A (Bachelor) House Divided

Published Feb 2, 2021, 4:00 AM

There are some issues with bullying going on with Matt’s contestants and we get Ben & Ashley’s honest take on how that will affect his final choice. 


Find out why Ben thinks Matt is close to dropping the L word!


And, Natasha Parker from Peter’s season tells us what’s REALLY going on when the girls are cheering for each other this late in the season.


Plus, we address the latest Bachelor Split updates regarding Carly and Evan and Dale and Clare.


Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

This is the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast with our radio. It is a week of the Almost Famous podcast. We're breaking down Matt's latest episode this season. Ashley. We're not going to break it down quite yet because obviously we have a long podcast to do. We have some very special guests coming up. We also have some headlines and everything like that. However, to start out this thing, I want to hear what you think. I'm gonna say this is the best episode of Matt season, and I think that is one that I am most passionate to break down. What do you think? Really, I'm actually mind boggled by that. Um, I did not feel the same. I felt like it was sort of a continuation of last week. I think his best episode so far was probably episode two when Bree had her date. Yeah, that's so funny, but that's great, Like, I love that that way we are not on the same page and it makes for a more interesting conversation. Yeah, unlike most weeks, actually, I haven't been able to really like catch up obviously. Uh, it's the launch of my book Alone in Plain Site this week, which is a big deal, and so I've been busy. Actuley has been really busy as well, and so we haven't got to talk about our opinions at which kind of makes this podcast fun because we probably it sounds like we'll come from this from two different angles. Actually. To get us started, I want to just let everybody know once again that about our live virtual event. Uh. The hundred promo codes the event have been used, but stay tuned for more info. I think we're gonna make something else happen here. There's still meet and greet packages available, which will include a copy of my book Alone in plain site, which comes out February second, which is probably the day that you're listening to this podcast. Uh. You can visit events dot looped live, dot com, slash almost famous that will be in the show notes as well, Uh to get a ticket. A portion of the proceeds from the live event will go to save our stages. This is a big deal for us for me really personally. My friends like Ashley are being kind enough to give up some time to help talk about the book, to help bring in uh some friends of ours talking about the book and talk about life. Uh. We like doing virtual events. This isn't something that's like uncommon to us, but this is a big deal for me, So Ashley, thanks for agreeing to do it. Yeah, and if you guys want to know what Save the Stages are UM the foundation. It goes to helping all the places that have been closed for like a year now because we can't have big theater performances and stuff. And federal aid is on the way, but as it comes, UM a lot of neighborhood independent venues are still at risk for closing forever. So UM you can find out more information on how to save local music that whole scene UM at save our Stages dot com. Yeah, it's a big deal. I mean, I know there's a lot of things lost right now, but I was just talking to a friend of mine who was doing The Bachelor live on stage, you know, kind of planning and paying for it. I know the theater industry they're nervous. I would say nervous is an understatement, like there is a lot of unknowns uh left out there for live theater, for musical events, etcetera. Even you know right now as uh you know, hopefully in the next year we'll be without COVID. Uh. There's still a lot of questions on will they be able to get back, So it's important for us. All the arts are really important, so make sure to go to events dot looped live dot com slash almost famous. Again, it's events dot looped live dot com slash almost famous for tickets. Hey, ash Uh, let's take a break here. When we come back, we're gonna recap the episode. We're gonna have Natasha Parker on the episode. Natasha Parker has blown up recently. She's everywhere. She's doing great things. She's a co host of the Clickbait uh podcast and also was a contestant on The Bachelor Peter Webber's season. Uh. Then we're gonna go through Bachelor headlines. Uh, it's gonna be a great episode. But we'll be back with the almost Famous podcast. Ashley. I mentioned my take on this episode. I think was Matt James best showing all. I'm gonna explain why in just a bit. I also think it was the most enjoyable episode for me to watch today. You disagree, but we're gonna talk about that all as we break down this week's episode. And to start this week's episode, we started with a rose ceremony. Ashley, take it away. Okay, so again, it's the O G s versus the newbies. Brittany talks about how it's been a really hard week. Obviously she was accused of being a escort from from Anna UM and Katie says that she's going to like call out all the mean girls. Well, Matt walks in and right off the bat, he says that he wants to address the rumors that it's been a toxic environment to live in, and he says that bullying are not bullying is obviously not a quality he wants in his future wife. He doesn't want somebody who has to put somebody down in a or to raise them up. And then he immediately pulls Brittany over to talk. She's very honest with what happens, what would happen. She said that Anna, you know, called her out for being an escort but not really um the date before. And then Anna gets pulled aside, and of course she says like she knows she made a huge mistake. She regretted it the second that those words came out of her mouth. And this is what this is a shining moment from for Mad for me again, Like I didn't love the episode as far as like plotlines go, but I did love the way that Matt was as I continued to every week just love find another reason to love Matt, the way that he gives Anna so much like grace in this moment where he was like, you're not a bad person. You made a mistake, like I've made mistakes and I grew for from it. And then he basically proves that this is gonna be one of those mistakes that Anna gets eliminated for and she's probably gonna earned a huge lesson from it to you know, not accuse others of things like this and to keep your mouth shut when you don't really know the fact. Well, and it's it's interesting because you know, last week we talked about it, and typically when we have somebody a contestant go to the lead and complain about something going on in the house, we typically aren't fans of that, Like, it's not something that comes off well, it's not something that we like really enjoy seeing. It usually kind of feels like the tattle tell. But with Katie, we're like, yes, this needed to happen, this was appropriate, and she did it in an appropriate way or the best that she could. So Matt's now aware of it. Now this week there was an interesting thing to happen. I didn't interview, and I said, I was trying to support Matt, and I said, Matt just doesn't know. And well, the headline reads everywhere this week that Ben Higgins slams Matt James for not knowing. It's like, that's not at all what I meant. Um. What I actually mean by this is we got to give Mat a little bit of a break because he was unaware of what was going on in the house until Katie said something to him. Now, I've always said it, once he's aware, then it's how he reacts, and I thought his reaction to this was incredible, the way he approached the women right away, walks into the room and says, listen, this is this is where I'm at, this is what I've heard, this is what what I know is going on. Brittany. We need to talk. And I that's what I meant when I said Matt just doesn't know. As Matt was unaware, he doesn't he doesn't know what's going on in the house, and his viewers, we have to understand that the lead doesn't always know what's going on in the house. He can assume, uh, he can maybe think about it. But his reaction to this was perfect, and I think it was one of matt shining moments from the season. I also think it's set the tone that he isn't going to stand for this kind of behavior. I mean, you see the reaction from the women. They're apologizing left and right after this because they know that he's not going to stand for this kind of stuff. Now this is where I'll stop. Actually, but uh, there's a moment in Brittany's explanation that I really think like made me feel a certain way inside. It like really hit home to me. She said I was excited to be here. I'm sure she was. Uh, I was excited to meet you as excited for this experience. But the words being said about room right now could could change my life forever. My family watches this, my friends watch this, like I have to watch this. The things being said about me right now are not okay. And I think that was a moment that just kind of like reinforced how big of an issue this could have been, and how unhealthy and how toxic the environment in the house was. Now, Hey, I don't know Brittany's what she does in her in her personal life, I don't know that side of her. However, what I do know it's none of the girls businesses be talking about and rumoring about in the house, especially knowing it's going to be on national TV. That was just uh inappropriate. It was unwise. And I think I'm gonna kind of uh jump to conclusions here. But for Matt Um when Anna kind of expressed explained herself to him and said, hey, I was wrong here, uh, I think what I what I recognize is it was immature. And that's just not something that's looking for in a wife. Even if Anna apologizes and even if she means it, and even if we can all forgive her, which is up to each individual person, it was just immature and I just don't think that's a quality of somebody you're looking for in a wife. And that's why she ended up going home. And I mean Matt did it beautifully. Yeah, Anna definitely is a prime example of somebody who just like kind of got caught up in the drama. I think she was getting, like I've said multiple times, like kind of high off it. But I also feel like she was very genuinely, sincerely apologetic. She regrets that. I really do think it's going to be in a learning experience for her. Yeah, and you know you're right, And I mean, how many times in life? Uh, I kind of like it reminds me. I mean a lot of the show honestly reminds me of like of high school, middle school, college, Like you kind of get caught up in the gossip, you get caught up in the excitement of the drama, and before you know it, somebody's really hurt and then you start to feel the consequences and you start to feel bad yourself and you're like, oh, man, I didn't mean it like that, and it's it's not it's not like at all what I meant. Um, But here's the truth, Like bullying, it's unacceptable, it's not okay, and it's what was happening in the house and it and it has consequences. Uh. It was shown to us, Brittany explained it to us. We all saw it, we all felt it. We didn't enjoy watching it. And the consequences that somebody, you know, that somebody's now going home. But also hopefully all of these girls that were bullying are now learning from this, because it got really bad, really fast, and it was we saw it with our own eyes, how quickly it can spiral and how dangerous that can get mm hmm. And we see in this episode that like Victoria just keeps the bullying coming just crazy, like she's she's unstoppable, but totally just mind blowingly unself aware, like I've never I've never seen somebody on this show to just like who just seems to like not comprehend the consequences of what they're saying. Well, it's interesting because after this event goes down and Anna is sent home um and and Matt is he's somber. You can tell this is frustrating to him. This isn't the environment that he wants. He doesn't want Bowling involved in the house that he's trying to you know, lead and guide and have this journey with. We said it last week, We'll say it again, Like, what's been most frustrating about this season so far as we're rooting for Matt James like we do most bachelors and bachelorettes, We're rooting for these contestants, and we're just we're not getting able to see any of the storylines that really matter. We're just seeing the toxicity and it feels weird to watch. It feels dirty to watch some nights. I watched The Bachelor right now, and I feel worse watching it than I did would have without it. Now. What happens, though, is an interesting reaction is as soon as Anna goes home, everybody starts apologizing to each other. It's almost like, I'm sorry for saying this. I'm sorry for saying this. You know I didn't mean it like that, right, Like, everybody starts reacting to the consequences that Anna's feeling. Now. The truth of it, though, is there's still people in the house at that moment that are still in that room that contributed to the bullying. Well, that's like how one of the girls was like, it's oh, it was Serena. She was like, this is just like a whole bunch of sucking up going on right now because all the girls didn't want to all the bullying girls didn't want to get eliminated. So all of a sudden, the apologies start flowing in that cocktail room. They really do. It was. It was very interesting to watch because you kind of see everybody back, like whole backtracking and being like, hey, okay, can we start over? She Anna, Anna was the one that went home. So the rest of us are safer right now, but Matt says, no, like, there's still other stuff going on here and I'm gonna you know, and it's not gonna rest, Like this isn't gonna be okay. Well, it takes us then into the next Row ceremony. Matt's tired. I bet he's exhausted, but he's really frustrated. Quite honestly, if if we could have asked him, he's probably just like steaming was frustration and hurt because he realized that this environment is not one that is cultivating the joy and the hope and the love that he hoped to bring at that point. So we jumped right into the Rows ceremony. I found this to be some really interesting exits. Ashley who went home okay, So Victoria of course gets sent home and the most dramatic exit I've ever seen, dozen hug him says that she's he's making a huge mistake, that he's just giving into the hearside craziness. Hold up, let's pause there for a second. Have you ever seen anything like that? I mean, it was it's just odd. Without slandering anybody's name here, it was odd how these events occurred. Right, you have buying highlighted. You see the honesty from the women, Uh, you see the honesty from that, and then you have some people that are kind of like doubling down within it. Like there's name calling alongside of compliments, there's there's bringing people down alongside of lifting yourself up. There's you know, self promotion alongside of promoting you know, the relationship. Like it was a very confusing series of events that went on there, and I thought, no matter what, like Victoria was just gonna go home, Like, you know what, she could be sad, it could be frustrating. Everybody will have their opinions of Victoria, right, we don't need to to pile on there. But I thought she at least just go home because she knew that this was like her time was running out and that she was probably associated with most of the stories that were not positive. But instead she's angry at Matt. And it was the way that she said those things in the bathroom to the producer. She was like, um, Ryan is the shadiest bitch. I'm the only option for him. I can't imagine him picking an idiot. I think she was referrend to Katie over me, and if he eliminates me, I will literally die. It was very odd to watch, um and very hard to follow because it felt like it felt like there was an admittance of guilt throughout the entire last part of that roastum me, where she was like explaining, you know, she was she was bad mouthing every other girl in the house, which is exactly what the girls were getting in trouble for before, which is exactly what Matt spoke against. But it was like it was unrecognized by Victoria. There wasn't this light that went off to said, you know what, I should probably cool it on my language towards others. Instead, it was doubly down. And then she leaves and she says, I'll never you know, uh date a Matt again. I that name, which is just there's obviously more to the story for Victoria than we can understand. But she's gone, and I think all of us believe that the house will have a different tone. Um. Victoria believes, based on her words, that the house is really gonna miss her, that it will fall apart without her, and hey, she can believe what she believes. My personal opinion is we're going to see a completely different culture and environment within that house now, uh, for the next few episodes, up until the very end because of this exit, and and I'm excited personally to watch the house without the drama. I don't know. I think you gotta eliminate MJ before you can feel that, because MJ seems to be kind of taking over that role. She's a tough cookie. Uh, there's something about her energy that makes me uncomfortable watching, Like you'd have to watch every little thing you'd set around her because she like kind of wants to come after people. Do you disagree with me there? I don't know. We see uh, we see the episode end with a two on one date with m J. We're gonna talk about in just a second what led up to that too on one date. But before we take a break here, um, just to finally recap some of our you know, favorites initially did go home. Lauren went home, Marie went home. In Catalina uh were sent home. These were surprising exits for us for a couple of reasons. Lauren Lauren was the most surprising for me. I think Mari and Catalina share whatever, like Yeah, they could have gone the cut have stayed. Lauren got a group date Rose. Maybe it wasn't last week, but the week before, and I really thought she was gonna stick around for a while. It's kind of rare to see somebody who gets a group date Rose two weeks earlier end up being eliminated. That was a shocking one of me. I think that's the most shocking at this point. It's the one storyline. Uh, you know that honestly, Like I said, uh, I love Matt James. I like Matt James a lot. He's a good dude, and I think a lot of these girls are good, good people. I'm excited to watch the rest of the season. But I was disconnected from the show because there wasn't a storyline I was watching because it was always covered up with drama, always covered up with the bowling, always covered up with the name calling, and so Lawrence was a story that I was like, Okay, once we release ourselves in this drama, if we can, if Matt does that, and he did this week, then we're finally going to see some stuff blossom. Lawrence was when I was thinking would blossom, and it didn't. Well, actually, that's the exits this week. Some I'm surprising, some not so much. But we are moving on to a clean slate without Victoria. We're gonna talk about that clean slate because it was a clean slate. It was a beautiful slate in my opinion. Coming up after the break, Yes, now I feel like I can kind of breathe. Uh. Rachel's date. She that's the classic fairytale date, which we see a lot of the times on the show, and I always, I always enjoy them. Kaitlin had one, Jade had one. Now Rachel has one. And I really think that the person who gets this date usually goes to the top four and the examples that I just gave you, that would be the case that Jared had the Jared had the male version of the fairytale date. Yeah, you're right, he totally did at the museum with the helicopter and like fed for a tux. Yeah right, um, okay, So so Rachel gets it. They go on a little like trying on thing, you know, she tries on the most luxurious dresses. She looks beautiful, They're having fun. She's just so freaking pretty, Like her skin is unreal. She has no pores, no discoloration. I'm sorry, I'm like in all of her face. I know, yeah, you're like monitoring her skin. I'm like, yeah, okay, cool, she's she has great skins. I was saying this to Jared last night and he was like, yeah, I'm like, no, for girls like that is something to really appreciate. So anyway, they had a great time during the day portion you can just feel like it's natural and forty between them. Doesn't really get us to get to know her a ton better, but you know, that's usually the fun part of the day. We don't really get a lot of feeling. And with Rachel, I felt like going into the second part of the day, I was like, I don't think she's going to have a SOB story, but I want to figure out like what's what's just like, what's up with her? Right? And we definitely get that. The the first part of the the day was telling to me. And again I think this was like you had like depth there, you found some death. There was the way that he looked at her. That's it. I think it was that clean slate. It was what we were looking for. I was finally wanting to see Matt James let his guard down to breathe to feel like he was enjoying this process and he just didn't have to say the right thing and do the right thing at the right time that he could actually be in it and be on a date and we could witness that date and watch that date and then Rachel getting out of that car and seeing how like nervous she was, and like how like she just kind of wanted to like lean into him, Like it was just like Matt, like hold me for a second, because this is a lot, and like it just to me felt like the date um that was real that we will remember. Uh, And I finally felt like I was watching, if not his love story in the end, at least a date that could get there and that we could build upon for the first time all season. Breeze was good. Breeze was great, But it's been weeks since we've seen it. This was the second time that we've seen something like that. Okay, I totally agree. But talking about exits, let's talk about her exit from the car with the blue dress on Holy crap, holy that dress, her in that dress, The way he looked at her in that dress, so amazing, very fairytale moment um then we sit down and you do just like feel something between them. I even think that they're playing music that's like different and more intense than the music that they play when like he's on a good date versus when he's on a great date and she got great date music, fairytale music. Um. She says basically that she's never been in love and that she just is like kind of insecure with herself, especially in relationships. I completely related to her because when people would be like asking me, why haven't you had a boyfriend and stuff, I was like, I just I don't know, like now that now, not that I'm older, I think I can admit that I was just scared and just like insecure of how I would be in a relationship. And that's how she's feeling. And I feel like Matt can also sort of relate to this because for as like Studley as Matt is, he also says that he's never been in love, and I feel like he also has just like a little bit more of a sense of innocence when it comes to deep relationships. And you know, this was a beautiful moment. I want to go back a little bit here to Rachel and say there's a moment that she became like, um my top probably after this episode is when she goes, I've never owned a pair of shoes over forty dollars and she puts these shoes on. Yeah, it's like there's probably underestimating, but you know, yeah, but like there's an appreciation, there's a gratitude, there's a holy cow, this is a special moment kind of thing. And it also is kind of what Matt was saying during the episode. He's like, Hey, you know this is great, but this isn't where I'm gonna live forever. We're not gonna be able to do these kind of dates forever, and and so you have to take them, you know, with a grain of salt, but also be appreciative for him. And then you yeah, like you said, you get to that evening portion I think is a viewer, you can go, well, there's great music playing, there's depth there. Um And I honestly thought, Ashley that you were gonna hear Matt James is a few weeks into this go I'm in love with you. Like I thought he was gonna do it three different times this episode. I really did, but he never did. He kind of like he didn't, but like, I think that could be a storyline that we watched as the season goes on, because I think Matt is like head over heels for a few of these women. I think I don't think he knows what to do with himself, and I think he's gonna start expressing emotion very openly and honestly. Uh. But you know, to summarize this date, do you agree with me Ashley that this felt like now the first day other than Breeze, Uh and maybe last week's one on one, but like this is a big date to now build on. Like, I'm invested into their story as a couple from here on out. I've been excited for this moment between them because when I was there on set, I just felt it so much between him and Rachel that I was looking forward to seeing a one on one. I was like, I know, I'm not getting to know all the women here. It's a group day I have. I don't know what they're like eight to ten on there, But there's something about this girl who's like speaking to me as like just having the energy of somebody that I want to be around. And I can see it in his eyes that she is the one in this group to watch out for. And yeah, when she says I'm falling in love with you, I was so excited but also totally saw it coming because of the expression on his face that he was going to say totally feel the same way. I mean, he even says, I can see myself proposing to you, like I don't remember this early on. We're still pretty early on in this season for somebody to be that direct on the first one on one do you? I mean is that common? I feel like there's been a time or two and the Moose people always get to top two. Oh, I think I think if I put money on, I think of Vegas were throw odds on Rachel. Uh, she's definitely, uh the favorite right now? Well, actually that moves us. I mean, Rachel's dates incredible. This is why I'm saying this is Matt james shining moment because I think through every segment so far in this episode, um, you and I would say that that this is Matt James. Some of Matt James's most intimate moments, some of his most direct moments, some of his best moments. He carries himself. Well, he's honest, Uh, he's intuitive, Uh, that's what I'm saying. I think this is Matt james best episode. I felt like it was just coming out party to finally say this is how the season is going to go. So if we're Matt, I mean I almost always give Matt an a plos like just always knows how to carry himself in the right words to say. Um, I just felt like it was so bogged down with drama at the beginning in the end that that's why I didn't like which I didn't love this one, but I always love Matt Well. We have the heart of the episode without drama. Obviously, it's hard to have drama on a farm. Uh. There is a group date and uh, Matt is a country boy at heart. He said he grew up on a farm, he worked on farms, and now they're in the farm now. So it's kind of funny because Rachel goes in this beautiful date that we just talked about. It's a fairy tale date. And hey, being on a farm's an incredible experience. I have been on many farms in my life and it's a great way to spend a day. It's a great way to spend a career. However, it ain't a fairy tale, and there's no dresses and nice uh high heels and shoes involved in this, So it's kind of funny to see the switch where the girls are now having this shovel poop uh For Matt Ashley, did you enjoy watching this date? Yeah? But they're just really two standout moments when I look back on it, and that is this was the part of the episode where I started thinking, like, oh man, m J is a mean girl. She seems like a girl that I don't want to be around in that house. And then the other big standout moment to me is that makeout session with Piper. Holy crap, he loved that he had an excuse to run over to Piper and he did not want to stop kissing her. Well, the sad part is or sad or whatever you wanna call it. You know, at this point in the episode, I don't know if we knew enough about m J to say either way, but I think we're all getting the sense that, yeah, like in J's up to something, Like there's definitely the mean girl aspect in her. I think Matt's really into her, though, so I think we have to watch out for that. I think he really wants her to be around, and so he throws the egg. He goes running. I think MJ thinks that this is a really cute moment for the two of them, like really nice moment for the two of them. So she's gonna chase after him, and then she gets her sights. She runs the corround the corner and gets her sights back on her man and he's making out with a different girl, like that look on her face, like her heart had to drop. How I I think she thought this was going to be their moment to make out, but yeah, he had other things in mind. So my question for you, because I was watching this part of the episode, he just like ran through the barn right and and Piper just happened to be over there for an interview and he just decided to step into dark kissing her. That's how this played out. Yeah, And immediately seeing that, I was like, oh, Piper, she is off that dark Horse list and onto the top list. I mean it looked like it they And it wasn't just like a kiss. This was like a hey, I know cameras are here, I know, like you're doing this a statement, but it was a statement you're right, it was a statement. Yeah. Okay, so let's talk about the nighttime portion of the state. We had of another shining moment with Chelsea, who we loved the moment last week with when she talked about her hair. She is apparently very uncomfortable and awkward with boys, which I love hearing. I love it. I love it when a girl who's like so beautiful and like carries yourself with confidence admits to still being awkward with boys. I guess it's a relatability factor. Um, But Matt is Um, Matt is just saying he looks at her, he looks at her good, and he says that he's just really happy that she's around. Talk about liking each other. I don't know. I really like the two of them together. There's like so many girls that I feel something with. UM. I have no idea where it's going to unfold from here as far as eliminations go, well, and I mean that's the thing is right now, I think we could have probably stopped uh and just look at this list. I mean, this episode has a lot to it, right. We have two rows ceremonies, Um, we have a bunch of one on ones. We have a couple of group dates, like there's a lot that goes on, uh during this episode, But once that first row ceremony ended, I wonder if you agree with me, and I would say that there is like a really solid group of women left and there isn't anyone that I'm looking at now as I look at the you know, people left, and I would go, yeah, they're on the edge, like they're going to be going home. There's a few people. I would say, Serena, see, I would say m J. I would say Joe, Senya. Okay. So basically what I'm saying, Ben is like I can predict the next row ceremony or two, but after that, I'm mind boggled. And that's a great place for finally here. Actually, I mean, that's what I'm trying to get to is we're finally here at this season where we're like, I mean, with Tasia, we kind of knew this at this point in time that she was in the Zack, right, I mean even two weeks after she showed up with Clear, we knew she was in the Dale. Like we're back to a season where it's like I have no idea where Matt is going. I have some favorites, and I know he does as well. Were that's very obvious to us. But there are a lot of potential suitors here. They're lot of potential women left that we don't know of. And I think Matt, this is maybe the best part is Matt is super conflicted but also super happy that he has this group of women left. I think the conflicting part is something actually beautiful because He's going, I got a lot of great women, and I don't always know what to do about it, but I've got a lot of great women and I'm gonna see where these go. That's a fun thing for us to watch his fans. That's something that we can get into that is enjoyable to us. So to finish up the night portion portion of this group date, uh, we did have some great conversations. It was really really beautiful. Um and he gives the rose two Abigail, Abigail. He gives the rose to Abigail. Finally. We see more of Abigail finally, And I mean, how frustrating must the last couple of weeks been for her. We've we've never doubted their relationship, we never doubted their connection. I don't know if she really has either, but it's gone weeks now, and it's a way to doubt it this week because we've seen eliminations like Kayla's and Laurens were like they get roses or they make a splash, and then they're just gone with no explanation. I was like, holy crap, is Abigail going to be like the first person who gets the first impression rose and then like they're just gone a couple of weeks into it without ever seeing the development of the relationship. But that is not the case this week. Abigail sat down with him during that group date and talked. It was so it was like so very emotional talking about how if she were to have kids one day, presumably possibly with Matt, that the kids could be to be deaf, and that wasn't it. She also talks about how her birth father left them at a young age and how the two of them grew up without having a very present dad. It was, you know, she's held onto this and you would have loved to see us during a one on one where she got more time to explain it to him, but it was happened during group day and it felt like, you know, for them, it was probably time to have this conversation. Uh. It was like almost like I was watching it, kind of like just like scrolling through my phone watching the episode, and then this conversation started. All of a sudden, I found myself like looking up from my phone and just being like put my phone down and just being like, uh, in awe of their vulnerability between the two of them. They're honesty, and it felt like it got like it was a sign again of like how good they are together, that they can talk through stuff that's important to them, they can relate with each other, they can show empathy towards you each other, they want to support each other. Um. It brought Abigail back up in my opinion, to being a favorite, like a comfortable favorite here along with Rachel and and a few others that we'll talk about. But like now I'm now after that conversation, I'm like, Okay, adigas here to stay for a bit. Yeah, I agree, it kept her through for the next couple of weeks, but I still want to see them have a one on one. Then at the cocktail party partition, there's m J pops up again and she is confronted by Matt by being one of the girls that apparently said one of the bullying comments, particularly one about Varsity versus j V. The JV is referencing the girls who are newcomers, and you could see her getting fiery. She got mad, and of course she doesn't keep it in and she sits down with Joe Sena and they have a sharing of words in front of some of the other girls. What do you think about this, did you? I mean, obviously the bullying is horrible, and j V versus Varsity is a little bit of a bullying demonstration, but like, there's got to be more, right. I think what we're seeing is like there were there was a lot of problems going on in the house, and it was festering for a bit. Right. You have, maybe if you want to like like wait them. You have the direct bullying Brittany, You have the name calling that Victoria was bringing. You have the constant toxicity in the house where everybody was kind of walking on eggshells for a bit, and then you have the comments coming in from this new group and the kind of the older group, the comments they were making, and so it all felt like probably when you're living in the house that it's all wrapped up together, that it's just a mean spirited environment, that it's not fun to live here because every turn we make, somebody's being mean to us. And so the j V Verse Varsity thing, if it was said once or if it was said three times, there was already a sensitivity towards uh bowling or meanness in the house, and so that just kind of got added to it, like it was like, yes, once again, somebody makes a comment that does not make me feel any better about myself. It actually makes me feel worse about myself. And who's behind it, well, as we see it's it's m J. Now you know there there are some things that Justine you is like complaining about, saying, m J, you'r three. I see three different people in you. I see the person in front of map, the person you are when the cameras are off, and the person you are when the cameras are just on you. I see three different people from you, and I don't think I see that. I can see that through m J as having that kind of personality. Well, and it's now getting brought up and Matt, Matt is now confronting it. He's reacting to this, He's saying, hey, I might see it. I might not, but I want to get to the bottom of it. I want to see this. And that's why we see him on A two and one later on. But right here, we're out in the date. We're just starting to become aware, um, that there's something going on here. Now I will say that I didn't and I mean, if I was picky, I didn't love the way this was approached, not by Matt, not by Justina, but by MJ. It kind of came out without allowing a free place for people to speak. It felt like, you know, there was a pressure into the corner. Uh, there was the you know, I'm an honest person, Um, I'm this, I'm that, and it felt like if anybody were was going to confront it, then they would have to get in an argument. Now you can make the argument back and say, hey, was it okay for somebody to go to Matt and complain without confronting that person first. No, I don't only ever think that's right. I don't think it's going on the show or in real life. But it happened. And so now we see this thing festering once again. And as you said at the being in the podcast, it felt like there was a drama up front, and there was a drama at the end. We're gonna get to that drama at the end. We're gonna see how that plays out and what Matt wants to do with it. But it doesn't make MJ's actions any better. And I am more interested now than ever to see how much of the bowling she was a part of, because we're getting hints of it right now, but we haven't got the clear, the clear sign that it was enough for Matt to send her home. But before we get two kids one on one, let's take a break here. When we come back, when a breakdown kids one on one and then the two on one that we see at the very end of the episode and everything leading up to that. With kids one on one, I thought it was going to be one of those one on ones that we get. We have to get one on one like this every season where the girl gets eliminated on the date. I thought this was going to happen specifically because it was like a half day date. It was join me for dinner. Kit was very excited because it was personalized to her. She had already opened up to him about how her favorite place to be is with her mom in the kitchen, and I was like, this has getting eliminated written all over it. Between that and the fact that we we've seen him with kid, but not like a whole ton to think that this was going to definitely be going in the right direction. And I also just thought, yeah, that the fact that it was a half a day date and that she she met him when it was dark. I was like, this is gonna be so easy to just eliminate her over the dinner table. But that is not how it went. I really like Kit. I think she's awesome. Um she is very natural and super mature seeming for one year old. And they had what both of them thought was a great time just making cookies. I don't know if they actually made dinner, but they had fun. They had a good conversation. Kit talked about the stresses of being the child of someone who is so successful. Her mom is Cynthia Rally, and like everybody, whether you know it or not, not everybody, but most people. A lot of people have stuff that is cynthor Rally in their house. Like if you shop at Marshall's, you can't go through an islet Marshall's without seeing something Cynthia Rally if your home or if your closet, and uh, I just I like, I really liked the two of them together. I don't think that she's going to get super far um, but I think she's going to stick around for a few more weeks. I like her. I think she's just got like a noble kind of personality that I appreciate. There was a lot of growth that we're seeing right now with Kit. You know, she was even talking about like, hey, she's you know, her mom is very successful. She has these expectations put on herself, but being on the show has allowed her to kind of be herself again, to release herself from expectations to not be a character. I thought it was really great and I'm actually very intrigued to see where it goes. I mean, I think she has a lot to offer. I think she has a lot of life experience to offer. I do think one of the best things for her would be to know that she doesn't have to live up to any title, expectation or anything, that she can just be herself. And I think if she's finding that now, I'm intrigued. Another storyline that I'm interested in is to see how Kit grows this season. I don't know if she'll be there. Man, She's still not on my top four when it comes to Matt, but she's up. She's moving up. This this episode helped her UM and I thought it was a great day for the two of them. I thought I thought it connected them. But this was another moment where I thought Matt was going to drop some like big language towards her. Not maybe I love you, but like I felt like he was really into her, especially as soon as she walked in, he kind of put his arms around her. They start kissing, they start cooking, they they have this very intimate moment. I'm like, Matt really likes this girl, or he wants to like this girl, uh, which is a start. Uh. And And I'm I mean, I was impressed with this date. I'm with you. I didn't necessarily think, like, you're always bet at that stuff than I am. I didn't necessarily think, hey, I'm seeing the writing on the wall and this is going to end in a rejection UM or her going home. I thought, this isn't maybe gonna go well. Um. But I wonder if that was ever even in his mind. I think he was into this whole thing the whole time. But it was set up like that. It was kind of set up for the Hey, let's make this quick, painless, let's go home, this is done. Um, but it didn't and she's still here. I think that um, Matt knew going into that date that it would be good, and we the audience didn't know. We didn't. But well, now we have a couple of solid relationships that are forming, but a few that are not. Uh. The show ends with a two on one date m J and Josina. We see them kind of argue uh during the row ceremony. We now see them on the epic two on one date that one person on this podcast knows very much of. Well, it's different. Why haven't they been doing real two on ones? This is the second season in a row where it's been a meet me before the cocktail party type two on one. Yeah, this is good. This is this is this one though, is what I'm interested in because it's fiery from the start. They sit down, they're both uh, fiery and mad, one person speaking louder than the other. The other person then start speaking louder than the other. It is a mess, which makes me think, actually, here's what I'm gonna here's what I'm gonna believe that both of them are going home after this to on one, I agree because I don't think either of them have really created a connection with Matt, so it's like he's not losing somebody who's really developed feelings for I and I think that's how this plays out. I also don't think I mean, I don't know these women very well right because we haven't seen a lot of them to this point, But I don't think it loses a lot of the up like of the season. I think if we left, if these two women at home, I think we're still moving on with some beautiful relationships. But uh, we also see at the end of the episode kind of for next week the girls are angry. S're gonna She calls Katie uh the arsonist. Uh. Piper gets her one on one, which I'm really excited to watch. Katie calls someone pathetic, and Heather Martin joins the season, which has got it like for any progress made to this point with all of them kind of coming together, I have a feeling that Heather Martin is going to take the wrath of the House, And can I just say this again, I don't want this to be a bashed Victoria episode. I know everybody's going to do that this week, but can we at least say that I'm really happy that Victoria is no longer in the house when Heather Martin's shows up, because oh my gosh, that's sweet, little innocent soul interacting with Victoria. Just she would have gotten it would have been it would have been really hard to watch. Well. Actually that's why I think, Um, this episode is Matt James is best. I think it's the best of the season. Uh, we're gonna rate this episode like we always do, Ashley. What you're rating for Matt James, what you're rating for the episode. Matt's gonna always get an A and the episode gets a BE. For me, Matt's gonna get an A plus from me, and the episode itself is going to get an A minus, which other than maybe the first episode, um, probably even not. It's definitely my favorite of the season. I enjoyed watching this one the most, I was most interested in and I felt like viewers, you know, this season has very publicly been very down in ratings. Um, I think some of that is because viewers haven't gotten invested in any stories, and I think after this episode, we're gonna see viewers get invested in stories. And I think we're gonna see this kind of like arch going up for the rest of the season. And I think it's a great thing for the show. I think it's a great thing for Matt. I think it's an awesome thing for the contestants. And I'm excited to watch the rest of at James season as the Bachelor and his pursuit to love well Ashley. When we come back, we're having Natasha Parker on. She's the co host of Clickbait. She's all over the place right now. She's doing incredible things. She was on Peter Webber season of The Bachelor, uh and uh, and we's gonna do some Bachelor headlines. So we'll be back with the Almost Famous podcast. Well, as promised, Natasha Parker is on our podcast. Natasha Parker has been up to a lot in her life and a lot recently. She is the co host on Clickbait you Can Listen To Whatever You Listen To podcast. She was also on Peter Webber season of The Bachelor eliminated Week seven. However, she is a great co host. I was just on Clickbait very recently, Natasha Parker, Welcome to Almost Famous. Thank you hi guys, HIHN again and I just saw you last week. Good to see you again. It's good to see you. Were you on click bait last week? Then I was talking everything, gossip, everything, clicky everything, book. Uh. It was a good experience. It was a good time. It's actually where that headline came from that said, hey, Matt James doesn't know anything. And I was like, that's not at all what I said. I didn't say it like that, like come on, um, but I guess that's what happens, uh every once in a while. Natasha, Uh, you are busy with clickbait? How did this all happen? Like, how did this work out to have you come on as a co host? Well, m where do we start? Tasha and Joe and hannah An, as you know, were the original cast or the really really original host for a Clickbait And Hannah Ann decided that she wanted to do her other things that you know, all the things that she has going on. She's cooking her I mean, she's literally like I don't understand how she has so much energy for Instagram. She is the instagraman. Uh, and so she decided that she just wanted to kind of start everybody off, and they were looking and I started doing some testing with them. I of course have been friendly with Tatia and I know Tasia. Joe's from Chicago. I'm from Chicago. I had met him once before. And uh, I think because I started doing these tea rooms on Instagram Instagram Live, these little like tea rooms, people from my season, people just saw that I was interested in having conversations with people about almost any pretty much anything, pretty much anything, And uh, I got a call to do some tests and I was like, sure, Yeah, I've always wanted my own podcast, so let's do it. And then we just had a good vibe. They were looking for a good vibe of Tassia and Joe since they are the original co host, and we just had a good vibe and I and I absolutely love it. They are They're so funny, and we all have a very different outlook on a lot of different things and it just works. It does well. Um, you actually have a pretty good background in media. You're a teaving producer, your marketing director, you worked for HBO marketing for five years. Is that what you were doing going into Peter season? And are you still doing that? So I left HBO in two thousand and eighteen. But yes, I had a full career for ten years working as a working in production and as a producer. And I've always been behind the scenes. I've always wanted to be behind the scenes. I never wanted to be on the on the scene. That makes sense, uh, And so I decided to when I left HBO. It just really the the environment. It was something that I mean, I worked so much all the time and I was just ready. I just felt very unbalanced. I was like, I'm going to give this a break. And then I got into marketing and hospitality marketing and that really served me better, I guess, for my lifestyle. And then I got into yoga way more when I had time to actually practice yoga and meditate that then I became a teacher for that after Peter season, and um, yeah, so event planned. I mean I was doing events when I went to Peter season, and it was all under the marketing umbrella and brand marketing for hospitality. So you said that you never wanted to be on the scene, and then how did you sign up with the show? Well, that's another thing that was just very uh, very interesting. I have a I have a friend who is a producer on the show. She's been a producer on the show for years, and she asked me many times, like, oh, would you ever do the show? Wouldever to show? I was like, no, no, no, no no. And my always my excuse was I'm not leaving my corporate job to go beyond a TV show. I'm not doing it. So when I finally left my corporate job just on my own, She's like, well, you're still single, and you could potentially fall in love with this guy who I've been spending time with for the last two months, and knowing you and knowing him, I actually think you'd like him. And really, I wasn't. I just finished an event. I didn't have anything else coming up for the foreseeable, you know, month or two. I was like, you know what, I'm spontaneous. Let's just see what happens. I might leave the first night. I don't even know, And I just did it, like on a whim. And I'm glad that I did, but I am kind of mad at myself because I never watched the show beforehand either, So that was it was very hard to navigate and know what was going on. And looking back when I watched the show, I was like, Oh, she definitely knew what was going she knew to do that. Yeah, I didn't know to do that. Yeah I didn't know that. Yeah I didn't. You know, I didn't know to keep my mouth shut, and I never kept my mouth shut. Yeah, but you were so likable because of that. You just kept it real and you said what everybody was thinking. Yeah, And I got a lot of messages about that, and and and it was almost frustrating for me because a lot of times people didn't say things and I was just like I literally looked at Peter as a boyfriend and like, I know we were on a TV show, but as a in real life, if you cancel a date on me, I don't care what it's for, I'm gonna be mad. So I gotta express that to you. Yes, other girls were like, it's fine, it's okay, and I was like, it's not. You're like, I have never watched this show before, and I know what is right and what's wrong in the world real world exactly exactly. So yeah, I I definitely. I don't regret not watching it though it was just coming off the show and being broken up with I would have like that was the first thing I did when I came home. I watched like there's like on YouTube all the like famous Bachelor breakups. I was like, Oh, great, it's not just me feeling like this. It's fantastic. Okay, good, Well that had to be fun to watch. Nothing more said than that. Well, Natasha, Uh, you now find yourself as the co host of Clickbait. Um. Now we talked about how you got into it, but tell us about that podcast, Like, what are you hoping everybody kind of gets out of it? Where do you think this goes? I hope that when people tune in a clickbait it is somewhere where they can feel in attained but also get a real perspective and more of like an inside look, because as people know, if they did watch my season, I am going to say exactly how I feel, regardless of it's an unpopular opinion or not. And I think that in this Bachelor Nation world, we tiptoe around a lot of things. And yeah, we we tiptoe around a lot, and we don't have to and I think we're seeing more and more real conversations happening on the actual show, which is prompting hosts like you, like Ben, like us to talk about these real things that are going on and not being afraid of that, and and same thing with Joe, samething with Tassia. There's things that come up and we all have different opinions. So I wanted to be a place where people can here a real outlook on things, but also love and light. You know, I'm all about that in entertainment in general. So if we're going to have people come to our podcast, of course we want them to be entertained as well. And we want to you know, shoot this and talk to each other. And Tasia and Joe, let me, Tasha and I we go. We go in on Joe a lot. It's easy to do well, you know. The well brings us to this point, right, I mean, you do have your opinions you're watching this season, Um, there is a lot of topics to be discussed obviously that you can't really dance around, Like bullying is very much present right now in that house on this show. How what are your opinions? How have you confronted it? How do you usually speak upon these things. I try to give the ladies grace in general for going on a show and being so vulnerable on the show period. So I try to see both sides, like you know, especially on our podcast, if if Tashia and Joe feel a certain way, I try to be Devil's advocate and try to talk about the other way of it. I understand that bullying is a big thing on are in in this season, but I also understand that people take that word out of context a lot. We are seeing it on this on this season and making accusations about people that just you don't know are true, and making that a thing and being said, we do have to show people grace in that world. But the disagreements, you know, Ashley, me and you were dating the same guy, We're gonna have disagreements, right, Completely agree with what you're saying, because there are times in the house that they overuse the word bullying and you're like, that's not true bullying. That's like you being annoyed, that's like being a little sad. Yeah, that's you being upset. Yeah, you can't use that word, but in this case, yeah, it's it's true. Bullying and then to your other points when you are dating the same guy and you do have so many women in the house, like there's going to be natural drama and you're probably going to say things that you regret, Like I know, I sure left up quite a few times, but like you also kind of need to put it in context as to like where it's happening, and that like a person can have a slip and you have to be able to give them grace for that one slip. Now, if it like continues to be like a character pattern, that's totally different, which does seem to be like with Victoria. Yeah, but we want to there's something about owning it, own it own the fact that you were you see yourself now and you don't like what you see own that you know there. I'm sure there's things that you would have changed. There's things that I would have definitely changed on my season as well. But when it came to the Kumbaya mentality as well, let's call bullish on the Kumbaya mentality also because it's like everyone being happy. I was never happy and the other one on one and I didn't I was not happy. No, I remember distinctively this one time where I was like, this is bullsh guys, why are you like clapping and cheering because she got the card At this point in the competition, we're not happy for everyone, and you guys are being phony and I got I got a crap for that, but you're right. It's just like sometimes like let's just be a little real here, but not Victoria's style real. Well yeah, yeah exactly. And it also then brings us into this like you're watching the season, you're saying, uh, there's definitely some crap going on. But the one thing that's been um tough to watch, and we've talked about any times this podcast and weeks previous, is you know, the drama, the bowling that whatever has taken over the love stories. We only have to see a lot of these love stories unfold, and it's been hard to watch. Who are your top favorites right now for Matt, maybe like top three. If you had to choose um for Matt, I would definitely say Michelle. They're one on one, seemed magical, interesting, even though she was brand new, even she just it just seemed like, yo, this is a like it was a fit. It was and you can tell he's very competitive. You also could tell that she's very competitive and like love her Bree as well. Bree I picked her from the way beginning just because of her story. It's very similar to Matt's as well. And she just seems even though she's twenty four, I think she's twenty four, she just seems very mature and like, I'm a woman with a plan and a mission. And after this week looking, you know, seeing him and Rachel on their date, he just lights up. He lights up with her, and their date was just so magical too. It's like, I think about Breeze date and she was all muddy, that's saying, look a nightmare for me personally, but she was such a good sport about it. But then I look at the shopping date and I'm like, I just want to be a princess. That's it. That's all. So picking that date for her, I think it's also whoever got that date. He's definitely really into that person for sure. Yeah. So those three those are my those are my three. Al Right. Well, Natasha, we loved having you. It's so nice to meeting you. And you guys, if you want to listen to clickbait everywherehere podcasts are and it's not just about Bachelor click baby headlines. It's about like all pop culture, which is really fun. Yeah, we get into a lot of relationship dating stuff on our podcast and you can listen to us on the one dree app on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, serious, wherever you guys listen to podcasts, check us out. Well, hey, you're the best. Thanks for coming on, Natasha Park everybody, thank you guys. Well, it's time for Bachelor headlines. As always, I'm gonna read the headline. Ashley is going to educate us all on what is happening. I'll throw my two cents in there because I'm always confused, intrigued and curious. Ashley first headline is this, we're just kind of consolidate all these head because there's a lot about Clariendale recently, Um Claireendale. Yes, as we've spoken about many times, they have split. Um. Now both of them have came out publicly and talked about this split. Uh. Claire has came out recently talked little bit more Dale's back, um saying he's wrecked. Ashley, can you just catch us all up on what is going on with Clarien Dale? And we're as like, fans, where where do we need to stand? Well? I stand with Claire. Claire got on her Instagram live a couple of days ago, and she seemed to actually be pretty uppyat She talked about being in a dark place. Of course you're going to be in a dark place. Her mom has Alzheimer's. She said that she was just dealing with all you know, still like kind of suffering from all the backlash that she got on social media as being the bachelorette and then she had this huge public breakup, Like of course she's in a dark place, but she actually it really it seemed to be taking a turn because she's like she's feeling good. She said that on Instagram this week that she's happy about funny animal videos, getting to visit her mom, a new project, she's furniture shopping, she went on a trip with her sister just get out and get some fresh, snowy air in her lungs. She said that she's really loving her post pandemic trips, her music playlist and her friends reaching out. And in this video the Instagram live that I watched, she was really just talking about like how grateful she is for the little things that people have done for her to make her feel better during this hard time. She talked about being at the nail place and how they kind of like just knew what she was going through without you know, anybody saying anything because she's a public figure. They gave her a little massage. She just felt like she got like treated. She just feel like she got it really, you know, treated um because people just we're thinking about what she was going through, and she just said, just kind of be aware of what everybody, everybody might be having. You know, you never know when somebody's having a hard day, so like always go out of your way to add a little something nice to their day. She also talked about how, um, there was this TikTok. There's that phone viral where somebody on the platform posted a TikTok that they had just met Claire down in San Diego and that she wasn't friendly, and she was like, well, just want to let you know that I wasn't friendly right then because I had just had a panic attack and I went outside to get air and tried to recover from it. And I'm pretty sure it was also the weekend that she was breaking up with Claire, with Dale, So yeah, not the best time. So she's like, how about taking to consideration what people might be going through in the moment before you just slander them. It's a wild event. Uh. Their breakup has been it hasn't been clean, it's been everything and messy. Uh. And obviously there's been a lot of opinions going around. Now we don't know the insides and the out of what happened to really cause the breakup, but you know, there's been assumptions being made. Um, it just feels like right now, Uh, I guess we hope that like Claire can just move on from it because it feels like it could be all consuming. It sounds like she's doing a good job at it. Well. One of the relationships coming from that season was Tasia and Zach's. This is a really beautiful headline by people here. Bachelor A's Zach Clark opens up about navigating his sobriety in relationship with Tasia Adams. I think we read this headline because it's really incredible to hear how Tassia and Zach have worked together in their relationship already. I mean, they're pretty fresh themselves and helping carry each other's Burdens. Yeah, so basically never been in a relationship with somebody who's had who's been sober, so she had an open mind about it, Zack said. But she also didn't shy away from certain questions, like she even said if I drink, can I kiss you? And I was like, yeah, you're good. He says that she kind of reserved time to learn about his sobriety during the season so that she would be able to understand him and what he goes through better. Um. He also said that she's exposing herself to his personal recovery and getting to know what that looks like, and about getting to know his sober friends, all while living in New York with him. It's really awesome to hear because obviously that was something that Zac opened up about on the show. It wasn't something that comes easy to him obviously, Um, but to hear that, you know, that's just a sign of an awesome relationship. Is where you're seeing the one partners say, Okay, I know that you're not You're coming into this relationship with stuff, right, all of us have stuff, And how can I best be a partner to you no matter what your stuff is? I don't know. I just I found that to be a really incredible thing and something that we should celebrate Tashawn and Zach uh in their relationship. And it's a good update. It sounds like they're doing well. Uh. Well, another headline from this season they came out is, uh, you know Sarah Trot who went home uh was being accused of having a boyfriend before and now after her exit from the show. Well, according to Entertainment Tonight, she is denying those claims Ashley, what do we know? First off, I want to mention she was This is not her rumored dating with um G Easy that was last March. Apparently she was dating another DJ DJ ju um His also his name is Ben Dorman, and they were reported by the Sun to having gone to Mexico in August. Um. But her rep which I have to roll my eyes a little bit already, she has management, Uh says Sarah unequivocally did not have a boyfriend before, during, or after her appearance on the Bachelor. She says that Ben and Sarah had a fun trip with mutual friends, and while their relationship may have been may have had some intimate moments between them, it did not lead to a relationship. She went to Cabbo single and came back single, and she's still on her journey to find love, which is why she agreed to go on The Bachelor a month or so after this vacation. And there we go. Well that's all we know for now. Bachelor's Queen Victoria Larson apologizes the fellow contestants amid accusations of bullying. The quote is, according to US Weekly, I'll do better next time. Well, is she referring to paradise? She assuming she's going to be in paradise. Um, well, she says that, I think in my effort to make my opinions heard, because we know she's all about her opinions being heard, like she discussed in that conversation with Katie last week, it may have been perceived as I was bullying by some and I feel if my and I feel bad if my words are actions offended anyone. I take each time each day to reflect and learn the lessons. Um yeah, I'm just like not really buying it. Like perhaps when I hear her verbally talk about it, I'll be able to have a better gauge on the authenticity of these of of this apology. But the fact that she says, like, I think in my effort to make my opinions heard, it was perceived as bullying by some. That's just kind of like blaming other people's interpretations of your behavior instead of like taking accountability for you actually is having some very few moments. Yeah, I would agree. At some point you just kind of have to own up to it and and you have to start wanting to understand it. And it doesn't sound like quite she's quite there yet, and we'll see if she goes on Paradise, will be able to understand more. Well. This will also say that she she apologized privately, apparently to some cast members. Well, we'll take that into consideration. It's a great start and uh and hey, we hope that through the show everybody will learn a little bit of something about themselves. And watching it back, well, you know, you you have to see yourself in your actions and sometimes I know with me, I didn't always love my actions, and so you have to understand, get better, move you know, move forward, but also know that there was you know, probably some damage done in the wake. And so it's good that she's starting the apology to her um and I hope it continues, Uh. Well, speaking of apologies, Caitlin Bristow apologize to Bachelor's Chelsea Vaughan for comparing hair stories and uh. Caitlin's quote is, I was completely ignorant, as according to US magazine. Okay, so what happened last week was Caitlin was watching the Bachelor episode, as she describes in this statement, and when Chelsea started talking about her being insecure with her hair and it being a like an emotional attachment, you know, like car is it could be an emotional thing. But she was talking about how she was insecure with her with her hair to Jason, and then she kind of just didn't really listen to the rest of Chelsea's story, didn't see how race played a part of it. And um, she went on I think her Instagram or it was an it was some sort of ad, and she compared her hair insecurities with Chelsea's insecurities from this past episode, and um, then you know, she quickly discovered that they are not the same. That Chelsea's story, um about her hair is not really something she should be relating to. And she apologized to Chelsea in a public apology and in a private apology Caitlin says that she feels completely completely ignorant. She was ignorant in the moment, that she did not listen to the rest of the story or understand the history behind the story as to why Chelsea is insecure over her hair. She said that she owes Chelsea apology, which I just mentioned. She she did do publicly and privately, and she said that she owes a lot of people who are following her an apology for her ignorance. She said that what she did was what I did by going to my Instagram and doing a paid partnership comparing my story to Chelsea's about insecurity that my hair was just wrong. She says she feels humiliated. I am so humiliated that I did not listen. Andy Dorfman says she would pick Chris Souls if she did her Bachelorette season over again. Hey, this article is according to Entertainment Tonight. However, we have audio proof according to our in depth episode, that Andy Dorfman actually said that to us. First. Yeah, apparently she said it on another podcast this week, the Hollywood Raw podcast, and now it's a headline. But guys, if you are a dedicated almost famous listener, you know that we broke this news months ago. We did. Well, hey, we just had to get it out there. Anyways, Uh, Nick File and Natalie Joy we talked about it last week. They go Instagram official in suitet video that according to US Weekly, So it's Instagram official if you want to call it Instagram official, but in no way says hey, Nick is my boyfriend. It's just Natalie posting a video of Nick while he's playing with his um what is that? What are those called? What's an oculus? It's one of those virtual reality game things. Uh. So Yeah, it's the first time that one of them has posted of each shother on their Instagram. And I can just tell you guys that in September Natalie said that she is the happiest she's ever been, and yeah, Nick is probably the happiest I've seen him in quite some time. Yeah, he seems thrilled and uh it's very cute. So we look forward to two more updates on that relationship. Uh. Moving forward, Well, Uh, one relationship in Batchel Nation that's very known by the public. Uh, Dylan and Hannah. Well, Dylan made news this week. I would say, kind of out of nowhere. I didn't know he felt this way. Uh it was I was reading Twitter the next day and I was like, Wow, this is surprising coming from him. Hannahkes came out at this point and also said that she was dealing with the mess that was caused. Well, Ashley explained to US Dylan Barber slams the Bachelor franchise, claims Jed Wyatt never cheated on Hannah Brown and many other things. This according to US Weekly. Okay, so I think len Nooise maybe just trying to make a splash here because he tweeted cancel ABC and The Bachelor kind of want to air out their dirty laundry. Mom got me riled up? Ask away, um. Then he proceeded to talk about the franchise not caring about people's like mental health or not looking out for their best interests. It's like, yeah, you are a character on the show. They're not going to always be looking out for your best interests. Well, you, guys, I don't understand the grammar here, but this is the quote. You've got to understand the game. They get paid off you doing that warrant screen time. Okay, so if you're doing something stupid, he's saying, then they benefit from it. He also says that it's easy to make a bad person look worse, it's hard to make a good person look bad. Um. Yeah, he's just like kind of blah blah blah, and he's mad at We don't really but I think it's it comes. It's coming from the fact that he's friends with Jed. And he said that Jed never cheated on Hannah, which I I didn't think that it was ever a thing that Jed cheated on Hannah. I thought the whole issue was that he had a girlfriend when he met Hannah. Wasn't that the controversy. I don't think anybody ever said that Jed was cheating on Hannah. I can't fully remember. But it's very I mean, Jed's been great to us in this podcast. He's done a couple of shows with us. He's promoted his music with us. Um, we have never talked to him. I think we've had him on and in depth, and we spoke to him about the situation and he claimed that it was messy and that you know, he wasn't dating this girl at the time. I thought that, Yes, I think I remember that being the thing, but it's very obvious that Dylan had a lot of build up frustration. I mean he and it's not the first here recently, right, we saw it with Luke Parker. Well, Luke Parker, as we uh you know announced was was actually sued by the Bachelor franchise. Um, but it felt like Dylan had a lot held up. He expressed it via Twitter, uh and I mean as Hannah kind of mentioned like, there was a lot of reaction to it. This became a headline. It's still a headline today a couple of days later. So, um, we'll see where this goes and if if Dylan, I don't know if Dylan has came out publicly yet and said anything about it, but it definitely came out of nowhere. For me, had no clue he felt so strongly about this. Well, former Bachelor at Hannah Brown spotted holding hands with model Adam Woollard. Well, as we reported a week or two ago, Hannah's got a new man, and I think a lot of the blog the bloggers picked up on it, a lot of the sleuthors out there rather, they picked up on it. And now I think we get our confirmation by the fact that they're holding hands on a weekend stroll an Abbot Kinney around Venice Beach. It's cute and uh and obviously, uh, we can probably say officially that Hannah Brown at least has an interest, like she's at least she she's in something, she's dating. Good for Hannah Brown, she's back at it, she's back on the market. Things are going well. Well, that's all the headlines we have for today. Ashley, Um, let's break down some listener emails. Some of them really uh hit home, especially when it comes uh to this episode. I'm gonna start with this one. Um, just the easy one to get a started. Liz asked, how do you decide who reads the date card? Does production say who has to read it? Ashley take it away? Yes they do. It's pretty simple, pretty simple answer there. They just kind of pull aside a girl and say, hey, the door is gonna know, there's gonna be a knock at the door soon. You you run and go get it. I think it's usually uh, you know, they arrange it so obviously the person who's not going on the one on one is reading the day card for themselves. Yeah. Yeah, it's uh, it's but it never is that big a deal, right, Like it's never like, oh my gosh, I want to get the day card. Like I've never seen anybody get too excited about that. Um hey, Kimberly asks. Over the years, we could laugh at Karen and Demi and the plenty of other villains that have appeared, but we've always had the opportunity to learn more about them, grow to like them, or at least be neutral. The level of bullying that has gone on this season is atrocious and cringeworthy and has no business being supported or promoted as entertainment. It isn't entertaining to watch, as most moments with the girls take me back to moments in grade school in high school. I would agree. I wish I could erase from memory. It's awful to wash watch friendships grow over buling at the expense of others. My husband put it best, it just looks like the beginning of the end of the Bachelor. Wow. Whoa wow. Well, I think that what's going to happen is they're just going to take this feedback from the fans because we all hate the bullying, and we hate the girl, and we hate you know, this women not supporting women thing that they're doing right now, and I think they just won't do it again. I just feel like they'll they won't cast somebody like Victoria. They know now that we love villains that we can learn to love like Demi or like Karin, not just straight up villains who have like no character development beyond that. Jennifer asks or writes us to start, I'll say this, I don't I didn't really like Matt was chosen as the Bachelor. Nothing personal, but as a die hard Bachelor Nation fan, I was not loving that he was chosen as a lead without ever being on the show. That being said, I have no problem admitting he is quite possibly in my top three Bachelor's. I love Matt more and more every week. What I don't love is the toxic behavior from some of the women on the season that I find. It seems I or his pattern is to pick one girl she deems a threat or just an easy target, and focus on how she can get that girl out. First it was Maryland, then it was Sarah, Now it's New Girls. I mean. Then she goes on. Jennifer goes on to say the mean commons and Bowling are not only appalling, but so disgusting. I'm wondering your input as two people who are connected to the franchise. Um, you go first, Yes, I agree. Um, I don't think has actually just said this will continue. I think what the show will do from here on out is to allow the lead to become aware of these situations earlier on, so we don't see it for a few weeks. Uh so the lead cann then step in and hopefully stop it. I mean, you know, the one criticism of Peter is he didn't stop drama. He knew of it and he didn't stop it. I think with Matt and most leads, they usually try to stop it, and so I think the show will show the lead stepping in and saying, no, this isn't okay, we need to to be her here. I think that's how they'll stop it from happening. Um, but I agree. I love Matt James as a Bachelor. I think he's great. I think it was unfun to watch his season because of the drama that was unfolding around him. I think it will be better from here on out, or at least I hope so. Like I said earlier in the episode, I do think that once this Ja Sena m J thing is resolved, we won't have to deal with the drama anymore. And like I just said, I do think that they're going to listen to the fans and give more of a romantic Tasia esque season next time around. That's right. Carly reveals whether or not she'll get back together with Evan. Okay, so Carly really, uh, she put a lot out there this week. First, she says that she's just terrified of the idea of dating again. She never planned on doing it. Then, when asked if or I don't even know, she was asked, I think she just kind of off it up. She was like, would Evan and I ever get back together? She said, it takes two to make that happen. Um. Then somebody said would you ever be on the Bachelor franchise again? And she said that she'd be so embarrassed. She said, when I think about that, I just start laughing because I can't even imagine walking up to Chris Harrison and being like, here I am again. I'd be so embarrassed. It didn't really work out for me, So what makes me think it would happen? Yeah, that that would be kind of funny. I would I would agree, Like I think I would be embarrassed at that point. Actley, what a great episode, horrific job today, terrific episode on Matt's part, and uh for the season of the Bachelor. Uh, we'll be back next week breaking down another one of Matt's episodes. We have some really exciting stuff that I don't want to announce yet that will be coming up this week and in the weeks following when it comes to the Almost Famous podcast. But then, once again, I just want to end this uh with reminding everybody of our live event. Uh. We will have a few different tiers. Uh, this will be really great. Uh. The hundred promo codes the event have been used, but we are now going to add a ticket that allows you to get access to the event and you will receive a signed copy of my book alone in plain site. There are also still meet and greet packages available, which will include a copy of my book. It won't be signed, will be a copy and we'll hang out with you for a bit. Uh. It's gonna be really great event. We have some friends coming in. I'm really looking forward to it. Make sure you visit events dot loop live, dot com, slash Almost Famous for tickets. A portion of the proceeds from our live event will go to save our stages. Hey Ashley, it's been awesome. I've been been, I've been Ashley by guys. Follow the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

Fan Favorite and one of the most popular Bachelors Ben Higgins and Ashley Iaconetti, the notorious c 
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