October 16, 2025 • 34 mins
Ben and Ashley are back to recap another week of Mel Owens’ season of The Golden Bachelor!
Peg’s unicycle ride stole the show, and Ben shares what he really thinks about how the franchise handles the spiritual dates.
Ben and Ashley are wondering…is there a “real Mel” that production is hiding from us??
But Mel may have redeemed himself by baring his soul at the rose ceremony. Listen to find out what this means for the rest of the season!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with on our radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hey, welcome back to the Almost Famous podcast. We're here
to break down the Golden Bachelor with one of my
favorite people in the whole entire world.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Ashley.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Oh my gosh, no way me I'm here.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, you know, I was just talking about this yesterday.
How just tremendous it is to do this with you
week after week after week.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
One day it won't happen, and I'm going to be
so sad and it's going to be so.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Weird, like we get fired.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
No, Like I'm talking like ten years from now, Like
in ten years from now, the odds are yeah, we will
be doing this. Yeah, it's like an actual eighteen year
long podcast on The Bachelor, which.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
We might have to like evolve by then into something new,
but I hope we are because the dynamics here are
one where Ashley and I can discuss, disagree, agree, and
still absolutely love each other at the end of the day.
(01:11):
I think today is going to be one of those
agreement days. Here's what we got into in the past, Ashley.
Let's just preface this off the top. We had a
season of The Bachelor, and I think I think fans
agreed with us. It was a pretty rough season of
The Bachelor. You know, three years ago, there were some
tough seasons back to back that we just had a
(01:32):
tough time breaking down. We got way too negative though,
I think that was our mistake, but just got too negative,
because the truth is, people listen to this and they
watch the show not to then be dumped on with negativity.
So I'm only saying this because I think you and
I both could come into this today and be really
(01:52):
frustrated with the Golden Bachelor up to this point and
also this season and this last episode. So let's try
our best to highlight the things that were great and
then at the end, maybe we'll break down the things
that are frustrating to us.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Can we do that?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Oh, we can do that. And Ben saying this because
I was like saying certain things before we started the podcast.
So I was like, then there's some things, there's some things.
We'll talk about it later, Okay, Ben, Yes, let's talk
about some highlights. My highlight of the episode is Cindy,
what about you?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think Cindy is amazing. I do and I actually
am enjoying let's say this. I'm enjoying this cast.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
More and more.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
My problem, though, to back that up, is I feel
like we haven't got to know enough of the cast.
I think the cast could have really carried this season
if we got to highlight them a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
But we're just kidding. I felt I feel like snippets.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Maybe it's just me, but do you feel like you
know one person really well?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Watch it? I'm like, what's her backstory? What's her backstory?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Like?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
I don't remember anything about anyone, and I don't know
why because I remember on Gary season I felt like
I kind of like knew everybody's situation, like were they divorced,
how many do they have kids? Was it a death
of the husband? So like I kind of knew my
empathy level going into each sit down and hear I'm
(03:26):
just like, oh wait, what's her story? Like I like
her energy, but I don't really know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Can you pinpoint, maybe from your perspective, being on the show,
being part of the show, being around the show, what's missing?
Because I would say I agree with you. I also
felt that way about Jone's season. I knew I could
name six guys right now from Jone's season very easily
and tell you who they are, what they're about. And
I think I could have done that right after the
(03:52):
season was over, right, Yeah. What is missing or what
is different about how this new kind of production company
is producing this show compared to the past.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Well, I feel like we used to have a little
bit more substantive conversations between the women in the house,
like they're little chats on the couch. Those one a
little bit deeper. And I don't even know how they're
doing this differently because it's the same amount of time
because there are forty minute episodes then too, so it's
(04:25):
not a time thing and that's interesting. What are they
replacing it with? I really don't know. And Mel is
obviously giving less two he's just not really a vocalizer.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I think though the lead is the lead, right, they'll
protect the lead, They'll make the lead be who they
want them to be.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I think it's less time amongst the women, and I
think those are really important conversations. There's usually tears, you know,
they feel safe, they're not trying to impress, and so
it is those conversations one on one with the women
in the house that we're missing. This year also, we
had a cast. Let's just compare it to The First
(05:10):
Bachelor again with the Kathy's and the Susans. But I
could name moments from that season, like with Susan or
with people talking about how they had terrible gas because
of Susan's meatballs.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
There was a lot more. It was a lot more
humor driven.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
And this doesn't feel like there's that humor. I'm not
watching this with that heartwarming, heartfelt moments, And I think
I have to ask, is that me? Do you think
that's common? Is am I missing it? These ladies just
seem like they're a little bit more reserved. But as
a result of all of this, what we get is
this kind of week before hometowns, and we aren't necessarily
(05:51):
all in on anybody. The person I would argue we
know the best is Nicole just because of maybe her
own personal vulnerability and her her ability to say things
even if we agree or disagree.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
But at least she's talking.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
No, No, I think we know Cindy the most. Cindy's
being like super emotional, but we know we know Nicole's
motive very well. She definitely is a classic case. If
not there for the right reasons. I will say that
there's some ladies that are still here. We are in
the top six week and like, I don't remember Monthly Cheryl.
(06:30):
Then I love Carol Carol. I kind of I'm glad
she left because there's absolutely no chemistry between the two
of them. And I was wondering whether or not they
were trying to get her to be the next Golden Bachelorette,
because I think she's so pretty, and I think they
were probably like, you have a better chance of getting
(06:51):
that title if you were to leave right now. They
do that sometimes, So we'll see about her. But Ben,
I guess we know dead a little bit. To answer
your question, Debbie, you know she doesn't. She's never been
married before. That's a storyline that we do remember.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, we don't necessarily know why, but yeah, well we
don't know much of why, and she never had kids,
not that you know. So yeah, it's it's interesting. But
let's start the episode out with one of the best parts.
I do think Peg is an absolute character. I cannot
wait to see her hometown. I cannot wait to see
(07:29):
how she interacts with the other firefighters. She's on a
unicycle where she got an unicycle I have no idea,
but she's on a.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Unicycle to open up this episode. So my initial.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Take on this episode right from the beginning is this
is gonna be fun. Like she's on a unicycle, let's
get crazy, let's do some weird stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
But I think peg, if you're.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Around her, probably has a similar personality to the Kathy's
and the Susans. I think they would let her unleash.
She could become like a fan favorite just because of
the comments, the commentary and the stuff that she's willing
to say.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Yeah, I see that. So then when do you think
about the Shaman date?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
You know, it's tough for me. I think I'm not
against this kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
There's a lot of it. I think they overdo the
spiritual dates. We get a lot of them on Paradise.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
We do, you know, I think I come I personally
and this is my own thing. I don't have any
type of feeling other than I would not probably enjoy
this date because of my faith tradition.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I just don't know enough.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
I practice meditation, contemplation, prayer in a way that's towards Jesus,
and that is my only way of doing that. And
so I think My only take, and this might be unfair.
My only take is you're asking people to participate in
something that they maybe feel very strongly like one of
(09:03):
their core values in life, that they don't necessarily agree
with or feel comfortable participating in. They're asking them to
do this, which I think is unfair for the show
to do.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I get, I totally understand what you're saying, but like,
if we break it down, it's like they kind of
did a sound bath, which is kind of like meditation.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
I mean, like that doesn't make me feel weird.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah, And the yoga, I actually feel like oftentimes they
do connect deeply during with the whole eye contact and
the silence and all of that.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And it could just be because of, you know, my
profession outside of this, I speak at churches so often,
and I am so ingrained into the just meeting with people,
asking questions, hearing about their faith journey, hearing why they
believe what they believe. When when he was taught this
(09:53):
is going to be so mean.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
No, no, no, I think I know where you're going.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I think the thing that Mel has lacked all season again,
I don't know this guy. I can't say if I
like him or not I don't know him. But the
thing that has lacked this whole season is his ability
to go deep. His depth has been a question of mine,
his vulnerability. Does he really want to be there or not?
Why is he doing this? And I've witnessed these episodes
and that's the question that keeps coming to my mind.
(10:18):
And so then we get into one of these opportunities
that depth is almost a necessity in the midst of
having conversations around faith and your belief systems. Yet it
felt so surface level because the only thing we got
from him was I'm a very spiritual person. Right away
(10:38):
when that was said, my first response was I want
to ask him if I was one of the women
or if I was a friend of his, if you're
having dinner, is what do you mean by that?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Like what does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's not a place of judgment, Like, hey, I'm going
to try to push you to believe what I believe,
but let's explore this idea of what do you mean
when you say you're a very spiritual person? And we
don't get it, and it's like, well, this is another
moment of surface level conversations about a topic that is
not surface level at any means, it is a vital
conversation to have in the midst of a relationship.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
When these ladies are talking about how they're falling for him,
I'm truly like, why because of what we've seen. I've
seen nothing, I've heard, nothing to fall in love with. Like,
I feel like, are they just in the bachelor bubble
right now? Are they just like a physically attracted to him,
(11:33):
super handsome guy, because like, I get those two elements
to fall in love this fast because what we've seen
from him is like I you guys must be getting
to know him much more than us. He must be
way chattier than he appears on TV, because there's just
(11:53):
there's not much of a personality there.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
If that's the case, right, then that's a failure on
the show's part because they aren't showing that well.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Our producer just wrote a little note and I am
interested to hear your take on this. She said that
I feel like all the women are opening up to
him and he's not engaging or sharing, so they think
he's a good listener. See maybe generationally, I think, like, man,
this guy's not like we're not connecting because I am
(12:22):
he's not saying anything of interest to me, he's not
even being doesn't even seem like he's there emotionally.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Very much well as a bachelor.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Yeah, as a bachelor, you know, like when they're telling
him stories, he's like, yeah, all that must have been tough. Like,
I don't feel like it's coming from the heart. But
maybe these women like really like the fact that he's
like an old fashioned listener.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Here's a sign of a listener. And I think it
is shown.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
He's not an active listener.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Season after season for the lead bachelor or bachelor. And
if we're missing this, if it's not being shown, then
the show is doing Mel a disservice. If Mel is
doing it, then he's not helping out the show. But
every season, and I would say Nick did a great
job at this.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
When he was the bachelor. You would hear.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Somebody explain something to him, a story, a moment, an emotion,
and he would reference that when they were together the
next time. Right, So not only I don't think it
was meant to be a reminder to the audience. I
don't think any bachelor, bachelor it's there woul being like
this will be helpful for the audience to hear this again.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
No, I don't think that's what's going on.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It allows you to be more comfortable, like, oh, hey,
he's remembering.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Me, and he's showing that he actually was listening, Like
I actually heard what you said. I know it's chaos
around us. I know I'm dating a lot of people,
but the thing you said stood out to me enough
that I am going to talk to you about it again.
I'm going to follow up on that, I'm going to
ask another question about it, or I'm just going to say, hey,
last time we talked, it was really nice that you
shared with me x y Z. That shows to me
(13:59):
you listen, you heard, you remember. It's as simple as this.
Maybe you don't remember. It's as simple as asking the producer, Hey,
what did we talk about last time? Yeah, help me
out with that. You take a whole you have a
whole note pad of stuff we've talked about.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Help me out.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Remind me what we talked about last time. If anything,
it shows an intention to care. We don't get that
this season.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
I know, like, I'm so sorry to say this, and like,
I'm sorry Tamel if it's different in real life. To me,
just makes no sense why they would have picked him
to be the Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think it was a thought of he's so handsome,
his resume is so good, he's wealthy. This guy is
going to be a homework.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
There a lot of wealthy, good looking guys in their
sixties are single. I feel like maybe I'm out looking
in that demographic, but maybe maybe it's more challenging than
I thought. I also just wanted to add that I
do think, after this short conversation about it, I do
think that these women are being taken by the bachelor
(15:00):
bubble and his physical appearance. I really do think that,
like you're you can fall in love with a lot
of a lot of people that you wouldn't normally fall
in love with in that bubble.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's it's yeah, I mean I think I was. I
think I was a beneficiary.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
No, I knew you were going to say that. Of
course Ben would take it like that, so should be
going to the details here. The Cheryl and Mel party,
they did a cold plunge and I was I'd be like,
(15:40):
this is my greatest nightmare. You know, I've never done
a cold plunge. I cannot do it. I cannot and
I will not do it. I am cold when it's
sixty eight in the house, I have a heating pad
on at sixty eight. So that just tells you how
sensitive I a to the question.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
She kind of got screwed, right, I mean, yeah, all
these dates are meant to bring you together, Like trick
yoga felt like to me, one wild choice. Anytime you're
going to, you know, be on national television with that,
that's hey, you know what, he's agreed to show his
whole self.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Were you looking at something that I wasn't looking at?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
No? No, okay, I've been a part of the show.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Oh so you're saying that possibly there would be a
bonu or alert?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, okay, Yeah, you can't help it, right, I mean
it's been a thing.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
So yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Tantric yoga is like sensual brings you together. A cold
plunge just pretty much makes you suffer, opposite of the opposite.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
How does that at all bring a couple closer? I
don't know. It could be a good story to tell.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
But some of the other ones, like the Nicole Day
obviously was one where there was an opportunity to get
closer during that date.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
What was the other things they did?
Speaker 4 (16:55):
They do a shaman card reading with Nicole, and he
asked to where she sees him herself in five years. Right,
So she's saying at this moment that she would like
to work on her Instagram and she wants to write
a cookbook. And then she also said that she would
like to have a kiss on camera. It would mean
a lot to her. Oh my gosh, this was like
(17:18):
the most unbelievable moment because the twenty and thirty somethings,
they know not to say these things on camera.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It is a big moment for the show though, because
up until this point we only know Melan Nicole to
have this connection physical physical. This is I mean, if
this is the first time they're actually talking about something
and his like red flags go up, I'm surprised because
they've spent so much time together. I think my question
(17:50):
during this was what happened because all we get in
an explanation is that he heard things that make him
I think he said.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Contemplate that, like it is maybe what Robin was referring
to in last week's episode.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And that's all we get, and then you know she
goes home with the into this.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Well, it was enough for me, it made sense full circle.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
I'm saying you've seen all of it up until this point.
You're like, yeah, this all makes sense for him. They've
been all in front Runner from the beginning, and then
all of a sudden they have one day where they
actually talk about stuff and he asks her kind of
what she's into, and she's like, I'm trying to monetize
my Instagram and I want to do a cookbook, and
he's like, there's things that stood out to me, and
(18:34):
then all of a sudden she goes home. I feel
like we've missed something. I feel like we've we didn't
get the full circle moment what I really wanted from
mel as an explanation of him saying, Hey, I am
very worried about people that come on this show that
want to get famous, and at sixty plus years old,
(18:55):
monetizing a social media is a pursuit that feels not impossible,
but maybe just not fulfilling. It doesn't have a it
doesn't have the richness that we're looking for at this
season of life. Have you ever read the book Falling
Upward by Richard.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Rhar I didn't read it, but I know of it.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, it's a book on aging, and so it's a
beautiful book. That you should read twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties.
It's a book on aging and what like each chapter
of life looks like. And what Richard Rhor would argue
is once you reach that stage kind of middle age
and on, you are a place of peace, of wisdom,
(19:36):
of guidance, of like focus. You can start to pour
into the generation behind you. But also you can continue
to make the impact with the knowledge that you have
where you are currently. It felt like this conversation lacked
all of that because it was this monetization of an instagram, which,
(19:56):
as you said, thirty year olds know not to say why.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Because's about law.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
It's a bad look.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
It's a bad look to say that you could want it,
you could desire it. But if that is like the
main focus, it feels like our priorities are far misplaced
from why you go on this show, which is to
understand yourself better to possibly fall in love.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Yes, can we also make fun of the fact that
she said that her dad still handles her finances, So
I'm picturing a ninety year old man just crunching numbers.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I think we're getting a sneak peek into a lot there.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Yeah, and so it was.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I mean, it makes sense on her for her to
go home, It does. It makes sense on why this
isn't like maybe the next you know step for her
and her relational life.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Do we know if she's been married previously?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
No, she I think she got divorced twice, divorced twice,
and she's looking for that, you know, next final love.
She goes home at the end of this. So Mel
was red flags popped up. I wanted more from Nicole.
I thought we had a an opportunity for a two
on one here that could have been like a Robin.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Producer Ben. That would have been so good. But you
know why I don't think they did that because I
don't think Mel would have made a really big deal
out of it, you know. I think that like he
would have been like, oh, you know what, whoops, she's
in it for social media fame.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
I guess that's not for me. I'll let her go.
I don't think he had any strong feelings beyond that,
And he does acknowledge when he sends her home that
it was like a physical thing. I mean, not to
jump ahead, but let's jump ahead just for a second.
When she does get in the car. She holds his
face and make sure that he nods when she says
(21:46):
the bitchiest thing when you end up breaking up with
whoever you end up with, you come to me, okay.
And then she waited for him to nod. She's like, okay,
you hear me, Okay Bye. It was craziness. It was
good entertainment though.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, and then she says that maybe you know, she
doesn't notice next, but maybe they can make her the
next Golden Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Do you think that's a possibility.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
No, she was a good villain that they could have
made a little bit more villainous. But I know this
is I mean, I'm sure she had more things that
she said on camera, but I know it's the Golden Bachelor,
and they try not to make a lot of drama
or a lot of villains.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I'm glad. I don't want that.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
In fact, I I'd love to stay away from that always.
But it did feel like, you know, when you looked
at the headlines that last week, Nicole was the focus
of the headlines because of the thing she said. Joan
and I talked about it, and it was I mean,
I think Joan mentioned it personally it was offensive for
her to say that the last clast wasn't that attractive.
I know she's come out publicly and apologized for that,
(22:50):
and I'm not going to hold that against her, but
I'm sure there was things said that did make you go,
this is confusing on how this is the Golden Show.
This is not what this is supposed to be. You're
supposed to be Why past this pettiness, in this infighting.
You're supposed to be here to have a good time,
to make up memories and to potentially find your forever partner.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Should we talk about Carol and how she's self eliminated.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, I think it's an important moment this season. She
self eliminates because she just doesn't feel like they know
each other right.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
I think that she's the only one who has clarity
right now. I think she's the only one that gets it.
I also think that it's always a great thing. I
think she's old enough and you know, mature enough to
acknowledge that the chemistry wasn't there, that she probably felt
uncomfortable bringing him home to a family when she never
had a one on one, that she really never had
(23:56):
an in depth conversation with him. I think that she
really could be Bachelorette if they do decide to do
another Golden Bachelorette. She's so pretty and I found her
to be very relatable, even though like we have decades
between us. I felt like the way that she acted
on the show is kind of the way that I
felt like she just is kind of like, oh my gosh,
(24:17):
like I'm nervous, and she was always admitting when she
was feeling uncomfortable, and I guess I have a sweet
spot for that.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
It's a it was it was a good moment. I
think we digged a lot of clarity. I also think
some foresight there is when you get with family, they're
not going to hold back on the questions. This is
weird to them. This is odd to them. They're going
to ask you questions like we see in the previews,
do you love this person?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
Oh my god, that'd be so weird for her to
be asked, Yeah, I've.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Never had a date with them, Like, I don't know
if I even know this guy. Like that's a very
weird scenario to be put in. And so I don't
know if she's a fan of the show, if she
knew what things were going, but whatever the case was,
she definitely made the right decision and by exiting after
she knew that she wasn't going to get a one
on one this week.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
Yeah, definitely. So let's go into Cindy's one on one.
Cindy is just absolutely smitten and I can't help. Oh
my god, you guys, I'm just I'm just pounding this
poor guy. That's what she said. But you know what
I mean, she she is better than him, Yes and no.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think I think the only argument I have there
is she's smitten for a specific reason. We don't necessarily
get why, though, right, we get that, you know, I
think she's into him, into the experience. We don't get
the depth of what in him she sees. But she's
all about it, which can go one of two ways.
It can either be the most beautiful, great thing ever
(25:53):
and it works, or this experience has got her up
in the in the vacuum that is the and she's
just head over heels and a hopeless romantic and she
actually doesn't know what she's saying. I don't know if
we know yet, And this date doesn't really point us,
I think to much more clarity.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
But thank you, Ben, Yes, I didn't get any more
clarity as to why she has the feelings that she
has during this date. I do, I do think that
she does feel something though that's like, I think it's
beyond bachelor bubble for her. I don't know why. There's
something unspoken between the two of them in my opinion
(26:32):
for her.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So do you would you say at this point she's
your front runner?
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Oh? Yeah, I think if she doesn't win, I think
that it would be absolutely astonishing, especially the way this
show is edited.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, it's uh, it does feel like it's pushing in
that direction, and it feels like it is. If there's
one thing we're gonna get from the season, it might
be that beautiful story kind of coming full circle. The
date ends, they go horseback riding in Griffith Park.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
They do open up a little bit. She opened up about.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Her divorce and how it's been hard for her to
get close to people since then. She's still communicated, which
she has for weeks now. She's shocked by how strongly
she feels for mel Uh and he I think, as
you said, is reciprocating those feelings and as a result,
when it comes down to the rose ceremony, even though
Mel is nervous and anxious about everything. He keeps Cindy,
(27:24):
Peg and Debbie to go on hometowns, which means Cheryl
and Nicole are going home.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Should we talk about their face times with their family?
I also thought Nicholes was telling she was just facetiming
with a friend.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
To me, that said she hasn't built a family of
her own, which kind of is.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Sad, And it's like, is he hot? Yeah, he's so
hot exactly. It's like, yeah, I mean, it's what it is.
I know they did that on purpose. I'm sure Cindy
probably said he's hot too to her daughter.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
They definitely are making Nicole out to be like a
teen and all.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, you know, it feels like that's kind of the edit.
Now if that's true or not, we'd have to talk
to Nicole or talk to somebody from this season to
figure out if that's actually what was, Like, what's happening?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
But her lemon bars from was that last week or
this week?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Last last week was lemon bars? But he did mention
I think Mel said I like her because she like
made me lemon bars.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
Lemon bars. That sounded frank and bitten to me. That
sounded like he was, like, I like her because and
then they put in the sound bite whereas she made
me lemon bars. Absolutely know she's one of my favorites
because she made me lemon bars.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I mean that's where we're at. We have a really
tough going.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
That was so funny.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, oh my goodness, Yeah that was wild. He just
reminded me of that moment. The facetimes of the family,
I think is a good added touch. Yeah, that's it too, goodness, Ashley. Like,
I watched my own season and I watched gary season,
and I remember us talking about it, and like there
were moments where I was emotional, like tears, not like bawling,
(29:07):
but just like definitely so sweet. I think the show
wanted this to be that like the FaceTime moments for us.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
I thought it was like a good out of touch.
I didn't feel emotional at all.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
No, it made me feel a little bit more like, Okay,
I'd love to see their family and how they talk
to their family, because like it, obviously you can tell
a lot about somebody when they're talking to the person
that they're most comfortable with. Yeah, and I think again,
like when I think back on the quick scene. It
was Nicole for the fact that it was teenagerish, and
it was Cindy because of the way that she spoke
to her daughter about it just being like seeming so
(29:44):
deep for her. And then I guess with Cheryl because
Cheryl is like, it's more than just like yeah. But
then Cheryl goes home.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Then Cheryl goes home. I was gonna say, Cheryl, Nicole
or go home. We talked about Nicole's exit. Cheryl is
walked out by men.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Mel.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
He does get choked up in this moment saying goodbye
to Cheryl.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
They kiss goodbye.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
That's not common I think on this show that there's
a kiss to say goodbye. He does show emotion here.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
I think it is on Golden Ben. The Goldens are different.
They're like, oh, such a great time. Yeah, thanks on
Batchelor Beelorette. Could you imagine can you just dumped me?
Let's make out one more time?
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, this will be fun.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
We do see Mel get emotional, though, which I think
is a moment for us that maybe foreshadows how these
next few weeks will be. As I've said since the beginning,
the best thing for Mel, the best thing for the show,
the best thing for the season. They don't have to
force it, but that he shows emotion at some point,
that he shows that he cares at some point. And
(30:49):
this is really the first moment we have where I
think he's he's clearly showing that he's cared and that
he's invested into this, and I personally found it a
very good moment for the show.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Yeah, I completely agree. Him walking the two of them
out showed something.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Here's a question I have for you, as obviously we
get down to hometowns.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
We only have a few weeks left of this season.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
This is the quickest season of all time. I know
that there are short episodes and that it's also short weeks, but.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Wow, it's really wild. Will we have a tell all?
Do you think?
Speaker 4 (31:21):
No? I don't think we had a tell all for
either of the other ones? Do it? Oh? Maybe we
did for Gary's, Maybe we did for both of them.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yeah, I mean I don't think there will be either.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
I'm assuming I'm hopeful that the almost famous podcast will
get brought back in to do that reunion like we
did with Paradise. That was great. We had a lot
of fun with that, and so maybe that's how they're
going to do it again, is the reunion will be
podcasts on a podcast form, and that we can get
involved in it in some way because there's a lot
(31:51):
of questions I think that we have about this season,
about the contestants, about mel.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
So we'll see, we'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Actually, there's a montage at the end with the hometown visits.
PEG takes Meil to the firehouse. Cindy is crying and
saying she's missing something. I don't exactly know what she's
missing there, and then we kind of see Meil just
get absolutely hounded by family members we can't tell who
(32:23):
yet on what his intentions are, if he loves somebody
or not, And we see him saying, I don't know.
I don't know if that's like a clipped in moment
or if he's actually had his response, which would be
a wild response.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
I think that's his response. But I'm just going along
with the fun right now. Yeah, Ben, My one thing
to say about Cindy crying and saying is it about
missing something? I feel like perhaps that is her family
being like, are you freaking sure mom? That you're so sure?
(32:57):
And then she's like, am I missing something here? Why?
Does everybody else love him the way that I love him?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
That could be? That could be. Hometowns are fun.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
It's one of our favorite weeks no matter what, no
matter what leans up to it. It's fun to tease,
it's fun to be a part of. And I think
the family dynamics are always so vital for us understanding
the contestants more.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
We'll see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Anything else to add, I mean it honestly, this season
so far has been tough to break down for me,
Ashley because.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
Hey, Ben, if you guys can't tell, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
And it's like it's it's kind of it's tough because
it's just not the investment that I wanted to have.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
It's kind of like you and I are getting on
here and we're like, so, what are your thoughts about
something that there's not really anything thought provoking about.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Yeah, it's tough, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
And the thing that frustrates me is I love the
Golden Idea, the concept in the first two seasons of
the show so much. I do, I did I want,
And it's just it's so frustrating to me that so
quickly the thing that made the first two seasons work.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Has now felt so far gone. Is it salvageable? I
think so.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Is it salvageable this season? I don't know, But that's
where we're at. We're entering the hometowns. We'll be here
still breaking it down the best we can. So until
next time, I've been Ben, I've.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
Been Ashley Seya.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with on our radio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
Hey, welcome back to the Almost Famous podcast. We're here
to break down the Golden Bachelor with one of my
favorite people in the whole entire world.
Speaker 3 (00:15):
Ashley.
Speaker 4 (00:16):
Oh my gosh, no way me I'm here.
Speaker 2 (00:19):
Yeah, you know, I was just talking about this yesterday.
How just tremendous it is to do this with you
week after week after week.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
One day it won't happen, and I'm going to be
so sad and it's going to be so.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
Weird, like we get fired.
Speaker 4 (00:37):
No, Like I'm talking like ten years from now, Like
in ten years from now, the odds are yeah, we will
be doing this. Yeah, it's like an actual eighteen year
long podcast on The Bachelor, which.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
We might have to like evolve by then into something new,
but I hope we are because the dynamics here are
one where Ashley and I can discuss, disagree, agree, and
still absolutely love each other at the end of the day.
(01:11):
I think today is going to be one of those
agreement days. Here's what we got into in the past, Ashley.
Let's just preface this off the top. We had a
season of The Bachelor, and I think I think fans
agreed with us. It was a pretty rough season of
The Bachelor. You know, three years ago, there were some
tough seasons back to back that we just had a
(01:32):
tough time breaking down. We got way too negative though,
I think that was our mistake, but just got too negative,
because the truth is, people listen to this and they
watch the show not to then be dumped on with negativity.
So I'm only saying this because I think you and
I both could come into this today and be really
(01:52):
frustrated with the Golden Bachelor up to this point and
also this season and this last episode. So let's try
our best to highlight the things that were great and
then at the end, maybe we'll break down the things
that are frustrating to us.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
Can we do that?
Speaker 4 (02:08):
Oh, we can do that. And Ben saying this because
I was like saying certain things before we started the podcast.
So I was like, then there's some things, there's some things.
We'll talk about it later, Okay, Ben, Yes, let's talk
about some highlights. My highlight of the episode is Cindy,
what about you?
Speaker 2 (02:26):
I think Cindy is amazing. I do and I actually
am enjoying let's say this. I'm enjoying this cast.
Speaker 3 (02:36):
More and more.
Speaker 2 (02:37):
My problem, though, to back that up, is I feel
like we haven't got to know enough of the cast.
I think the cast could have really carried this season
if we got to highlight them a little bit more.
Speaker 3 (02:50):
But we're just kidding. I felt I feel like snippets.
Speaker 2 (02:52):
Maybe it's just me, but do you feel like you
know one person really well?
Speaker 4 (03:00):
Watch it? I'm like, what's her backstory? What's her backstory?
Speaker 1 (03:03):
Like?
Speaker 4 (03:03):
I don't remember anything about anyone, and I don't know
why because I remember on Gary season I felt like
I kind of like knew everybody's situation, like were they divorced,
how many do they have kids? Was it a death
of the husband? So like I kind of knew my
empathy level going into each sit down and hear I'm
(03:26):
just like, oh wait, what's her story? Like I like
her energy, but I don't really know what's going on.
Speaker 2 (03:31):
Can you pinpoint, maybe from your perspective, being on the show,
being part of the show, being around the show, what's missing?
Because I would say I agree with you. I also
felt that way about Jone's season. I knew I could
name six guys right now from Jone's season very easily
and tell you who they are, what they're about. And
I think I could have done that right after the
(03:52):
season was over, right, Yeah. What is missing or what
is different about how this new kind of production company
is producing this show compared to the past.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Well, I feel like we used to have a little
bit more substantive conversations between the women in the house,
like they're little chats on the couch. Those one a
little bit deeper. And I don't even know how they're
doing this differently because it's the same amount of time
because there are forty minute episodes then too, so it's
(04:25):
not a time thing and that's interesting. What are they
replacing it with? I really don't know. And Mel is
obviously giving less two he's just not really a vocalizer.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
I think though the lead is the lead, right, they'll
protect the lead, They'll make the lead be who they
want them to be.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I'm with you.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
I think it's less time amongst the women, and I
think those are really important conversations. There's usually tears, you know,
they feel safe, they're not trying to impress, and so
it is those conversations one on one with the women
in the house that we're missing. This year also, we
had a cast. Let's just compare it to The First
(05:10):
Bachelor again with the Kathy's and the Susans. But I
could name moments from that season, like with Susan or
with people talking about how they had terrible gas because
of Susan's meatballs.
Speaker 4 (05:24):
There was a lot more. It was a lot more
humor driven.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
And this doesn't feel like there's that humor. I'm not
watching this with that heartwarming, heartfelt moments, And I think
I have to ask, is that me? Do you think
that's common? Is am I missing it? These ladies just
seem like they're a little bit more reserved. But as
a result of all of this, what we get is
this kind of week before hometowns, and we aren't necessarily
(05:51):
all in on anybody. The person I would argue we
know the best is Nicole just because of maybe her
own personal vulnerability and her her ability to say things
even if we agree or disagree.
Speaker 3 (06:03):
But at least she's talking.
Speaker 4 (06:06):
No, No, I think we know Cindy the most. Cindy's
being like super emotional, but we know we know Nicole's
motive very well. She definitely is a classic case. If
not there for the right reasons. I will say that
there's some ladies that are still here. We are in
the top six week and like, I don't remember Monthly Cheryl.
(06:30):
Then I love Carol Carol. I kind of I'm glad
she left because there's absolutely no chemistry between the two
of them. And I was wondering whether or not they
were trying to get her to be the next Golden Bachelorette,
because I think she's so pretty, and I think they
were probably like, you have a better chance of getting
(06:51):
that title if you were to leave right now. They
do that sometimes, So we'll see about her. But Ben,
I guess we know dead a little bit. To answer
your question, Debbie, you know she doesn't. She's never been
married before. That's a storyline that we do remember.
Speaker 2 (07:07):
Yeah, we don't necessarily know why, but yeah, well we
don't know much of why, and she never had kids,
not that you know. So yeah, it's it's interesting. But
let's start the episode out with one of the best parts.
I do think Peg is an absolute character. I cannot
wait to see her hometown. I cannot wait to see
(07:29):
how she interacts with the other firefighters. She's on a
unicycle where she got an unicycle I have no idea,
but she's on a.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
Unicycle to open up this episode. So my initial.
Speaker 2 (07:41):
Take on this episode right from the beginning is this
is gonna be fun. Like she's on a unicycle, let's
get crazy, let's do some weird stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:49):
But I think peg, if you're.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
Around her, probably has a similar personality to the Kathy's
and the Susans. I think they would let her unleash.
She could become like a fan favorite just because of
the comments, the commentary and the stuff that she's willing
to say.
Speaker 4 (08:07):
Yeah, I see that. So then when do you think
about the Shaman date?
Speaker 2 (08:12):
You know, it's tough for me. I think I'm not
against this kind of stuff.
Speaker 4 (08:18):
There's a lot of it. I think they overdo the
spiritual dates. We get a lot of them on Paradise.
Speaker 2 (08:25):
We do, you know, I think I come I personally
and this is my own thing. I don't have any
type of feeling other than I would not probably enjoy
this date because of my faith tradition.
Speaker 3 (08:39):
I just don't know enough.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
I practice meditation, contemplation, prayer in a way that's towards Jesus,
and that is my only way of doing that. And
so I think My only take, and this might be unfair.
My only take is you're asking people to participate in
something that they maybe feel very strongly like one of
(09:03):
their core values in life, that they don't necessarily agree
with or feel comfortable participating in. They're asking them to
do this, which I think is unfair for the show
to do.
Speaker 4 (09:13):
I get, I totally understand what you're saying, but like,
if we break it down, it's like they kind of
did a sound bath, which is kind of like meditation.
Speaker 3 (09:20):
I mean, like that doesn't make me feel weird.
Speaker 4 (09:22):
Yeah, And the yoga, I actually feel like oftentimes they
do connect deeply during with the whole eye contact and
the silence and all of that.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
And it could just be because of, you know, my
profession outside of this, I speak at churches so often,
and I am so ingrained into the just meeting with people,
asking questions, hearing about their faith journey, hearing why they
believe what they believe. When when he was taught this
(09:53):
is going to be so mean.
Speaker 4 (09:55):
No, no, no, I think I know where you're going.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
I think the thing that Mel has lacked all season again,
I don't know this guy. I can't say if I
like him or not I don't know him. But the
thing that has lacked this whole season is his ability
to go deep. His depth has been a question of mine,
his vulnerability. Does he really want to be there or not?
Why is he doing this? And I've witnessed these episodes
and that's the question that keeps coming to my mind.
(10:18):
And so then we get into one of these opportunities
that depth is almost a necessity in the midst of
having conversations around faith and your belief systems. Yet it
felt so surface level because the only thing we got
from him was I'm a very spiritual person. Right away
(10:38):
when that was said, my first response was I want
to ask him if I was one of the women
or if I was a friend of his, if you're
having dinner, is what do you mean by that?
Speaker 3 (10:46):
Like what does that mean to you?
Speaker 2 (10:47):
It's not a place of judgment, Like, hey, I'm going
to try to push you to believe what I believe,
but let's explore this idea of what do you mean
when you say you're a very spiritual person? And we
don't get it, and it's like, well, this is another
moment of surface level conversations about a topic that is
not surface level at any means, it is a vital
conversation to have in the midst of a relationship.
Speaker 4 (11:08):
When these ladies are talking about how they're falling for him,
I'm truly like, why because of what we've seen. I've
seen nothing, I've heard, nothing to fall in love with. Like,
I feel like, are they just in the bachelor bubble
right now? Are they just like a physically attracted to him,
(11:33):
super handsome guy, because like, I get those two elements
to fall in love this fast because what we've seen
from him is like I you guys must be getting
to know him much more than us. He must be
way chattier than he appears on TV, because there's just
(11:53):
there's not much of a personality there.
Speaker 2 (11:55):
If that's the case, right, then that's a failure on
the show's part because they aren't showing that well.
Speaker 4 (12:01):
Our producer just wrote a little note and I am
interested to hear your take on this. She said that
I feel like all the women are opening up to
him and he's not engaging or sharing, so they think
he's a good listener. See maybe generationally, I think, like, man,
this guy's not like we're not connecting because I am
(12:22):
he's not saying anything of interest to me, he's not
even being doesn't even seem like he's there emotionally.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Very much well as a bachelor.
Speaker 4 (12:31):
Yeah, as a bachelor, you know, like when they're telling
him stories, he's like, yeah, all that must have been tough. Like,
I don't feel like it's coming from the heart. But
maybe these women like really like the fact that he's
like an old fashioned listener.
Speaker 3 (12:44):
Here's a sign of a listener. And I think it
is shown.
Speaker 4 (12:48):
He's not an active listener.
Speaker 2 (12:50):
Season after season for the lead bachelor or bachelor. And
if we're missing this, if it's not being shown, then
the show is doing Mel a disservice. If Mel is
doing it, then he's not helping out the show. But
every season, and I would say Nick did a great
job at this.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
When he was the bachelor. You would hear.
Speaker 2 (13:12):
Somebody explain something to him, a story, a moment, an emotion,
and he would reference that when they were together the
next time. Right, So not only I don't think it
was meant to be a reminder to the audience. I
don't think any bachelor, bachelor it's there woul being like
this will be helpful for the audience to hear this again.
Speaker 3 (13:31):
No, I don't think that's what's going on.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
It allows you to be more comfortable, like, oh, hey,
he's remembering.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Me, and he's showing that he actually was listening, Like
I actually heard what you said. I know it's chaos
around us. I know I'm dating a lot of people,
but the thing you said stood out to me enough
that I am going to talk to you about it again.
I'm going to follow up on that, I'm going to
ask another question about it, or I'm just going to say, hey,
last time we talked, it was really nice that you
shared with me x y Z. That shows to me
(13:59):
you listen, you heard, you remember. It's as simple as this.
Maybe you don't remember. It's as simple as asking the producer, Hey,
what did we talk about last time? Yeah, help me
out with that. You take a whole you have a
whole note pad of stuff we've talked about.
Speaker 3 (14:11):
Help me out.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
Remind me what we talked about last time. If anything,
it shows an intention to care. We don't get that
this season.
Speaker 4 (14:18):
I know, like, I'm so sorry to say this, and like,
I'm sorry Tamel if it's different in real life. To me,
just makes no sense why they would have picked him
to be the Bachelor.
Speaker 2 (14:30):
I think it was a thought of he's so handsome,
his resume is so good, he's wealthy. This guy is
going to be a homework.
Speaker 4 (14:38):
There a lot of wealthy, good looking guys in their
sixties are single. I feel like maybe I'm out looking
in that demographic, but maybe maybe it's more challenging than
I thought. I also just wanted to add that I
do think, after this short conversation about it, I do
think that these women are being taken by the bachelor
(15:00):
bubble and his physical appearance. I really do think that,
like you're you can fall in love with a lot
of a lot of people that you wouldn't normally fall
in love with in that bubble.
Speaker 2 (15:11):
It's it's yeah, I mean I think I was. I
think I was a beneficiary.
Speaker 4 (15:17):
No, I knew you were going to say that. Of
course Ben would take it like that, so should be
going to the details here. The Cheryl and Mel party,
they did a cold plunge and I was I'd be like,
(15:40):
this is my greatest nightmare. You know, I've never done
a cold plunge. I cannot do it. I cannot and
I will not do it. I am cold when it's
sixty eight in the house, I have a heating pad
on at sixty eight. So that just tells you how
sensitive I a to the question.
Speaker 2 (15:53):
She kind of got screwed, right, I mean, yeah, all
these dates are meant to bring you together, Like trick
yoga felt like to me, one wild choice. Anytime you're
going to, you know, be on national television with that,
that's hey, you know what, he's agreed to show his
whole self.
Speaker 4 (16:13):
Were you looking at something that I wasn't looking at?
Speaker 3 (16:15):
No? No, okay, I've been a part of the show.
Speaker 4 (16:18):
Oh so you're saying that possibly there would be a
bonu or alert?
Speaker 2 (16:22):
Yeah, okay, Yeah, you can't help it, right, I mean
it's been a thing.
Speaker 3 (16:29):
So yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Tantric yoga is like sensual brings you together. A cold
plunge just pretty much makes you suffer, opposite of the opposite.
Speaker 3 (16:40):
How does that at all bring a couple closer? I
don't know. It could be a good story to tell.
Speaker 2 (16:46):
But some of the other ones, like the Nicole Day
obviously was one where there was an opportunity to get
closer during that date.
Speaker 3 (16:53):
What was the other things they did?
Speaker 4 (16:55):
They do a shaman card reading with Nicole, and he
asked to where she sees him herself in five years. Right,
So she's saying at this moment that she would like
to work on her Instagram and she wants to write
a cookbook. And then she also said that she would
like to have a kiss on camera. It would mean
a lot to her. Oh my gosh, this was like
(17:18):
the most unbelievable moment because the twenty and thirty somethings,
they know not to say these things on camera.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
It is a big moment for the show though, because
up until this point we only know Melan Nicole to
have this connection physical physical. This is I mean, if
this is the first time they're actually talking about something
and his like red flags go up, I'm surprised because
they've spent so much time together. I think my question
(17:50):
during this was what happened because all we get in
an explanation is that he heard things that make him
I think he said.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Contemplate that, like it is maybe what Robin was referring
to in last week's episode.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
And that's all we get, and then you know she
goes home with the into this.
Speaker 4 (18:09):
Well, it was enough for me, it made sense full circle.
Speaker 2 (18:13):
I'm saying you've seen all of it up until this point.
You're like, yeah, this all makes sense for him. They've
been all in front Runner from the beginning, and then
all of a sudden they have one day where they
actually talk about stuff and he asks her kind of
what she's into, and she's like, I'm trying to monetize
my Instagram and I want to do a cookbook, and
he's like, there's things that stood out to me, and
(18:34):
then all of a sudden she goes home. I feel
like we've missed something. I feel like we've we didn't
get the full circle moment what I really wanted from
mel as an explanation of him saying, Hey, I am
very worried about people that come on this show that
want to get famous, and at sixty plus years old,
(18:55):
monetizing a social media is a pursuit that feels not impossible,
but maybe just not fulfilling. It doesn't have a it
doesn't have the richness that we're looking for at this
season of life. Have you ever read the book Falling
Upward by Richard.
Speaker 4 (19:11):
Rhar I didn't read it, but I know of it.
Speaker 2 (19:14):
Yeah, it's a book on aging, and so it's a
beautiful book. That you should read twenties, thirties, forties, fifties, sixties.
It's a book on aging and what like each chapter
of life looks like. And what Richard Rhor would argue
is once you reach that stage kind of middle age
and on, you are a place of peace, of wisdom,
(19:36):
of guidance, of like focus. You can start to pour
into the generation behind you. But also you can continue
to make the impact with the knowledge that you have
where you are currently. It felt like this conversation lacked
all of that because it was this monetization of an instagram, which,
(19:56):
as you said, thirty year olds know not to say why.
Speaker 4 (19:59):
Because's about law.
Speaker 3 (20:00):
It's a bad look.
Speaker 2 (20:02):
It's a bad look to say that you could want it,
you could desire it. But if that is like the
main focus, it feels like our priorities are far misplaced
from why you go on this show, which is to
understand yourself better to possibly fall in love.
Speaker 4 (20:17):
Yes, can we also make fun of the fact that
she said that her dad still handles her finances, So
I'm picturing a ninety year old man just crunching numbers.
Speaker 3 (20:27):
I think we're getting a sneak peek into a lot there.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
Yeah, and so it was.
Speaker 2 (20:31):
I mean, it makes sense on her for her to
go home, It does. It makes sense on why this
isn't like maybe the next you know step for her
and her relational life.
Speaker 3 (20:42):
Do we know if she's been married previously?
Speaker 2 (20:44):
No, she I think she got divorced twice, divorced twice,
and she's looking for that, you know, next final love.
She goes home at the end of this. So Mel
was red flags popped up. I wanted more from Nicole.
I thought we had a an opportunity for a two
on one here that could have been like a Robin.
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Producer Ben. That would have been so good. But you
know why I don't think they did that because I
don't think Mel would have made a really big deal
out of it, you know. I think that like he
would have been like, oh, you know what, whoops, she's
in it for social media fame.
Speaker 1 (21:23):
Uh.
Speaker 4 (21:24):
I guess that's not for me. I'll let her go.
I don't think he had any strong feelings beyond that,
And he does acknowledge when he sends her home that
it was like a physical thing. I mean, not to
jump ahead, but let's jump ahead just for a second.
When she does get in the car. She holds his
face and make sure that he nods when she says
(21:46):
the bitchiest thing when you end up breaking up with
whoever you end up with, you come to me, okay.
And then she waited for him to nod. She's like, okay,
you hear me, Okay Bye. It was craziness. It was
good entertainment though.
Speaker 2 (22:06):
Yeah, and then she says that maybe you know, she
doesn't notice next, but maybe they can make her the
next Golden Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (22:12):
Do you think that's a possibility.
Speaker 4 (22:14):
No, she was a good villain that they could have
made a little bit more villainous. But I know this
is I mean, I'm sure she had more things that
she said on camera, but I know it's the Golden Bachelor,
and they try not to make a lot of drama
or a lot of villains.
Speaker 3 (22:28):
And I'm glad. I don't want that.
Speaker 2 (22:29):
In fact, I I'd love to stay away from that always.
But it did feel like, you know, when you looked
at the headlines that last week, Nicole was the focus
of the headlines because of the thing she said. Joan
and I talked about it, and it was I mean,
I think Joan mentioned it personally it was offensive for
her to say that the last clast wasn't that attractive.
I know she's come out publicly and apologized for that,
(22:50):
and I'm not going to hold that against her, but
I'm sure there was things said that did make you go,
this is confusing on how this is the Golden Show.
This is not what this is supposed to be. You're
supposed to be Why past this pettiness, in this infighting.
You're supposed to be here to have a good time,
to make up memories and to potentially find your forever partner.
Speaker 4 (23:22):
Should we talk about Carol and how she's self eliminated.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Yeah, I think it's an important moment this season. She
self eliminates because she just doesn't feel like they know
each other right.
Speaker 4 (23:35):
I think that she's the only one who has clarity
right now. I think she's the only one that gets it.
I also think that it's always a great thing. I
think she's old enough and you know, mature enough to
acknowledge that the chemistry wasn't there, that she probably felt
uncomfortable bringing him home to a family when she never
had a one on one, that she really never had
(23:56):
an in depth conversation with him. I think that she
really could be Bachelorette if they do decide to do
another Golden Bachelorette. She's so pretty and I found her
to be very relatable, even though like we have decades
between us. I felt like the way that she acted
on the show is kind of the way that I
felt like she just is kind of like, oh my gosh,
(24:17):
like I'm nervous, and she was always admitting when she
was feeling uncomfortable, and I guess I have a sweet
spot for that.
Speaker 2 (24:23):
It's a it was it was a good moment. I
think we digged a lot of clarity. I also think
some foresight there is when you get with family, they're
not going to hold back on the questions. This is
weird to them. This is odd to them. They're going
to ask you questions like we see in the previews,
do you love this person?
Speaker 4 (24:43):
Oh my god, that'd be so weird for her to
be asked, Yeah, I've.
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Never had a date with them, Like, I don't know
if I even know this guy. Like that's a very
weird scenario to be put in. And so I don't
know if she's a fan of the show, if she
knew what things were going, but whatever the case was,
she definitely made the right decision and by exiting after
she knew that she wasn't going to get a one
on one this week.
Speaker 4 (25:04):
Yeah, definitely. So let's go into Cindy's one on one.
Cindy is just absolutely smitten and I can't help. Oh
my god, you guys, I'm just I'm just pounding this
poor guy. That's what she said. But you know what
I mean, she she is better than him, Yes and no.
Speaker 2 (25:30):
I think I think the only argument I have there
is she's smitten for a specific reason. We don't necessarily
get why, though, right, we get that, you know, I
think she's into him, into the experience. We don't get
the depth of what in him she sees. But she's
all about it, which can go one of two ways.
It can either be the most beautiful, great thing ever
(25:53):
and it works, or this experience has got her up
in the in the vacuum that is the and she's
just head over heels and a hopeless romantic and she
actually doesn't know what she's saying. I don't know if
we know yet, And this date doesn't really point us,
I think to much more clarity.
Speaker 4 (26:11):
But thank you, Ben, Yes, I didn't get any more
clarity as to why she has the feelings that she
has during this date. I do, I do think that
she does feel something though that's like, I think it's
beyond bachelor bubble for her. I don't know why. There's
something unspoken between the two of them in my opinion
(26:32):
for her.
Speaker 3 (26:33):
So do you would you say at this point she's
your front runner?
Speaker 4 (26:36):
Oh? Yeah, I think if she doesn't win, I think
that it would be absolutely astonishing, especially the way this
show is edited.
Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, it's uh, it does feel like it's pushing in
that direction, and it feels like it is. If there's
one thing we're gonna get from the season, it might
be that beautiful story kind of coming full circle. The
date ends, they go horseback riding in Griffith Park.
Speaker 3 (26:58):
They do open up a little bit. She opened up about.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
Her divorce and how it's been hard for her to
get close to people since then. She's still communicated, which
she has for weeks now. She's shocked by how strongly
she feels for mel Uh and he I think, as
you said, is reciprocating those feelings and as a result,
when it comes down to the rose ceremony, even though
Mel is nervous and anxious about everything. He keeps Cindy,
(27:24):
Peg and Debbie to go on hometowns, which means Cheryl
and Nicole are going home.
Speaker 4 (27:30):
Should we talk about their face times with their family?
I also thought Nicholes was telling she was just facetiming
with a friend.
Speaker 3 (27:36):
Yeah.
Speaker 4 (27:36):
To me, that said she hasn't built a family of
her own, which kind of is.
Speaker 2 (27:42):
Sad, And it's like, is he hot? Yeah, he's so
hot exactly. It's like, yeah, I mean, it's what it is.
I know they did that on purpose. I'm sure Cindy
probably said he's hot too to her daughter.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
They definitely are making Nicole out to be like a
teen and all.
Speaker 2 (28:01):
Yeah, you know, it feels like that's kind of the edit.
Now if that's true or not, we'd have to talk
to Nicole or talk to somebody from this season to
figure out if that's actually what was, Like, what's happening?
Speaker 4 (28:12):
But her lemon bars from was that last week or
this week?
Speaker 2 (28:16):
Last last week was lemon bars? But he did mention
I think Mel said I like her because she like
made me lemon bars.
Speaker 4 (28:23):
Lemon bars. That sounded frank and bitten to me. That
sounded like he was, like, I like her because and
then they put in the sound bite whereas she made
me lemon bars. Absolutely know she's one of my favorites
because she made me lemon bars.
Speaker 3 (28:39):
I mean that's where we're at. We have a really
tough going.
Speaker 4 (28:44):
That was so funny.
Speaker 2 (28:46):
Yeah, oh my goodness, Yeah that was wild. He just
reminded me of that moment. The facetimes of the family,
I think is a good added touch. Yeah, that's it too, goodness, Ashley. Like,
I watched my own season and I watched gary season,
and I remember us talking about it, and like there
were moments where I was emotional, like tears, not like bawling,
(29:07):
but just like definitely so sweet. I think the show
wanted this to be that like the FaceTime moments for us.
Speaker 3 (29:16):
I didn't.
Speaker 2 (29:16):
I thought it was like a good out of touch.
I didn't feel emotional at all.
Speaker 4 (29:22):
No, it made me feel a little bit more like, Okay,
I'd love to see their family and how they talk
to their family, because like it, obviously you can tell
a lot about somebody when they're talking to the person
that they're most comfortable with. Yeah, and I think again,
like when I think back on the quick scene. It
was Nicole for the fact that it was teenagerish, and
it was Cindy because of the way that she spoke
to her daughter about it just being like seeming so
(29:44):
deep for her. And then I guess with Cheryl because
Cheryl is like, it's more than just like yeah. But
then Cheryl goes home.
Speaker 2 (29:52):
Then Cheryl goes home. I was gonna say, Cheryl, Nicole
or go home. We talked about Nicole's exit. Cheryl is
walked out by men.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
Mel.
Speaker 2 (30:01):
He does get choked up in this moment saying goodbye
to Cheryl.
Speaker 3 (30:06):
They kiss goodbye.
Speaker 2 (30:08):
That's not common I think on this show that there's
a kiss to say goodbye. He does show emotion here.
Speaker 4 (30:14):
I think it is on Golden Ben. The Goldens are different.
They're like, oh, such a great time. Yeah, thanks on
Batchelor Beelorette. Could you imagine can you just dumped me?
Let's make out one more time?
Speaker 3 (30:28):
Yeah, this will be fun.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
We do see Mel get emotional, though, which I think
is a moment for us that maybe foreshadows how these
next few weeks will be. As I've said since the beginning,
the best thing for Mel, the best thing for the show,
the best thing for the season. They don't have to
force it, but that he shows emotion at some point,
that he shows that he cares at some point. And
(30:49):
this is really the first moment we have where I
think he's he's clearly showing that he's cared and that
he's invested into this, and I personally found it a
very good moment for the show.
Speaker 4 (31:01):
Yeah, I completely agree. Him walking the two of them
out showed something.
Speaker 2 (31:06):
Here's a question I have for you, as obviously we
get down to hometowns.
Speaker 3 (31:09):
We only have a few weeks left of this season.
Speaker 4 (31:11):
This is the quickest season of all time. I know
that there are short episodes and that it's also short weeks, but.
Speaker 3 (31:17):
Wow, it's really wild. Will we have a tell all?
Do you think?
Speaker 4 (31:21):
No? I don't think we had a tell all for
either of the other ones? Do it? Oh? Maybe we
did for Gary's, Maybe we did for both of them.
Speaker 3 (31:27):
Yeah, I mean I don't think there will be either.
Speaker 2 (31:30):
I'm assuming I'm hopeful that the almost famous podcast will
get brought back in to do that reunion like we
did with Paradise. That was great. We had a lot
of fun with that, and so maybe that's how they're
going to do it again, is the reunion will be
podcasts on a podcast form, and that we can get
involved in it in some way because there's a lot
(31:51):
of questions I think that we have about this season,
about the contestants, about mel.
Speaker 3 (31:59):
So we'll see, we'll see what happens.
Speaker 2 (32:01):
Actually, there's a montage at the end with the hometown visits.
PEG takes Meil to the firehouse. Cindy is crying and
saying she's missing something. I don't exactly know what she's
missing there, and then we kind of see Meil just
get absolutely hounded by family members we can't tell who
(32:23):
yet on what his intentions are, if he loves somebody
or not, And we see him saying, I don't know.
I don't know if that's like a clipped in moment
or if he's actually had his response, which would be
a wild response.
Speaker 4 (32:36):
I think that's his response. But I'm just going along
with the fun right now. Yeah, Ben, My one thing
to say about Cindy crying and saying is it about
missing something? I feel like perhaps that is her family
being like, are you freaking sure mom? That you're so sure?
(32:57):
And then she's like, am I missing something here? Why?
Does everybody else love him the way that I love him?
Speaker 3 (33:03):
That could be? That could be. Hometowns are fun.
Speaker 2 (33:06):
It's one of our favorite weeks no matter what, no
matter what leans up to it. It's fun to tease,
it's fun to be a part of. And I think
the family dynamics are always so vital for us understanding
the contestants more.
Speaker 3 (33:18):
We'll see how it goes.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Anything else to add, I mean it honestly, this season
so far has been tough to break down for me,
Ashley because.
Speaker 4 (33:29):
Hey, Ben, if you guys can't tell, yeah, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:33):
And it's like it's it's kind of it's tough because
it's just not the investment that I wanted to have.
Speaker 4 (33:40):
It's kind of like you and I are getting on
here and we're like, so, what are your thoughts about
something that there's not really anything thought provoking about.
Speaker 3 (33:49):
Yeah, it's tough, I mean.
Speaker 2 (33:50):
And the thing that frustrates me is I love the
Golden Idea, the concept in the first two seasons of
the show so much. I do, I did I want,
And it's just it's so frustrating to me that so
quickly the thing that made the first two seasons work.
Speaker 3 (34:08):
Has now felt so far gone. Is it salvageable? I
think so.
Speaker 2 (34:16):
Is it salvageable this season? I don't know, But that's
where we're at. We're entering the hometowns. We'll be here
still breaking it down the best we can. So until
next time, I've been Ben, I've.
Speaker 4 (34:27):
Been Ashley Seya.
Speaker 1 (34:30):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
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Lauren Zima
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