Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / Bachelor Countdown Day 5: Chris Soules

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Bachelor Countdown Day 5: Chris Soules · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is that Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Bachelor Countdown. We're here with another episode of the Almost
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: Famous podcast. We are continuing our countdown to Grant season,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: which is airing January twenty seventh, and to countdown to
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: this season, we are interviewing some past leads, some of
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: the leads that you love the most, past bachelors from
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: way back when to more recently and today. We have
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: a fan favorite, somebody who is beloved by both myself
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: and Ashley, and the Almost Famous listener is somebody that's
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: always a great interview, Chris Sols. Welcome to the podcast.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Thank you guys for having me. I'm just sitting here
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: with my goosebump sharing your lovely voice. Ben. You are
• 0:42
  Speaker 2: such a sweetheart and such nice things, so thank you
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: for having me.
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: We gets so excited to have you on because it's
• 0:49
  Speaker 3: so much fun and so giggly. I don't know why
• 0:51
  Speaker 3: it's so giggly. I mean, maybe it's just because you know,
• 0:53
  Speaker 3: ten years ago, like you and I I sat on
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: your lap on a tractor.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: Really good, right, yes?
• 1:03
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, okay, So we talked to you a couple
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: of months ago about Whitney and that whole thing. We
• 1:13
  Speaker 3: did a lot of the behind the scenes of your
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: dates and your choice. Your choice, Okay, your final, your
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: final decision, So we won't talk about that so much. Guys,
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: if you do want to hear that you missed out
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: on it, go back. I think it was like October
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: or something.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I love this question. By the way, Christy prepped
• 1:30
  Speaker 1: for this question that asked was about to ask you.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: I want you to take it serious though, I really need.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: If you need to like just be silent for a
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: few minutes, totally fine, that's great, suspenseful sence, silence. And
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: I don't expect to like move up in my ranks.
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: But the question to you is if you had to
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: re rank your season and reorder re order the girls,
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: not the whole season, but like, let's think about your
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: like top eight just so randomly, where do people lie?
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: We can start with number one? Who would be your
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: number one?
• 2:09
  Speaker 2: Give me number one?
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and let's be let's be really honest about this one.
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: It's not me, you know, it's so hard to look
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: back at that. It's a very tough question because it's
• 2:22
  Speaker 2: you know, and now it's the whole thing is with
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: such an incredible experience just in general, and almost seems
• 2:31
  Speaker 2: surreal looking back because you guys were also freaking great.
• 2:35
  Speaker 2: That's really true, and you've all gone on to do
• 2:38
  Speaker 2: things that you know we're meant to be for yourselves
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: after the show and just you know, I don't know,
• 2:43
  Speaker 2: I don't know.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: That they can silence. Don't worry you. You have all
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: the silence.
• 2:49
  Speaker 2: We're recording me thinking pondering here.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: It's a little bit of a tough question, Ashley, honestly
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: to ask the top because if you asked me my
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: top eight, I wouldn't remember.
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: Okay, Okay, fine, okay, So if your top four, if
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: you to redo your top four in orders and you
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: could put me in the top four, would I would
• 3:08
  Speaker 3: believe that at this point, being that you know me
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: top four.
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: In coolness or top four in depth.
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: Of ability, and it's okay if I'm not in there,
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: it's fine, you could it because no, no, no, all right,
• 3:22
  Speaker 3: I'm going to lay this out easily for you. Okay.
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: So we had a Whitney, Becca, then we had Caitlin,
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: and then Jade. Those are your top four? Would you
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: reorder any of your top four? It's okay, We'll give
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: you the answer number one, you would have wanted to
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: pick Becca.
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: You know what would that have been right for either
• 3:42
  Speaker 2: of us?
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: You know, well you wouldn't have ended up together.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: No, if the outcome was just completely like knowing that
• 3:50
  Speaker 2: it probably wasn't going to work anyway, you know, if
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: you know, because my feelings were intense and like I
• 3:56
  Speaker 2: really was trying to make the pragmatic decision, you know,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: and trying to really find somebody that I thought it
• 4:01
  Speaker 2: could work with. It's not just like, of course, I
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: mean there was a top eight that could have worked
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: with or there was a chance, So I was super
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: pragmatic towards the end, like I'm really serious about who
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: I'm picking. It's not just like I could see myself
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: being with a lot of the top eight actually, you know,
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: And but my unique position being on the farm, like
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: was put a different type of spin on everything. So
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: it was it was there a chance that was gonna
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: work with that with the top four. You know, I
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: could go right down the list and tell you the
• 4:33
  Speaker 2: specifics why I thought maybe it may not work with
• 4:37
  Speaker 2: just because of my you know, the farming thing. But
• 4:41
  Speaker 2: would I really truly reorder anything? I mean actually just
• 4:44
  Speaker 2: as a person. You know, of course you'd be in
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: the top four. You know, did I think that? It
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: was like there was a future for you in Arlington?
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: And me I just felt, you know, I had to
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: be realistic there. You know, Caitlin was spectacular, Jade, I
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: probably would, it.
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: Makes sense, made pragmatically.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: In every way she was she was. It was just
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: too many I had. I had too many great people.
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: You did, I did.
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: So you had an amazing season of the cast. I
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: mean we could go down like with the Carles and
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: like we can keep going and name so many people
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: who have shown to be incredible humans outside of the
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: show but also on the show, caused for incredible experiences,
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: actually being one of those to prove both ways great
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: on the show and great off the show.
• 5:36
  Speaker 3: Oh thanks, guys. Okay, we don't have to butter me
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: up anymore, but I do.
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: She just needed it, Chris, I'm waiting for that for
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: ten years.
• 5:44
  Speaker 3: I know that, I know, I know about how much
• 5:46
  Speaker 3: Chris loves me.
• 5:48
  Speaker 1: Okay, so you were clearly.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: A top four. Actually, we just knew you weren't cut
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: out for the farm. We just.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: No, no, Chris didn't get to know my personality well
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: until after the show at all we did. I really
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: don't feel like I knew you at all leaving the show,
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: but have gotten to know you so well over ten years,
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: and very glad that we could be friends. I want
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: to know one thing about Kelsey, because I get asked
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: about Kelsey mostly via Instagram, Like whatever I post like
• 6:17
  Speaker 3: a throwback of our of our season, people are like,
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: was Kelsey as crazy as she seems? And I always
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: say she was more crazy? So what's your take your
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: memories of Kelsey?
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: I mean, it's hard to know because I was I
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: knew her, you know, I knew all of you less
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: than you guys knew each other. You know, I had
• 6:39
  Speaker 2: what you see from my you know you know this Ashley,
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: and then obviously no firsthand that just that amount of
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: interaction I was able to have. I took a lot
• 6:46
  Speaker 2: of my hints from you guys getting to know you
• 6:48
  Speaker 2: know a lot of cases between between talking to you
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: guys somewhat off camera and we're on camera at some
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: point about at Kelsey and but you know when I
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: showed up to the row ceremony and and the panic
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: attack and then you know, the kiss saying and that
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: when she tried to you know, there were some things
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: that just were some real red flags. So I didn't
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: necessarily see that. I have a strong feeling of genuineness,
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: I would say, crazy, I don't know, because I just
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: didn't know her that well, be honest, but I just
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: didn't A lot of things didn't add up, and so
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: I was just kind of in this position of like, oh,
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: way too many questions marks here. So and you guys
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: saw probably that, and you saw much more of her
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: than I did. So I was just feeling like this
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: was a little bit of a just felt a little uncertain.
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: To be honest, she didn't show you much, right, it was,
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: she surely didn't.
• 7:48
  Speaker 2: There was a big facade there. I felt that she
• 7:50
  Speaker 2: had had between what she was in front of me
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: and what she was in front of you guys.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: All right, Ben, do your serious stuff. Now he's laughing
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: at me.
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: I'm laughing at Ashley because this, uh is stuff that
• 8:14
  Speaker 1: she she would just love to sit down for like
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: four hours and and just be like, all right, Chris,
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: what was happening here with you?
• 8:23
  Speaker 2: Ashley? I would that's on my bucket list.
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: Oh my god, special series. It would be to be wild, Chris.
• 8:30
  Speaker 1: I do want to get into some current life stuff. Start.
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: We always ask you, and today I have a different
• 8:37
  Speaker 1: approach as a friend, and again, somebody that loves you
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: and thinks so highly of you, but I have a
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: different approach. So I'm gonna start with this question dating
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: now for you, Chris Souls. We are breaking down the Bachelor.
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: We're talking about relationships. Obviously a question always comes up,
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: is Chris single or not? And I would love to
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: get an answer to it.
• 9:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I'm still single. I haven't really been dating
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: too seriously, but you know, yeah, still single, still working
• 9:12
  Speaker 2: on no Marono for a little bit here, and yeah,
• 9:16
  Speaker 2: still wanting to day, still wanting to find love and
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: all of those things. So but yeah, kind of in
• 9:21
  Speaker 2: that season of my life, where been through a lot
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: of stuff, you know, so just trying to get myself
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: in a good position to just to still find somebody.
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: You're working on yourself right now, which is always an
• 9:38
  Speaker 1: incredible thing to do, especially when it comes from a
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: genuine place. If there's one thing I know about you,
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: there's an immense amount of genuineness and authenticity too. When
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: you say something like that, what does it mean for
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: you right now to be working on yourself.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, just trying to you know, improve my
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: my health first of all, you know, just sort of
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: uh getting back to a discipline on getting to the gym,
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: doing cold punches and things like that. You know, that's
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: a popular thing these days and sana things like that.
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: Just uh and just really my parents have have have
• 10:18
  Speaker 2: you know fully retired, and I've taken over their portion
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: of the business and bought them out. So I've moved
• 10:23
  Speaker 2: on with some things professionally there that have been been
• 10:26
  Speaker 2: huge for me, just time commitments, and you know, it
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: didn't health wise. Just uh. I I actually quit drinking
• 10:34
  Speaker 2: in August and and plan to continue to do so
• 10:37
  Speaker 2: for for the foreseeable future, which is a big deal
• 10:41
  Speaker 2: for me. And so I've kind of been uh embracing
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: that and uh, you know, hopefully that'll make make a
• 10:49
  Speaker 2: lot of things better in my life.
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: So I have so many questions for you, uh one
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: and and I just I feel like I want to
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: spit them all out at you right now, but I'm
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: going to slow myself down. Uh. We'll start with I
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: guess the choice to not drink, obviously is dry January.
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: Everybody's a lot of people, I guess are like doing
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: it this month. What have you seen the benefits be
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: in your own personal life since you've been sober since
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: August that maybe we're expected or unexpected.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: I think, I mean obviously just that the level of
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: self made anxiety and stress. You know, internally, I deal
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: with a lot of stuff to begin with, just with
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: work and having as being an entrepreneur and agriculture. I mean,
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: that's just it's something I embrace. But also alcohol does
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: not make it easier, makes it tougher. So mentally I'm
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: just much more clear headed. And it's pretty astounding. I
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: think it's the longest I've went without drinking since I
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: was a kid, a little kid, which is scary to me.
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: But yeah, just I mean mentally the clear that that,
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: uh that you get from that, and and starting to
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: work on other things that you know, just meditation and
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: things like that to start to you know, it's you're
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: getting to be an old man now, I get the
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: next you know, four years of my life ahead of me,
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: so trying to really hopefully embrace that and and uh uh,
• 12:18
  Speaker 2: you know, it allows me to be a better person
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: to the people that I love, you know, and more
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: more there, you know, more present, which is huge, you
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: know with my family and and friends and and starting
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: to you know, start to uh uncloud my my whole
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: well being and and uh you know, then being able
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: to focus on you know, if you like going to
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: the gym instead of you know, kind of being a
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: struggle and just recovering every every so often from you know,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: all calls is not really healthy for you. The more
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: you learn about it is it's not good for you.
• 12:50
  Speaker 2: And it's just a way of life for me for
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: so long. So it's to start to change that is Ah,
• 12:57
  Speaker 2: it's a huge you know, it's a sense of like
• 12:59
  Speaker 2: acomplishment too. To be able to to do that gives
• 13:04
  Speaker 2: you a strong sense of uh, I don't know, just
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: feeling of you know, I don't know, it makes you
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: anytime you accomplish something like that, that's not it's it's
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: just very tough that it makes you better at everything,
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: you know, makes you want to go out and do more,
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: and whether it's building better relationships with friends and family,
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: or or do better in work in my career in agriculture,
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: and and just makes every life a little bit better.
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: So I'd recommend it to anyone.
• 13:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, something to be proud of something that you should
• 13:43
  Speaker 1: be extremely proud of. I mean not, you know, I'm
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: not sitting here being like, hey, everybody needs to go sober.
• 13:50
  Speaker 1: But the people that I do know who have made
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: that decision and done it, you know, since August, Goodness,
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: what an accomplishment I have met. No, I haven't met
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: one person that's like, I regret that decision to go so,
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: you know, to stop drinking. I'n't met one person yet.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: And I know many right now that have done that
• 14:10
  Speaker 1: for you know, a multiple array of reasons. Chris, Uh,
• 14:16
  Speaker 1: just congrats man. Uh, there's very I want to say
• 14:20
  Speaker 1: this to you because you and I spoke on the show,
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: on a show or personally, and maybe I'm sharing too much,
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: and and growing up in Indiana myself being an ag
• 14:31
  Speaker 1: drinking just becomes more of like a cultural thing, right
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: You're you're just doing it throughout the day. It doesn't
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: really mean a cocktail at night by the fire. It's like, no,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: this is just what we do in the Midwest. It's
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: it's what it's our world is. We we drink and
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: we do what we have to do. I want to
• 14:52
  Speaker 1: say it's incredibly courageous. It also just proves to me
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: once again, how strong you are personally to be able
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: to stop in the midst of what is a very
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: normal thing, I'm sure in your area of the country.
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, thank you, Ben as always kind of words always,
• 15:12
  Speaker 2: but no, it is the hardest thing I've ever done,
• 15:16
  Speaker 2: I think. And yeah, I mean there's it's a NonStop
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: It's cultural. I mean, it's really a deep cultural thing
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: in the Midwest, especially in a your culture. I mean
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: I can remember I was I drank long before I
• 15:29
  Speaker 2: could drive, you know, before I had a license or
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: you know, beer was a very, very much staple and
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: it was just a common and there was not much
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: to do, you know, in the in the country. And
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: it stress is huge. Mental health is is a I
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: watch a lot of friends. I've had friends my age
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: commit suicide. Very you know, I know many friends at
• 15:49
  Speaker 2: farm and have committed suicide. I know they had problems
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: with drinking. And you know, you know, in the middle
• 15:56
  Speaker 2: of winter, like it is right now zero degrees out
• 15:59
  Speaker 2: right now, fairly above zero, and you're living with stress.
• 16:03
  Speaker 2: I mean, people are going through a lot of financial
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: straits right now with with agriculture being very tough, and uh,
• 16:08
  Speaker 2: this is like you know, depression city in a lot
• 16:11
  Speaker 2: of ways, and and the only way to a lot
• 16:13
  Speaker 2: of people cope is alcohol. And it's a cheap form
• 16:17
  Speaker 2: of of of stress relief. And so it's it's something
• 16:21
  Speaker 2: that I've seen a lot of people struggle with. You know,
• 16:23
  Speaker 2: I have myself obviously and not obviously, but I have,
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: you know. And and so it's it's something that exists
• 16:31
  Speaker 2: in a big way, and it doesn't get it's not
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: something that a lot of people know about. We're kind
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: of still in the flyover states. So and you get
• 16:40
  Speaker 2: it too, man. But yeah, So it's it's uh, kind
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: of just made my mind up. It's like enough is enough,
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: and hopefully I can it can help people out there
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: that they are seeking to do the same.
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: I don't know, if you want to share. It's very
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: obvious to us when we got on here. You've lost
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: a lot of weight. Dude, I mean, you look good.
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: I know.
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry. The way that I was like, why are
• 17:15
  Speaker 3: you so skinny? It's like the most ashly way of
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: saying it. Do you look great?
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: It's very empathetic, like it comes from the most beautiful
• 17:22
  Speaker 1: place in Ashley's heart. Is like, Chris, you're skinny. Something's happening.
• 17:26
  Speaker 1: It's like in my Italian grandma exactly.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: That's where I come from a Jewish Italian family. So
• 17:32
  Speaker 3: it's like, I'm sorry if I have no filter. Yeah,
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: but Chris, how much weight have you lost?
• 17:38
  Speaker 2: I mean I don't really know it probably at least
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: ten goodness? Yeah yeah, oh yeah, I mean my average.
• 17:46
  Speaker 2: I don't weigh myself very often, but I could tell
• 17:48
  Speaker 2: I'm as skinny as I've been since Hize school.
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: So yeah, you're looking good man, you look great.
• 17:54
  Speaker 2: I'll keep working on I just you know, can't eat enough.
• 17:58
  Speaker 2: I've been really you know, yoga, I've been really getting
• 18:01
  Speaker 2: into yoga, Ben, Yeah, you should. I'd like to.
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: I do it every morning, do you really?
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 18:07
  Speaker 1: It's like, well for four days a week. I guess
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: I shouldn't say every morning, four days a week.
• 18:12
  Speaker 2: I like it.
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: I can touch my toes. You should see it. It's
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: pretty awesome.
• 18:15
  Speaker 2: It's like amazing. Wow.
• 18:17
  Speaker 3: You guys want to like give like a lifestyle, uh,
• 18:20
  Speaker 3: like class to Jared or something. He wants to get
• 18:22
  Speaker 3: into this wellness? Uh do you mind? Chris? If we
• 18:26
  Speaker 3: ask what was there a certain thing that inspired you
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: to go sober? Over the summer or was it just
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: like a general thing that you were thinking of for
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: a while.
• 18:37
  Speaker 2: You know, I don't think I can put a finger
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: on anything. I just it's a great question. I think
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: that I have a lot of responsibility in life and
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: in general, I've you know, it's just getting to a
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: point where the hangovers aren't getting any easier. It became
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: more of not necessarily doing it as much for fun
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: as much as your doing it is something to cover
• 19:01
  Speaker 2: up just stress in general. And I felt like I'm
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: at a point in my life where still single and
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: still want to I want a family, and I still
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: have a farming business that I care about tremendously and
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: want to see see it through to uh, you know,
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: to build on and and there's just nothing good that
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: was coming from me from drinking, and so I feel
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: like it uh And from a health perspective, I wanted
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: to wanted to be the best that I can be,
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: and and as I get older, that's getting harder, you know,
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: So continuing to poison myself, you know, wasn't helping that process. Figure.
• 19:38
  Speaker 2: You know, this is time to its Alcohol has not
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: always worked for me, you know, So.
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: Have you got on a sober date.
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: Yet that's the one thing I have not done. I
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: have not done that yet. I've done a lot of
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: things like, yeah, being around friends that have I've you know,
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: all my friends like to drink a ton, you know,
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: it's you know, So that's that I have not gone
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: on this over date yet.
• 20:07
  Speaker 1: Offacially, the UH I wrote about the book. It was
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: the first time I really like it came out publicly,
• 20:15
  Speaker 1: but I had a you know, opioid addiction. Didn't really
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: realize it was until maybe post and it was. It
• 20:22
  Speaker 1: was a numbing practice for me. I realized how much
• 20:25
  Speaker 1: I was numbing things. Right, you get off of it,
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: you get some clarity of mind, and you're like, how
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: did I live life for so long numbing all these
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: things or getting more anxious about things. Maybe that I
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: now with a clear head, don't have to be as
• 20:41
  Speaker 1: anxious about I can process them, work through them. So
• 20:45
  Speaker 1: that's why, you know, when we talk about this, Chris,
• 20:47
  Speaker 1: I'm like, it's it's never a bad decision. As soon
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: as the light bulb goes off. Some will never choose
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: to make the decision to correct course. But as soon
• 20:56
  Speaker 1: as that light bulb goes off and you're like this
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: might be something I want to stop. It's incredibly courageous
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: to stop, and and I just think it should be
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: celebrated well. In our closing moments with you here, because
• 21:07
  Speaker 1: we only have a few we've talked about the reordering
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: of picks actually made the top four. We didn't get
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: any other clarity on that, but that was a big deal.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: That was a huge deal for Ashley. She cannot wait
• 21:21
  Speaker 1: you to tell you too. It's okay, you would have
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: been there. She's going to run down stairs and say,
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: I can just see it now, Jared, guess what, Crystal me. Yeah. Chris,
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: we've talked about your career. We've talked about all these things,
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: and what are you looking forward to now in this
• 21:42
  Speaker 1: new kind of season of life as you take over
• 21:44
  Speaker 1: the business, as you're still in Iowa. Obviously you said
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: romance is something you still desire. But my what I
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: was going to do on the show is tell you, like, hey,
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: if that's really something you desire, like you got to
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: go do it. Man, Like this this excuse of where
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: you live maybe, uh, is only going to work for
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: so long. So what does life look like moving forward?
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: You know?
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: Uh, that's a good question. I mean I think the
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: same things, just sort of getting back to, you know,
• 22:12
  Speaker 2: focusing on on my my career and and you know,
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: I think that person's out there, you know. I think
• 22:20
  Speaker 2: when I'm at my best, that's when I'll find that person, right, so,
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: you know, making sure my side of the streets clean,
• 22:27
  Speaker 2: so somebody that when I do find somebody that I'm
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: ready with an open heart and and proud of myself,
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: you know, being able to to be that person that
• 22:37
  Speaker 2: they are looking for. So I just that is, you know,
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: I'm I'm yeah, I feel like farming and and just
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: doing what I'm passionate, passionate about there it's here, and
• 22:51
  Speaker 2: I was still feeds my soul. So now just finding
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: a partner to go along with it. And and yeah,
• 22:59
  Speaker 2: I don't know that hopefully the future has got a
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: lot of surprises in it for me. But farming is
• 23:05
  Speaker 2: pretty much where it's going to be. And but but yeah,
• 23:09
  Speaker 2: going after, like you said, being a little more proactive,
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: I think here in the next few years to sort
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: of get something done. Ben.
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, so we still have to find a girl that'll
• 23:20
  Speaker 3: move to Iowa for you. So if we want to
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: do any setups, that's still number one right.
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: It's always been you know, you know, yeah, but it's uh,
• 23:32
  Speaker 2: I mean I think that that Iowa and in another
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: place are super achievable. You know, having having a balance
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: there is very much real.
• 23:43
  Speaker 3: So we have to look for some girls in Des Moines.
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: I mean, trust me, as soon as Chris starts looking,
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: it's not gonna take long. The guy's gorgeous, he's kind,
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: he's considerate, he has his own business.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: Like No, nobody's worried for you.
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: No, it's just a it's like a thing of like, well,
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: what are you going to start? Man, it's zero degrees outside,
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: I don't know. Go out there and find somebody to
• 24:06
  Speaker 1: struggle with. It helps keep you warm. Chris, it's always
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: a pleasure. Thanks for coming on. Thanks for joining us
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: on the countdown to The Bachelor. Are you watching the
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: show at all anymore?
• 24:17
  Speaker 2: I will tune in. I'm not like an avid watcher.
• 24:21
  Speaker 2: I just need to get better at that.
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: Yeah. Well, a grand season will be premiering January twenty seventh.
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: If you want to catch.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: It good, maybe I'll try to tune in for this one.
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: Yeah, it'll be worth it this season. Until next time,
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: I've been ben Bye.
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: Guys, I've Been Ashley. Follow the Ben and Ashley I
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: Almost Famous podcast on iHeartRadio, or subscribe wherever you listen
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: to podcasts.