,
just for a split second, I was like, uh, oh,
here it is because I know him now and he
has enough respect and enough respect for me and enough
(06:31):
honesty and enough integrity that he wouldn't have put me
through that rose ceremony. And I know that about him now,
So I thought that knock on the door was him
coming to tell me, hey, look, I have a better
connection with this other person, which I was willing to
accept because when we're all except this journey, we all
accept that it's like it might work and it might
(06:52):
not work. You know, is that connection there or is
that connection not there? So, just for that split second,
I was like, well, he's got a better connection with
Cindy than he does me. And that's okay. We're grown
ass adults, and it's not that somebody's better or worse
or any of that than the other person. It's just
truly about that connection. Who has that best connection with
each other? That's all it is. Yeah.
Speaker 4 (07:14):
Well, honestly, watching it when Mel was delivering you the
news in your room that Cindy was no longer part
of the journey, when he started, for a second, I.
Speaker 2 (07:24):
Was like, is he freaking up with Pey to like
that was the plan? Was that the plan? You were
kind of pind of pull one over on her a
little bit.
Speaker 6 (07:31):
Yeah. I wanted to make it seem like like, hey,
I made a decision already, I gotta let you, you know,
let you in on it. So I wanted to make
sure that it came across that way.
Speaker 2 (07:44):
You were messing with her.
Speaker 6 (07:45):
I was messing with her. Yeah, for sure, it worked.
Speaker 1 (07:47):
It worked because it like if we as a viewer,
if we don't know.
Speaker 6 (07:50):
Being background into it, everything, I go, you know, I'm
gonna make this act like you know, it's over between us. Right,
of course, I go she left, right, and then she
got the whole face changed, yeah face.
Speaker 5 (08:06):
When he was talking to me, right, I just I
was very stoic, and I was like, because am I.
Speaker 4 (08:12):
Just feel like you were digesting trying to be like, Okay,
where is this going? Let me brace myself, like what's
he about to say?
Speaker 2 (08:17):
And well, you're dragging it out. You're taking as long
as possible.
Speaker 6 (08:22):
You know, you know, you know how much I like you,
you know how much you know you mean to me,
and how much fun we've had, and you know, I
just want to be transparent with you. And I had
the overnight last night and this like building up to like, but.
Speaker 5 (08:40):
I was shocked.
Speaker 6 (08:42):
Shocked.
Speaker 3 (08:43):
Yeah, that's good.
Speaker 1 (08:44):
We see we see sometimes on the show the Final
the Final two, a person will send themselves home, and
it it always leaves the final person somewhat questioning. Am
I just? Am I the second choice? Which I don't
think is the case in this scenario. But do you
(09:05):
wish peg, do you wish Cindy didn't send herself home?
Speaker 5 (09:11):
No? Because my truth is I think she knew that
there was a better connection between mel and myself. I
think She intuitively knew that and she did not want
to put herself through that because I do. I saw that,
I saw that face, and I felt it in her heart,
and I knew our connection was so strong, and not
a lot of people saw it in the house. The
(09:31):
women in the house did not see it. Because it developed,
it grew. I didn't come into the mansion going, oh,
I want to get married. No, I didn't do that
because for me, that love it grows. It's about like
I said, you guys, it's the fireplace, not the fireworks,
because the fireplace you can continually refuel it. And actually
Mel feels the same way about it. It's like the
(09:52):
reality is it takes time to fall in love, you guys,
and it takes time to get to know somebody. And
you know when we both we both have that same
belief system.
Speaker 7 (10:02):
Basically that might have been the connection as well, where
you know, it wasn't like, oh, by the way, I'm
in love with you after two weeks, because on the
last week's episode, I say, oh, here is Cindy.
Speaker 6 (10:19):
She's in love with me. Oh, and here's Peg She's
not right. The stark difference, you know, it is a
bright line and you know, because Cindy was saying, oh,
I love you, I love you, and Peg was saying,
you know, we're working on this, and that was my
set all along too. I'm not going to fall in
love with somebody, even if I thought I was. I
(10:39):
got to check myself and say, you know, am I
really I s got to give it time to see
if my if my my my brain and my heart
can catch up with my my hormones. Right, like, you
might be in love, but I you got to wait
a little bit here and check it out.
Speaker 1 (10:52):
Oh yeah, you also don't know if it's it's just
situational like you are.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
We are in this.
Speaker 1 (10:57):
You know, it's somewhat of an experiment and you want
to make sure that like it's for sure and it's
just not like, yeah, the situation, but you know.
Speaker 5 (11:05):
What, you guys, love is like, it's different for everybody.
Everybody has their own idea of love. Everybody has their
own preconceived idea of what that is and what that
looks like, you know, and everybody has a right to that.
It just so happens at him and I are on
the exact same page when it comes to building a relationship.
I mean, we're realists. We don't live in fantasy land,
(11:26):
and we both realize it takes time, it really does,
but we do have that real connection. And I knew it.
I knew it. I knew it early on. It was
so weird. I can't even explain it, but I just
I felt it, and it scared me because I wasn't
expecting it. I was like, holy shit, what is this?
This is crazy. Especially when we went to oc Fair
(11:46):
and at the case s in the Sunshine ban, I
just realized. I'm like, oh, I'm in trouble because I
was not expecting it. I did not go into this
thing with I'm going to be married and I want
to ring and I'm going to live happily ever after
and this is it. I just came here. It was like,
you know, let me check this out. Let me see
what kind of a person he is. And I had
to suspend judgment because we all know that podcast. You know,
(12:08):
it wasn't the greatest podcast out there, but.
Speaker 6 (12:12):
If you understand it, if you understood it was, it
was okay.
Speaker 5 (12:16):
But you know, but here's the thing. I suspended judgment
because I knew that I had to get to know
who he was not who what the podcast says, not
what social media says, not what any of it. I
needed to get to know who he was as a
human being.
Speaker 1 (12:37):
Was there both of you are saying, you know, we're
realists and it takes time to know if we're in love.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Was there a point post.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Show, after the show for both of you that you
were like, oh, this we made the right decision. This
actually is love.
Speaker 6 (12:54):
Well, I knew it earlier on right, That's why when
it came down to it, that was Peg. It wasn't A.
I had a crush on her from the first time
I saw her, right, And it wasn't I didn't really
see her in the bombsuit. Is when they it's like
a little diversion because they were trying to make the
bomb go off, and that you know, they they separated
(13:17):
her and they got her changed, and I saw her.
I didn't realize it was the same person that was
in a bomb suit. And from that point on I
had a crush on her. So yeah, you know, right
right then I knew.
Speaker 5 (13:28):
How about for you, Peg, I think the first time
that I really knew is when we right out of
the lima, when we sat down for a couple of
minutes that first night at the mansion. I just felt
it when we sat down and we looked at each
other's eyes. It was just that connection right then and there,
and it just took me back. But I knew that
I needed to get to know him. I need to, like, Okay,
great the connections there. I feel it. I know he
(13:49):
feels it because it was just it' psych electric, it
really was. And now now just to build on that
foundation getting to know who he was and for him
to get to know who I am. Do we fit
in each other's lives because there's you know, uh, the
word love is great, but you know it takes moretal
It takes more than love to have a successful, sustainable relationship,
(14:10):
and especially in our sixties, we both know that we've
been through divorce, we've been through you know, the ups
and downs of life, and realistically, we know that it's
great to be in love, you guys, but you've got
to have that firm foundation.
Speaker 6 (14:21):
Everybody wants the word love attached to everything they do,
especially on the show, but you can have a great
relationship without saying it. It's actually how you how you
act towards each other, right, And I knew that the
way she was treating me on the show. I go,
I know she likes me a lot, you know, without
saying like, oh, by the way, I love you, I
love you, I love you. Right. It starts with it
(14:42):
like because you can let you can love somebody and
not like him. You can have your right your crazy uncle.
You go, I love the guy, but I really don't
like the guy. Right, I love him, but I don't
want to be around him. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (14:55):
Yeah, well hopefully that doesn't happen with you in peg.
Speaker 6 (14:59):
Okay, I'm an example of like and love.
Speaker 3 (15:01):
Right, Yeah, I agree.
Speaker 6 (15:04):
To show that.
Speaker 5 (15:05):
I go.
Speaker 6 (15:05):
It's not a word I used lightly. I don't have
a lot of different meanings and connotations and expectations. So
it's not something that I just started saying, like, oh,
I've known you for two weeks and like I love you.
It's like, come on, it's unrealistic in my world, it
is anyway.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Right, right, But when you accepted the lead as the bachelor,
knowing the show a little bit, were you worried that.
Speaker 3 (15:28):
You may fall into that trap?
Speaker 6 (15:31):
No, because I followed the show a lot earlier on
like from on two thousand and two or three, I
followed maybe for five six years, and then I had
my kids and then I just fell off and then
I actually didn't pick it up again at all. I
just you know, bits and pieces because you'd see it.
But I didn't know any of the characters, any of
(15:52):
the leads, any of the best arras, none of that.
And I only saw The Golden Bachelor when the girls
got out of the limo with Gary, the only part
I ever saw in that one. So I didn't know
about the show. Really I did, and that's you know,
I learned about it after I was really casted for it.
(16:15):
You know, I got more in depth. I started looking
at the clips and things, things of that sort to
get more familiar with it. So no, no, okay, hey.
Speaker 2 (16:24):
How familiar were you with the show before you went on?
Speaker 5 (16:27):
I love Tristan's season. I think the only season I've
ever watched was Tristan's and Ryan and I loved that season.
And it's so funny because we all thought she was
going to choose the other person, and she chose the firefighter.
Speaker 1 (16:39):
So shout out.
Speaker 5 (16:40):
To Tristan and Ryan Man. You know, it's the same thing.
You know, here's the thing. It's like we both were
looking for that connection. Now what we do with that
connection moving forward is up to us how we want
to you know, how we want to go about it,
what we want to call it. But we were both
looking for that connection, and then what we decided moving
forward to do with it, it's what we're going to
(17:02):
decide together. You know. It's really cool, you guys, meeting
in your sixties is really cool because you get to
do what you want to do when you want to
do it, and you get to write your own story.
We get to write our own love story, and that's fun.
It's not going to be like anybody else's love story.
It's going to be our love story and we get
to write it. Yeah, along, it can be a lot
of fun.
Speaker 1 (17:19):
It is, Okay, So let's let's take it back to
the final episode.
Speaker 3 (17:24):
PEG. What was it like to finally meet Mel's family.
Speaker 5 (17:28):
Oh, my gosh, I like, adore his boys. They are hilarious,
they're they're great. I adore his boys are They're handsome,
and they're smart, and they're charismatic, and I just it
was really fun to meet them because I was really
I'm really comfortable with the guys, you know, working in
the fire department, you guys for twenty five years. With
all the guys, it's just like, yes, you know, I'm
(17:49):
with my people, you know, yeah, you know, little smart asses,
and I just I love them. They're so cool. And
then Diane, of course, his best one of his very
good friends. I just loved her to death, you know.
So it was great.
Speaker 2 (18:02):
We saw you did the word association game with his boys.
Tell us how that went.
Speaker 5 (18:07):
It was good because you know what I knew, you guys,
I knew by doing that little word association game with them,
I was going to learn more about him because they
have to think on their feet, you know, and then
write whatever came to their mind. Right away. Was telling
me a little bit more about how they view their father,
you know, what's their perception of their dad. And I
(18:28):
got a lot of good information out of them. Sneaky, sneaky, sneaky.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yeah, it was fine.
Speaker 4 (18:34):
I've never seen anyone do something of that sort out
a family visit or a hometown.
Speaker 6 (18:39):
I didn't see it, so my boys told me about it,
but they couldn't articulate exactly what it was, so I'm
curious to see it as well.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
They were great. My brother and I would have been
we would have went after our dad.
Speaker 5 (18:53):
It just came to me, you know, and then you know,
it's just it was really good because I knew I
needed to get some information out of them, but you know,
they're there eighteen and twenty years old, so I just like, Okay,
how can we make this fun and how can I
get the information I need out of them without knowing
that that's what I'm doing.
Speaker 2 (19:08):
What did you learn from the game?
Speaker 5 (19:10):
Oh my god, that he's a great guy, Because how
I learned it's their relationship with their dad, and that's
what I needed to see. How is your relationship with
your dad? And they gave it, gave me the answers
that I was looking for. You know, they love their dad,
They respect their dad, they look up to their dad,
and he's been a great father to the boys. I mean,
just a really good father. No, you really have you know,
(19:32):
I mean, and.
Speaker 4 (19:33):
You can see that just in that interaction, the way
they were speaking about bal through the game event and the.
Speaker 2 (19:39):
Words they were using to describe him. It was a
really sweet moment.
Speaker 6 (19:42):
Nol.
Speaker 3 (19:42):
What was it like seeing Peg with your family?
Speaker 6 (19:47):
Great? Because I know how Peg is and she's cool
with kids, right and she's the only person on the
show that asked me about my boys, like really, only one, Like, hey,
that's actually she said that. You know, that's another reason why,
(20:07):
just more validation of how much that you know, I
was making the right decision, but she was asking me,
how are you? How are your boys? You know, what
are their names? Or how old are they? What do
they do? You know, I want to meet him, I
you know, I want to do stuff with them. So
and that was it was honest, because you know what,
she kept on asking me more and more questions about it,
so I knew that when she met them and vice versa,
(20:29):
they're going to have a good time. And she still
asked me about even this morning. Hey, how you boys doing.
What are they doing? You know, how school? How's the girlfriends?
You know, that kind of stuff. So that meant a
lot to me, especially not so much in my decision,
but it just validated my decision even more.
Speaker 1 (20:52):
Peg.
Speaker 4 (20:54):
This is a little off topic of the Hometown Day,
but I'm just so interested in this because you mentioned,
you know, you worked in the fire department, you worked
on the bonds, while you worked in a very male
dominated fee field for most of your life. What was
it like kind of being one of the few women
in your career for so long and then going into
a house with all women kind of like the complete
(21:17):
opposite experience.
Speaker 5 (21:19):
It was hard. Yeah, I vet so hard, you guys.
And I love these women. They're smart, they're intelligent, they're beautiful,
they're articulate. There I really I really love them. But
it was hard for me. It was really really hard because,
uh just I mean, can you guys imagine and you
guys saw in hometown's twenty five guys or to thirty
guys at a firehouse for twenty five years working with them,
(21:42):
and then I'm thrust it into a house of all
these women, just the opposite. You know, women can be catty,
women can be jealous, women can be you know, they
could be a lot of different things. And I wasn't
used to that. I'm not and I'm very protective. And
when you know, I really love somebody or I let's
somebody into my life, I become very very protective. And
(22:03):
I became very protective of the women in the house
and they don't even know it. I was advocating for
them as a whole, and they didn't even know it.
And that's okay. But I became very I was like
very protective over them because you know, I love them
all dearly. You know, we're all there, and so it
was different. It was really really different, and I had
I learned a lot. I really did. I learned a lot.
Speaker 4 (22:23):
So, yeah, that must be wild, Like for however many
years you're adapting to this world and then thrown into
the complete opposite of what you're used to and having
to adapt to that.
Speaker 5 (22:36):
It was crazy for me. It was really it was
a difficult situation. It really was, because I'm like, all right,
I don't even know how to I honestly, I don't.
I didn't even know how to navigate through it, you know.
And I got a couple of little, you know, tips
with some of the girls, and it's just because I
don't have a lot of experience, you know, dealing with that,
you know. Cindy at one time told me I needed
to have more feathers, and I looked at her and
(22:58):
I'm like, what does that mean. I don't even know
what that means. Cindy, Please help me here, because I'm
very direct and I'm very honest, and people either, you know,
they'll celebrate that or they'll stay away from that. You know, Terry,
I we connected right away, and she's more like me.
We have that kind of like tough exterior and we
say what we mean, and we mean what we say,
(23:19):
you know, and some people like it and some people don't.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
So what does that mean though?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
The feathers? I don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
I don't know either. Softer soff okay, I see, I see.
Speaker 5 (23:35):
And you know what into into her? You know into
her statement? She raised girls right, Yes, she's Cindy's very soft.
She really is. I'm a pickly little porn or not porn,
but right. And I raised my daughter that way, as
you guys could tell at hometowns. We're very direct, we're
very honest. You know, it was my daughter and myself.
(23:57):
I raised her by myself after my divorce. You know,
he stepped out on the marriage. You know, he found
somebody else and it was just her and I and
we I became very protective over her. So it was
her and I just together, you know, navigating through life.
And you guys know life's difficult. Life is not easy, man.
So I always had to have my armor up, not
(24:18):
only to protect myself, but to protect her as well.
Speaker 1 (24:22):
Yeah, she's also very protective of you. That conversation that
she did have with you, mel what what was your
take on it?
Speaker 6 (24:30):
But you know, talking to my friend an attorney, because
now you've been an attorney more longer than you've been
a football player. Right, So I've done a million depositions.
I've been deposed, I've asked questions, I've been you know,
I've had had clients, so I'm used to the adversarial role. Right.
The main thing you gotta do is listen and answer
(24:52):
the question. Posed, don't add anything, right, So if they're
coming on to you tough, okay, I'm okay with it.
But you just answer the question this post, you don't
add anything else. So it might have been looked difficult.
But it really wasn't that difficult because I've been in
those situations all the time. But you know, she was
direct and I appreciated it. She was protective of her mom,
(25:15):
and she wanted no questions I haven't answered, and somebody's
you know, I was just being truthful with her. I go, I,
you know, I'm not in love with your mother. Right,
We're like a month into it, So, I mean it
might have looked tough, and coming off tough. But those
are the honest answers. And all I could do be
is honest with everybody on the show and not mislead
(25:37):
them or you know, give them head fakes, misdirectum and
give them false hopes. I just never did that, So
I was honest with myself and honest with them.
Speaker 2 (25:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (25:45):
I liked that conversation because I thought it really showcased
the love and protectiveness that your daughter feels for you, Peg,
and I respected that she wasn't afraid to make the
most of the time she had with Melan, ask direct
questions and continue asking kind of every question she felt
she needed to get her answers. What did you learn
(26:08):
about Peg or PEG's daughter during that conversation, mal Well.
Speaker 6 (26:15):
Peg Y told me that you know, she was direct
and you know, full of life, just like her mom. Right,
So I was thinking I was talking to her mom.
Like like they said, with the word association game, you
get a lot out of the kids of the mom.
So I'm looking, I go this nothing was rehearsed, right,
We didn't have We didn't have any time to go
(26:36):
in there and go by the way you're going to
meet him, And this is what he's like, and here's
the questions. He was like, take him, sit him down,
take him, sit him down. Talk. So it was it
was basically all extemporaneous, all you know, ad lib questions.
So whatever you came to your mind, you asked. So
my thing was to be direct and be honest, and
(26:58):
so in the exactly way the way her mom was
honest and direct. That's what I got from it. I go,
they're they're the same, like they're twins, right, and we.
Speaker 5 (27:08):
Go ahead, No, do one thing about Dakota that I
and I admire this about my daughter. She's fearless and
I'm proud to be that mom that raised her that
way because she nobody intimidates her, nobody on this planet.
She just you know, and she's fearless and she's uh.
I know one thing as a mom, because as you know,
as mothers and fathers, we just want to know that
(27:29):
our children are always going to be okay, especially when
we leave this planet. And I know one thing about her,
she's always going to be.
Speaker 6 (27:36):
And I like the direct questions, but answer them honestly.
So when you when you walk away and you look
at it, go because that guy's honest, be guys, you
know you don't live with your mom. No, no, I'm not.
I'm not there yet, right, that's an honest answer, because
I wasn't. You know, some people goes, well, yeah I am. Yeah,
It's like, no, I wasn't. I wasn't going to, you know,
bullshit her, right. I was gonna tell her that the
(27:58):
truth and how I felt, and she and she deserved
that answer, and I gave it to her. And so
I yea, it's like her mom, just straightforward and direct.
Speaker 1 (28:07):
Okay, So I think this is a perfect place the
end the first part. Make sure you guys tune in
for Part two with Peg and Mel.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
We will have new and exclusive interviews every single week.
We are so excited to share part two of our interview.
Speaker 6 (28:23):
With you guys.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Thank you so much for listening. Bye
Hosts And Creators
Joe Amabile
Susan Noles
Serena Pitt
Kathy Swarts
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Medal of Honor: Stories of Courage
Rewarded for bravery that goes above and beyond the call of duty, the Medal of Honor is the United States’ top military decoration. The stories we tell are about the heroes who have distinguished themselves by acts of heroism and courage that have saved lives. From Judith Resnik, the second woman in space, to Daniel Daly, one of only 19 people to have received the Medal of Honor twice, these are stories about those who have done the improbable and unexpected, who have sacrificed something in the name of something much bigger than themselves. Every Wednesday on Medal of Honor, uncover what their experiences tell us about the nature of sacrifice, why people put their lives in danger for others, and what happens after you’ve become a hero. Special thanks to series creator Dan McGinn, to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society and Adam Plumpton. Medal of Honor begins on May 28. Subscribe to Pushkin+ to hear ad-free episodes one week early. Find Pushkin+ on the Medal of Honor show page in Apple or at Pushkin.fm. Subscribe on Apple: apple.co/pushkin Subscribe on Pushkin: pushkin.fm/plus
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com