October 21, 2022 • 19 mins
Jessenia Cruz is back from Paradise and has a LOT of tea to spill with Ben and Ashley!
She has a shocking admission about how this season compared to her first trip to Paradise and she spills everything about her love triangle!
And find out what happened in tender moments that were cut during her time with Andrew!
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Benn and Ashley I almost famous podcast
with our radio. We have a very special guest today,
somebody that made headlines and also an appearance on one
of our favorite shows, Bachelor in Paradise. She obviously is
a contestant we remember from Paradise because she is She's
always it feels like Ashley somebody that uh that sparks
(00:25):
not just controversy, but definitely enters into the mix. In Paradise,
She's definitely there to enter into the mix. She doesn't
stand on the sidelines. Who's our guest today, Our Jess,
Our Jess. Our guest is jes Senya Cruz. You know
her from Matt season and last season a Bachelor in Paradise.
She's a twenty nine year old former pageant queen and
(00:50):
this season it looks like she's going after Andrew quite hard. Now,
before we get her on Ben, I know that she
was involved in some drama last year, but this is
classic Bachelor memory. I know her as being somebody who,
like you said, is integrated in the drama. But I
have no idea what was so dramatic last year. All
I know is that she's a great character to have
(01:12):
on t day. Do you remember I don't. I don't remember.
I don't remember a lot um. But we're gonna ask her.
We're gonna talk to you about her experience, why she
came back, because I know Paradise wasn't exactly easy for
her first time around. And then we're gonna talk to
you about her kind of pursuing of Andrew. I want
to know what it's like, Ashley, to be on the beach,
(01:33):
to know that this guy is interesting somebody else. He's
telling you he's interesting somebody else, and still being like, hey,
you know what, I'm gonna still give it a shot.
That takes confidence, that takes grit. Uh, And I want
to hear where her mind was at through the whole process.
So hey, let's bring her on. Let's talk to just
send your cruise. Hello, just sen you? Hello? Are you?
I'm good? Hey? You know we we prefaced it in
(01:54):
the intro Ashley and I were trying to remember exactly
what happened last season. We just know you're always a
main character, and you you feel like it feels like
you dive into Paradise, not in a good or bad way,
probably mostly good. You just dive in if you feel
like you take advantage of the opportunities in front of you,
which seems with the setup of Paradise to always involve
(02:15):
if you're gonna dive in head first love triangles, you're
always gonna find yourself in some type of like confusing
relationship dynamic. Uh. And it doesn't feel like last season
was the only time that's going to happen. Watching it now,
it kind of feels like it's gonna happen all over again.
So we're so excited to have you here and talk
about Paradise and talk about your life. Um so again,
(02:37):
thanks for joining us, Thank you for having me. Well
just sonya, Uh, did you know going into Paradise this
season that you're going to be entering as a group?
Good question, No, not at all. I think everyone kind
of goes into Paradise hoping that they bey in a
good spot, I guess, because, as we all know, if
the later you go in the hard race to fill
the connection. So when I first arrived, I was just
(02:59):
kind of like, you know what, I'm just gonna, you know,
take it as it is. Whatever happens happens. So as
I'm getting ready that day to go down to the beach,
I have no idea if I'm going alone or like
what the twist might be, because obviously we're going to
speculate to the point where it almost dress ourselves mad um.
So it wasn't until I literally arrived in the holding
room with all the other ladies and I was like, wait,
(03:20):
this is actually really fun. It's going to be all
of us together. And I've kind of felt like the
weight was a lot lighter because there's a lot of
pressure when you're writing into Paradise. So going with a
few other ladies definitely helped. Oh interesting, see, I would
have thought maybe differently, I would have been like, oh,
I'm like walking in with my competition, and I'm not.
(03:41):
I'm not making like an individual entrance to make a splash.
But I guess together you made a bigger splash than anything.
How intimidating was it to be in front of the
ladies who were about to leave you. I'm your direct competition.
It was so uncomfortable because so, yeah, I totally agree
(04:02):
like what you're saying that, yeah, you are technically walking
with you with your competition, But nerves wise, it definitely helped.
I couldn't imagine like walking into that situation where all
the ladies are just looking at us up and down.
If it was just me by myself, or if it
was us as a group, like I felt like we
could take the hit a little better as a group,
(04:23):
I would have just melted in place if it was
just me by myself and all the ladies were looking
at me that way. It's I wonder, who do you
think had the biggest advantage in that situation. Was it
the new group coming in or was it the the
women who had been there for a few weeks with
these guys already. I'm yet to I'm yet to be
(04:45):
clear on exactly who had the best advantage after you know,
they left now the girls that I talked about that
a lot, because the way we kind of agreed on
on the whole thing was we definitely felt like the
girls who were already there for a while probably had
a better advantage. So the only hope that we really
had was, well, we need to find out who doesn't
(05:06):
really have solid connection. Um So in my case, for example,
I felt that I was, if anything, the luckiest because Andrew,
although yes he was linked to Brittany, they had only
really spent a single day as like a linked couple.
Connection was you know, growing over the last few days, Like,
you know, she was linked to someone at first she
(05:27):
had her on one on one day, and then Andrew
was linked to someone. So I feel that I was
the luckiest in that situation. Well, who was on your
list going in? For sure? Andrew? I think, if anything,
Andrew was at the top of my list. Um. I
was curious about Michael A had always heard like wonderful
things about him, so I was like, well, of course,
you know, I'd be open to meeting him. Um, I
was curious about what's another guy that I had on
(05:50):
my list? Honestly can't remember. I just know because really
those were the two that was the most familiar with.
I really wasn't familiar with any of you guys from
the most previous season from Gabby and Rachel. So I
was just kind of like, whoever from that season will come,
I'm open to me too. So, I mean, it's interesting
because you know, obviously we talked about your first season
of Paradise. Uh, I don't know, I don't know what
(06:13):
you would say. Would you say it was a success,
like did you enjoy it? I mean, I mean, I
wouldn't say it was a complete success. I don't think
the flop either, in the sense that I genuinely had fun. Um.
A lot of the people from that season I'm still
very much friends with and we if any little thing
I've always said to myself, even back during matth season,
(06:35):
is even if I don't leave in a relationship or
get the guy or whatever, I know that I'm walking
away with some lifelong friendships. As you guys know, I mean,
you're connected to each other as the years go by,
you see each other grow and get married and build families.
So that's really a treasure for me too. I think
that's always one of the best um things that come
from Paradise is is the group that has joined. And
(06:56):
so then, was it hard for you? I mean we're
just already speaking about you know, you arriving to the beach.
You're not planning on arriving in the way that you did,
you having interests in people. Was it a hard decision
at all for you to say, Hey, let's go and
try this again. Um, I would say it was a
little bit, just because you know, you can go into
it with you know, the most positive mindset, but you
(07:18):
really never know what's going to happen until you're there.
And what sucks about that environment is that nothing's really
in your control. Um So, yeah, I can be stressful,
whether it's things happening towards you or things happening to
other people. It sucks to see your friends, for example,
be upset, and it sucks to be upset. It's in
an environment where it's not like you can go and
call your best friend or call your your parents or whatever,
(07:41):
like you're just there. Um So, I think when it
came down to making the final decision, to be completely honest,
it's just, you know, I've always had this firm belief
that you know, what I've seen how it works for
my friends from previous seasons. They're still together, they're planning
weddings if it works for them, and like, I think
it could still very much work for me. So why
(08:02):
not give it at least one more shot? Because that's
what I'll say that right now. It was just one
more shot, But I was saying to get it after
this it's done. If you get invited, just go. That's
obviously that's my theory, you know, like, yeah, I've got
I've got I've got a clear schedule, let's do it.
Let's do it. Yeah, it's a really a once in
a lifetime opportunity that you may have a couple of times.
(08:25):
I'll see. Okay, So I want to go back to
Andrew for a second, because I was really um, like,
I was surprised that you went from basically like being
kindly rejected by him. He literally said, it's not you,
it's me, pretty much saying like, I really want to
pursue things with Brittany, but then you set up a
(08:46):
whole date for him despite that, We'll give you the
like the gusto to do it, to be completely honest,
and I will be frank. That conversation was extremely chopped up,
so it was a little frustrating to see how it
kind of played out. So I was like, Okay, I
guess that's how you know what they want to show it.
(09:08):
Then that's fine. But a lot went into that conversation,
and which is why in my interview, I'm I'm not sure.
I'm like, wait, so does he want to explore options
or does he not? Like at the end of the conversation,
I was still very unsure. Um, and then something's happened
that weren't shown, so that's ultimately what kind of gave me,
as we said, like THEU gusto to go ahead and
set up at T anyway, because honestly, I would not
(09:30):
have done that if there wasn't even like a crumb
of a possibility that he would be interested in me.
So it definitely a lot went into that conversation that
wasn't showing, and I took it as a viewer too.
As I was even watching us, he's kind of going
aroundabout way of trying to explain this. Yes, he like
he would like kind of like be like I'm interested,
You're great, um, but I'm very interested in Bertie, but
(09:52):
you know, I'm not closing like he kind of it
was like a confusing thing where it's like I don't
know exactly where he's at either. H that so, but
it was shocking to see you then planning this day.
(10:14):
I think I would have taken that. This is where
maybe my insecurities in Paradise would have totally had me fail.
Uh as soon as I like even closely got rejected
by somebody like even if there's a hint of it,
I bounce like I'm not but that's what I mean. Yeah,
that's what I mean, I feel like, you know, in
in real time, that conversation to me felt so like
(10:38):
one or the other. He is interested, but he also
might not be interested just because of his whole thing
with Brittany. But he also made it clear like it's
only been like a day. It's really like a new
new thing that I'm not even sure about. So that
ultimately for me kind of felt like, well, I can
maybe given another shot if he's open to it. But
it was so blatantly clear that he wasn't interested that
(11:00):
I absolutely would not have done that. I would have
just kind of, you know, tried to see those connection
somewhere else. So you might be a lucky one who
the ladies come back and Brittany is more interested in
Tyler because just in the previews it seems like Tyler
is what she's going for right now, So you might
(11:22):
just be able to be free. Can you give us
a little preview as to what's going to be when
those ladies do walk down on the beach next week?
I think so. I think. You know, a lot of
things can happen in Paradise. Things change literally within the day,
as you know, so honestly, a lot of people have
a lot to see next week, and I think that
there's gonna be some new connections for me that people
(11:43):
may not expect, and there might be a lot of
flip flopping too, So expect that. Now. Can you tell
us if the guys from Vendanta are all gonna come
down to the beach to meet the new girls or
are the guys that don't get paired up at Vandanta
just a eliminated Well that's the beauty of paradise though, right, Like,
there's opportunity for anything. So I think if anything, especially
(12:06):
us as cast we're constantly speculating every day, like I said,
to the point where it drives us crazy. So some
of us get it right, some of us get it
very wrong. But I think that next week there's definitely
a big surprise for everybody. Let's uh spend a second
here selfishly talking about somebody that I had a very
u protective feeling over and I didn't expect it. Um.
(12:31):
The only o g from from our time on The
Bachelor is in the season twenty of The Bachelor was
Lace Lace was was on my season and uh, she
lives in Denverse. I have gotten to know where outside
the show Lace is. Lace is very similar to what
she comes off on television. She is passionate, she is
(12:55):
um uh, deeply emotional. Um. She expresses openly what she's
feeling and how she's feeling it uh. And she's very
easily hurt, like deeply wounded. Um. And I think we
saw that, and so as somebody that maybe hadn't met
Lace before. I don't know if you had or hadn't,
(13:16):
but she shows up to the beach, um and is
obviously confused and obviously very stressed out. What were your feelings.
What was the conversations like amongst the women there? Um?
Did it make everything feel very real all of a sudden,
(13:36):
like less fun more real, Like walk us through what
you guys were talking about as she was obviously they're
very upset. Yeah, No, I think um based off Yeah,
the conversation with the ladies. A lot of it was
just kind of uncomfortable in the sense that, like we
really felt for her because we would obviously hate to
be in her position. And I agree like as you said, like, yeah,
(13:57):
she definitely seems like the kind of person that like,
she cares to ly and it shows. And I hated
also that that was the way, I you know, had
to meet her and you know, not necessarily at her best.
So whenever she came down, we obviously had already been
seeing or witnessing um Eliza and Rodney connecting, so we
(14:17):
kind of already knew what she was walking into. If
it was in our power, we would walk her right
back up the steps, just to like, you know, make
sure that she wouldn't get hurt. But it is what
it is, and you know, that's what sucks about Paradise is, yeah,
oftentimes people will get their feelings hurt. Um. So when
she was coming down, we all kind of like we're
bracing for that that crash for sure, and also bracing
(14:40):
for what maybe to come next week with all the
other ladies show up and go you took my maid? Yes,
now it literally in that moment too, like we were wondering, okay,
are they going to be just trickling down the ladies
one by one, like what's going on? But you know,
for for that night, it was just laced, but we
absolutely got a taste of what it could be. Like.
I know you can only tell us so much, but
(15:01):
from your last Paradise season compared to this Paradise season,
which one did you prefer being part of? Um, I
love that question. I'm going to be completely honest here.
I love my cast from last season. They were really fun.
They bounced back, Um, you we could have a hard
day the next day. It's as if, okay, you know what,
(15:23):
let's be positive, we'll have any day. This cast, although
they're great, I think that they really struggled with bouncing back. Yeah,
this cast individually, I love them all so much, but
as a group, they did love to commiserate together and
just be like this is an awful place. Yes, it
(15:43):
was honest, Like I don't know, I guess to me
because I get, you know whatever. When we were they
were doing the cuts back to the Badonta and to
the beach and seeing the ladies moving around and being
all upset, I totally feel that absolutely same. I would be.
I would be one of them, I know it. Yeah,
but it's you know, try to just roll with the
punches and see the positive in it, you know. And
(16:04):
I think even the men were saying once we did
the switch, they said, honestly, we felt like the energy
just lifted, Like it truly feels like a fresh start.
So I don't know, I think they were maybe struggling
with just moving on from the hard times in Paradise,
and they kind of lingered on that a little too much.
But I do feel like a lot of times they
just didn't want to accept the fact that they were
(16:26):
on a reality TV show. Yes, do you know what
I mean that they were like, how dare they? How
dare this like spin? Or this this twis? It's like,
you guys are on TV. You're not just actually, you know.
And I'm glad that you see that because when I
was there, obviously like, this is now my third season,
so by then you kind of already know how it works, right.
(16:47):
You know, you're supposed to have conversations. You know, you
signed up for a show. People are going to see
you at your most vulnerable, at your most awkward, at
your best season. So have fun with it, you know,
be human. And I think that's what a lot of
people in this cast were afraid to do, was to
just be human. But I'm not going to entirely place
the blame on them either. I think that in a
(17:08):
lot of ways, the audience doesn't allow us to be
human either. We're not allowed to be upset, We're not
allowed Why so so you know, I'm not gonna necessarily
blame that on them either. It's definitely the audience as
a big impact on that. The dynamic was interesting to
watch where you know, the guys in the beach and uh,
(17:29):
you know, the Paradise location felt like the vibe increased,
where at the Vedanta it did feel like it stayed
very melancholy. Yeah, I remember when the girls um, eventually
they do come back, obviously to rekindle whatever they think
that they might have back on the beach. Um. You know,
they kind of expressed how it was a little down
(17:51):
and no one really wanted to interact with the guys
as we saw, like you know, ohlu asking of the
girls to just stump in the pool and have fun,
and they were not having it. So they were also
pretty transparent about how they were feeling being over at
the Dante. How awkward. That's such a weird situation. I
don't know what I would do. I just if I
was one of the dudes that I just crawl up
and the couch, probably take a couple of naps. Say
(18:12):
all right. Was my favorite parts, like the guys looking
up at the walls instead of look they did not
want any problems, I would probably be laughed crying. All right, Well,
just Sonia, thank you so much for joining us. I
can't wait to see where your storyline ends on this
or begins whatever way you wanted on this season in Paradise.
(18:34):
Yeah for having me. Always spent talking with you guys,
get to see you. It's always great to talk to
Just Sina. What a character in Paradise. Uh, And I
do really appreciate her diving into Paradise. I am very
excited not only for her story about all those stories
to progress into next week. I'm I'm waiting. I'm waiting
(18:57):
for next week's episode. Me to this is. This was
a week of Paradise episodes that was very, very captivating
in the sense that I wasn't on my phone at
all during all four hours, like I was glued to
the TV. And we will be recapping both those episodes
and another episode of the Almost Famous podcast this week,
So if you haven't listened to that one yet, go
(19:19):
look for it. We love you guys so much. Until
next time, I've been actually and I've been Ben, We'll
talk to you soon. Followed the 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 our radio. We have a very special guest today,
somebody that made headlines and also an appearance on one
of our favorite shows, Bachelor in Paradise. She obviously is
a contestant we remember from Paradise because she is She's
always it feels like Ashley somebody that uh that sparks
(00:25):
not just controversy, but definitely enters into the mix. In Paradise,
She's definitely there to enter into the mix. She doesn't
stand on the sidelines. Who's our guest today, Our Jess,
Our Jess. Our guest is jes Senya Cruz. You know
her from Matt season and last season a Bachelor in Paradise.
She's a twenty nine year old former pageant queen and
(00:50):
this season it looks like she's going after Andrew quite hard. Now,
before we get her on Ben, I know that she
was involved in some drama last year, but this is
classic Bachelor memory. I know her as being somebody who,
like you said, is integrated in the drama. But I
have no idea what was so dramatic last year. All
I know is that she's a great character to have
(01:12):
on t day. Do you remember I don't. I don't remember.
I don't remember a lot um. But we're gonna ask her.
We're gonna talk to you about her experience, why she
came back, because I know Paradise wasn't exactly easy for
her first time around. And then we're gonna talk to
you about her kind of pursuing of Andrew. I want
to know what it's like, Ashley, to be on the beach,
(01:33):
to know that this guy is interesting somebody else. He's
telling you he's interesting somebody else, and still being like, hey,
you know what, I'm gonna still give it a shot.
That takes confidence, that takes grit. Uh, And I want
to hear where her mind was at through the whole process.
So hey, let's bring her on. Let's talk to just
send your cruise. Hello, just sen you? Hello? Are you?
I'm good? Hey? You know we we prefaced it in
(01:54):
the intro Ashley and I were trying to remember exactly
what happened last season. We just know you're always a
main character, and you you feel like it feels like
you dive into Paradise, not in a good or bad way,
probably mostly good. You just dive in if you feel
like you take advantage of the opportunities in front of you,
which seems with the setup of Paradise to always involve
(02:15):
if you're gonna dive in head first love triangles, you're
always gonna find yourself in some type of like confusing
relationship dynamic. Uh. And it doesn't feel like last season
was the only time that's going to happen. Watching it now,
it kind of feels like it's gonna happen all over again.
So we're so excited to have you here and talk
about Paradise and talk about your life. Um so again,
(02:37):
thanks for joining us, Thank you for having me. Well
just sonya, Uh, did you know going into Paradise this
season that you're going to be entering as a group?
Good question, No, not at all. I think everyone kind
of goes into Paradise hoping that they bey in a
good spot, I guess, because, as we all know, if
the later you go in the hard race to fill
the connection. So when I first arrived, I was just
(02:59):
kind of like, you know what, I'm just gonna, you know,
take it as it is. Whatever happens happens. So as
I'm getting ready that day to go down to the beach,
I have no idea if I'm going alone or like
what the twist might be, because obviously we're going to
speculate to the point where it almost dress ourselves mad um.
So it wasn't until I literally arrived in the holding
room with all the other ladies and I was like, wait,
(03:20):
this is actually really fun. It's going to be all
of us together. And I've kind of felt like the
weight was a lot lighter because there's a lot of
pressure when you're writing into Paradise. So going with a
few other ladies definitely helped. Oh interesting, see, I would
have thought maybe differently, I would have been like, oh,
I'm like walking in with my competition, and I'm not.
(03:41):
I'm not making like an individual entrance to make a splash.
But I guess together you made a bigger splash than anything.
How intimidating was it to be in front of the
ladies who were about to leave you. I'm your direct competition.
It was so uncomfortable because so, yeah, I totally agree
(04:02):
like what you're saying that, yeah, you are technically walking
with you with your competition, But nerves wise, it definitely helped.
I couldn't imagine like walking into that situation where all
the ladies are just looking at us up and down.
If it was just me by myself, or if it
was us as a group, like I felt like we
could take the hit a little better as a group,
(04:23):
I would have just melted in place if it was
just me by myself and all the ladies were looking
at me that way. It's I wonder, who do you
think had the biggest advantage in that situation. Was it
the new group coming in or was it the the
women who had been there for a few weeks with
these guys already. I'm yet to I'm yet to be
(04:45):
clear on exactly who had the best advantage after you know,
they left now the girls that I talked about that
a lot, because the way we kind of agreed on
on the whole thing was we definitely felt like the
girls who were already there for a while probably had
a better advantage. So the only hope that we really
had was, well, we need to find out who doesn't
(05:06):
really have solid connection. Um So in my case, for example,
I felt that I was, if anything, the luckiest because Andrew,
although yes he was linked to Brittany, they had only
really spent a single day as like a linked couple.
Connection was you know, growing over the last few days, Like,
you know, she was linked to someone at first she
(05:27):
had her on one on one day, and then Andrew
was linked to someone. So I feel that I was
the luckiest in that situation. Well, who was on your
list going in? For sure? Andrew? I think, if anything,
Andrew was at the top of my list. Um. I
was curious about Michael A had always heard like wonderful
things about him, so I was like, well, of course,
you know, I'd be open to meeting him. Um, I
was curious about what's another guy that I had on
(05:50):
my list? Honestly can't remember. I just know because really
those were the two that was the most familiar with.
I really wasn't familiar with any of you guys from
the most previous season from Gabby and Rachel. So I
was just kind of like, whoever from that season will come,
I'm open to me too. So, I mean, it's interesting
because you know, obviously we talked about your first season
of Paradise. Uh, I don't know, I don't know what
(06:13):
you would say. Would you say it was a success,
like did you enjoy it? I mean, I mean, I
wouldn't say it was a complete success. I don't think
the flop either, in the sense that I genuinely had fun. Um.
A lot of the people from that season I'm still
very much friends with and we if any little thing
I've always said to myself, even back during matth season,
(06:35):
is even if I don't leave in a relationship or
get the guy or whatever, I know that I'm walking
away with some lifelong friendships. As you guys know, I mean,
you're connected to each other as the years go by,
you see each other grow and get married and build families.
So that's really a treasure for me too. I think
that's always one of the best um things that come
from Paradise is is the group that has joined. And
(06:56):
so then, was it hard for you? I mean we're
just already speaking about you know, you arriving to the beach.
You're not planning on arriving in the way that you did,
you having interests in people. Was it a hard decision
at all for you to say, Hey, let's go and
try this again. Um, I would say it was a
little bit, just because you know, you can go into
it with you know, the most positive mindset, but you
(07:18):
really never know what's going to happen until you're there.
And what sucks about that environment is that nothing's really
in your control. Um So, yeah, I can be stressful,
whether it's things happening towards you or things happening to
other people. It sucks to see your friends, for example,
be upset, and it sucks to be upset. It's in
an environment where it's not like you can go and
call your best friend or call your your parents or whatever,
(07:41):
like you're just there. Um So, I think when it
came down to making the final decision, to be completely honest,
it's just, you know, I've always had this firm belief
that you know, what I've seen how it works for
my friends from previous seasons. They're still together, they're planning
weddings if it works for them, and like, I think
it could still very much work for me. So why
(08:02):
not give it at least one more shot? Because that's
what I'll say that right now. It was just one
more shot, But I was saying to get it after
this it's done. If you get invited, just go. That's
obviously that's my theory, you know, like, yeah, I've got
I've got I've got a clear schedule, let's do it.
Let's do it. Yeah, it's a really a once in
a lifetime opportunity that you may have a couple of times.
(08:25):
I'll see. Okay, So I want to go back to
Andrew for a second, because I was really um, like,
I was surprised that you went from basically like being
kindly rejected by him. He literally said, it's not you,
it's me, pretty much saying like, I really want to
pursue things with Brittany, but then you set up a
(08:46):
whole date for him despite that, We'll give you the
like the gusto to do it, to be completely honest,
and I will be frank. That conversation was extremely chopped up,
so it was a little frustrating to see how it
kind of played out. So I was like, Okay, I
guess that's how you know what they want to show it.
(09:08):
Then that's fine. But a lot went into that conversation,
and which is why in my interview, I'm I'm not sure.
I'm like, wait, so does he want to explore options
or does he not? Like at the end of the conversation,
I was still very unsure. Um, and then something's happened
that weren't shown, so that's ultimately what kind of gave me,
as we said, like THEU gusto to go ahead and
set up at T anyway, because honestly, I would not
(09:30):
have done that if there wasn't even like a crumb
of a possibility that he would be interested in me.
So it definitely a lot went into that conversation that
wasn't showing, and I took it as a viewer too.
As I was even watching us, he's kind of going
aroundabout way of trying to explain this. Yes, he like
he would like kind of like be like I'm interested,
You're great, um, but I'm very interested in Bertie, but
(09:52):
you know, I'm not closing like he kind of it
was like a confusing thing where it's like I don't
know exactly where he's at either. H that so, but
it was shocking to see you then planning this day.
(10:14):
I think I would have taken that. This is where
maybe my insecurities in Paradise would have totally had me fail.
Uh as soon as I like even closely got rejected
by somebody like even if there's a hint of it,
I bounce like I'm not but that's what I mean. Yeah,
that's what I mean, I feel like, you know, in
in real time, that conversation to me felt so like
(10:38):
one or the other. He is interested, but he also
might not be interested just because of his whole thing
with Brittany. But he also made it clear like it's
only been like a day. It's really like a new
new thing that I'm not even sure about. So that
ultimately for me kind of felt like, well, I can
maybe given another shot if he's open to it. But
it was so blatantly clear that he wasn't interested that
(11:00):
I absolutely would not have done that. I would have
just kind of, you know, tried to see those connection
somewhere else. So you might be a lucky one who
the ladies come back and Brittany is more interested in
Tyler because just in the previews it seems like Tyler
is what she's going for right now, So you might
(11:22):
just be able to be free. Can you give us
a little preview as to what's going to be when
those ladies do walk down on the beach next week?
I think so. I think. You know, a lot of
things can happen in Paradise. Things change literally within the day,
as you know, so honestly, a lot of people have
a lot to see next week, and I think that
there's gonna be some new connections for me that people
(11:43):
may not expect, and there might be a lot of
flip flopping too, So expect that. Now. Can you tell
us if the guys from Vendanta are all gonna come
down to the beach to meet the new girls or
are the guys that don't get paired up at Vandanta
just a eliminated Well that's the beauty of paradise though, right, Like,
there's opportunity for anything. So I think if anything, especially
(12:06):
us as cast we're constantly speculating every day, like I said,
to the point where it drives us crazy. So some
of us get it right, some of us get it
very wrong. But I think that next week there's definitely
a big surprise for everybody. Let's uh spend a second
here selfishly talking about somebody that I had a very
u protective feeling over and I didn't expect it. Um.
(12:31):
The only o g from from our time on The
Bachelor is in the season twenty of The Bachelor was
Lace Lace was was on my season and uh, she
lives in Denverse. I have gotten to know where outside
the show Lace is. Lace is very similar to what
she comes off on television. She is passionate, she is
(12:55):
um uh, deeply emotional. Um. She expresses openly what she's
feeling and how she's feeling it uh. And she's very
easily hurt, like deeply wounded. Um. And I think we
saw that, and so as somebody that maybe hadn't met
Lace before. I don't know if you had or hadn't,
(13:16):
but she shows up to the beach, um and is
obviously confused and obviously very stressed out. What were your feelings.
What was the conversations like amongst the women there? Um?
Did it make everything feel very real all of a sudden,
(13:36):
like less fun more real, Like walk us through what
you guys were talking about as she was obviously they're
very upset. Yeah, No, I think um based off Yeah,
the conversation with the ladies. A lot of it was
just kind of uncomfortable in the sense that, like we
really felt for her because we would obviously hate to
be in her position. And I agree like as you said, like, yeah,
(13:57):
she definitely seems like the kind of person that like,
she cares to ly and it shows. And I hated
also that that was the way, I you know, had
to meet her and you know, not necessarily at her best.
So whenever she came down, we obviously had already been
seeing or witnessing um Eliza and Rodney connecting, so we
(14:17):
kind of already knew what she was walking into. If
it was in our power, we would walk her right
back up the steps, just to like, you know, make
sure that she wouldn't get hurt. But it is what
it is, and you know, that's what sucks about Paradise is, yeah,
oftentimes people will get their feelings hurt. Um. So when
she was coming down, we all kind of like we're
bracing for that that crash for sure, and also bracing
(14:40):
for what maybe to come next week with all the
other ladies show up and go you took my maid? Yes,
now it literally in that moment too, like we were wondering, okay,
are they going to be just trickling down the ladies
one by one, like what's going on? But you know,
for for that night, it was just laced, but we
absolutely got a taste of what it could be. Like.
I know you can only tell us so much, but
(15:01):
from your last Paradise season compared to this Paradise season,
which one did you prefer being part of? Um, I
love that question. I'm going to be completely honest here.
I love my cast from last season. They were really fun.
They bounced back, Um, you we could have a hard
day the next day. It's as if, okay, you know what,
(15:23):
let's be positive, we'll have any day. This cast, although
they're great, I think that they really struggled with bouncing back. Yeah,
this cast individually, I love them all so much, but
as a group, they did love to commiserate together and
just be like this is an awful place. Yes, it
(15:43):
was honest, Like I don't know, I guess to me
because I get, you know whatever. When we were they
were doing the cuts back to the Badonta and to
the beach and seeing the ladies moving around and being
all upset, I totally feel that absolutely same. I would be.
I would be one of them, I know it. Yeah,
but it's you know, try to just roll with the
punches and see the positive in it, you know. And
(16:04):
I think even the men were saying once we did
the switch, they said, honestly, we felt like the energy
just lifted, Like it truly feels like a fresh start.
So I don't know, I think they were maybe struggling
with just moving on from the hard times in Paradise,
and they kind of lingered on that a little too much.
But I do feel like a lot of times they
just didn't want to accept the fact that they were
(16:26):
on a reality TV show. Yes, do you know what
I mean that they were like, how dare they? How
dare this like spin? Or this this twis? It's like,
you guys are on TV. You're not just actually, you know.
And I'm glad that you see that because when I
was there, obviously like, this is now my third season,
so by then you kind of already know how it works, right.
(16:47):
You know, you're supposed to have conversations. You know, you
signed up for a show. People are going to see
you at your most vulnerable, at your most awkward, at
your best season. So have fun with it, you know,
be human. And I think that's what a lot of
people in this cast were afraid to do, was to
just be human. But I'm not going to entirely place
the blame on them either. I think that in a
(17:08):
lot of ways, the audience doesn't allow us to be
human either. We're not allowed to be upset, We're not
allowed Why so so you know, I'm not gonna necessarily
blame that on them either. It's definitely the audience as
a big impact on that. The dynamic was interesting to
watch where you know, the guys in the beach and uh,
(17:29):
you know, the Paradise location felt like the vibe increased,
where at the Vedanta it did feel like it stayed
very melancholy. Yeah, I remember when the girls um, eventually
they do come back, obviously to rekindle whatever they think
that they might have back on the beach. Um. You know,
they kind of expressed how it was a little down
(17:51):
and no one really wanted to interact with the guys
as we saw, like you know, ohlu asking of the
girls to just stump in the pool and have fun,
and they were not having it. So they were also
pretty transparent about how they were feeling being over at
the Dante. How awkward. That's such a weird situation. I
don't know what I would do. I just if I
was one of the dudes that I just crawl up
and the couch, probably take a couple of naps. Say
(18:12):
all right. Was my favorite parts, like the guys looking
up at the walls instead of look they did not
want any problems, I would probably be laughed crying. All right, Well,
just Sonia, thank you so much for joining us. I
can't wait to see where your storyline ends on this
or begins whatever way you wanted on this season in Paradise.
(18:34):
Yeah for having me. Always spent talking with you guys,
get to see you. It's always great to talk to
Just Sina. What a character in Paradise. Uh, And I
do really appreciate her diving into Paradise. I am very
excited not only for her story about all those stories
to progress into next week. I'm I'm waiting. I'm waiting
(18:57):
for next week's episode. Me to this is. This was
a week of Paradise episodes that was very, very captivating
in the sense that I wasn't on my phone at
all during all four hours, like I was glued to
the TV. And we will be recapping both those episodes
and another episode of the Almost Famous podcast this week,
So if you haven't listened to that one yet, go
(19:19):
look for it. We love you guys so much. Until
next time, I've been actually and I've been Ben, We'll
talk to you soon. Followed the Benn and Ashley I
Almost Famous podcast on iHeart Radio, or subscribe wherever you
listen to podcasts.
Popular Podcasts
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The Nikki Glaser Podcast
Every week comedian and infamous roaster Nikki Glaser provides a fun, fast-paced, and brutally honest look into current pop-culture and her own personal life.