August 1, 2025 • 33 mins
Golden Bachelor superstar Leslie Fhima is back from Paradise, and she’s hanging in Lake Tahoe with Ben for the Almost Famous Pickleball Tournament!
Leslie reveals why she was disappointed when she hit the sand in Paradise, we get an update on her relationship with Gerry Turner and whether she plans on reading his upcoming memoir, and we get her take on those controversial comments from Golden Bachelor Mel Owens.
Plus, Leslie shares the story of how she has the most intimidating ex-boyfriend in Bachelor history.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's been back on the Almost Famous podcast, coming to
you from gorgeous Lake Tahoe today. I'm pumped to have
someone on the pod who we got to love on
The Golden Bachelor and now she's on this season of Paradise.
It's Leslie Fema. Hello. I cannot wait to talk to you,
but before I do, I gotta tell you about where
(00:26):
we're at. We're at a Verbo right now in Lake Tahoe.
It's the Verbo Summer House. It is mind blowing. It's
one of those places you walk into and you just
kind of take a step back because it's so beautiful.
It's absolutely incredible. Verbo has been so great to us
this week as we have so many incredible people staying
with us in Lake Tahoe, and Verbo is incredible also
(00:47):
because they have last minute deals. It's live on the
Verbo app and website showing travelers nearly three hundred thousand
let me say that again, three hundred thousand discount of
properties that any traveler can book within thirty days of
check in. A few destinations that stood out to me
personally as I was looking Hilton Head, South Carolina, Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
(01:09):
San Diego, Portavarda. And of course where we're at right now,
which is Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is beautiful. You haven't
been before. It's another one of those places that make
you take a step back and go, is this real?
Or because it doesn't look real? It's so pretty, it's
so beautiful. Verbo has the last minute booking filter. It's
an industry first for vacation rentals. This kind of vacation
(01:30):
rentals are also labeled with a last minute badget displays
a total amount travelers can save on their booking. Plus,
travelers never have to second guess a total cost or
worry about hidden fees. Verbo displays all mandatory fees in
the upfront price. Leslie Ben, this week I had the
(01:52):
pleasure of speaking with Hakim, who was on Paradise. I
believe probably before you got there.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah, he left before I got that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
S Geam is what we're calling right now.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
A young gangm yep.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We asked a Keema, simple question, would you have dated
any of the Goldens? And he said, of course, is
that Leslie, she's a battie. I think it was his words, Oh, Leslie,
how does that make you feel? Oh? First, really a
little shocked, Like you look like, are you blushing?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
I am?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
I'm like, wow, Okay, thank you, Hakeem. Too bad that
you left before I got there. He's adorable and funny,
and I was kind of sad a lot of people
weren't there that I was looking forward to. Obviously I
loved everybody that was there, but yeah, I was like,
where is Hakim?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Where is Susie?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Where you know?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Everywhere? Where are you?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
But you know, my rule is I would never date
anyone younger than my oldest child, who is going to
be thirty nine in two days. Okay, and actually I've
never dated anyone a few years older than him. So,
but that is kind of a running joke with me
and my friends. So sorry I came, but thank you
(03:07):
so much.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That big compliment. Yeah, one of the things he quoted
in his response to us wash if she was good
enough for Prince, she's good enough for me. So we're
going to dive into this Prince talk. It's kind of
been talked about, rumored about. You've been open about saying
that the song Sexy Dancer was written in a lot
of parts about you can we dive into this Prince
(03:32):
stuff a little bit more?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Did we do that like a year ago?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Though I don't remember it, and I would like to
do it again if he did.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
I'm just kidding. So the deal is it really is
quite simple. My cousin, Bobby Z was his drummer in
the Revolution, but before that they were very good friends.
They met, they became best friends, and you know, Bobby
introduced me to him really before he was well, not
(04:00):
before he's princes because he's always Prince, but before like
his first album came out, and Bobby would take him
around because he hadn't gotten his license yet or something.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
They were just always together.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
And I was dancing in a fashion show and Prince,
you know, we kind of liked each other. I mean
we were seventeen, and so he took Prince to watch
me dance in the fashion show.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And he said, you're a sexy dancer.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And so basically he told Bobby, you know, people don't
believe me. I'm not dragging my cousin into it. You
can call him, you can text him, but again, I
don't want to drag my cousin into it. But he
said to Bobby that the song I'm writing is about Leslie.
She's a sexy dancer. So you know, when it came out,
you know, listen, It's got five words sexy dancer, want
(04:49):
your body, that's all it says.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
It's not a deep song.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
How does it make you feel to listen to?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know, I hadn't listened to it for a really
long time. And then when we had a free day
on Golden Bachelor, one of the producers took their phone
out and says, I have a song.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
I want to play, and I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
You know, but it was kind of funny, and so
it's not something I listen to every day, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
But but if you need to get hyped up, I mean, you.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Know, it's been so long, and we we did have
some memories. I mean I was in the Ice Follies
and he would then he became Prince and he had
his first album. We did kind of date a couple
of years, so like seventeen to nineteen basically, and but
back then there was no cell phone, so he'd write
me letters and he'd have all this artwork on it,
(05:38):
and so all my friends from the Ice Follies we
sit around at night with their glasses of wine, and
I'd read the letters to my friends because.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
It was very They were very provocative.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
It was like story time, you know, yeah, yeah, so
is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Oh yeah, he's good with ears.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Do you have these letters still?
Speaker 4 (06:00):
The weird thing is so fast forward many years. I
moved to California and moved to LA and I drove
out there with I had a little, you know, you know,
Volkswagen convertible, and I had all the letters in a
big plastic bag and my car got repossessed, not because
(06:21):
of my fault, but I'm not going to go into it.
My car got repossessed. But when I went to get
my car, everything was there but the bag of letters.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So you don't know where they're at. We could like
start a whole podcast on finding these letters again. They
would be worse.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Something tell me about that. But I, to be honest,
wouldn't sell them. I would like them back, but I
don't know where they are. They could have been thrown
out or burned, or maybe they're on the internet somewhere
I don't know, but or maybe somebody that didn't want
me to have them through them out that's a whole
other podcast though.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Anyways, I think we.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Have an idea find the letters. Was there any other
famous names that you were connected to back in the day,
I mean, you were a sexy dancer. I'm assuming that
Prince wasn't the only one to recognize this.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Hmmm, Well, I don't know, because then, really I went
into the Ice Follies and you know, all my friends
and the Ice fallis would call me sexy dancer because
I knew the song was about me, and I still
have friends that call me that, and they wanted me
to make like hashtag and sexy dancer.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I'm not going to capitalize on Prince, you know, I'm
just not doing that. But no, I mean, you know,
just everyone knew me in the Ice show as being
the dancer, and Peggy Fleming needed to do like a
disco number and she was not, you know, she was
so graceful and beautiful, and so they had me teacher
like disco moves on the ice, you know, because she
(07:50):
was doing a back then there was disco, you know,
and so we became fast friends. But yeah, so I've
had some good experiences through my dancing.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
The good experience have led to your time on The
Golden Bachelor, which is where we're going to go. Now.
We're not going to stay in the Golden Bachelor long
because obviously that time has come and gone for you
and we now are getting to watch you in Paradise.
But you were a runner up on that season. How
would you describe your relationship with Gary now?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I really don't have a relationship with Gary. If I
see him, we're fine. We are very cordial. I really
only want the best for him. And I did see
him at Grant's finale and he told me he had
a girlfriend, and I'm happy for him. You know, I
just want everyone to be happy really in our age.
(08:43):
I mean it's like TikTok. We all want to, you know,
find our person and get on with our life.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
So I'm happy for him.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Obviously, if you would have asked me that September after
the show, when I got home, you know, it was
hard for me and I did have some dark days,
but I, like always, I just picked myself up and
moved on.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
So I only want the best.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Do you wish it would have played out differently now?
I mean you're a little bit removed. I remember speaking
to you right after the show, and it was this like, oh,
I wish it could have worked, kind of like feeling.
Now you see where your life has gone, you're removed
from that experience, do you still wish that you and
Gary could have maybe had a shot.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
You know, it's hard for me to say, Ben, because
I really feel like everything happens for a reason. And
I don't know. I mean, Teresa and I are alike
a lot, but we're very different too, and so you know,
I don't know if one person's a better fit with
somebody else versus whatever. But I think things happened the
(09:50):
way they were supposed to, and now that I'm very
far to move from it, I feel that it was
best that, you know, I was not the last girl standing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
How long did the feelings like continue after the show
for you?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Well, so, like I said, I had some bad, you
know times after the show because and then watching it
back was hard, and the whole thing, the finale was
very hard for me. I think after the finale, which
was like the end of November, you know, like that December,
I kind of like, you know, just kind of felt better.
(10:27):
And then Teresa invited me to their wedding, and by
the wedding I really was fine. I really just wanted
them to be happy, because, to be honest, we were
really good friends in the house and we're good friends
now and I love her to death and whatever. You
know what Again, I thought, well, it was meant to be.
You know, they're happy, they're getting married.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So you know, on my resume I have that I
got to dance with the sexy dancer at the We did.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
We did, tear it up, then we crushed it.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It was good. They said the music, who's the best
dancer here and who's the worst dance are here? Let's
put them together and make them go. Okay, they did,
and there was no music playing, so I just kind
of crushed it. I felt like we did great. Yeah,
me too, I was feeling myself.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I thought it was our best moment together.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Mm hmm. Gary's got a book coming out. If you're
mentioned in it, how will that make you feel? And
also are you going to read it?
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Hm? Well, I mean I have to be mentioned because
I was a big part of that show and a
big part of his journey. I think that I don't
feel like I did anything where he is going to
say something derogatory about me. So I'm okay. I think
(11:40):
with it. We had a great time. We laughed a lot.
You know, he broke my heart, but everything's okay. So
it's not like anything happened, you know, like I didn't
do anything, you know, obviously, it was just you know,
it's his journey, his decision. So I'm okay, and I'm
going to read it. I don't know, I have to see.
(12:02):
I'm not sure. I'm interested in seeing what he says,
so I probably will.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
One of the hopes when your season aired, and I
do believe it was kind of slammed the door wide
open for the future of the Golden Show to continue
and to thrive, and I hope it does. It's my hope.
I love that show. Yeah, is that they would have
a second season. Yeah, and they have a second season.
Mel Owens was announced as the Bachelor. He's been in
(12:40):
the press a ton since his announcement. Yeah, he had
some controversial age comments that kind of fire people up.
He had said some things pretty much requesting or demanding
in a lot of ways that the women that were
cast on his season b below sixty years old. Right,
What do you think about that? How do you feel
(13:01):
about those comments and does it keep you excited to
watch the season or are you kind of turned off?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I'm turned off, and so.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Many people are. And that's a bummer because the show
had a really easy, I know, ability to just like
put somebody in that people would love. Yeah, and Golden
should not be controversial.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
No, I mean, especially the lead. That's what I loved
about our show. I knew nothing about Gary he was.
I saw him as the world saw him on you know,
Good Morning America when they announced him. I didn't do
any deep dives. Some of the other women did, you know,
and they found out more about him. I didn't want
(13:39):
and I didn't want to know anything I saw him.
I want to go in there organically he was you know,
he was actually going, you're so young. I'm like, I'm young.
I'm sixty at that time, I was sixty five or
sixty four, and he goes, no, but you know, And
so I love that part about him, like he wasn't
looking for that young girl, you know, and young girl
(14:02):
sixty four. But but this melowens. I don't. I if
I was one of those women going on the show
right now, I think it'd be really hard because part
of the beauty of us, I especially well, I don't
I don't know, I don't try that hard. My hair
is curly, it's curly if I didn't have makeup. I mean,
I'm just not that type of girl. And so I
(14:24):
feel I feel worried for these women that have to
like are they gonna look okay?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Are they you know?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And part of being you know, a little bit older,
is you kind of just don't care?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, it's I think. My personal opinion is I do
love the Golden Show. I do, and I love it
for reasons that are complete opposite of what he was saying.
I love the second chance, that love, chance of love.
I love the lack of controversial characters that we can
celebrate every single person that walks to the door, including
the lead. I like the innocence of dating later in life.
(15:00):
It is just just desire to be with somebody and
just connect with somebody and share life with some exactly.
I think I'm nervous that those comments will lead us
to feel very much like it's just another Bachelor season
with older contestants.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
I feel that, and you know, I and then sometimes
it's hard to watch, you know what.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
The Goldens. I mean, of course it was hard to
watch some of it.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You know, I'm crying and this one, you know, but
but those were true emotions really, and and this I
just hope the women I saw the women, they look gorgeous,
you know, Hopefully they are confident with themselves and just
I want them to just if I could give them advice,
just be yourself, because at the end of the day,
(15:44):
you know, that's what this is all about, you know,
growing all just being comfortable in our own skin.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
And you know, so I.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Am in the strong opinion I would have rather had
a Golden Lead be eighty years old and see that
like dynamic play out than I would to push it
back to make everybody really pretty and put together. I
would have rather seen yeah, like them go far further,
even in a different direction.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I agree, I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
But you know, they had a chance maybe to get
another lead, and they chose not to. So I guess
people are going to tune in out of curiosity. You hope,
I hope, I mean, I hope, so for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, I hope. So now we're going to switch gears
to Paradise. You're obviously on Paradise, right, now as we speak,
we talked about Hakeem's statements. Do you have made it
clear up to this point you wouldn't have daten a
young and if they were younger than your children, which
I think was a tease going into the whole season,
(16:48):
was were people going to date younger or day older?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Was there anyone you were hoping to meet before you
got on the beach, like anybody specifically when you got
on the plane, You're like, I hope they show up.
I hope they're there.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Well, it's a little bit hard because a lot of
the Golden Bachelorette men were in relationships, and so you know,
I hadn't met most most of them. And I mean
Gary and I met already at the Grand's finale. I
had met Actually that's the only person I met. But
(17:26):
you know, like I've I've I've hung out with Jordan
a little bit, but he has a girlfriend. And I
hung out with Pascal a little bit as friends, you know,
but I'm too old for him. So you know, it's like,
so there wasn't like one particular person. But I thought
they were going to bring in men that we hadn't met.
I thought they were going to go into some guys
(17:49):
that had applied for Golden Bachelorette. Interesting and that didn't
get on the show because they have they had so many. Yeah,
and that's it was really our belief, not just mine,
a lot of us, you know, well all six it
was seven of us.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
We thought that was going to happen.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's been interesting. It would have increased a pool a.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Little bit, it would have yeah, yeah, but I mean
and then April picking Jonathan like it's a double edged sword.
It was amazing, and I kind of wanted to do
the same thing at that point because you know, Natasha
took Gary because she got called first, so I really
didn't know who was going to pick, and so that
(18:29):
was a great thing because we all love Jonathan, we
all want him to have a second chance.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I love it as well.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
But then she kind of cannibalized us with the Goldens,
like there's now there's one more guy going home.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
So it was just, yeah, it was kind of.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Got messed up. Yeah, the right now as we're watching,
I think it's six women and three men. Yes, right,
it's a very like it's doubled amount of women.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Me that the Goldens as we know them as we expect,
they're going to be dwindled down. It's gonna be harder
and harder to find relationships. We have seen you have
a spark with Gary, but Gary seems to be a
very hot commodity in Paradise. So the moment he walked
through the door or out of his car looking back
(19:20):
looking currently, how real was that spark? And then I
think the most interesting part of this that nobody's clarifying
is he is a hot commodity. You had the first
date with him that seemed to go well, but it
feels like he's never around to invest into your relationship
because he's always getting asked on dates.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
That is true. I felt like we had an amazing date.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
It was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
We just laughed and danced in the rain, and I
felt very connected to him. And then they goes on
a date with Nancy, and of course Nancy gets to
choose whoever she wants. You know, again, I want everyone
to find their person, to be on their own journey
and whatever. So I was happy for her, but then
I'm like, okay, well no, you know, like it was
(20:13):
just yeah, it.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
A little it's a little it was a little different, and.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I mean, Natasha gave him the rose, so you kind
of have this date, but then you don't get a
chance to validate or catch up on hair. Are you
feeling this too?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
M h?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Was this good? Was this not? It feels like and
to nobody's fault, yeah, nobody. You know, nobody's expected to
be like, hey, let's wait for Leslie to figure this
out now.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
And I couldn't tell Tatasha what to do. I mean,
you know, that's why would I tell her who to
give a rose?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Toe? But what were your feelings as you stood there?
I mean at this point as we're watching, you're on
your own Lowly Island. Now, we don't see you in
Gary together, we don't see you with anybody I know,
So how like, how are you feeling in these moments
as we watched the show?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
You know, it was a little I had such a
great time.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I'm in paradise, and I didn't have the feelings and
go like I did on Golden matchro. I didn't cry,
I didn't, you know, but I did feel like Natasha
gave him the rose, and but I did tell him.
I just I said, I want you to know that
if I was called first, I would have given you
my rose because I wanted and I told Kim that too.
I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. I said, Kim,
(21:22):
I chose you because I feel like you add something
to the group. And you know, basically, I really didn't
give the rose to and you know, because I was
really frantic at that moment, and so I'm like, I
don't know who to choose. I don't know who to choose.
There's a lot of things going through my mind.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
So I don't know.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
I mean, it was it was difficult. It was difficult,
but you know, I again, I'm kind of comfortable in
my own skin. And if I go and I'm thinking,
you know, there's now Gary has three women that he
could choose from at the next Rose ceremony, which is
next week, and I was thinking, if he doesn't choose me,
(22:04):
I go home, and it's all right, Like I'm not
going home broken hearted. I'm not going you know, it's
I had a great time. I made amazing friends. I
came back with like eight new daughters.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I mean, I love those girls so much.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
So I felt okay with it, and I packed my suitcase,
you know, and I was ready to go.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
We do see Kim, Captain Kim, he's very confident that
you're going to give him the rose, But we don't
really know why he's so confident. He's communicating that. It's like,
you guys have this thing that we're trying to catch
up with his viewers. We actually also see him read
you a poem, and be honest here, what was going
(22:46):
through your mind as he's reading you this poem? Also
then when you're watching his back seeing his confidence in
your relationship?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Well, I don't obviously want to say anything bad about my.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
My, but you we will. You don't want to, but
you would if you just wanted to.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Oh my god, So what's going through my mind? Is ova?
And also he's pretty good at poems. I write poems too,
but he's pretty good. Okay, that's number two. Number three
is I don't I saw him all day with that book,
and I kept thinking, what is he writing?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
What is is he writing? Journaling? And then I found
out he was working on that poem all day.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Yeah, so I you know, I always feel bad and
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and I wanted him,
and that's why I was honest with them. I did
actually say to him. I just want you to know
I would have given Gary my rose if I was
called first. But I wanted you here, you know, so
thank you so much, and you know, but we are
I just only feel like friends. So I try to
(23:53):
nip in the butt. Yeah, I don't know how it got.
I don't know how it got so confident. But I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
But I mean he's still there to potentially give you
a rose this upcoming week, right, Yeah, so if Gary
choose somebody else, he is a backup play, he's your
backup plan.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
Well, yeah, he's my backup. But I didn't Okay, I
just want to clarify. I didn't play that game. I
didn't give a rose to someone who I thought was
going to give a.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Help it that you're the sexy dancer like you can't
help it that two of the three guys are interested
in you. You don't play the game, but it's just
who you are there. You can't help it. It's it's
too bad. I feel bad for you that so many
people are, you know, gaining your You're gaining so many
people's attention. I mean, you're you're batting a pretty good percentage.
(24:46):
You're at sixty six point sixty six percent of the
guys in the group are interested.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
And that's because I'm sixty six point sixty two years old.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
No, that's fair too. We're gonna do some rapid fires,
but before we do, it looks like to us from
our show, we had a lot of questions going into Paradise,
(25:17):
and I think viewers had a lot of questions when
it comes to the Goldens being there alongside of the
Bachelor and Bachelorette cast. What was this going to be?
Was this going to get awkward and efe and weird
and chaotic or how is it going to intermingle? A
lot of confusion. I will say, sitting here in the seat,
I do now I really enjoyed having the Goldens there.
In fact, I think I enjoy watching them sometimes more
than I do the young'ins. It looks like the Goldens
(25:41):
are having so much fun, and TV can tell a
different story than the reality. So for the viewers, the
listeners of the show, were the Goldens having as much
fun as it seems on television?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Unequivocally yes, really yes?
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Why do you think that was?
Speaker 4 (25:59):
Because like I kind of touched on before, we don't care,
we you know, we just want to have fun. We
we love each other. We may have an eye roll
here and there, but it's not malicious.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
You know. I love my roommate Kathy. She's great. No,
she doesn't interesting good for her, I know.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Well I did have my AirPods that all night, but
there was a calmness to the room when she was sleeping.
So yeah, but no, I mean we just had so
much fun. And I can honestly say I had such
a good time. I will say that over and over
I had I'm not saying I didn't have fun on
(26:45):
Golden Bachelor, you know, but this was a completely different experience.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
So I've heard that so many times that Paradise is
actually like fun. It was fun, and the Bachelor sometimes
is very emotional and heavy, exactly tiring, tiring. I've heard
Paradise is a blast.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I've never it's a blast.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
And you know, I guess it did help that we
had air conditioning in our rooms. Maybe if it was
at the old place. You know, WELLS is going, I
like the old place. I'm like, really, you rather not
have air conditioning? And you know he's laughing, but I no,
I I had the best time, and every morning I
woke up and you know what my view was the
(27:23):
beautiful beach and Dale, Jonathan Jeering, me and Brian all
working out. Yeah, and I'm like doing my pilates and
I'm just staring at him. I'm like, you know, hey,
I'm not touching, but I can look.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
You can look. Yeah, I'm looking. Those dudes are just insane.
Yeah they look they look like they worked out every day. Yeah,
good for them.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
The best line though, of the whole for me. I
laughed so hard.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
So I was sitting next to some of the guys
Keith and and and Gary at the bar and one
of them ordered a beer and so well goes fourth
beer and I'm like, what of the day or the hour?
And he goes of my whole time doing this, I said,
what he goes that these guys look like they have
a carb. I was laughing so hard. I just went,
(28:15):
oh my god, this is crazy. Then they're drinking rose,
you know.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, that's a great behind the scenes because he's not
probably wrong. No, like people come on the show and
they're especially paradise you'r shirtless all the time? Yeah that
I bet in his history every single person's like I
can't have a beer that's gonna make bloat my stuff
exactly like I'm drinking rose and margarite.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Wait then the gold has come around.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
They don't care. We're having Martini's old fashions. Everything.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Load us up. Okay, the rapid fires?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
What's something that happened in Paradise or happened to you
or anybody else that you didn't anticipate before you went down.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
I didn't anticipate being so welcomed by the group, especially
the girls. I mean for me, because I just literally
they just I just love them so much. I love
every one of them, And that was kind of shocking
to me. I was a little nervous about that.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Yeah, if there's one couple that exists right now in
Paradise that we all know of based on where we're
at in the season, who are you most rooting for?
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Oh well, I'm rooting for a lot of them, but
I'm rooting for Spencer and Jess.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, Spencer and oh yeah, that's a very solid relationship.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
How would you sum up Paradise in three words?
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Fun? Fun, fun, It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
One last rapid fire. As you're watching it back, do
you regret anything that happened in Paradise that you were
a part of.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
No, I didn't do anything that my kids would be
embarrassed of.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
So you don't wish you would have taken a body
shot off of a young and I do not correct
or let them take a body shot off of you.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Okay, good final question. We're seeing teasers now for the
money part of Paradise. Last week we got bigger hint
that that looks like the money is coming into play
and there's games going to be played, competition is going
to be had. Were as viewers still getting used to
this new Paradise and now we added in this whole
(30:12):
new wrinkle. The money is going to change things no
matter what it does. It looks like it's a lot
of money. Yeah, with what you can say, why would
a viewer still be invested into the show knowing that
everything's about to change And for some critics, including myself,
(30:33):
it feels like money is going to take away from
the romantic side of Paradise.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
I think that you Just to be honest with you,
I'm just going to preface this by saying I don't
know how it ended, okay, but I would say that
by the money might enhance some of these relationships. But
I feel like a few of these relationships are really strong,
and I don't think the money will matter.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It's just going to be an added benefit.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
That's what I think.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You know. Do you like that money was involved.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I don't really have an opinion on that.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
To be honest, all of us, the Goldens, I meant
we could have cared. I mean that wasn't like we
didn't go, oh my god, we got a window.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
I mean we could. You know.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
We're like, we want the youngins to win, Like you know,
who wouldn't want all that money, but you know, I
mean they're starting their lives out and all that stuff.
We that didn't enter my mind for a second.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Really, Leslie, is there anything I didn't ask you that
you want to share?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Well, I'd like to ask you something.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
You can ask me anything.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
When are we going to dance again today tonight?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Well? No, I'm leaving.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I know you're leaving. You got out of that one.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I got out of that one. It would be a
dream we should have last night. I know I had
the perfect the perfect moment. I mean the river, I know, beautiful.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
House, this place by the way, Tahoe is like my Literally,
I have been here for once, but this is my
new favorite place.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
It's incredible. Yeah, the house that we're in that verbo
is available on verbo. It's absolutely spectacular. I jumped in
the river last night out in front of the house.
It felt like a cold plunge.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
I came up by the fire, had a cocktail. We
got the chat.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
Yeah, you look like you were pretty spent though I.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Was pretty tired. The cold plunge really wipe me out relaxed,
and it's also just the relaxing setting of being in
the pine trees and being at the rivers.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
It is beyond gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Leslie, thanks for joining us. We cannot wait to continue
to watch you in Paradise.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Thanks for sharing the insights that you could and did. Also,
I want to find these letters. So if anybody's listening,
hashtag find the Letters. Find the Letters. That's a good hashtag.
That's not capitalizing on Prince, that's helping our show. This
has been the Almost Famous podcast. I'm Ben Until next
time You've been.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Leslie followed the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
on iHeart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's been back on the Almost Famous podcast, coming to
you from gorgeous Lake Tahoe today. I'm pumped to have
someone on the pod who we got to love on
The Golden Bachelor and now she's on this season of Paradise.
It's Leslie Fema. Hello. I cannot wait to talk to you,
but before I do, I gotta tell you about where
(00:26):
we're at. We're at a Verbo right now in Lake Tahoe.
It's the Verbo Summer House. It is mind blowing. It's
one of those places you walk into and you just
kind of take a step back because it's so beautiful.
It's absolutely incredible. Verbo has been so great to us
this week as we have so many incredible people staying
with us in Lake Tahoe, and Verbo is incredible also
(00:47):
because they have last minute deals. It's live on the
Verbo app and website showing travelers nearly three hundred thousand
let me say that again, three hundred thousand discount of
properties that any traveler can book within thirty days of
check in. A few destinations that stood out to me
personally as I was looking Hilton Head, South Carolina, Cape Cod, Massachusetts,
(01:09):
San Diego, Portavarda. And of course where we're at right now,
which is Lake Tahoe. Lake Tahoe is beautiful. You haven't
been before. It's another one of those places that make
you take a step back and go, is this real?
Or because it doesn't look real? It's so pretty, it's
so beautiful. Verbo has the last minute booking filter. It's
an industry first for vacation rentals. This kind of vacation
(01:30):
rentals are also labeled with a last minute badget displays
a total amount travelers can save on their booking. Plus,
travelers never have to second guess a total cost or
worry about hidden fees. Verbo displays all mandatory fees in
the upfront price. Leslie Ben, this week I had the
(01:52):
pleasure of speaking with Hakim, who was on Paradise. I
believe probably before you got there.
Speaker 3 (01:56):
Yeah, he left before I got that.
Speaker 2 (01:58):
S Geam is what we're calling right now.
Speaker 3 (01:59):
A young gangm yep.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
We asked a Keema, simple question, would you have dated
any of the Goldens? And he said, of course, is
that Leslie, she's a battie. I think it was his words, Oh, Leslie,
how does that make you feel? Oh? First, really a
little shocked, Like you look like, are you blushing?
Speaker 3 (02:22):
I am?
Speaker 4 (02:23):
I'm like, wow, Okay, thank you, Hakeem. Too bad that
you left before I got there. He's adorable and funny,
and I was kind of sad a lot of people
weren't there that I was looking forward to. Obviously I
loved everybody that was there, but yeah, I was like,
where is Hakim?
Speaker 3 (02:43):
Where is Susie?
Speaker 2 (02:44):
Where you know?
Speaker 3 (02:44):
Everywhere? Where are you?
Speaker 4 (02:46):
But you know, my rule is I would never date
anyone younger than my oldest child, who is going to
be thirty nine in two days. Okay, and actually I've
never dated anyone a few years older than him. So,
but that is kind of a running joke with me
and my friends. So sorry I came, but thank you
(03:07):
so much.
Speaker 2 (03:08):
That big compliment. Yeah, one of the things he quoted
in his response to us wash if she was good
enough for Prince, she's good enough for me. So we're
going to dive into this Prince talk. It's kind of
been talked about, rumored about. You've been open about saying
that the song Sexy Dancer was written in a lot
of parts about you can we dive into this Prince
(03:32):
stuff a little bit more?
Speaker 3 (03:33):
Did we do that like a year ago?
Speaker 2 (03:35):
Though I don't remember it, and I would like to
do it again if he did.
Speaker 4 (03:38):
I'm just kidding. So the deal is it really is
quite simple. My cousin, Bobby Z was his drummer in
the Revolution, but before that they were very good friends.
They met, they became best friends, and you know, Bobby
introduced me to him really before he was well, not
(04:00):
before he's princes because he's always Prince, but before like
his first album came out, and Bobby would take him
around because he hadn't gotten his license yet or something.
I don't know.
Speaker 3 (04:10):
They were just always together.
Speaker 4 (04:12):
And I was dancing in a fashion show and Prince,
you know, we kind of liked each other. I mean
we were seventeen, and so he took Prince to watch
me dance in the fashion show.
Speaker 3 (04:24):
And he said, you're a sexy dancer.
Speaker 4 (04:27):
And so basically he told Bobby, you know, people don't
believe me. I'm not dragging my cousin into it. You
can call him, you can text him, but again, I
don't want to drag my cousin into it. But he
said to Bobby that the song I'm writing is about Leslie.
She's a sexy dancer. So you know, when it came out,
you know, listen, It's got five words sexy dancer, want
(04:49):
your body, that's all it says.
Speaker 3 (04:51):
It's not a deep song.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
How does it make you feel to listen to?
Speaker 4 (04:56):
You know, I hadn't listened to it for a really
long time. And then when we had a free day
on Golden Bachelor, one of the producers took their phone
out and says, I have a song.
Speaker 3 (05:06):
I want to play, and I'm like, oh my god.
Speaker 4 (05:09):
You know, but it was kind of funny, and so
it's not something I listen to every day, you know.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
But but if you need to get hyped up, I mean, you.
Speaker 4 (05:17):
Know, it's been so long, and we we did have
some memories. I mean I was in the Ice Follies
and he would then he became Prince and he had
his first album. We did kind of date a couple
of years, so like seventeen to nineteen basically, and but
back then there was no cell phone, so he'd write
me letters and he'd have all this artwork on it,
(05:38):
and so all my friends from the Ice Follies we
sit around at night with their glasses of wine, and
I'd read the letters to my friends because.
Speaker 3 (05:46):
It was very They were very provocative.
Speaker 4 (05:49):
It was like story time, you know, yeah, yeah, so
is that what you're saying?
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Oh yeah, he's good with ears.
Speaker 2 (05:57):
Do you have these letters still?
Speaker 4 (06:00):
The weird thing is so fast forward many years. I
moved to California and moved to LA and I drove
out there with I had a little, you know, you know,
Volkswagen convertible, and I had all the letters in a
big plastic bag and my car got repossessed, not because
(06:21):
of my fault, but I'm not going to go into it.
My car got repossessed. But when I went to get
my car, everything was there but the bag of letters.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So you don't know where they're at. We could like
start a whole podcast on finding these letters again. They
would be worse.
Speaker 4 (06:37):
Something tell me about that. But I, to be honest,
wouldn't sell them. I would like them back, but I
don't know where they are. They could have been thrown
out or burned, or maybe they're on the internet somewhere
I don't know, but or maybe somebody that didn't want
me to have them through them out that's a whole
other podcast though.
Speaker 3 (06:56):
Anyways, I think we.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
Have an idea find the letters. Was there any other
famous names that you were connected to back in the day,
I mean, you were a sexy dancer. I'm assuming that
Prince wasn't the only one to recognize this.
Speaker 4 (07:11):
Hmmm, Well, I don't know, because then, really I went
into the Ice Follies and you know, all my friends
and the Ice fallis would call me sexy dancer because
I knew the song was about me, and I still
have friends that call me that, and they wanted me
to make like hashtag and sexy dancer.
Speaker 3 (07:26):
I'm not going to do that.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
I'm not going to capitalize on Prince, you know, I'm
just not doing that. But no, I mean, you know,
just everyone knew me in the Ice show as being
the dancer, and Peggy Fleming needed to do like a
disco number and she was not, you know, she was
so graceful and beautiful, and so they had me teacher
like disco moves on the ice, you know, because she
(07:50):
was doing a back then there was disco, you know,
and so we became fast friends. But yeah, so I've
had some good experiences through my dancing.
Speaker 2 (08:01):
The good experience have led to your time on The
Golden Bachelor, which is where we're going to go. Now.
We're not going to stay in the Golden Bachelor long
because obviously that time has come and gone for you
and we now are getting to watch you in Paradise.
But you were a runner up on that season. How
would you describe your relationship with Gary now?
Speaker 4 (08:22):
I really don't have a relationship with Gary. If I
see him, we're fine. We are very cordial. I really
only want the best for him. And I did see
him at Grant's finale and he told me he had
a girlfriend, and I'm happy for him. You know, I
just want everyone to be happy really in our age.
(08:43):
I mean it's like TikTok. We all want to, you know,
find our person and get on with our life.
Speaker 3 (08:48):
So I'm happy for him.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Obviously, if you would have asked me that September after
the show, when I got home, you know, it was
hard for me and I did have some dark days,
but I, like always, I just picked myself up and
moved on.
Speaker 3 (09:05):
So I only want the best.
Speaker 2 (09:07):
Do you wish it would have played out differently now?
I mean you're a little bit removed. I remember speaking
to you right after the show, and it was this like, oh,
I wish it could have worked, kind of like feeling.
Now you see where your life has gone, you're removed
from that experience, do you still wish that you and
Gary could have maybe had a shot.
Speaker 4 (09:27):
You know, it's hard for me to say, Ben, because
I really feel like everything happens for a reason. And
I don't know. I mean, Teresa and I are alike
a lot, but we're very different too, and so you know,
I don't know if one person's a better fit with
somebody else versus whatever. But I think things happened the
(09:50):
way they were supposed to, and now that I'm very
far to move from it, I feel that it was
best that, you know, I was not the last girl standing.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
How long did the feelings like continue after the show
for you?
Speaker 4 (10:04):
Well, so, like I said, I had some bad, you
know times after the show because and then watching it
back was hard, and the whole thing, the finale was
very hard for me. I think after the finale, which
was like the end of November, you know, like that December,
I kind of like, you know, just kind of felt better.
(10:27):
And then Teresa invited me to their wedding, and by
the wedding I really was fine. I really just wanted
them to be happy, because, to be honest, we were
really good friends in the house and we're good friends
now and I love her to death and whatever. You
know what Again, I thought, well, it was meant to be.
You know, they're happy, they're getting married.
Speaker 2 (10:45):
So you know, on my resume I have that I
got to dance with the sexy dancer at the We did.
Speaker 4 (10:53):
We did, tear it up, then we crushed it.
Speaker 2 (10:56):
It was good. They said the music, who's the best
dancer here and who's the worst dance are here? Let's
put them together and make them go. Okay, they did,
and there was no music playing, so I just kind
of crushed it. I felt like we did great. Yeah,
me too, I was feeling myself.
Speaker 3 (11:10):
I thought it was our best moment together.
Speaker 2 (11:12):
Mm hmm. Gary's got a book coming out. If you're
mentioned in it, how will that make you feel? And
also are you going to read it?
Speaker 4 (11:20):
Hm? Well, I mean I have to be mentioned because
I was a big part of that show and a
big part of his journey. I think that I don't
feel like I did anything where he is going to
say something derogatory about me. So I'm okay. I think
(11:40):
with it. We had a great time. We laughed a lot.
You know, he broke my heart, but everything's okay. So
it's not like anything happened, you know, like I didn't
do anything, you know, obviously, it was just you know,
it's his journey, his decision. So I'm okay, and I'm
going to read it. I don't know, I have to see.
(12:02):
I'm not sure. I'm interested in seeing what he says,
so I probably will.
Speaker 2 (12:18):
One of the hopes when your season aired, and I
do believe it was kind of slammed the door wide
open for the future of the Golden Show to continue
and to thrive, and I hope it does. It's my hope.
I love that show. Yeah, is that they would have
a second season. Yeah, and they have a second season.
Mel Owens was announced as the Bachelor. He's been in
(12:40):
the press a ton since his announcement. Yeah, he had
some controversial age comments that kind of fire people up.
He had said some things pretty much requesting or demanding
in a lot of ways that the women that were
cast on his season b below sixty years old. Right,
What do you think about that? How do you feel
(13:01):
about those comments and does it keep you excited to
watch the season or are you kind of turned off?
Speaker 3 (13:07):
I'm turned off, and so.
Speaker 2 (13:09):
Many people are. And that's a bummer because the show
had a really easy, I know, ability to just like
put somebody in that people would love. Yeah, and Golden
should not be controversial.
Speaker 4 (13:19):
No, I mean, especially the lead. That's what I loved
about our show. I knew nothing about Gary he was.
I saw him as the world saw him on you know,
Good Morning America when they announced him. I didn't do
any deep dives. Some of the other women did, you know,
and they found out more about him. I didn't want
(13:39):
and I didn't want to know anything I saw him.
I want to go in there organically he was you know,
he was actually going, you're so young. I'm like, I'm young.
I'm sixty at that time, I was sixty five or
sixty four, and he goes, no, but you know, And
so I love that part about him, like he wasn't
looking for that young girl, you know, and young girl
(14:02):
sixty four. But but this melowens. I don't. I if
I was one of those women going on the show
right now, I think it'd be really hard because part
of the beauty of us, I especially well, I don't
I don't know, I don't try that hard. My hair
is curly, it's curly if I didn't have makeup. I mean,
I'm just not that type of girl. And so I
(14:24):
feel I feel worried for these women that have to
like are they gonna look okay?
Speaker 3 (14:29):
Are they you know?
Speaker 4 (14:30):
And part of being you know, a little bit older,
is you kind of just don't care?
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, it's I think. My personal opinion is I do
love the Golden Show. I do, and I love it
for reasons that are complete opposite of what he was saying.
I love the second chance, that love, chance of love.
I love the lack of controversial characters that we can
celebrate every single person that walks to the door, including
the lead. I like the innocence of dating later in life.
(15:00):
It is just just desire to be with somebody and
just connect with somebody and share life with some exactly.
I think I'm nervous that those comments will lead us
to feel very much like it's just another Bachelor season
with older contestants.
Speaker 4 (15:14):
I feel that, and you know, I and then sometimes
it's hard to watch, you know what.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
The Goldens. I mean, of course it was hard to
watch some of it.
Speaker 4 (15:22):
You know, I'm crying and this one, you know, but
but those were true emotions really, and and this I
just hope the women I saw the women, they look gorgeous,
you know, Hopefully they are confident with themselves and just
I want them to just if I could give them advice,
just be yourself, because at the end of the day,
(15:44):
you know, that's what this is all about, you know,
growing all just being comfortable in our own skin.
Speaker 3 (15:49):
And you know, so I.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
Am in the strong opinion I would have rather had
a Golden Lead be eighty years old and see that
like dynamic play out than I would to push it
back to make everybody really pretty and put together. I
would have rather seen yeah, like them go far further,
even in a different direction.
Speaker 3 (16:12):
Yeah, I agree, I agree with you.
Speaker 4 (16:16):
But you know, they had a chance maybe to get
another lead, and they chose not to. So I guess
people are going to tune in out of curiosity. You hope,
I hope, I mean, I hope, so for sure.
Speaker 2 (16:27):
Yeah, I hope. So now we're going to switch gears
to Paradise. You're obviously on Paradise, right, now as we speak,
we talked about Hakeem's statements. Do you have made it
clear up to this point you wouldn't have daten a
young and if they were younger than your children, which
I think was a tease going into the whole season,
(16:48):
was were people going to date younger or day older?
Speaker 3 (16:50):
Yeah?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Was there anyone you were hoping to meet before you
got on the beach, like anybody specifically when you got
on the plane, You're like, I hope they show up.
I hope they're there.
Speaker 4 (17:03):
Well, it's a little bit hard because a lot of
the Golden Bachelorette men were in relationships, and so you know,
I hadn't met most most of them. And I mean
Gary and I met already at the Grand's finale. I
had met Actually that's the only person I met. But
(17:26):
you know, like I've I've I've hung out with Jordan
a little bit, but he has a girlfriend. And I
hung out with Pascal a little bit as friends, you know,
but I'm too old for him. So you know, it's like,
so there wasn't like one particular person. But I thought
they were going to bring in men that we hadn't met.
I thought they were going to go into some guys
(17:49):
that had applied for Golden Bachelorette. Interesting and that didn't
get on the show because they have they had so many. Yeah,
and that's it was really our belief, not just mine,
a lot of us, you know, well all six it
was seven of us.
Speaker 3 (18:03):
We thought that was going to happen.
Speaker 2 (18:06):
That's been interesting. It would have increased a pool a.
Speaker 4 (18:08):
Little bit, it would have yeah, yeah, but I mean
and then April picking Jonathan like it's a double edged sword.
It was amazing, and I kind of wanted to do
the same thing at that point because you know, Natasha
took Gary because she got called first, so I really
didn't know who was going to pick, and so that
(18:29):
was a great thing because we all love Jonathan, we
all want him to have a second chance.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
I love it as well.
Speaker 4 (18:35):
But then she kind of cannibalized us with the Goldens,
like there's now there's one more guy going home.
Speaker 3 (18:42):
So it was just, yeah, it was kind of.
Speaker 2 (18:46):
Got messed up. Yeah, the right now as we're watching,
I think it's six women and three men. Yes, right,
it's a very like it's doubled amount of women.
Speaker 3 (18:59):
Yep.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
Me that the Goldens as we know them as we expect,
they're going to be dwindled down. It's gonna be harder
and harder to find relationships. We have seen you have
a spark with Gary, but Gary seems to be a
very hot commodity in Paradise. So the moment he walked
through the door or out of his car looking back
(19:20):
looking currently, how real was that spark? And then I
think the most interesting part of this that nobody's clarifying
is he is a hot commodity. You had the first
date with him that seemed to go well, but it
feels like he's never around to invest into your relationship
because he's always getting asked on dates.
Speaker 4 (19:42):
That is true. I felt like we had an amazing date.
Speaker 3 (19:48):
It was so much fun.
Speaker 4 (19:49):
We just laughed and danced in the rain, and I
felt very connected to him. And then they goes on
a date with Nancy, and of course Nancy gets to
choose whoever she wants. You know, again, I want everyone
to find their person, to be on their own journey
and whatever. So I was happy for her, but then
I'm like, okay, well no, you know, like it was
(20:13):
just yeah, it.
Speaker 3 (20:14):
A little it's a little it was a little different, and.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
I mean, Natasha gave him the rose, so you kind
of have this date, but then you don't get a
chance to validate or catch up on hair. Are you
feeling this too?
Speaker 1 (20:26):
M h?
Speaker 2 (20:26):
Was this good? Was this not? It feels like and
to nobody's fault, yeah, nobody. You know, nobody's expected to
be like, hey, let's wait for Leslie to figure this
out now.
Speaker 4 (20:35):
And I couldn't tell Tatasha what to do. I mean,
you know, that's why would I tell her who to
give a rose?
Speaker 2 (20:41):
Toe? But what were your feelings as you stood there?
I mean at this point as we're watching, you're on
your own Lowly Island. Now, we don't see you in
Gary together, we don't see you with anybody I know,
So how like, how are you feeling in these moments
as we watched the show?
Speaker 3 (20:56):
You know, it was a little I had such a
great time.
Speaker 4 (21:00):
I'm in paradise, and I didn't have the feelings and
go like I did on Golden matchro. I didn't cry,
I didn't, you know, but I did feel like Natasha
gave him the rose, and but I did tell him.
I just I said, I want you to know that
if I was called first, I would have given you
my rose because I wanted and I told Kim that too.
I didn't want him to get the wrong idea. I said, Kim,
(21:22):
I chose you because I feel like you add something
to the group. And you know, basically, I really didn't
give the rose to and you know, because I was
really frantic at that moment, and so I'm like, I
don't know who to choose. I don't know who to choose.
There's a lot of things going through my mind.
Speaker 3 (21:41):
So I don't know.
Speaker 4 (21:42):
I mean, it was it was difficult. It was difficult,
but you know, I again, I'm kind of comfortable in
my own skin. And if I go and I'm thinking,
you know, there's now Gary has three women that he
could choose from at the next Rose ceremony, which is
next week, and I was thinking, if he doesn't choose me,
(22:04):
I go home, and it's all right, Like I'm not
going home broken hearted. I'm not going you know, it's
I had a great time. I made amazing friends. I
came back with like eight new daughters.
Speaker 3 (22:15):
I mean, I love those girls so much.
Speaker 4 (22:17):
So I felt okay with it, and I packed my suitcase,
you know, and I was ready to go.
Speaker 2 (22:24):
We do see Kim, Captain Kim, he's very confident that
you're going to give him the rose, But we don't
really know why he's so confident. He's communicating that. It's like,
you guys have this thing that we're trying to catch
up with his viewers. We actually also see him read
you a poem, and be honest here, what was going
(22:46):
through your mind as he's reading you this poem? Also
then when you're watching his back seeing his confidence in
your relationship?
Speaker 4 (22:55):
Well, I don't obviously want to say anything bad about my.
Speaker 2 (22:58):
My, but you we will. You don't want to, but
you would if you just wanted to.
Speaker 4 (23:04):
Oh my god, So what's going through my mind? Is ova?
And also he's pretty good at poems. I write poems too,
but he's pretty good. Okay, that's number two. Number three
is I don't I saw him all day with that book,
and I kept thinking, what is he writing?
Speaker 3 (23:24):
What is is he writing? Journaling? And then I found
out he was working on that poem all day.
Speaker 4 (23:30):
Yeah, so I you know, I always feel bad and
I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings, and I wanted him,
and that's why I was honest with them. I did
actually say to him. I just want you to know
I would have given Gary my rose if I was
called first. But I wanted you here, you know, so
thank you so much, and you know, but we are
I just only feel like friends. So I try to
(23:53):
nip in the butt. Yeah, I don't know how it got.
I don't know how it got so confident. But I
don't know.
Speaker 2 (23:59):
But I mean he's still there to potentially give you
a rose this upcoming week, right, Yeah, so if Gary
choose somebody else, he is a backup play, he's your
backup plan.
Speaker 4 (24:12):
Well, yeah, he's my backup. But I didn't Okay, I
just want to clarify. I didn't play that game. I
didn't give a rose to someone who I thought was
going to give a.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
Help it that you're the sexy dancer like you can't
help it that two of the three guys are interested
in you. You don't play the game, but it's just
who you are there. You can't help it. It's it's
too bad. I feel bad for you that so many
people are, you know, gaining your You're gaining so many
people's attention. I mean, you're you're batting a pretty good percentage.
(24:46):
You're at sixty six point sixty six percent of the
guys in the group are interested.
Speaker 3 (24:53):
And that's because I'm sixty six point sixty two years old.
Speaker 2 (24:56):
No, that's fair too. We're gonna do some rapid fires,
but before we do, it looks like to us from
our show, we had a lot of questions going into Paradise,
(25:17):
and I think viewers had a lot of questions when
it comes to the Goldens being there alongside of the
Bachelor and Bachelorette cast. What was this going to be?
Was this going to get awkward and efe and weird
and chaotic or how is it going to intermingle? A
lot of confusion. I will say, sitting here in the seat,
I do now I really enjoyed having the Goldens there.
In fact, I think I enjoy watching them sometimes more
than I do the young'ins. It looks like the Goldens
(25:41):
are having so much fun, and TV can tell a
different story than the reality. So for the viewers, the
listeners of the show, were the Goldens having as much
fun as it seems on television?
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Unequivocally yes, really yes?
Speaker 2 (25:57):
Why do you think that was?
Speaker 4 (25:59):
Because like I kind of touched on before, we don't care,
we you know, we just want to have fun. We
we love each other. We may have an eye roll
here and there, but it's not malicious.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
You know. I love my roommate Kathy. She's great. No,
she doesn't interesting good for her, I know.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
Well I did have my AirPods that all night, but
there was a calmness to the room when she was sleeping.
So yeah, but no, I mean we just had so
much fun. And I can honestly say I had such
a good time. I will say that over and over
I had I'm not saying I didn't have fun on
(26:45):
Golden Bachelor, you know, but this was a completely different experience.
Speaker 2 (26:49):
So I've heard that so many times that Paradise is
actually like fun. It was fun, and the Bachelor sometimes
is very emotional and heavy, exactly tiring, tiring. I've heard
Paradise is a blast.
Speaker 3 (27:01):
I've never it's a blast.
Speaker 4 (27:02):
And you know, I guess it did help that we
had air conditioning in our rooms. Maybe if it was
at the old place. You know, WELLS is going, I
like the old place. I'm like, really, you rather not
have air conditioning? And you know he's laughing, but I no,
I I had the best time, and every morning I
woke up and you know what my view was the
(27:23):
beautiful beach and Dale, Jonathan Jeering, me and Brian all
working out. Yeah, and I'm like doing my pilates and
I'm just staring at him. I'm like, you know, hey,
I'm not touching, but I can look.
Speaker 2 (27:41):
You can look. Yeah, I'm looking. Those dudes are just insane.
Yeah they look they look like they worked out every day. Yeah,
good for them.
Speaker 3 (27:48):
The best line though, of the whole for me. I
laughed so hard.
Speaker 4 (27:51):
So I was sitting next to some of the guys
Keith and and and Gary at the bar and one
of them ordered a beer and so well goes fourth
beer and I'm like, what of the day or the hour?
And he goes of my whole time doing this, I said,
what he goes that these guys look like they have
a carb. I was laughing so hard. I just went,
(28:15):
oh my god, this is crazy. Then they're drinking rose,
you know.
Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, that's a great behind the scenes because he's not
probably wrong. No, like people come on the show and
they're especially paradise you'r shirtless all the time? Yeah that
I bet in his history every single person's like I
can't have a beer that's gonna make bloat my stuff
exactly like I'm drinking rose and margarite.
Speaker 3 (28:36):
Wait then the gold has come around.
Speaker 4 (28:37):
They don't care. We're having Martini's old fashions. Everything.
Speaker 2 (28:42):
Load us up. Okay, the rapid fires?
Speaker 3 (28:45):
Okay.
Speaker 2 (28:47):
What's something that happened in Paradise or happened to you
or anybody else that you didn't anticipate before you went down.
Speaker 4 (28:54):
I didn't anticipate being so welcomed by the group, especially
the girls. I mean for me, because I just literally
they just I just love them so much. I love
every one of them, And that was kind of shocking
to me. I was a little nervous about that.
Speaker 2 (29:11):
Yeah, if there's one couple that exists right now in
Paradise that we all know of based on where we're
at in the season, who are you most rooting for?
Speaker 4 (29:20):
Oh well, I'm rooting for a lot of them, but
I'm rooting for Spencer and Jess.
Speaker 2 (29:26):
Yeah, Spencer and oh yeah, that's a very solid relationship.
Speaker 3 (29:29):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (29:30):
How would you sum up Paradise in three words?
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Fun? Fun, fun, It's perfect.
Speaker 2 (29:36):
One last rapid fire. As you're watching it back, do
you regret anything that happened in Paradise that you were
a part of.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
No, I didn't do anything that my kids would be
embarrassed of.
Speaker 2 (29:45):
So you don't wish you would have taken a body
shot off of a young and I do not correct
or let them take a body shot off of you.
Speaker 3 (29:51):
Correct.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Okay, good final question. We're seeing teasers now for the
money part of Paradise. Last week we got bigger hint
that that looks like the money is coming into play
and there's games going to be played, competition is going
to be had. Were as viewers still getting used to
this new Paradise and now we added in this whole
(30:12):
new wrinkle. The money is going to change things no
matter what it does. It looks like it's a lot
of money. Yeah, with what you can say, why would
a viewer still be invested into the show knowing that
everything's about to change And for some critics, including myself,
(30:33):
it feels like money is going to take away from
the romantic side of Paradise.
Speaker 4 (30:38):
I think that you Just to be honest with you,
I'm just going to preface this by saying I don't
know how it ended, okay, but I would say that
by the money might enhance some of these relationships. But
I feel like a few of these relationships are really strong,
and I don't think the money will matter.
Speaker 2 (31:00):
It's just going to be an added benefit.
Speaker 3 (31:02):
That's what I think.
Speaker 2 (31:04):
You know. Do you like that money was involved.
Speaker 3 (31:07):
I don't really have an opinion on that.
Speaker 4 (31:09):
To be honest, all of us, the Goldens, I meant
we could have cared. I mean that wasn't like we
didn't go, oh my god, we got a window.
Speaker 3 (31:16):
I mean we could. You know.
Speaker 4 (31:17):
We're like, we want the youngins to win, Like you know,
who wouldn't want all that money, but you know, I
mean they're starting their lives out and all that stuff.
We that didn't enter my mind for a second.
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Really, Leslie, is there anything I didn't ask you that
you want to share?
Speaker 3 (31:34):
Well, I'd like to ask you something.
Speaker 2 (31:36):
You can ask me anything.
Speaker 3 (31:37):
When are we going to dance again today tonight?
Speaker 2 (31:40):
Well? No, I'm leaving.
Speaker 3 (31:41):
I know you're leaving. You got out of that one.
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I got out of that one. It would be a
dream we should have last night. I know I had
the perfect the perfect moment. I mean the river, I know, beautiful.
Speaker 4 (31:53):
House, this place by the way, Tahoe is like my Literally,
I have been here for once, but this is my
new favorite place.
Speaker 2 (32:02):
It's incredible. Yeah, the house that we're in that verbo
is available on verbo. It's absolutely spectacular. I jumped in
the river last night out in front of the house.
It felt like a cold plunge.
Speaker 3 (32:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (32:15):
I came up by the fire, had a cocktail. We
got the chat.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
Yeah, you look like you were pretty spent though I.
Speaker 2 (32:22):
Was pretty tired. The cold plunge really wipe me out relaxed,
and it's also just the relaxing setting of being in
the pine trees and being at the rivers.
Speaker 3 (32:31):
It is beyond gorgeous.
Speaker 2 (32:32):
Leslie, thanks for joining us. We cannot wait to continue
to watch you in Paradise.
Speaker 3 (32:35):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (32:37):
Thanks for sharing the insights that you could and did. Also,
I want to find these letters. So if anybody's listening,
hashtag find the Letters. Find the Letters. That's a good hashtag.
That's not capitalizing on Prince, that's helping our show. This
has been the Almost Famous podcast. I'm Ben Until next
time You've been.
Speaker 1 (32:55):
Leslie followed the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
on iHeart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Lauren Zima
Chris Harrison
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