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Transcript

Bengagement! · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: with our radio. We are back in better than ever. Hello,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: almost Famous fans. I'm Ben, I'm Ashley, and you guys,
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: we are here for the Ben is Engaged edition of
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: this podcast. Can you I mean yes, we can believe?
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: I was gonna say, can you believe? It's like this
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: was honestly the most obvious engagement to me that's ever happened.
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: Like I've never seen two people more perfect, more in
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: love and ready for an engagement than you too. Yes.
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: So this is the very first time Ashley I'll be
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: speaking in detail. I spoke with Et and Lauren's sema
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: because she's a good friend. But this podcast today is
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: going to be all about the details, similar to what
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: I did with Lauren um on our engagement. But Jessica
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: and I are just ecstatic and I'm glad that you
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: think it wasn't a surprise and it wasn't shocking because
• 1:00
  Speaker 1: it wasn't to me either. It's I've known this for
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: a long time. It was just trying to get the
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: timing right. Yeah, And speaking of chiming, you didn't exactly
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: plan to propose during um COVID nineteen and you had
• 1:18
  Speaker 1: a whole different plan. I was aware of it, but
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: our audience wasn't. Are you willing to talk about how
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: you plan to do it and how you came to
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: the decision to just do it during quarantine? Well, Ashley,
• 1:31
  Speaker 1: I would only say this and talk about this with
• 1:34
  Speaker 1: our almost famous family. So I am very willing to
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: talk about it because you all have been there since
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: the beginning. As I've talked about with Ashley many times.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy to think how this podcast has
• 1:45
  Speaker 1: uh been a part of our ups and downs and
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: stories and trials and tribulations, uh for three over three
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: years of our life. So so here's the whole idea, uh,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: And I'll just start at the beginning, uh into Simber.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: I talked to Jessica's dad about Mary and Jessica, and UM,
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: it was a really, really great conversation in the details.
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: You're so nervous. I was so nervous, but you know what,
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: like he made me feel incredible. And there's a very
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: few moments in life I talked to Jared about this
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: that are as nerve wracking as sitting down with the
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: father of a daughter and saying, hey, like I want
• 2:29
  Speaker 1: to ask her to marry me. Uh, that is a huge,
• 2:32
  Speaker 1: huge conversation and one that nobody takes lightly. I don't,
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: or at least you should not take lightly. So we
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: have this conversation. Tell us all the details. I want
• 2:42
  Speaker 1: to know everything. You asked him, like your host speel,
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: well that you know what. I think. The one thing Ashley,
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: that I will keep private is our conversation. I think
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: that for the most part um the conversation existed like this.
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: I asked for permission, he gave me permission, and then
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: without going into the kind of the things that we
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: spoke about at that point, then it became his his
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: not expectations, but my He allowed me the space to
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: ask him any question. I allowed him the space to
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: ask me any question, and we discussed what it was
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: that my like what what what kind of life that
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: I wanted to help provide to his daughter, and what
• 3:25
  Speaker 1: our future would look like together, and what my hopes
• 3:27
  Speaker 1: and dreams were for our family, and what my hopes
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: and dreams were for Jessica. Um. I think the one
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: piece of advice that I will share because he has
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: been incredible with kind of his his ability to lead me,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: and this is he said, Hey, once you guys get married,
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: make sure you do some things for just yourselves, like
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: get get away, explore, um, enjoy this world, enjoy each other,
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: enjoy the beauty uh that has gifted us and and
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: and don't fall back into the comfort of, hey, maybe
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: being because her full families in Nashville. Uh so, don't
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: fall back to the comfort of just being around family
• 4:10
  Speaker 1: all the time. Like go out and do your thing
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: for a while before you come back to your family. Um.
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: Which was a huge thing for a father to say.
• 4:19
  Speaker 1: And I think his or her uh mom and dad
• 4:24
  Speaker 1: and and brothers have been incredible from the very beginning.
• 4:27
  Speaker 1: So here's how it went down, though. So I asked
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: for his permission. He gave me permission. Uh. So then
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: I started planning the engagement. And if all of you
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: uh kind of understand, I've been on tour or is
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: expected to be on tour for The Bachelor, I' on
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: stage for the last four months, uh and it was
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: supposed to take me up until really the end of May.
• 4:48
  Speaker 1: So I thought, well, I don't want to propose to
• 4:50
  Speaker 1: Jessica on a stage, but I want to do it
• 4:52
  Speaker 1: in a city that's beautiful, that's compelling, that's romantic and
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: that's why I had show was in New York City.
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: We're gonna do on the that stop of the tour.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: I was going to propose a Jessica New York City,
• 5:05
  Speaker 1: but the whole family, right with the whole family. So
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: my parents are gonna fly in, her parents are gonna
• 5:11
  Speaker 1: fly in. We're gonna celebrate. But here's the thing, actually, Uh,
• 5:17
  Speaker 1: when coronavirus hit, Uh, it obviously changed plans drastically and quickly. Um.
• 5:26
  Speaker 1: And I don't know if I can explain this well,
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: but there was a timing factor this all that I
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: wanted to make sure we got done because Jessica's lease
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: uh is running out at the end of next month. Uh,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: that's right, she has to move. She was moving back
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: in with her parents. I was advising her to do
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: that because I said, Hey, it's gonna be the best
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: thing for us and for you, and there's no reason
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: for you to get a long term lease when we
• 5:51
  Speaker 1: don't know what our future is gonna hold. The problem is,
• 5:53
  Speaker 1: and you can expect this is we had stopped all
• 5:57
  Speaker 1: like intentional conversations about our future really back in December,
• 6:02
  Speaker 1: because I wanted her to be so shocked for this proposal,
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: and so any longer that we're going to drag this
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: on was just gonna get harder and harder on this
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: woman that I loved and who who was confused and
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: who I didn't want to be confused any longer. Okay,
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: So that's kind of the timing here is when March
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: twenty one changed, it was already getting long enough without
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: us having those really good, healthy conversations that every couple
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I believe should have. So all of a sudden, I
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: start audibling, like, what are we gonna do? How are
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: we going to do this? Do I push it back
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: for another couple of months so that we can make
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: sure that we do this in a special way. Do I,
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: um just do it, you know, randomly at any given time,
• 6:44
  Speaker 1: I have the the ring. And I don't know if
• 6:47
  Speaker 1: Jared said this to you, but once you have the
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: ring in your possession, it's like impossible to not like
• 6:53
  Speaker 1: want to propose. It just feels impossible. Jared had the
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: ring in his possession for five five minutes and he
• 7:00
  Speaker 1: could barely hide it in his pocket from me. It's
• 7:04
  Speaker 1: it's unbelievable. You get this ring and you're looking at
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: it and you're so excited about it. I mean I
• 7:08
  Speaker 1: was looking at it every day. It was in my
• 7:10
  Speaker 1: uh my my bag that I brought clothes in. I
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: was looking at all the time, and I was like,
• 7:16
  Speaker 1: I just don't I want to make this special. So
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: long story short is that, um, we came to Nashville
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: to kind of self isolate. Uh. We came to Nashville
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: because her parents have a house that was big enough
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: to fit us. And her siblings were already here because
• 7:33
  Speaker 1: her brother plays professional baseball and he got sent home
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: because of the MLB uh not being active right now.
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: Her other brother and her brother's wife live here right
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: now as they transition from Philadelphia to Nashville. And so
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: Jessica and I were like, let's go to the house, Um,
• 7:52
  Speaker 1: hang out there. It's big enough for all of us,
• 7:54
  Speaker 1: and we can spend some time with your family and
• 7:57
  Speaker 1: enjoy this. Well. Her house also isn't a beautiful area
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: of Tennessee, and there's a great pond behind there. And
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: so her mother and I had talked, and her father
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: and I had talked. We decided that instead of New York,
• 8:10
  Speaker 1: since that had to be audible, it would be just
• 8:13
  Speaker 1: as special, if not more special, to do it here
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: at their house. Her brother, who's a great chef, was
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: going to cook the dinner. Um, and we would do
• 8:22
  Speaker 1: it in the backyard and we would surprise her uh
• 8:26
  Speaker 1: with her favorite sunflower, her favorite flowers, sunflowers at the
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: pond that she grew up on, and I would take
• 8:33
  Speaker 1: her on a walk walk down to the pond and
• 8:36
  Speaker 1: proposed to her there and then we could all celebrate
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: together that evening. So question, when you guys did decide
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: to go to Tennessee, did you have an inkling that
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: that was when you were going to propose? I did.
• 8:49
  Speaker 1: I knew it, Uh, I had. I had UH decided
• 8:54
  Speaker 1: about a week before. And so the other important thing
• 8:57
  Speaker 1: to me, Ashley, uh was one as I really wanted
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: my parents there. Um. Yeah, So that's what I was
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: going to ask because I was wondering when I saw
• 9:07
  Speaker 1: the pictures, I was like, I wonder whose family was there. Yeah.
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: So there's a couple of things of variables here that
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: we had to take into consideration. One is, obviously, UH,
• 9:16
  Speaker 1: my dad has some massive underlying health issues. Um. He
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: always has. We've talked about the podcast before. My dad
• 9:22
  Speaker 1: had has had a triple bypass and he's had um
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: massive heart complications and his lungs have been weakened due
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: to cancer at a younger age. So, like my dad
• 9:31
  Speaker 1: is is a healthy man, but he's also sixty two
• 9:36
  Speaker 1: and has had some underlying health issues, and him getting
• 9:39
  Speaker 1: the flu or the virus of any kind is not
• 9:43
  Speaker 1: is not something that is desired, just like getting the
• 9:47
  Speaker 1: virus of the flu for anybody's a desire, but for
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: my dad it does cause more complications than most. So,
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: but I wanted them there, and so I had to
• 9:55
  Speaker 1: figure out a way that they could if they were
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: going to be there, they could get in a car
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: drives straight to Nashville without getting out at any gas stations,
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: any rest stops, and then driving back home without coming
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: in interfering, without coming into any interaction with any other humans. Uh.
• 10:10
  Speaker 1: In addition to that, I had to make sure that
• 10:12
  Speaker 1: everybody in Jessica's house was healthy and safe, and so
• 10:15
  Speaker 1: we made sure of that as well. And so my
• 10:17
  Speaker 1: parents actually were able to make that happen. They down,
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: they drove down from Indiana to Nashville, UM to be
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: here for that, and so they hid in the woods
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: right by the pond. And then her parents hid in
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: the woods by the pond, and her brothers and there
• 10:36
  Speaker 1: and and then her brother's wife Uh hid in the
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: woods by the pond. And so once I got down
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: on one knee and proposed, then they came out and
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: we were all able to celebrate together in a healthy,
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: very safe environment. Um. And then my parents spent the
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: night here at the house so they didn't have to
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: go to a hotel. Uh. The clerks and nights have
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: to let them do that. So we celebrated all night.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: Uh and then uh they woke up in the morning
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: and drove back up to Indiana. But so so here
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: in short, and I know there's a thousand questions that
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: you have actually kind of getting some details here in short, Um,
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: it was what I learned from all of this was, Yes,
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: I had this grand plan for New York City. We
• 11:15
  Speaker 1: had the dancers um from the tour who had planned
• 11:19
  Speaker 1: a big dance for Jessica and I that were there,
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: gonna pull off in the park. Uh. My family was
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: gonna be there, Her family was gonna be there. It
• 11:25
  Speaker 1: was gonna be outrageous and beautiful and um, super romantic.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: But I sat around the table that night with my
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: family there and her family there, and laughter and drinks
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: and food being had UM and realize and recognized that
• 11:43
  Speaker 1: even though it wasn't the grander, the grand uh plan,
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: that it was so much better and so much more memorable.
• 11:53
  Speaker 1: And I could not have pictured a better way to
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: remember my engagement evening than just look around going, Yes,
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: this is a crazy time in this world, and there's
• 12:04
  Speaker 1: a lot of chaos, and there's a lot of hurt
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: and a lot of pain, but amongst that, love still shines.
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: And I just felt that love that whole evening. That
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: is so amazing. I'm so happy for you. That sounds
• 12:17
  Speaker 1: like the perfect engagement night. UM. I got a question,
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: who took those pictures? Anybody take video? We had we
• 12:24
  Speaker 1: have no video. Obviously it had to be UM, and
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: so we had to be very careful um with who
• 12:32
  Speaker 1: and how we interacted with people. We we have been again,
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: as I say this, because my dad at being such
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: a high risk UM right now we are. I'm overly cautious,
• 12:44
  Speaker 1: I guess. And so we had a friend of mine. No, no, no,
• 12:47
  Speaker 1: you're not overly You're You're good. You're good. Yeah, I'm
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: trying to be I'm sure we're trying. I mean, Jessica
• 12:52
  Speaker 1: and I have not left our house in I don't
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: even know. It feels like a year, but it's probably
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: been like ten days. I don't even know how long
• 12:59
  Speaker 1: it's been. But um, the the we had one photographer
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: who was a friend of mine who lives near here,
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: and her name is Rachel Peterson. She has done all
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: of the work for Generous and Hient since the beginning.
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: Because we wouldn't allow her to bring any extra people
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: because of what's going on, she had to set up.
• 13:21
  Speaker 1: She did an amazing job and set up self timers
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: and set up different cameras around the area I was
• 13:28
  Speaker 1: proposing so that she could get different angles in different shots.
• 13:30
  Speaker 1: So it looks like there was like ten photographers. Really
• 13:33
  Speaker 1: there was only one. She had just gone out of
• 13:35
  Speaker 1: her way to make sure she set up extra cameras
• 13:38
  Speaker 1: to capture it. Okay, so did Jess see the picture
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: the camera set up? Was there a photographer in the background? Like,
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: how did you hide that? Yeah? So you okay, now
• 13:49
  Speaker 1: now it's a good time. Yeah. Now should we go
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: to the story time where like I want you to
• 13:53
  Speaker 1: you like build up the morning like from the moment
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: you woke up. Yeah, okay, so you have this is
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: genuinely going to take at least a half an hour,
• 14:00
  Speaker 1: are guys, I need you just I need all the details. Definitely, Okay.
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: So now everybody out there, uh, you get the big
• 14:07
  Speaker 1: picture of why it happened here and what the purpose
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: was and who was here and what kind of players
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: were involved, and then uh, why it was important for
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: me to have this happened at that time. So you
• 14:19
  Speaker 1: get that side. Now, now let's go into the details
• 14:22
  Speaker 1: of the day. So, uh, if anybody knows Jessica, they
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: know she is one of the most like um, agreeable
• 14:28
  Speaker 1: people in the healthiest of ways that you've ever met.
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: Like she just wants to be a part of anything
• 14:33
  Speaker 1: that anybody else is doing, and she wants to do
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: it with a smile on her face. And so it's
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: never been difficult for me to ask Jessica to do anything,
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: Like if I say, hey, Jessica, let's go for a walk,
• 14:45
  Speaker 1: it would blow my mind if she would say no,
• 14:47
  Speaker 1: Like I know, she would just be happy to be
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: on a walk with whoever wants to walk with her.
• 14:51
  Speaker 1: That's who Jessica is. It always has been. And so
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: what I imagined was the easiest part of my day
• 14:57
  Speaker 1: ended up being the hardest and here's why. And so uh.
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: I woke up uh that morning, I had not slept
• 15:04
  Speaker 1: at all. I was tossing and turning. I woke up
• 15:07
  Speaker 1: to her brother cooking, uh this start this meal. Uh.
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: And he's just an incredible chef and he's worked in
• 15:15
  Speaker 1: some of the best restaurants in the world. Um. He
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: worked zahav in Philly, which is like a top five
• 15:20
  Speaker 1: restaurant in the United States for a while. And so
• 15:23
  Speaker 1: he was cooking this incredible meal. Jessica's in the kitchen
• 15:26
  Speaker 1: and I say, hey, hon, um this evening before dinner,
• 15:30
  Speaker 1: I would love to go for a walk with you,
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: and she goes, that would be awesome, and I thought, great,
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: So I'm gonna So in my head, I'm like, I'm
• 15:36
  Speaker 1: gonna take Jessica for a walk. It's about a fifty
• 15:38
  Speaker 1: yard walk, um, down to the pond. And then once
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: I get to the pond, I don't really care if
• 15:45
  Speaker 1: she sees the cameras or the photographer because at that
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: point she already know what's happening, Like it's very obvious
• 15:52
  Speaker 1: that with the sunflowers that there's something special going on. Um. Well,
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: about three hours later, Jessica comes up to me and goes, hey,
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: hon uh, it's gonna get really hot today, and my
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: mom wants us all to dress up for dinner tonight
• 16:07
  Speaker 1: and put makeup on so that we can have a
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: nice special dinner because my brother is cooking it. Oh
• 16:13
  Speaker 1: my god, Oh my god. Okay, so that was on
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: my list of questions. How did you get her in jeans?
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: And if she was wearing makeup? She is stunning with
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: her without makeup, she does not need it. But I know, like,
• 16:24
  Speaker 1: as a girl, you want to feel your very best
• 16:27
  Speaker 1: going into your proposal. So I was like, how did
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: they make her like look non quarantine exactly? So what happened?
• 16:33
  Speaker 1: I mean her her parents are fantastic and and I
• 16:36
  Speaker 1: love them dearly and um, so we're sitting at the
• 16:39
  Speaker 1: table dinner table to night before and her mom, who
• 16:42
  Speaker 1: she told me she was going to do this, she said, hey, guys,
• 16:44
  Speaker 1: I really it's my birthday coming up, which it is,
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: it's her birthday st and two days she goes, I
• 16:50
  Speaker 1: really would just like it since Jim, just because brother
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: has made this great dinner tomorrow night, if we all
• 16:57
  Speaker 1: woke up and we did our thing and then tomorrow evening,
• 16:59
  Speaker 1: we treated like we were going out to eat. So
• 17:01
  Speaker 1: we all put on makeup, and we all showered, and
• 17:03
  Speaker 1: we all put on nicer clothes, and um, we we
• 17:06
  Speaker 1: just came in here and had a good dinner. Well,
• 17:08
  Speaker 1: her brothers knew what was happening that I was proposing,
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: Her dad knew what was happening. Only Jessica didn't. And
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: it's not hard to convince a girl to say, Hey,
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: tomorrow night is gonna be a really special evening for
• 17:19
  Speaker 1: our family. We're gonna dress up and look good and
• 17:21
  Speaker 1: take family pictures. Like Jessica was so excited just about that.
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: So so you don't think it was obvious to her. Oh, Ashley,
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: just wait, just wait. Okay, but okay, but wait, we're
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: your parents here. Your parents weren't there then? Were your
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: parents like hiding the bushes during the proposal? Yes? Okay, okay,
• 17:40
  Speaker 1: continue Sorry. So so anyways, we go to bed that night,
• 17:43
  Speaker 1: wake up in the morning. Jessica knows that that evening
• 17:46
  Speaker 1: she's gonna be getting dressed up. And so about three
• 17:48
  Speaker 1: hours after I asked her to go on a walk
• 17:49
  Speaker 1: with me, she comes up and she goes, hey, hon,
• 17:51
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to shower, knight, put on makeup, and
• 17:53
  Speaker 1: get nicer clothes on. I would really love to go
• 17:55
  Speaker 1: for a walk now and not later because it's gonna
• 17:58
  Speaker 1: be hot and now to Phil and I don't want
• 18:01
  Speaker 1: to get sweaty before dinner. And I said, and her
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: mom was there when she said this to me, and
• 18:08
  Speaker 1: I was like, you gotta be kidding me. The easiest
• 18:10
  Speaker 1: part of my day now becomes the hardest. And so
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: here's the other side. I know, Jessica just wants me
• 18:15
  Speaker 1: to be happy, and so I thought in my head,
• 18:17
  Speaker 1: I was like, how do I make this happen? So
• 18:19
  Speaker 1: I thought, Okay, I'm gonna just let this go out
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: and like let it kind of like let her say
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: it and agree to going on a walk now, but
• 18:26
  Speaker 1: then later when I want to go on a walk again,
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: I'm just gonna tell her pretty much, Jessica, I would
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: really like to go for a walk, and I really
• 18:32
  Speaker 1: want you to come. And I know at that point
• 18:35
  Speaker 1: she would just probably go just because she will, like
• 18:39
  Speaker 1: she knows that if I, like, I never put my
• 18:41
  Speaker 1: foot down, um, and if I put my foot down,
• 18:44
  Speaker 1: I think she's just probably say yes, just because she'd
• 18:46
  Speaker 1: be confused. And like want to follow along. UM, all right, yeah,
• 18:49
  Speaker 1: she's definitely gonna get an inkling. At this point, I
• 18:52
  Speaker 1: feel like, yeah, well so I, uh did the day
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: goes on? UM? I get to about hour until uh,
• 19:02
  Speaker 1: the whole thing goes down. My parents text me and
• 19:04
  Speaker 1: say hey, they just made it to Nashville and that
• 19:07
  Speaker 1: they're parked at the end of the cul de sac,
• 19:08
  Speaker 1: which is where I told him to UM. And then uh,
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: her parents are in the house right now. Her brother
• 19:16
  Speaker 1: gives the queue at that point to say, Hey, Mom,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: I forgot some herbs that I need for dinner. Will
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: you run to the store and get those? And so
• 19:23
  Speaker 1: her mom and dad then leave, uh and act like
• 19:27
  Speaker 1: they're going to the store, which really they're just going
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: down to meet my parents at the end of the
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: cul de sac. Uh. And I am at this point
• 19:34
  Speaker 1: about thirty minutes from go time. I text the group
• 19:39
  Speaker 1: chat a few final details. Uh. I go shower, get
• 19:43
  Speaker 1: changed myself. I put the ring in my back pocket.
• 19:45
  Speaker 1: I walk out into the living room and I just
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: I'm just throwing a hail Mary and I said, hey, hon,
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: since your mom's not back from dinner yet, UH, let's
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: just take a quick little walk so that everybody's happy
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: today and that I can get what I want and
• 19:59
  Speaker 1: you got what you and we can all just and
• 20:00
  Speaker 1: she goes, Okay, that works, and so I get my
• 20:03
  Speaker 1: shoes on. I text the group and say, hey, we're
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: walking out the door. We walk out the door, we start,
• 20:08
  Speaker 1: we're walking down the road. I have the ring in
• 20:11
  Speaker 1: my back pocket, and I'm like trying at that point
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: to think about what kind of small talk I'm gonna make,
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: and I get so awkward because this is like just
• 20:18
  Speaker 1: because my best friend, like I love this girl, and
• 20:21
  Speaker 1: for whatever reason, I became like a middle school child
• 20:23
  Speaker 1: like boy talking to his school crush. When I was
• 20:26
  Speaker 1: like on this like ten second walk, I didn't even
• 20:29
  Speaker 1: know what to say to her. Um, I didn't know
• 20:31
  Speaker 1: how to communicate anymore. So we started this little walk
• 20:34
  Speaker 1: and I'm I start to see the bench with the
• 20:37
  Speaker 1: sunflowers that we had set up for me to do
• 20:40
  Speaker 1: this at, and so I started to progress into like
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: what I want to say to Jess, and so I
• 20:46
  Speaker 1: in my head just start talking. In the very first
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: words that coming out of my mouth was there's a
• 20:50
  Speaker 1: reason why I really wanted you to go on this
• 20:51
  Speaker 1: walk today, and she goes okay, and I start crying,
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: and I said, this is a very special the whole
• 21:00
  Speaker 1: day for us, um and so when I start crying,
• 21:03
  Speaker 1: that's all I've said at this point, you know, please
• 21:06
  Speaker 1: note this, Like, at this point, all I've said is
• 21:08
  Speaker 1: I wanted to go on a walk. This is a
• 21:10
  Speaker 1: very special day for us. I start crying. So she
• 21:13
  Speaker 1: starts crying, but she doesn't know yet really why she's crying.
• 21:17
  Speaker 1: She either realizes that this is a massive moment that
• 21:20
  Speaker 1: either things are ending and like it's the shock of
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: the world to her, or that something really great's about
• 21:27
  Speaker 1: to happen. But here's a cool part, Ashley, because she
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: had no idea that we were going to be getting engaged,
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: and she never would have expected it to be being
• 21:36
  Speaker 1: done during UH isolation in Nashville because of how random
• 21:41
  Speaker 1: that whole thing was. She didn't think she was getting
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: proposed to. She actually thought that this UH virus and
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: kind of the isolating that we would have to do
• 21:50
  Speaker 1: was gonna push back our proposal for months, which made
• 21:52
  Speaker 1: her really sad, made me really said that she thought that.
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: So I said, this is a very special time for us,
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: and then I just went into some of the things
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: that I love about her. I said, um, Jessica, you
• 22:03
  Speaker 1: are the kindest, You are the most loving, you are
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: the most supportive person I've ever met. You have loved me, well,
• 22:09
  Speaker 1: you've loved me in crazy circumstances. You love me and
• 22:13
  Speaker 1: really great circumstances. And at that point we had pretty
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: much gotten to the bench uh that I wanted to
• 22:19
  Speaker 1: do this in front of, and I just got down
• 22:21
  Speaker 1: on one knee and I pulled out the ring and
• 22:23
  Speaker 1: she at that point still didn't know what was happening,
• 22:26
  Speaker 1: because her face was shocked, like I'm not kidding you,
• 22:30
  Speaker 1: I have Oh yeah, I'll post a couple of pictures
• 22:32
  Speaker 1: of this. Her mouth is wide open. She doesn't even
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: say yes. When I asked her to marry me. She
• 22:37
  Speaker 1: just shakes her head up and down and says, and
• 22:40
  Speaker 1: that's it. And then I said, is that a yes?
• 22:41
  Speaker 1: And she goes yeah, like just complete shock um and excitement.
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: And she starts crying and I'm crying, and we kiss
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: and we hug, and at this point, I said, and
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: there's others that want to come celebrate with us, And
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: that's when my parents walked around the corner and her
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: parents walked around the corner, and her brothers uh and
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: her sister in law and then they're also their dog Penny,
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: who's thirteen, who grew up with Jessica, came around the
• 23:07
  Speaker 1: corner as well, and we all uh celebrated together. Um,
• 23:12
  Speaker 1: and we were able to enjoy this and so it
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: was quick, um, but so special and uh, if you
• 23:21
  Speaker 1: can when when I post some of these pictures later,
• 23:23
  Speaker 1: I wanted to do after the podcast so that you
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: guys could all get a kind of a picture of
• 23:26
  Speaker 1: what or an idea of what was going on at
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: the time. Uh. It was the most beautiful setting, Like
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: I could not have pictured anything better. That is so awesome.
• 23:36
  Speaker 1: It just happens to have upon the backyard right and
• 23:40
  Speaker 1: one that like isn't disgusting and looking bad right now.
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: And also, uh, they happen to have like a bunch
• 23:46
  Speaker 1: of sunflowers that we were able to set up because
• 23:48
  Speaker 1: that's her favorite flower, and so we set up this
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: like just a couple of different pots of sunflowers. Um.
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: The picture makes it look like honestly, I spent months
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: planning this, but thanks to the help of her brothers,
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: my mom, uh, my dad, her dad, and her mom,
• 24:03
  Speaker 1: we made this. I think we made it really nice.
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: That is so cool. I'm so happy for you guys.
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: I can't believe she was shocked after the whole speel.
• 24:15
  Speaker 1: Like I remember during our proposal, I was like, he's
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: doing it, he's not doing he's doing it, he's not
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: doing it, And it was just like there was no
• 24:22
  Speaker 1: I just knew, like there was a proposal, you know,
• 24:24
  Speaker 1: like this is an engagement thing. This is an engaging thing.
• 24:26
  Speaker 1: So what was she thinking? It possibly was that you
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: were crying about. Well, actually, here's a crazy part. She
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: thought I started crying because she thought it really two
• 24:36
  Speaker 1: things she said, One I was ending, Like it went
• 24:38
  Speaker 1: through her that in her mind that I was ending
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: this relationship, which was really well, just because you're human
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: and I think there's been chaos and you jumped to
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: the worst case scenario. So the second thing that she
• 24:51
  Speaker 1: thought it could be was this proposal. But again, I
• 24:55
  Speaker 1: want to reiterate, like, think about how confusing it was
• 24:58
  Speaker 1: for me um and all these changes and then there's
• 25:03
  Speaker 1: so many things that are unexpected and kind of chaotic
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: right now that I don't think she thought that I
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: would propose during so much chaos because of the planning
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: that she knew I wanted to put into making this
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: very special, and so I don't. I think she just thought,
• 25:17
  Speaker 1: there's no way this is happening, because there's no way
• 25:20
  Speaker 1: that he could have predicted that we've been in Nashville.
• 25:22
  Speaker 1: He could have predicted that my family could have been here,
• 25:25
  Speaker 1: he could have predicted all these things like, and she's right,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: I couldn't. But we spent a ton of time to
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: make sure it was special with only a week's notice. Okay,
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: so that makes sense. She just was so surprised that
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: you would do it then that it wasn't even like
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: a possibility in her head. And she loves so The
• 25:43
  Speaker 1: one thing about Jessica she comes from a big Italian family.
• 25:45
  Speaker 1: She loves her family on her mom and dad's side
• 25:48
  Speaker 1: so much, and she especially is close with her mom's
• 25:52
  Speaker 1: side of the family because they're huge Italian family and
• 25:54
  Speaker 1: they all live in Connecticut. So she kind of, in
• 25:58
  Speaker 1: her back of her head had thought, oh, he gonna
• 26:00
  Speaker 1: propose me on the East Coast because then we're gonna
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: be able to celebrate with my whole family when we're
• 26:04
  Speaker 1: together for the tour. So I think, when I honestly think,
• 26:09
  Speaker 1: when the tour got postponed. She her heart like dropped
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: out of her chest because she thought, I'm moving back
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: home with my parents. I have no clue of what
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna get engaged. I don't really know what my
• 26:20
  Speaker 1: future looks like. Ben hasn't talked to me about our
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: future and months, and I don't know why and if
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: he's ending things or if he still isn't as he's
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: always said. Like I was talking to her brother the
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: night before uh we we I did I proposed to her,
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: and I was like, half of the thing that I
• 26:37
  Speaker 1: really am excited about is this that this girl that
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: I love and that I want to make feel safe
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: and comfortable has been so confused about our relationship for
• 26:45
  Speaker 1: three months now. Like I can't take that any longer. Yeah,
• 26:48
  Speaker 1: because you guys would always talk about marriage and stuff
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: like this was something you were open about before December. Yeah,
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: for the first like six months of our relationship, and
• 26:57
  Speaker 1: then after that we haven't talked about it since because
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: I've been planning it. Okay, Yeah, I guess that is
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: very worrisome. So is the plan to live together, to
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: move in together, because I know you're talking about you know,
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: parents house, her apartment least being up. Uh. We we
• 27:15
  Speaker 1: won't before we're married. That is a choice that that
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: we've talked about, and we've we've gone back and forth
• 27:23
  Speaker 1: on it. Uh for a couple of reasons we won't.
• 27:25
  Speaker 1: One is um you know the I think a lot
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: of it is respect for my family and her family.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: It's also, as I talked about before, like lessons learned
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: uh from past relationships. Uh. And also I think uh
• 27:38
  Speaker 1: for Jessica and I, uh, we have um abstain and
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: try to do this the best we can to make
• 27:45
  Speaker 1: our relationship as healthy as possible, and there is uh
• 27:50
  Speaker 1: there are steps that we still want to take to
• 27:52
  Speaker 1: do that. And so that's why right now we will
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: not be living together before married. But I think we'll
• 27:56
  Speaker 1: be finding a house before then that we can both
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: start to make our own very nice. So what's the
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: plan for where she's gonna live? Is she's gonna extend
• 28:04
  Speaker 1: her lease for another year? Is she gonna live with
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: her parents? When are you planning to get married? I mean,
• 28:10
  Speaker 1: I know you're not like having a wedding planner meetings
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: right now. You're obviously not planning the wedding right now,
• 28:17
  Speaker 1: But do you have a general idea of like the
• 28:19
  Speaker 1: month of the season that you'd like to do it. Well,
• 28:23
  Speaker 1: he is the funny part. Her brother does play professional
• 28:25
  Speaker 1: baseball and he uh everybody have talked to in the
• 28:29
  Speaker 1: Clark family has made sure that I know that we
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: have to do this during the off season. So there
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: is a very select few months that baseball is not
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: active uh and um and so because of that, we're
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: gonna be getting married in those months. Uh And in
• 28:43
  Speaker 1: addition to what are the off season months? Uh so
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: right now we don't really know like November, November through February.
• 28:51
  Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah, it's so like right now is the
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: question is like I don't know when baseball season is
• 28:57
  Speaker 1: going to be coming back, and I don't know the
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: new calendar day dates or the schedule. Um. And so
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: I think the best option for the lack of stress
• 29:07
  Speaker 1: at peace of mind is right now with all the
• 29:11
  Speaker 1: chaos and all the confusion for everybody, um that we
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: will probably not make any future wedding plans until this
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: is done and over and we have a clearer idea
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: of when we even could get married and what dates
• 29:25
  Speaker 1: would be available. Have you had friends that have had
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: to cancel weddings. Uh. Yeah, yeah, Jessica and I both
• 29:30
  Speaker 1: have had friends we've had it's really sad. Actually have
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: this one friend who had this beautiful, huge wedding plan
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: and they just had to say that it's canceled, but
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: they don't get a deposit back. And so, yeah, really
• 29:44
  Speaker 1: sad we've had. I mean, so here's a part, here's
• 29:47
  Speaker 1: a note here. Within all of this. Um, you know,
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: jess and I have been able to celebrate this engagement
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: and do it in a way that means that we're
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: just like hanging out in the house and laughing and
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: looking at a ring together and talking about our future
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: and all the things that we love about each other.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: And that's really sweet and nice. But it doesn't take
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: away from the same conversations we had uh two weeks
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: ago on this podcast. Uh that kind of revolved around
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: a lot of pain that is only getting worse as
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: this virus continues to be active and spreading across the US,
• 30:18
  Speaker 1: and the pain from job loss, and the pain from
• 30:22
  Speaker 1: huge plans being changed, like weddings, like funerals not being
• 30:25
  Speaker 1: able to be attended to, and people's legacies not being
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: able to celebrated. And so I think with all that
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: being said, and not to be a debbie downer, because
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: I am happy and I am celebrating and my life
• 30:38
  Speaker 1: will forever be better because of what happened, uh just
• 30:41
  Speaker 1: two days ago. I also know that, like for Jessica
• 30:45
  Speaker 1: and I, it is smart for us to do this
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: in wisdom as well, and to know that the best
• 30:51
  Speaker 1: time to plan is probably not during a pandemic. Yeah,
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: I have it on my list of questions how you
• 30:57
  Speaker 1: got em? Yeah? I have it right here. I'm a
• 31:00
  Speaker 1: list of questions how you managed to get her out
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: of genes and out of like quarantine and tire. We'll
• 31:06
  Speaker 1: get the answer to that and much more right after
• 31:08
  Speaker 1: this break, Ben, the ring is stunning. Did you get
• 31:23
  Speaker 1: any feedback from her friends and family as to what
• 31:26
  Speaker 1: kind of rings she wanted? Yeah? So, Um, here's a
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: few things that people might not know about me. I
• 31:32
  Speaker 1: know nothing about rings. Um. I don't think that's a shot.
• 31:36
  Speaker 1: I know nothing. And so when I started to uh
• 31:39
  Speaker 1: plan the proposal, there are so many things that were
• 31:43
  Speaker 1: unexpected to me. Not unexpected, let me let me reiterate here.
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: Shocking to me? Right, I it is not a secret
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: that I have a history and a past on the show,
• 31:56
  Speaker 1: and everybody knows how that played out for me. Um,
• 32:00
  Speaker 1: But the idea of designing and picking out a ring
• 32:04
  Speaker 1: was something extra special, something that I wanted to do
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: to let Jessica know just how um important she is
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: and uh at that time, how important she was gonna
• 32:16
  Speaker 1: be to me when I proposed. And so I started
• 32:20
  Speaker 1: to customize make this ring, and I asked her mom
• 32:23
  Speaker 1: and my mom for input because here's the other side
• 32:25
  Speaker 1: of it. I believe that is important to allow the
• 32:30
  Speaker 1: people closest to your life to be involved in some
• 32:32
  Speaker 1: of your life's biggest moments, um and it just makes
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: them a little bit more special. And so I had
• 32:36
  Speaker 1: started a text chain with her mom and my mom, uh,
• 32:39
  Speaker 1: kind of going through some ring designs. Her mom had
• 32:42
  Speaker 1: sent us h Jessica's perfect ring, which was just big
• 32:46
  Speaker 1: old diamond with two things on the side. I think
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: it's called like a moon or something. I don't know that,
• 32:51
  Speaker 1: with a pinterest with I think it was from Instagram. Okay, yeah,
• 32:57
  Speaker 1: it was like a screensheft from Instagram. And so I
• 33:00
  Speaker 1: went in, I brought this to the jeweler. I told
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: him my budget. I said, hey, let's make this as
• 33:05
  Speaker 1: beautiful as we can, uh within the means that I
• 33:09
  Speaker 1: can do this, and we started designing. He started mocking
• 33:12
  Speaker 1: this up. It's a jeweler out of Denver called Not
• 33:14
  Speaker 1: Jeweller's g n A t Uh. He's a good friend
• 33:17
  Speaker 1: of mine, uh and so we were back and forth
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: for a while. And then every time i'd have a
• 33:21
  Speaker 1: mock up that would be like a computerized picture of
• 33:23
  Speaker 1: the ring, I'd send it to my group chat uh
• 33:26
  Speaker 1: my mom and her mom would give me feedback, and
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: then we'd go back to my buddy Roz at Not
• 33:31
  Speaker 1: Jewelers and he would kind of tweak it to how
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: we wanted it. At the end of it all, um,
• 33:37
  Speaker 1: there was I'd say there's about four or five iterations
• 33:39
  Speaker 1: of the ring. The ring that Jessica is wearing now
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: is one that I like, I love, and I don't
• 33:45
  Speaker 1: love rings, like it's not like a thing that I
• 33:48
  Speaker 1: get that into. But I love this ring. She loves
• 33:52
  Speaker 1: this ring, and it's a little different than the ring
• 33:54
  Speaker 1: that was her ideal ring, but I think it was
• 33:57
  Speaker 1: just different enough to make it feel like her own.
• 33:59
  Speaker 1: And for that, I'm I'm super grateful. It's so so pretty,
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: it looks so perfect on her finger. She's just so
• 34:07
  Speaker 1: feminine and beautiful. She's she is the cutest she is.
• 34:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, I uh, it's funny. I wish I wish
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: the world would know Jessica better, because Jessica is just
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: this like little bubbly, funny, goofy joyful light to this world.
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: And everything that she does is done with so much love,
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: and all she asks in return is that the world
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: loves her back. And when the world world loves her back,
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: she shines. And it's funny because like as she's driving
• 34:39
  Speaker 1: her car now, or is she is washing dishes or uh,
• 34:44
  Speaker 1: what was it yesterday? She was like, uh typing on
• 34:47
  Speaker 1: her computer. There's moments I look over and I see
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: her and she's just like looking at her ring, which
• 34:52
  Speaker 1: is dangerous and distracting as well as just really beautiful
• 34:58
  Speaker 1: because I can just see the uh I don't know.
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: Maybe the best word I can say for right now
• 35:02
  Speaker 1: is like the comfort that that ring is providing to her,
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: knowing that she has loved, that she is safe, that
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: her heart will never be broken. Uh. Ever, again, she's
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: just pure, you know, She's just so sweet and pure.
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: She is just light. I remember, like early on in
• 35:20
  Speaker 1: this podcast, we would describe like what kind of woman
• 35:24
  Speaker 1: we were trying to find for Ben, And I don't
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: even think I could describe somebody so perfect for you
• 35:30
  Speaker 1: as Jess, Like there is just no question that she
• 35:34
  Speaker 1: is the perfect person for you. She is. Uh yeah,
• 35:37
  Speaker 1: you're right, And I mean she's the perfect person for
• 35:40
  Speaker 1: me because she makes me a better man, a bet
• 35:42
  Speaker 1: her husband, or she will make me a better husband,
• 35:45
  Speaker 1: a better son, a better friend. Like she wants me
• 35:48
  Speaker 1: to be an extremely intentional friend to others. She wants
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: me to be a loving, caring, supportive son to my parents. Uh,
• 35:56
  Speaker 1: she wants to be uh for me to be a
• 36:00
  Speaker 1: husband or at least right now, a fiancee um that
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: is passionately exploring my interest, and she wants to support
• 36:07
  Speaker 1: me in that because she also wants to push me
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: to love her. Well, um, but you said it. I
• 36:12
  Speaker 1: think maybe like she is pure um because she's worked
• 36:16
  Speaker 1: hard to be pure, and she's worked hard to stay
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: um as a loving, giggly light to those around her,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: and she does it. Well, maybe I didn't even think
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: about describing a girl exactly like Jess because I've never
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: met somebody exactly like Jazz. Yeah, so that's probably why
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: the best. And look what Instagram did. Isn't just absolutely
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: unbelievable that you just, um, you know, you d M
• 36:45
  Speaker 1: her and she became your future wife. And what's funny
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: about that is, if I like to think about fate
• 36:52
  Speaker 1: and like all the chains of a fact that like
• 36:54
  Speaker 1: went into her responding to your message, and if you
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: weren't the bachelor, there's probably a good chance that she
• 37:00
  Speaker 1: wouldn't have responded to your message or even well, I mean,
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: if you remember right. I mean, I can't remember the
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: exact episode, but when Jessica and I announced our relationship,
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: it was this podcast that I had kind of talked
• 37:09
  Speaker 1: about it for the first time on and it was
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: right when we got back from Honduras, and uh, you know,
• 37:14
  Speaker 1: the story was that I d M there on Instagram. Uh.
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: And she responded because of the blue checkmark, not because
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: oh she's looking for anything more than like the blue
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: checkmark to her meant, oh, this isn't like a like
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: she just even looked at it because she's like, oh,
• 37:27
  Speaker 1: this guy isn't just like super creepy I could have been,
• 37:30
  Speaker 1: and you know, and and she sent it to her brother,
• 37:34
  Speaker 1: who then helped her respond to me. Initially because Jessica
• 37:37
  Speaker 1: was so like thrown off by it. So yes, uh,
• 37:42
  Speaker 1: social media has been really good to me. Um and
• 37:47
  Speaker 1: and and for me. I mean this, that little message,
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: that little step of step of you know, risk, uh
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: has led me now to just be the happiest man.
• 37:58
  Speaker 1: What I believe is a lot five. And I would
• 38:01
  Speaker 1: tell anybody out there, if you're looking right now at
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: this time of distancing and you're still wanting to date, Um,
• 38:08
  Speaker 1: no better time to throw a couple of d ms
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: some people's you know what I've been doing with Nas
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: the past couple of days, Uh, tell us about it.
• 38:15
  Speaker 1: So future future, So former Bachelor producer Nas Perez, who
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: also happens to be my co host, and I don't
• 38:21
  Speaker 1: get it, and my best friend in real life. She
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: is thirty, she's single, she's never had a real boyfriend.
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: So I've made this sort of like Love is Blind
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: Meat Bachelor esque digital dating show for her. So I
• 38:34
  Speaker 1: set her up on three blind dates, fifteen minute phone calls,
• 38:39
  Speaker 1: three consecutive days, different guys. Um. So she met three
• 38:42
  Speaker 1: guys this week and she, uh, they're all really good.
• 38:46
  Speaker 1: They also really awesome conversationalist. Nothing was awkward. Um, they
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: know what she looks like, and she does not know
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: what they look like, and she will not know what
• 38:56
  Speaker 1: they look like until she chooses one person to go
• 39:00
  Speaker 1: on a date on in real life after quarantine is over.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: So she's gonna end up meeting it's probably nine guys
• 39:09
  Speaker 1: throughout this process, and each week, at the end of
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: three days, she's going to pick her favorite guy, and
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: then the favorite in guys each week will go and
• 39:18
  Speaker 1: like compete in a finals round where she has additional
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: phone calls with them where they're all broadcasted. They're live
• 39:25
  Speaker 1: streamed on my Instagram story. We're doing it pretty much
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: consistently at ten pm Eastern, so you get to watch
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: Naz's fifteen minute phone call with a stranger who my
• 39:36
  Speaker 1: sister and I have vetted and in the end, who
• 39:39
  Speaker 1: knows what may happen. We're getting some good catches in
• 39:42
  Speaker 1: for her. So if I want to watch this, I
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: just have to go on your Instagram and like it's
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: just your Instagram, your personal Instagram, and it will be
• 39:50
  Speaker 1: on there that I can like even watch after the fact. Yea,
• 39:53
  Speaker 1: so it's on my Instagram live. You can like participate
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: in the conversation. At ten in Eastern times seven Pacific
• 40:03
  Speaker 1: and then um, we're doing it Friday through Monday, and
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: then you can watch. If you can't watch it live,
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: you can go to my my YouTube Jared and my
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: YouTube it's Ashley I Jared h and you can watch
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: the episodes after they're done being live there. Oh that's awesome.
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: I can't I really want to watch that. I know
• 40:25
  Speaker 1: nas and she's great, but hey, ash I know it's
• 40:28
  Speaker 1: about time for us to move on the way from
• 40:31
  Speaker 1: the thirty minutes of my engagement, but I want to
• 40:33
  Speaker 1: just as usual, I feel more comfortable. I think, UM
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: kind of closing that little conversation, we'll talk about it,
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: I'm sure many more times, uh in the future. But
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: I always like to just kind of give a like
• 40:47
  Speaker 1: my own little monologue on like UM to to anybody
• 40:51
  Speaker 1: out there listening. I love your monologues. Go for it. Yeah, well,
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: I mean it means a lot, because, uh, a couple
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: of months ago, I shared on this podcast that even
• 41:01
  Speaker 1: dating was hard for me because I had gotten um,
• 41:04
  Speaker 1: really consumed with the idea of being single and kind
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: of the uh, the attention I could get from being single,
• 41:11
  Speaker 1: and and the how my career had kind of existed
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: because I was single, and to announce my relationship with
• 41:17
  Speaker 1: jess was a big deal to me because I knew
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: it was going to be taking a drastic change in
• 41:21
  Speaker 1: my life. And uh, you know, for five years of
• 41:24
  Speaker 1: my life, I've been known as a bachelor, and that
• 41:26
  Speaker 1: is no longer the case. Um And for the whole
• 41:30
  Speaker 1: time on this podcast, I've been known as a bachelor,
• 41:33
  Speaker 1: and that is no longer who I am by definition. Uh.
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: And I just want to take a second and say, um, one,
• 41:42
  Speaker 1: I have met and and in love with the most beautiful,
• 41:46
  Speaker 1: uh person I have ever met. I am so thankful
• 41:49
  Speaker 1: for Jessica, and I'm so thankful that she loves my family,
• 41:52
  Speaker 1: she loves me, she loves her family, she loves my friends,
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: and she loves the things I do, including this podcast.
• 42:00
  Speaker 1: Oh well, a little side note before from before I
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: continue is for my birthday, which was a week ago. Um,
• 42:09
  Speaker 1: my gift from Jessica was a new podcasting set so
• 42:13
  Speaker 1: I could bring better quality podcast equipment to each of
• 42:19
  Speaker 1: you every week. She did that because she just knows
• 42:21
  Speaker 1: how much this podcast means to me. Um. So she
• 42:24
  Speaker 1: that was her birthday gift to me. And so I'm
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: just saying that to say, hey, she she supports me well,
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: and she supports this podcast well and the things that
• 42:31
  Speaker 1: I'm doing so well. So first off, UM, thank you
• 42:35
  Speaker 1: to Jessica. The second thing is thank you to the
• 42:38
  Speaker 1: Almost Famous family. Um, people have been incredibly supportive, insanely kind.
• 42:45
  Speaker 1: Not that you wouldn't be. You would be a terrible
• 42:47
  Speaker 1: human to not support this. I would be. I would
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: be super confused if somebody was not in favor of
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: what's happening between Jesse and I. But just your words
• 42:57
  Speaker 1: of encouragement to Jessica and myself, including from you Ashley
• 43:01
  Speaker 1: and the rest of Bachelor Nation and all of you
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: Almost Famous listeners, and from my heart, thank you. Uh.
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: It is a wild, wild world. I've said it once before,
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: and I'll close with this. All I've could have ever
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: prayed for and asked for in my life was to
• 43:15
  Speaker 1: feel supported, To feel like I was a part of
• 43:18
  Speaker 1: a community, to feel like I was involved, to feel
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: like I was accepted in, to feel like I had
• 43:22
  Speaker 1: a seat at the table amongst others. And uh, big
• 43:26
  Speaker 1: moments like this in my life and I hope the
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: same for you listeners out there. Big moments have made
• 43:32
  Speaker 1: me feel those things and more, and a lot of
• 43:34
  Speaker 1: it is because of who you guys are and how
• 43:36
  Speaker 1: and what you're the words you say and what they
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: how they resonate with me. So thank you for listening along,
• 43:41
  Speaker 1: thank you for giving me credibility after speaking on a
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: podcast to you now for three years, and thank you
• 43:46
  Speaker 1: for celebrating us. Uh. It means the world to Jessica
• 43:49
  Speaker 1: and I. UM so just simply thank you on behalf
• 43:53
  Speaker 1: of us for celebrating our love. We love you, Ben all. Right,
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: after this, we're going to talk patch or hot topics
• 44:00
  Speaker 1: for now. Here's a word from our sponsor. Hey, almost
• 44:13
  Speaker 1: famous listeners, welcome back. UM. We just got done talking
• 44:16
  Speaker 1: about my engagement and UM, that was special for me.
• 44:20
  Speaker 1: But it is time uh to get back to our
• 44:22
  Speaker 1: regular scheduled programming and talk about some Bachelor trending topics
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: and once again, Bachelor Nation. You have have not disappointed us.
• 44:32
  Speaker 1: You continue to throw topics are off season and even
• 44:38
  Speaker 1: during UH self isolation. So I'm gonna start with this one, actuley,
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: tell us what you know about it? Um On a
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: On a press conference this last week, President Trump compared
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: his news conferences his updates on the COVID nineteen virus
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: with the Bachelor finale. Uh, I can s are some
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: thoughts too, because I know I'm you know, politics and
• 45:03
  Speaker 1: I have have had close relationships. But I want to
• 45:05
  Speaker 1: hear what you thought when you heard that the President
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: United States during a pandemic compared his news conferences to
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: the Bachelor finale. I mean, it's pretty weird, and I
• 45:19
  Speaker 1: can I keep it at that, and then it's pretty
• 45:23
  Speaker 1: bizarre that he's thinking about his brain eggs. It's well,
• 45:27
  Speaker 1: it's bizarre for so many reasons. One, I think Chris
• 45:30
  Speaker 1: Harrison said it best. What a time we live in
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: where I can be watching, uh, these news conferences and
• 45:37
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, the show that I still talk
• 45:39
  Speaker 1: about that I am hosting a live tour of that
• 45:42
  Speaker 1: I'm very actively involved in that I participated in as
• 45:46
  Speaker 1: long as well as you is then being brought out
• 45:48
  Speaker 1: of the mouth of the president. I remember when President
• 45:51
  Speaker 1: Obama brought up The Bachelor during UM I think it
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: was some breakfast like uh, the State Breakfast or something,
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: and uh, the clip came out and I was just
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: like in awe that the President United States was bringing
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: up the Bachelor. Well, it's happening again either way, it's
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: kind of it's kind of I don't know, never mind
• 46:12
  Speaker 1: past it's just wild. I mean, it just as wild. Actually,
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: I get what you're saying. But here's the truth of
• 46:17
  Speaker 1: it all. Besides, because there's gonna be people out there
• 46:20
  Speaker 1: that support the idea that we're talking about ratings. Uh,
• 46:23
  Speaker 1: there's gonna be people out there that don't support it.
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: It's politics. Uh, it will always be controversial at some level.
• 46:32
  Speaker 1: But here's the truth of it. No matter what side
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: you fall on, the Bachelor once again finds itself in
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: a place of getting another massive win because during during
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: a pandemic, it's still being talked about one. Isn't that
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: insane that that's how culturally impactful our show is. Well,
• 46:50
  Speaker 1: their show, the show that we have appeared on. Yeah,
• 46:54
  Speaker 1: and and rode the coat tails of now for yes.
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: Um uh. Next topic is Bachelor Peter Webber hangs out
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: with ex Kelly Flanagan after split from Madicine Pruitt. Actually,
• 47:06
  Speaker 1: I know you're fired up about this. I know that
• 47:09
  Speaker 1: you have a lot to say. I'm taking it over
• 47:11
  Speaker 1: to you. I can't get over it. I think this
• 47:14
  Speaker 1: was this came out two or three days after our
• 47:16
  Speaker 1: last podcast, and of course the first thing I do
• 47:19
  Speaker 1: I see it. I screenshot the TMZ article. I send
• 47:22
  Speaker 1: it to our podcast group with Ben and the producers,
• 47:25
  Speaker 1: and it's just like, this season is never going to stop.
• 47:28
  Speaker 1: But thank you Peter, and thank you to his girls
• 47:31
  Speaker 1: too that allow us to have some fresh, juicy content
• 47:34
  Speaker 1: to talk about every single week. I was honestly flabbergasted.
• 47:38
  Speaker 1: I was like, there's no way that must be like
• 47:40
  Speaker 1: a gal pal um, a cousin, I don't know, somebody
• 47:45
  Speaker 1: he has a fun relationship with. You threw over his shoulder.
• 47:48
  Speaker 1: I was like, can we really make out Kelly's face?
• 47:50
  Speaker 1: And then I was like Chicago. I was like, holy Chicago, Um,
• 47:55
  Speaker 1: that's where Kelly's from. And then there were a couple
• 47:58
  Speaker 1: other pictures just kind of infirms that this was Kelly,
• 48:02
  Speaker 1: that Peter was hanging out with. Um, you know, my
• 48:06
  Speaker 1: husband just really really not keen on the fact that
• 48:12
  Speaker 1: they were in such a public location. It seems like
• 48:14
  Speaker 1: a lot of people were thinking, oh, let's go take
• 48:16
  Speaker 1: a walk in Chicago, um by the water, because there's
• 48:20
  Speaker 1: this one photograph where they're like where there's so many
• 48:23
  Speaker 1: people walking it looks like like a charity walk. There's
• 48:28
  Speaker 1: a ton of people out there. But I mean that's
• 48:30
  Speaker 1: not you know, I don't know that that was I
• 48:32
  Speaker 1: don't think that was intentional. They probably thought like, oh,
• 48:34
  Speaker 1: let's take a walk, and then they're just happened to
• 48:35
  Speaker 1: be a ton of people there. So it wasn't exactly
• 48:37
  Speaker 1: great for social distancing. But that's one that's that's another
• 48:43
  Speaker 1: issue to discuss them some other time. Um. So this
• 48:46
  Speaker 1: is the wild part though, Actuley is uh two comments here.
• 48:50
  Speaker 1: One is, uh, Hannah ann has been uh came out
• 48:55
  Speaker 1: and talked about this and how she's not shocked, and
• 48:58
  Speaker 1: and then the other part of this the whole story
• 49:01
  Speaker 1: so other I guess what we're saying is other contestants
• 49:03
  Speaker 1: from Peter season is now are what now weighing in,
• 49:05
  Speaker 1: including uh, the woman Hannah and that he ended up
• 49:08
  Speaker 1: with at the end, who we've kind of, in my eyes,
• 49:11
  Speaker 1: like kind of forgotten that he actually ended up with
• 49:12
  Speaker 1: somebody because it was such a weird quick transition. Well
• 49:16
  Speaker 1: it was because yeah, that was because they were trying
• 49:18
  Speaker 1: to make it seem like he ended up with Madison,
• 49:20
  Speaker 1: but apparently he absolutely did not end up with Madison.
• 49:23
  Speaker 1: If two weeks ago on that show, which holy Molly,
• 49:27
  Speaker 1: wait it was two weeks ago. No, no, okay, so
• 49:29
  Speaker 1: it's three weeks ago that the finale happened. Three weeks
• 49:32
  Speaker 1: ago he was, you know, sitting next to Madison, and
• 49:36
  Speaker 1: then you fast forward two and a half weeks and
• 49:40
  Speaker 1: he's in Chicago picking up Kelly. Don't you think that
• 49:45
  Speaker 1: they were talking during that finale? Like, do you think
• 49:48
  Speaker 1: that this like really rammed up that fast? And two
• 49:50
  Speaker 1: and a half weeks he decided to in what was
• 49:53
  Speaker 1: supposed to be quarantine, he goes and flies over to
• 49:56
  Speaker 1: Chicago to spend time with another girl, a girl that
• 49:59
  Speaker 1: was sitting in the audience of his after the final rows,
• 50:03
  Speaker 1: which is now super bizarre. And I don't I thought
• 50:08
  Speaker 1: it was them saying sorry Kelly for not inviting you
• 50:11
  Speaker 1: two women tell all? But now was it supposed to
• 50:14
  Speaker 1: be some sort of foreshadowing of what was to come? Oh,
• 50:18
  Speaker 1: I've never Let's pause there, Ashley. That is an incredible thought.
• 50:22
  Speaker 1: Is because she wasn't a women till all, and that
• 50:24
  Speaker 1: became a big deal and the rumor was spiring spinning
• 50:27
  Speaker 1: around that you know, producers didn't like Kelly, that what
• 50:30
  Speaker 1: theyn't want her involved, and then she gets invited to
• 50:33
  Speaker 1: Final Rows, which made us all go, oh, they'd like her,
• 50:36
  Speaker 1: they wanted her involved, but they had a different plan
• 50:38
  Speaker 1: for her. Do you think she was there because they
• 50:40
  Speaker 1: knew this was happening and they thought maybe it could
• 50:45
  Speaker 1: And I don't know, this is all just like us
• 50:48
  Speaker 1: kind of spitballing. But what if Barbed by talking as
• 50:53
  Speaker 1: much as she did kind of took away from the
• 50:56
  Speaker 1: their plans, which was to present Kelly as somebody that
• 51:00
  Speaker 1: that Peter was still kind of talking to. I guess
• 51:05
  Speaker 1: that could be. It seemed like the show wanted it
• 51:08
  Speaker 1: to be Madison though, because one Chris Harrison went to
• 51:13
  Speaker 1: um Alabama to be like, so uh, Peter single. So
• 51:18
  Speaker 1: it was like it seems like Peter didn't have his
• 51:21
  Speaker 1: hands in any of it, Like maybe he didn't want
• 51:24
  Speaker 1: to go back to Madison. Maybe that was never his intention,
• 51:27
  Speaker 1: but the show was like, we're going to make him
• 51:28
  Speaker 1: go back to Madison or like they assumed that he
• 51:31
  Speaker 1: would have wanted Madison if he didn't want Hannah, and
• 51:33
  Speaker 1: but apparently he wanted Kelly well, and Peter was so
• 51:38
  Speaker 1: I don't know, though he was very defensive of Madison
• 51:41
  Speaker 1: during the finale, especially to his mom. Wasn't am I
• 51:44
  Speaker 1: remembering this right? And we can move on after this?
• 51:48
  Speaker 1: But am I remembering this right? Where there was a
• 51:50
  Speaker 1: rumor that bar Peter's mom had came up to Kelly
• 51:55
  Speaker 1: after the finale and spoken some words into her ear
• 51:58
  Speaker 1: like hey, you were always my favorite it or hey
• 52:00
  Speaker 1: I've always loved you, or hey we should go out
• 52:02
  Speaker 1: shopping sometimes. Like, wasn't that a rumor going around? It
• 52:05
  Speaker 1: wasn't a rumor. We all got to see it. So
• 52:07
  Speaker 1: it's the three weeks ago today that Barb wrote that
• 52:11
  Speaker 1: under her Instagram. One of them wrote under each other's
• 52:14
  Speaker 1: instagrams is saying like I'd love to get lunch and
• 52:17
  Speaker 1: shops soon. So they were obviously talking back then. Oh
• 52:22
  Speaker 1: my god, because Kelly was the only one Peter and
• 52:26
  Speaker 1: Peter's family was falling on Instagram come the finale, so
• 52:30
  Speaker 1: there was something they were at least d m NG.
• 52:32
  Speaker 1: This is so weird. Team Almost Famous listeners, all of
• 52:39
  Speaker 1: you little sleuthors out there, we need some info. Email
• 52:43
  Speaker 1: us at Been and n Ashley at I Heard Media
• 52:45
  Speaker 1: dot Com, or hashtag us at the Almost Famous podcast
• 52:48
  Speaker 1: on Twitter. What do you know about this? This is wild.
• 52:51
  Speaker 1: Here's the funny part before we move on to the
• 52:54
  Speaker 1: next topic. Is Peter Season. For the most part, we thought,
• 52:57
  Speaker 1: uh that we're not really involved, we don't really get it.
• 52:59
  Speaker 1: The carre your development isn't awesome, and we don't see
• 53:02
  Speaker 1: any real relationships being formed. It has been the finale
• 53:07
  Speaker 1: and anything happening since the finale that's made us talk
• 53:10
  Speaker 1: about Peter Season more than we ever talked about it
• 53:13
  Speaker 1: during the season in general, like Peter and his girls
• 53:17
  Speaker 1: are still actively involved in this world and we are
• 53:20
  Speaker 1: still talking about him. And who we're definitely talking about
• 53:23
  Speaker 1: often right now is Tyler Camberon. Oh wait, I'm sorry,
• 53:26
  Speaker 1: I have to say one more thing. How weird is
• 53:28
  Speaker 1: it that Kelly was the one he knew before the
• 53:31
  Speaker 1: show and now he's just back with her And it's like,
• 53:34
  Speaker 1: do they even need the show? Of course they need
• 53:38
  Speaker 1: to show Ashley because now we're involved. And he was
• 53:41
  Speaker 1: saying three weeks ago that he loved Madison. He was like, mom,
• 53:46
  Speaker 1: this is the woman I love. And now not even
• 53:50
  Speaker 1: three weeks later, he's got another girl on his shoulder.
• 53:54
  Speaker 1: Freaking weird guys, Uh yeah, yeah, Tyler, Yeah. Tyler Cameron
• 54:01
  Speaker 1: plays Coy when asked if he's dating Hannah Brown, do
• 54:03
  Speaker 1: you think any of this is weird? What is? Are
• 54:07
  Speaker 1: they still together? I mean, they've been together since the
• 54:09
  Speaker 1: beginning of this, uh isolation period, and they're in Tyler
• 54:14
  Speaker 1: it seems like hometown. Uh they haven't. I don't know
• 54:17
  Speaker 1: if they've separated or not, but according to what it
• 54:19
  Speaker 1: sounds like like they're very much hanging out. You guys
• 54:24
  Speaker 1: think that when she went to fly down to quarantine
• 54:27
  Speaker 1: with him, she thought it was going to be possibly
• 54:30
  Speaker 1: until April thirty at the least. Like I said last week,
• 54:35
  Speaker 1: you know, they're they're given their relationship a chance. You
• 54:40
  Speaker 1: know in a way that they will come out of
• 54:42
  Speaker 1: this knowing whether they can pretty much be together forever
• 54:45
  Speaker 1: or whether or not they will never work like you're
• 54:48
  Speaker 1: gonna know, you're gonna have an answer. So possibly it's
• 54:50
  Speaker 1: a great time. But as far as this tease that
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: Tyler is giving us, he um calls one of his friends,
• 54:58
  Speaker 1: Brown Bear, and so he jokes that me and brown
• 55:02
  Speaker 1: Bear are dating. Yes, I can confirm, while he smiles
• 55:06
  Speaker 1: and nods, And I don't think that's a confirmation whatsoever.
• 55:10
  Speaker 1: I think that's Tyler playing along and being like, yeah,
• 55:13
  Speaker 1: this is me fan, we're dating ham are so funny. Um,
• 55:17
  Speaker 1: But really, I think I think that Hannah and Tyler
• 55:21
  Speaker 1: are certainly hooking up during this quarantine. I would say
• 55:24
  Speaker 1: that they are uh committed in quarantine. There's six people
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: in that house, and I can't imagine they're hooking up
• 55:30
  Speaker 1: with anyone else. So here. Actually, I feel like I
• 55:35
  Speaker 1: just made a comment a few weeks ago that I
• 55:38
  Speaker 1: felt like we were talking about Tyler dating somebody else,
• 55:41
  Speaker 1: And again we we prefaces with saying he's a single
• 55:44
  Speaker 1: uh man, so there is no shame or judgment. But
• 55:48
  Speaker 1: I feel like just a few weeks ago, I was
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: talking about him dating like some other like celebrity, or like,
• 55:54
  Speaker 1: yeah it was Kylie's best friend. That's not a thing anymore.
• 55:58
  Speaker 1: Now we're on a Hannah brows So so far, I've
• 56:01
  Speaker 1: had too in the last year of my life dissect
• 56:04
  Speaker 1: three different relationships of Tyler Cameron's. At some point, at
• 56:08
  Speaker 1: some point, I will not be talking about who Tyler
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: Cameron is dating. Instead, we'll be talking about Madison Pruett,
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: who denied dating Connor Saley, who was the Bachelor for
• 56:20
  Speaker 1: The Bachelor. I'm on stage in Los Angeles. He picked
• 56:22
  Speaker 1: a terrific girl. I thought maybe they were going to
• 56:24
  Speaker 1: date that obviously didn't work out, and instead there was
• 56:27
  Speaker 1: a rumor flying that him and Madison were dating. But
• 56:29
  Speaker 1: she's saying that's not true. Do you think it was
• 56:32
  Speaker 1: ever something that was happening. She's saying, I'm just focusing
• 56:35
  Speaker 1: on myself. She says that whatever exchange that she and
• 56:39
  Speaker 1: and Connor had has been platonic. Um, my guess is
• 56:44
  Speaker 1: that it's just been over the phone. DM text me
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: a phone call here there. I don't know that they've
• 56:49
  Speaker 1: seen each other in real life. I think she probably
• 56:52
  Speaker 1: thinks he's cute. Um, probably has a way to easily
• 56:57
  Speaker 1: contact him, obviously, Like if you're in The Bachelor, Emily,
• 57:00
  Speaker 1: you can basically call up any person you think is
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: cute very easily. I don't think that they are in
• 57:05
  Speaker 1: any way dating, but they're probably pre Bachelor in Paradise talking.
• 57:12
  Speaker 1: It's interesting. I mean, it makes sense. It's a good
• 57:15
  Speaker 1: looking couple. They no harm, just like there's no harm
• 57:19
  Speaker 1: in Tyler and Hannah being back together. Um, if they are,
• 57:22
  Speaker 1: but a little bit shocking, it wouldn't have been the
• 57:25
  Speaker 1: two people I would put together. But yeah, so far
• 57:29
  Speaker 1: all we know is that Madison is denying dating Connor.
• 57:33
  Speaker 1: A few final topics here that we gotta throughout there.
• 57:36
  Speaker 1: One is uh Luke Parker's birthday message for Madison Pruit.
• 57:41
  Speaker 1: The headline is is raising eyebrows for among Bachelor fans.
• 57:45
  Speaker 1: So once again, Luke Parker is raising eyebrowns with confusion
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: to Bachelor fans. Obviously, there are two people that are
• 57:53
  Speaker 1: saving themselves until marriage to have sex, and people are like,
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: you'd be a great cup full, and then some people
• 58:01
  Speaker 1: are like, don't you even don't even think about it? Luke. Um,
• 58:05
  Speaker 1: you know, Luke is horrible, horrible, totally different person. It's
• 58:08
  Speaker 1: basically this is just fodder underneath an Instagram picture and
• 58:12
  Speaker 1: people are freaking out that he said like happy birthday girl.
• 58:15
  Speaker 1: It's like, okay, guys, let we don't have to freak
• 58:17
  Speaker 1: out over anything. That doesn't mean anything. I'm sure Luke
• 58:21
  Speaker 1: was a fan of Madison during the season, but I
• 58:25
  Speaker 1: don't think this means that he's trying to get with
• 58:28
  Speaker 1: her or vice versa. No, I'd agree, I would agree. Hey,
• 58:31
  Speaker 1: just a quick note, Ashley and I obviously are doing
• 58:35
  Speaker 1: this from our home, so if you hear some bogs,
• 58:37
  Speaker 1: dogs barking, or cars pulling up personally, Oh is the doggie? Yeah,
• 58:41
  Speaker 1: that's yeah, Yeah, it's it's just our homes. This is
• 58:44
  Speaker 1: very similar. I saw it today, Uh that Kelly and
• 58:47
  Speaker 1: Ryan are doing their television show from home. Good Morning
• 58:49
  Speaker 1: America's do have him home. We're all making the most
• 58:51
  Speaker 1: of this. Uh, we're doing this from our home. So
• 58:53
  Speaker 1: if you hear some background noise or some life noises
• 58:56
  Speaker 1: going on, that's why. Ashley final topic, UM, that I
• 59:00
  Speaker 1: want to discuss, and and it's one that we're gonna
• 59:03
  Speaker 1: kind of. It's a tough topic and I wanted to
• 59:07
  Speaker 1: save it to the end because it's one A lot
• 59:10
  Speaker 1: of these, you know, make us laugh, and they make
• 59:11
  Speaker 1: us intrigued and they keep us going. Um, but this
• 59:15
  Speaker 1: topic is one that sits heavy on my heart. UM,
• 59:18
  Speaker 1: since I've heard about it. The Bachelor's Michelle Money reveals
• 59:21
  Speaker 1: daughter A fifty that's fifteen years old, is in I
• 59:24
  Speaker 1: See You on life support after a skateboarding accident. She's
• 59:28
  Speaker 1: hit her head, is experiencing brain trauma and is currently
• 59:33
  Speaker 1: last update we heard, uh is in medically induced coma
• 59:37
  Speaker 1: to relieve the pressure from her brain. Yeah. I woke
• 59:41
  Speaker 1: up and this is the first thing I saw, and
• 59:44
  Speaker 1: you know, just hand on my heart, jaw dropped. I'm
• 59:48
  Speaker 1: I just feel absolutely horrible. Just pray, pray, pray for them. Please,
• 59:53
  Speaker 1: UM send all your love and positive vibes their way.
• 59:57
  Speaker 1: I just I love Michelle. She's such a one her
• 1:00:00
  Speaker 1: ful mom and the relationship she's had with Brielle was
• 1:00:04
  Speaker 1: so obvious on the show, like they were just best rooms.
• 1:00:07
  Speaker 1: They're like the Gilm Girls, you know, they are the
• 1:00:09
  Speaker 1: Gilm Girls. And I really hope that Brielle can pull
• 1:00:14
  Speaker 1: out of this fast. Um. Just thinking of them out
• 1:00:17
  Speaker 1: all day, all week until we hear good news. Yeah. Um, So,
• 1:00:22
  Speaker 1: bachel Nation, if you can, or almost famous fans, if
• 1:00:26
  Speaker 1: you can do us a favor, do Michelle Money a favor. UM,
• 1:00:31
  Speaker 1: reach out and show her some love and support right now.
• 1:00:34
  Speaker 1: The kind messages that you sent me after my engagement
• 1:00:37
  Speaker 1: should be being sent over with the same with with
• 1:00:42
  Speaker 1: the same type of heart that you guys shared with me,
• 1:00:44
  Speaker 1: and and the loving, supportive heart that you shared with me.
• 1:00:47
  Speaker 1: Go ahead and do that for Michelle Money. Go ahead
• 1:00:48
  Speaker 1: and send her a message of some kind. I know
• 1:00:52
  Speaker 1: from personal experience that your words do matter, So go
• 1:00:54
  Speaker 1: over love on her. We will be uh praying, we
• 1:00:58
  Speaker 1: will be hoping, we will be wished, we will be
• 1:01:01
  Speaker 1: following along with that story. It is a tough one.
• 1:01:03
  Speaker 1: But here is the takeaway and uh, Michelle Money has
• 1:01:06
  Speaker 1: came out and said it well. She wants people to
• 1:01:08
  Speaker 1: know right now is to wear a helmet no matter
• 1:01:11
  Speaker 1: if you feel uh like this is something you're super
• 1:01:14
  Speaker 1: good at, if you feel like this is just a
• 1:01:16
  Speaker 1: quick little trip on a bike or a skateboard or whatever,
• 1:01:19
  Speaker 1: where a helmet um, Because Hey, you're you all are
• 1:01:23
  Speaker 1: very precious and we need you safe and we need
• 1:01:25
  Speaker 1: you secure. Ashley. Let's take a break. When we come back,
• 1:01:29
  Speaker 1: we're gonna read some reader emails, call one of our
• 1:01:32
  Speaker 1: almost famous fans, and we're going to close out this podcast,
• 1:01:36
  Speaker 1: uh with a nice little segment about what things you're
• 1:01:40
  Speaker 1: doing Ashley in this last week to keep yourself occupied
• 1:01:43
  Speaker 1: during self ice elation. Hey, we're back taking reader emails.
• 1:01:58
  Speaker 1: We have one right here that we want to read.
• 1:02:00
  Speaker 1: And then we want to call this fan of ours
• 1:02:03
  Speaker 1: because she's a part of the almost Famous family and
• 1:02:06
  Speaker 1: she sent us a very very vulnerable email and I'm
• 1:02:09
  Speaker 1: gonna read it here It's titled Feeling Alone, and it's
• 1:02:11
  Speaker 1: from Anna. She says, I have been alone during this quarantine,
• 1:02:14
  Speaker 1: and I just wanted to thank you both for reminding
• 1:02:17
  Speaker 1: your listeners to reach out for help if you need it.
• 1:02:19
  Speaker 1: I was in a great place before this happened, and
• 1:02:21
  Speaker 1: I suppose I still am. I have a great new
• 1:02:24
  Speaker 1: accounting job, a house, and two sibling kittens, which I
• 1:02:27
  Speaker 1: am so grateful for. I'm able to work from home
• 1:02:30
  Speaker 1: and still get paid, but I don't know my job
• 1:02:33
  Speaker 1: well enough to feel productive. This makes me feel guilty,
• 1:02:37
  Speaker 1: but I am trying. It doesn't help my depression being
• 1:02:40
  Speaker 1: at home. I thought I had it under control, but
• 1:02:43
  Speaker 1: losing my routine has hurt I. Misme elderly parents. I
• 1:02:47
  Speaker 1: do shower, et cetera every morning, but not talking to
• 1:02:51
  Speaker 1: people in person has set me back. Please keep up
• 1:02:54
  Speaker 1: your great work and maybe take calls from people alone
• 1:02:57
  Speaker 1: like myself. Ashley. Let's do it. Anna. Hey, Hey, this
• 1:03:04
  Speaker 1: is Ashley. I Ken Eddie. I know. Oh, it's so
• 1:03:10
  Speaker 1: good to hear from you. Ben is also on the phone. Hey, Anna,
• 1:03:13
  Speaker 1: how you doing. I'm good? How real well? We're doing well.
• 1:03:21
  Speaker 1: We're both here in separate places, just like we know
• 1:03:24
  Speaker 1: your are we just read your email to everybody out
• 1:03:26
  Speaker 1: there listening. Um, you know, here's one thing I want
• 1:03:30
  Speaker 1: to start this conversation with you off about Anna is
• 1:03:33
  Speaker 1: thank you for sending the email, thank you for being vulnerable.
• 1:03:35
  Speaker 1: I think what you expressed is how a lot of
• 1:03:37
  Speaker 1: people are feeling right now. Uh. To start, how are
• 1:03:41
  Speaker 1: you doing uh personally? And then also in the same breath,
• 1:03:47
  Speaker 1: is there anything you've learned after writing this email that
• 1:03:49
  Speaker 1: would help others out there listening. Um, you know I'm
• 1:03:56
  Speaker 1: gonna be lying if I said I was doing okay. Um,
• 1:04:00
  Speaker 1: you know it's doing great before all this started. But
• 1:04:04
  Speaker 1: excuse me. Before that, you know, in October, I had
• 1:04:09
  Speaker 1: lost my job and then I lost my cat, and
• 1:04:13
  Speaker 1: so I want to stay with my parents for a
• 1:04:15
  Speaker 1: couple of months. And then I got a great in
• 1:04:18
  Speaker 1: a job, fabulous job, never made more money, um, still
• 1:04:23
  Speaker 1: getting paid. So I'm very fortunate for that. But um,
• 1:04:28
  Speaker 1: you know, three weeks into my job, I am now
• 1:04:32
  Speaker 1: at home and by myself and hesitant to visit my parents. So, um,
• 1:04:41
  Speaker 1: you know, because I'm afraid to expose them to anything
• 1:04:45
  Speaker 1: if I've been exposed, So it's just depressing. I'm trying
• 1:04:51
  Speaker 1: to work, but I don't know my job very well
• 1:04:55
  Speaker 1: and it's just hard, you know. So what I've learned
• 1:04:59
  Speaker 1: is it's important to communicate over the phone with people
• 1:05:03
  Speaker 1: or email and that kind of thing. I mean that
• 1:05:10
  Speaker 1: that kind of says it all. I guess the anna
• 1:05:17
  Speaker 1: one thing that ash and I were just book speaking
• 1:05:19
  Speaker 1: about a little bit ago was, um, how much this
• 1:05:22
  Speaker 1: has changed a lot of our lives. And Ashley, I
• 1:05:25
  Speaker 1: was just about to ask you, but what is it
• 1:05:27
  Speaker 1: like three things actually that you've been doing there in
• 1:05:30
  Speaker 1: the self isolation that's helped you stay connected and feel
• 1:05:34
  Speaker 1: less alone. Well, I feel like Jared and I keep
• 1:05:36
  Speaker 1: talking about the walks that we've been taking. We've just
• 1:05:39
  Speaker 1: been taking the dogs on long walks and it's kind
• 1:05:42
  Speaker 1: of therapeutic. And I like feeling, you know, my blood circulate,
• 1:05:45
  Speaker 1: feels good to move a little bit. And I I've
• 1:05:49
  Speaker 1: been cooking a little bit. I made the most amazing
• 1:05:52
  Speaker 1: macaroni and cheese the other day. It was cracker barrel
• 1:05:54
  Speaker 1: macaroni and cheese. Guys, you gotta get that box. It's
• 1:05:57
  Speaker 1: better than any other other one out there. And then
• 1:06:00
  Speaker 1: I mixed it with broccoli with was just covered in
• 1:06:02
  Speaker 1: garlic and breadcrumbs. You should just try it. It's super easy.
• 1:06:06
  Speaker 1: And then I watched a great movie. Oh yes, I
• 1:06:10
  Speaker 1: put that on my story. Yeah. Um. And then I
• 1:06:15
  Speaker 1: watched a great movie last night that I haven't seen
• 1:06:17
  Speaker 1: in like, I don't know, over ten years, for sure,
• 1:06:21
  Speaker 1: over ten years Spanglish, you know, with with Adam Sandler.
• 1:06:24
  Speaker 1: So good. So I recommend that to anyone who hasn't
• 1:06:27
  Speaker 1: watched it or hasn't watched it for a while. You know,
• 1:06:30
  Speaker 1: there's a few takeaways the exercise, um, the trying new things,
• 1:06:36
  Speaker 1: the slowing down a bit. But Anna, I want to
• 1:06:40
  Speaker 1: throw it back to you for a bit because, as
• 1:06:42
  Speaker 1: you said, you have felt um depressed, um, and you
• 1:06:46
  Speaker 1: felt alone during this time. Have you found any ways
• 1:06:51
  Speaker 1: to find community um within this kind of ice isolating,
• 1:06:57
  Speaker 1: forced isolating experience. Um. You know, I have walked quite
• 1:07:03
  Speaker 1: a bit, like on my lunch break because I am
• 1:07:06
  Speaker 1: still trying to work at home, so I'm kind of
• 1:07:08
  Speaker 1: stuck to my computer. But um, so I have walked
• 1:07:12
  Speaker 1: that I've met a few neighbors. You know, I've lived
• 1:07:15
  Speaker 1: in my house for five years now. I bought a
• 1:07:19
  Speaker 1: house five years ago, so I have met new neighbors
• 1:07:23
  Speaker 1: that I haven't met before, So that's been great. Um.
• 1:07:30
  Speaker 1: Other than that, you know, like, I'm I'm afraid to
• 1:07:32
  Speaker 1: go anywhere. To be honest with you, I can't believe
• 1:07:35
  Speaker 1: you all are talking to me right now. You shouldn't
• 1:07:40
  Speaker 1: go anywhere else. Um, let's brainstore some things. What would
• 1:07:43
  Speaker 1: make you happy that you can do from home? Do? What?
• 1:07:48
  Speaker 1: What do you think that there's something that you could
• 1:07:49
  Speaker 1: do from home that you haven't been able to do? Like,
• 1:07:52
  Speaker 1: is there any like kind of material that you need?
• 1:07:54
  Speaker 1: Do you need any like? Uh, cookie dough? Um? Is
• 1:07:58
  Speaker 1: there a game fee? Do you need coffee? Yeah? Like
• 1:08:02
  Speaker 1: is there a game we can send you? I don't know.
• 1:08:05
  Speaker 1: I want to make you happy. Yeah. I am blessed
• 1:08:12
  Speaker 1: in so many ways. I don't want to make it
• 1:08:14
  Speaker 1: seem like I'm just that well. I am kind of
• 1:08:18
  Speaker 1: depressed right now, but I am blessed. Like I have
• 1:08:21
  Speaker 1: a paycheck coming in, I have my parents, Um, I
• 1:08:27
  Speaker 1: have great coworkers. I just still feel so well. Um.
• 1:08:39
  Speaker 1: You know the thing is in a is uh what
• 1:08:46
  Speaker 1: you're what we're hearing from you right now when I
• 1:08:50
  Speaker 1: just said it, and I mean it is uh your
• 1:08:54
  Speaker 1: voice is mattering to so many that are listening to
• 1:08:57
  Speaker 1: this because they're hearing you, and they're hearing what you're saying,
• 1:09:01
  Speaker 1: and they're going, I'm right there with you. This is
• 1:09:04
  Speaker 1: this is the thing that gets overlooked, uh, during the
• 1:09:07
  Speaker 1: COVID nineteen UM pandemic, is that there are you know,
• 1:09:13
  Speaker 1: as you just mentioned, Anna, that you are blessed, you
• 1:09:16
  Speaker 1: still are getting paid, yet you still feel alone, and
• 1:09:19
  Speaker 1: there's people out there that have lost their jobs, that
• 1:09:22
  Speaker 1: have lost all sense of purpose. And we're all going
• 1:09:26
  Speaker 1: at some level, what is happening right I your voice
• 1:09:34
  Speaker 1: and your emotion is is connecting to people right now
• 1:09:37
  Speaker 1: who are listening, going I'm right there with you. Um.
• 1:09:41
  Speaker 1: But here's the hardest truth of it all is there's
• 1:09:44
  Speaker 1: not an easy answer. It's not like right now we
• 1:09:47
  Speaker 1: can snap our fingers and say let's get back together.
• 1:09:50
  Speaker 1: We don't know when it's gonna end. But and I
• 1:09:55
  Speaker 1: wonder this, I wonder this has this feeling and tell
• 1:10:00
  Speaker 1: me if I'm I'm completely off base here, but has
• 1:10:05
  Speaker 1: this feeling of isolation and feeling depressed and being depressed
• 1:10:10
  Speaker 1: and feeling alone. When you finally get the word from
• 1:10:15
  Speaker 1: whoever it's going to be that says go back out
• 1:10:17
  Speaker 1: into this world. What are the things that you're going
• 1:10:20
  Speaker 1: to be most grateful for? Um, hugs, a conversation, Congratulations
• 1:10:34
  Speaker 1: by the way, thank you see Anna in the midst
• 1:10:40
  Speaker 1: of tears, in the midst of how so many of
• 1:10:43
  Speaker 1: us are feeling, you have it in your heart to
• 1:10:46
  Speaker 1: say congratulations, and for that, I thank you. Um. How
• 1:10:50
  Speaker 1: about this, We're I'm gonna send you some coffee from
• 1:10:53
  Speaker 1: Generous Coffee. I'm gonna load you up with some coffee. Yeah,
• 1:10:55
  Speaker 1: we're gonna get it. We're gonna send some treats over
• 1:10:57
  Speaker 1: to your house for sure, But gifts won't fix the disconnect.
• 1:11:02
  Speaker 1: And so when we get back into this world, I
• 1:11:07
  Speaker 1: want to hear from you. Please write us another email,
• 1:11:10
  Speaker 1: uh and just tell us how it feels to get
• 1:11:13
  Speaker 1: a hug again. And then do me one favor. Uh when, if,
• 1:11:17
  Speaker 1: when and if you ever get to meet Ashley and I, UM,
• 1:11:21
  Speaker 1: I would like a big hug us feel very nice
• 1:11:25
  Speaker 1: absolutely uh me like I can't believe that'll just called? Well,
• 1:11:35
  Speaker 1: will you do us this favor? Too? Is Ashley and
• 1:11:37
  Speaker 1: I we we love getting listens on this podcast, and
• 1:11:41
  Speaker 1: so I'm gonna be looking for that one extra listen
• 1:11:44
  Speaker 1: from you to listen to this interview back. Uh. And
• 1:11:47
  Speaker 1: then also, uh, we're gonna have a lot of you
• 1:11:49
  Speaker 1: out there who listened to this interview. So please email
• 1:11:52
  Speaker 1: us at Ben and Ashley I heeart media dot com,
• 1:11:54
  Speaker 1: hashtag gusaid at the Almost Famous podcast on Twitter. Let
• 1:11:57
  Speaker 1: us know how you're feeling, let us know if you
• 1:12:00
  Speaker 1: need help, let us know, uh if you are hurting. Uh,
• 1:12:04
  Speaker 1: here's the truth at all. Uh. This podcast is fun. Uh,
• 1:12:07
  Speaker 1: it's enjoyable, it's entertaining. Um, but all of us are
• 1:12:09
  Speaker 1: hurting in our own ways. UM, and we don't want
• 1:12:13
  Speaker 1: to do this alone either. So Anna, thank you for
• 1:12:15
  Speaker 1: coming on the podcast. Thank you for being vulnerable, thank
• 1:12:17
  Speaker 1: you for being honest. Uh. We will we appreciate you.
• 1:12:22
  Speaker 1: We will be sending you coffee. But just thanks for listening.
• 1:12:24
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much. Anna. My heart goes out to
• 1:12:27
  Speaker 1: you right now. I'm giving you a virtual hug. You
• 1:12:31
  Speaker 1: seems so soulful. I just big hug, all right, sending
• 1:12:36
  Speaker 1: all our love by all right. Right from one story
• 1:12:52
  Speaker 1: there with Anna, who I do think speaks for all
• 1:12:54
  Speaker 1: of us. I think she speaks for every person that's
• 1:12:58
  Speaker 1: listening and participating, no matter or uh what level of
• 1:13:01
  Speaker 1: privilege you come from, or what level of confusion you're at,
• 1:13:06
  Speaker 1: or what you know tangible disconnect. You have the Anna's
• 1:13:11
  Speaker 1: simple sentiment and her heart is telling the story of
• 1:13:14
  Speaker 1: what a lot of Americans are feeling right now. And
• 1:13:17
  Speaker 1: so again, I just want to reiterate, if you're hurting,
• 1:13:20
  Speaker 1: if there's pain, if there's disconnecting your life, please email
• 1:13:23
  Speaker 1: us and reach out to others for help. People want
• 1:13:26
  Speaker 1: to help, people want to love you. Well. Uh. From
• 1:13:29
  Speaker 1: a story of Anna who speaks on behalf of all
• 1:13:31
  Speaker 1: of us and how we're feeling right now, to another
• 1:13:33
  Speaker 1: story of celebration. We have one of my favorite people
• 1:13:36
  Speaker 1: in the world, Tiny on the line to help explain
• 1:13:40
  Speaker 1: to us some big news that she's recently announced. Oh
• 1:13:45
  Speaker 1: my goodness, we talked to you like three or four
• 1:13:49
  Speaker 1: weeks ago, and now you're back to tell us. So
• 1:13:51
  Speaker 1: you're pregnant. Yes I am, and oh my gosh. Actually
• 1:13:55
  Speaker 1: you were like anything, what's new or house life? And
• 1:13:58
  Speaker 1: when you were talking to me, and I was almost
• 1:14:01
  Speaker 1: about to say something, and I'm all, no, like I
• 1:14:04
  Speaker 1: had an awkward pose. So that was the secret I
• 1:14:07
  Speaker 1: was holding back. But first of all, congratulations to ben
• 1:14:11
  Speaker 1: no jeez, Tiley, I knew you would. I knew you would.
• 1:14:13
  Speaker 1: Somehow davidte this conversation to congratulating me in the midst
• 1:14:16
  Speaker 1: of like one of the coolest, biggest announcements of your life.
• 1:14:20
  Speaker 1: You've been wanted to be a mother for a while,
• 1:14:23
  Speaker 1: and you're gonna be a great mother. What was the
• 1:14:25
  Speaker 1: feeling like when you heard that you are pregnant? We
• 1:14:30
  Speaker 1: were honestly shocked because it wasn't necessarily something we were
• 1:14:34
  Speaker 1: working towards quite yet, So the shock was it was exciting.
• 1:14:40
  Speaker 1: It was like hoo, kind of it took us a minute.
• 1:14:43
  Speaker 1: We sat down, we found out together and we kind
• 1:14:46
  Speaker 1: of sat down and just looked at each other and
• 1:14:50
  Speaker 1: had just embraced this new, exciting journey that we're gonna
• 1:14:54
  Speaker 1: It's something we wanted, but we're just like, whoa, Okay,
• 1:14:57
  Speaker 1: now let's do this. I feel like I've been waiting.
• 1:15:01
  Speaker 1: I really I haven't looking at all your instagrams for
• 1:15:04
  Speaker 1: the past like six months, being like once the baby announcement,
• 1:15:07
  Speaker 1: I wonder if it's the baby announced, it's gonna because
• 1:15:12
  Speaker 1: you're just so motherly and I know that it was
• 1:15:14
  Speaker 1: something that you've always wanted. Yeah, thank you. I have
• 1:15:19
  Speaker 1: been overwhelmed by everybody. Everybody's excitement for us, and they're
• 1:15:26
  Speaker 1: encouraging words and support being like we've been waiting for this,
• 1:15:29
  Speaker 1: like you just said, um because that just I don't know,
• 1:15:33
  Speaker 1: I feel like it's very encouraging to myself, Aunt Taylor,
• 1:15:38
  Speaker 1: to just knowing that people believe in us for this
• 1:15:42
  Speaker 1: role and that, Um so it's it's really exciting. Thank you.
• 1:15:46
  Speaker 1: Oh you are going to be the most fantastic mother.
• 1:15:49
  Speaker 1: How is your pregnancy going so far? Do you mind
• 1:15:53
  Speaker 1: telling us how far long you are? Yeah, I know,
• 1:15:57
  Speaker 1: I am. I'm almost sixteen weeks. I'm at the end
• 1:15:59
  Speaker 1: of the teen weeks. And it's um interesting in quarantine life.
• 1:16:05
  Speaker 1: I mean, it kind of works well for how I'm
• 1:16:07
  Speaker 1: fealing because, um, I'm gonna be honest, the pregnancy, growing
• 1:16:11
  Speaker 1: a human is definitely a badge of honor and a
• 1:16:16
  Speaker 1: beautiful thing, but it is hard. Um. So, it started
• 1:16:21
  Speaker 1: out I felt pretty good. I feel I feel really grateful.
• 1:16:24
  Speaker 1: I never got too sick, but uh, fatigue and nauseousness
• 1:16:29
  Speaker 1: was real for the first trimester kind of hit me
• 1:16:32
  Speaker 1: a couple of different times. We actually found out just
• 1:16:34
  Speaker 1: a few days before we were on our way to Europe.
• 1:16:37
  Speaker 1: And so in Europe, I like had a couple of
• 1:16:40
  Speaker 1: days that I did not feel good, but for the
• 1:16:42
  Speaker 1: most part felt pretty good. And then, um, now I
• 1:16:46
  Speaker 1: actually am experiencing some um some body pains your body
• 1:16:52
  Speaker 1: just starts to move and shift on you and from
• 1:16:54
  Speaker 1: some old damp accidents and stuff. I'm actually dealing with
• 1:16:59
  Speaker 1: some extreme pain so which aren't allowing me to do
• 1:17:01
  Speaker 1: some of my normal exercises. So that's a little bit hard,
• 1:17:05
  Speaker 1: but it's a great sacrifice of course. Um so I
• 1:17:08
  Speaker 1: can't like run or walk, um and if you know,
• 1:17:13
  Speaker 1: you know that I love to be moving at all times.
• 1:17:16
  Speaker 1: So it's just been an adjustment, but it's totally worth
• 1:17:19
  Speaker 1: it and I'm doing all that I can to make
• 1:17:21
  Speaker 1: sure that I'm I'm keeping this baby healthy, keeping myself healthy,
• 1:17:26
  Speaker 1: and um, quarantine life is definitely an addition to all
• 1:17:32
  Speaker 1: the blues and the moods and all that. So yeah,
• 1:17:36
  Speaker 1: it's it's crazy, Timley that uh yeah, so I mean
• 1:17:40
  Speaker 1: just uh, I think you just said it, but I
• 1:17:41
  Speaker 1: think I missed it. How far along are you? So
• 1:17:44
  Speaker 1: I'm going on sixteen weeks, so for sixteen weeks and
• 1:17:47
  Speaker 1: now you know, typically from what I know about pregnancy,
• 1:17:50
  Speaker 1: which is very little. So if I say something and
• 1:17:52
  Speaker 1: it's incredibly offensive and every single time out there just
• 1:17:55
  Speaker 1: freaks out on me, I get it. I probably deserve it.
• 1:17:57
  Speaker 1: But isn't a thing like within the like second and
• 1:18:02
  Speaker 1: third time is like wouldn't you want to kind of
• 1:18:04
  Speaker 1: be like nesting they call it, or like nestled in totally?
• 1:18:07
  Speaker 1: So I think that, Um, I even felt that, like
• 1:18:10
  Speaker 1: from the moment that I found out, I was like,
• 1:18:12
  Speaker 1: oh my gosh, I have to It's like instinctual, I think.
• 1:18:15
  Speaker 1: And I could be so wrong too, I'm just speaking.
• 1:18:17
  Speaker 1: Everybody's experience is so different. Um, but I feel like
• 1:18:22
  Speaker 1: from the moment I found out, all of a sudden,
• 1:18:23
  Speaker 1: I was like, what can I shift in my life
• 1:18:25
  Speaker 1: like to start preparing for this? And yeah, so there's
• 1:18:29
  Speaker 1: so right now. Um, I'd say there is a little
• 1:18:32
  Speaker 1: bit of just there's extra time on our hands. We're
• 1:18:35
  Speaker 1: not traveling like we have been planning to do and
• 1:18:39
  Speaker 1: um because of this coronavirus situation and all that. But um,
• 1:18:44
  Speaker 1: it has allowed me to kind of Okay, what's the
• 1:18:46
  Speaker 1: next project? And then I do hear my sister just
• 1:18:49
  Speaker 1: had her second baby. In those last couple of weeks
• 1:18:52
  Speaker 1: and that last trimester. Um, you you get real stir
• 1:18:56
  Speaker 1: crazy and the need to nest. So you're so right on,
• 1:19:00
  Speaker 1: but um, I'm experiencing a little bit of it already.
• 1:19:03
  Speaker 1: So man, well hey uh Tinley, Uh, we celebrate you here,
• 1:19:08
  Speaker 1: I know everybody does. Um, congratulations to you and Taylor,
• 1:19:13
  Speaker 1: and congratulations on on bringing life into this world. I
• 1:19:18
  Speaker 1: know it's going to be fun for the world to
• 1:19:20
  Speaker 1: watch this child grow up with the guidance of you
• 1:19:22
  Speaker 1: and Taylor. So thanks for sharing with us. Thank you
• 1:19:25
  Speaker 1: so much. Congratulations, so so happy for you. Thank you, Ashley,
• 1:19:30
  Speaker 1: but prayers are appreciated. And congratulations to you Ben. That's
• 1:19:35
  Speaker 1: an exciting season of life as well. So sad all up.
• 1:19:38
  Speaker 1: And then Ashley, I can't wait for your announcement. Um
• 1:19:41
  Speaker 1: but oh no, rush, but thank you. Maybe everybody is
• 1:19:50
  Speaker 1: like Ashley, Jared, please have a quarantine baby. My mom
• 1:19:54
  Speaker 1: was such a pain in the ass last week. She
• 1:19:57
  Speaker 1: was like, I just don't know why you're waiting a
• 1:19:59
  Speaker 1: few more months to start trying, Like why wouldn't you
• 1:20:01
  Speaker 1: just do it now? I'm like, Mom, first off, we're
• 1:20:04
  Speaker 1: in your house, so no, thanks, I do think yeah,
• 1:20:11
  Speaker 1: it's it's worth waiting. But also of course, when the
• 1:20:14
  Speaker 1: time is right, it's gonna find you. You know. Bye.
• 1:20:20
  Speaker 1: All right, Well, Ben highs and lows on this podcast,
• 1:20:23
  Speaker 1: that's for sure. It's been a pleasure talking to you
• 1:20:26
  Speaker 1: and getting every single detail from your from your engagement.
• 1:20:30
  Speaker 1: Thanks for sharing that with us, and UM, well to
• 1:20:34
  Speaker 1: another week of being quarantined. May you enjoy this. Actually
• 1:20:40
  Speaker 1: what an amazing time, well, not an amazing time. If
• 1:20:44
  Speaker 1: you're ever going to be quarantined, I'd say this is
• 1:20:47
  Speaker 1: a great week for you and Jess to be UM
• 1:20:50
  Speaker 1: because I think that togetherness and that the coziness that
• 1:20:55
  Speaker 1: comes from it is something that you wouldn't normally get
• 1:20:58
  Speaker 1: to savor UM in a regular day lifestyle. Yeah it is,
• 1:21:03
  Speaker 1: And this is a special time for us and and
• 1:21:06
  Speaker 1: we are celebrating, trust me, we are. We are soaking
• 1:21:09
  Speaker 1: up every moment we have with each other, and especially
• 1:21:12
  Speaker 1: the moments that have very little distraction right now because
• 1:21:16
  Speaker 1: of the pandemic. But as we did two weeks ago,
• 1:21:18
  Speaker 1: Ashley and I uh want to send a final note
• 1:21:22
  Speaker 1: to all of you out there. Uh again, I'll mention
• 1:21:24
  Speaker 1: and and just say this so that hopefully you can
• 1:21:26
  Speaker 1: see that I can relate, and I know Ashley can
• 1:21:28
  Speaker 1: as well because her husband has worked in this world.
• 1:21:30
  Speaker 1: But I am invested in the three restaurants, and I
• 1:21:33
  Speaker 1: own two coffee shops UH personally, all of which are
• 1:21:36
  Speaker 1: struggling right now, all of which have employees who are
• 1:21:40
  Speaker 1: no longer working UH for us and with us because
• 1:21:43
  Speaker 1: they these shops are not open. And so I just
• 1:21:45
  Speaker 1: wanna on behalf of Ashley and I in this podcast
• 1:21:48
  Speaker 1: want to send send something out to all of you.
• 1:21:51
  Speaker 1: We want to have fun here, we want to be entertained.
• 1:21:53
  Speaker 1: We want to talk about exciting new things going on
• 1:21:54
  Speaker 1: a Bachelor Nation and in the world of pop culture
• 1:21:57
  Speaker 1: and in the world of Ashley and I. But we
• 1:21:59
  Speaker 1: also are not naive to the fact that there are
• 1:22:01
  Speaker 1: people truly, truly, truly hurting and like super people, really
• 1:22:05
  Speaker 1: confused just like Anna, and depressed and feeling isolated and alone,
• 1:22:09
  Speaker 1: and so all to all of you, I just know
• 1:22:12
  Speaker 1: one thing, the one truth is actually and I want
• 1:22:14
  Speaker 1: to share with you, is that you're not alone. Two
• 1:22:17
  Speaker 1: is that we're doing this podcast to help you feel
• 1:22:20
  Speaker 1: like the routine that you got used to in your
• 1:22:22
  Speaker 1: normal week is still available to you because we won't
• 1:22:25
  Speaker 1: be stopping just because of the COVID nineteen virus. We're
• 1:22:29
  Speaker 1: gonna be doing this from the comforts of our own homes.
• 1:22:32
  Speaker 1: And Third, if you need help, please listen to this
• 1:22:36
  Speaker 1: if you need help, and and I I will be
• 1:22:39
  Speaker 1: honest with you. I just started going back to counseling
• 1:22:41
  Speaker 1: here recently myself and therapy, uh, to work through some
• 1:22:45
  Speaker 1: some stuff that I need to work through. If you
• 1:22:47
  Speaker 1: need help mentally, emotionally, spiritually, reach out to somebody. If
• 1:22:52
  Speaker 1: it's not the podcast, which I get it there, we can't.
• 1:22:54
  Speaker 1: We are not a counseling podcast. Your podcast to be
• 1:22:57
  Speaker 1: your friend. Just reach out to an able to reach
• 1:23:00
  Speaker 1: out to a love when reach out to somebody and
• 1:23:02
  Speaker 1: just tell them if it's anything I need help. I
• 1:23:05
  Speaker 1: feel alone because here's the truth. We're all human. We're
• 1:23:08
  Speaker 1: all in this together. It's affected all of us. Um.
• 1:23:11
  Speaker 1: But I believe that love always conquers any type of
• 1:23:15
  Speaker 1: fear and any type of confusion. And I know humans
• 1:23:18
  Speaker 1: love to love others, So go reach out for love.
• 1:23:22
  Speaker 1: With that. Hey, uh, this is an exciting podcast for me.
• 1:23:25
  Speaker 1: I am now engaged to the love of my life
• 1:23:28
  Speaker 1: and with that, I've been been I've been as Follow
• 1:23:34
  Speaker 1: the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on Ihart Radio,
• 1:23:37
  Speaker 1: or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.