July 26, 2021 • 44 mins
Ashley hangs out with season 9 Bachelorette Desiree Hartsock for some mom-to-mom(to be) chats and all the tea from Katie’s Men Tell All.
Who will Katie choose?? Do we believe that Blake is really “falling in love” with Katie?
Find out which of the guys Desiree singled out as a “master manipulator”.
And we get a (too) intimate look at how Ashley’s pregnancy is going!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast
with i R Radio. Hello, guys, welcome to the Almost
Famous Podcast. It is Ashley. Ben isn't here. He has
a he has an event in Ohio today. Iowa. He
hasn't been in Iowa today. Um, but I'm going to
be joined by Desiree Hardstock. She's gonna come on and
(00:22):
recap this episode with me, which my bad. I went
into this episode thinking it was gonna be Hometowns. I
was really excited, and then it dawned on me that
there was a reason we didn't see a preview for
Hometowns last week. Yeah, it wasn't Hometowns this week. It
was mental all plus a little fifteen minute clip of
us seeing Michael a leave and that is something that
(00:46):
I kind of foresaw for a while, just there was
something about that face time he had with this son.
I was like, when the sun says, Daddy, do you
don't want to see me anymore? That guy is not
going to stick around. So I'll get in to that
with Does in a little bit, But first I wanted
to remind you guys of our virtual event. It's coming
up this week. It is Ben and Jess's engagement party.
(01:08):
It's gonna take place in Napa I unfortunately am not
quite in the right health to be traveling six hours
across country and six hours back being on a plane.
Oh my god, I can't even imagine being on a
plane that long right now. Um, So they're gonna party
without us, not that I can party in Napa Valley
(01:29):
where all there is is what was wine. Um So,
unfortunately I won't be able to be there in person,
but I will be here for our event digitally, and
you guys, I hope that you're there too. It's on
July it's from five to six Pacific time, and tickets
are on sale now at looped live dot com. That
it's l O O p e d live dot com
(01:52):
And so yeah, it's their engagement It's like, you know,
it's their I Heart engagement party. Um, Nick is gonna
be there, Dean, Kaylyn Wells are all going to be
toasting to Ben and Jess, and I know Jess is
really excited to go to Nappa for the first time.
And we really want you to join us because not
only do we love to engage with you guys digitally,
because there'll be a great chat and we'll be able
(02:12):
to like get all your live feedback. But it's also
benefiting Humanity and Hope United Foundation, which is a foundation
that is so near and dear to Ben's heart and
they do so much good in the world. So it's
going to be a party without us, and I'm going
to be disappointed that I'm not there, but you know what,
I'm also gonna be happy that I'm probably gonna be
sitting on a couch and it'll be hopefully knock on
(02:35):
wood before we know it that I can actually socialize again.
Um okay, So guys, we are going to get Dez
on the podcast right after this break. She's the best
to recap, so looking forward to it. See it is
that alright, guys, we have a desiree man. Why do
(03:04):
I always just want to call you hard Stock? That's okay?
I mean, do you stick with hard Stock at all?
Or do you always just go bay this? Yeah? Okay,
Well you guys. She is the author of the book
Road to Roses, The Road to Roses, which we talked
about with her a couple of months ago on the podcast.
How is the How are you feeling about the book
(03:26):
now that it's out? There. Good. It feels good to
have it out and in people's hands. Um, yeah, it
feels good. It's nice to be able to share, you know,
share your story and and have the feedback come back.
What kind of feedback have you gotten? Like? Um, what
have what have fans really related to in it? Um?
I think it's been great because a lot of it
(03:46):
shares more than just you know, the Bachelor Bachelor experience.
So I think it's been great for readers to see
where more of where I came from and what has
made me who I am and how you know, faith
and hope, and how all of that kind of aligns
into um, keeping keep putting where it kept pushing me
through in every season of life, that's awesome. If you
(04:08):
can give like a little elevator pitch as to like
why your book is different than like a regular tell all,
what would you tell? Yeah? Well, I mean it really
isn't a tell all just based on the Bachelor Bachelorette. Um.
I really share you know, about my heart, my hope,
growing up not having much and going through really terrible
(04:29):
dating experiences. Um, but also how you know, learning who
I am, um, finding my identity, finding worth and finding
my work, and he gustrated me to be and not
in what other people said. It was a little um
but also just really, um, I don't know, holding onto hope.
(04:50):
Hope is truly the key message throughout my statory. So
I think now more than ever, people need hope. So
it's much more than about the Bachelor bachelort. That's great, no,
I love that. Um. Okay, so you guys can get
Road to the Road to Roses on Amazon today. And
I just want to talk a little bit to Daz
(05:11):
about like mommy life because obviously I'm experiencing the first
beginning of that. How was your first um, well, how
was your pregnancy? It's like, how do they feel like?
Because I've been talking so much about how like I
didn't expect it to be like this. I expected it
to be like when people said morning sickness. I knew
it wasn't just mourning, but I knew that it wasn't
(05:34):
just morning. But I thought it was gonna be like, oh,
like I'll be somewhere and then all of a sudden,
I'll get the urge to throw up. Like nobody told
me that it was going to be like a nonsub
nauseous thing. So how how were you both times? They
should call it like the hour sickness, not not morning,
you know, iron it. I mean, I was very fortunate.
(05:56):
I had pretty good pregnancies. I um, I was mainly
only sick the first time around. And but I just
ate so like I felt nauseous, I just ate and
eat some more. So I gained like all my baby
weight in the first three months because I was just
so hu well. I was just trying to keep like
(06:17):
the nausea at base. So I just kept eating. No,
I get it. I need to eat every two hours
or I get I get nauseous, like a like a
meal every two hours, which I thought, I was like, oh,
I have to get in weight, But in the the
month I lost a pound. Really maybe it's just are
(06:37):
you actually throwing up? But I'm not always throwing up
the food, which is weird. Like I still am able
to keep a good mountain down of the food, so
like maybe I'll throw up like twice a day, but
like I'm still consuming way more calories than like a
normal day. So it's still the math doesn't make sense
to me. But whatever, Yeah, it's so wild, huh, It's
(06:57):
it's so crazy. How that a little baby like takes
your entire body for for nine months and does whatever
it wants. Your body just does whatever it wants. It's
like crazy, it's so weird. We had our second ultrasound
last week, and it did make me feel a little
bit like a little more attached to the baby, because
(07:18):
at first when you see it, it's literally like this
looks like a speck, right, And then the second time
it was like, oh my god. Now a month later
it has like a head and then the body like
I can see it, and I was like, oh, it's
so cute. It's cute. Like it's like, okay, well, like
now I'm not as mad at you for making me
throw up all the time. Yeah. Oh, just wait until
(07:39):
you start to feel the baby move. That's that's just heart,
you know, that's when you really feel that connection. This
is like maybe a tm my question, but I've always
been fascinated by this. Um, how are your deliveries? Okay
mine were really well, I mean so I went all
natural you did, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So like Chris,
(08:03):
Chris was born in the same house that his parents
still live in, so yeah, and so it was just
kind of their lifestyle and as I learned more and
I was you know, I went I just like learned
more about the process of birthing and pregnancy. I decided
that I wanted to go that route. And yeah, I
mean I can get real deep and t m I
(08:26):
but it is tough, you know, it's tough, but it's
just incredible what we can do as women, like incredible. Well,
you are far stronger than I. I could never do
the natural route. No, and that's totally okay. Yeah, Like,
whatever you need to do to get the baby out
(08:46):
safely and healthy, that is all that matters. Um, all right,
So let's let's pivot a little bit and get into
Katie's season. I do believe that maybe you have. You
were on maybe a week or so before Katie season.
Do you remember when you were on? Was it like
the very beginning of Katie season or very I think
it was the very beginning, probably probably just the first
(09:10):
episode had aired. So who have you been rooting on
throughout the season? Okay, so I haven't. I've caught up
a little bit because I watched the beginning and then
a lot of times in the middle I get a
little like busy. Um, so I caught up and I
(09:31):
think she has some really good guys in her season,
like they I think a few, she said, some bad ones,
but I do think they genuinely are there for her. Um,
I don't have a favorite. You don't, well, I liked, Yeah,
I don't. Yeah, maybe that's because I missed a few episodes.
(09:55):
But I love her connection with you know, with Greg
and with Lake and oh my gosh, so sad Michael
leaving Michael, That's what I was waiting for. I don't know,
I'm sorry, I'm like a little he just like brings
light to the TV screen for me. He I feel
(10:15):
like without him there, it's just like what am I
going to just be engaged with during the show. I
that was heart wrenching for me to see him like leave.
And but but as a parent, like I get it,
you know, I get it. We will choose your kids
(10:36):
over anything any day. Yeah, let's start there, because that
is the first scene of this episode, you know, because
before we get to mental law, we get this fifteen
minutes segment of Michael on the phone on FaceTime with
his son, and his son says, I think I know
why you're not here. I think you're you don't want
(10:58):
to see me anymore or something all those lines, which,
oh my god, that is the saddest thing ever. Ah,
the heartbreaking. I mean you could see it in his
face the moment his son said that he was like done,
you know what, I mean, it all back home because
the moment, well, I was thinking about it too. So
(11:19):
you know, like a full season is about ten weeks
if you make it to the end. But they had
to quarantine. Do you know how long they had a
quarantine beforehand? I feel like the guys may have I
feel like over seven days, because if like guests have
to do seven days, I feel like the the guys
probably coming and do like at least ten early on. Yeah,
(11:40):
so he was He's already even gone for almost maybe
a month and a half. That's a really long time.
I guess the only thing to say is like, but
he went all that time to just not wait it out,
like another two weeks I don't know. But at the
same time, like I haven't felt like I've loved him,
(12:03):
and like, of course, like I'm supporting I love Katie,
but I don't know the two of them together, like
You've always made a ton of sense to me. Um,
so I don't know that. Yeah, we're you shocked of
her saying like all the time, like she could see
him at the end kind of because I think that
(12:23):
she was, like, I think, to be honest, in her brain,
she was like, I've pictured it, but I don't think
that she like pictured it only with him. That makes sense, Yeah,
that makes sense. Yeah, I think she pictured it with
with like two other guys as well. Yeah, Like, well,
I mean if I could have three different you know, husbands,
(12:45):
and yeah, you'd get in. Um. I don't know. For me,
whenever there's someone that's like a single parent, I feel
like you're doing you have to really seek that relationship
quickly to see if it's worth in otherwise let them
go home, you know. But I don't think she wanted
to let him go home. I think she wanted to
(13:06):
keep She just like every week there was something more
and more that she wanted to explore with him. I
do think there could have been some way to like
maybe working out, like if she really, like, if she
thought that was her person. If this is one of
the Bachelor at seasons where like the Bachelor atte had
decided who it was like early on, you know, did
(13:29):
you say who would you would you say, like to leave? Yeah,
Like I if that was the guy that I knew
I was going to pick all along, then I would
have been like, oh, okay, well, I guess this season
ends here, you know, totally totally, no, I hear you.
But she obviously has different connections with the other guys,
so it's like, yeah, so she he wasn't, then yeah
(13:52):
he wasn't. To me, he wasn't, because I think she
could have tried something more out or at least like
been like I'm just trying to think from the perspective
of me in her shoes, I think I would have
been like, Okay, well, I guess that means I have
three other guys, and if at the end of these
couple of weeks, I still am thinking about you and
(14:14):
I'm still thinking like I would rather him be here
instead of this other guy, then I'll just leave this
process and be like, Okay, I found my guy through this.
He just couldn't have been here in the end. Yeah,
I think I think that's what I probably would have done.
But then, like I would have kept going because I
do believe, like what she said to like, things happen
(14:35):
for a reason, and sometimes you can't control those things
that happen. But like, like you said, if I got
to the end and I was still like questioning, and
I'd probably like peace, I'm gonna go get my man, definitely,
and it would have been a great ending her like
going to his house in Ohio. I actually really like that. Yeah,
(14:57):
I mean too. But I think we end of get
her answer at mentel all, just to fast forward a
little bit, because Caitlin says, because says to Katie, well,
Michael says that the door is still open and he
still has all those feelings for you. Uh so what
do you think about that? And she was like basically said, oh,
(15:17):
I moved on, like I'm I'm not choosing you. Yeah,
she said that pretty matter of factly. So that was
funny because as a viewer, you're seeing it like right
after it it happened, but really months have gone by, right, right,
that happened like April, late in May or early May
(15:37):
or something like that. Yeah, so she's already you know,
moved on, hopefully, engaged, happy and all the things. But
her saying that's so matter of fact made me think like, okay,
so then she's definitely with Blake. Or she's definitely with Greg,
because I'm sorry, she's definitely not with Justin. She not
(15:59):
with right, Like, oh, did they have something? You know,
it was the most confusing thing last week. So but like,
what's so weird is to me like it's definitely blake
because there was this thing that came up a couple
of weeks ago in our headlines where so it came
(16:19):
out on the internet that Greg wanted to pursue acting
or something, and that was yeah, so he liked to
get acting classes. I don't know how hard he was
pursuing it. But there was a tweet out there that said,
like when you find out that like Greg the whole
time is really the one that was there for the
wrong reasons or something like hashtag acting classes. I'm totally
(16:40):
making up the tweet, but it was something like that,
and she liked it and then unliked it, which makes
me feel like it's definitely not Greg. Yeah, if she
liked it, I know interesting. I'm interested to see what
happens because the little you know, it's the little previews
you can't you can I don't know, I can't always
(17:02):
believe him because I just never know what's being chopped
up to like create the preview for what's coming. But
it's interesting, like where she says she wants to go home. Oh,
it's very interesting. It's very interesting. I have no idea
what that is. You think she ends up with Lake? Ye?
(17:23):
I mean my only theory now watching that is that
she finds out that like Greg is not as authentic. Yeah,
so I don't know, but it's actually what is with
all those guys like Hannah's season what was his name? Oh? Yeah,
I know, um Jed Yeah, yeah, Like they go the
(17:47):
they go the whole way, just to be I know.
All right, Well let's dive into the mentel all part.
So I think that Tasia and Caitlin did such a
good job hosting this. They were prose, they were so um,
they were so impressive. They Mentel is not an easy
episode to carry because it can't mess up. Yeah, you're
(18:12):
live in front of the audience. You've got to read
the prompter, You're getting little note notes in your earpiece.
It's hard. And then like the guys are constantly talking
over each other. You're gonna have to break up fights.
You have to deliver it with like a certain amount
of like like a sense of being commanding but also
being like emotional, and I just think that they really
(18:35):
balanced all of it perfectly. Yeah, I do too. They
did a really great job. Like and they're going to
be on Michelle season right. I don't know. I don't
know if we even answer about that, but we should
soon because it's going to start filming anymore. And now, yeah,
do you think this is like a tryout that they're
doing the like Caitlin and Tisha. I don't know. We
(18:58):
can end up with just one or I'm that's a
good thought. I have not thought about that. No, No,
I don't know. We'll see, okay. So I think like
this mental all was when I first started, like when
I first like remembered today that it was mental all,
I was like, oh God, the last thing I want
(19:19):
to do is here these guys arguing. But I was
pleasantly surprised to see that the arguing portion was only
like ten or fifteen minutes because everything that they had
to argue about was so dumb. Because everything was just
so dub you know, I actually agree. I was watching
it and because usually mental I'm like, oh here we go, um,
but you know, it was actually not bad and I actually,
(19:42):
I actually liked the guys. They were funny. Even when
they were like bantering, it was still really funny. Or
when they were fighting, it was just really stupid. So
it was like kind of funny, but overall it didn't
overtake the whole the whole night, I completely agree, because
most of their fights in the house were about like
(20:02):
who's there for the right reasons? Right, and like catching
guys quote being there for the wrong reasons because they
said stupid things like I know who the top four
is going to be, or like I want to be
the bachelor. So because because there was really no depth
to those arguments, we didn't have a lot of fighting,
which was great, But I thought it was very weird
(20:24):
that Thomas wasn't there in person. Any theories as to why, no,
he's afraid. Honestly, that's my best theory too. The best
you can just tell by the way he talks. He's
a really great like manipulator, like says the right things,
does the right things, and maybe you know deep down
(20:45):
he has great intentions, but I don't know. Yeah, I
felt this. I felt like, oh, maybe they just didn't
want to bother with his drama and they wanted it
to be condensed it as a video call. I don't know.
I think they have a choice because I remember back
so many years ago, um Tiara was like the villain
in our season and think they got her there, but
(21:11):
because you know, they would do anything to get the
people there in person. So it had to have been
something with him where either he didn't want to or
maybe a scheduling although I said he was like in
strmento or something. I forget. It's always hard to believe
when they say that there's a scheduling thing when it's
like somebody who was such a big character. I kind
(21:32):
of feel like I felt I feel like he probably
chickened out and try I just couldn't be convinced to come. Yeah,
I agree. Um so then there was let's see what
was like the other Another big moment and mental I
think would probably be when Connor got kissed by a
stranger in the audience that was actually really entertaining. I
(21:54):
was like, I was like, this is one of my
favorite mental moments of all time. Yes, And do you
think that a stage? I wasn't sure. I definitely think
it was stage because she was like miked up. She
sounds pretty clear that I didn't even think about it.
I think it was but I think it was cute
that he said that he was eyeing her from the
(22:14):
audience already. She was really cute, and then he said like,
I want to get your number. I think like they
probably went on a date. I think that was a
really cute scereo. I know, I was like, oh, we
need to know what happens to them. I know, we
got to get an update. That was cute. I actually
liked having something fun and like spontaneous happened during the
(22:35):
mental law. I also liked the fact that like made
him probably feel a lot better about the whole kissing thing,
because this poor guy was so embarrassing one to just
be called out on stage about it. Then for him
to be like, oh, yeah, I texted two or three
x is just to make sure it wasn't that bad,
and then that was the perfect redeeming moment, and all
(22:55):
the guys were so supportive afterward. It was supportive. That
was so cute, and it was it was cute that
he because I don't think Katie was saying like, you're
a bad kisser. She was just saying, we don't have
that spark kiss definitely, but still how sweet of him
to like go and like text his exes and be like,
(23:16):
was I just a terrible kisser? I know, poor guy,
poor guy. Um okay. But another moment that stood out
to me and seeing one of my favorite mental moments,
had nothing to do with this season. It was them
showing Caitlin and Jason's proposal, which we've all I've been
seen on Instagram that it doesn't matter because I can
(23:36):
watch it over and over again, it will never get old.
It was way better than seeing it on like big
It was I don't know. I actually didn't watch the
full thing on Instagram because I well I thought I did,
but then when I watched it back, I was like,
oh my gosh, he was so sweet, crying and so cute,
like I think, get the words out. It was so cute.
(24:00):
It was so cute when getting there hopefully soon, hopefully soon.
I mean they're in the wedding planning process. It's a
big you know how stressful that is? Yes, very much?
Um okay. So then as far as like Katie's conversations
with the guys, um, she she really just talks to
(24:20):
one one with Andrew and then with with um Michael,
and it just feels like she's been kind of like
moved past that she appreciate them. But you know, it
was like the same word of like, you know, I
love and respect you, which was great. I think she
always she's really good at saying like the right things. Yes,
(24:42):
I'm I'm very envious of that. She's very good at
that ends and my feelings get all is in the way,
and I get all. You know, she's just very like
straight to the point out her feelings. It's really good.
It's very impressive. Um. And then there was that moment
where she she butchered Aaron's name and called him which
(25:05):
like I get like they maybe look like they could
be brothers. Um. That was so funny though, because they
were talking about Thomas being like the worst and then
she calls him to Aaron is the worst. Though. I
seriously think that Aaron's the worst of all of them
because he was the one that started drama with everyone
and he was constantly being like I don't like him,
(25:26):
I don't like him. I don't like him, yes totally.
But he never got called out, you know, he never did,
which is weird. But like he still has like bad
vibes for me. Yeah, I agree. Um, as far as
other drama, I mean, they brought things up with Carl,
and you know, at the end of the day, I'm
pretty sure like Carl does look a little bit silly
(25:48):
because he he was like I said, it was multiple guys. No,
I meant it was just Thomas, and it's just like, Okay,
you got caught. It's fine. And then there was the
stuff with um, what's his name, Cody. I mean like
it was so earlier, like knowing each other or something. Yeah,
and he was like, I'm going to be famous in
(26:09):
six months, and he was like, no, you took that
off contact and it probably wasn't out of contact, but yeah,
out of contact. Yeah, Like what else are you gonna
be famous for? That's the thing like I'm so thankful
for is that back in my day, like Instagram had
just started up, like kind of and so I don't know,
it wasn't a conversation. It was a conversation like are
(26:32):
you there for the right reasons? Has always been a conversation,
but now it's just like more heightened because of social media,
and I don't know if most people are on there
for the right reasons. It's hard to say. I mean,
you know, you know that even Sean Lowe, who's like
the epitome of who do you think would be there
(26:52):
for the right reasons, basically writes in his book that
he wasn't, And like back then it was you know,
you make friends, you travel, you like get like a
little fifteen minutes of attention and it's pretty cool. But
then you know it's going to be over. Yeah. Yeah,
it's just so crazy. I feel like it's much harder though,
(27:13):
now for them to like prove yeah, to prove it
or navigate relationships maybe after the fact too, because of
social media and the pressure. Oh yeah, it's really hard
to prove You're like, it's just a cluster these days.
I don't fit. I don't pity them. I feel like everybody,
um can be there and be at a risk for
(27:35):
being called that these days absolutely Um. All right, Well, anyway,
so the next sneak peek that will will analyze the
sneak peek a little bit more. Um Blake says that
Katie is everything he's ever wanted. Greg says that she
makes him the happiest he's ever been. Um Gregg says
that he's falling so hard for Katie. He gets he
gets six, he gets six to it. He gets sick
(27:57):
to his stomach whenever he sees her kiss other guys.
And then she says that everything is blowing up her
in her face and she just wants someone to book
her flight home. So I mean, oh my gosh. And
Justin also says he's fully in love with her. It
just doesn't feel real. No, do you think Justin's falling
(28:17):
in love with her? It's just more oh, he's in
love with the thought in his head thought, Yeah, I'm
interested to see her meet the families too, because it
looks like it couldn't I couldn't tell, but I mean
it looked like maybe Greg's family or Katie had questions. Um,
there wasn't clarity there in that, but um, yeah, I
(28:41):
don't know. I feel like that's always a telling sign
when you meet the family. Yeah. And then there was
also this moment where it was like, if Katie doesn't
get engaged to at the end of this, she's going
to be like devastated or something like that. And was
that that was coming from somebody in her family? Was
that I didn't know who that was? I think so,
I don't know. Could you imagine if one of the
(29:01):
guys is like, I just don't know if I can
propose next week, Oh my gosh, that would be crazy.
I mean, it happens. I've definitely seen it happen recently.
All right, Well, I mean I guess, as always, the
preview just looks great and juicy at this point. But
of course, and I don't I don't think she actually
(29:22):
goes home. I mean, I don't know. When I was
on the show, I said I wanted to go home,
And that's usually just because you're like emotionally drained and
you're just kind of like you it's not that you
want to go home. You just really want like a
big hug and a glass of wine. You just want
a loan time. You want a loan time. You want
your friends to like help you out. And so I
(29:45):
don't think she actually goes home. It's just more so
of like she just wants space to think through what
she needs to do. Yeah, that's actually a really good point.
I would feel like probably really trapped at the end,
like the top three, if I couldn't get advice from
my family mm hmm, just being like, who do you
(30:05):
guys feel like I guess, I guess you do get that,
especially with top two. Then you start getting feedback. Yeah,
but I feel like but when things start to you know,
get hard or like confusing, then you're just overwhelmed. And
so I feel like everyone would say I want to
go home. I mean I actually did say that, So
(30:28):
it's like I feel her. Yeah, I bet you every
lead says that. Oh, I'm sure at some point. All Right, well, Dez,
thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate you
so much for being here and breaking out this episode
with me. I truly couldn't have done it without you.
Thanks for having me. Alright, talked to you soon, Bye bye.
(30:58):
All right, Well, before we have out of here, I'm
doing Bachelor headlines by myself, which seems like it might
be weird because Ben always like it's really dramatic and
reads the headline and I kind of explain it. But
it's okay, I'll read the head I'll do both today.
So the first one is actually quite juicy. I think
it's Bibiana, you know, you know, Bibbie Julian. She admits
(31:20):
that she slept on quote quote not slept on directly
because when I first read this headline, I was like,
she slept on top of Joe amabla. No, she slept
on him as if she kind of didn't realize he
was there during Bachelor in Paradise, and she she also
ranks her her experiences on the Bachelor. So she says
(31:41):
that when she was on Bachelor in Paradise season five,
her only regret and she keeps thinking about it today,
was that she slept on grocery store Joe. I totally
slept on him, she said. She said, I talked to
him prior and it was something like obviously they were
already talking to him about going, but he wasn't sure
(32:04):
if it was going to be an easy decision um
for him, like do I do this? Do I not?
And then she here, she sees him. He's back in
the mix, he's on click bait, he's single, and she's like,
if things don't work out for him on Paradise this
time around, he would be a bachelor pick for me too.
So is she's saying here that she slept on him
(32:26):
as in like he was a bigger catch than she
thought he was, and now she thinks that he'd be
like a great bachelor, or she's thinking about like this personally,
like she's personally disappointed that she didn't like pursue him more.
I'm not quite sure out there, baby, Um, do you
want to date Joe if this doesn't work out for
him this time around? Or are you just hoping to
(32:48):
see Joe as a future bachelor? Either way, I get you.
This is another juicy headline. Katie Morton says that she
was torn after Colton Underwood came out, and she's also
giving us a little update on how Cassie ran off it.
So she says Cassie is doing great. She seems very happy.
She says she's noticeably moved on, and then when the
(33:11):
news came out about Colton, she said she was torn,
feeling relieved and happy for him to be free to
be himself, but also angry with him for not treating
her friend the way she should have been treatedim and
for putting her through what she went through. She says,
I was a very torn in that situation because there
was part of me saying and not fair, how dare you?
(33:31):
I can't believe you? And then there was a part
of me that was saying, it's starting to make sense.
How conflicted you must have been. How I feel for you,
She says she's definitely torn, but at the same time,
good for him for moving on and owning who he is.
In sad news this week, Um, Lauren Burnham or Lion Dyke.
(33:53):
You know Lauren, I always call O Lauren Laron Dyck,
but maybe she's still learned by Burnham because I still
go by Lionetti. Um. She had to go to the
hospital with a case of mastitis, and that's when you
have painful inflammation in your breast tissue, and I believe
that it's from breastfeeding. So she stayed overnight at the hospital.
She received antibiotics through an ivy drip, and she had
(34:15):
scans to look for any potential abscess. Is already said
on Instagram, she's been going through a lot this week, um,
And he was up all weekend with the baby's survival
over here, he said, ha ha, when he has his
handfull of three three kids. So our thoughts go out
to Lauren. We know she's home now and I hope
she's feeling much better. Becka Martinez, she had a a
(34:40):
moment being really upset over on Instagram because she's very
overwhelmed by raising her two kids and her nanny quit. Uh,
so she felt a lot of guilt back in March
when she decided that she just needed somebody to be
a part time babysitter. She said that she just felt
like really strung out, like she she just couldn't handle
(35:02):
everything on her own. And she finally found this babysitter
at the Kids Love that she got along with Ruth.
Her her oldest was asking if she was coming in
and she said she couldn't hold it together. She was crying.
She just said it was a really rough day. And
she said all this on her podcast, which is Chatty Broad's,
and I think she'll be looking for somebody else. So, hey,
(35:23):
if you are nanny out there, which ironically Becca was
when she went and became you know, went onto our
season of The Bachelor, well maybe send in your resumes.
I'm sure you know, look out for Becca's Instagram post.
Maybe she'll post something looking for nanny's in the southern
California area soon. And Chris Harrison responds to fans saying
(35:45):
that they miss him on the Bachelorette. He's saying, I
miss you all too. I think that's so sweet. Um.
It's one person on instagrams or via Twitter said I
think Chris Harrison misses us as much as we do.
You think that Chris Harrison misses us as much as
we miss him hashtag Bachelorette and he said, I truly do.
(36:07):
And then another Canadian viewer said the shows just aren't
the same without Chris, and then he said I miss
you all to so many loyal fans up in Canada.
Thank you. Um. And then another social media user said
that she loves and misses him and he says, love
you all too, always have, always will. So it's very sweet. Um,
(36:31):
oh my god. More baby news, guys, is a huge headline.
Raven Gates and Adam. Oh my god, how do I
not know how to say Adam's last name? It's got stock,
got god struck. We never say it. We always say
Raven and Adam, right, Raven and Adam, Raven Adam. Well,
Raven and Adam are having a baby. Um. Raven Actually
(36:51):
and I DMed a little bit last week. She told
me last week, which is was very sweet of her.
She was just like I wanted to like have like
the mommy founding thing with you, and I was like, oh,
you're so you're the cutest um. She I was like, wait,
why are you so pretty? That's literally how it started,
because she was like, what do you think our big
announcement is? What do you think our big announcement is?
You know? She keeps asking on Instagram, and I was like,
(37:13):
if you tell me that you're pregnant and you're this
pretty well she said. When she responded and said I am,
She's like too, she's about two weeks ahead of like
a week or two weeks ahead of me, And uh,
just congratulations to the happy couple. We know that they
have wanted this for a long time, COVID gotten the
(37:36):
way they wanted to get married during I think they're
just supposed to get married. They got married this past April.
I think they're supposed to get married in two thousand nineteen.
And they wanted to start having kids in two thousand nineteen,
right after the wedding. Well they ended up having babies
still right after the wedding, just a little bit later.
And we are so happy for them. I just I
(37:57):
don't know what to say. It's just like, so it's
so cute that I it's kind of exciting that I'm
able to kind of go through this with somebody else
in Bachelor Nation. Um. She did tell people a little
a little bit of detail about what she's been going through.
She's not really been, um that nauseous. It says that
despite not experience any nausea, she's had some food aversions.
(38:19):
And what she told me was that like all the
foods that Adam would normally like, that that she normally
wouldn't like, she's been liking. So it's like all of
a sudden, she wants to eat when Adam eats. Um.
She also said that she's just had some lack of
energy and um, that has been kind of tough. But
(38:40):
it's all great, and I'm excited, and I'm also glad
that the baby doesn't come right away. She goes, I
have nine months to get ready. Um, they haven't found
out the sex yet, and I wonder if they are,
because she's just about that week where they should be
able to know, So I'll have to ask her about that.
But very happy for Raven and Adam. They are o
cute and they look beautiful in their announcement and I'm
(39:03):
very excited. And this is a shocking, shocking headline because
how are we just finding this out now. Clay Harbor
is cousins with andrew S from Katie season. Yeah, he's
cousins and he was talking to him a lot last
week when he had his departure from the show. He said,
(39:24):
we were texting all last night. He was saying how
hard it was to watch the show because it brought
back so many feelings, and he said, you know, I
know it's tough. People don't realize that you really are
feeling all these feelings, and once you separate from that
environment a little bit, you're like, Okay, I'm back in
the real world. But then you have to relive it
all and you go back and then you're like, wow,
that really was how you feel. You know, it was
(39:46):
really real at that point in time for me. Um,
So I mean, wow, how did we just not know
that these two were cousins and had each other to
lean on? Um and then find The headline of the
of the week is that Michelle Young her Bachelorette cante.
The contestants the guys for her Bachelorette's season have kind
(40:10):
of come out, so they're not the official releases yet,
but they are like those early releases that always seemed
to hit the internet, um, a couple of days before
like the official ABC dot Com release. Um, I would
go through them, but I think like, we're just gonna
end up going through the official release next week and
(40:33):
then I'll have been here and we can do the
thing or really kind of make fun of the guys
and make up wacky first impressions. So we'll wait for that. Um.
But a little interesting tidbit according to Reality Steve is
that this season looks to be filming Ian Michelle's hometown
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which kind of brings us back to
(40:55):
the days of Emily Maynard and I'm wondering why they
decided to do it in Minneso. Soda. Um, they're actually
staying at a hotel that is not like a campus hotel,
you know, like the past couple of seasons we've seen
like hotels where they're like far out. They're the kind
of like in the middle of nowhere and it's just
completely shut down for production and cast and crew. And
(41:18):
this I looked up the hotels and this hotel just
like is it it's like as not a skyscraper, but
it's a really tall building in the middle of an
actual city and they say that that's where the guys.
That's what Reality See was saying that the guys in
Michelle will be staying at that hotel, And it looks
like they'll be doing rose ceremonies at this place called
the Simple Mansion. And this Simple Mansion I also looked
(41:41):
up and it looks kind of like a a wedding venue. Um,
it's definitely, like, you know, not in the smack middle
of a city, but it's also doesn't look like it's
totally remote either. Um, and it's not huge, so I'm
not sure that they're going to have a whole bunch
of places to shoot for it. It'll be interesting if
maybe they start using Minneapolis as like a city to
(42:03):
explore and they're not totally locked down, like maybe they're
not traveling throughout the country or throughout the world, but
maybe they are just staying local and doing local dates.
So that could be really fun for her, especially to
be able to show guys her home and to do
things that she would actually do around there. And they're
apparently also um filming something in Palm Springs over the summer.
(42:25):
But it seems like the majority, or so says Reality See.
If the majority will take place in Minneapolis, so very
interesting stuff. Um that makes me think that, like I
would you know, with michael A's departure, and I really
just have been really on the Michael A should be
the Bachelor train. Um. I would love to see them
bring the show to Ohio, just like they brought the
(42:47):
show to North Carolina for Emily Maynard, um, because of
her child, and and do it do it somewhere in
Ohio and he'll be able to have his kid with
him throughout the entire time. I just think that he
is such a front runner become the Bachelor, and he's
so so sweet. But that does but then you also
have to think that there are going to be a
(43:08):
lot of contenders I'm sure from Michelle season, so we'll
have to see after that. And plus, like, have we
even gotten official word that The Bachelor has been renewed?
That's crazy. I don't think that the ABC has officially
renewed The Bachelor yet, which is just wild. But they
do normally film in September and that is just around
the corner. Final casting week is usually in August, so
(43:33):
we shall see. Well anyway, guys, um, thanks for sticking
with me, and you know, just me through some of
this and listening to me ramble to myself. I appreciate
you guys always, thank you for being understanding to me,
not necessarily being my perkies of self lately, but you
(43:54):
rock and we really love and appreciate each and every
one of you who listen to this podcast. I hope
we see you next this week live at our looped
live dot com event. So you guys, go to loop
live dot com and get your tickets for Ben and
Jess's I Heart engagement party. All Right, I love you
so much. Until then, I've been ashally Bye. Follow the
(44:18):
Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeart Radio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
This is the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast
with i R Radio. Hello, guys, welcome to the Almost
Famous Podcast. It is Ashley. Ben isn't here. He has
a he has an event in Ohio today. Iowa. He
hasn't been in Iowa today. Um, but I'm going to
be joined by Desiree Hardstock. She's gonna come on and
(00:22):
recap this episode with me, which my bad. I went
into this episode thinking it was gonna be Hometowns. I
was really excited, and then it dawned on me that
there was a reason we didn't see a preview for
Hometowns last week. Yeah, it wasn't Hometowns this week. It
was mental all plus a little fifteen minute clip of
us seeing Michael a leave and that is something that
(00:46):
I kind of foresaw for a while, just there was
something about that face time he had with this son.
I was like, when the sun says, Daddy, do you
don't want to see me anymore? That guy is not
going to stick around. So I'll get in to that
with Does in a little bit, But first I wanted
to remind you guys of our virtual event. It's coming
up this week. It is Ben and Jess's engagement party.
(01:08):
It's gonna take place in Napa I unfortunately am not
quite in the right health to be traveling six hours
across country and six hours back being on a plane.
Oh my god, I can't even imagine being on a
plane that long right now. Um, So they're gonna party
without us, not that I can party in Napa Valley
(01:29):
where all there is is what was wine. Um So,
unfortunately I won't be able to be there in person,
but I will be here for our event digitally, and
you guys, I hope that you're there too. It's on
July it's from five to six Pacific time, and tickets
are on sale now at looped live dot com. That
it's l O O p e d live dot com
(01:52):
And so yeah, it's their engagement It's like, you know,
it's their I Heart engagement party. Um, Nick is gonna
be there, Dean, Kaylyn Wells are all going to be
toasting to Ben and Jess, and I know Jess is
really excited to go to Nappa for the first time.
And we really want you to join us because not
only do we love to engage with you guys digitally,
because there'll be a great chat and we'll be able
(02:12):
to like get all your live feedback. But it's also
benefiting Humanity and Hope United Foundation, which is a foundation
that is so near and dear to Ben's heart and
they do so much good in the world. So it's
going to be a party without us, and I'm going
to be disappointed that I'm not there, but you know what,
I'm also gonna be happy that I'm probably gonna be
sitting on a couch and it'll be hopefully knock on
(02:35):
wood before we know it that I can actually socialize again.
Um okay, So guys, we are going to get Dez
on the podcast right after this break. She's the best
to recap, so looking forward to it. See it is
that alright, guys, we have a desiree man. Why do
(03:04):
I always just want to call you hard Stock? That's okay?
I mean, do you stick with hard Stock at all?
Or do you always just go bay this? Yeah? Okay,
Well you guys. She is the author of the book
Road to Roses, The Road to Roses, which we talked
about with her a couple of months ago on the podcast.
How is the How are you feeling about the book
(03:26):
now that it's out? There. Good. It feels good to
have it out and in people's hands. Um, yeah, it
feels good. It's nice to be able to share, you know,
share your story and and have the feedback come back.
What kind of feedback have you gotten? Like? Um, what
have what have fans really related to in it? Um?
I think it's been great because a lot of it
(03:46):
shares more than just you know, the Bachelor Bachelor experience.
So I think it's been great for readers to see
where more of where I came from and what has
made me who I am and how you know, faith
and hope, and how all of that kind of aligns
into um, keeping keep putting where it kept pushing me
through in every season of life, that's awesome. If you
(04:08):
can give like a little elevator pitch as to like
why your book is different than like a regular tell all,
what would you tell? Yeah? Well, I mean it really
isn't a tell all just based on the Bachelor Bachelorette. Um.
I really share you know, about my heart, my hope,
growing up not having much and going through really terrible
(04:29):
dating experiences. Um, but also how you know, learning who
I am, um, finding my identity, finding worth and finding
my work, and he gustrated me to be and not
in what other people said. It was a little um
but also just really, um, I don't know, holding onto hope.
(04:50):
Hope is truly the key message throughout my statory. So
I think now more than ever, people need hope. So
it's much more than about the Bachelor bachelort. That's great, no,
I love that. Um. Okay, so you guys can get
Road to the Road to Roses on Amazon today. And
I just want to talk a little bit to Daz
(05:11):
about like mommy life because obviously I'm experiencing the first
beginning of that. How was your first um, well, how
was your pregnancy? It's like, how do they feel like?
Because I've been talking so much about how like I
didn't expect it to be like this. I expected it
to be like when people said morning sickness. I knew
it wasn't just mourning, but I knew that it wasn't
(05:34):
just morning. But I thought it was gonna be like, oh,
like I'll be somewhere and then all of a sudden,
I'll get the urge to throw up. Like nobody told
me that it was going to be like a nonsub
nauseous thing. So how how were you both times? They
should call it like the hour sickness, not not morning,
you know, iron it. I mean, I was very fortunate.
(05:56):
I had pretty good pregnancies. I um, I was mainly
only sick the first time around. And but I just
ate so like I felt nauseous, I just ate and
eat some more. So I gained like all my baby
weight in the first three months because I was just
so hu well. I was just trying to keep like
(06:17):
the nausea at base. So I just kept eating. No,
I get it. I need to eat every two hours
or I get I get nauseous, like a like a
meal every two hours, which I thought, I was like, oh,
I have to get in weight, But in the the
month I lost a pound. Really maybe it's just are
(06:37):
you actually throwing up? But I'm not always throwing up
the food, which is weird. Like I still am able
to keep a good mountain down of the food, so
like maybe I'll throw up like twice a day, but
like I'm still consuming way more calories than like a
normal day. So it's still the math doesn't make sense
to me. But whatever, Yeah, it's so wild, huh, It's
(06:57):
it's so crazy. How that a little baby like takes
your entire body for for nine months and does whatever
it wants. Your body just does whatever it wants. It's
like crazy, it's so weird. We had our second ultrasound
last week, and it did make me feel a little
bit like a little more attached to the baby, because
(07:18):
at first when you see it, it's literally like this
looks like a speck, right, And then the second time
it was like, oh my god. Now a month later
it has like a head and then the body like
I can see it, and I was like, oh, it's
so cute. It's cute. Like it's like, okay, well, like
now I'm not as mad at you for making me
throw up all the time. Yeah. Oh, just wait until
(07:39):
you start to feel the baby move. That's that's just heart,
you know, that's when you really feel that connection. This
is like maybe a tm my question, but I've always
been fascinated by this. Um, how are your deliveries? Okay
mine were really well, I mean so I went all
natural you did, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So like Chris,
(08:03):
Chris was born in the same house that his parents
still live in, so yeah, and so it was just
kind of their lifestyle and as I learned more and
I was you know, I went I just like learned
more about the process of birthing and pregnancy. I decided
that I wanted to go that route. And yeah, I
mean I can get real deep and t m I
(08:26):
but it is tough, you know, it's tough, but it's
just incredible what we can do as women, like incredible. Well,
you are far stronger than I. I could never do
the natural route. No, and that's totally okay. Yeah, Like,
whatever you need to do to get the baby out
(08:46):
safely and healthy, that is all that matters. Um, all right,
So let's let's pivot a little bit and get into
Katie's season. I do believe that maybe you have. You
were on maybe a week or so before Katie season.
Do you remember when you were on? Was it like
the very beginning of Katie season or very I think
it was the very beginning, probably probably just the first
(09:10):
episode had aired. So who have you been rooting on
throughout the season? Okay, so I haven't. I've caught up
a little bit because I watched the beginning and then
a lot of times in the middle I get a
little like busy. Um, so I caught up and I
(09:31):
think she has some really good guys in her season,
like they I think a few, she said, some bad ones,
but I do think they genuinely are there for her. Um,
I don't have a favorite. You don't, well, I liked, Yeah,
I don't. Yeah, maybe that's because I missed a few episodes.
(09:55):
But I love her connection with you know, with Greg
and with Lake and oh my gosh, so sad Michael
leaving Michael, That's what I was waiting for. I don't know,
I'm sorry, I'm like a little he just like brings
light to the TV screen for me. He I feel
(10:15):
like without him there, it's just like what am I
going to just be engaged with during the show. I
that was heart wrenching for me to see him like leave.
And but but as a parent, like I get it,
you know, I get it. We will choose your kids
(10:36):
over anything any day. Yeah, let's start there, because that
is the first scene of this episode, you know, because
before we get to mental law, we get this fifteen
minutes segment of Michael on the phone on FaceTime with
his son, and his son says, I think I know
why you're not here. I think you're you don't want
(10:58):
to see me anymore or something all those lines, which,
oh my god, that is the saddest thing ever. Ah,
the heartbreaking. I mean you could see it in his
face the moment his son said that he was like done,
you know what, I mean, it all back home because
the moment, well, I was thinking about it too. So
(11:19):
you know, like a full season is about ten weeks
if you make it to the end. But they had
to quarantine. Do you know how long they had a
quarantine beforehand? I feel like the guys may have I
feel like over seven days, because if like guests have
to do seven days, I feel like the the guys
probably coming and do like at least ten early on. Yeah,
(11:40):
so he was He's already even gone for almost maybe
a month and a half. That's a really long time.
I guess the only thing to say is like, but
he went all that time to just not wait it out,
like another two weeks I don't know. But at the
same time, like I haven't felt like I've loved him,
(12:03):
and like, of course, like I'm supporting I love Katie,
but I don't know the two of them together, like
You've always made a ton of sense to me. Um,
so I don't know that. Yeah, we're you shocked of
her saying like all the time, like she could see
him at the end kind of because I think that
(12:23):
she was, like, I think, to be honest, in her brain,
she was like, I've pictured it, but I don't think
that she like pictured it only with him. That makes sense, Yeah,
that makes sense. Yeah, I think she pictured it with
with like two other guys as well. Yeah, Like, well,
I mean if I could have three different you know, husbands,
(12:45):
and yeah, you'd get in. Um. I don't know. For me,
whenever there's someone that's like a single parent, I feel
like you're doing you have to really seek that relationship
quickly to see if it's worth in otherwise let them
go home, you know. But I don't think she wanted
to let him go home. I think she wanted to
(13:06):
keep She just like every week there was something more
and more that she wanted to explore with him. I
do think there could have been some way to like
maybe working out, like if she really, like, if she
thought that was her person. If this is one of
the Bachelor at seasons where like the Bachelor atte had
decided who it was like early on, you know, did
(13:29):
you say who would you would you say, like to leave? Yeah,
Like I if that was the guy that I knew
I was going to pick all along, then I would
have been like, oh, okay, well, I guess this season
ends here, you know, totally totally, no, I hear you.
But she obviously has different connections with the other guys,
so it's like, yeah, so she he wasn't, then yeah
(13:52):
he wasn't. To me, he wasn't, because I think she
could have tried something more out or at least like
been like I'm just trying to think from the perspective
of me in her shoes, I think I would have
been like, Okay, well, I guess that means I have
three other guys, and if at the end of these
couple of weeks, I still am thinking about you and
(14:14):
I'm still thinking like I would rather him be here
instead of this other guy, then I'll just leave this
process and be like, Okay, I found my guy through this.
He just couldn't have been here in the end. Yeah,
I think I think that's what I probably would have done.
But then, like I would have kept going because I
do believe, like what she said to like, things happen
(14:35):
for a reason, and sometimes you can't control those things
that happen. But like, like you said, if I got
to the end and I was still like questioning, and
I'd probably like peace, I'm gonna go get my man, definitely,
and it would have been a great ending her like
going to his house in Ohio. I actually really like that. Yeah,
(14:57):
I mean too. But I think we end of get
her answer at mentel all, just to fast forward a
little bit, because Caitlin says, because says to Katie, well,
Michael says that the door is still open and he
still has all those feelings for you. Uh so what
do you think about that? And she was like basically said, oh,
(15:17):
I moved on, like I'm I'm not choosing you. Yeah,
she said that pretty matter of factly. So that was
funny because as a viewer, you're seeing it like right
after it it happened, but really months have gone by, right, right,
that happened like April, late in May or early May
(15:37):
or something like that. Yeah, so she's already you know,
moved on, hopefully, engaged, happy and all the things. But
her saying that's so matter of fact made me think like, okay,
so then she's definitely with Blake. Or she's definitely with Greg,
because I'm sorry, she's definitely not with Justin. She not
(15:59):
with right, Like, oh, did they have something? You know,
it was the most confusing thing last week. So but like,
what's so weird is to me like it's definitely blake
because there was this thing that came up a couple
of weeks ago in our headlines where so it came
(16:19):
out on the internet that Greg wanted to pursue acting
or something, and that was yeah, so he liked to
get acting classes. I don't know how hard he was
pursuing it. But there was a tweet out there that said,
like when you find out that like Greg the whole
time is really the one that was there for the
wrong reasons or something like hashtag acting classes. I'm totally
(16:40):
making up the tweet, but it was something like that,
and she liked it and then unliked it, which makes
me feel like it's definitely not Greg. Yeah, if she
liked it, I know interesting. I'm interested to see what
happens because the little you know, it's the little previews
you can't you can I don't know, I can't always
(17:02):
believe him because I just never know what's being chopped
up to like create the preview for what's coming. But
it's interesting, like where she says she wants to go home. Oh,
it's very interesting. It's very interesting. I have no idea
what that is. You think she ends up with Lake? Ye?
(17:23):
I mean my only theory now watching that is that
she finds out that like Greg is not as authentic. Yeah,
so I don't know, but it's actually what is with
all those guys like Hannah's season what was his name? Oh? Yeah,
I know, um Jed Yeah, yeah, Like they go the
(17:47):
they go the whole way, just to be I know.
All right, Well let's dive into the mentel all part.
So I think that Tasia and Caitlin did such a
good job hosting this. They were prose, they were so um,
they were so impressive. They Mentel is not an easy
episode to carry because it can't mess up. Yeah, you're
(18:12):
live in front of the audience. You've got to read
the prompter, You're getting little note notes in your earpiece.
It's hard. And then like the guys are constantly talking
over each other. You're gonna have to break up fights.
You have to deliver it with like a certain amount
of like like a sense of being commanding but also
being like emotional, and I just think that they really
(18:35):
balanced all of it perfectly. Yeah, I do too. They
did a really great job. Like and they're going to
be on Michelle season right. I don't know. I don't
know if we even answer about that, but we should
soon because it's going to start filming anymore. And now, yeah,
do you think this is like a tryout that they're
doing the like Caitlin and Tisha. I don't know. We
(18:58):
can end up with just one or I'm that's a
good thought. I have not thought about that. No, No,
I don't know. We'll see, okay. So I think like
this mental all was when I first started, like when
I first like remembered today that it was mental all,
I was like, oh God, the last thing I want
(19:19):
to do is here these guys arguing. But I was
pleasantly surprised to see that the arguing portion was only
like ten or fifteen minutes because everything that they had
to argue about was so dumb. Because everything was just
so dub you know, I actually agree. I was watching
it and because usually mental I'm like, oh here we go, um,
but you know, it was actually not bad and I actually,
(19:42):
I actually liked the guys. They were funny. Even when
they were like bantering, it was still really funny. Or
when they were fighting, it was just really stupid. So
it was like kind of funny, but overall it didn't
overtake the whole the whole night, I completely agree, because
most of their fights in the house were about like
(20:02):
who's there for the right reasons? Right, and like catching
guys quote being there for the wrong reasons because they
said stupid things like I know who the top four
is going to be, or like I want to be
the bachelor. So because because there was really no depth
to those arguments, we didn't have a lot of fighting,
which was great, But I thought it was very weird
(20:24):
that Thomas wasn't there in person. Any theories as to why, no,
he's afraid. Honestly, that's my best theory too. The best
you can just tell by the way he talks. He's
a really great like manipulator, like says the right things,
does the right things, and maybe you know deep down
(20:45):
he has great intentions, but I don't know. Yeah, I
felt this. I felt like, oh, maybe they just didn't
want to bother with his drama and they wanted it
to be condensed it as a video call. I don't know.
I think they have a choice because I remember back
so many years ago, um Tiara was like the villain
in our season and think they got her there, but
(21:11):
because you know, they would do anything to get the
people there in person. So it had to have been
something with him where either he didn't want to or
maybe a scheduling although I said he was like in
strmento or something. I forget. It's always hard to believe
when they say that there's a scheduling thing when it's
like somebody who was such a big character. I kind
(21:32):
of feel like I felt I feel like he probably
chickened out and try I just couldn't be convinced to come. Yeah,
I agree. Um so then there was let's see what
was like the other Another big moment and mental I
think would probably be when Connor got kissed by a
stranger in the audience that was actually really entertaining. I
(21:54):
was like, I was like, this is one of my
favorite mental moments of all time. Yes, And do you
think that a stage? I wasn't sure. I definitely think
it was stage because she was like miked up. She
sounds pretty clear that I didn't even think about it.
I think it was but I think it was cute
that he said that he was eyeing her from the
(22:14):
audience already. She was really cute, and then he said like,
I want to get your number. I think like they
probably went on a date. I think that was a
really cute scereo. I know, I was like, oh, we
need to know what happens to them. I know, we
got to get an update. That was cute. I actually
liked having something fun and like spontaneous happened during the
(22:35):
mental law. I also liked the fact that like made
him probably feel a lot better about the whole kissing thing,
because this poor guy was so embarrassing one to just
be called out on stage about it. Then for him
to be like, oh, yeah, I texted two or three
x is just to make sure it wasn't that bad,
and then that was the perfect redeeming moment, and all
(22:55):
the guys were so supportive afterward. It was supportive. That
was so cute, and it was it was cute that
he because I don't think Katie was saying like, you're
a bad kisser. She was just saying, we don't have
that spark kiss definitely, but still how sweet of him
to like go and like text his exes and be like,
(23:16):
was I just a terrible kisser? I know, poor guy,
poor guy. Um okay. But another moment that stood out
to me and seeing one of my favorite mental moments,
had nothing to do with this season. It was them
showing Caitlin and Jason's proposal, which we've all I've been
seen on Instagram that it doesn't matter because I can
(23:36):
watch it over and over again, it will never get old.
It was way better than seeing it on like big
It was I don't know. I actually didn't watch the
full thing on Instagram because I well I thought I did,
but then when I watched it back, I was like,
oh my gosh, he was so sweet, crying and so cute,
like I think, get the words out. It was so cute.
(24:00):
It was so cute when getting there hopefully soon, hopefully soon.
I mean they're in the wedding planning process. It's a
big you know how stressful that is? Yes, very much?
Um okay. So then as far as like Katie's conversations
with the guys, um, she she really just talks to
(24:20):
one one with Andrew and then with with um Michael,
and it just feels like she's been kind of like
moved past that she appreciate them. But you know, it
was like the same word of like, you know, I
love and respect you, which was great. I think she
always she's really good at saying like the right things. Yes,
(24:42):
I'm I'm very envious of that. She's very good at
that ends and my feelings get all is in the way,
and I get all. You know, she's just very like
straight to the point out her feelings. It's really good.
It's very impressive. Um. And then there was that moment
where she she butchered Aaron's name and called him which
(25:05):
like I get like they maybe look like they could
be brothers. Um. That was so funny though, because they
were talking about Thomas being like the worst and then
she calls him to Aaron is the worst. Though. I
seriously think that Aaron's the worst of all of them
because he was the one that started drama with everyone
and he was constantly being like I don't like him,
(25:26):
I don't like him. I don't like him, yes totally.
But he never got called out, you know, he never did,
which is weird. But like he still has like bad
vibes for me. Yeah, I agree. Um, as far as
other drama, I mean, they brought things up with Carl,
and you know, at the end of the day, I'm
pretty sure like Carl does look a little bit silly
(25:48):
because he he was like I said, it was multiple guys. No,
I meant it was just Thomas, and it's just like, Okay,
you got caught. It's fine. And then there was the
stuff with um, what's his name, Cody. I mean like
it was so earlier, like knowing each other or something. Yeah,
and he was like, I'm going to be famous in
(26:09):
six months, and he was like, no, you took that
off contact and it probably wasn't out of contact, but yeah,
out of contact. Yeah, Like what else are you gonna
be famous for? That's the thing like I'm so thankful
for is that back in my day, like Instagram had
just started up, like kind of and so I don't know,
it wasn't a conversation. It was a conversation like are
(26:32):
you there for the right reasons? Has always been a conversation,
but now it's just like more heightened because of social media,
and I don't know if most people are on there
for the right reasons. It's hard to say. I mean,
you know, you know that even Sean Lowe, who's like
the epitome of who do you think would be there
(26:52):
for the right reasons, basically writes in his book that
he wasn't, And like back then it was you know,
you make friends, you travel, you like get like a
little fifteen minutes of attention and it's pretty cool. But
then you know it's going to be over. Yeah. Yeah,
it's just so crazy. I feel like it's much harder though,
(27:13):
now for them to like prove yeah, to prove it
or navigate relationships maybe after the fact too, because of
social media and the pressure. Oh yeah, it's really hard
to prove You're like, it's just a cluster these days.
I don't fit. I don't pity them. I feel like everybody,
um can be there and be at a risk for
(27:35):
being called that these days absolutely Um. All right, Well, anyway,
so the next sneak peek that will will analyze the
sneak peek a little bit more. Um Blake says that
Katie is everything he's ever wanted. Greg says that she
makes him the happiest he's ever been. Um Gregg says
that he's falling so hard for Katie. He gets he
gets six, he gets six to it. He gets sick
(27:57):
to his stomach whenever he sees her kiss other guys.
And then she says that everything is blowing up her
in her face and she just wants someone to book
her flight home. So I mean, oh my gosh. And
Justin also says he's fully in love with her. It
just doesn't feel real. No, do you think Justin's falling
(28:17):
in love with her? It's just more oh, he's in
love with the thought in his head thought, Yeah, I'm
interested to see her meet the families too, because it
looks like it couldn't I couldn't tell, but I mean
it looked like maybe Greg's family or Katie had questions. Um,
there wasn't clarity there in that, but um, yeah, I
(28:41):
don't know. I feel like that's always a telling sign
when you meet the family. Yeah. And then there was
also this moment where it was like, if Katie doesn't
get engaged to at the end of this, she's going
to be like devastated or something like that. And was
that that was coming from somebody in her family? Was
that I didn't know who that was? I think so,
I don't know. Could you imagine if one of the
(29:01):
guys is like, I just don't know if I can
propose next week, Oh my gosh, that would be crazy.
I mean, it happens. I've definitely seen it happen recently.
All right, Well, I mean I guess, as always, the
preview just looks great and juicy at this point. But
of course, and I don't I don't think she actually
(29:22):
goes home. I mean, I don't know. When I was
on the show, I said I wanted to go home,
And that's usually just because you're like emotionally drained and
you're just kind of like you it's not that you
want to go home. You just really want like a
big hug and a glass of wine. You just want
a loan time. You want a loan time. You want
your friends to like help you out. And so I
(29:45):
don't think she actually goes home. It's just more so
of like she just wants space to think through what
she needs to do. Yeah, that's actually a really good point.
I would feel like probably really trapped at the end,
like the top three, if I couldn't get advice from
my family mm hmm, just being like, who do you
(30:05):
guys feel like I guess, I guess you do get that,
especially with top two. Then you start getting feedback. Yeah,
but I feel like but when things start to you know,
get hard or like confusing, then you're just overwhelmed. And
so I feel like everyone would say I want to
go home. I mean I actually did say that, So
(30:28):
it's like I feel her. Yeah, I bet you every
lead says that. Oh, I'm sure at some point. All Right, well, Dez,
thank you so much for joining us. I appreciate you
so much for being here and breaking out this episode
with me. I truly couldn't have done it without you.
Thanks for having me. Alright, talked to you soon, Bye bye.
(30:58):
All right, Well, before we have out of here, I'm
doing Bachelor headlines by myself, which seems like it might
be weird because Ben always like it's really dramatic and
reads the headline and I kind of explain it. But
it's okay, I'll read the head I'll do both today.
So the first one is actually quite juicy. I think
it's Bibiana, you know, you know, Bibbie Julian. She admits
(31:20):
that she slept on quote quote not slept on directly
because when I first read this headline, I was like,
she slept on top of Joe amabla. No, she slept
on him as if she kind of didn't realize he
was there during Bachelor in Paradise, and she she also
ranks her her experiences on the Bachelor. So she says
(31:41):
that when she was on Bachelor in Paradise season five,
her only regret and she keeps thinking about it today,
was that she slept on grocery store Joe. I totally
slept on him, she said. She said, I talked to
him prior and it was something like obviously they were
already talking to him about going, but he wasn't sure
(32:04):
if it was going to be an easy decision um
for him, like do I do this? Do I not?
And then she here, she sees him. He's back in
the mix, he's on click bait, he's single, and she's like,
if things don't work out for him on Paradise this
time around, he would be a bachelor pick for me too.
So is she's saying here that she slept on him
(32:26):
as in like he was a bigger catch than she
thought he was, and now she thinks that he'd be
like a great bachelor, or she's thinking about like this personally,
like she's personally disappointed that she didn't like pursue him more.
I'm not quite sure out there, baby, Um, do you
want to date Joe if this doesn't work out for
him this time around? Or are you just hoping to
(32:48):
see Joe as a future bachelor? Either way, I get you.
This is another juicy headline. Katie Morton says that she
was torn after Colton Underwood came out, and she's also
giving us a little update on how Cassie ran off it.
So she says Cassie is doing great. She seems very happy.
She says she's noticeably moved on, and then when the
(33:11):
news came out about Colton, she said she was torn,
feeling relieved and happy for him to be free to
be himself, but also angry with him for not treating
her friend the way she should have been treatedim and
for putting her through what she went through. She says,
I was a very torn in that situation because there
was part of me saying and not fair, how dare you?
(33:31):
I can't believe you? And then there was a part
of me that was saying, it's starting to make sense.
How conflicted you must have been. How I feel for you,
She says she's definitely torn, but at the same time,
good for him for moving on and owning who he is.
In sad news this week, Um, Lauren Burnham or Lion Dyke.
(33:53):
You know Lauren, I always call O Lauren Laron Dyck,
but maybe she's still learned by Burnham because I still
go by Lionetti. Um. She had to go to the
hospital with a case of mastitis, and that's when you
have painful inflammation in your breast tissue, and I believe
that it's from breastfeeding. So she stayed overnight at the hospital.
She received antibiotics through an ivy drip, and she had
(34:15):
scans to look for any potential abscess. Is already said
on Instagram, she's been going through a lot this week, um,
And he was up all weekend with the baby's survival
over here, he said, ha ha, when he has his
handfull of three three kids. So our thoughts go out
to Lauren. We know she's home now and I hope
she's feeling much better. Becka Martinez, she had a a
(34:40):
moment being really upset over on Instagram because she's very
overwhelmed by raising her two kids and her nanny quit. Uh,
so she felt a lot of guilt back in March
when she decided that she just needed somebody to be
a part time babysitter. She said that she just felt
like really strung out, like she she just couldn't handle
(35:02):
everything on her own. And she finally found this babysitter
at the Kids Love that she got along with Ruth.
Her her oldest was asking if she was coming in
and she said she couldn't hold it together. She was crying.
She just said it was a really rough day. And
she said all this on her podcast, which is Chatty Broad's,
and I think she'll be looking for somebody else. So, hey,
(35:23):
if you are nanny out there, which ironically Becca was
when she went and became you know, went onto our
season of The Bachelor, well maybe send in your resumes.
I'm sure you know, look out for Becca's Instagram post.
Maybe she'll post something looking for nanny's in the southern
California area soon. And Chris Harrison responds to fans saying
(35:45):
that they miss him on the Bachelorette. He's saying, I
miss you all too. I think that's so sweet. Um.
It's one person on instagrams or via Twitter said I
think Chris Harrison misses us as much as we do.
You think that Chris Harrison misses us as much as
we miss him hashtag Bachelorette and he said, I truly do.
(36:07):
And then another Canadian viewer said the shows just aren't
the same without Chris, and then he said I miss
you all to so many loyal fans up in Canada.
Thank you. Um. And then another social media user said
that she loves and misses him and he says, love
you all too, always have, always will. So it's very sweet. Um,
(36:31):
oh my god. More baby news, guys, is a huge headline.
Raven Gates and Adam. Oh my god, how do I
not know how to say Adam's last name? It's got stock,
got god struck. We never say it. We always say
Raven and Adam, right, Raven and Adam, Raven Adam. Well,
Raven and Adam are having a baby. Um. Raven Actually
(36:51):
and I DMed a little bit last week. She told
me last week, which is was very sweet of her.
She was just like I wanted to like have like
the mommy founding thing with you, and I was like, oh,
you're so you're the cutest um. She I was like, wait,
why are you so pretty? That's literally how it started,
because she was like, what do you think our big
announcement is? What do you think our big announcement is?
You know? She keeps asking on Instagram, and I was like,
(37:13):
if you tell me that you're pregnant and you're this
pretty well she said. When she responded and said I am,
She's like too, she's about two weeks ahead of like
a week or two weeks ahead of me, And uh,
just congratulations to the happy couple. We know that they
have wanted this for a long time, COVID gotten the
(37:36):
way they wanted to get married during I think they're
just supposed to get married. They got married this past April.
I think they're supposed to get married in two thousand nineteen.
And they wanted to start having kids in two thousand nineteen,
right after the wedding. Well they ended up having babies
still right after the wedding, just a little bit later.
And we are so happy for them. I just I
(37:57):
don't know what to say. It's just like, so it's
so cute that I it's kind of exciting that I'm
able to kind of go through this with somebody else
in Bachelor Nation. Um. She did tell people a little
a little bit of detail about what she's been going through.
She's not really been, um that nauseous. It says that
despite not experience any nausea, she's had some food aversions.
(38:19):
And what she told me was that like all the
foods that Adam would normally like, that that she normally
wouldn't like, she's been liking. So it's like all of
a sudden, she wants to eat when Adam eats. Um.
She also said that she's just had some lack of
energy and um, that has been kind of tough. But
(38:40):
it's all great, and I'm excited, and I'm also glad
that the baby doesn't come right away. She goes, I
have nine months to get ready. Um, they haven't found
out the sex yet, and I wonder if they are,
because she's just about that week where they should be
able to know, So I'll have to ask her about that.
But very happy for Raven and Adam. They are o
cute and they look beautiful in their announcement and I'm
(39:03):
very excited. And this is a shocking, shocking headline because
how are we just finding this out now. Clay Harbor
is cousins with andrew S from Katie season. Yeah, he's
cousins and he was talking to him a lot last
week when he had his departure from the show. He said,
(39:24):
we were texting all last night. He was saying how
hard it was to watch the show because it brought
back so many feelings, and he said, you know, I
know it's tough. People don't realize that you really are
feeling all these feelings, and once you separate from that
environment a little bit, you're like, Okay, I'm back in
the real world. But then you have to relive it
all and you go back and then you're like, wow,
that really was how you feel. You know, it was
(39:46):
really real at that point in time for me. Um,
So I mean, wow, how did we just not know
that these two were cousins and had each other to
lean on? Um and then find The headline of the
of the week is that Michelle Young her Bachelorette cante.
The contestants the guys for her Bachelorette's season have kind
(40:10):
of come out, so they're not the official releases yet,
but they are like those early releases that always seemed
to hit the internet, um, a couple of days before
like the official ABC dot Com release. Um, I would
go through them, but I think like, we're just gonna
end up going through the official release next week and
(40:33):
then I'll have been here and we can do the
thing or really kind of make fun of the guys
and make up wacky first impressions. So we'll wait for that. Um.
But a little interesting tidbit according to Reality Steve is
that this season looks to be filming Ian Michelle's hometown
of Minneapolis, Minnesota, which kind of brings us back to
(40:55):
the days of Emily Maynard and I'm wondering why they
decided to do it in Minneso. Soda. Um, they're actually
staying at a hotel that is not like a campus hotel,
you know, like the past couple of seasons we've seen
like hotels where they're like far out. They're the kind
of like in the middle of nowhere and it's just
completely shut down for production and cast and crew. And
(41:18):
this I looked up the hotels and this hotel just
like is it it's like as not a skyscraper, but
it's a really tall building in the middle of an
actual city and they say that that's where the guys.
That's what Reality See was saying that the guys in
Michelle will be staying at that hotel, And it looks
like they'll be doing rose ceremonies at this place called
the Simple Mansion. And this Simple Mansion I also looked
(41:41):
up and it looks kind of like a a wedding venue. Um,
it's definitely, like, you know, not in the smack middle
of a city, but it's also doesn't look like it's
totally remote either. Um, and it's not huge, so I'm
not sure that they're going to have a whole bunch
of places to shoot for it. It'll be interesting if
maybe they start using Minneapolis as like a city to
(42:03):
explore and they're not totally locked down, like maybe they're
not traveling throughout the country or throughout the world, but
maybe they are just staying local and doing local dates.
So that could be really fun for her, especially to
be able to show guys her home and to do
things that she would actually do around there. And they're
apparently also um filming something in Palm Springs over the summer.
(42:25):
But it seems like the majority, or so says Reality See.
If the majority will take place in Minneapolis, so very
interesting stuff. Um that makes me think that, like I
would you know, with michael A's departure, and I really
just have been really on the Michael A should be
the Bachelor train. Um. I would love to see them
bring the show to Ohio, just like they brought the
(42:47):
show to North Carolina for Emily Maynard, um, because of
her child, and and do it do it somewhere in
Ohio and he'll be able to have his kid with
him throughout the entire time. I just think that he
is such a front runner become the Bachelor, and he's
so so sweet. But that does but then you also
have to think that there are going to be a
(43:08):
lot of contenders I'm sure from Michelle season, so we'll
have to see after that. And plus, like, have we
even gotten official word that The Bachelor has been renewed?
That's crazy. I don't think that the ABC has officially
renewed The Bachelor yet, which is just wild. But they
do normally film in September and that is just around
the corner. Final casting week is usually in August, so
(43:33):
we shall see. Well anyway, guys, um, thanks for sticking
with me, and you know, just me through some of
this and listening to me ramble to myself. I appreciate
you guys always, thank you for being understanding to me,
not necessarily being my perkies of self lately, but you
(43:54):
rock and we really love and appreciate each and every
one of you who listen to this podcast. I hope
we see you next this week live at our looped
live dot com event. So you guys, go to loop
live dot com and get your tickets for Ben and
Jess's I Heart engagement party. All Right, I love you
so much. Until then, I've been ashally Bye. Follow the
(44:18):
Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeart Radio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts
Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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