Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / The Most Shocking Bachelor Moments of 2025 - #4

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The Most Shocking Bachelor Moments of 2025 - #4 · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
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  Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio.
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  Speaker 2: Okay, hello everybody, This is Trista on the Almost Famous
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  Speaker 2: podcast and I am just here solo. I'm bringing you
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  Speaker 2: the fourth most shocking or should I say number four
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  Speaker 2: in the most shocking Bachelor Nation moments of twenty twenty five.
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  Speaker 2: So we've been counting down the most shocking Bachelor Nation
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  Speaker 2: moments and this is number four. This moment was not
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  Speaker 2: only shocking, but I feel like we talked about it
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  Speaker 2: forever afterwards, like months and months and months afterwards. And
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  Speaker 2: if you haven't guessed by that, because I guess there
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  Speaker 2: are a lot of shocking moments this year, but the
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  Speaker 2: number four most shocking moment this year was Golden Bachelor
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  Speaker 2: mel Owens podcast comments before his season even started. Okay,
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  Speaker 2: on April twenty second, mel Owens was announced as the
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  Speaker 2: lead of season two of The Golden Bachelor. Right off
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  Speaker 2: the bat, we didn't know a whole lot about mel
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  Speaker 2: because he wasn't from Jones season. But he was a
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  Speaker 2: professional athlete, so people may have connected with him over that,
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  Speaker 2: but we didn't know him as a as someone who
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  Speaker 2: had already been in Bachelor Nation. And of course that's
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  Speaker 2: how most of us get to know each of the leads.
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  Speaker 2: Most of course, of Bachelor Nation fans were expecting for
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  Speaker 2: it to be somebody from previous season, because, like I said,
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  Speaker 2: it's that's usually the case. We usually pull somebody from
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  Speaker 2: I say we, it's not we, the casting department and
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  Speaker 2: the producers usually pull someone from the previous season so
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  Speaker 2: that we all have a vested interest in their love
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  Speaker 2: story and their continued love story. And Mel just wasn't
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  Speaker 2: that person. So we learned that he is a sixty
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  Speaker 2: six year old former NFL linebacker. He played for the
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  Speaker 2: Los Angeles Rams. He was divorced and a single dad
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  Speaker 2: of two sons, And actually I kind of connected with
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  Speaker 2: that bart because his sons are around the same age
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  Speaker 2: as my kids. Actually, Mel is obviously very attractive, So
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  Speaker 2: even though he wasn't from Bachelor Nation, I think overall
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  Speaker 2: fans were intrigued to get to know him until he
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  Speaker 2: was a guest on a podcast. So by June, clips
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  Speaker 2: went viral of Mel talking on a podcast about what
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  Speaker 2: he told producers of the show what kind of women
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  Speaker 2: he wasn't interested in dating. As a refresher, he said
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  Speaker 2: during an appearance on the m Go Blue podcast with
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  Speaker 2: John Jansen, the former NFL player turned lawyer sixty six,
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  Speaker 2: touched on what he's looking for this season and what
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  Speaker 2: he's not. He said, if they're sixty or over, I'm
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  Speaker 2: cutting them. And that's in quotes, Owens said bluntly, recalling
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  Speaker 2: a conversation he had with one of the show's exec producers.
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  Speaker 2: This is not the Silver Bachelor, he said, this is
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  Speaker 2: the Golden Bachelor. So in addition to being picky about
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  Speaker 2: their age, Owen's said he also expressed to the exec
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  Speaker 2: producer that he wants the women to look good. Quote,
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  Speaker 2: They've got to be fit because I stay in shape
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  Speaker 2: and work out and stuff, he shared quote. And I
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  Speaker 2: told them to try to stay away from the artificial
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  Speaker 2: hips and the wigs. Oh boy, this takes me back
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  Speaker 2: to this moment just reading his quotes. I never listened
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  Speaker 2: to the podcast itself, but of course I heard about
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  Speaker 2: it because I am part of Bachelor Nation happily, proudly,
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  Speaker 2: and oh gosh, when I heard those quotes, I am
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  Speaker 2: fifty three years old, will probably at the time I
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  Speaker 2: was fifty two and just being right around the corner
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  Speaker 2: from being sixty and being someone who could probably be
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  Speaker 2: on Golden Bachelor. If I wasn't married happily, I took
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  Speaker 2: great offense to it. And I think, actually I know
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  Speaker 2: that most people took great offense to it because he
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  Speaker 2: is being chosen to be the Golden Bachelor, and that
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  Speaker 2: is the age range. I don't I don't think it
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  Speaker 2: was appropriate. I don't think those comments were kind. I'm
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  Speaker 2: I think, much more invested in kind people than I
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  Speaker 2: am with superficial people. Unfortunately, and you know I didn't
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  Speaker 2: because I didn't hear it. I didn't know if I
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  Speaker 2: was taking out of context, if they were joking, if
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  Speaker 2: he was being sarcastic. It's just that is a slippery slope. People.
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  Speaker 2: If you ever go on reality television, this is one
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  Speaker 2: thing that I want you to know, try to keep
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  Speaker 2: the sarcasm at bay, because sarcasm comes across as just
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  Speaker 2: being cruel and mean with your comments, because people can't
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  Speaker 2: tell if you're being sarcastic or not. So I feel
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  Speaker 2: like I've always thought, just try to not be sarcastic
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  Speaker 2: when you are on these shows, because they will record
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  Speaker 2: you and they will use it against you. So I
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  Speaker 2: have always felt like, and I'm really sarcastic actually, so
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  Speaker 2: That's why I think I've always had a radar up
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  Speaker 2: for that. But just be yourself, but try to not
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  Speaker 2: be sarcastic. So I don't know if he was being sarcastic.
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  Speaker 2: I'll give him the benefit of the doubt of that,
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  Speaker 2: But I think coming into the season, as you saw
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  Speaker 2: when all of the ladies got out of the limo
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  Speaker 2: and pretty much every single one of them mentioned in
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  Speaker 2: some shape, way, shape or form that they were not
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  Speaker 2: so happy about his comments. I mean, I think he
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  Speaker 2: got slapped so good on the women for calling him
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  Speaker 2: out for that. Not long after these comments went viral,
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  Speaker 2: Bachelor Nation fans demanded that Mel be recast and not
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  Speaker 2: hold the title of the Golden Bachelor. Even reality Steve
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  Speaker 2: tweeted that he heard Mel was fired and being recast,
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  Speaker 2: So who knows if he actually had been considered for
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  Speaker 2: being pulled off of the lead or you know, getting
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  Speaker 2: his title revoked. He did, in fact stay as our
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  Speaker 2: second Golden Bachelor, and the show began. It premiered in
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  Speaker 2: the end of September of twenty twenty five. Of course,
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  Speaker 2: because these are these are twenty twenty five most shocking moments.
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  Speaker 2: In the premiere episode, they addressed Mel's podcast comments, and
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  Speaker 2: Mel apologized to all of the women on night one
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  Speaker 2: about his comments, you know, And it seemed like the
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  Speaker 2: ladies on the show were feeling like he was being
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  Speaker 2: genuine in his apology, and I hope that's the case,
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  Speaker 2: and they weren't influenced because the cameras were around. The
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  Speaker 2: women on the show constantly defended him throughout the season
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  Speaker 2: and said he was a nice guy, even at the
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  Speaker 2: Women Tell All. So I believe it to be a
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  Speaker 2: truthful and genuine apology, But it's sad to me that
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  Speaker 2: he would even have to make an apology the first night,
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  Speaker 2: you know. I always go back to Jones' comments on
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  Speaker 2: the first season of Golden Bachelor and how women at
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  Speaker 2: her age she had begun to feel invisible, And I
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  Speaker 2: feel that that's a very very common feeling for women
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  Speaker 2: who are I mean, I'm starting to feel it a
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  Speaker 2: little bit in their fifties, sixties, seventies, where you feel invisible,
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  Speaker 2: you don't feel like you're worthy enough for people's concerns,
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  Speaker 2: that you're not part of a group. And I feel
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  Speaker 2: like what was beautiful about the first season of Golden
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  Speaker 2: Bachelor is they really made these women and men feel
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  Speaker 2: like they are still worthy, They're not invisible, And I
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  Speaker 2: felt like Mel's comments just hit right at the core
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  Speaker 2: of that argument or discussion or concept. Is that he
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  Speaker 2: basically just said, you know, if they're sixty and under,
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  Speaker 2: they're great, but if they're sixty and older, then they're
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  Speaker 2: invisible to me. Is kind of how I took his comments,
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  Speaker 2: and that really, I think was very hurtful for a
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  Speaker 2: lot of people. We watched Mel's season where he ultimately
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  Speaker 2: chose contestant Peg and gave her a promise ring instead
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  Speaker 2: of getting down on one knee and proposing. Of course,
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  Speaker 2: that was very controversial and shocking, I feel like to
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  Speaker 2: a lot of Bachelor Nation people, But I am so
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  Speaker 2: happy for them. They seem very, very genuinely happy, and
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  Speaker 2: I'm so happy that they found each other and happiness
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  Speaker 2: in their relationship. With lower ratings than season one, Bachelor
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  Speaker 2: Nation fans wonder if there will be another season of
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  Speaker 2: the Golden franchise. I have to guess that after Taylor's season,
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  Speaker 2: because Taylor Frankie Paul of course, is our next bat
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  Speaker 2: Clarette and her season will begin airing in either February
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  Speaker 2: or March next year. I feel like this that Bachelor
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  Speaker 2: Nation is going to get a whole new bevy of
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  Speaker 2: fans because of all of her following that I believe
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  Speaker 2: are going to be very invested in her season. So
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  Speaker 2: I'm hoping with that insurgence of people to watch the
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  Speaker 2: show that they definitely will want to do another Golden
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  Speaker 2: and potentially bring back the wholesomeness of the Golden franchise.
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  Speaker 2: That's what I loved so much about the first season
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  Speaker 2: of Golden and with Jones season, I feel like it
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  Speaker 2: was just people were wholesome. They were wholesome relationships. They
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  Speaker 2: were you know, when you get older, I feel like
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  Speaker 2: you realize what truly matters in life. And they were
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  Speaker 2: honest about the fact that they wanted relationships. They wanted
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  Speaker 2: to be able to share their lives with someone instead
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  Speaker 2: of feeling invisible and alone. So anyway, uh, yes, there
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  Speaker 2: were lower ratings for the second season of Golden Bachelor,
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  Speaker 2: but I am very hopeful that after Taylor Frankie Paul's
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  Speaker 2: season of Bachelorette that we are going to be able
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  Speaker 2: to bring back Golden because there will be lots there
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  Speaker 2: will be much better ratings, I am predicting with Bachelorette
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  Speaker 2: and so therefore, hopefully they'll bring back another Golden all right.
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  Speaker 2: Because of this long saga of drama with mel Owens
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  Speaker 2: as the Golden Bachelor number two, this was our number
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  Speaker 2: four most shocking moment of the year.
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  Speaker 1: Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on
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