Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / In Depth: Chris Soules

Transcript

In Depth: Chris Soules · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is Ben and Ashley I almost famous in depth
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: born in Arlington, Iowa and as a fourth generation farmer,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: has three older sisters. We know him best as the
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: bachelor on season nineteen of the Bachelor. He was also
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: an Andy Dorfman's season of The Bachelorette. He I would say, Ashley,
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: you can tell me if I'm wrong here if I
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: remember right. Andy Dorfman's season was one of the first
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: seasons of The Bachelor I've ever watched. And Chris Souls,
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: who is our guest on the in Depth episode this
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: week this month. I don't know how often we do this.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Whenever somebody cool comes in, we do this. It wasn't
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: a surprise choice maybe to be the Bachelor, but a
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: little bit shocking. Right you were on this season. What
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: was your reaction when Chris Souls was announced as the Bachelor? Totally? Um.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: I think the two people that commanded so much attention
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: that season we're Josh and Nick, but we definitely they
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: were definitely weren't going to pick the divisive Nick to
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: be the Bachelor at that time, and then Josh had
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: obviously one. So I think that a lot of people
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: are questioning who would be the next Bachelor. I know
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: Ari was on the minds of the producers as being
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: a possible bachelor, and I think it came down to
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: him and Chris, and I was in the casting process, um,
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: I was in the top fifty, or maybe they had
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: asked me whether or not. Um, you know, I wanted
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: to be one of the thirty women. And I said,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: I'm going to have to wait for the bachelor announcement
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: because I knew it was between the two of them,
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: and I thought, if it was Ari, I don't I
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: don't know if I'm down. So I waited until they
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: announced Chris um that morning on Good Morning America, and
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: then I sent in my application that not the application,
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: but like the final paperwork. It's uh. It was kind
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: of shocking because there's so many names thrown in UH,
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: and Chris Souls rises above the top. And he's also
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: sitting next to me right now, Chris, welcome to almost
• 1:52
  Speaker 1: famous in death. Thank you for having me. That was
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: flattered a new story to me. You never heard that?
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I feel like I've shared it here before.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: But I definitely was like, I'm not gonna go on
• 2:06
  Speaker 1: if I'm going to have zero interest in the person
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: and I was like, Chris is cute. Yeah, well I
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: Uh My impression, uh, from the outside looking in was
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: that once the girls knew that I was going to
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: be the Bachelor, that they weren't going to show up.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: I don't think that was the case. Was pretty much
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: what I thought. Literally, Uh, during the limo entrance, they stopped,
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: they stop the limos, and Chris is like, that's its
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: fifteen girls, that's it. I'm like, yeah, so you guys
• 2:38
  Speaker 1: remember on our season. On his season, we um had
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: fifteen limos that came in, and then they kind of
• 2:44
  Speaker 1: pretended like that was it and that it was gonna
• 2:47
  Speaker 1: be a weird season with only fifteen girls, and that
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: kind of got me nervous. It was like, oh, wow,
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: the attention is going to be on this relationship immediately.
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: And then they gave us about an hour hour and
• 2:58
  Speaker 1: a half to have time with you, and then they
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: introduced fifteen new girls on us and then let them
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: all roll in it. But it was still, you know,
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: the fifteen I was like so thankful for and I
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: actually that this is like I've dated three girls in
• 3:12
  Speaker 1: my life, and uh, you know, this is more attractive
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: women that I've been around you know, in my pretty
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: much my whole dating life. So uh yeah, the fifteen
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: I was more than flattered for. And then then they
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: bring in thirty at the end of the day, we
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: were very happy to see you standing there. I will
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: always remember pulling up in that limo and I think
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: we were all like, oh my god, like you just
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: looked great out of excitement, as in like I don't
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: I'm married now, so I don't want to go overboard
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: with how I felt in that moment, but um, we
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: were all very impressed by you in every way. Well,
• 3:47
  Speaker 1: you still have that effect on people, dat you, Chris.
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: You know that it's those days are over and getting old,
• 3:55
  Speaker 1: and thank you for you know, um bringing me along
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: on that journey with you and leading me to a
• 4:01
  Speaker 1: whole other crazy chapter of my life. Happily. Ever after that,
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: what's been really special. There's been so many girls have
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: had really great relationships as a result. Um, Jade's wife
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: or Jade's mom actually thanked me for for going on
• 4:14
  Speaker 1: the show and getting her to go on Granchildren. And
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: then you know when when I was at their wedding,
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: which was awkward, not awkward, but it was special and
• 4:23
  Speaker 1: originally like going and doing that was like an ex girlfriend.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: You know, Tanner was not keen on the idea. I
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: didn't know that he was not. But then once you
• 4:31
  Speaker 1: were there, and obviously he was like, Okay, this guy's cool.
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: I get it. But we became buds. Yeah, now you're
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: bus Yeah what Chris, what was your first reaction of Actually,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: do you remember that night? Um? I mean I thought
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: she was beautiful. I mean that was really you really
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: don't get much more than that. Um. The first night,
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: I just thought she was absolute smoke show. I remember
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: a scene and before passed. H this is great under
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: my favorite moments, and these are like my if you
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: ask my friends, uh, like they just named it the
• 5:09
  Speaker 1: later I never put my finger on it. I love
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: to be an instigator of awkwardness, like the fact that
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: I can sit amongst something so great that I love it.
• 5:18
  Speaker 1: It's fantastic. So I'm gonna ask you this. Um yeah,
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: this could be really fun for me. Um. We have
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: a lot to talk about obviously during this in depth episode. Chris,
• 5:29
  Speaker 1: you've people it's not a secret what your life has
• 5:32
  Speaker 1: looked like in the last two and a half years.
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: It's not a secret who you are and your career.
• 5:36
  Speaker 1: I mean, you were the prince farming. Uh, your life
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: is I don't know if it's felt like this, and
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: we're gonna get into this later, but your life is
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: very visible and transparent to the publican has been since
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: really you were the bachelor on the Bachelor at you know,
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: for us to have you here, um, it's not only
• 5:55
  Speaker 1: a big deal for us, because Ashley and I have
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: made it very clear we love you. You've been a
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: friend of mine since the moment I was announced of
• 6:03
  Speaker 1: the Bachelor. I remember you came up, um to the
• 6:06
  Speaker 1: car that I was driving up to the mansion, and
• 6:08
  Speaker 1: when we kind of filmed the pre stuff, and you
• 6:10
  Speaker 1: walked over the car and you just had this warmth
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: in this um, this kind of you looked into my
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: eyes and you're like you can do this thing kind
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: of feeling. And then I remember you saying that to
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: me because you're so nervous. And I remember somebody you
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: pulled up in a leather jacket. He is he's a
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: good looking dude, he has an aura about him and
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: he walks past my car and I'm like, you gotta
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: be like, this is who I'm coming after, Like this
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: is who I have to follow is Prince Farming. But
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: you do you. You you have us love ability and
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: comfort about you know, and I'm so thankful that I
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: know you. Chris, and I hope through the whole podcast
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: today our listeners will get to know you again. UM,
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: so let's start the beginning. Ashley and I have a
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: lot of bachelor stuff to talk about. We'll get into
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: your life today and over the last few years. I
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: want to start with this and then I'll throw it
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: to Ashley. Uh. There was a scene that is memorable
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: and Bachelor Nation where you and Ashley had your first kiss. Um.
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: You're sitting on I don't know if it's actually the
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: first kiss. We need to explain that. You arguing this
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: is on the rundown. No, no, no, here's the thing.
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: Here's the thing. So you're sitting on this like railing.
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: Do you guys remember that our first kiss kiss? I
• 7:26
  Speaker 1: was thinking then, and this is where this is all going.
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: At that point, I was like, this thing could work,
• 7:31
  Speaker 1: like this relationship could work. I remember watching the fancy
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: this game Corps. At what point did you realize that
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: actually needed to go home by really jumping in? Um?
• 7:44
  Speaker 1: At what point? I mean I thought, Yea, the whole time,
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: Ashley was fantastic. Um, I was so nervous, you just
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: you just kept crying. There's a lot of times where yeah, yeah,
• 7:59
  Speaker 1: there are a couple of times where it wasn't about
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: you and I just what kind of question your mental health?
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: And you know it's Ashley Christ and she met Jared
• 8:15
  Speaker 1: mar Jared. So in my head, I'm thinking, all right,
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: my lifestyle is full of like kind of rough and
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: like stressful things. I worked like fifteen twenty hours a
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: day and during harvest and uh, you know whatever. So
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: I'm literally thinking, Okay, how's this gonna look in northeast Iowa.
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: If we're in Paradise, we are literally in a mansion
• 8:41
  Speaker 1: in you know, I know it's emotional. It's not because
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: it was a bad day. It was emotional or whatever
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: was going on. But that's that slowly started to click
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: in my head that probably isn't quite cut out for
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: the lifestyle that I'm you know, that's what he's that
• 9:00
  Speaker 1: in the bad Lands. He said like, I don't think
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: our lifestyles are compatible. And I was like, but you're
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: giving Britta chick to look at her party, but she
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: really now like probably she's a very calm life style,
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: and um, hello, she's pregnant. So Britt Nielsen is pregnant. Guys. Yeah,
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: so Ashley, did you agree with Chris? Yeah, I mean
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: not in that very moment, but like two days afterwards,
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: you know, yeah. Um, but I'll always remember on our
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: first group day, I had, like I won the tractor race,
• 9:33
  Speaker 1: so I had like an extra twenty minutes with him,
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: and he talked to me about harvest season for like
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: twenty minutes, and I was like, Wow, this guy loves
• 9:42
  Speaker 1: his job and I have no idea what he's talking about. Actually,
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: just there with a smile on belly chain. I was
• 9:51
  Speaker 1: wearing a bathing suit in a belly chain. Okay, you
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: know what though, I but I watched that as a
• 9:56
  Speaker 1: fan on TV before I even knew I was, and
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: I was like, oh, that's Aisle, Like Ashley, I can
• 10:01
  Speaker 1: she's the she represents style. Thanks. I mean, I had
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: some pretty dope outfit always looked spot on. Well thanks
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: for clarifying that. I really have always wondered. Uh, you know,
• 10:13
  Speaker 1: I met actually as a friend first. So when when
• 10:16
  Speaker 1: we started this podcast, we really met each other and
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: I met actually his friend and as a friend. I
• 10:20
  Speaker 1: was like, I love this person. We can get along.
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: And it's been two and a half years. I wondered, though,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: from your perspective as somebody from mine, when you met
• 10:27
  Speaker 1: Ashley for the first time, what that reaction was, because
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: I remember watching on TV. I was a fan of
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: both of you for I mean still in but like
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: just a fan from as a viewer standpoint. You forget
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: that I came in after you, So I watched you
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: both in my home. I remember the scenes that you're
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: in and now look at me here, I'm just sitting
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: in the middle of some some blushing and awkwardness. Sometimes
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: I do that too with Nick, because I watched you know,
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: Andy season, and I was so obsessed with Andy season,
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: and I think about like all the feelings I had
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: about Nick being like, you know, a villain and stuff,
• 10:58
  Speaker 1: and now to for him to like give a speech
• 11:01
  Speaker 1: at our wedding, it's like that guy I watched on
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: TV be like such a well, you know when we
• 11:09
  Speaker 1: had had when we were at Jaden Tanner's wedding, meeting
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: you as a friend afterwards, Yeah, that was fun. It
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: was so much fun. And you know, for you know,
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: our meeting first was physical attractive attraction for me. You
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: know that was you know, you really don't get that
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: much time to get to know each other to a
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: certain extent, but yeah, and then going to just getting
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: to know you as a friend, and yeah, she is
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: really cool. And didn't really have that opportunity because emotions
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: were so intense, especially for you. I mean it was
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: intense for me obviously, but for everyone. I shouldn't even
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: say just for you, but he cried a lot. Yeah,
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: I get it. You wore your heart on your sleeve,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: and I was just made it uh, really challenging. But
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: I was difficult, far difficult, more difficult than I thought
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: I was. You know that. I came home from taping
• 12:01
  Speaker 1: that season and I was like, you, guys, I did
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: such a good job. I wasn't gonna be so cool.
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: It's like I could be my best self. And I'm like,
• 12:07
  Speaker 1: I watched I thought I was, Um, I wanted to
• 12:11
  Speaker 1: add one more thing, but yeah, at the wedding was
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: definitely when I first started like talking to Chris as
• 12:16
  Speaker 1: a friend and I'm like, this guy is awesome. Like
• 12:19
  Speaker 1: I feel like I got to know you more in
• 12:21
  Speaker 1: that day than I did, like on the entire season. Yeah. Um,
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: all right, yeah, so that's that's I guess that's all
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: I have to say about my time with Chris off
• 12:31
  Speaker 1: The Bachelor. Um, this has been great for me. Um,
• 12:36
  Speaker 1: I really enjoy these moments. But we're gonna take a break.
• 12:40
  Speaker 1: When we come back, Ashley, Chris is gonna just grill
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: you on everything, Batch, their World, Dance with the Stars,
• 12:46
  Speaker 1: your friends from the show. You're gonna have to really
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: pull back some memories. Let's let's get nostalgic, um, and
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: I'll take over leading you up today. So hey, let's
• 12:57
  Speaker 1: take a break. We'll be back with Chrys souls. As
• 13:02
  Speaker 1: most of you know, I'm hosting The Bachelor Live on
• 13:05
  Speaker 1: Stage with Becca Koufan, kicking off in Mesa on February.
• 13:09
  Speaker 1: This is gonna be an awesome evening for Bachelor Nation,
• 13:12
  Speaker 1: and we're heading all over the country. Seriously, We're not
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: just going to the big cities. We're going everywhere. If
• 13:20
  Speaker 1: you're in the audience, it is gonna be so much
• 13:22
  Speaker 1: fun to experience what you love from the TV show
• 13:25
  Speaker 1: in such an intimate and live format. Plus, you're gonna
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: have a say in the Rose ceremonies for the first
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: time ever, and if you're looking for love. One local
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: bachelor in each city will have the chance to meet
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: ten sensational women on stage for the beginning of a
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: new journey the potentially hey find some love. How does
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: this happen? Well, Beck and I will guide the bachelor
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: and help him find the woman he's most compatible with
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: through three different group dates and challenges that allowed women
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: to showcase their personalities. There's gonna be the first Impression Game,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: a hometown scenario where the ladies reveal what life would
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: be like beyond the final rows and yes, even the
• 14:05
  Speaker 1: fantasy suites. Now is the time to get your tickets
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: to come see Becca and myself live on stage and
• 14:15
  Speaker 1: here us share our stories from our experiences on what
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: life is really like at the mansion and behind the
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: scenes perspective on the whole show. So go visit Bachelor
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: Live on Stage dot com and get your tickets now.
• 14:29
  Speaker 1: This is the perfect night to grab your Bachelor Monday
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: watch party crew and go have a blast in your hometown.
• 14:36
  Speaker 1: I really hope to see you there. So now, I've
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: been reflecting on this and I got so annoyed when
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: they put that I was from Wayne, New Jersey on
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: your season because I just grew up in Northern Virginia.
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: I was like, I lived in New Jersey for like
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: a year before Latch. I was like, put northern Virginia.
• 14:59
  Speaker 1: But now I see why they did that, because like
• 15:02
  Speaker 1: it was the perfect opposite to your Iowa farm guy
• 15:06
  Speaker 1: was like the Jersey girl with the big eyelashes. All right,
• 15:12
  Speaker 1: let's talk about some of my friends on that On
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: that season, you had a season where so many girls
• 15:19
  Speaker 1: came out with marriages, Me, Carly, Jade, Um Caitlin had
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: a very long term engagement and Um, is there anybody
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: you know that Julia is marrying and she's engaged to
• 15:33
  Speaker 1: Evans brother, So in some way they wouldn't have met
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: if it weren't for you too, Whitney Whitney. Whitney obviously
• 15:43
  Speaker 1: got engaged to you, and subsequently, do you think that
• 15:48
  Speaker 1: she would have not been with her husband today? If
• 15:50
  Speaker 1: oh I didn't say that, I guess I wasn't referring
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: to that. But I mean, there's just a lot of
• 15:53
  Speaker 1: girls that have actually gone on to have successful relationships.
• 15:57
  Speaker 1: And I don't know if has that anything to do
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: with me, per se, but but we want to thank
• 16:01
  Speaker 1: you again. Well, you're welcome. Thank you for joining me
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: on adventure. How do you look back on that season,
• 16:10
  Speaker 1: that season of TV, but also that season of your life,
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: your six months engaged to Whitney Bishop. Um, it was
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: an incredible experience. I mean getting to meet so many
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: great people. I mean a bunch of great women, all
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: of you. Um, and then you know, producers and people
• 16:28
  Speaker 1: that I have lifelong relationships with. Then you know, it's
• 16:31
  Speaker 1: changed my life quite frankly, Um, I look at the
• 16:35
  Speaker 1: the experience was overwhelming, and you know, nothing I ever
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: felt like I would ever experience in my life. You know,
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: going on the Batch Wherette was in itself something I
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: never really thought would happen. I can. I can still
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: remember the day that the producers called me after my
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: sister had submitted me and thought, well, there's no way
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: they're getting considered me to go on this show, but
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: I'll go through the gasting process. This is These are
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: true thoughts, I mean, are the perfect like thought for
• 17:02
  Speaker 1: like a bachelor, a bachelor producer. They're gonna be like
• 17:05
  Speaker 1: farm handsome farm guy from Iowa, come on now perfect.
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: That was not my head space. I was thinking, who's
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: going the you know it's supposed to be these guys
• 17:15
  Speaker 1: in the city that have cool careers. I don't know what.
• 17:18
  Speaker 1: I never really watched the show, so I didn't really
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: know what they're after. But I know my challenge and
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: challenges and dating were always a result of like being
• 17:27
  Speaker 1: a farmer. You know. I always felt like, go to
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: the bar and meet a girl, She's like, what do
• 17:31
  Speaker 1: you do my farm? And then it's like, well, I
• 17:35
  Speaker 1: live an hour from here. When I'm gonna see you again,
• 17:37
  Speaker 1: I don't know, be could be never. Uh, So that
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: was always a challenge in my life. And and meeting
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: people was was a big you know, it was it
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: was very challenging because I was living in the middle
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: of nowhere and and so having the opportunity to to
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: just be around such really cool people and and uh
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: meeting all these great women and who was overwhelming, and uh,
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: every day it was like a gift, you know. Waking up,
• 18:04
  Speaker 1: I was like pumped, you know, I was. I think
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: I read an article by Chris Harrison that said I
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: was the hardest working farm or hardest working bachelor that
• 18:11
  Speaker 1: he's ever had, because I was just pumped for the
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: opportunity and and uh, and it was just exciting, you
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: know it was not work for me. It was like,
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: it's a lot of hours then you can relate and uh,
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: just and being able to meet such incredible women that
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: that you don't have the opportunity to meet on a
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: daily basis in what in the career path that I
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: am involved in. So, yeah, it was it was great.
• 18:40
  Speaker 1: I don't know, that's what else I can say. Actually,
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: I've talked about a lot, and I wonder if I think,
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: out of anybody, you would be the one to answer this,
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: because actually I've kind of bounced back and forth and
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: we've talked about it and discussed it. But the question
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: really comes down to me when I'm hearing you talk
• 18:54
  Speaker 1: and when actually and I've talked about it, did you
• 18:57
  Speaker 1: realize that you had so much to offer a partner
• 19:01
  Speaker 1: like that you were desirable not only because you're a
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: good looking guy, but you do have a great job.
• 19:06
  Speaker 1: You you you can't support a family, um, you are considerate,
• 19:11
  Speaker 1: like you do have these things to offer. But before
• 19:14
  Speaker 1: the Bachelor, did you realize that you had those things?
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: Or was this kind of a new wave in your
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: life where you realized for the first time only cow
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: like I'm desirable, you know, I always felt like I
• 19:26
  Speaker 1: had a lot to offer to a certain extent, but
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: I always felt like there was like that baggage. I
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: always felt like I had a like I was had,
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: you know, like I had the level of baggage of
• 19:37
  Speaker 1: being in in the middle of nowhere, Iowa. And you know,
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: I made it very vocal and that the show made
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: it very up front that that was always a huge
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: concern of mine and having having that as a you
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: know something that you know, whatever I had to offer
• 19:52
  Speaker 1: was was discounted because I had all this had something
• 19:55
  Speaker 1: that that nobody really wanted, was being in you know,
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: in a small town where there's nothing to do to
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: speak of, and um, I find, you know, love the place.
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: I love everything about it, but I do, you know,
• 20:06
  Speaker 1: find it tough to be single and and uh young
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: in that area. So it was, you know, whatever I
• 20:14
  Speaker 1: thought I had to offer, which is nominal, but I
• 20:17
  Speaker 1: I thought at all you always always I was insecure.
• 20:20
  Speaker 1: Actually yeah, I was gonna say that, very insecure about that.
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: Um so it sounds like you're insecure about you know,
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: dating there. But you did have three relationships, like you
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: mentioned earlier. Can you tell us about those relationships briefly?
• 20:32
  Speaker 1: About how you met those girls in Arlington. They in Arlington, Iowa. Yeah. Actually,
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: when I say three, I'm probably including Whitney and that.
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: But um so they two before the show, I had.
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: I dated a girl for seven years. We started dating
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: at the University of Iowa State where I finished up
• 20:52
  Speaker 1: my my last two years of college. Um and when
• 20:55
  Speaker 1: I got there and like, I gotta finding a girlfriend.
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: I got to marry this girl and lock it down
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: because otherwise I'm screwed. When I get back to Arlington,
• 21:04
  Speaker 1: there's nobody there. Um So I we we tried to
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: do that, and uh we dated for through college and
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: then once we graduated, she got a job and it
• 21:16
  Speaker 1: ended up taking her to California. Of course, kind of
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: by choice, kind of by like choice, my choice, because
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: she didn't want to be in Iowa because she maybe
• 21:25
  Speaker 1: didn't want to be with you forever. No, she wanted
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: to be with me, but she didn't want to be
• 21:30
  Speaker 1: an Iowa. Okay, yeah, so uh she she um excuse
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: me a little bit. Um So she took this job
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: out in Uh. If I'm the first one that burb done,
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: probably we've done some weird stuff. I'm not like laughing
• 21:51
  Speaker 1: at a judgment. I'm just laughing, like, good, we're comfortable.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: Uh yeah, we'll get more comfortable as we oh here. Um.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: But yeah, so she ended moving out to Monterey, California.
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: For three years, we did long distance, and finally she
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: the deal was she was going to come back and
• 22:11
  Speaker 1: I'd have to move away from the farm about forty
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: five minutes to a normal size city and uh and
• 22:18
  Speaker 1: buy a house and do with all that. So she
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: came back and yeah, so then we came back where
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: she came back to small town Waterloo but white, why
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: to be with you? Okay, So then what happened We
• 22:34
  Speaker 1: moved in together and then you'll do at that point,
• 22:38
  Speaker 1: we've been together for five years probably how old are
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: read at this point? Twenty four guess? And yeah, so
• 22:47
  Speaker 1: we dated and then uh it was sort of like,
• 22:50
  Speaker 1: now that she's back here, it's kind of like, well
• 22:52
  Speaker 1: it's just time to probably Yeah, and that we did
• 22:59
  Speaker 1: that and you did get engaged. I'm sure I knew
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: this at some point. Yeah. So anyway, that was all
• 23:08
  Speaker 1: maybe a little rushed and and uh didn't work out.
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: So there's about seven years of being together. Wow that
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: relationship ended? Um, and uh so a single for a
• 23:24
  Speaker 1: little while and then get into another six months relationship. Roughly,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: Maybe that was more like I don't remember where'd you
• 23:33
  Speaker 1: meet her? Um, okay, but I mean like around Arlington. No,
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: so I was so I stayed in Waterloo after my
• 23:45
  Speaker 1: previous So Waterloo has a significantly higher population than Arlington's.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: I'm only saying this because you have been talking about
• 23:52
  Speaker 1: how like there's truly no one to date in your
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: city or your town, and um, I think it's I think,
• 23:59
  Speaker 1: listening to all of this, I'm realizing all over again
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: because it was very evident in the moment, but I
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: haven't thought about it for years, how much you truly
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: wanted to find a white from this process, Like there
• 24:09
  Speaker 1: was no doubt that Crystals was there for the right reasons,
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: because all you wanted to do the right reason sort.
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: I always talked about how much behaved that phrase. But
• 24:18
  Speaker 1: all you wanted to do was come out, do the
• 24:21
  Speaker 1: show and then bring the perfect wife and start a
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: family in Arlington, Iowa. You had no other ambitions of
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: getting into Hollywood, absolutely none, absolutely none. It was it
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: was that was, you know, like after I got done
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: with a bachelorret um, he became sort of you know,
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: you start getting people on social media and all over
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: the place sending letters, and I mean, I've got letters
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: stacked a foot high of people that wanted to meet me.
• 24:54
  Speaker 1: I'm like, Dad's like, well, what do you need to
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: go on the Bachelor for? You got all these girls
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: that are reaching out to you. I'm like, I'm overwhelmed.
• 25:02
  Speaker 1: How am I supposed to How am I supposed to
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: fly all over the country and meet you know, random
• 25:09
  Speaker 1: letters writers that you know I can't do that. So
• 25:13
  Speaker 1: I think this is a good way to facilitate that process.
• 25:16
  Speaker 1: And because he was scared because I was leaving during harvest,
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: and so I was scared because I was leaving during harvest,
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: and and uh, that was my biggest concern with the
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: whole thing, was leaving harvest. I remember That's what we
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: talked about it. You're like, I can't believe I'm not
• 25:32
  Speaker 1: here for this part of the year. Scared the hell
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: out of me. Scared the hell out of me. Um,
• 25:37
  Speaker 1: but it's been It was a good thing because I
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: end up hiring a my my cousin to full time
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: to take over. He was the only one who I
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: felt like he actually could help facilitate a very intense
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: time of the year. And uh, he did a great
• 25:50
  Speaker 1: job and he's been working for me ever since. So
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: uh but yeah, I feel like I'm got kind of
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: lost and in a conversation. But anyway, we like that here.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: But I do want to just uh flag something. You know.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: I talked about how you did it and you want
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: to go right back to Iowa, which seemed like something
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: that Whitney was totally down to do. But then you
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: decided to do Dancing with the Stars. So why did
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: you decide to like indulge in the Hollywood sparkle for
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: a little while. Is it because, like because it was
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: such a cool opportunity kind of like the Bachelor, and
• 26:25
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of money in it if you get
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: far um and then you know, something to tell the
• 26:29
  Speaker 1: kids on someday. Right. Yeah, for me, it was I
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: mean being paid was important. That was important to you know,
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: to offset like my time actually back at the farm. Um.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: And uh, but I really loved the idea of the
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: opportunity just kind of like my competitive spirit. You know,
• 26:49
  Speaker 1: I grew up being an athlete. I've always been uh,
• 26:52
  Speaker 1: you know, some something I've always been passionate about and uh, Yeah.
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: It was just an exciting opportunity to put yourself out
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: there in a weird way. And I think going on
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: the batch Herb gave me like a little little uh insight.
• 27:05
  Speaker 1: You know, there's a little bit of adrenaline involved to
• 27:08
  Speaker 1: you know, being involved in something different that you know.
• 27:11
  Speaker 1: At that point, I spent thirty two of years in
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: my life farming and being an egg real estate literally
• 27:19
  Speaker 1: nothing else. And my first time being in l A
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: was landing there on on a you know, the first
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: day casting, you know, so it never lived in another city.
• 27:32
  Speaker 1: I've never lived in another state, you know. So it's
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: like I kind of had my hallway passed too, you know,
• 27:39
  Speaker 1: roll with it a little bit, and uh, I thought
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: why not? You know. It was funny because when I
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: m I was talking to like I had some representatives
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: or like meet people that were helping me with like
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: media and all that stuff, some PR people and there
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: from Iowa, and and uh like I'm like, I got
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: an offer to do Dancing with the stars, and it
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: just went silent on the other end, and they're like
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: because they're thinking, you know, this guy just needs to
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: come back and farm, which is what I really wanted
• 28:09
  Speaker 1: to do. But then I'm like, it's gonna gonna get
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: paid this to do this. So the Stars is a
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: lot better money, you guys than the Bachelor. Just letting
• 28:21
  Speaker 1: you know, um, And then I have one more question
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: before I throw it over to Ben. Obviously, Dancing with
• 28:27
  Speaker 1: the Stars can't ruin single handedly of relationship. It did
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: not ruin Nick's relationship with Vanessa that was already not
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: going to work out, and like your relationship with Whitney
• 28:37
  Speaker 1: wouldn't have worked out whether you did Dancing with the
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: Stars or not. But do you think it accelerated the breakup? No?
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: I think it actually was gave us a better opportunity
• 28:46
  Speaker 1: to transition and actually be um, get to know each
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: other in real life. You know, we were able to
• 28:54
  Speaker 1: come She she came out and she lived there. She
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: lived here in l A And and uh it really
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: was uh a lot better than her coming up to
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Iowa because it just would have been like really rough
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: for her to live in Iowa during the winter and
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: have been so cold, and she would have been uncomfortable,
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: and then she would have been like, oh wow, I
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: really want to get out of it. Yeah, it's hard
• 29:16
  Speaker 1: to put in perspective what what it's like where I'm from.
• 29:20
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's not it's a great place. I love
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: it and i've but it's uh, it's a great place
• 29:26
  Speaker 1: to raise a family. It's not necessarily a great place
• 29:28
  Speaker 1: to date. You know, there's not either. Rod and Cows
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: is a is a bar restaurant that serves really great
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: deep fried rotten cows. Okay, I was like rotting. I'm sorry,
• 29:42
  Speaker 1: I must not be Rod and Cows. But you know,
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: there's just not a lot of places to socialize. You know,
• 29:50
  Speaker 1: most everybody is older and married with kids, and not
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: that that's a bad thing, but there's just not a
• 29:58
  Speaker 1: lot of young people and things to do, period. So
• 30:01
  Speaker 1: it puts a strain on any relationship, I think, especially
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: a new one when you're used to living in Chicago
• 30:06
  Speaker 1: or you know. It's that's always been my concern always
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: and and uh so it puts a lot of pressure
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: on the relationship for it to be like I'm only
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: what I can be, you know. And so it's like
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: you can't like, if she wants to hang out with
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: her friends, it's gonna be tough to meet friends, you know,
• 30:27
  Speaker 1: in arling Den, Iowa. And she did have friends in
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: l a yeah, yeah, and she had friends in l
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: a and just friends in Chicago, and then we could
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: have kind of done long distance like back and forth,
• 30:36
  Speaker 1: but just committing to that that being she living in
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: the same apartment, she could have have things to do
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: during the day while I was dancing and doing what
• 30:46
  Speaker 1: I was doing, which is it's just a job at
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: that point, you know, So it's no different than normal life,
• 30:52
  Speaker 1: only you're actually having social things to do, and you
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: can not have that stress of being like Chris when
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: you're gonna come home because you're working and I have
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: nothing better to do than worry about how long you're
• 31:03
  Speaker 1: gonna be working. Have you dated anybody since Whitney? Nothing serious? No,
• 31:09
  Speaker 1: I've not really had a girlfriend. I've been on some dates,
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: but I've never had a serious girlfriend. I know, you
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: get nast all the time. Welcome back to the bachelor world, obviously,
• 31:18
  Speaker 1: you responded with Andy Dorfman. Um in New York City?
• 31:21
  Speaker 1: Is there anything there? She's been a great friend for
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: a long time. Actually, I mean we've we've hung out
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: a few times. We hung out after Charlene and Andy's wedding,
• 31:30
  Speaker 1: and um, yeah, just a great friendship. She's super cool. Um,
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: and and we can have cool conversations and and uh,
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: but no, I don't think there's anything like romantically there.
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: But it's a friendship. I mean, why do you think?
• 31:47
  Speaker 1: What do you think it is? That? And I mean
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: how many years has it been now? Since Whitney seventeen?
• 31:54
  Speaker 1: I think, Um, I mean really it's been what five years?
• 32:01
  Speaker 1: I think so five or six? Feeling yeah, what is it?
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: Why a you dated in five years? Well? Um, honestly,
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: I think you can relate to this, sound Ben, But
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: like that first couple of years of two three years
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: after the show, it's like, Okay, that didn't work out,
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: that relationship didn't work out. Now you have this whole
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: different world that's just thrown at you, like put right
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: up in your face, and then you have no time
• 32:29
  Speaker 1: to even think, you know. And I've rolled with it
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: to a certain extent and try to a certain extent
• 32:35
  Speaker 1: and try to make the most of all those opportunities,
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: whether it was charitable or financial. I did. I did
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: as much as I could to build on on those opportunities.
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: And uh, I felt like that was the right thing
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: to do, you know, And relationships weren't top of mind,
• 32:54
  Speaker 1: and you know, obviously there was. I feel like it
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: was the top of your heart. Though I feel like
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: it's still truly was your first number one priority. It was,
• 33:03
  Speaker 1: I mean it still is. It's just like it became
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: really complicated after after your life changes, really becomes complicated.
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: At that point, I really didn't even know really what
• 33:15
  Speaker 1: I was for a person that I wanted to be with. Right.
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: I spent my whole life knowing, I'm I want to
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: get from A to Z, you know, And then I
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: went from my life went from A too like some
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: other planet that I wouldn't recognize, right, And so now
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: I'm like regrouping, and like, what what what does my
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: career look like? Now? I don't know what I'm even
• 33:36
  Speaker 1: gonna be doing tomorrow or that in the next three years.
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: I knew I basically as soon as I was born.
• 33:44
  Speaker 1: I knew I wanted to be a farmer. I was
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: either going to be a farmer or play in the NFL.
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: And even if I was going to play in the NFL,
• 33:49
  Speaker 1: I was going to be a farmer outside, you know,
• 33:51
  Speaker 1: I would have money to be exactly. So I knew
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: I was always a very goal oriented person. And then
• 34:01
  Speaker 1: and and that's I felt like I had an established
• 34:03
  Speaker 1: lifestyle that I knew I could bring a wife into
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: and we would be able to go that direction, have
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: kids and all that stuff. But then throw the bastroom
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: there and it just changed everything, you know, and so
• 34:15
  Speaker 1: you're sort of regrouping and figuring out, you know what,
• 34:19
  Speaker 1: how do you even be somebody when you don't really
• 34:21
  Speaker 1: know what you're general life is going to look like
• 34:25
  Speaker 1: for the next ten years. In that time, did you
• 34:27
  Speaker 1: ever think that maybe it'll be best for me to
• 34:31
  Speaker 1: not live in Arlington and like to not live in Iowa,
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: to like really give a city city life a shot
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: for a while. I've always kind of thought it would
• 34:42
  Speaker 1: be nice to be able to have like dual citizenship,
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: you know, have a have a place where I can
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: afford to eventually afford to have like a home in
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: a city, and also have my farm and be able
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: to jump back and forth. So on your season, I
• 34:59
  Speaker 1: was like, it's okay, if we do end up together,
• 35:01
  Speaker 1: I'll just have to take monthly trips to New York.
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: That's aggression. That's what I told Andy. I told her.
• 35:11
  Speaker 1: I told her that, and she's like, well, I know,
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: we can do back and forth and we can do
• 35:15
  Speaker 1: long distance and this and that when did you tell
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: and this? I'm kidding it might have even been off camera,
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: but yeah on her season and uh she didn't buy
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: it clearly. But I mean, yeah, that's always sort of been.
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: As my life is evolved, I've realized that, um, you know,
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: the women that I'm attracted to aren't necessarily from you know,
• 35:36
  Speaker 1: small towns generally, And not that that's anything wrong with that,
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: but like want to live I just want to live
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: in small towns. I mean I want them to want
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: to live in small towns, but you know that the
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: I want somebody who wants to have you kind of
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: get out of the comfort zone a little bit and
• 35:53
  Speaker 1: then come back to a small town and then still
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: have that dynamic of wanting to be in a city
• 35:59
  Speaker 1: for a little And I like being in cities every
• 36:02
  Speaker 1: once in a while, you know, but I like having
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: still like having that the farm as well. So, um, Chris,
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: before we wrap up the whole um, you know, Bachelor saga,
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: I just wanted to know, like just straight up, why
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: didn't it work out between you and Whitney, because we
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: know that it wasn't because of Ganza with the Stars.
• 36:24
  Speaker 1: What it was it that you found out about each
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: other after you left the show, that you were just
• 36:28
  Speaker 1: too different. Yeah, you know, I've been asked that a
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: million times. What's that? No, it's it's fine. Uh. And
• 36:37
  Speaker 1: I don't know that there's really a single thing you
• 36:40
  Speaker 1: can put on that. I think that you go through
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: that whole process and it is a fairytale environment, you know,
• 36:47
  Speaker 1: and you don't necessarily get to learn, uh, you know,
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: what type of interaction you're going to have together in
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: real life. I think that as much as anything, like
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: just waken up and be like, Wow, this is real,
• 37:01
  Speaker 1: you know, and then uh, then you you take it
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: one day at a time and feel like if there's
• 37:06
  Speaker 1: that chemistry or if it's not there, it's not there,
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: and you move on. And I felt like, she's super
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: great girl. It's a ton of respect for him. I mean,
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: I'm glad I chose her. Honestly. I felt like that
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: was logistically and for me when you talk about even
• 37:22
  Speaker 1: having a chance to make it work at that time,
• 37:24
  Speaker 1: she was the person that was the one and uh,
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: and I think you know, you kind of get caught
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: up in all of all of the uh, the with
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: the cameras and that the pretty dates and all of that.
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: But after that, you really then you then you get
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: to figure out if there's chemistry there, and there was
• 37:44
  Speaker 1: to a certain extent, I think just as a friendship
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: sort of level. Um, and I think we were in
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: a friend zone for the most part. Interesting, Well, you
• 37:53
  Speaker 1: did just say logistically you felt like you had the
• 37:56
  Speaker 1: best chance. Did that mean that emotionally that you're possibly
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: with somebody else? Maybe Becca? Because I know a lot
• 38:02
  Speaker 1: of people watch that finale and they thought his mind
• 38:05
  Speaker 1: is with Whitney, She's the smart choice for his lifestyle,
• 38:09
  Speaker 1: and um, but it seems like Becca is the one
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: that is just not ready to jump into this, but
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: the one that he's ready to jump in with. And
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: that's uh, you know, that's a million dollar question. You know,
• 38:22
  Speaker 1: how do you even decipher? I mean, I cared deeply
• 38:26
  Speaker 1: for both of the girls, right so, and I think
• 38:29
  Speaker 1: that's them sitting here with the guy that said he
• 38:31
  Speaker 1: loved two girls all right now, this is to create
• 38:35
  Speaker 1: awkward situations for you too. So I mean I was,
• 38:41
  Speaker 1: I was. I mean, then those are those feelings are real?
• 38:43
  Speaker 1: I mean, those feelings are real. So, um, I made
• 38:49
  Speaker 1: the best decision I could with the information at hand.
• 38:52
  Speaker 1: You know, it's kind of that's life in general, and
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: uh uh you know, and then it's uh, you go
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: through the whirlwind of of the show and then you
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: wake up to the whirlwind that is life and it changes,
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: so you figure it out. And at that point, uh,
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: we did the best we could and and then it
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: wasn't there. Okay, Okay, real last question after you ended
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: things with what Ne, did you ever think, Oh, maybe
• 39:17
  Speaker 1: I can take it slow with Becca and dat her
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: in real life because you were both single at the time.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: I can't say I didn't cross my mind. Okay, Yeah,
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: is that you're lying to yourself at um, you know,
• 39:30
  Speaker 1: there's a level of like kind of crossed that path
• 39:33
  Speaker 1: and we went down that road and and for some
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: reason it didn't happen and for whatever, life happens for reasons,
• 39:40
  Speaker 1: and and uh so I felt like, you know, she's
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: a fantastic person, super attracted to her and and uh,
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of her family and it was, yeah,
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: so many great things. You and her dad have a
• 39:52
  Speaker 1: nice little camaraderie. Yeah, her dad and brothers, and you know,
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: I'll still talk to talk to all of them, and
• 39:58
  Speaker 1: uh yeah, So it's but you know, I think there's
• 40:01
  Speaker 1: just everything happens for a reason and just keep moving forward.
• 40:05
  Speaker 1: And uh, yeah, that's the best best answer I can
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: give to that. You know, it was a lot here.
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: I want to touch on, um, Chris, because I mean,
• 40:15
  Speaker 1: you have I think some of the stuff that you say.
• 40:17
  Speaker 1: I don't know if the listeners know this or not,
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: but some of the stuff you've pointed to are the
• 40:21
  Speaker 1: things that you and I most shared in common. Is
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: my first time to l a for casting. Um, I
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: come from a super small Midwestern town, Like this was
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: overwhelming for me. Nobody got it, Like everybody's confused by it.
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: And then we end up here in our life seems
• 40:36
  Speaker 1: to kind of explode, take some turns, makes massive changes,
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: and for the most part their unexpected changes. And that's
• 40:42
  Speaker 1: what I want to talk next with you, is some
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: unexpected changes that have happened both of our lives that
• 40:46
  Speaker 1: have caused our past to no longer look like they
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: did five years ago. Before we get back with that stuff, though,
• 40:53
  Speaker 1: I want to take a break, uh, and we'll come
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: back with Cristuls. We've been catching up with Chris Souls
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: talking about his life on the Bachelor, his decision to
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: be the Bachelor, going to dance with the star, it's
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: his past relationships. Um, all these things, Chris, and tell
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: me if I'm crazy. But I've known you for years now.
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: You're a friend of mine. Um, we've spent in the
• 41:22
  Speaker 1: last couple of years time together. All of these things
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: that we talked about, these questions, are you right? Okay,
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: let me let me get let me speak to this clearly.
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: Here's what I found out. I want you to tell
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: me if I'm wrong. When we talked to you about
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: the Bachelor, we talked to you about your relationships, when
• 41:38
  Speaker 1: we talked to you about dancing with the stars, and
• 41:40
  Speaker 1: we talked about all these things, it doesn't we don't
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: get to know you as a human any better because
• 41:45
  Speaker 1: I feel like there is this level to you. It's like, yeah,
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: this has all been a blessing innocence and it's great,
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: but it's not me. This is not me. And so
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: we say these things, we talked about these things, and
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: I when I sit here and listen to it, but
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: this isn't the friend I know you're. You're just answering
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: these questions like I want to dance with stars to
• 41:59
  Speaker 1: get Hey, of course, you did, like, who wouldn't I
• 42:02
  Speaker 1: want on the Bachelor hopefully find a wife. It didn't
• 42:04
  Speaker 1: work out, but your life has so much more depth
• 42:07
  Speaker 1: behind that. And one of the things that it's consistently
• 42:10
  Speaker 1: marked you since I've known you is a level of
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: insecurity beyond what I can imagine you. You carry this
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: insecurity with you with it's where you're from, or that
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: you're just a farmer and and honestly, as a friend,
• 42:23
  Speaker 1: I've never been able to ask you this, but I
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: wrote it down as I was hearing these questions. Where
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: does that come from? Uh, you know, I think past
• 42:30
  Speaker 1: relationships quite honestly, just like uh, you know, yeah, I
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: think the past relationships. I've just always known that, um,
• 42:40
  Speaker 1: the hottest girl in the in the bar is not
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: going to be interested in the farmer and or or
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: going and visit. You know, they want the guy that's
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: got a loll street job. You know, that's my always
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: been my like, not that I've always been interested in
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: the hottest girl, but you know, kind of like the
• 42:56
  Speaker 1: one you're most attracted to, the one I most attracted to,
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: or the person that's that that's that has all those dynamics,
• 43:02
  Speaker 1: that's not you know that's got like eight is he
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: like everything you want and and she's driven and she's
• 43:08
  Speaker 1: has it. You know, she wants a career. You know,
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: those those kind of things are you know people. I
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: feel like every person wants to marry up right, and uh,
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: the perception of a farmer and marrying up I mean,
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: my sisters all married everything, but a farmer. My first
• 43:28
  Speaker 1: serious relationship, the one for seven years. She told herself
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: that she would never marry a farmer because her dad
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: was a farmer. So you know, and we had to
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: do long distance. We did all that she wants, you know.
• 43:39
  Speaker 1: So I think I think it's relationships. We kind of
• 43:43
  Speaker 1: created that. All my buddies moved away from the farm.
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: You know, all my best friends, they're in cities with
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: their happily married wives and great families, and you know,
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: so I've seen as as I've grown up, everybody wants
• 43:56
  Speaker 1: to get the hell away from the farm. I stuck
• 43:59
  Speaker 1: there because I love, I'm passionate about the business that
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: I'm involved in, which is farming. And uh, but I
• 44:05
  Speaker 1: work with you know, the guys that I work with
• 44:08
  Speaker 1: and on a daily basis or fifty plus years old,
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: generally speaking, I mean, they're starting to be some younger
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: guys that are getting in. But um, the women that
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: I run into are at the courthouse and and uh
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: the U. S d. A office, which is a government office,
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: and they're all, you know, generally speaking, in their fifty plus.
• 44:26
  Speaker 1: So you know a lot of people meet people in
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: life through work or whatever, or you know, going out
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: for dinner, going out to for a drink or whatever.
• 44:36
  Speaker 1: There's not really those places to go where I'm from.
• 44:40
  Speaker 1: And uh so it's just very tough. And I've got
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: all my sisters are are in cities, and you know,
• 44:46
  Speaker 1: I've had that experience and been been to you know,
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: at that point prior to my experience and the Bachelor
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: had just in a taste of it to know that
• 44:56
  Speaker 1: the girls that I want to date are more like
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: my sisters. You know, they don't exist where I'm in
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: the you know, vicinity of where I'm at. Right, So, um,
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: is this a narrative that you Is this a narrative
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: that was proven true to you at some point? Is
• 45:12
  Speaker 1: it just consistently like, Hey, in the back of your mind,
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: you're thinking at some point when I could say I'm
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: a farmer, this is your passion and you're a good farmer,
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: like you're you're you're a terrific farming You're in a
• 45:22
  Speaker 1: great operation for me. You know, It's interesting because what
• 45:28
  Speaker 1: you don't know is I sat in that card at
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: that day. And what I'm talking about is when we
• 45:31
  Speaker 1: pulled up to the Bachelor mansion the day before I
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: became the Bachelor, and we did this pre tape thing
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: where Chris comes in and gives me advice. I think
• 45:38
  Speaker 1: Shan Low and Mesnick was there as well. And I
• 45:41
  Speaker 1: sat there and I go, if I could only be
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: Chris souls And I'm not saying that, like, I meant
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: that because you had something tangible that you were good at.
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: You had a skill set you could talk about. You
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: had the swagger in the looks you pulled up in
• 45:53
  Speaker 1: that car, you got out in your leather jacket, and
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: I was like, I'm a software salesman and I'm not
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: even good at it, like and I know it and
• 46:03
  Speaker 1: and so it's interesting to me. And I want you
• 46:06
  Speaker 1: to break that down that I can sit from a
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: distance walking into the same place as America's bachelor. Right,
• 46:13
  Speaker 1: It's not true, but it's promoted as most desirable man.
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: That's single, you know, in the country, and I can
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: sit across the table from crystals and go, if only
• 46:21
  Speaker 1: I had what he had. I don't. I don't. I
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: shouldn't be sitting at this table and you're looking around,
• 46:26
  Speaker 1: going if I only had what maybe I had Because
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: I was a software salesman in a big city. You know,
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: I'm super proud of what I do, and I love
• 46:35
  Speaker 1: what I do. Um, I think the insecurity is more
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: on a on a level of well, it's hard because
• 46:41
  Speaker 1: a lot of people don't understand what I do, and
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: it's hard for them to appreciate, you know, what it
• 46:45
  Speaker 1: what it is that I do. So a lot of
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: people get just lost in like the word farmer, and
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: they're like, well, you you why aren't you wearing uh
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: suspenders and and uh, you know, have a piece of
• 46:58
  Speaker 1: straw hanging out of your mouth. You know that That's
• 47:00
  Speaker 1: kind of what happens when people hear the word farmer,
• 47:03
  Speaker 1: and like, it's so much more than that super dynamic.
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: Our business is super technical and and it's it's but
• 47:10
  Speaker 1: it's hard to relay that message because it's like most people, unfortunately,
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: they're at like a first grade level on what farming is.
• 47:20
  Speaker 1: You know, and I feel like I'm talking to a
• 47:21
  Speaker 1: first grader when I'm explaining what we do. So it's
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: like and then by the time I you know, sort
• 47:27
  Speaker 1: of you know, like you I'm sitting here explaining to
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: you what harvest is and what it's all about. Actually
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: uh and uh, you know, it's like it doesn't nothing
• 47:36
  Speaker 1: really is clicking. And I'm like, actually just happy to
• 47:39
  Speaker 1: be there. You though, it's not just like out in
• 47:43
  Speaker 1: the field you run a big Yeah, it's it's full
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: on business. I mean, I I right now, I do
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: a lot of stuff from my cell phone in my
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: laptop and and have employees and we do. I feel
• 47:53
  Speaker 1: like I could farm all over the country without um
• 47:56
  Speaker 1: actually being there. So it's it is a business. I mean,
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: it's a super technical business, super opplicated. UM. But people
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: don't understand that it takes about it takes a while
• 48:04
  Speaker 1: to really fully gain that knowledge and and I'm I'm
• 48:10
  Speaker 1: very proud of what I do and and uh, but
• 48:13
  Speaker 1: it's it's uh, I think the insecurity is not is
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: you know, the people's lack of understanding. That's one thing.
• 48:18
  Speaker 1: After the show, I've really made a concerted, concerted effort
• 48:21
  Speaker 1: to just help educate people because they finally had a
• 48:25
  Speaker 1: platform to sort of educate people on what we actually
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: do and how how important it is to our culture
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: and how our country and and uh, because it's there's
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: a lot of we're three percent of the population as
• 48:38
  Speaker 1: farmers and uh, you know, when when the first country
• 48:42
  Speaker 1: was first founded, almost a hundred percent of the country
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: had was was actually doing their own farming. They were
• 48:48
  Speaker 1: sub subsistence farmers. And so we've gone from to three
• 48:53
  Speaker 1: percent a lot. It's still three out of every hundred
• 48:56
  Speaker 1: people are a farmer. Yes, I mean that's that's that
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: math adds up. I still feel like you don't run
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: into three people are not or in New Jersey you
• 49:13
  Speaker 1: got to go to those fly over states. Actually you
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: realize what I'm talking about. That's where the disconnect is.
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: And I would say that three percent is it is
• 49:21
  Speaker 1: probably inflated because there's a lot of people that are
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: sort of hobby farmers and don't necessarily do it for
• 49:26
  Speaker 1: a full time career. I got a garden. Would you
• 49:28
  Speaker 1: count me as a farmer? You know you you've seen it.
• 49:31
  Speaker 1: You see my garden, I've seen it. I'm gonna say no,
• 49:37
  Speaker 1: it's gardener. You're a gardener in security sits at both second. Um, Chris,
• 49:44
  Speaker 1: we're gonna switch gears here for a bit. It's not
• 49:47
  Speaker 1: a secret that we're going to talk about the incident
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: that happened on A seventeen. Um. We're gonna walk through
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: this really slow. UM, because Chris, one of the things
• 49:58
  Speaker 1: that that actually and I desire to do is for you, UM,
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: but not together, just have a conversation about what's going
• 50:05
  Speaker 1: on it I can imagine. Um, it's drastically changed your life. UM.
• 50:12
  Speaker 1: We've talked this whole podcast about all the things that
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: have happened to you in five years, the Bachelor, Um,
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: the Bachelor at Dancer with the Stars, I mean, your
• 50:20
  Speaker 1: your life exploded to an unforeseen place. How has April
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: affected you in your life from that point to today? Yeah,
• 50:39
  Speaker 1: it's been been been a tragedy, a tragedy that two
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: families were we're caught up in and uh in an
• 50:49
  Speaker 1: unavoidable situation that that uh, you know, the words can't
• 50:55
  Speaker 1: really describe how challenging it has been. I'm sure for
• 50:59
  Speaker 1: both my family and uh and uh the uh the
• 51:04
  Speaker 1: other people involved, UM and uh, the lows have been
• 51:10
  Speaker 1: really low and UH, but we're uh, we've we've stuck
• 51:15
  Speaker 1: together as a family, and in both families, I feel
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: like are are having an opportunity to heal and um
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: and as much as humanly possible from something that you, uh,
• 51:29
  Speaker 1: you really can't you really can't heal from. UM. And
• 51:34
  Speaker 1: I know that you know that. Uh, that first six
• 51:39
  Speaker 1: months was was probably one of the lowest points in
• 51:42
  Speaker 1: my life. UM and something that I'll i'll I'll never
• 51:49
  Speaker 1: forget and I still struggle to to move on from
• 51:53
  Speaker 1: UM something I think about forever ever every day and
• 51:57
  Speaker 1: we'll think about forever and uh and can't can't say
• 52:03
  Speaker 1: enough how how much I could take that evening back. UM.
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: I think both both parties involved wish wish that evening
• 52:13
  Speaker 1: hadn't occurred. UM. But life is about not what the
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: tragedies that you've been through. It's what you do afterwards
• 52:25
  Speaker 1: and how you move forward. And Uh, all you can
• 52:29
  Speaker 1: do is pray and work hard and focus on being
• 52:33
  Speaker 1: a better person. And I guess that's the the whole
• 52:38
  Speaker 1: focus on It's been my focus in the past two years.
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: And uh, well can you continue to do that and
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: UM and appreciate the little things in life and and
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: try to uh, try to get better. You know, it's
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: been two years since uh we've heard from you. Chris
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: and Ashley and I both I truly want to want
• 53:05
  Speaker 1: to say that we're thankful that that you're here today.
• 53:11
  Speaker 1: But I'm imagining that this is not a conversation in
• 53:15
  Speaker 1: a topic you expected to be having in your lifetime.
• 53:19
  Speaker 1: What has two years been like having this kind of
• 53:21
  Speaker 1: defined in a sense most of your life? Yeah, you know,
• 53:29
  Speaker 1: you always hear about fatal accidents, you know, and you
• 53:33
  Speaker 1: hear about that happening to somebody and think about how
• 53:37
  Speaker 1: how that could impact impact their lives and how it
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: is going to impact their lives for the rest of
• 53:42
  Speaker 1: their lives. And they've got to think about that, and
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: you think that will never happen to me, and You'll
• 53:49
  Speaker 1: never be involved in something like that, and and uh,
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: you know, let's I just you know, you feel horrible
• 53:55
  Speaker 1: for them, and you feel like, how are they gonna
• 53:58
  Speaker 1: live with that? How are they going to deal with that?
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: You know? And uh, you know, whether it's the family
• 54:04
  Speaker 1: that's dealing with the loss of a loved one or
• 54:06
  Speaker 1: the person that was actually involved in the accident that
• 54:10
  Speaker 1: that resulted in, uh in a fatality you know how
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: they're gonna mentally manage that, and uh, you know, how
• 54:23
  Speaker 1: how do you move on? And how do you? How
• 54:25
  Speaker 1: do you? How do you? How do you? How do you?
• 54:29
  Speaker 1: How do you even think? You know? That's that's how
• 54:32
  Speaker 1: I felt the last two years, and um, how do
• 54:36
  Speaker 1: you even how do you even know what to feel?
• 54:38
  Speaker 1: I mean, it's you gotta wake up every day. You
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: can't just stay in bed. I mean, I can honestly
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: say there was a period of my period of after
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: the accident that I didn't want to get out of bed.
• 54:51
  Speaker 1: Didn't want to there was no hope left in life
• 54:55
  Speaker 1: for me. I was I thought it was, you know
• 54:57
  Speaker 1: that severely so verily depressed and scared and you know,
• 55:03
  Speaker 1: just there was no there's nothing left to live for
• 55:08
  Speaker 1: you know, so you but you took one day at
• 55:12
  Speaker 1: a time. Luckily have a family that's super supportive and
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: um friends that that gave everything they could to keep,
• 55:23
  Speaker 1: you know, keep my head in a in a relatively
• 55:26
  Speaker 1: good space. And but I mean, there was I'm not
• 55:33
  Speaker 1: gonna lie it was obviously. There was not obviously, but
• 55:36
  Speaker 1: there was moments where you didn't think it was worth
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: worth waking up, and you thought you know, it's maybe
• 55:43
  Speaker 1: maybe you know the worst things that you never could
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: possibly think I've thought and uh, but that uh you know,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: and and when you mentioned something that defines you, UM,
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: that's the horrible thought that you know this if I
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: let it, this could define me. And but I don't.
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: I don't want to let this define me. It's a
• 56:13
  Speaker 1: part of my life. It's this tragedy that happened. But
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: I'm I mean, I think the people that know me
• 56:17
  Speaker 1: the best know that it isn't what defines me. And
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: and those are the people that that I you know,
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: that that I that have been standing beside me throughout
• 56:28
  Speaker 1: throughout all this. So having the mental strength to not
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: let it defined you and and uh and hopefully as
• 56:37
  Speaker 1: time goes on, Uh, they'll be closure between myself and
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: uh the Moser family and that I feel like that
• 56:50
  Speaker 1: day will come and uh there's only one one guy
• 56:56
  Speaker 1: out there that can truly judge us and uh, and
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: I feel like that at the end of the day,
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: that's where my head has to be. The tough part
• 57:10
  Speaker 1: about podcasts are you know, you can listen to the
• 57:13
  Speaker 1: voices of the people talking all the time. UM, but
• 57:18
  Speaker 1: there's I sit here and I'll I don't know, I'll
• 57:23
  Speaker 1: try to paint a picture for the listeners. But um,
• 57:26
  Speaker 1: when there's a head chills, UM, when you said the word,
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: you said a couple of things there. One was fear
• 57:37
  Speaker 1: and when you it's very it's very few times in
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: life when you sit across from somebody that you can
• 57:43
  Speaker 1: tell has actually been scared about, like scared. And throughout
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: this podcast today, throughout this this conversation, I don't I
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: think Ashley and I are going to claim that we
• 57:55
  Speaker 1: can relate. Um, we're not gonna. I it's impossible for
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: us to early. I don't want to claim any really
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: anything except that, Um, it's been two years of hurt,
• 58:14
  Speaker 1: and we understand that for for you and for the
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: other families involved, and for your family and your friends
• 58:19
  Speaker 1: and for people near you, Like it's been two years
• 58:24
  Speaker 1: of this What would have life looked like a year
• 58:30
  Speaker 1: and a half ago for you? For me? You know,
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: it's hard to hard to actually paying a true picture. Um,
• 58:42
  Speaker 1: you know, just the will to the will to really
• 58:50
  Speaker 1: get out of bed. Um, just if you just feel
• 58:55
  Speaker 1: like there's no reason to be around. Um, you don't
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: have your stuck in limbo with constant legal interactions, Um
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: that you know, the thoughts of the accident still you
• 59:12
  Speaker 1: know that never go away. Um, you have have just
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: everything hanging over your head. Um, it feels like I
• 59:22
  Speaker 1: felt like a million million pounds on my shoulders, just
• 59:29
  Speaker 1: not not being able to focus on anything, and really
• 59:35
  Speaker 1: not having not feeling like you have any motivation to
• 59:40
  Speaker 1: be anybody or do anything. You know, it's uh, just
• 59:46
  Speaker 1: constant pain in your heart and your head and and
• 59:51
  Speaker 1: not being a good piece of person to be around.
• 59:55
  Speaker 1: Angry at myself, Angry at you know, feeling like I
• 59:59
  Speaker 1: have let everyone in my life down. Um, and uh,
• 1:00:05
  Speaker 1: you know, and caused a lot of pain for a
• 1:00:11
  Speaker 1: lot of people. You know why we angry at yourself?
• 1:00:16
  Speaker 1: I mean it's just it's how can you not feel
• 1:00:20
  Speaker 1: that inherently, you know, angry at myself because something bad
• 1:00:27
  Speaker 1: happened and it's caused a lot of pain, and I'm
• 1:00:30
  Speaker 1: the one left two I'm still here, you know, you know.
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: I mean it's there's nobody been I can probably if
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: there's anybody who's been in a fatal car accident, the
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: wishes they were not the one that died as a
• 1:00:46
  Speaker 1: result of it. I think they're a liar be a
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: lot easier, a lot easier. I can't. I mean just that,
• 1:01:09
  Speaker 1: And the worst is just having the It's I can
• 1:01:12
  Speaker 1: take it, right, I can, I could take it. I mean,
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: I'll take it ill I would. I don't have any
• 1:01:20
  Speaker 1: animosity towards all the bs that was said. But I
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: mean it's a fact that my nieces and nephews, my
• 1:01:30
  Speaker 1: family had and and their family, Moser family had to
• 1:01:38
  Speaker 1: you know, I just had to deal with so much
• 1:01:42
  Speaker 1: more than anybody should have ever had to deal with.
• 1:01:44
  Speaker 1: And thinking about all that is, yeah, that's that's that's
• 1:01:53
  Speaker 1: a heavy, heavy thing on ways on my heart and
• 1:01:59
  Speaker 1: my head and and uh, you know, knowing that I'm
• 1:02:05
  Speaker 1: I like to think I'm a good person and always
• 1:02:08
  Speaker 1: do the right things. And I still know in my
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: heart I did the right thing and all the right things,
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: and and a lot of people jumped to judgment and
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: we're quick to assume horrible things, and uh, and that
• 1:02:31
  Speaker 1: just weren't true. So that was it's a made a
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: bad situation a lot worse for for everyone. You've mentioned
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: a couple of times now, the support and the foundation
• 1:02:45
  Speaker 1: of the people around you have you felt and this
• 1:02:49
  Speaker 1: is a two side of question if you felt that's
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: their nation, not only um, the people involved in this world.
• 1:02:55
  Speaker 1: I know you've been now spent some time with Ashley
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: and Jared here recently, and um, we were able to
• 1:02:59
  Speaker 1: get to get there, but Bachelor Nation as a whole. Um.
• 1:03:02
  Speaker 1: And then also the reaction kind of from the masses.
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: Have you felt supported what or have you felt isolated?
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: I can say I felt a lot of support. I mean,
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: I think I felt way more support than I have
• 1:03:17
  Speaker 1: the alternative. I mean, there's been plenty of plenty of
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: people that that that jumped to the conclusions that that
• 1:03:27
  Speaker 1: weren't true, and um, but I spelt I felt way
• 1:03:31
  Speaker 1: more support than I have I have have not you know,
• 1:03:34
  Speaker 1: really there's a lot of people that stuck by me,
• 1:03:36
  Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, there was a lot of
• 1:03:39
  Speaker 1: misinformation that got out there right away, which was created
• 1:03:42
  Speaker 1: a narrative that was really tough to get past. And
• 1:03:44
  Speaker 1: I can I can only imagine, um, how I'd react
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: if you know, even one of my best friends, so
• 1:03:52
  Speaker 1: I've known my whole life, literally when they didn't He's like,
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: I didn't know what, Yeah, I know that's not chriss.
• 1:04:02
  Speaker 1: He would not do that. And uh, you know, he
• 1:04:05
  Speaker 1: didn't even know what to think, just based on the headlines.
• 1:04:07
  Speaker 1: And uh, imagine being a fan of somebody and then
• 1:04:11
  Speaker 1: seeing those seeing some of the headlines that we're out
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: there and um, so I'm I'm super grateful for the
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: sport that I those people that did stick in there
• 1:04:21
  Speaker 1: and and uh sort of waited to hear the rest
• 1:04:25
  Speaker 1: of the story. Um, and I have had overwhelming support.
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 1: Means a lot. One of the things that it just
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: confused me about the whole situation as a whole, and
• 1:04:35
  Speaker 1: really a new situation nowadays because actually, now I do
• 1:04:38
  Speaker 1: this show and headlines come through all the time and
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: read these headlines, be comment on the headlines. Headlines are
• 1:04:43
  Speaker 1: the worst and oftentimes, actually I find ourselves getting into
• 1:04:46
  Speaker 1: trouble because the truth of the story is not in
• 1:04:49
  Speaker 1: the headline, um, but the reaction in the story, the
• 1:04:52
  Speaker 1: narrative is created by that headline. Clickba. These days, as
• 1:04:57
  Speaker 1: you see these headlines roll through, I mean, I'm not
• 1:05:01
  Speaker 1: going to read them to you, but with a quick
• 1:05:04
  Speaker 1: Google search you can see even recently, like hey, you
• 1:05:06
  Speaker 1: know you since the accident, Crystal shows up on the
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: red carpet, Like even today, these are the headlines out
• 1:05:12
  Speaker 1: there and you've seen them. This isn't a secret to you, right,
• 1:05:18
  Speaker 1: What is your reaction, especially initially as you wake up
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: to seeing this across everything? Yeah, I mean I can't
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: even explain going back to that afterwards. Uh. It the
• 1:05:33
  Speaker 1: the headlines and the narrative that they were was being creative.
• 1:05:37
  Speaker 1: Was you know, I've never been one to read my
• 1:05:40
  Speaker 1: own clippings, whether it's good or bad, to speak yourself,
• 1:05:48
  Speaker 1: I wasn't. I mean, I just never never bought into
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: butt into the fame of the Bachelor, I honestly and
• 1:05:55
  Speaker 1: never brought into you know, I just always knew I
• 1:05:58
  Speaker 1: was I'm the same guy that went on the show
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: that that I am, you know, before and after so uh,
• 1:06:05
  Speaker 1: you know, then having that the horrible feeling of not
• 1:06:08
  Speaker 1: being able to turn on the television without seeing, uh,
• 1:06:13
  Speaker 1: some reenactment of something that wasn't even close to being true,
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: and and uh, you know, the headlines being everything but true,
• 1:06:22
  Speaker 1: and you know the people, you know, people you're that
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: were wanted to be your biggest fan when you were
• 1:06:29
  Speaker 1: on top, we're the first ones to jump and and
• 1:06:33
  Speaker 1: uh and just carry on a false narrative. And it
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: was pretty pretty sad, you know watching you know, watching
• 1:06:41
  Speaker 1: politics and all the stuff that happens today, and how
• 1:06:44
  Speaker 1: they you know, how they carry on the narratives with
• 1:06:48
  Speaker 1: certain things on either side is you know, it makes
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: going through what I've gone through, whether it's good or bad,
• 1:06:55
  Speaker 1: it's you lose a lot of faith and in uh,
• 1:06:59
  Speaker 1: in journalism today. I mean it's just just kind of sad.
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: Then people's attention spans are are that of which where
• 1:07:07
  Speaker 1: they all the headlines are there, and I feel like
• 1:07:10
  Speaker 1: what actually happened will never really truly be uh be
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 1: something that will be carried in people's memories as a
• 1:07:18
  Speaker 1: as a result, because it it's the initial report and
• 1:07:22
  Speaker 1: then the rest is like Chris, you know whatever, he's
• 1:07:25
  Speaker 1: that guy that got an accident and did that, and
• 1:07:28
  Speaker 1: you know, well, I think it has to lead us
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: to the question, then, this is your first time really
• 1:07:34
  Speaker 1: speaking in two years, one of the first times at
• 1:07:37
  Speaker 1: least if this is a narrative you see coming across
• 1:07:41
  Speaker 1: your screen, So this is narrative you're hearing. Why does
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: it take you two years to to tell your story
• 1:07:46
  Speaker 1: or tell the story? Well, uh, you know, we were
• 1:07:50
  Speaker 1: in litigation for two years, so it was there's lots
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: of things that go you know, yeah, specifically advised by
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: my attorneys that you know, I just got to get
• 1:08:00
  Speaker 1: through this and and hurt. How do you how do
• 1:08:06
  Speaker 1: you sit and how do you sit in this time?
• 1:08:08
  Speaker 1: And like you said, once a naratives created, narratives created, Um,
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: how do you sit for two years, no matter true
• 1:08:17
  Speaker 1: or false? In in silence? Well, you know, for me,
• 1:08:23
  Speaker 1: it's like the people that love me, no me, people
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: that love me, I'm able to tell they know that
• 1:08:30
  Speaker 1: they're they're able to read through. And the more you
• 1:08:34
  Speaker 1: read and if you pay attention to if you read
• 1:08:36
  Speaker 1: the full stories and read everything that happened and understand
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: if you followed the court case, if you understand everything
• 1:08:42
  Speaker 1: that was involved in the court case, you know exactly
• 1:08:45
  Speaker 1: what happened. And if if if the only thing you
• 1:08:48
  Speaker 1: care about is the headlines, and that's and you're gonna
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: judge me based on on just the headline, then I
• 1:08:53
  Speaker 1: guess maybe that's You're not that important to me in
• 1:08:56
  Speaker 1: my life. I mean, I've never been on a I've
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: only became a public figure because I was on a
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: dating show that I wanted to find a wife, you know,
• 1:09:06
  Speaker 1: and I want on I went on a dancing show
• 1:09:09
  Speaker 1: because I wanted to have fun and dance, and and uh,
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: it was there's some financial incentives to go along with it.
• 1:09:17
  Speaker 1: If you know, if if I end up not being able,
• 1:09:21
  Speaker 1: if certain people don't like me based on a few headlines,
• 1:09:24
  Speaker 1: at this point in my life, I'm I'm guess I'm
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: I'm I'm gonna stick with the ones that know me
• 1:09:29
  Speaker 1: best and are willing to take the time to understand
• 1:09:31
  Speaker 1: what really happened. I mean, two years a long time, buddy,
• 1:09:38
  Speaker 1: are you? I can't imagine two years of what you're
• 1:09:40
  Speaker 1: hoping for. Then, at the beginning of this, as soon
• 1:09:42
  Speaker 1: as the incident happened and you were advised, hey, like,
• 1:09:46
  Speaker 1: let's let's focus on litigation, let's focus on the process.
• 1:09:52
  Speaker 1: These things then stretches out for two years, just ending
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: here a few months ago. Was there any angst or
• 1:10:01
  Speaker 1: just was there anything inside? You're just starting to get
• 1:10:03
  Speaker 1: upset with how long this was being played out then,
• 1:10:06
  Speaker 1: because the longer last the the longer it becomes, i mean,
• 1:10:11
  Speaker 1: farther away becomes, and then the narrative is just continue
• 1:10:13
  Speaker 1: to be created. Right now, It's uh, it was, it
• 1:10:18
  Speaker 1: was painful just to you know, painful for I'm sure
• 1:10:23
  Speaker 1: both sides. Just how long it had to have been
• 1:10:27
  Speaker 1: dragged out. And really, my focus wasn't My focus wasn't
• 1:10:31
  Speaker 1: like I want to feed back in the spotlight and
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 1: have everybody think I'm thinking. You know, the narrative really
• 1:10:39
  Speaker 1: became less important to me. It was, you know, the
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: mental health of my family, the mental health of myself,
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 1: the mental health of their their family, and letting this
• 1:10:52
  Speaker 1: get put to bed and let's all understand what really
• 1:10:56
  Speaker 1: happened here and what's the just result, and let's move
• 1:11:01
  Speaker 1: on so we can all move on with our lives.
• 1:11:03
  Speaker 1: It's not to be like this is over. I want
• 1:11:06
  Speaker 1: to tell the world that you know that I'm that
• 1:11:11
  Speaker 1: this is just an accident. I uh, that's not my motivation. Um.
• 1:11:16
  Speaker 1: My motivation was to be able to get on with
• 1:11:19
  Speaker 1: my life and and work and and let everybody move
• 1:11:22
  Speaker 1: on emotionally, you know, UM speak to a little bit more.
• 1:11:26
  Speaker 1: I mean, what were you hoping for in the last
• 1:11:28
  Speaker 1: two years. I mean, I think to have reality put
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: back into place. I mean I think even local law
• 1:11:39
  Speaker 1: enforcement got caught up in the headlines instead of understanding
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: what really happened, you know, because they had to do
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: investigations to figure out what really happened, because uh, they
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: they read their own breast clippings a little too close.
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: And so it took a long time for that to happen.
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: And it didn't help that it was having it be
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: such a high level, uh high level publicity wise situation
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: that it everybody had to be extra careful and to
• 1:12:11
  Speaker 1: handle it with a lot of a lot of detail.
• 1:12:14
  Speaker 1: And and uh, you know, a lot of people told me,
• 1:12:16
  Speaker 1: if this wasn't you, we've been We've it's been over
• 1:12:20
  Speaker 1: a long time ago, Chris, let's take a break here.
• 1:12:23
  Speaker 1: I think a lot of people out there listening I
• 1:12:26
  Speaker 1: probably have a lot of different thoughts, um, but I
• 1:12:30
  Speaker 1: think one common theme would be, um, Chris, it's been
• 1:12:34
  Speaker 1: too long, and we're glad that you're you're back, and
• 1:12:39
  Speaker 1: we want to hear your story. So you mentioned earlier
• 1:12:50
  Speaker 1: in the podcast about you know, you had to explain
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: farming two girls you were dating. You always felt like
• 1:12:56
  Speaker 1: it was something you had to like get over. Now
• 1:12:59
  Speaker 1: do you feel like you have another yet thing to
• 1:13:02
  Speaker 1: explain to people when you first meet them and hit
• 1:13:05
  Speaker 1: it off with them. Is that worry you Do you
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: feel insecure about that? You know it's funny. Uh. I
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 1: mean that's a great question. Actually, I feel like I
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: feel like a lot of people that UM are interested
• 1:13:22
  Speaker 1: in dating are understands what happened. Actually, I don't feel
• 1:13:27
  Speaker 1: like I've never really had that awkward judge moment where
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: they're like, what happened? I mean, I feel like if
• 1:13:37
  Speaker 1: people really want to know exactly what happened, that the
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: information is legitimately everywhere, UM, and it's it's super h
• 1:13:48
  Speaker 1: relatively transparent, UM, what happened? And so I've never had that, Honestly,
• 1:13:53
  Speaker 1: I don't. I think that, UM, whether they're afraid to ask,
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: or it's just uh, or they don't know about it.
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: I don't know. I've just not know. I've not had
• 1:14:03
  Speaker 1: that conversation and I have that's something I don't, you know,
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: like I don't bring up personally. UM. Ah, So no,
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 1: I have not had that be I mean someday it's
• 1:14:18
  Speaker 1: it's it's not something I'm afraid to talk about with
• 1:14:21
  Speaker 1: somebody that's special, right, UM, it's a it's a lot
• 1:14:26
  Speaker 1: easier and not not a lot easier conversation. But somebody
• 1:14:28
  Speaker 1: I care about or I'm interested in dating, I mean,
• 1:14:32
  Speaker 1: it's not a. It's not something a really exciting topic,
• 1:14:36
  Speaker 1: but um, of course I wanted to know what happened
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: and and not it's not fun to talk about, but
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 1: I'm absolutely transparent with what happened, and and uh, I
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: have nothing to be ashamed of. I feel like personally
• 1:14:53
  Speaker 1: just it's a horrible tragic thing that, um, I am.
• 1:14:58
  Speaker 1: I wish wouldn't have happened. You recently came out to
• 1:15:02
  Speaker 1: l A and you're living here for a little while,
• 1:15:05
  Speaker 1: right yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, So I've got a place
• 1:15:08
  Speaker 1: here right now, so um, just kind of I've got
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: this is my second not my second home for for
• 1:15:17
  Speaker 1: for here and there for the wintertime, part time to
• 1:15:20
  Speaker 1: be here. Um, You've made a couple of public appearances.
• 1:15:23
  Speaker 1: You went to jingle Ball. We talk you jingle Ball.
• 1:15:25
  Speaker 1: How how was it just kind of coming out and
• 1:15:29
  Speaker 1: like living your life out of Iowa for the first
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 1: time in two years. And how nervous were you? Were
• 1:15:37
  Speaker 1: you nervous? Yeah? I was super nervous. I really so
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: my publicist talked me into doing and I actually was.
• 1:15:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, of course I wanted to go to the concert.
• 1:15:48
  Speaker 1: I was really a concert. It sounded fun. Then She's
• 1:15:52
  Speaker 1: like and you got a red carpet, and I'll just
• 1:15:56
  Speaker 1: go to the concert. Good. I'm good without the red carpet.
• 1:16:00
  Speaker 1: I don't think that's a really good thing for me
• 1:16:01
  Speaker 1: at all. Um She's like, you are for sure going
• 1:16:04
  Speaker 1: down the red carpet. I'm like, well, okay, I'll give
• 1:16:09
  Speaker 1: this a shot. Like, I don't think anybody's gonna want
• 1:16:11
  Speaker 1: to take pictures of me anyway, so I'll just walk
• 1:16:13
  Speaker 1: right down. And that wasn't the case. So uh yeah,
• 1:16:17
  Speaker 1: I was super nervous. You know. I used to it
• 1:16:19
  Speaker 1: was like old hat to me. I would like, red carpet,
• 1:16:23
  Speaker 1: whatever the big deal. I can just snack that out
• 1:16:25
  Speaker 1: of the park. But it was a really weird, out
• 1:16:28
  Speaker 1: of body experience to go back down and do that again.
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 1: Um uh, you know, it was kind of it felt good,
• 1:16:38
  Speaker 1: it felt weird, but um it wasn't. But it was.
• 1:16:43
  Speaker 1: It was scary a little bit. You know. We walked
• 1:16:47
  Speaker 1: a couple of minutes after you, and from the vibe
• 1:16:49
  Speaker 1: that I got, it seemed like everybody was happy to
• 1:16:51
  Speaker 1: see you. Yeah, I mean I was. I'm happy. It
• 1:16:53
  Speaker 1: was happy to see all a lot of people that
• 1:16:55
  Speaker 1: I haven't seen in a long time. And um, I
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: used to enjoy that, you know, just enjoy those just talking,
• 1:17:04
  Speaker 1: you know, and it was it was easy. It came easy,
• 1:17:06
  Speaker 1: and and it sort of came easy again. It's like
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 1: riding a bike, I guess, but uh, yeah it was.
• 1:17:12
  Speaker 1: It felt kind of good. Um. And somebody's asking me like, well,
• 1:17:18
  Speaker 1: when did you decide to come back out in the spotlight.
• 1:17:20
  Speaker 1: I'm like, I really just wanted to go to a concert. Um,
• 1:17:23
  Speaker 1: but I guess you know now I'm talking to you,
• 1:17:26
  Speaker 1: so this is considered a spotlight. I don't know what
• 1:17:29
  Speaker 1: that the defining a spot of a spotlight, I don't
• 1:17:31
  Speaker 1: really know, but uh, it was nice. It was refreshing.
• 1:17:35
  Speaker 1: It made me feel like maybe I didn't have to
• 1:17:37
  Speaker 1: hide hide in the closet again. You know, Chris, we
• 1:17:42
  Speaker 1: end at every in depth episode, Um, but the same thing,
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: no matter where you come from, no matter where you've been,
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: where are you going to? We do the same thing
• 1:17:51
  Speaker 1: to any of our guests, because each one of our
• 1:17:53
  Speaker 1: guests we believe has a story to tell. Um. So
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: we leave it with you to close. I could imagine
• 1:18:01
  Speaker 1: there's I don't know how many people out there listening.
• 1:18:03
  Speaker 1: One person, I bet your mom will listen to this,
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: she's a very supportive mother. UM, two a million people,
• 1:18:13
  Speaker 1: it's been two years since they've heard from you. UM,
• 1:18:19
  Speaker 1: send them off and then uh we always close it
• 1:18:21
  Speaker 1: the same thing that we do in every podcast. But
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: this is your this is your stage to tell any
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 1: of the listeners, UM what you want as we say
• 1:18:28
  Speaker 1: good bout you. Wow, this is a big stage. I
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: didn't wasn't ready for this. Man kind of throwing me
• 1:18:36
  Speaker 1: off my game to create awkward moment people's stages when
• 1:18:40
  Speaker 1: they're not prepared. Oh gosh. I mean, the obvious is
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: it's been two years, and uh I have gotten uh
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 1: an immens amount of support uh from a lot of
• 1:18:53
  Speaker 1: Bachelor fans. I mean I've I've it's been a really
• 1:18:57
  Speaker 1: tough Now. I'll be the first one to admit that
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: I can honestly say that that's I've been through a tough,
• 1:19:05
  Speaker 1: tough situation where I don't know you know, I I
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 1: don't know how you actually would have supported me after,
• 1:19:11
  Speaker 1: you know, for a certain period of time with the
• 1:19:14
  Speaker 1: headlines that were out there, but people stuck by me.
• 1:19:17
  Speaker 1: And I've gotten countless letters and uh countless prayers, Uh,
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 1: whether it's through direct message or UM or or actual
• 1:19:27
  Speaker 1: written letters. Uh. Just and I feel the support from
• 1:19:31
  Speaker 1: from many people and bastination and and and the people
• 1:19:36
  Speaker 1: fans from Dancing with Stars, you name it, and then
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 1: just just personal friends and people that surround me and
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: care about me. And uh and I can't thank thank
• 1:19:46
  Speaker 1: everyone enough for all of their support. UM. I don't
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: know if it's always deserved to a certain extent. I'm
• 1:19:53
  Speaker 1: I'm I'm just, I'm I'm completely um humbled. But you know,
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 1: throughout my whole experience that the fans that came out
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: to support me because I'm a farmer or whatever, and
• 1:20:08
  Speaker 1: then going through one of the the absolute worst periods
• 1:20:12
  Speaker 1: of my life. UM, to have people stick behind me
• 1:20:15
  Speaker 1: has been humbling and really really grateful and uh and
• 1:20:22
  Speaker 1: hope to hope to be able to be supported in
• 1:20:25
  Speaker 1: the future and and do do some things to help
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: help everyone in this Uh that that that has supported me. Uh,
• 1:20:35
  Speaker 1: I don't know, learn more about agriculture or something like that.
• 1:20:38
  Speaker 1: We'll see, but he loves farming. Chris, weind like this
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 1: follow our lead. UM. This has been the almost famous
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 1: podcast in depth with Chris Souls. I've been been and
• 1:20:55
  Speaker 1: I'm Chris kind of I've been Chris's Bowing, The Bennett
• 1:21:02
  Speaker 1: Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on I Heart Radio or
• 1:21:05
  Speaker 1: subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.