Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / Almost Famous In Depth: Rodney Mathews

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Almost Famous In Depth: Rodney Mathews · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous in Depth.
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: We promised it and it's out.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Yes, we have Rodney Matthews with us today for an
• 0:11
  Speaker 2: in depth episode. He has a lot going on in
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: his life, a lot of really cool things, a lot
• 0:15
  Speaker 2: of exciting things. I feel like this is a celibratory
• 0:17
  Speaker 2: episode and I'm pumped to talk to him.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: Ashley, I know you are as well.
• 0:23
  Speaker 2: We're all here, we're all getting started.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Rodney. Welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast.
• 0:29
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much Ben and Ashley for having me.
• 0:31
  Speaker 3: I'm so excited to be here.
• 0:33
  Speaker 4: Before we get into your love life, you know what
• 0:35
  Speaker 4: I want to get into. What's that You're good buddy
• 0:39
  Speaker 4: justin Okay? Because I know that sounds weird.
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: I want to get into your good buddy justin Okay.
• 0:49
  Speaker 4: So he is always doing just social media stuff with
• 0:54
  Speaker 4: Susie and they're always creating a buzz and people are
• 0:59
  Speaker 4: always asking why they don't just date because Zusie is
• 1:02
  Speaker 4: very open about her dating struggles in l A and
• 1:04
  Speaker 4: I figure that you know the inside scoop here.
• 1:09
  Speaker 3: Let's see. I do know these two people very well,
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: love them to death, and especially with them both moving
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: to LA I could see why that buzz was created,
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: and especially with the content that they post, because we
• 1:23
  Speaker 3: all love it. Right, it's all funny, it's entertaining, and
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: it's that's why it's just so compelling, Like are they
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: going to make it happen or not. It's one of
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: those things where from from my knowledge, I know that
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: they're both really good friends, and I don't know if
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: it'll ever cross that threshold. I'm not too sure that
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: at the end of the day, I know we're both
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: rooting for both them and their happiness, whether it's together apart.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: So I just I love those two so much, and
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: I just tell them, I'm like, hey, keep creaking it
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: out because we we love the content.
• 1:56
  Speaker 2: So there, you know, makes his laughs and makes a smile.
• 1:58
  Speaker 2: I love this too, Rodney. Tell me if I'm wrong,
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: or you don't have to say anything. Actually it's your buddy.
• 2:05
  Speaker 2: I would be shocked if Justin doesn't lay in his
• 2:08
  Speaker 2: bed at night all alone, looking up the ceiling being
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: like goodness, gracious, Like I just want to kiss her,
• 2:14
  Speaker 2: like I just I just want to Like I don't know,
• 2:16
  Speaker 2: there's been these moments where I feel like there's something
• 2:18
  Speaker 2: and she's a friend, and I like her, and she's beautiful,
• 2:20
  Speaker 2: and like, I just want to kiss her.
• 2:22
  Speaker 5: I feel like they've kissed. Oh, I feel like they've
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: kissed a few times.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: I don't know anything about that, but I know that.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, yeah, no, imagine the tension is there. The
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: tension has to be there. They're just they're too funny,
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: they're too close on the content. I'm just like, God,
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: these two just they would look good together. But yeah, yeah,
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: it's probably there. They have.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: They're just very creative and they're very good at executing
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: all these social media videos. Their ads are one of
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: those ads that you stop and you make sure that
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: you watch because they do it so well. And then
• 2:53
  Speaker 4: another buddy of yours you must have had an awkward
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: situation with. Nate has been a roommate of yours for
• 2:59
  Speaker 4: a but your new girlfriend, which we're going to dive
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: into in a minute, she's taking his place as your roommate.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: When I posted our hard launch, the funniest part was
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: adding a picture at the end of like me and
• 3:15
  Speaker 3: her in the mirror at our place and mats in
• 3:18
  Speaker 3: the background, and all that people would catch is just
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: Nate's face in the background, and all the comments of
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: looks like he knows that he's getting kicked out as
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: a roommate or we rob's getting a new roommate, all
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: this stuff, and I'm like, oh my gosh. So we
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: laugh and joked about it all the time, and I
• 3:33
  Speaker 3: just remember first telling him. He's like, you sure, Ron,
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: You're sure, Okay, okay, And it was like one of
• 3:37
  Speaker 3: those things where he kind of just realizes. It's like, hey,
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: it's like it's our brotherhood, we're best friends, and it's
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: not that it's coming to an end. It's just it's
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: a new chapter. You know, it's time for you know,
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: me to move on. And he definitely accept that and
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: he knows we'll still stay close no matter what. So yeah,
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: it was kind of a funny time, but yeah, it
• 3:56
  Speaker 3: was the time to move on.
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: So, I mean that's where we got to start. Then,
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: from the beginning, you are in a relationship. You publicly
• 4:04
  Speaker 2: spoke about this relationship in June. I believe, is that
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: when you started dating or was it right then you
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: kind of like, how did this play out? And then
• 4:13
  Speaker 2: when did you decide to tell the world.
• 4:16
  Speaker 3: Yeah, we started we started dating back in June, and
• 4:22
  Speaker 3: it was very it was very exciting. I think the
• 4:24
  Speaker 3: last podcast was on, which is Dave Neil's podcast, was
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: the first time that I actually spoke about her public
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: publicly on a podcast, which was really nice. But it's
• 4:32
  Speaker 3: one of those things where I was just I was
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: so excited and and I know that the way we
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: met we met at a bar out here at Venice,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: and it was one of those things. Man, I sound
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: so dramatic, and I am, but you know, when I
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: saw a feeling just hit me, I'm like, wait a minute,
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: I have to figure out. I have to find out
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: who this girl is. And Justin was with me that night,
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: and that was always kind of the funny thing is
• 4:57
  Speaker 3: I just immediately saw her and I'm like, okay, I
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: have to get her name in number before we leave
• 5:01
  Speaker 3: and figure out who she is. And the more and
• 5:04
  Speaker 3: more I found out, the more excited I got, knowing
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: that this could potentially be the one for me. And uh,
• 5:11
  Speaker 3: it's one of those things, like I said, when you know,
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: you know, and a lot of friends and family they'll
• 5:15
  Speaker 3: be like, okay, Rod, like do you think you're moving
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: too fast? And you're excited? I said, absolutely not. You know,
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: for the first time in my life, I've waited so
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: long for this, and I knew that I've never been
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: this confident in this shore in my life about any
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: woman that I've talked to before. So I knew like
• 5:31
  Speaker 3: that this was a special moment and I wanted to
• 5:34
  Speaker 3: to seize that immediately. So yeah, I'm really glad. We
• 5:37
  Speaker 3: just moved in together a week ago, you know, so
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: it's very exciting for us, and we're ready for this
• 5:43
  Speaker 3: new chapter.
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: Ah, it's so obvious how happy you are. Give us,
• 5:47
  Speaker 4: give us her bio, like, tell us about her.
• 5:50
  Speaker 3: She's the best. Yeah, she's the best. Stop. I'm just
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: very very happy. Her name was Ariel Sabrina. Obviously, we
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: met at a bar, and she is from New Jersey,
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: so she's from the East Coast, where we just went
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: back to for us, for me to finally visit the
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: friends and family. She works for Netflix. She's a social
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: media manager over there, and everything that we've kind of
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: been through together so far, it's already been it's already
• 6:21
  Speaker 3: been a lot in such a short period of time.
• 6:24
  Speaker 3: But we're just so happy to have met each other
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: during this stage of our lives. You know, I'm thirty one,
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: she's thirty, and that was the first thing she checked
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: me on. You know, when I approached her, was like,
• 6:36
  Speaker 3: hold up, how old are you? And I was like,
• 6:38
  Speaker 3: I'm thirty one. And she's like, okay, I'm tired of
• 6:40
  Speaker 3: get hit on by like twenty two year olds. Like
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: now we can talk, we can continue this conversation. I said, hey,
• 6:45
  Speaker 3: I respect it. Yeah, it's nice, you know, so I
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: completely understand, and I tell people all the time. I
• 6:51
  Speaker 3: think one of the best parts is that, you know,
• 6:54
  Speaker 3: when we met, she never watched the show, so it's
• 6:58
  Speaker 3: one of those things where she just got to know
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: me for me and I remember her. One of her
• 7:04
  Speaker 3: best friends was there that night. It was kind of
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: like recording us because everything was so special. We had
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: random people coming up to us saying I'm sorry, you
• 7:11
  Speaker 3: guys are the cutest couple I've ever seen, or like
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: we just met an hour ago. So it's one of
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: those things where I was like, this must be something
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: special if people keep commenting on it. And I remember
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: that best friend and her they you know, they watched
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: the video. They were dying laughing. They sent it back
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: to the girl's back east and they're just like, oh, yeah,
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: Aery met this guy last night. We'll see what happens
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: with it, like she seemed happy, but we'll just see
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: if anything comes of it. And I immediately was you know,
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: I got her number. I asked her out on a
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: date for that next Wednesday, like I was. I said, hey, like,
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: I don't play games, and she's like, what are you
• 7:41
  Speaker 3: in this for? I said, I'm trying to find my
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: future wife. Like I'm I'm in this for love, and
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: so you know, if this could be something serious, I
• 7:49
  Speaker 3: would love to pursue that. And I remember, you know,
• 7:53
  Speaker 3: we had our first date, which was very nice, and
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: then our second date is when she's like, all right,
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: so my friend's back East watched the video of us
• 8:01
  Speaker 3: from night one and they said that they all know
• 8:05
  Speaker 3: you and they love you. They know you very well
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: and they love you. And she's like, I don't know
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: how that's possible, and so you might have to talk
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: to me about this if you feel comfortable, And I said, yeah,
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: I let you not until the friends finally told her,
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: so yeah, she's just like, oh, they're like, do you
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: know they talk to you? That's roddy blah blah, and
• 8:23
  Speaker 3: so they were just so excited and she was like
• 8:26
  Speaker 3: what she had no idea, and once we finally talked
• 8:29
  Speaker 3: about it and broke down, she's like, I'm here for
• 8:32
  Speaker 3: you to tell me whatever you feel comfortable with. If
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: that's nothing at all, I understand. If that's everything, I understand.
• 8:38
  Speaker 3: She's like, I just want you to know the you
• 8:42
  Speaker 3: that I know is the one that I met at
• 8:44
  Speaker 3: the bar. And so I said, perfect, let's talk about it.
• 8:47
  Speaker 3: And so I kind of just shared what I was
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: comfortable with and I told her, Yeah, I've been on
• 8:51
  Speaker 3: a couple of seasons of the show, and I'm very
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: blessed and grateful, but i have been through some stuff
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: on the show, and I know that I'm here to
• 9:00
  Speaker 3: meet my future wife, and so yeah, it was very
• 9:01
  Speaker 3: exciting for us moving forward.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: I will say this, it is nice to h to
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: date somebody who doesn't have like they have an interest
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: in your experience in the show, but they've never seen it.
• 9:15
  Speaker 2: You kind of get like there's so much kind of
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: weirdness that is eliminated, Like they haven't seen you kiss
• 9:23
  Speaker 2: somebody else. They haven't seen you like say something romantic
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: to somebody else. It really does, I think build a
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: healthy relationship. My we've talked about on the podcast before
• 9:32
  Speaker 2: you know my dad Rodney. He's a great dude, but
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: he is not one to to give advice.
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: Uh.
• 9:40
  Speaker 2: And so one day I said, hey, Dad, how do
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: you know when you've like met you know, how what
• 9:45
  Speaker 2: do you feel like when you met mom?
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: What do you feel like?
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: He goes ben when you know you know? And I
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: was like, that's stupid advice. I don't know what that
• 9:52
  Speaker 2: feels like. I think that's there has to be a
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: better way and he and he didn't really say anything
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: after that. And then when I met my wife, now
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: I was like that first date. I was like, no,
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: this is either going to be the best thing ever
• 10:04
  Speaker 2: or the hardest thing that I've ever had to go through,
• 10:06
  Speaker 2: because this is really really good or could be really
• 10:09
  Speaker 2: bad if it doesn't work out. Well, it worked out,
• 10:12
  Speaker 2: but you're right though.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: It's a certain feeling and you're just like, wait a minute,
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: this feels different. This feels more confident and secure and
• 10:20
  Speaker 3: warm and welcoming, and something's different about this date. So yeah,
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: it was very nice.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: So Ronnie, this is a little bit awkward, but your
• 10:37
  Speaker 4: ex Eliza is back on The Bachelor in Paradise Beach
• 10:41
  Speaker 4: right now, and you felt really strongly for her last year,
• 10:45
  Speaker 4: Like you really, I feel like you thought at the
• 10:47
  Speaker 4: time that she was the one. Can you like compare
• 10:49
  Speaker 4: and contrast the different feelings now that you look back
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: on it in hindsight, Yeah, I mean back.
• 10:55
  Speaker 3: Then, Wow, it was about a year and a half ago.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: So back then, yes, I definitely had strong feelings and
• 11:01
  Speaker 3: thought that it would give us something special with a
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: lot of potential. And once I heard that she was back,
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh wow, I hope that she finds
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: what she's looking for, and that's that's really all that
• 11:15
  Speaker 3: I felt at the time. I was like, oh okay.
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: It was one of those things where I think us
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: as a general brotherhood and friendship or are our own
• 11:23
  Speaker 3: personal group you know that we hang out with. It
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: was just like, oh wow, this is this is crazy,
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: this is big news. But I hope that I hope
• 11:30
  Speaker 3: she finds what she's looking for and she finds love.
• 11:33
  Speaker 3: And knowing a lot of people that win on this season,
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: I'm just I'm rooting for all of them, you know,
• 11:38
  Speaker 3: because I think we all know how crazy that environment
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: can be and how how wild it can be. So
• 11:45
  Speaker 3: it's one of those things where I'm just I'm rooting
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: for everybody, even even though yeah, I was very hurt
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: last year. I'm rooting for everybody to win, you know,
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: and and find love because it's it's a special feeling.
• 11:55
  Speaker 2: Have you have you at any point been watching this
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: season because I had this. I was talking to Ashley
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: about this, I think last year. You know, obviously I'm
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: in a relationship. I have no interest and not being
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: in this relationship, But there's moments I watch Paradise and
• 12:12
  Speaker 2: I'm like, I wish I was there, Like I want
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: to be there, like hanging out the bar, like I
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: want to be watching the people like fight and like
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: you know, love triangles, Like I never went to Paradise,
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: so I don't know what it's like, but I find
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: myself like if I could just not date, could I
• 12:28
  Speaker 2: just go hang out? Like I could I just be
• 12:30
  Speaker 2: in like the cabanas. Have you felt like that at
• 12:33
  Speaker 2: all as you've you know, seen Paradise come through this season, like, Hey,
• 12:38
  Speaker 2: I know I'm in love, but can like I go
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: back for a bit?
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: So to be honest, no, not at all after my experience.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: But the best part of Paradise by far is is
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: kicking it with Wells because That's that's the man right there.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: You know, we all love Wells, We're all big fans,
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: and once I finally got to meet him in person,
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: I was like, oh man, the hype is so the
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: best part is is kicking it with Wells. But you
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: know something's coming up. If if Jesse walks in and
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: he's got a serious tone and I'm like, oh, what's up, Jesse,
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: and I'm like, oh no, this isn't going to be
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: a happy talk. Like something's going on. So it's just
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: a lot of a lot of stress in that place.
• 13:15
  Speaker 3: I remember, you know, a lot of late nights. But no,
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: I'm I'm I'm happy for those who get to experience it,
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: and I just wish them the best.
• 13:24
  Speaker 2: You don't want to go back, No, there's no plans.
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: There's no plans. I gotta go back to bath.
• 13:30
  Speaker 3: I'm good on seeing that beat.
• 13:33
  Speaker 5: All right, go ahead, Rodney.
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: You do you feel like you are on the fast
• 13:40
  Speaker 4: track with your girlfriend, maybe a Bachelor in Paradise style
• 13:44
  Speaker 4: where it's like, yeah, it's maybe not four weeks to engagement,
• 13:48
  Speaker 4: but maybe you can see yourself doing it in a
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: few months.
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean, I'm definitely.
• 13:57
  Speaker 5: He's opposed to get Christmas?
• 13:59
  Speaker 2: How did you How did you get that from his
• 14:03
  Speaker 2: like first like word of yeah, I'm on it, and
• 14:06
  Speaker 2: you're like, keep bothering.
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: It's face.
• 14:11
  Speaker 3: No, I'm just I'm definitely on the fast track and
• 14:14
  Speaker 3: I won't lie. I remember. It does feel like the
• 14:17
  Speaker 3: show has affected me in that sense of thinking like, hey,
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: we don't have time to waste. And you know, I remember,
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: you know, being younger, way before the show, I would
• 14:28
  Speaker 3: just I would take my time, and there's nothing wrong
• 14:31
  Speaker 3: with that, you know. I feel like I have taken
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: my time being single this entire time and waiting for
• 14:36
  Speaker 3: the right one to come. But the show did introduce
• 14:38
  Speaker 3: me to hey, like if it's if it's the one,
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: there's no time to waste, and so kind of taking
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: that into my real life. It has felt like, hey,
• 14:47
  Speaker 3: ever since I met Aria, I know that what I'm
• 14:50
  Speaker 3: doing feels right for both of us, and you know,
• 14:55
  Speaker 3: we are on the fast track, but to us it
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: doesn't seem too fast. And we ask each other all
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: the time. We're like, we you know what the world thinks,
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: but what do we think? You know? And I'm like, well,
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: we're both very happy, We're both very confident, and we've
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: both waited, you know, for a long time for a
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: love like this. So yeah, we're we're definitely on the
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: fast track and I wouldn't change it for anything, and
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: I'm very happy for how our pace is going.
• 15:19
  Speaker 2: Isn't a weird feeling when you like, are confident and
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: at peace with the idea that you're going to be
• 15:26
  Speaker 2: with somebody potentially for the.
• 15:29
  Speaker 1: Rest of your life.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Like, isn't this just a weird switch up from even
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: being on the show where you're like, I think I
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: like this person, I don't really know them that well
• 15:36
  Speaker 2: yet I'm hoping this works out for us, and then
• 15:40
  Speaker 2: you like and it has happened from the show, right,
• 15:43
  Speaker 2: Like people have found love on the show and it
• 15:44
  Speaker 2: has worked out from they have found that feeling. But
• 15:47
  Speaker 2: it isn't like just odd and awesome to be so
• 15:51
  Speaker 2: at peace with this massive decision that you're making.
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: It's it's one of the craziest feelings that I know
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: talking with you too, I know you guys can relate,
• 16:01
  Speaker 3: And it's so shocking to me to go from this world,
• 16:04
  Speaker 3: especially like just being a single bachelor and being on
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: the show and then coming out and finally finding my
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: person and I'm like, oh wow, this is a crazy
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: switch up in life in such a short period of time,
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: In just a few months, my life changed just like that,
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: and I wouldn't change it for the world, Like, this
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: is all I've ever wanted, this is all I've waited for.
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: So it's funny. I remember people asking, like, you know,
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: you know you enjoyed this lifestyle and being a single
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: bachelor and being from the show and this and that,
• 16:31
  Speaker 3: and I'm like, it's been great and I'm very blessed
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: with that. However, at the end of the day, the
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: reason I went on the show is to find love.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: So that deep down of what I've always wanted is love.
• 16:40
  Speaker 3: So that's the whole purpose of it, you know. And
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: so as soon as I found it, I'm like, I
• 16:46
  Speaker 3: recognize it, I feel it, I know it, and I'm
• 16:48
  Speaker 3: ready to move on. I'm ready to move forward. And
• 16:51
  Speaker 3: the only one that truly knew that are some of
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: my best friends back home who weren't on the show,
• 16:56
  Speaker 3: you know, before the show existed, and moms and moms
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: knew on me. When people are like Rodney found her,
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: is this the real thing? And it's like, yeah, he's
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: been waiting for the right one. As soon as she
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: met him, She's like, Roddy, this this is the one.
• 17:09
  Speaker 5: It's her, Rodney, You're the sweetest. We're so happy for you.
• 17:14
  Speaker 4: You're like, oh, you're a dream. You're a little dream.
• 17:17
  Speaker 4: How was her family? Did you feel like You're like, oh,
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: this is an extended family to mend.
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think our world's merged so easily, so smooth.
• 17:30
  Speaker 3: And you know, when she met mine, it was amazing.
• 17:33
  Speaker 3: And then when I met her, obviously about half of
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: them knew me from the show, so I think they
• 17:40
  Speaker 3: were excited to see me from that, but more importantly,
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: they saw how happy I made Airy, and so that
• 17:45
  Speaker 3: is what made it more special. Is so once I
• 17:48
  Speaker 3: met them, I'm like, oh my god, this is this
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: is my family on the East Coast. You know, It's
• 17:52
  Speaker 3: just it was so quick and I loved every second
• 17:56
  Speaker 3: of that. You know, her her best friends, you know
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: who we stay with and they have a cup kids
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: and uh, you know her best friend Taylor, her husband Chris,
• 18:03
  Speaker 3: who we just stayed with the New Jersey Kate May.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: I love them to death. They're two kids. Uh, they
• 18:09
  Speaker 3: already called me her niece Slay can't pronounce the D.
• 18:13
  Speaker 3: So she calls me Uncle Ross and so I'm like,
• 18:15
  Speaker 3: all right, I'm Uncle Ross. I'll just unc ross like
• 18:19
  Speaker 3: I want, you.
• 18:20
  Speaker 5: Know, you know, I'm like, not Ronnie, Ronnie Ross.
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: I like it.
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: I'm like, okay, you know, classic mix up. I'll take it.
• 18:30
  Speaker 3: And uh yeah, she's got She's got nieces and nephews
• 18:33
  Speaker 3: out there that I I love, you know, being with
• 18:36
  Speaker 3: and spending time with and just meeting all them. And
• 18:37
  Speaker 3: I finally got to meet her mom as well, which
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: was a which was a beautiful moment, and I could
• 18:42
  Speaker 3: feel that they were happy that I just made her
• 18:45
  Speaker 3: happy because that's all they've been waiting for too, So
• 18:47
  Speaker 3: it was it was very uh, it was very nice.
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Sounds like Growdney's had his last first drink with somebody.
• 18:55
  Speaker 2: Pretty cool, you know, last first drink.
• 18:58
  Speaker 5: That expression, but definitely his last first kiss.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: I mean, last first drink would work to right. That
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: fits both all all above.
• 19:08
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, I.
• 19:10
  Speaker 1: Want to revisit something, Rinne.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: I want to dig into this a little bit and
• 19:12
  Speaker 2: then I want to get to some of the fun
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: stuff you're doing outside of this amazing relationship. So Nate
• 19:17
  Speaker 2: is still living with the two of you like, you
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: guys have moved in together, but also Nate is still
• 19:22
  Speaker 2: there or not?
• 19:22
  Speaker 1: Has he moved out?
• 19:24
  Speaker 3: So no, so we so we both found new places. Yeah,
• 19:28
  Speaker 3: so and I Aaron and I found a brand new
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: place in Studio City, which we love out here, and
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: Nate moved a couple of blocks away from from whereere
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: we were at. So yeah, he's now in a in
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: a studio and uh he's found a beautiful place. Uh
• 19:46
  Speaker 3: you know, he's got his own little skyscraper spot and
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: uh yeah, we we have a two bed, two bath
• 19:52
  Speaker 3: out here in the valley. And so we're really really
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: is he.
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: Is he the type of guy? I mean we uh
• 19:59
  Speaker 2: we've had on and uh, but is he the type
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: of guy? Is is excited to live alone? Or is
• 20:05
  Speaker 2: this like is this a really sad time for him?
• 20:09
  Speaker 3: No? No, I don't even think it was like a
• 20:12
  Speaker 3: It's for maybe about five seconds, it was bittersweet of
• 20:14
  Speaker 3: like my life's changing too, you know. But no, he's uh,
• 20:18
  Speaker 3: he's lived alone before. When we met, he was living
• 20:21
  Speaker 3: alone out in Austin, Texas. And I went to go
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: visit him out there a few times, and I think
• 20:26
  Speaker 3: now he was he was ready to live alone again.
• 20:29
  Speaker 3: It's you know, it's him and his dog, Percy, who
• 20:31
  Speaker 3: everyone knows in Bachelination.
• 20:32
  Speaker 5: By now that his relationship with the dog is awesome.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, you've heard us talking about it, but it's he's, uh,
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: he's happy. I think he's happy. It was kind of
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: like an exciting new chapter for him to to kind
• 20:45
  Speaker 3: of just be all by himself out here in LA
• 20:49
  Speaker 3: because before it's you know, he did move out here
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: for me and and we knew that we were going
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: to be closer after I went through everything on my season,
• 20:57
  Speaker 3: he was going through his breakup and he's like, man,
• 20:59
  Speaker 3: we both need a fresh start. And I'm like, either
• 21:01
  Speaker 3: I'm going to Austin or you're coming to LA. So
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: we got to figure it out and and that's how
• 21:07
  Speaker 3: that's how it happened. So yeah, I know that he
• 21:09
  Speaker 3: is happy finally being in the city on his own
• 21:12
  Speaker 3: to kind of explore it. And obviously, like we said,
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: Justin and Susie are out here, so it's like we
• 21:17
  Speaker 3: got more friends to hang out with.
• 21:19
  Speaker 2: I like that you group the two of them together.
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: I just feel like, one day this is gonna happen.
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: They're gonna be Jared and I I mean, you know,
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: really good friends first, but it's.
• 21:30
  Speaker 3: He's he's doing well. I can I can confirm he's
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: doing well. We're all going to go to the Chargers
• 21:34
  Speaker 3: game this weekend. So yeah, it's nothing, nothing's changed.
• 21:38
  Speaker 6: We love them.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Speaking of football, you coach this year. I don't know
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: if this is your first year of coaching or not.
• 21:56
  Speaker 1: Was it?
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: So? No, this is about my fifth or sixth season
• 22:01
  Speaker 3: coaching high school football.
• 22:02
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: Are you the head coach?
• 22:04
  Speaker 3: No? So, I am the defensive coordinator. I was the
• 22:07
  Speaker 3: defense coordinator. Yeah, Pasadena High School. It's like North LA
• 22:13
  Speaker 3: out here.
• 22:14
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 22:14
  Speaker 1: So you played college football?
• 22:17
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: I did, and you're running back right or were you?
• 22:20
  Speaker 6: So?
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: I played safety? I played up at Fresno State.
• 22:23
  Speaker 2: You played at Fresno State. You were a safety, So
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: being a defensive coordinator fits perfectly. Talk to us. I mean,
• 22:29
  Speaker 2: you know, I'm more interested, maybe than than most. But
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: give us a quick rundown of how the season went
• 22:35
  Speaker 2: and how it is to be a coach of high
• 22:38
  Speaker 2: schoolers because it is something that I've always wanted to
• 22:41
  Speaker 2: do and dreamed of doing, just never put my foot
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: in the door to do it, but yeah, to.
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: Do it eventually, Ben, You'd be amazing when you have kids.
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: Like you have to be the coach high flying high
• 22:54
  Speaker 2: school offense.
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: Just air raid down the field.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: I can see it now and then I can away
• 23:00
  Speaker 3: because I'm keeping up with every stat I know you're
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: just gonna throw that thing out.
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: Just let's go.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: So yeah, it's it's definitely pros and cons. This was
• 23:09
  Speaker 3: the toughest season I ever had coaching. It was my
• 23:14
  Speaker 3: first season coaching after the Show, which was a different
• 23:19
  Speaker 3: challenge I wasn't expecting. And it was my first season
• 23:22
  Speaker 3: ever being a defensive coordinator because I started off as
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: just the dB coach and unfortunately, some events happened where
• 23:33
  Speaker 3: the school had to let go of the defensive coordinator,
• 23:35
  Speaker 3: so I a week before the season immediately got the
• 23:38
  Speaker 3: promotion of the bump that I wasn't ready for, and
• 23:42
  Speaker 3: so there were a whole lot of challenges to go
• 23:44
  Speaker 3: with this, and so it was it was. It was
• 23:49
  Speaker 3: a tough year.
• 23:49
  Speaker 5: So our season, we didn't play very well. Our records sucked.
• 23:55
  Speaker 3: We were awful, and I think that's that's what made
• 23:59
  Speaker 3: it so tough for because I'm a massive competitor, especially
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: when it comes to football. It was my first love
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: my first passion. And you know, I started playing at
• 24:07
  Speaker 3: nine years old and ever since, the game has always
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: just changed my life, you know, whether it's high school, college,
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: you know, being a captain and a leader. I loved
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: the game and I love coaching and giving back. And
• 24:20
  Speaker 3: before the show, I was coaching consistently and it felt good.
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: I got to see myself personally changing kids' lives and
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: changing their love and their knowledge and their passion of
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: the game, and that's what I cared about. You know.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: It's like, Hey, I'm going to make you a great
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: football player, and I'm going to make you more knowledgeable
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: of the game, but more importantly, I'm going to make
• 24:39
  Speaker 3: you a better man off the field. And that's what
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: I was excited to kind of see that contract.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I want I wanted to ask you about that.
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's what is at the end of the day.
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: That's what's more important of being a coach. It's like, hey,
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: I'm going to teach the x's and o's and that's great,
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: But am I helping him build your care you know,
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: Like how am I helping you off the field as well?
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: Because a lot of these kids come in with you know,
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: they're all coming in from different backgrounds. And that's what
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: I've loved with football, is like you got every culture,
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: every background, ethnicity, upbringing. You got all that mixture in
• 25:11
  Speaker 3: this locker room, and how do they gel together to
• 25:15
  Speaker 3: be a winning team. And that's really exciting to see,
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: is you know, we took my last high school that
• 25:22
  Speaker 3: I coached at. We took a team that was known
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: to be a losing program and turned them into winners
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: on and off the field. So these kids were building confidence,
• 25:30
  Speaker 3: they were getting better grades, they're out playing college football now.
• 25:34
  Speaker 3: And you know, they went from being those kids who
• 25:36
  Speaker 3: were in trouble all the time and always having to
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: go to Saturday school to you know, now being good
• 25:42
  Speaker 3: members of society and getting scholarships and being better men.
• 25:46
  Speaker 3: And it was just so exciting. That's what I care
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: about when it comes to coaching high school football. And
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: you know, sadly, once I started this program, I didn't
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: realize the effect of the show because obviously every kid
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: wants to look up their coach, and so you know,
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: they immediately looked me up and it's just like, coach Rod,
• 26:05
  Speaker 3: you were in an Apple suit, you were and then
• 26:07
  Speaker 3: they did like what are you doing Oh my god,
• 26:11
  Speaker 3: and I'm trying to go off on them saying, hey,
• 26:13
  Speaker 3: I'm coach Rod, like just folks on me being you.
• 26:16
  Speaker 5: Know, remember that's how he came in on a cell season.
• 26:26
  Speaker 3: These kids and you know, kids research everything. So I'm like,
• 26:30
  Speaker 3: oh my god. So just trying to trying to discipline
• 26:34
  Speaker 3: them or teach them, and they're just like, okay, Coach Rod,
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: you know, like you know, you're getting on the bashret
• 26:40
  Speaker 3: and this, and now I'm like, no, that's not what
• 26:41
  Speaker 3: it's about. You need to focus on football. And so
• 26:44
  Speaker 3: there were just so many not even from Mayen that
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: was just a piece of it. There's so many like
• 26:49
  Speaker 3: outside distractions with this team. And you know, the end
• 26:52
  Speaker 3: of the season and we play in the Rose Bowl,
• 26:54
  Speaker 3: so that's their big rivalry is which is one of
• 26:57
  Speaker 3: the coolest experiences for high school for anybody, is playing
• 27:00
  Speaker 3: in the Rosebolt, the granddaddy of them all, and it's
• 27:02
  Speaker 3: against the rival high school, me or high school so
• 27:04
  Speaker 3: it's Mere versus Pasadena. And the first half I'm just
• 27:07
  Speaker 3: so excited because I'm just like, wow, this is everything
• 27:11
  Speaker 3: anyone could dream of being a kid or a player.
• 27:13
  Speaker 3: At coach and that first half I held the other
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: team to thirteen points. So we're going at halftime it's
• 27:19
  Speaker 3: thirteen zero and our offense hasn't scored yet. But I
• 27:22
  Speaker 3: still have hope, and I'm like, all right, boys, like
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: it's some of the best football we're playing. We got
• 27:25
  Speaker 3: the most people here, thousands of people. I'm like, we
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: got this, we got this, you know. And at the
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: end of the game, we get blown out, and so
• 27:33
  Speaker 3: I'm hurt and I'm bad. And at the end of
• 27:35
  Speaker 3: the day, obviously I've listed all the cons I think,
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: but the pros I have to look back and just say,
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: what impact did I make on the kids? And there's
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: a good handful of those kids that could look back
• 27:46
  Speaker 3: and still know that they can call me for anything
• 27:48
  Speaker 3: and just say, Coach Rod, I'm going through something, and
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: they know that they could call me. So at the
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: end of the day, I still want to make sure
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: that I'm making a positive impact on the kids on
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: and off the field, and if they could remember me
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: for someone who wanted to really truly support them and
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: uplift them, whether they're out there get getting an interception
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: or making a big tackle, or if they get scored
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: on or anything like that, Like win or lose, I'm
• 28:10
  Speaker 3: going to have their back. So that was that was
• 28:12
  Speaker 3: really important for me.
• 28:13
  Speaker 1: Your passion for coaching is clear. Is this something you
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: want to continue doing?
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think I will. You know, I definitely. I've
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: loved it. Like I said, I've been doing it for
• 28:22
  Speaker 3: five or six years before and after the show, and
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: so I love coaching and I know I definitely want
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: to do it again. I don't know if this last
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: year took a toll on me and you know, come in,
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: you know, after practice and you know, Arie would meet
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: me after practicing, after every single game and she's like,
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: you just seem stressed. I'm like, I got a lot
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: on my mind, Like this is stressful. She's going to games,
• 28:45
  Speaker 3: she's seen us get blown out, and I'm like, I've
• 28:48
  Speaker 3: never been through anything like this in my life before.
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: You know, I'm a strong competitor and at least I
• 28:52
  Speaker 3: know I'm going to be in the game, you know.
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: And for me to deal with a culture that was
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: so used to losing and they were okay with that,
• 29:00
  Speaker 3: and it was tough for me, and with the distractions
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: of you know, post life after the show and stuff
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: like that. With the kids, it was a lot, and
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: so I think I want to coach when the time
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: is right. But I told Ery, you know, moving forward,
• 29:14
  Speaker 3: I want to focus on my new career. I just
• 29:17
  Speaker 3: as of a week ago, I just passed my real
• 29:19
  Speaker 3: estate exams, so I'm about to get my real estate
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: license stuff.
• 29:21
  Speaker 6: Let's go.
• 29:21
  Speaker 5: Yeah, congrats.
• 29:23
  Speaker 3: I'm really excited about that.
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: No pressure, Rodney, But you're a great role model and
• 29:27
  Speaker 4: I want you there with the kids.
• 29:28
  Speaker 3: I know, so I'm I promise I'm definitely going to
• 29:34
  Speaker 3: coach again, but it's going to take some time.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: Yeah, makes sense.
• 29:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: Well to close up here, Rodney, we do have to
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: ask you.
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: The bachelorette on your season has recently announced that she
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: is in a relationship. What are your thoughts feelings about
• 29:49
  Speaker 2: this new found I mean, I don't know if they're
• 29:52
  Speaker 2: calling each other love life yet, but romantic life for Michelle.
• 29:56
  Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I just I just heard through the grapevine
• 29:59
  Speaker 3: that that that that happened. But more importantly I am
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: I'm happy for her. You know, that's that's very exciting.
• 30:05
  Speaker 3: Like I said, I've just recently found it, so I'm
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: really rooting for anyone to find it. And we all
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: know that we went on this show to find it.
• 30:12
  Speaker 3: So it's one of those things for Michelle, and I'm
• 30:16
  Speaker 3: super happy for her. You know. I hope that everything
• 30:19
  Speaker 3: works out, and I hope that she's she's found her
• 30:21
  Speaker 3: person because being on her season, I know how passionate
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: she was in that pursuit, and so yeah, I'm happy
• 30:27
  Speaker 3: for her.
• 30:27
  Speaker 4: Ronnie, thank you so much for joining us. It was
• 30:29
  Speaker 4: so great to have you. I could listen to you
• 30:31
  Speaker 4: talk forever because you're just like such a soulful, warm
• 30:34
  Speaker 4: human being.
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: I appreciate you guys. Thanks for having me. Ben and Ashley,
• 30:37
  Speaker 3: you guys are the best.
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I get to feeling better.
• 30:40
  Speaker 2: Thanks for coming on with this this flu it's a
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: big deal.
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: So until next time, Rodnie, don't make it too long.
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: We'll probably be giving the headline. I don't know, probably
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: during Christmas, Ashley.
• 30:50
  Speaker 1: Thanks. Rodney.
• 30:51
  Speaker 2: Matthews is engaged, but we'll see, but we'll always hold
• 30:55
  Speaker 2: out hope for you man.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: Thanks for coming on the podcast. Until next time. I
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: haven't been, I've been, Ashley, I've been, Ronnie say here
• 31:01
  Speaker 1: you guys.
• 31:02
  Speaker 4: Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
• 31:05
  Speaker 4: iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts,