Latest / The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast / Almost Famous In Depth: Michael Allio

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Almost Famous In Depth: Michael Allio · The Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

• 0:01
  Speaker 1: This is Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous in Depth.
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: This is a very special episode for Almost Famous because
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we have uh if not one of the top five
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: biggest fan favorites, I would say in the last ten
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: years from The Bachelor. Michael A is joining us right
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: now for an in depth Finally, yeah, way way too kind.
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: Thanks for having me on, guys, I've been looking forward
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: to this. I know that Ben likes to, you know, um,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: start at the very beginning of childhood and then lead up,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: But like, can we just off the top say that
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: biggest miss out as being the Bachelor? We never missed
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: so hard that not having Michael A b The Bachelor.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: And that's all I'll say right now, but we will
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: ask you about that later. But let's start with childhood.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: Let's start with childhood. Tell us about it. Your siblings,
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: your parents were there together. How long have you've been married. Yeah,
• 1:02
  Speaker 1: I grew up in Akron, Ohio. And I've got an
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: older sister, brand and a younger brother, Alex. My sisters
• 1:11
  Speaker 1: two years older than me. So she'll be forty this year.
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: So I'm I'm gonna be thirty eight, and my younger brother,
• 1:17
  Speaker 1: Alex is thirty and he's actually getting married in September
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: this year, so I'm a best man in his wedding,
• 1:26
  Speaker 1: planning his bachelor party. We're gonna do a little bit
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: of Nashville and uh, you know, have a good time.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: And um, you know, parents are still together. It's kind
• 1:35
  Speaker 1: of nice, you know, being in a single parent now.
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: It's it's great having family around. Um it's as you'll
• 1:43
  Speaker 1: soon find out, Ashley, it takes a village and you
• 1:47
  Speaker 1: need all this support in the world and you question
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: yourself constantly, and so it's good to have like people
• 1:53
  Speaker 1: been there and they can bounce ideas off of. My
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: in laws live here in Rhode Island a half an
• 1:59
  Speaker 1: hour away, but I still need my mom to come
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: on Wednesday. It's just coming up soon, because yeah, I
• 2:07
  Speaker 1: get it. Um my in laws actually are from Detroit
• 2:11
  Speaker 1: and they recently bought a condo and Akron, so they're
• 2:15
  Speaker 1: they're now two blocks down the road from us now.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: And you know, it's it's nice having just I guess,
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: feeling insulated and having tons of support around us, because
• 2:27
  Speaker 1: you know, I just want to make sure James has
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: taken care of So I mean I'm assuming then, as
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: is what you said, You're very close to your family,
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: and obviously the switch into going on the Bachelorette was
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: probably wild for everyone. How did your family react? So
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: this whole thing came out of like left field. Um.
• 2:49
  Speaker 1: I never applied to be on The Bachelor. I was
• 2:52
  Speaker 1: never nominated. UM some of the cast getting casting producers
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: found me on Instagram, which at the time, I think
• 2:59
  Speaker 1: I uh about four hundred followers and it was mainly
• 3:03
  Speaker 1: just pictures of my son on there. So it was
• 3:06
  Speaker 1: this random walked in. The Bachelor was one of Laura's
• 3:11
  Speaker 1: favorite shows, and I didn't watch it religiously until I think,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: like maybe one Pablos season was the one that kind
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: of sucked me in because she was watching it a lot,
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: and so that was a season to be sucked. Yeah,
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: it was. It was a wild one. I actually loved
• 3:31
  Speaker 1: it just because it was. It was crazy, and I
• 3:35
  Speaker 1: don't know, I don't know when when Laura passed away.
• 3:37
  Speaker 1: It was one of those things where you're constantly looking
• 3:40
  Speaker 1: for signs, you know, you you're trying to find a
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: way to stay connected with her, and when something this
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: obvious came forward, I couldn't help. But you know, I
• 3:52
  Speaker 1: think that maybe she had something to do with this.
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: Maybe she wanted to see me just embarrass myself on
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: a national TV and VID some you know, some blackmail
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: for James down the road. So then how did they
• 4:06
  Speaker 1: find you? Did they ever tell you why? How they
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: came across your profile? Yeah? One of the UH casting directors, Lindsay,
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: actually her husband was creating an app for nonprofits and
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: because of that, she found me through L four, a
• 4:26
  Speaker 1: nonprofit that I started for for Laura. So it was
• 4:30
  Speaker 1: like one thing kind of led to another, and then
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: all of a sudden, here I am, it's it's wild
• 4:36
  Speaker 1: And I actually said no to it twice because I
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: just didn't know if this was the route I wanted
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: to go. It was never really in the plan. But then,
• 4:45
  Speaker 1: you know, two thousand and nineteen I lost the Laura,
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: very devastating year. And then two thousand and twenty, just
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: as I'm starting to get momentum, you know, starting to
• 4:57
  Speaker 1: you know, understand what this new kind of wor looks like,
• 5:00
  Speaker 1: when COVID happened, and it was like such a lonely
• 5:04
  Speaker 1: back and forth like this two years sandwich together, that
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: it felt like a perfect time to take risk, you
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: know it, I have to ask you the question because
• 5:15
  Speaker 1: you and I have been able to talk on the
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: phone about a lot of different things. UH, And you've
• 5:19
  Speaker 1: got a lot of wisdom, UH. And every time we
• 5:22
  Speaker 1: talk always go away going. Your perspective on things is
• 5:25
  Speaker 1: thought through and good and accurate. Obviously you just mentioned
• 5:30
  Speaker 1: that two thousand nineteen was really hard year you move
• 5:33
  Speaker 1: into this happens UH for you as you thought through,
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: why did you feel like you're ready to give this
• 5:42
  Speaker 1: a shot? I mean you said no twice, but at
• 5:44
  Speaker 1: some point you said yes because you were there. Why
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: did why did this show? Then at that point you
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: felt like, no, I want to give this a try.
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: I don't. I that's a good question. I think for me,
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: the what if scenario is are those types of things
• 6:04
  Speaker 1: actually haunt me? Like I would much rather make a
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: mistake then be too scared to make a decision. I
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: always say that I go you have to eliminate as
• 6:15
  Speaker 1: many what ifs in your life as possible. Yes, And
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: And to be honest, I wasn't sure. I mean I
• 6:22
  Speaker 1: think anybody that chooses to go onto this show, if
• 6:27
  Speaker 1: you are not scared in second guessing it, you're really
• 6:31
  Speaker 1: not thinking it through. And it was one of those
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: things where I wanted to make sure that, you know,
• 6:40
  Speaker 1: not only that I could be away from James for
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: that amount of time and because you don't know how
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: long you're gonna go, how long it's gonna last, whatever, um,
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: but I wanted to make sure that I was even
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: at a place where I could open up my heart
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: to somebody else and give them a fair shot, because
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: you know, people should and be treated as a means
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: to an end or a way to climb or do
• 7:07
  Speaker 1: anything like that. And you know, some sometimes that's the case, right,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, that's the whole you know, are you here
• 7:14
  Speaker 1: for the right reasons? And I wanted to make sure
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: that if I, if I felt something for Katie night one,
• 7:20
  Speaker 1: then I was going to stay. If not, I mean,
• 7:23
  Speaker 1: you could talk to her. I think the second time
• 7:25
  Speaker 1: I spoke to her, I said, look, if you are
• 7:29
  Speaker 1: not feeling this at all, let me know, Because one,
• 7:32
  Speaker 1: I don't want to get invested in this to later
• 7:36
  Speaker 1: have my heartbroken into you know, there's this is her journey, like,
• 7:40
  Speaker 1: it's it's her opportunity to go find somebody. So I
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: didn't want to get in the way of that. Well,
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: before we get further into relationship with Katie. Can we
• 7:49
  Speaker 1: talk about Laura for a little while, and how you
• 7:51
  Speaker 1: guys met. I know you met in college, but like
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: I want to know, like the scene painted the rom
• 7:56
  Speaker 1: com picture, Yeah right, I mean it. Actually he is
• 8:00
  Speaker 1: a little bit of a Roum Tom scenario. So I
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: was a freshman at Loyola in Chicago and Laura was
• 8:09
  Speaker 1: a senior in high school. Grew up in Detroit, and
• 8:12
  Speaker 1: she was on a college visit. And I had some
• 8:16
  Speaker 1: friends from Detroit that I met my freshman year and
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: some of my friends said, you know this girl, Laura is.
• 8:23
  Speaker 1: She's from my hometown. She's coming to visit. She's amazing.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: Like I think you guys would hit it off. So
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: I had like my tractor beams like set on her
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: because I this is Facebook didn't even exist yet. I
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: saw like some polaroids and that's how old. That's al
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: this is right, And I remember seeing her for the
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: first time and it was just like one of those
• 8:46
  Speaker 1: like faces and smiles and auras that you know, you
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: knew you could you wanted to wake up to for
• 8:53
  Speaker 1: the rest of your life. And yeah, I mean this
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: is this is two thousand and too. So she ended
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: up like going to Loyala the next year, and you know,
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: we were nervous to actually start dating each other because
• 9:11
  Speaker 1: there was so much like built up and everything, and
• 9:14
  Speaker 1: like we were intimidated by one another. Than after like
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: the first month of hanging out, like she totally asked
• 9:21
  Speaker 1: me out, and and then after that we were together
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: for sixteen years. So just a crazy story. She you know,
• 9:30
  Speaker 1: it was such a unbelievable human being. Um, she was smart,
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: she could she could hold down a board room but
• 9:40
  Speaker 1: also make guys blush. She was very like crass and
• 9:45
  Speaker 1: and you know, ladylike at the same time, she was
• 9:48
  Speaker 1: very very funny, optimistic. Um. We we just grew together
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: and it was just this really amazing thing that you
• 9:58
  Speaker 1: know it I never once wondered if grass is greener
• 10:02
  Speaker 1: on the other side, Like it just it just felt
• 10:05
  Speaker 1: right and we you know, we we filled in each
• 10:09
  Speaker 1: other's weaknesses and grew together. And after Loyola, she actually
• 10:14
  Speaker 1: got her MBA at Notre Dame and she was the
• 10:18
  Speaker 1: second woman in Notre Dame's history to be president of
• 10:21
  Speaker 1: their NBA school. And you know, just just a really
• 10:25
  Speaker 1: good person that went out of her way for so
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: many other people. Um, you know, had a lot of purpose.
• 10:34
  Speaker 1: You know, she she always led a life of purpose
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: which inspired me on a daily basis, and one of
• 10:41
  Speaker 1: those types of people where I remember this like being
• 10:46
  Speaker 1: just extremely proud when I walked in the room with her,
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: because like I knew one percent that everyone was looking
• 10:54
  Speaker 1: at her, and I was like, and she's next to me.
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: So it was just kind of the proud moment relationship
• 11:00
  Speaker 1: that we always had a lot of respect for each other.
• 11:05
  Speaker 1: It's a I wonder too for you. You've always spoken
• 11:12
  Speaker 1: with just such admiration and joy about your relationship, about
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: the impact she's made on you. Has it had all
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: gotten hard to talk about it so much because obviously
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: you never expected the show to happen, and you never
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: expected so many people to be genuinely curious and interested
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: to hear from you on what you've learned and taken
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: from that relationship. Has that at all ever been hard
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: or has always been done um with joy from you? Yeah,
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: That's it's a really good question. I Mean, one thing
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: I'm really happy about is that people know who she is. Um.
• 11:48
  Speaker 1: I I never really thought about legacy and things like
• 11:54
  Speaker 1: that and death until it actually came into our lives
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: and now that people know who she was. It was
• 12:03
  Speaker 1: something I promised her and that that that was part
• 12:05
  Speaker 1: of like my risk analysis when I was going on
• 12:08
  Speaker 1: this show, I was like, worst comes to worst, Like
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: if I don't feel anything, if I get a bad edit,
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: things fault, like you know that everything crumbles. People will
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: like know her name and that that did. That was
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: a part of you know why I rolled the Daddies
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: And it is it's always difficult talking about it, but
• 12:35
  Speaker 1: over time, and I think you'd probably hear this from
• 12:38
  Speaker 1: other people that have, you know, lost somebody. In dealing
• 12:41
  Speaker 1: with grieving, is that you learn to interpret that pain
• 12:45
  Speaker 1: as just love. You know, it's it. It takes a
• 12:50
  Speaker 1: different form. I don't need reminders ever of what is lost.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: Talking about it or not talking about it, it still feels,
• 13:00
  Speaker 1: you know the same. But yeah, it's it's always going
• 13:03
  Speaker 1: to be raw. And I don't think those wounds need
• 13:06
  Speaker 1: to heal per se. I don't think that whole needs
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: to be filled or can be replaced. They they walk
• 13:14
  Speaker 1: with you, there are part of you, and you know
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: that's that's good enough, That's okay, that's a I mean,
• 13:24
  Speaker 1: it speaks a lot to you. But it also speaks
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: a lot to her, you know just what you just said,
• 13:29
  Speaker 1: like you don't know if those wounds need to be healed,
• 13:31
  Speaker 1: And we would have to sit here and say I agree,
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: like it always should be raw and hard, but like
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: her name is known. And obviously with the organization that
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: you started out for um with your time on the show,
• 13:44
  Speaker 1: that you did not get a bet ed it you
• 13:46
  Speaker 1: got a very good at it or or you're just
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: a good dude and they showed you well. Um, you know,
• 13:52
  Speaker 1: the legacy and the impact has lived on, and I
• 13:56
  Speaker 1: would argue it has been a really beautiful thing for
• 13:58
  Speaker 1: a lot of people. And probably I mean, my God,
• 14:01
  Speaker 1: have to ask like, have you had a lot of
• 14:02
  Speaker 1: people reaching out to you post shows saying they can
• 14:04
  Speaker 1: relate or they need to hear it, or they need
• 14:06
  Speaker 1: to hear from you because they just felt alone and
• 14:08
  Speaker 1: their loss and their grief. Yeah. One of my favorite
• 14:13
  Speaker 1: things that I've taken away from this is it's opened
• 14:17
  Speaker 1: up this channel to be able to connect with people.
• 14:21
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of people who are alone, there
• 14:25
  Speaker 1: are a lot of people that are lost, There's there's
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: a lot of I don't know, pain and struggle and
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: mental like illness out there and people need to be
• 14:35
  Speaker 1: able to feel like they are seen or heard or
• 14:38
  Speaker 1: have an outlet somebody that or something that they can
• 14:42
  Speaker 1: connect with. And you know, I'm not their savior or anything,
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: but I do. I get a lot of these messages
• 14:50
  Speaker 1: and I gotta say they are heartbreaking, and they take
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: a toll on me too, because I want to be
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: able to reply to all of the I don't want
• 15:01
  Speaker 1: to have them feel like they wrote this very intimate
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: and personal confession or testimonial and it just got grouped
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: in with everything else because it's not the same. But
• 15:14
  Speaker 1: I have been able to hear a lot from you know,
• 15:17
  Speaker 1: widowers and cancer patients and survivors and caregivers, like all
• 15:24
  Speaker 1: these single parents out there that are trying to find
• 15:28
  Speaker 1: the strengthen them to date again. And that dynamic of
• 15:34
  Speaker 1: raising a child where you all of your attention goes
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: to that child, but but still never forgetting that you're
• 15:42
  Speaker 1: a person too and that you need to pursue happiness.
• 15:46
  Speaker 1: And for a lot of parents out there, there is
• 15:49
  Speaker 1: that guilt that when you do something for yourself when
• 15:54
  Speaker 1: you have a child that you know you feel you
• 15:58
  Speaker 1: feel guilty about it because it takes away from your
• 16:00
  Speaker 1: time together, but it's it's an investment in in yourself,
• 16:04
  Speaker 1: in in some self care. This is like, I don't
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: know how I'm just gonna say, Um, do you feel
• 16:14
  Speaker 1: like you'll ever love someone like that again? Or do
• 16:16
  Speaker 1: you feel like she'll always be your greatest love? And
• 16:19
  Speaker 1: whoever comes next? If you are, if you are fortunate
• 16:23
  Speaker 1: to have like a love that is comparable enough to
• 16:26
  Speaker 1: like get married and all that again, do you feel
• 16:29
  Speaker 1: like that person will kind of be second? Yeah? I
• 16:34
  Speaker 1: think I mean the question you're asking has a lot
• 16:37
  Speaker 1: to do with my ability to make sure that whatever
• 16:41
  Speaker 1: started next, whatever new relationship is on the horizon, that
• 16:47
  Speaker 1: that's unique and it's treated as such and there isn't
• 16:53
  Speaker 1: that comparison. But on the flip side, and that they're
• 16:56
  Speaker 1: also has to be confidence on whoever I'm with next,
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: that I'm still gonna find ways of honoring Laura and
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: preserving her legacy and ensuring that her son knows her
• 17:09
  Speaker 1: name and knows what she was about. That that person
• 17:13
  Speaker 1: has to be strong and has to know that that's
• 17:16
  Speaker 1: part of the package. And so I don't think it's
• 17:20
  Speaker 1: that I don't think it's that complicated. I think we
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: overthink the majority of relationships. I mean, most people want
• 17:29
  Speaker 1: the same thing, you know, it's just they have different
• 17:32
  Speaker 1: ways of thinking that they I don't know, ways in
• 17:36
  Speaker 1: which they go about getting it. But you know, the
• 17:39
  Speaker 1: next person will feel loved. I mean, if I'm lucky
• 17:42
  Speaker 1: enough to have a second love like Laura's my God,
• 17:47
  Speaker 1: like I'm a very lucky human being. Um, but I
• 17:52
  Speaker 1: think you know, I can't answer that until that person
• 17:57
  Speaker 1: comes into my life, until I feel it all over again.
• 18:00
  Speaker 1: But I'm hoping so. And I think once once I
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: had once, you've had something that great, like I mean
• 18:06
  Speaker 1: both of you guys, would you know you know, Jared,
• 18:09
  Speaker 1: and just like once you have felt that you can't
• 18:13
  Speaker 1: help a want it back. Mhm, you can't. And your
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: spot on And it's also never gonna happen unless you
• 18:22
  Speaker 1: take some risks and you take some weird makes some
• 18:25
  Speaker 1: you know, you put yourself back out there and you
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: try to take that next best step. And and Michael,
• 18:29
  Speaker 1: you've done that over the last few years. You've been
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: a gift to the Bachelor world. You've been a gift
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: too many that have watched it and haven't watched it.
• 18:37
  Speaker 1: We're gonna take a break here when we come back
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: from to dive in two. Because I believe personally that
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: you're a great dude. Um, I would be shocked if
• 18:47
  Speaker 1: there's anyone that has watched this show that doesn't believe
• 18:50
  Speaker 1: you're a great dude. We got to talk about why
• 18:53
  Speaker 1: this great dude isn't on our television more often. We'll
• 18:56
  Speaker 1: be back with the almost famous podcast. All right, Michael,
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: So you just answered my question about your next love.
• 19:13
  Speaker 1: So I gotta know, when did you know that Katie
• 19:17
  Speaker 1: was not that person and that's when you decided that
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: you had to go leave early? Yeah, I would say
• 19:29
  Speaker 1: I would say I didn't decide that on the show.
• 19:36
  Speaker 1: We don't confuse me further because now I'm wondering, why
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: would you let yourself go so far as you get
• 19:42
  Speaker 1: to top four and then you leave when you'd already
• 19:47
  Speaker 1: sort of like, I don't know what the right word is,
• 19:49
  Speaker 1: but I'm gonna say wasted the time away from James
• 19:53
  Speaker 1: in that case, right, Well, a couple couple of things there.
• 19:58
  Speaker 1: I mean, what, as you guys know, just from being
• 20:01
  Speaker 1: on the show, what you see is different than as
• 20:05
  Speaker 1: a viewer, different than what's going on behind the scenes.
• 20:09
  Speaker 1: And it made it almost look as though there was
• 20:13
  Speaker 1: one phone call from James and that was and that
• 20:16
  Speaker 1: was it. And this had been building up. I mean
• 20:19
  Speaker 1: we were quarantined for you know, two weeks, and then
• 20:24
  Speaker 1: this was building up. And I mean I had received
• 20:28
  Speaker 1: calls from James multiple times that week and I could
• 20:33
  Speaker 1: start to feel this progression. And if James was just
• 20:39
  Speaker 1: missing me, I would have stayed. But it was how
• 20:44
  Speaker 1: he said, maybe I don't want to see him anymore
• 20:48
  Speaker 1: where you know it started. That's a different kind of
• 20:54
  Speaker 1: scenario because he started to feel like he was the
• 20:57
  Speaker 1: reason why I was gone. M hm. And it wasn't
• 21:01
  Speaker 1: just distance and things like that, but that's a that's
• 21:05
  Speaker 1: a change in psychology, and especially when you know our
• 21:11
  Speaker 1: family has been through a lot of trauma and a
• 21:14
  Speaker 1: lot of things like that. I'm just very protective over that.
• 21:19
  Speaker 1: So I would have totally stayed. And Katie, Katie knows
• 21:23
  Speaker 1: that she doesn't question that. Um, but I had to go.
• 21:28
  Speaker 1: And I think any parent would have done the same
• 21:31
  Speaker 1: exact thing. I mean, what is it what does it
• 21:33
  Speaker 1: look like if I stay? I mean, I just told
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: you how guilty parents feel for even going on dates
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: and taking their time away. But when a kid is
• 21:43
  Speaker 1: asking you to come home, Um, you answer that call
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: and I would do it. I would do it again.
• 21:48
  Speaker 1: And I think, you know, post show, I think things
• 21:55
  Speaker 1: worked out the way that they were supposed to. Um,
• 21:59
  Speaker 1: I'm glad that she's pursuing other relationships. He and I
• 22:02
  Speaker 1: are still friends. I think when you go through this
• 22:06
  Speaker 1: entire process, you you form a bond that you can't
• 22:12
  Speaker 1: form or fabricate in another scenario. So, Um, she's a
• 22:17
  Speaker 1: she's a she's a great person and I'll always be
• 22:20
  Speaker 1: rooting for it. It Uh, it's one of those moments.
• 22:25
  Speaker 1: I remember when Ashley I talked about him, like we said,
• 22:27
  Speaker 1: like the show meets reality and like a big wet,
• 22:31
  Speaker 1: sloppy kiss and it's like really hard to watch. You know,
• 22:35
  Speaker 1: you don't want to watch two people having a big
• 22:36
  Speaker 1: old sloppy kiss. It's like, No, this is a moment
• 22:39
  Speaker 1: that like far exceeds anything like we should be watching.
• 22:43
  Speaker 1: And I think you made the best decision by saying
• 22:45
  Speaker 1: no as a dad and you go, Um, was that
• 22:48
  Speaker 1: a hard decision for you? Though? Like? Did it? Did it? Was? It?
• 22:51
  Speaker 1: Was it all at all difficult? Or were you pretty
• 22:53
  Speaker 1: confident when you said now it's this is the best thing,
• 22:55
  Speaker 1: and when you left you felt good about it. It
• 22:58
  Speaker 1: was it was really hard decision. Um. There was part
• 23:03
  Speaker 1: of me that I was thinking, you know, if if
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: she's feeling as strong about me as I am for her,
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: then you know, we could maybe pursue a relationship outside
• 23:19
  Speaker 1: of the show, like afterwards or I was running through
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: these scenarios like, no way she's gonna get married to
• 23:25
  Speaker 1: somebody else that she's feeling this way for me like or,
• 23:29
  Speaker 1: And I didn't want to ask her to leave either,
• 23:32
  Speaker 1: because that's not fair to any of the guys on
• 23:34
  Speaker 1: the show. That's that's not what she signed up for. UM.
• 23:38
  Speaker 1: I often I often do here, like you know, I
• 23:43
  Speaker 1: like you left and you wasted all of those weeks
• 23:47
  Speaker 1: before and I don't. I'm sorry that I used that word.
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: I know it's it's it's it's used all the time.
• 23:56
  Speaker 1: I think in other scenarios. It probably makes sense. For me,
• 24:01
  Speaker 1: it was. It was a great opportunity for me to
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: focus in on my own relationships, like my own mental health,
• 24:08
  Speaker 1: addressed things, talk about things, UM, and there was a
• 24:12
  Speaker 1: lot of growth there that I felt, UM that I
• 24:16
  Speaker 1: think otherwise in the real world I would have probably
• 24:19
  Speaker 1: filled with distractions and work and you know all of
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: these other things that ran away from it. This kind
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: of made me face it head on. Yes, so obviously
• 24:29
  Speaker 1: this is your first big moment back in the dating
• 24:31
  Speaker 1: Where does spit you out? Like if you were to
• 24:33
  Speaker 1: describe yourself today as a man, the things you've learned
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: from the show, the place that you sit right now,
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: how would you describe yourself? Um? What is as a
• 24:45
  Speaker 1: as a partner? Like in as a human? You said,
• 24:48
  Speaker 1: there's a lot of are we gonna are we gonna
• 24:52
  Speaker 1: finding my life on this thing? I wouldn't be against it.
• 24:56
  Speaker 1: We're never on this show. I mean I would say
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: for me, I am I'm extremely loyal. Um, you know,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: I'm I'm somebody that when I'm with like something, a
• 25:15
  Speaker 1: partner or someone like that, I'm a hundred percent with them.
• 25:18
  Speaker 1: I mean I've never I've never even kissed another girl
• 25:23
  Speaker 1: while i was dating somebody else. I've never cheated, like,
• 25:27
  Speaker 1: I've only said I love you once and I was
• 25:29
  Speaker 1: to Laura. Um, that's I take these things seriously. I
• 25:35
  Speaker 1: just was so happy that you didn't say I love
• 25:38
  Speaker 1: you to Katie. And I'm gonna use the word again,
• 25:42
  Speaker 1: waste that on somebody that wasn't committed to you yet? Yeah? Yeah,
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: I you know, I'm I protected. I think there's I don't.
• 25:56
  Speaker 1: I don't. I think people rush into that too quickly
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: because it's even better when you wait and it's earned
• 26:03
  Speaker 1: and you know you can feel that progress and means more. Um.
• 26:08
  Speaker 1: And so I don't know, I kind of hold on
• 26:11
  Speaker 1: to that and and it's just I don't. I don't
• 26:13
  Speaker 1: know why I'm that way. I'm just that way. Did
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: you think that Katie was gonna chase after you and
• 26:19
  Speaker 1: go and show up to your door in Ohio? Because
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: I didn't. It wasn't. You know, when you get off
• 26:28
  Speaker 1: the show, you're like, oh my god, what was real?
• 26:30
  Speaker 1: What was it? Like? What's happening? And I know how
• 26:36
  Speaker 1: it felt when I was there, and so I couldn't help.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: But when you're running through all these scenarios, wonder you
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: know our film crew is gonna end up on my
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: front door? Like is it gonna happen? And I that
• 26:50
  Speaker 1: did cross my mind. Um. But then again, when you're
• 26:54
  Speaker 1: watching everything over you see the relationship she's having with
• 26:59
  Speaker 1: other people, you understand that there are other strong relationships
• 27:03
  Speaker 1: in the house. Um, you know that idea started to
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: fade away, but yeah, it was. It was there for
• 27:09
  Speaker 1: a little bit. I would have expected it. I thought,
• 27:13
  Speaker 1: for sure, we're getting a Michael a reunion. Well, I
• 27:17
  Speaker 1: definitely thought that they send cameras to your door just
• 27:20
  Speaker 1: to like, like to have that just in case. Yeah,
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, what were you well, I mean it feels
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: like so long ago. What were your guys just take
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: on the season and everything like that. I mean, you
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: guys do a lot of these recaps. Is it in
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: line other seasons or do have some I guess unique
• 27:42
  Speaker 1: elements to it that before. Yeah, I have to say
• 27:47
  Speaker 1: that I have not felt and I'm not just like say,
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: blowing smoke because you're our guest. It has been a
• 27:54
  Speaker 1: long time since I felt like as connected to somebody
• 27:58
  Speaker 1: on the show, like rooting for them, like really wanting
• 28:02
  Speaker 1: them to end up happy than like than you, Like
• 28:06
  Speaker 1: we rooted for you, and like you popped off the
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: screen Like I could be on my phone and like
• 28:14
  Speaker 1: not really paying that much attention during an episode, but
• 28:16
  Speaker 1: when you came on screen, I was like, oh, I'm
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: invested to me. You were the special part of the season.
• 28:26
  Speaker 1: So sweet. I mean, I was the guys on the show.
• 28:31
  Speaker 1: I don't know if this is I mean I've only
• 28:34
  Speaker 1: been on one season. Extremely strong character, like almost all
• 28:40
  Speaker 1: of the guys that come with just an amazing background
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: no bs. I mean most like I can't even think
• 28:48
  Speaker 1: of one guy that doesn't have some serious um like
• 28:53
  Speaker 1: value and and everything. And they were able to you know,
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: support me as I was going through my own thing
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: and listen me without judgment and kind of create that
• 29:02
  Speaker 1: safe place where you know, we could have these you know,
• 29:06
  Speaker 1: deep conversations. And they all came with their own baggage.
• 29:10
  Speaker 1: I mean, we all do. That's that's what makes people great.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: I think that would be the thing that we took
• 29:17
  Speaker 1: away from that season as a whole, was that, you know,
• 29:19
  Speaker 1: there's some great guys on that season. I mean, you
• 29:22
  Speaker 1: definitely sit out amongst a season full of really great guys.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: It was a weird season, right because this guy shows
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: up four weeks in if if you know, and then
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: they're together and then they break up and she starts
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: dating another dude that was let go weeks before that.
• 29:37
  Speaker 1: So like the season itself was weird. But Michael, Uh,
• 29:41
  Speaker 1: there was some guys that released out and typically we
• 29:43
  Speaker 1: do see these uh, these people on our on our
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: televisions again, so, UM, I know Bachelor Nation, who listens
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: to this is gonna be wondering. Um. So we got
• 29:53
  Speaker 1: to ask it, Michael, if they ever came to the
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: next Bachelor, we all think here that you should have
• 29:59
  Speaker 1: been the bat or. Um. You know, we don't know
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: what happened in between times and how you're not the
• 30:05
  Speaker 1: bachelor right now, but if they ever did come to
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: you again and say, hey, would you be the bachelor?
• 30:09
  Speaker 1: Would you consider it? Um? And and did they reach
• 30:12
  Speaker 1: out and you just already up said now. You know,
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: there were a lot of conversations about it once I
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: got back and I was I was approached, and there
• 30:24
  Speaker 1: were you know, there was some back and forth and
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: you know, I mean it's difficult because filming happens so
• 30:33
  Speaker 1: quickly afterwards, and I was kind of in this emotional
• 30:39
  Speaker 1: space where you know, I was upset about you know,
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: having to leave Katie. I was also a little bit
• 30:47
  Speaker 1: I mean there was things I had to fix that
• 30:49
  Speaker 1: home too. I mean, it was difficult for you know,
• 30:54
  Speaker 1: Laura's family to watch me be intimate with somebody else TV.
• 30:59
  Speaker 1: And it was difficult. Um, to have people talking about
• 31:05
  Speaker 1: Laura as it she's a reality show, you know, contest
• 31:12
  Speaker 1: bringing that pain to surface. So you know, I was
• 31:15
  Speaker 1: very sensitive to some of those things and it was
• 31:19
  Speaker 1: scary at the idea of possibly jumping back in. And
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: I mean, I do have to say it is it
• 31:27
  Speaker 1: is concerning how you know the lead is judged and
• 31:33
  Speaker 1: perceived and you know, torn to pieces like what's going
• 31:37
  Speaker 1: on with Clayton right now? He is he is an
• 31:41
  Speaker 1: amazing guy. I mean, I've I've spoken with him a
• 31:44
  Speaker 1: bunch and I don't know, it's it's I don't know
• 31:48
  Speaker 1: if I wanted my family to be you know, put
• 31:51
  Speaker 1: through that. But at the same time, I do believe
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: in the process. I mean, I do believe it. It
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: can actually work. If you it two people who open
• 32:03
  Speaker 1: up and are willing to be honest and real, then
• 32:07
  Speaker 1: cameras don't matter. Nothing else matters. It's just two people.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: It's no different than anything else. So if they were
• 32:15
  Speaker 1: to give you more time in between, like say they
• 32:18
  Speaker 1: said you're not going to be the Bachelor, you were
• 32:22
  Speaker 1: not going to film until the winter, you know, because
• 32:24
  Speaker 1: they filmed in September, But say that they weren't going
• 32:26
  Speaker 1: to start filming until March. Would you have been more
• 32:31
  Speaker 1: interested in it or would you have like been an
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: easier get for them? I think I think it would
• 32:38
  Speaker 1: have been easier, but I'd still have my my doubts. Um.
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: I mean, you gotta you gotta think too when you
• 32:47
  Speaker 1: have a five year old son, Like I don't make
• 32:52
  Speaker 1: these decisions. I'm not necessarily just making for myself. I mean,
• 32:56
  Speaker 1: if I was single, I wouldn't think twice about it,
• 32:59
  Speaker 1: and I didn't have anybody relying on me. Um, I
• 33:02
  Speaker 1: would jump back in. I I don't know. I guess
• 33:06
  Speaker 1: I really haven't thought about it much. I think it's
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: a little bit off the table, um, you know right now. Um.
• 33:16
  Speaker 1: So I'm happy with everything that I've been able to
• 33:20
  Speaker 1: to experience on the show, and if it ends at
• 33:24
  Speaker 1: just that, then I am completely okay with it. I've
• 33:28
  Speaker 1: got an idea for you, Michael. What if there was
• 33:30
  Speaker 1: a show that was created that was like anywhere from
• 33:33
  Speaker 1: three to four weeks long. Um, you know, it's pretty flexible,
• 33:38
  Speaker 1: so you can bring some people down to hang out
• 33:40
  Speaker 1: if you want. It's in a nice location, there's a
• 33:43
  Speaker 1: bunch of singles. You can kind of stay for as
• 33:46
  Speaker 1: long as you want. Ye, there's a beach. Uh, yeah,
• 33:56
  Speaker 1: you know it's someplace similar to Paradise. Would you can
• 34:00
  Speaker 1: cosider it? You know? I think I think I I
• 34:04
  Speaker 1: think I would. I think that's something I would consider. Um.
• 34:09
  Speaker 1: I feel like there's it's a little bit more I
• 34:13
  Speaker 1: don't know, casual, more fun, a little bit more friendly. Um.
• 34:16
  Speaker 1: I mean there's more options obviously which you know, datings
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: and numbers game so you know, I think I think
• 34:24
  Speaker 1: that's really helpful. And yeah, I don't, I don't, I
• 34:28
  Speaker 1: don't know. I mean, I really haven't been approached about Paradise.
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: So again, until something is you know, brought to me
• 34:36
  Speaker 1: than than I know. Well, it's February, so um, I
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: think you'll be hearing from them within the month, if
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: you if if they're going within the same timeline that
• 34:46
  Speaker 1: I had. Um, and just back to the Bachelor possibility,
• 34:53
  Speaker 1: if they had told you back when they were initially
• 34:57
  Speaker 1: in talks with you, if they had said, a will
• 35:00
  Speaker 1: shoot in Ohio and you can have James with you
• 35:03
  Speaker 1: throughout the experience, would that have been a game changer
• 35:05
  Speaker 1: for you? Because that's what Emily Maynard the only other
• 35:08
  Speaker 1: person who she wasn't technically married, but like a widow
• 35:13
  Speaker 1: had she had that opportunity that I mean that that
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: changes everything. I mean, and I don't know, I mean
• 35:22
  Speaker 1: production and in the show. I think if they wanted
• 35:27
  Speaker 1: me to you know, pursue the lead, Um, I would
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: definitely need to have James close fight. I wouldn't want
• 35:35
  Speaker 1: to replicate the mistake or the results that I had gotten.
• 35:41
  Speaker 1: You know, on Katie's season, I'd want to have him close.
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: I'd want like a tutor there. He's going to be
• 35:47
  Speaker 1: in kindergarten and you know you got to stay on
• 35:50
  Speaker 1: top of that. Uh. And so yeah, it's a season
• 35:55
  Speaker 1: with me is is it's got it's got some more
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: logistical shoes then with with other you know, contestants or
• 36:04
  Speaker 1: possible leads. Um. But I mean, if if that's it
• 36:08
  Speaker 1: all depends, is that the kind of season that they want.
• 36:10
  Speaker 1: You know, mine is very Mine is different, Like I
• 36:14
  Speaker 1: don't know, there's there's just going to be it's gonna
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: have a different vibe. I mean, they'll be deep conversations,
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: they'll be all of that like life experienced stuff. And um,
• 36:25
  Speaker 1: you know, I mean you saw how much I made
• 36:27
  Speaker 1: people cry. People want to cry every day? If we
• 36:32
  Speaker 1: want to feel something watching this show. Yeah, I mean
• 36:36
  Speaker 1: if that's if that's what they want, then um yeah,
• 36:39
  Speaker 1: I mean I I definitely entertain it. But I don't know.
• 36:42
  Speaker 1: I don't know. This whole thing is is crazy. And
• 36:46
  Speaker 1: you know, I asked myself to you know, if I'm
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: looking for you know, my person, do do I need
• 36:55
  Speaker 1: to find them on this show? Do I need to
• 36:57
  Speaker 1: find them on the franchise you know, or or whatever?
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: And you know, I don't. I don't know. It's I'm
• 37:04
  Speaker 1: not dating anybody. There's so much I don't know. I
• 37:08
  Speaker 1: don't know. I'm I'm babbling. Yeah, well, it's the kind
• 37:13
  Speaker 1: of season they need, Michael, it is. I'll say it
• 37:15
  Speaker 1: right now, if any Bachelor producers listening, Uh, if it's
• 37:19
  Speaker 1: not Michael, then you just need a season where we
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: feel deeply again. It's the thing that's gonna bring to
• 37:23
  Speaker 1: the show all back around, I believe. Um. Michael Ashley
• 37:28
  Speaker 1: ends every in Depth with a really fun segment um
• 37:32
  Speaker 1: where she hasked the guests a bunch of random questions.
• 37:35
  Speaker 1: You answer them. But before we get to that, UM,
• 37:38
  Speaker 1: I was just thinking, as you were talking, how cool
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: would it be if they had you as a bachelor.
• 37:43
  Speaker 1: They got all the women together in l A at
• 37:45
  Speaker 1: the mansion. You're not there, Jesse Palmer walks in and says, ladies,
• 37:50
  Speaker 1: your head into Akron, Ohio. How awesome that. I think
• 37:59
  Speaker 1: if you really want to test, you know, the women's resolved,
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: you know, you bring them to Akron, Ohio in the wintertime,
• 38:07
  Speaker 1: you'll figure out. Right. Yeah, I think it's great. It's exactly.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: I think a season like that would probably have the
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: most self eliminations of all it's so good. Well, anyways,
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: the real question that in this before we get to
• 38:24
  Speaker 1: Ashley segment, Uh, Michael, what is next for you? Where
• 38:28
  Speaker 1: are you at in life? What are you focusing on
• 38:30
  Speaker 1: this year and the years to come? Uh? Just give
• 38:32
  Speaker 1: our listeners a little update and where you're at. Yeah, thanks, Um,
• 38:36
  Speaker 1: you know, I'm I'm I'm still working still. I mean,
• 38:40
  Speaker 1: I I own a company where we do uh, you know, distribution.
• 38:44
  Speaker 1: That business is going well, it's completely unrelated to the show.
• 38:48
  Speaker 1: It's not like because you're on this show all of
• 38:50
  Speaker 1: a sudden, business is just thriving no matter what people think. Like,
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: it's still crazy hard work. I'm working on a new
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: startup that I'm excited about we're looking at clinical trials. UM.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: It was a it was a therapeutic Laura and I developed.
• 39:08
  Speaker 1: UM there's a side effect to chemotherapy called hand foot syndrome,
• 39:12
  Speaker 1: and it's really really grew some a lot of people
• 39:15
  Speaker 1: experience it. In fact, the top five chemotherapies that are
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: administered create the side effect in about of its population.
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: So there's a there's a lot of discontinuation because of
• 39:28
  Speaker 1: adverse events and that, and I mean that's not good
• 39:32
  Speaker 1: for anybody, because you've got to finish your course of therapy.
• 39:35
  Speaker 1: And you know, when Laura got it really really bad,
• 39:38
  Speaker 1: James was seven months old and she couldn't hold James
• 39:41
  Speaker 1: or anything like that, and so out of necessity, her
• 39:44
  Speaker 1: and I just started tinkering with some stuff and put
• 39:47
  Speaker 1: something together and it worked extremely well for Laura. It's
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: just UM, it's like a topical agent that you put
• 39:54
  Speaker 1: on your hands and feet and it releaves the pain,
• 39:57
  Speaker 1: helps the skin heal all of that. And you know,
• 40:00
  Speaker 1: we filed for a patent. We're looking at clinical trials.
• 40:04
  Speaker 1: So the company is called Saint James Therapeutics, and we
• 40:09
  Speaker 1: named it St. James because, uh, you know, seven months
• 40:13
  Speaker 1: after James was born. He actually stopped taking milk from
• 40:19
  Speaker 1: one side of the breast for Laura, and it was
• 40:22
  Speaker 1: really really odd because this guy was a chuggar. I mean,
• 40:26
  Speaker 1: he took down everything. And we went to O. B
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: g y N and the O B g N dismissed
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: it as a plug milk duck, which you know is common.
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: I mean, it happens. But it wasn't enough for us
• 40:41
  Speaker 1: to be convinced, and so we went to a hospital
• 40:45
  Speaker 1: Mami Graham biopsy and then quickly there was a cancer diagnosis.
• 40:49
  Speaker 1: So we attribute the fact that James identified it as
• 40:54
  Speaker 1: allowing us to have our best shot at beating cancer
• 40:58
  Speaker 1: and gave us essentially more time together. Oh I didn't
• 41:02
  Speaker 1: know that side of the story. Wow, Yeah, so James. Yeah.
• 41:06
  Speaker 1: So it's St. James Therapeutic, and the goal will be
• 41:08
  Speaker 1: to try to bring this topical agent to market and
• 41:14
  Speaker 1: try to find ways of you know, easing cancer patients journey.
• 41:19
  Speaker 1: We're not going to be heavy into you know, major
• 41:23
  Speaker 1: you know, you know, biologics and all of this, but
• 41:27
  Speaker 1: we're looking at very niche areas in which we can
• 41:31
  Speaker 1: improve their lives and make the cancer journey easier. Because
• 41:36
  Speaker 1: it's it's a real challenge and it effects too many.
• 41:39
  Speaker 1: Well that's awesome. Um, that's just like another reason that
• 41:43
  Speaker 1: maybe it was just destined for you to be on
• 41:44
  Speaker 1: the show, to have a platform to do that, to
• 41:48
  Speaker 1: you know, get it to go further. Yeah, I think
• 41:51
  Speaker 1: there could be some really amazing things. And you know,
• 41:54
  Speaker 1: the goal really is to make sure that as you know,
• 41:58
  Speaker 1: as we're developing this, that it's access possible to people
• 42:01
  Speaker 1: and it's not going to be expensive, and you know,
• 42:05
  Speaker 1: trying to be able to deliver it once you know
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: the results are in or anything like that, Um, at
• 42:11
  Speaker 1: an affordable price, because you shouldn't have to go broke
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: because you're sick. M Well, thanks Manum, we're gonna take
• 42:20
  Speaker 1: a break. When we come back, we're gonna close this
• 42:22
  Speaker 1: podcast out Michael with a really fund segment. Actually does
• 42:26
  Speaker 1: a incredible job at this. It always makes me giggle.
• 42:29
  Speaker 1: We'll be back with rapid Fire rounds with Ashley and
• 42:33
  Speaker 1: Michael after this break, all right, yeah, rapid firetime. All right.
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: So you made headlines a couple of months ago by
• 42:51
  Speaker 1: having an outing with Amanda Clutes, and we know that
• 42:55
  Speaker 1: you guys are supposedly just friends. So my first rapid
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: fire cushion is are you really just friends? Yes, we
• 43:05
  Speaker 1: are just friends. Uh. And Amanda actually reached out to
• 43:10
  Speaker 1: me when she saw me on the show, and I
• 43:12
  Speaker 1: had really no idea that she was from Akron. So
• 43:17
  Speaker 1: she's she's from she's from my hometown and everything's so,
• 43:21
  Speaker 1: you know, obviously we have a lot of similarities, unfortunately
• 43:24
  Speaker 1: with being you know, widowed and everything that's happened. But
• 43:29
  Speaker 1: we've it's been amazing to be able to you know,
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: discuss openly and honestly about our own experience and you know,
• 43:38
  Speaker 1: dating again and raising kids and you know, our hometown
• 43:42
  Speaker 1: and she's an amazing human being. Um. But for all
• 43:45
  Speaker 1: the people that are speculating, we are just friends and
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: she is amazing. So and you bonded over fried food? Yeah,
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: well what's your favorite fried food? Oh well, this is
• 43:58
  Speaker 1: kind of funny because you know, you would think, I mean,
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: Amanda is a significant star, right, but an Akron people
• 44:06
  Speaker 1: don't give a ship like we We we tried to
• 44:10
  Speaker 1: go to this um like nice place and they're like,
• 44:15
  Speaker 1: there's no room for you guys, Like, get on out
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: of here. So we got turned down by like two
• 44:19
  Speaker 1: places and we're like all right, let's go to the
• 44:21
  Speaker 1: spot and get some bright food. And we were gonna
• 44:23
  Speaker 1: go to a red robin, you know, let's just get
• 44:27
  Speaker 1: at it. Um. But it's like a good old Midwest
• 44:31
  Speaker 1: BOYD does go to the franchise restaurant. That's right, that's right.
• 44:35
  Speaker 1: I mean, my god, but but yeah, no, I mean
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: we had a great time, threw back some dreams, got
• 44:41
  Speaker 1: to catch up. I got to meet her parents, and
• 44:44
  Speaker 1: her sister met Elvis, who's the man like, they're just
• 44:49
  Speaker 1: they're good, good people. That's awesome. We're happy that you
• 44:53
  Speaker 1: guys have that connect well, not that you have the
• 44:55
  Speaker 1: connection that you do, but that you guys are able
• 44:58
  Speaker 1: to you know what I mean, you're you know, I
• 45:01
  Speaker 1: wouldn't even have thought about that. Dropped some self guilt
• 45:07
  Speaker 1: on yourself. Okay, who is your celebrity crash? We always
• 45:13
  Speaker 1: love this question because that way I'm able to deduct
• 45:16
  Speaker 1: who you might be into in paradise. I would I
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: actually have two. I love when people actually have an answer. Yeah,
• 45:24
  Speaker 1: I'd say Natalie Portman and Genemone already good good, um,
• 45:33
  Speaker 1: good crushes. You've got a type. You've got a type?
• 45:36
  Speaker 1: Man m hm, he likests, Yeah, I mean that's that's
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: historically the case, but I mean you have to think too.
• 45:47
  Speaker 1: Also with the same girl for sixteen years, so yeah, yeah,
• 45:52
  Speaker 1: all right, um, and then what's your favorite fast food
• 45:55
  Speaker 1: chain now that we brought up franchises, and what's your order?
• 46:01
  Speaker 1: I have some of my friends say I have a
• 46:04
  Speaker 1: serial killer orders, so it's so basic. I love like
• 46:11
  Speaker 1: three hard tacos supremes, which is you know they have it.
• 46:16
  Speaker 1: It's just delicious. And then I do like a nacho
• 46:19
  Speaker 1: which just like the chips and the weird cheese cub. Yeah.
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: I don't think that's that crazy. Well, people always get
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: like the extravagant you know, like chlopas and tacos within tacos,
• 46:34
  Speaker 1: and it's like, just give me a taco man. You
• 46:36
  Speaker 1: know hot. I need hot and fire sauce both at
• 46:39
  Speaker 1: the same time. All right, Well, Michael, it's been a
• 46:43
  Speaker 1: pleasure for having you. I would wish I could do
• 46:46
  Speaker 1: more rapid Fire and that we could talk more about
• 46:48
  Speaker 1: we have got to wrap. Um, hopefully we we'll see
• 46:51
  Speaker 1: you on our screen soon. I would really like guys
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: big time. Yeah, thanks for coming on, dude. It's always
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: a pleasure. And Michael follow our lead here. You're a
• 47:02
  Speaker 1: smart guy, you know a lot. I believe you're gonna
• 47:05
  Speaker 1: do this perfectly. With that, this has been an in
• 47:07
  Speaker 1: depth episode with one of all of our favorites, Michael. Ah.
• 47:12
  Speaker 1: Thank you for Michael for coming on. And with that,
• 47:15
  Speaker 1: I've been been, I've been Ashley and I've been Michael. Yeah, yes, alright,
• 47:24
  Speaker 1: see Michael, Thank you, see you guys. Thanks dude. Follow
• 47:29
  Speaker 1: the Benn and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on I
• 47:32
  Speaker 1: Heart Radio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.