Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / A Golden Snitch? Gerry Turner Spills More PART 2

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A Golden Snitch? Gerry Turner Spills More PART 2 · 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 on our radio.
• 0:06
  Speaker 2: We are back with Gary Turner right now. We want
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: to focus on this season of the Golden Bachelor and
• 0:13
  Speaker 2: how he thinks Mel is doing as a lead. So
• 0:16
  Speaker 2: let's dive back in.
• 0:18
  Speaker 3: Gary.
• 0:18
  Speaker 4: You are always going to be the Golden Bachelor, and
• 0:23
  Speaker 4: with this season that is. And we're going to talk
• 0:26
  Speaker 4: about this season a little bit here towards the end
• 0:28
  Speaker 4: if you don't mind, but this season is not helping
• 0:32
  Speaker 4: your case to kind of remove yourself from the Golden
• 0:34
  Speaker 4: Bachelor title. You will be known as the Golden Bachelor,
• 0:37
  Speaker 4: probably because of the lack of you know everything this season.
• 0:43
  Speaker 4: Are you able to give that up? I mean, even
• 0:45
  Speaker 4: as you get married again, even as you entered in
• 0:50
  Speaker 4: this relationship, you mentioned that you like to be retired,
• 0:53
  Speaker 4: that this pursuit of fame felt unfulfilling and not really
• 0:57
  Speaker 4: worth the time to stay relevant. You'll always be the
• 1:01
  Speaker 4: Golden Bachelor. Is that something that you're okay with or
• 1:03
  Speaker 4: does that remind you of less happy times?
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: Oh? No, I'm pretty happy to have that title, you know.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Just to separate two things. I love it when people
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: come up to me and they want pictures and they
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: want to talk briefly and so forth. They get to
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: share in the fun of the show. I really find
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: that very exciting. The minute they walk away, I'm still
• 1:28
  Speaker 3: Gary regular Joe walking on. I'm okay with not pursuing
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: additional attention, whether it's on social media or TV appearances
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: or anything else. I've turned down a number of things
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: because I enjoy being retired, but I also enjoy being
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: the Golden Bachelor, and it's a strong responsibility, you know.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: Going into that show, I knew that it was a
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: something that was marginally considered for a success. I was
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: thrilled that everyone that had put their heart and soul
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: into that show, producers and everyone else involved found success
• 2:09
  Speaker 3: with it, and it was their success. I was just
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: a small part, So two kind of different things. I
• 2:17
  Speaker 3: hope people never give up coming up to me for
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: pictures of talking and so forth. That's fun.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: I don't know, Gary, I think you were a big
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: part of the success. And I think we're now watching
• 2:28
  Speaker 2: the second season of The Golden Bachelor, third of the
• 2:32
  Speaker 2: franchise installment, and people are not watching it the way
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: that they watched you. He is not the lead that.
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: You were so thank you.
• 2:43
  Speaker 4: You're welcome.
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: Unfortunate, but thank you. I've watched it with friends and
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: I've with Atlanta, and yeah, there's there's just not a
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: warmth and empathy and charm there. That and the you know,
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: the ratings numbers are just horrible, and I hope there's
• 3:03
  Speaker 3: still additional chances for other Golden Bachelors.
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: Before we dive into the season, and kind of your
• 3:09
  Speaker 4: take so far in the season, there are some moments
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: from your season that are We're just absolutely iconic. I
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: think the whole season in general felt not just iconic,
• 3:19
  Speaker 4: but sweet and sensitive, and I want to give you
• 3:23
  Speaker 4: credit for that, but I also want to give the
• 3:24
  Speaker 4: cast credit for that and the show and that concept itself. Gary,
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: I had one of my most fun experiences, and it
• 3:32
  Speaker 4: was actually my last experience being a part of the show.
• 3:36
  Speaker 4: You and I did a Bachelor Bust together following your season.
• 3:41
  Speaker 4: It was a blast. We had a great night. It
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: was a long night. We had a lot of fun together,
• 3:47
  Speaker 4: and doing this together, at least I had fun. I
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: can't speak for yourself. It never aired on television, and
• 3:52
  Speaker 4: I thought that was a really unfortunate thing because I
• 3:54
  Speaker 4: do think it showed I think that night I saw
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: you be Gary more than just the Golden Bachelor. You
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: were interacting with people and laughing with people and hugging
• 4:05
  Speaker 4: on people, and it was just a really great expression
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: of who you were. And I'm really bummed, and I
• 4:11
  Speaker 4: honestly was upset that that didn't air, because I gave
• 4:14
  Speaker 4: up three days for that. But that's not the point
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: there was. And I think about this often, and I
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: tried coming into this to think of the appropriate way
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: to ask you this question. And I'm just going to
• 4:28
  Speaker 4: ask it how it comes to my mind, and you
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: respond however you want to respond. But that evening, if
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: you remember, we had a lady who was about your age.
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: She was at a house with a watch party with
• 4:41
  Speaker 4: her daughter, I think, and she came up to you
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: and I got emotional during this. She started crying that
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: evening and she said, thank you for doing this. This
• 4:50
  Speaker 4: is giving me a hope again and finding somebody and
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: for I think, she said twelve years I had no
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: thought or hope of finding a next love. And she
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: was crying, and you you know, the show represented that
• 5:04
  Speaker 4: to her, and you could see it came from a
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: deep place, not a fan place, but a deep place. Gary,
• 5:10
  Speaker 4: This is when the question for me, I didn't know
• 5:12
  Speaker 4: how to I'm not smart enough to figure out how
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: to ask this. Well, that was before the wedding, that
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: was before the divorce. I guess now you're in this
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: place where you found love again and it is a
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: real love that will last you for a lifetime. Here
• 5:33
  Speaker 4: for the women like her, And there were many that
• 5:36
  Speaker 4: night that had an emotional tie to the story. And
• 5:39
  Speaker 4: then saw your story end in a way that was
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: not hope filled, that felt at times very very convoluted
• 5:51
  Speaker 4: and messy. What would your message be to her if
• 5:54
  Speaker 4: she happens to listen to this.
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: Oh, such a good question then, and I understand as
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: it's difficult to phrase that question. However, I've thought about
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: this a lot, and I hope this answer doesn't sound
• 6:09
  Speaker 3: self serving because it's genuine. I believe the story didn't
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: end when it became less public. I believe my story
• 6:19
  Speaker 3: didn't end, and that the show and the philosophy of
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: the show was successful because I bought into the fact
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: that I was going to stay open to opportunities. I
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: was going to keep my heart open and try to
• 6:33
  Speaker 3: find that person. Now, the failures, my failures of the
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: show and ending the way it did actually led me
• 6:43
  Speaker 3: to a very happy ending. So it's not always the
• 6:48
  Speaker 3: result in the timeline that you believe it is. But
• 6:52
  Speaker 3: to a woman like that, I would say, don't look
• 6:56
  Speaker 3: at this book of my life only through nine and
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: a half chapters. Read the last half of the final chapter,
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: because that's when I find a happy ending and happiness
• 7:09
  Speaker 3: that I believe will stretch through the rest of my life.
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: So stay open to possibilities. I believe the show does work.
• 7:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I always, you know, tell people with a
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: story like yours and a story like Ben's, somehow, in
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: some way the show did lead you to your person,
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: because Lana wouldn't have been in your DMS or you know,
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: your friend and Box and Jess probably wouldn't have answered
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: Ben on Instagram if it weren't for you who you were.
• 7:39
  Speaker 3: That's one hundred percent right. And so you know, Lanna
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: and I have talked about this a number of times.
• 7:45
  Speaker 3: How fate or the universe or God, however you want
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: to believe, brought two people together, her and I, and
• 7:55
  Speaker 3: we both had to go through some trials and tribulations
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: to get to that point. We had to prove that
• 8:00
  Speaker 3: we wanted it bad enough that we had hope that
• 8:03
  Speaker 3: it was going to happen, and now we are rewarded
• 8:07
  Speaker 3: with a whole lot of humor and a whole lot
• 8:10
  Speaker 3: of happiness.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: I have to ask, because you brought it up earlier,
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: and I've just been curious about this for a long time.
• 8:28
  Speaker 4: I felt like during this moment, I was watching like
• 8:31
  Speaker 4: an inner council meeting or the President of the United
• 8:34
  Speaker 4: States meeting with his cabinet, and I wasn't supposed to
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: be there, but I was excited to be there. You
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: mentioned this conversation with Faith that you had again the
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: night before your wedding and where she tells you you
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: don't have to go through with this was this happening
• 8:49
  Speaker 4: at the bar in the corner of the bar when
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: all of us were in there, because it felt like
• 8:54
  Speaker 4: something was being talked about during I remember seeing it
• 8:57
  Speaker 4: and being like, something serious is being talked about there.
• 9:00
  Speaker 4: I don't know what it is. I don't know if
• 9:01
  Speaker 4: he's like, if she's telling him she still loves him,
• 9:05
  Speaker 4: or what's happening. But something's happening over there, and then
• 9:08
  Speaker 4: it you know, it was one of those moments where
• 9:10
  Speaker 4: it's like, well, I'll never know. Now I get to
• 9:12
  Speaker 4: know what was being said because it was a very
• 9:16
  Speaker 4: it looked like real conversation that was happening in public,
• 9:21
  Speaker 4: and it felt like I did I shouldn't have been there,
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: but I, being the person I am, I wanted to
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: be right there.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: It was assuming it's the one that you said that
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: you were having where you said you don't have to
• 9:31
  Speaker 2: do this.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly what it was. And Ben, I wish
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: you would have forced yourself into that.
• 9:38
  Speaker 2: Oh my gosh, Ben, you could have changed the whole
• 9:41
  Speaker 2: Should you imagine the drama that ABC would have actually gotten.
• 9:44
  Speaker 2: It would have been better than a televised wedding. It
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: would have been a called off wedding when the entire
• 9:49
  Speaker 2: cast was there.
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  Speaker 3: You know, I would have gotten real first hand perspective
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  Speaker 3: on perhaps when some of my options were that I
• 9:58
  Speaker 3: didn't know. I mean, the love of God, who knows
• 10:01
  Speaker 3: what would happen. But the bottom line is, yes, that
• 10:05
  Speaker 3: was the that was the conversation. I was expressing doubts
• 10:09
  Speaker 3: and concerns and she was I remember, she was poking
• 10:12
  Speaker 3: me in the chest. I mean, that's the kind of
• 10:14
  Speaker 3: friend she is to me. She's taking me in the chest.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: You don't have to do this, and yeah, I kind
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: of do. And I do remember saying Faith. You know,
• 10:24
  Speaker 3: people at the bar are going to think this is
• 10:26
  Speaker 3: an argument right now, I mean, because she's poking me
• 10:30
  Speaker 3: and I'm gesturing quite you know large, and I go,
• 10:34
  Speaker 3: we've got to simber this down. And you know, her
• 10:39
  Speaker 3: response was, Gary, don't have to do this, and she
• 10:41
  Speaker 3: was so deadly serious.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: Oh my god, Gary, I'm like, you guys are communicating connecting.
• 10:48
  Speaker 2: Did you ever think Faith I made a mistake I
• 10:51
  Speaker 2: should have been with her?
• 10:54
  Speaker 3: No, not really, because my my feelings for Faith are,
• 10:58
  Speaker 3: like I said, very strong affection, but not a romantic connection.
• 11:06
  Speaker 3: I root for Faith, and I root for Leslie and
• 11:10
  Speaker 3: several of the other women constantly. I pray for them
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: that they find the kind of happiness that I have found.
• 11:17
  Speaker 3: They deserve it. But with Faith, when I get to
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: that tough spot where I really need a woman's perspective,
• 11:26
  Speaker 3: probably Faith would be the woman i'd call. Probably not
• 11:29
  Speaker 3: anymore now that I have Lana's show, you know she
• 11:32
  Speaker 3: can provide that. But pre Lanna, Faith would have been
• 11:36
  Speaker 3: the person I would have called for that perspective.
• 11:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah, but and this doesn't get talked about as much.
• 11:42
  Speaker 4: And again, this book is full. I mean we mentioned
• 11:46
  Speaker 4: if you think about it, like five major topics. The
• 11:49
  Speaker 4: book is full of tidbits and things that really give
• 11:54
  Speaker 4: that highlight not only your life and your relationships through
• 11:58
  Speaker 4: the show and then with Teresa, but then now in
• 12:00
  Speaker 4: your life. So it is worth digging into because it
• 12:03
  Speaker 4: feels like we've covered a lot. We really haven't when
• 12:05
  Speaker 4: it comes to the whole chunk of the book. But Gary,
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: if I was there, or if you had called me
• 12:15
  Speaker 4: as a friend, I'd say, uh, why are you confiding
• 12:19
  Speaker 4: in faith? This feels dangerous the night before your wedding.
• 12:24
  Speaker 4: She's a friend, yes, but like I'm sure your daughters
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: or friends or somebody else had to be there besides
• 12:32
  Speaker 4: you telling you, hey, man, you don't have to do this. Uh,
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: this doesn't feel good, This doesn't this won't end well.
• 12:42
  Speaker 4: But you chose the night before your wedding to open up.
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: Was there anybody else in your life you're confiding in?
• 12:49
  Speaker 4: And why did you choose faith and felt comfortable telling
• 12:53
  Speaker 4: Faith that evening?
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: That's that's a really good observation. No, I appreciate you
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: bringing that up. Really thought about it that way, and
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: it's a good point. I think at the time. A
• 13:05
  Speaker 3: couple of things to consider is your I was one guy.
• 13:10
  Speaker 3: You know, I had twenty two women. You don't have
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: a big gene pool of testosterone to go to. And
• 13:20
  Speaker 3: I wish, seriously at this moment, I wish that you
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: and I had developed a bit of a better friendship,
• 13:29
  Speaker 3: that I could have come to you and said, hey,
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: I need a little counseling here, if nothing else, just
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: to you know, a bounce off of you some of
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: the thoughts and ideas I had to maybe give it
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: some perspective. I've never thought about that, but I will
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: give it some thought.
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: But I mean, also though the other side of this,
• 13:49
  Speaker 4: and maybe it's just because the person he was, you know,
• 13:53
  Speaker 4: Jesse Palmer was your host. Chris was the host during
• 13:58
  Speaker 4: Ashley and Ice time on the show. Chris would have presented
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: with me, hey, you guys have an opportunity to get
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: married on television. And then also I always had, I
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: always knew, and I think it's because of how he
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: handled it. I could call him five minutes after the
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: cameras cut down and say, hey, man, this is a
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: bad idea, and he would say yes, it is, don't
• 14:19
  Speaker 4: do it. He would, he would, but he would do
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: his job. Was Jesse at all that kind of outlet
• 14:26
  Speaker 4: for you, because I think it's what made Chris such
• 14:29
  Speaker 4: an incredible host. I think Jesse has done an amazing
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: job at stepping in and doing what he does. But
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: this feels like a miss if you didn't feel like
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: you could call him and say, hey, Jesse, what would
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: you do here? You know this relationship better than most.
• 14:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a good observation. I think it points to
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: a fundamental difference with Jesse and Chris. I don't think
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: Jesse ever stepped out of character. That's a good thing,
• 14:59
  Speaker 3: and at in this situation could have been something more helpful.
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: Whereas had Chris been my host and I had had
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: that opportunity, I would have been very thankful. I would
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: have been very thankful.
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: It's just a different kind of care. I think. I
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: think I knew as a friend Chris wondered what was best,
• 15:18
  Speaker 4: But then as a host, I also knew he had
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: to do his job, and so those two things were
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: very clear all the time.
• 15:24
  Speaker 2: Okay, wait, wait, Ben, I have two couple questions. I'm like,
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: just they're a little random, But I'm kind of dying
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: to ask now, yeay, could you and Theresa ever have
• 15:35
  Speaker 2: a conversation in December saying like, you know what, maybe
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: this is not a great idea. Did you have any
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: concerns getting married that quick? Like vocally to each other?
• 15:45
  Speaker 2: I know that personally you had concerns, but like, did
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: you guys ever have a conversation like, eh.
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: Yes, we did. There was concerns on both sides, and
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: I think both of us were of the mindset that, hey,
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: we don't know each other, but we feel strongly about
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: each other and will make it work. Remember too, that
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: she had forty plus years of marriage. She knew what
• 16:10
  Speaker 3: commitment was all about. And I think the odd fact
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: here is that two people with two good characteristics of
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: commitment came together to create something that maybe wasn't quite
• 16:23
  Speaker 3: as good as it could have been. You know, it's
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: not two wrongs don't make a right, and two rights
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: kind of made something wrong.
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: Okay. My final dying question, not dying burden question, is
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: there was a headline out there last week that was spicy.
• 16:43
  Speaker 2: You said in the release of your book, Theresa should
• 16:46
  Speaker 2: be nervous, and it raised a lot of eyebrows, our
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: own in our own included do you stand by the statement?
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: And what should she be nervous about?
• 16:57
  Speaker 3: Well, so Teresa has tried calling me. I haven't returned
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: those calls. She tried texting and said, hey, I really
• 17:06
  Speaker 3: need to know what's in the book. And it's like, no,
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: you don't. You can read it like everyone else. And
• 17:14
  Speaker 3: if you're afraid of the truth, then you're going to
• 17:17
  Speaker 3: be afraid. I've kept quiet, I've tried to take the
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: high road, and now I feel like it's time to
• 17:24
  Speaker 3: level up. So if that makes her nervous, so be it.
• 17:28
  Speaker 4: Okay, this is going to be good.
• 17:35
  Speaker 3: And Ben, wait a minute, I have to go back.
• 17:38
  Speaker 3: You said there were four or five tidbits in the book.
• 17:41
  Speaker 3: You know, I want to add a sixth tidbit I
• 17:44
  Speaker 3: put in there that you and I on that that's
• 17:47
  Speaker 3: for Bus, that you displayed such great dancing skills that
• 17:50
  Speaker 3: every woman did on the earth should be looking to
• 17:53
  Speaker 3: have some time with you on a dance floor.
• 17:56
  Speaker 2: I laugh at this statement because there's nobody I laugh
• 18:00
  Speaker 2: fat more than Ben on the dance floor on a wedding.
• 18:03
  Speaker 2: We've been in so many weddings together and I am
• 18:06
  Speaker 2: sad that I feel like our weddings together are numbered,
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: but we got one. We got definitely one more on
• 18:11
  Speaker 2: the docket. And I always look forward to what a
• 18:14
  Speaker 2: fool Ben is. He's so confident and being that guy
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: that like blow up thing outside of a car dealership,
• 18:23
  Speaker 2: and he's just so confident in is not so great
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: dance moves and it brings us all joy.
• 18:28
  Speaker 4: My hips are very loose.
• 18:31
  Speaker 3: He's smooth. Yeah, you're smooth, Thank you. Gary.
• 18:34
  Speaker 2: See did I everst tell you what Jess said to me?
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: Because I think it's time now?
• 18:39
  Speaker 4: Yeah you can. I'm married to her. Yeah, you can
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: tell me what my wife said.
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: She goes, while watching you on the dance floor a wedding,
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: she goes, this is why we have sex before weddings.
• 18:52
  Speaker 4: That's smart, that's marriage compromised. She sees her her lane,
• 18:58
  Speaker 4: she knows when it's time, and then she goes, I
• 19:01
  Speaker 4: once this happens, the ick happens. But goodness, gracious, Gary,
• 19:05
  Speaker 4: here's the good point to that. Guess who's still crawling
• 19:08
  Speaker 4: into bed that night right beside each other. That's right,
• 19:11
  Speaker 4: that's right, that's right.
• 19:12
  Speaker 3: And I haven't heard anyone say that there isn't also
• 19:15
  Speaker 3: sex after the wedding either.
• 19:17
  Speaker 4: Well, the blow up arms kind of get her.
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: I don't think it's she gets the ick and she
• 19:23
  Speaker 2: needs a twenty four hour at least reset before. Look,
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: you have done different.
• 19:26
  Speaker 4: That's fair, that's fair. I just don't think. I don't
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: think women appreciate it like a good like a man does.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: There's a skill set hidden inside of me that comes out,
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: and I just really feel like the world benefits more
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: when I'm doing it. Thank you, Gary, thank you for that.
• 19:46
  Speaker 4: I appreciate it. Gary. Let's talk about the Golden Bachelor
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: this season. Obviously, you are, as I said at the beginning,
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: you're going to be known as the Golden Bachelor. I
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: don't think that's going to be leaving you. You are
• 20:10
  Speaker 4: engaged now at this point. You kind of mentioned this
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: in for just a second. You and Lena are watching
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: the Golden Bachelor this season? Is that correct?
• 20:19
  Speaker 3: Yes, we are.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: I'm assuming Also she watched you during your time as
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: the Golden.
• 20:23
  Speaker 3: Bachelor, right, oh yeah, she did every minute.
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: See she didn't get the egg, she said, that's a
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: guy goodness dream, but just right.
• 20:33
  Speaker 3: There, yeah, laser focus man.
• 20:35
  Speaker 2: Hey, what's her backstory? So has she been married before.
• 20:38
  Speaker 2: Does she have kids?
• 20:41
  Speaker 3: Yes, I've been married before. She has three kids. Two
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: days ago we had her daughter, son in law, and
• 20:51
  Speaker 3: grandson over for homemade soup that I made. Last night,
• 20:55
  Speaker 3: we went she and I went to my daughter's house.
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: The families are amazingly in line, sarcastic and smart ass
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: and it's fun. It's fun both ways.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: That's so so nice. And then just because mel he
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: got some heat when he said that he was really
• 21:17
  Speaker 2: only interested in dating under sixty, ideally between like forty
• 21:21
  Speaker 2: five and fifty five. What's your age gap with Lana?
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Ooh? So yeah, So I kind of refer to Lana
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: as being ageless and timeless. So there is a bit
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: of an age gap there that you probably will be
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: able to find in research, but you can find.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: It okay, respect.
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: Inspect.
• 21:51
  Speaker 3: The thing with age is that it's more an issue
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: of understanding the humor references in the culture and the
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: music and all of that. Before I even knew what
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: my age difference with Atlanta was, she'd already displayed that
• 22:06
  Speaker 3: she kind of filled that gap, that there wasn't a
• 22:10
  Speaker 3: concern with that. Yea, So age kind of became unimportant.
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: I still find myself. I have like a seven year
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: age gap and well six and a half, and I
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: still find myself with Jess sometimes being like, you might
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: have been too young for this, And then I'll tell
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: a story of like a show from my childhood or
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: a song from a childhood. She actually loves it. She
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: thinks it's like she's like keep saying I was too
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: young for this. She loves it.
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: I think back as far as I can, and she
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: still gets the references to TV shows and all of it.
• 22:43
  Speaker 3: I mean, she's a Midwestern girl. She grew up twenty
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: miles from where I live in Auburn, Indiana, So it's
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: pretty easy match.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: Yeah, those Indiana people just the best. Did you and
• 22:57
  Speaker 4: Mel talk at all before he started this experience?
• 23:02
  Speaker 3: No, I didn't get the opportunity.
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: Did you want it?
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: I would have welcomed it, yes, but it didn't come along.
• 23:10
  Speaker 2: Why do you think that was? Did you? Did the
• 23:12
  Speaker 2: producers ever ask to connect you to well?
• 23:16
  Speaker 3: As you're aware there was a change of guard behind
• 23:21
  Speaker 3: former producer Jason, I would have been there absolutely. The
• 23:27
  Speaker 3: new regime that is now no longer the new regime
• 23:31
  Speaker 3: probably didn't look at it the same way.
• 23:33
  Speaker 4: It's an interesting season. We've talked about it at length.
• 23:37
  Speaker 4: I don't need to keep going into it, but Gary,
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: I had so much excitement and hope personally for the
• 23:43
  Speaker 4: Golden franchise. I loved it. My wife and I got
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: to watch it together, and she doesn't watch the Bachelor
• 23:50
  Speaker 4: of Bachelor. It was something that we cried with, we
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: celebrated with. It just was so good. Obviously, if we
• 23:59
  Speaker 4: just look at the number, this season has not done
• 24:02
  Speaker 4: what Jones season did or your season did. In your opinion,
• 24:08
  Speaker 4: as maybe the only person on earth that can speak
• 24:12
  Speaker 4: to it, why, oh.
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: God, that's a heavy question. I think quite honestly, expectations
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: were pretty high. Two good success stories, Mine and Jones,
• 24:31
  Speaker 3: and you know, Mel's story came along and it there
• 24:35
  Speaker 3: was in my opinion, and I don't mean to be critical,
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: I just don't think there's anything unique and compelling about
• 24:41
  Speaker 3: his backstory and no reason to give that initial interest.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: And then you know, once people have tuned in, are
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: they seeing what their expectations were? Are those things being fulfilled?
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: So it's a man of chemistry on a grand scheme,
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: just you know, like you and your wife, me and Lana.
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: If the chemistry is not there. I don't think it
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: can be contrived, and I kind of think that's what's
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: going on with Mel's story. His women are awesome. I
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: think they're a super super interesting group. So man, that's
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: about all I can say about it.
• 25:23
  Speaker 2: We talk about this every week. Gary. I'm like, these
• 25:25
  Speaker 2: women are awesome, Like they seem to be really into him,
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: but I feel nothing from him. Do you what do
• 25:33
  Speaker 2: you do? You you also feel nothing from him? Yeah? Yeah, okay, thanks, Thanks,
• 25:39
  Speaker 2: just needed to hear that.
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: I don't get it, you know, Like I said, I
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: don't think there's a backstory that compels the viewing public
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: to identify with him.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: See I would say maybe it's an emotional intelligence factor,
• 25:53
  Speaker 2: or at least maybe not. Maybe he's got it in there,
• 25:56
  Speaker 2: it's just he's not very good at vocalizing it.
• 26:00
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I wish I knew the riff.
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: I think that you're speaking to Gary, and I think
• 26:05
  Speaker 4: you are one of the only people that can speak
• 26:08
  Speaker 4: to it accurately. I think your one of your greatest mistakes.
• 26:14
  Speaker 4: Gary also became one of the reasons why this season
• 26:17
  Speaker 4: was such a success because of the buyend. I think
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: when you said and I didn't know this, and it
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: makes sense to me now as we're just kind of
• 26:27
  Speaker 4: riffing here, that you went into it one hundred percent
• 26:30
  Speaker 4: committed that your partner was going to be in that mansion,
• 26:34
  Speaker 4: and I think that was a mistake. I would have
• 26:35
  Speaker 4: told you it's a mistake. I don't think it's a
• 26:37
  Speaker 4: good mindset. I think it puts too much pressure on
• 26:39
  Speaker 4: the lead, don't. I think it takes away from any
• 26:44
  Speaker 4: points of levity. But I also believe it was one
• 26:48
  Speaker 4: of the reasons your season was so compelling because we
• 26:51
  Speaker 4: could feel it. It felt like this, Oh my goodness,
• 26:56
  Speaker 4: I'm really hoping Gary find somebody. Oh my goodness, I'm
• 26:59
  Speaker 4: really hoping to so Leslie, Faith, Nancy, all these people
• 27:02
  Speaker 4: really find somebody. Like this feels so pressing, even though
• 27:06
  Speaker 4: if we were intelligent viewers, we'd be like, it's not
• 27:09
  Speaker 4: that pressing, They're gonna be fine afterwards. But I do
• 27:13
  Speaker 4: think the pressure of it, the intention of it, led
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: us to buy in at a level that was different
• 27:21
  Speaker 4: than any other season we had seen in the past.
• 27:23
  Speaker 4: I do think we're missing that this season. I feel
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: like the Golden Show. That's why I made the joke,
• 27:30
  Speaker 4: and I kind of mean it they would have had
• 27:32
  Speaker 4: a more successful season if the Bachelor walked in with
• 27:35
  Speaker 4: a walker at eighty years old hoping to find love again.
• 27:39
  Speaker 4: I think people would have watched it because they're like,
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: this isn't this is necessary, this is immediate. We need
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: him to find somebody now, because goodness, if he gets
• 27:48
  Speaker 4: out of this, the dating pool is not big that.
• 27:51
  Speaker 4: I think that's like one of the reasons why we
• 27:53
  Speaker 4: felt certain ways towards the show.
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a very good observation. It brings a level
• 27:59
  Speaker 3: of urgence and a level of you know, connection and
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: so forth that's not there with mel.
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: Yeah, all right.
• 28:08
  Speaker 2: My last question, Jary is how are you doing health wise?
• 28:13
  Speaker 2: We heard that your your bone cancer is such a
• 28:15
  Speaker 2: slow growth that like you could live with it for
• 28:20
  Speaker 2: a very long time. Do you feel physically different with it?
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: I'm not sure I do. The tricky part is how
• 28:29
  Speaker 3: is a guy seventy four supposed to feel? And yeah,
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: you know, I know, I sleep more. I know that
• 28:37
  Speaker 3: there's these little issues that come along. I mean, Landa
• 28:41
  Speaker 3: and I went to Niagara Falls and I came back
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: with a cold, and it was almost a month later
• 28:47
  Speaker 3: and I'm still I still have this bit of a
• 28:50
  Speaker 3: nagging cough. Is that just because that's the way it is,
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: am I seventy four? Or is it a contributing factor
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: from this cancer. I'd like to think that it's just
• 29:02
  Speaker 3: run of the mill stuff. And until a doctor tells
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: me that, yeah, Gary, you have this specific symptom which
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: is indicating progression of the disease, I'm gonna assume that
• 29:13
  Speaker 3: I'm as healthy as I ever was. I'm just getting older.
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: Okay, final question for you, Gary, Rumors are out there,
• 29:20
  Speaker 4: articles are being put out that this will be the
• 29:24
  Speaker 4: final season of the Golden Bachelor. How does that make
• 29:28
  Speaker 4: you feel?
• 29:29
  Speaker 3: That makes me sad. That makes me feel very bad
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: because I think the message, if we go back to
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: the original message of the Golden Bachelor, it's a true
• 29:41
  Speaker 3: and pure message, have heart, hope and humor. And just
• 29:47
  Speaker 3: because of one wayward season, I would hate to see
• 29:53
  Speaker 3: those mandates go by the wayside. It's fixable, and you know,
• 29:58
  Speaker 3: I hope, uh. You know, if if Jason Erlik is
• 30:02
  Speaker 3: back in charge of the franchise and and he runs
• 30:07
  Speaker 3: the next season of a Golden he brings the season
• 30:11
  Speaker 3: back again.
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: That's very well put.
• 30:13
  Speaker 4: Gary's book, Golden Years is available now. Thank you Gary
• 30:18
  Speaker 4: Turner for joining us. The best of luck with everything.
• 30:21
  Speaker 2: Yeah, that was a great interview. Thank you so much
• 30:24
  Speaker 2: for your time.
• 30:25
  Speaker 3: You guys were a hoot to talk to. I appreciate
• 30:29
  Speaker 3: it so much.
• 30:30
  Speaker 4: Thank you.
• 30:30
  Speaker 2: He took a lot of hard questions, so we appreciate
• 30:32
  Speaker 2: you too. See you, Gary.
• 30:36
  Speaker 3: Bye.
• 30:37
  Speaker 4: Gary's book Golden Years is out now. This has been
• 30:41
  Speaker 4: the Almost Famous Podcast until next time.
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: I've been Ben, I've been Ashley. Peace, Love you bye.
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast on
• 30:51
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