WEBVTT - Looking Back: A Perfect Ben 0:00:02.200 --> 0:00:04.880 Hey, everyone, welcome back to Bachelor Happy Hour and I'm 0:00:04.960 --> 0:00:09.039 Joelous and we are here with mister Ben Higgins. 0:00:09.119 --> 0:00:11.080 Ben, welcome to the podcast. 0:00:11.920 --> 0:00:13.080 Goodness, what an honor. 0:00:13.440 --> 0:00:15.240 Yeah, I don't know why I called you, mister, mister 0:00:15.280 --> 0:00:15.880 Ben Higgins. 0:00:16.239 --> 0:00:20.000 Respect. You just see you see me in It's immediate respect, 0:00:20.000 --> 0:00:23.080 and so you want to make sure that respect is communicated, 0:00:23.079 --> 0:00:24.080 and I appreciate. 0:00:23.720 --> 0:00:25.040 It, truly, truly. 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:29.240 Well, I did talk about so we are we recapture 0:00:29.320 --> 0:00:33.040 night one, and one thing I said was when I, like, 0:00:33.479 --> 0:00:36.760 when I was going on the Bachelor, the one bachelor 0:00:36.880 --> 0:00:39.839 like the Bachelor season that I heard of was yours 0:00:40.520 --> 0:00:42.440 and it was I don't know if it was I 0:00:42.520 --> 0:00:45.360 was the right age group, but everyone was talking about it. 0:00:45.640 --> 0:00:49.440 And it also could be You're a Midwest guy and 0:00:49.600 --> 0:00:51.599 you were young. You were you the Were you the 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:52.919 youngest bachelor? 0:00:53.400 --> 0:00:57.200 Second? Jesse Palmer was actually like two months younger than 0:00:57.240 --> 0:00:59.240 me when he was the Bachelor. So I was the 0:00:59.320 --> 0:01:00.480 second youngest bachelor. 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:03.520 Are you still the second youngest bachelor? Do you know? 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:07.600 Yeah? I mean I don't know how old Joey was. 0:01:07.680 --> 0:01:09.880 I mean I was twenty six years old, like when 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:12.760 you were young? Yeah, like that's really young to be 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.800 the lead of a show. So I would imagine that 0:01:15.840 --> 0:01:17.520 will hold up because I don't think the show is 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:20.240 going backwards to have like a twenty four year old bachelor. 0:01:21.120 --> 0:01:23.160 I think they kind of tried that and stopped it. 0:01:23.680 --> 0:01:26.720 Well, looking back on it, now, do you think do 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:28.560 you think you were too young? Because I mean, there's 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:30.040 a lot of things I've done in my life from 0:01:30.040 --> 0:01:32.000 like when I was I was a trader, and I 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:33.680 was like I was honestly, I was too I was 0:01:34.200 --> 0:01:34.720 too young. 0:01:35.640 --> 0:01:37.800 I don't think I was too young because I really 0:01:38.120 --> 0:01:40.040 was excited to get married. And I do think the 0:01:40.120 --> 0:01:42.039 reason I would say it was I was too young 0:01:42.080 --> 0:01:44.920 to be wise and how to handle kind of the 0:01:44.959 --> 0:01:51.040 aftermath of the show that was kind of crazy and confusing. 0:01:52.280 --> 0:01:55.880 But as somebody from Indiana, all my friends were married 0:01:55.880 --> 0:01:57.800 when I went on to The Bachelor, like I felt 0:01:57.800 --> 0:02:00.720 like I was never going to meet somebody because that 0:02:00.840 --> 0:02:03.000 was kind of my like world was seeing all my 0:02:03.000 --> 0:02:04.960 friends get married, all of my kids, have all my 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:08.040 friends having kids, and so I was really ready to 0:02:08.040 --> 0:02:09.880 meet somebody to settle down, to kind of get into 0:02:09.880 --> 0:02:12.440 that season of life. And I think that's probably the 0:02:12.440 --> 0:02:14.640 best mark for a lead is are you actually ready 0:02:14.639 --> 0:02:16.639 for marriage or not? And for me, I really was. 0:02:20.280 --> 0:02:21.600 But so I don't think I was too young for that. 0:02:21.639 --> 0:02:24.279 I think I was too young to make good decisions always. 0:02:24.760 --> 0:02:28.160 Yeah, that's actually interesting because yeah, we noted that you 0:02:28.200 --> 0:02:29.000 were twenty six. 0:02:29.040 --> 0:02:31.040 We're like, oh wow, he's definitely one of. 0:02:30.960 --> 0:02:34.160 The younger leads, like both Bachelor and Bachelorette probably, but 0:02:34.400 --> 0:02:37.919 you did really seem ready. And I think it's honestly 0:02:38.040 --> 0:02:40.480 rare to meet like girls or guys, but a lot 0:02:40.480 --> 0:02:42.360 of guys that are like ready to settle down at 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:45.360 twenty six. But I guess it it's all relative, right, 0:02:45.440 --> 0:02:48.760 Like if you know there's people in like where is 0:02:48.800 --> 0:02:51.000 it like Salt Lake City where everyone's getting married at 0:02:51.000 --> 0:02:52.960 like twenty one years old, and like that's just like 0:02:53.040 --> 0:02:53.880 the norm there. 0:02:54.000 --> 0:02:56.640 Like even even in Chicago, it was if when I 0:02:56.680 --> 0:02:58.919 was growing up, you were if you were twenty seven 0:02:58.960 --> 0:03:00.040 and single, you were like. 0:03:00.360 --> 0:03:01.640 Yeah, like all your friends, like a lot of your 0:03:01.639 --> 0:03:04.000 friends married like their high school sweethearts, Like that's like 0:03:04.040 --> 0:03:08.280 the norm, whereas like none of my friends are married yet. 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:10.560 Kind of think being from like Toronto, really the greater 0:03:10.639 --> 0:03:13.840 Toronto area, so I think like that does have such 0:03:13.880 --> 0:03:16.720 an influence on Like readiness for a marriage is like 0:03:16.800 --> 0:03:17.640 what is normal too? 0:03:17.639 --> 0:03:19.040 How old were your parents when they got married? 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.080 Oh so young? My mom was twenty and my dad 0:03:22.240 --> 0:03:23.519 was twenty four. 0:03:24.240 --> 0:03:27.120 Oh so like I'm old, like I'm twenty. 0:03:27.320 --> 0:03:31.760 I will tell you this when I I have a 0:03:31.960 --> 0:03:35.640 vivid moment in my mind when I was out here 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:39.040 in Denver. I had moved here from my first job. 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.280 I was not dating. I really didn't have any new 0:03:41.280 --> 0:03:43.160 friendships out here because I was working all the time. 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:45.640 I remember laying in the bed of the house that 0:03:45.680 --> 0:03:48.600 I had just purchased for like nothing, like I just 0:03:48.640 --> 0:03:51.840 bought a house because it was cheaper in rent and 0:03:52.840 --> 0:03:54.400 I bought this house. I was laying in this bed 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:56.800 and I was like, I'm I'm okay being single forever, 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:58.960 Like I'm going to like I need to get okay 0:03:59.000 --> 0:04:01.920 with the idea that I will be single forever because 0:04:01.920 --> 0:04:04.560 I just haven't found anybody. And I was twenty like 0:04:04.600 --> 0:04:07.760 I was probably twenty five at the time. Like it 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:09.520 was why I have this moment looking up at the 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.280 ceiling and being like I'm okay, Like I'm an only child, 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:16.760 so literally, my mom my, poor mother gets a phone 0:04:16.760 --> 0:04:18.440 call from me on my way to work the next 0:04:18.480 --> 0:04:20.719 day and being like, hey, I know you've tried to 0:04:20.760 --> 0:04:22.839 like set me up with the dates, and I know 0:04:22.920 --> 0:04:24.320 it's a thing that you talk about, and I know 0:04:24.360 --> 0:04:26.440 every time I go come home from church, everybody's like, 0:04:26.560 --> 0:04:29.120 are you dating anybody? I was like, I want you 0:04:29.160 --> 0:04:31.479 to know that I'm okay being single and I might 0:04:31.560 --> 0:04:34.080 be single for the rest of my life. And she 0:04:34.240 --> 0:04:36.520 was like no, like grandkids, like you're the only shot 0:04:36.560 --> 0:04:40.040 I have at this thing. And so yeah, I had 0:04:40.080 --> 0:04:41.560 came to the conclusion that I was going to be 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:44.200 and then the Bachelor came up and or the Bachelorette 0:04:44.240 --> 0:04:45.719 came up, and I was like, yeah, why not, let's 0:04:45.720 --> 0:04:48.840 get a shot. And I still think I was cool 0:04:48.839 --> 0:04:52.080 being single, but then you know that changed. I guess 0:04:52.120 --> 0:04:52.560 over time. 0:04:53.200 --> 0:04:59.080 How what was the state of social media? Instagram? 0:04:59.760 --> 0:05:03.320 You it's so interesting, such a good question that people 0:05:03.400 --> 0:05:06.920 don't think about. So when I was on the Bachelorette, 0:05:07.320 --> 0:05:09.800 it was like beta phase of Instagram. You can look 0:05:09.880 --> 0:05:11.919 up like the timeframe right, like it was a thing, 0:05:12.560 --> 0:05:14.120 but it was never the thing that any of us 0:05:14.200 --> 0:05:17.520 knew or talked about. It was I remember having this 0:05:17.600 --> 0:05:19.640 conversation with the guys sitting in the living room with 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:21.360 a mansion, and they're like, what are we going to 0:05:21.440 --> 0:05:23.000 do with this thing? Like only one of us is 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:24.440 going to get chosen? What are the rest of us 0:05:24.520 --> 0:05:27.840 do with this whole thing? And I remember some of 0:05:27.880 --> 0:05:31.440 the guys like talking about appearances, So you do those 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:33.599 like big club appearances, right, you get paid for that. 0:05:35.600 --> 0:05:37.880 And then like somebody brought up The Doctors, so like 0:05:37.920 --> 0:05:40.120 the host of the Doctors was on was a bachelor 0:05:40.120 --> 0:05:42.920 at one point years ago, so like maybe somebody is 0:05:42.960 --> 0:05:44.200 going to go off and do TV and then the 0:05:44.279 --> 0:05:47.839 rest of us are like Paradise, Like you go on 0:05:47.920 --> 0:05:50.240 Paradise and like maybe extend this thing a bit and 0:05:50.240 --> 0:05:51.839 get paid for Paradise. We're all like, I think you 0:05:51.880 --> 0:05:53.640 get paid if you go on Paradise as a So 0:05:53.680 --> 0:05:54.839 you make some money doing that and then you go 0:05:54.880 --> 0:05:57.600 back to work. Yeah, and then I got announced as 0:05:57.640 --> 0:05:59.960 a bachelor. And it kind of in between that three 0:06:00.080 --> 0:06:02.880 month frame, like Instagram really took off, kind of like 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:06.240 TikTok did, like here recently, like everybody started using it, 0:06:06.760 --> 0:06:09.440 everybody started to get involved in it, and then that's 0:06:09.480 --> 0:06:12.359 when like it got popular. But my first season or 0:06:12.400 --> 0:06:14.120 my season of The Bachelor was really the first one 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.839 where Instagram or social media was a part of the show. 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:21.440 It was kind of tested during Caitlin's season, but it 0:06:21.520 --> 0:06:27.560 was never like a focus point until I was the Bachelor. 0:06:27.600 --> 0:06:30.880 And even then, I think, and you'd have to ask 0:06:30.960 --> 0:06:35.760 the team. I think the Bachelor Instagram account came out 0:06:36.120 --> 0:06:37.839 during my season, like I think they. I don't eve 0:06:37.839 --> 0:06:41.719 think the Bachelor had like any type of like social 0:06:41.800 --> 0:06:45.520 media account until I was on the show. That's not 0:06:45.560 --> 0:06:46.919 because I was on the show. It's just because it 0:06:46.920 --> 0:06:48.240 didn't exist. It wasn't a thing. 0:06:48.640 --> 0:06:50.400 Yeah, it was like whoever was the Bachelor at that 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:53.520 time that would have it would have happened. Yeah, them 0:06:53.640 --> 0:06:57.080 deciding we're going to pivot start incorporating social media, and 0:06:57.120 --> 0:06:58.279 that probably. 0:06:57.920 --> 0:07:02.279 The conversation now makes me feel so old we talk 0:07:02.440 --> 0:07:04.520 about social media. 0:07:04.720 --> 0:07:08.000 Yeah, but social media is still so young. H It 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.640 really is, just like TikTok wasn't even a thing yet. 0:07:11.960 --> 0:07:17.280 No, No, I mean Twitter. So yeah, Twitter was kind 0:07:17.280 --> 0:07:21.080 of showing up, Instagram was shown up. Facebook obviously had 0:07:21.160 --> 0:07:25.040 its its place as kind of the thing. We were 0:07:25.040 --> 0:07:27.720 doing a lot of Facebook videos back then. But you 0:07:27.760 --> 0:07:30.240 gotta think I'm thirty five now, Like it's not like 0:07:30.320 --> 0:07:33.160 I still couldn't go on the show. Like, you know, 0:07:33.280 --> 0:07:35.200 I was doing this when I was so young that 0:07:35.360 --> 0:07:39.520 even today and I would you know, I could still 0:07:39.600 --> 0:07:41.080 I'm still in the age group. 0:07:41.440 --> 0:07:43.360 It just if you were single, you could go back 0:07:43.360 --> 0:07:45.880 on my last season of Paradise, I was thirty five. 0:07:46.040 --> 0:07:47.600 Yeah, yeah, there you go. 0:07:47.800 --> 0:07:50.920 I got engaged at thirty five to you. Yeah. Wow. 0:07:53.120 --> 0:07:54.840 We we do want to break down a little bit 0:07:54.920 --> 0:07:58.600 of your of of that night one. But since we're 0:07:58.640 --> 0:08:02.680 on like the social media top the aftermath of your season, 0:08:04.040 --> 0:08:07.080 how much different was it then? Because I do feel 0:08:07.120 --> 0:08:10.560 like there was like didn't you do like late night shows, 0:08:10.600 --> 0:08:12.560 didn't you like didn't you have the opportunity like going 0:08:12.640 --> 0:08:13.400 like Jimmy. 0:08:13.120 --> 0:08:14.080 Kimmel don't do that? 0:08:14.440 --> 0:08:16.360 Yeah, but I don't think Yeah, but I don't think 0:08:16.400 --> 0:08:17.440 it's as much anymore. 0:08:18.800 --> 0:08:22.520 Yeah, So like that had always been a thing. So 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:26.680 like Bob Guiney used to go on Oprah like weekly 0:08:27.000 --> 0:08:29.800 as a segment, right, So Bob Guiney was doing like that, 0:08:29.800 --> 0:08:30.600 that was the publicition. 0:08:30.720 --> 0:08:33.080 She was doing a segment before he was even the bachelor, 0:08:33.280 --> 0:08:36.800 Like he was a contestant segments next. 0:08:36.600 --> 0:08:40.160 You so loved and so known. So I went on 0:08:40.240 --> 0:08:42.080 Kimmel quite a bit. I went on Kimmel a few 0:08:42.160 --> 0:08:46.640 times and just kind of like more spoofy, like funny moments. 0:08:47.920 --> 0:08:51.720 The social media side of it was something nobody knew 0:08:51.720 --> 0:08:53.080 what to do with. So it was a lot of 0:08:53.120 --> 0:08:57.120 short clips, videos, pictures. It was I guess beneficial to 0:08:57.160 --> 0:09:01.800 the ratings of my season because people were seeing more 0:09:01.800 --> 0:09:05.360 of the show than ever. Yeah, but I'd say the 0:09:05.400 --> 0:09:09.319 thing that was different with my season than maybe others 0:09:09.880 --> 0:09:12.480 when it comes to like the aftermath and the publicity 0:09:13.200 --> 0:09:18.760 is how ABC kind of used Lauren and I because 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:21.600 you got to remember too, you might forget this. Right 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.599 after my season got done, we started filming Ben and 0:09:24.640 --> 0:09:27.040 Lauren happily ever after and so there's a whole spin 0:09:27.080 --> 0:09:32.320 off show on Freeform which was which was free that 0:09:32.400 --> 0:09:36.720 was ABC ABC Family, Yes, an ABC show right afterwards, 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:38.640 and so that was the big deal for us. It 0:09:38.679 --> 0:09:40.319 was kind of the first time a couple had been 0:09:40.360 --> 0:09:44.200 followed post show and they were with us for a 0:09:44.240 --> 0:09:46.559 long time, I mean two months. 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.840 Oh wow, what was that one? Did? That was that 0:09:49.920 --> 0:09:50.520 one season? 0:09:51.040 --> 0:09:51.240 Yeah? 0:09:51.240 --> 0:09:54.920 Because we broke up Buddy Yeah, what was Can you 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:55.880 talk about what? 0:09:56.480 --> 0:09:56.800 Now? 0:09:57.720 --> 0:09:59.240 Can you talk about what you got paid for that? 0:10:00.440 --> 0:10:01.880 Yeah? I can talk about I mean it was good. 0:10:01.960 --> 0:10:04.760 We both got paid as individuals obviously because we weren't married, 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.400 so they had to pay as separate talent. And so 0:10:07.440 --> 0:10:09.640 that's what I mean. Really, when it came down to it, 0:10:09.679 --> 0:10:10.880 you're like, hey, is this a good. 0:10:10.840 --> 0:10:13.080 Decision to get filmed right after we just got done 0:10:13.080 --> 0:10:16.080 with this other show and we're still trying to figure 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.559 each other out as a couple, and we live in 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:20.840 a seven hundred square foot house that that's the same 0:10:20.880 --> 0:10:22.839 house I built, And they're gonna, well. 0:10:22.800 --> 0:10:24.480 Were you accepted that you're going to be singling? 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:26.480 Yeah? The one I accepted I was gonna be single 0:10:26.520 --> 0:10:30.600 in It was a one bedroom, one bathroom house with 0:10:30.760 --> 0:10:34.200 you know, a crew of thirty people with us every day, 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:38.080 all day for two straight months. Is this a good decision? 0:10:38.880 --> 0:10:40.199 And we're like, yeah, it's a great decision. We're go 0:10:40.280 --> 0:10:44.120 get paid and I'm making no money, Like you don't 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:44.760 get paid a lot? 0:10:45.400 --> 0:10:47.480 Yeah, yeah, you don't get paid a lot. And then 0:10:47.559 --> 0:10:48.080 like you're. 0:10:47.960 --> 0:10:50.480 Coming off the show, usually with either like the decision 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.000 of like am I going to go straight back into a. 0:10:53.040 --> 0:10:54.959 Job, which is gonna be hard to do because you 0:10:55.040 --> 0:10:57.280 now just took off four months. 0:10:57.400 --> 0:10:58.400 Yeah whatever you were. 0:10:58.280 --> 0:11:00.520 Doing and you have this new relationship, like whether you 0:11:00.520 --> 0:11:02.320 have a job waiting for you or not. Like going 0:11:02.360 --> 0:11:04.640 back to work at that time is so hard. So 0:11:04.679 --> 0:11:09.000 it's like you've just go off TV. What what was 0:11:09.040 --> 0:11:11.880 the Instagram situation like at that time, Like were people 0:11:11.920 --> 0:11:13.880 coming off the show and influencing or was it not 0:11:13.920 --> 0:11:14.560 quite there yet? 0:11:14.559 --> 0:11:16.240 I don't think there was paid ads or it was 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:18.000 like it was like new, right. 0:11:18.200 --> 0:11:21.080 It was new. It was new. It was it was 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:26.160 new but also very lucrative because brands had this massive 0:11:26.200 --> 0:11:28.120 budget and they didn't know what to do with social 0:11:28.120 --> 0:11:30.160 media marketing yet. And then there was all these studies 0:11:30.200 --> 0:11:32.000 coming out that were there's. 0:11:31.800 --> 0:11:33.840 So few like you guys probably had like such a 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:34.640 monopoly on it. 0:11:34.880 --> 0:11:37.640 Oh yeah, So like the women from the like the time, 0:11:37.679 --> 0:11:41.400 I mean I've I've heard rumors that I would validate. 0:11:41.760 --> 0:11:45.040 Is like some of the women from like the season 0:11:45.040 --> 0:11:47.120 of The Bachelor I was a part of. We're making 0:11:47.240 --> 0:11:51.360 two plus million a year influencing at the time, and. 0:11:51.360 --> 0:11:53.640 So they go believe it they would have been the 0:11:53.640 --> 0:11:56.320 first cast coming off with like you know, social media 0:11:56.360 --> 0:11:58.840 is now just blowing up there getting these followings. There's 0:11:58.880 --> 0:12:01.720 like no one else from The Bachelor probably with followings 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.160 other than like this chunk of women, and they're like great, 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:07.079 like engagement high. We have way more money than we 0:12:07.160 --> 0:12:08.800 know what to do with, Like, let's throw it at 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:15.480 let's throw it at them. 0:12:16.640 --> 0:12:20.560 I heard a rumor about you, Ben oh, I got 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.080 many roomors. I remember many rooms right, No, this I mean, 0:12:24.120 --> 0:12:25.640 I don't know how true this was, but I remember 0:12:25.720 --> 0:12:29.920 guys from my season talking about it that you had 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:33.040 you were basically you had to turn down like a 0:12:33.120 --> 0:12:37.000 one point three million dollar radio deal after your season 0:12:37.000 --> 0:12:38.199 of The Bachelor with something like that. 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:39.000 Is that true? 0:12:39.400 --> 0:12:41.400 I did turn it down. I didn't have to. Nobody 0:12:41.400 --> 0:12:46.079 had told me. So I did turn that down because 0:12:46.120 --> 0:12:49.319 other things are happening at the time that I was like, 0:12:49.600 --> 0:12:51.000 I don't know if I want to go into a 0:12:51.040 --> 0:12:53.480 full time job where I'm on the radio five days 0:12:53.520 --> 0:12:53.920 a week. 0:12:54.600 --> 0:12:57.400 Right, Well, we're filming Ben and Lauren at that time. 0:12:57.640 --> 0:13:01.000 Yeah. I was also filming Ben and Lauren at the time. Yeah, 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:05.280 So I was like trying to manage and balance out, 0:13:05.320 --> 0:13:07.600 like what was life going to actually look like for me, 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:10.080 and you know this person that I thought at the 0:13:10.080 --> 0:13:11.400 time we were going to get married, So like, how 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.640 do I stay true to all of it? And is 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:19.400 you know that money was obviously ridiculous, but like, is 0:13:19.520 --> 0:13:22.960 any amount of money worth pretty much knowing it's going 0:13:23.040 --> 0:13:27.480 to be the cost of this relationship? And I said no, 0:13:29.040 --> 0:13:31.480 And I think I'm glad I did. I mean, you know, 0:13:31.520 --> 0:13:33.920 that relationship didn't work out, which was fine, but it did. 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:35.640 I don't know what life would look like if I 0:13:35.679 --> 0:13:38.920 was a radio host five days a week in the morning, 0:13:41.080 --> 0:13:43.080 it would be different. So yeah, I did say no 0:13:43.160 --> 0:13:45.200 to that. And there was other things I said no to, 0:13:47.720 --> 0:13:50.840 not necessarily that we're that lucrative and that beneficial, but 0:13:51.080 --> 0:13:54.240 you know, you are under contract for a year, and 0:13:54.280 --> 0:13:56.920 when you're the bachelor or the lead, you're under contract 0:13:56.920 --> 0:13:59.200 for like a year and a half of your life. Yeah, 0:13:59.200 --> 0:14:02.120 And that's another side of the influencing, kind of like 0:14:02.200 --> 0:14:06.040 Takeoff World, where people you know right away you get 0:14:06.040 --> 0:14:08.320 off the show, and yes, you might have some lucrative 0:14:08.360 --> 0:14:10.720 deals and some things come through you have to say 0:14:10.720 --> 0:14:13.400 no to them oftentimes because you're still you know, you 0:14:13.480 --> 0:14:15.960 still have an obligation to the show that you were 0:14:16.000 --> 0:14:18.960 a part of that kind of gave you this new platform. 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.320 And so it takes a year and so for us 0:14:21.320 --> 0:14:23.880 to say yes to Ben and Lauren have been and 0:14:23.960 --> 0:14:29.160 Lauren happily ever after question Mark question Mark it was 0:14:29.720 --> 0:14:33.440 a pretty much a sure thing yes, because it was 0:14:33.480 --> 0:14:35.400 one of the only things we could make money on 0:14:35.480 --> 0:14:39.680 post show. Here's the crazy thing. I was still working 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:42.840 a full time job while we were filming, and so 0:14:43.120 --> 0:14:44.960 they would come and film at my office. 0:14:45.120 --> 0:14:46.600 Oh, when you were filming Ben and Lauren. 0:14:47.240 --> 0:14:49.720 Yeah, So I went back to my social or my 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:53.400 software sales job for another two years post Bachelor, just 0:14:53.480 --> 0:14:55.960 so I could have health insurance, and because they gave 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.720 me a sabbatical to lead the leave the film. So 0:14:58.760 --> 0:15:00.960 I went back and film work there, and then at 0:15:01.080 --> 0:15:03.320 nights we'd film the show, and then during the day 0:15:03.360 --> 0:15:06.040 they would do stuff with Lauren, and then on the 0:15:06.040 --> 0:15:08.760 weekends we'd film through the weekend. And it was it 0:15:08.800 --> 0:15:11.240 was a grind, but I didn't I don't know what 0:15:11.280 --> 0:15:13.960 to do with it. You're again, twenty six years old. 0:15:13.960 --> 0:15:16.200 I'm like, what is it? Nobody knows what this Bachelor 0:15:16.280 --> 0:15:18.920 thing is going to do ten years from now. I 0:15:18.920 --> 0:15:21.640 can't leave my job yet. It's only why I'm getting 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:23.280 health insurance. I don't have enough money to pay for 0:15:23.320 --> 0:15:26.040 health insurance on my own. So let's film the show, 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.360 let me work my job, Let's see where this spits 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:30.880 us out, and then you know, the rest, you know, 0:15:31.160 --> 0:15:33.920 kind of settles. But it was a weird and wild 0:15:34.000 --> 0:15:37.960 time and maybe one if you know, as we talk 0:15:38.040 --> 0:15:41.080 about that season, I do regret that I didn't enjoy 0:15:41.120 --> 0:15:45.680 it more because I was so focused on not knowing what, 0:15:45.880 --> 0:15:49.920 you know, the risks were to being on the show, 0:15:50.000 --> 0:15:52.000 and to what money would come in, what money would 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:53.920 it come in, that I just worked all the time 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:55.680 and I didn't enjoy a lot of the things that 0:15:55.720 --> 0:15:58.320 other people were enjoying. So I was so nervous. 0:15:58.720 --> 0:16:01.480 That makes sense, I feel like I would be exactly 0:16:01.520 --> 0:16:03.520 the same way. I mean, it's also like you don't 0:16:03.560 --> 0:16:06.160 want to. It's like it's like this huge opportunity, but 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.880 you just don't know what what that opportunity is and 0:16:10.040 --> 0:16:12.560 how long and how long it's gonna last, And you 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:15.120 feel like you need to take advantage of of kind 0:16:15.120 --> 0:16:17.440 of everything, But at the same time, you don't want to. 0:16:17.360 --> 0:16:19.080 Do this because that might screw up that and then 0:16:19.160 --> 0:16:20.800 it's a fucking headache. 0:16:21.360 --> 0:16:25.360 How long after the show into filming, Ben and Lauren, 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:29.280 were you guys like this might not be a happily 0:16:29.360 --> 0:16:30.400 ever after situation? 0:16:30.920 --> 0:16:35.720 Good question. Well, so they asked us to do a 0:16:35.760 --> 0:16:38.480 televised wedding. This was on the show, So Chris Harrison 0:16:38.520 --> 0:16:44.760 flew out to Denver. We kind of did this this 0:16:44.800 --> 0:16:46.240 moment where he sat down. I said, you guys want 0:16:46.240 --> 0:16:50.360 to have your budding televised on national television. Obviously there's 0:16:50.400 --> 0:16:53.160 a good paycheck associated with that, so you're like kinda 0:16:53.400 --> 0:16:57.800 if we're going to get married. And we had already 0:16:57.840 --> 0:17:00.840 been struggling for about a month, so we're in couples counseling. 0:17:00.880 --> 0:17:03.640 We were really trying to make it work, but we 0:17:03.640 --> 0:17:06.400 were not doing it. I mean, we were button heads, 0:17:07.040 --> 0:17:09.960 and so we showed up to win the surprise when 0:17:09.960 --> 0:17:13.119 he asked us. Already kind of not talking and we 0:17:13.119 --> 0:17:15.760 were kind of more work associates, like we were living 0:17:15.800 --> 0:17:18.880 in the same house. We weren't really speaking to each 0:17:18.880 --> 0:17:21.000 other off camera because the cameras would leave a nine 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:24.320 o'clock we'd be exhausted. I might be having to go 0:17:24.359 --> 0:17:26.280 to work the next day. She would be doing her 0:17:26.400 --> 0:17:29.399 thing with her job, and so she was still flying 0:17:29.440 --> 0:17:32.760 as a flight attendant a little bit and we'd just 0:17:32.800 --> 0:17:34.960 be like, dead tired, we want to talk to each other. 0:17:35.040 --> 0:17:38.200 We hadn't talked to each other really truly in weeks, 0:17:38.640 --> 0:17:40.480 and so when they asked, we both went, I remember 0:17:40.520 --> 0:17:41.760 the car right home. We were like, are we going 0:17:41.840 --> 0:17:44.080 to do this? Because if we're gonna get married, we 0:17:44.200 --> 0:17:48.560 better do it on national television, Like no question right, yeah, 0:17:48.600 --> 0:17:50.760 And we were both like, I don't think we're gonna 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.239 get married. And that's when kind and that was kind 0:17:54.280 --> 0:17:55.800 of one of the final episodes, and so they were 0:17:55.840 --> 0:17:58.760 kind of done filming maybe a week later. We kind 0:17:58.760 --> 0:18:01.560 of tried to make it work a little bit longer, 0:18:01.640 --> 0:18:04.960 and then finally it was over. So I would say 0:18:05.840 --> 0:18:08.920 if they filmed for two months. About a month and 0:18:08.960 --> 0:18:13.760 a half into it, we were kind of calling it rough. Man. 0:18:14.760 --> 0:18:19.040 It was a weird It was a weird time. It 0:18:19.119 --> 0:18:21.280 was a weird time because here's how it happened. So 0:18:22.640 --> 0:18:24.600 as soon as the cameras dropped the next day, I 0:18:24.640 --> 0:18:27.720 flew to Chicago for a business meeting. Sitting in a 0:18:27.760 --> 0:18:32.119 hotel in Chicago, and I remember talking to her on 0:18:32.160 --> 0:18:36.080 the phone and she we were kind of talking. We're like, 0:18:36.119 --> 0:18:38.560 this is done, like we know this is done like that, 0:18:38.600 --> 0:18:40.360 We're not We're not going to make this work. It's 0:18:40.359 --> 0:18:42.280 not healthy on either of us. We should just try 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:47.200