Speaker 1: Ben Higgins and Ashley I bring you Infamous.
Speaker 2: Sometimes roses are red flags. This is part two of
Speaker 2: our conversation with Sydney on Infamous, Because sometimes roses are
Speaker 2: red flags. I think the redeeming moments typically from the
Speaker 2: show with characters like yourself, I don't think i'd put
Speaker 2: you in a villain category. I think you had villainous moments,
Speaker 2: maybe just towards one person. And I think I was
Speaker 2: a statement I made when we were watching the show.
Speaker 2: I think the Maria thing felt odd and off and
Speaker 2: not nice. A lot of times.
Speaker 3: It looks like I crushed on her. I think it
Speaker 3: looks like I was in love with her.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's cool too, Well, that's fine, that would be
Speaker 2: a great storyline on the show, and just trying to
Speaker 2: make those storylines before. I think the redeeming moment that
Speaker 2: we need to hear from you, if there is one,
Speaker 2: and if there's not, then that's fine, and you just
Speaker 2: continue on with what you're doing. You look back on
Speaker 2: this experience you've you've lived in your learned what have
Speaker 2: you taken from it now personally for you as a
Speaker 2: human outside of the show.
Speaker 3: I mean, obviously it's taken a lot of time, and
Speaker 3: the experience was so intense, but I feel like I've
Speaker 3: just had I was like forced to do so much
Speaker 3: inner work and like reflecting and like setting boundaries and
Speaker 3: just figuring out like who I want to be as
Speaker 3: a person and like who like how I want to
Speaker 3: treat other people. Yeah, and I'm just like I think
Speaker 3: that I was. I also was so frustrated, like I
Speaker 3: found like myself to be like just having all this pain,
Speaker 3: and now like looking back on it, I can like
Speaker 3: really look at other people's persuh, like how they see things,
Speaker 3: like especially like Maria, and just like look at it
Speaker 3: from clarity and peace and just feel like, you know,
Speaker 3: we're all just humans living on this earth. Like and
Speaker 3: I don't know's that's kind of where I'm out with it.
Speaker 2: I mean, I know after the show is really hard,
Speaker 2: and that is never a desire of any especially Ashley myself,
Speaker 2: maybe some other people out there. The hope is that
Speaker 2: this doesn't continue on forever. But the hope is that
Speaker 2: you do learn something from this experience, no matter if
Speaker 2: you have a good experience, a bad experience, or somewhere
Speaker 2: in between, that you walk off of this somewhat new
Speaker 2: and you've been able to reflect and watch yourself on
Speaker 2: national television for a few weeks and then go, you
Speaker 2: know what, I like that about myself or Hey, that
Speaker 2: felt like it wasn't a good decision that I made
Speaker 2: at the time, and I need to kind of do
Speaker 2: some introspection to figure out where that decision was coming
Speaker 2: from in my life. It sounds like you have, you know,
Speaker 2: done a lot of introspection since the show, and you've
Speaker 2: done a lot of thinking about this experience. So how
Speaker 2: does it make you feel now as you look back
Speaker 2: knowing this was your time on the show and knowing
Speaker 2: that this could have gone a lot differently but it didn't.
Speaker 2: How does it make you feel now being the person
Speaker 2: that you are?
Speaker 3: So again, I do think that I wish I handled
Speaker 3: a lot of things differently.
Speaker 4: I wish that I came from a little bit more
Speaker 4: understanding instead of like thinking that there was malicious intent
Speaker 4: behind her, And I wish that.
Speaker 3: It was never about the drama. But I if I
Speaker 3: was to do it again, to be honest, I probably
Speaker 3: would stem from the same, like being a good friend
Speaker 3: and sticking up for a friend, like because that's how
Speaker 3: I saw how it was playing out. I do think
Speaker 3: that you know, I wouldn't, you know, call Maria bitch
Speaker 3: and all those things. But like, yeah, I think if
Speaker 3: I was to do it all again, I would just
Speaker 3: try to completely avoid the drama altogether. I think that
Speaker 3: the where all stand was so stupid, like it didn't
Speaker 3: even really matter, so I probably wouldn't even addressed it. Honestly.
Speaker 2: It's a great segue into this clip that I want
Speaker 2: to play now, Ashley go fine. Maria was just recently
Speaker 2: on Jia Judae's podcast, Let's play this clip and kind
Speaker 2: of hear what you think after.
Speaker 5: Listening, you either loved me or hated me. It was
Speaker 5: there was no in between. Yeah, but so I love
Speaker 5: to hear that now. It was very obvious, even from
Speaker 5: a viewer standpoint though, to see that you were being attacked. Well,
Speaker 5: I mean, and it's so crazy. Actually, I was getting
Speaker 5: coffee today and a girl came up to me and
Speaker 5: she was like, kid, be honest, was it real? Like
Speaker 5: did it like Housewives?
Speaker 3: You know what I mean?
Speaker 5: And I'm like, you know, what's so funny. It's like,
Speaker 5: as a viewer of the show, sometimes I'm like, there's
Speaker 5: just no way these fights are so dumb. There's no
Speaker 5: there's something's like off until I went on the show,
Speaker 5: and then I realized, oh my god, there are just
Speaker 5: people out there that you know. But here's the thing
Speaker 5: about Sydney, I like appreciate her now, like looking back,
Speaker 5: I can really because we needed that. That like made
Speaker 5: the show in ways.
Speaker 3: It kind of made the season iconic.
Speaker 2: That's what I mean.
Speaker 5: I needed, Like, I mean, I wasn't gonna start drawing,
Speaker 5: but I was okay to like it happen and yeah.
Speaker 1: So what's your take on that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, so I've heard that old Sydney would be like,
Speaker 3: all right, well that's a backhanded compliment, but like, knowing
Speaker 3: who she is, that that is her complimenting me now,
Speaker 3: like because she does like me now and I understand
Speaker 3: where she's coming from. I I never wanted to go
Speaker 3: into that experience trying to start drama, though I can
Speaker 3: see how that. I can see how in like that environment,
Speaker 3: emotions run high, things unfold and there's it's not it's
Speaker 3: not fully of like what we expected. I mean, I
Speaker 3: was reacting in real time, trying to advocate for myself
Speaker 3: and process everything as it happened. Looking back, I recognized
Speaker 3: that there were moments where I could have handled things differently,
Speaker 3: and that's things like I was saying, like I reflected.
Speaker 6: On a lot but said, like I hear this, and
Speaker 6: I'm like, come on, girl. In the words of Latia,
Speaker 6: come on now, come on, now, come on, because she
Speaker 6: said I wasn't going to start drama, but it happened.
Speaker 6: Like I just think that Maria's personality, it could be
Speaker 6: like I could have hang would like to hang out
Speaker 6: with her. Truly, she seems fun, but she also seems
Speaker 6: like someone who's probably prone to some drama being around her.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, like again, like it's just goes back
Speaker 3: to like how we communicate so differently. Like I would
Speaker 3: hear that and like old Sydney would be offended and
Speaker 3: be like that's a bat candid compliment, you know, But
Speaker 3: like now I'm just like, you know, I've had to
Speaker 3: just set that free, you know, just like it is
Speaker 3: it's just who she is, and like, yeah, it's like,
Speaker 3: you know, this is my year of growth, you know.
Speaker 3: It's just like I just have to let like she's
Speaker 3: just Maria's Maria and like I don't think she meant
Speaker 3: any harm behind it.
Speaker 2: Sydney, You're winning. This is what I wanted you to
Speaker 2: do during this show. This is exactly what I wanted
Speaker 2: you to come up with when you're being filmed for
Speaker 2: these weeks, is to at some point say, hey, I
Speaker 2: don't see the world the way she does. She doesn't
Speaker 2: see the world the way I do, and as a result,
Speaker 2: I'm just not entering into it. I am going to
Speaker 2: stay back and let this stuff play out. So you're
Speaker 2: doing it now, I'm just luty. You didn't do it, then, no.
Speaker 1: Just what is in your face? You can't stop yourself.
Speaker 3: I'm to be honest with you. There were so many
Speaker 3: moments I did. There were so many moments I believe
Speaker 3: it just didn't fit into character that I was supposed
Speaker 3: to be.
Speaker 6: One of the most annoying things that I received in
Speaker 6: a very very small amount that you received in a
Speaker 6: very large amount, was people would say.
Speaker 1: Your friend's me is a liar, like she is a liar.
Speaker 6: First off, people aren't crazy because they say it like fact,
Speaker 6: as if what they see on TV is true fact,
Speaker 6: there's no other context, and they truly know the person
Speaker 6: through and through right. But the liar thing was very
Speaker 6: annoying to me and to you because because I truly
Speaker 6: still don't think you were lying.
Speaker 3: No, And that's that was what honestly hurt me the
Speaker 3: most was to people, Yeah, call me a liar, and like,
Speaker 3: I'm just gonna say this, like, there was not a
Speaker 3: single thing that I lied about. I did not lie
Speaker 3: about a single thing, whether it was I saw it
Speaker 3: for myself or it was told by me by production,
Speaker 3: there is not a thing that I lied about. And
Speaker 3: I think people need to know that just because you
Speaker 3: didn't see something doesn't mean it didn't happen. Like we
Speaker 3: were filmed from the second we wake up to the
Speaker 3: second we go to bed, and like, it's not going
Speaker 3: to fit into one episode. So and it also doesn't
Speaker 3: pen to the storyline too, but so it's yeah, but
Speaker 3: being called a liar, I was like, yeah, that al
Speaker 3: was got hurt.
Speaker 2: It's a big comment, Sydney for this, you know, as
Speaker 2: we process the changing of the guard for the Bachelor
Speaker 2: franchise and a new team of producers and editors and
Speaker 2: video and camera coming in and the old one is
Speaker 2: coming out, the ones that you were most familiar with,
Speaker 2: and we kind of break down these stories of the
Speaker 2: behind the scenes to try to make sense of It's
Speaker 2: a big comment and it's a true comment. Now I
Speaker 2: don't know your specific situation. I don't I wasn't there,
Speaker 2: but for you to say you didn't lie about anything
Speaker 2: and that everything was either said to you by somebody else,
Speaker 2: or you saw it for yourself or a producer said
Speaker 2: it to you. Yeah, is bringing to light a lot
Speaker 2: of the things that maybe allow this drama to unfold
Speaker 2: and allows you know, this chaos to happen and for
Speaker 2: people to hear things and then stand up and say things.
Speaker 2: I think, Sidney, as we have processed this whole conversation
Speaker 2: and you saying, hey, you're proud that you stood up.
Speaker 2: You know, in your life, you still want to be
Speaker 2: the friend to stand up, you know for your friends.
Speaker 2: That's a great friend. I want that kind of friend.
Speaker 2: I think most people do. I also think for you
Speaker 2: to admit that they got you, that you were naive,
Speaker 2: and that they they that you didn't stop it, that
Speaker 2: you let it keep going, and that it's not editing.
Speaker 3: The Pigros.
Speaker 2: You could have said no, and you could have said
Speaker 2: that's not what I'm going to do.
Speaker 3: Ben.
Speaker 1: Ben really loves to do this.
Speaker 6: Ben is you know, he's a prince character and you
Speaker 6: and I are by nature going we can't hold everything back.
Speaker 1: Many Yeah, I couldn't do it.
Speaker 6: It wouldn't be being true to myself if I held
Speaker 6: it back.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I'm a very I'm an mpath like I just
Speaker 3: it's just who I am.
Speaker 2: I admit not everybody sees it like I do, and
Speaker 2: that's fine.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, I.
Speaker 2: Don't blame you. I'm just saying I wish your story
Speaker 2: would have been different. And so that's where my question
Speaker 2: comes here, Sidney, as we close up with you, your story
Speaker 2: should have been, could have been different. That's not the
Speaker 2: person that you want to be in your daily life.
Speaker 2: And Maria doesn't haunt your dreams. I'm not I'm assuming here.
Speaker 2: I'm guessing she's not on your mind all the time.
Speaker 2: I'm guessing you have moved on from this. For anybody listening,
Speaker 2: is there anything else that you'd want people to know
Speaker 2: that we haven't asked you or touched on that would
Speaker 2: help make not this situation come to light and turn
Speaker 2: the table on Maria. We haven't done that. What we've
Speaker 2: done is highlight the mistakes made and some of the
Speaker 2: reasons why it looked the way it looked. Is there
Speaker 2: anything else that you'd want somebody to know? That we
Speaker 2: haven't asked you.
Speaker 3: Like, you know, I think that it's not so black
Speaker 3: and white. I don't think that like moving forward, that
Speaker 3: there ever is a real true villain. I think that,
Speaker 3: I know. I mean, like Maria' is like, oh what
Speaker 3: you see is like what the drama was like, not
Speaker 3: how I perceived everything. Like my truth is so different.
Speaker 3: So everybody's truth in reality to the situation is different.
Speaker 3: And that's just life. So it's just like that on
Speaker 3: the show. And I mean I had to just work
Speaker 3: on this entire year being okay with the world not knowing,
Speaker 3: so like I do. I feel like there is so
Speaker 3: much I could go on and on and on and
Speaker 3: on about like like production and this and that, and
Speaker 3: I just don't think that there really is a need
Speaker 3: for it. I mean I will say this, I will
Speaker 3: say one thing that that sometimes I mean when I
Speaker 3: like have like people come to my store and they'll
Speaker 3: like ask for a photo and stuff, and they'll be like, wait,
Speaker 3: you're actually so nice, like and I'm just like, well,
Speaker 3: I mean it's just the power of I know, we
Speaker 3: hate it editing, but I would say this, like, uh,
Speaker 3: there was a group date and I got up and
Speaker 3: it looks like I walked away alone. But let's just
Speaker 3: say I wasn't the case.
Speaker 2: What do you mean tell us everyone followed me.
Speaker 3: Out because they were all on the same page as me,
Speaker 3: kind of thing. I think.
Speaker 6: I had moments, I had moments where I can relate
Speaker 6: to this completely. Like I just wish that I could
Speaker 6: have told everyone and be like, you don't understand, like
Speaker 6: there was a reason why there was nobody else talking
Speaker 6: because everybody was agreeing with me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, I mean there were so many times where
Speaker 3: it wasn't even just me. But I mean, at the
Speaker 3: same time, it's just like I've done so much work
Speaker 3: being okay with that, like just being okay with me myself,
Speaker 3: knowing my truth in my reality of it, you know,
Speaker 3: and like also I have I have, you know, like
Speaker 3: I did make mistakes and I take full accountability for,
Speaker 3: you know, things I've said on the show that I did,
Speaker 3: I don't mean, but it definitely was the result of
Speaker 3: things that no one ever saw.
Speaker 2: This was supposed to be the closing question, but I
Speaker 2: guess you brought up a question now from your response.
Speaker 2: If what I think you were saying was there was
Speaker 2: a group date that you got up and walked away
Speaker 2: from and the show made it seem like you walked alone.
Speaker 2: But what you're saying is that everybody walked with you
Speaker 2: because they were fed up with the situation at hand.
Speaker 2: So my question off of that is, then if that
Speaker 2: was true, how come no other cast members have said
Speaker 2: that or stood up for you in that moment after
Speaker 2: it looked so differently?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, we're all tied to the NDA, and
Speaker 3: there was a lot of people unfortunately that you know,
Speaker 3: switched up would come women tell all, which was like
Speaker 3: super shocking and unfortunate, But at the same time, it's
Speaker 3: just like that's what they just they didn't want to
Speaker 3: have to dive into it, you know, like they weren't involved,
Speaker 3: and I don't expect them to, you know, put themselves
Speaker 3: in hole that they weren't even in. And it was
Speaker 3: kind of just like the way that it looked at
Speaker 3: the end of the day was me and Maria and
Speaker 3: they were off the hook, and I honestly they they
Speaker 3: took the smart route by not getting involved at the
Speaker 3: end of the day, Like does it suck, Yeah, it
Speaker 3: does suck. You know, people feeling like I felt like
Speaker 3: pretty alone after it when it's just like there were
Speaker 3: so many people that like had my back and and
Speaker 3: stuck up for me during the season even though we
Speaker 3: didn't see it. But yeah, I just I mean, it's unfortunate,
Speaker 3: but at the same time, like, I don't blame.
Speaker 6: Them for not You know what's interesting is that they
Speaker 6: didn't let you do any interviews at all since the show.
Speaker 6: You haven't been able to speak on any platform until now,
Speaker 6: which you know, the contract lasts a year from like
Speaker 6: your last appearance date.
Speaker 1: Yeah, why do you think that is?
Speaker 3: Because I just think that it well also too, you're
Speaker 3: technically not allowed to talk about what didn't air, and
Speaker 3: then that's really all that I had, like to back
Speaker 3: me up. But at the same time, I just don't
Speaker 3: think that I was meant to be liked. I was not,
Speaker 3: Like my perspective was not meant to be shared. It
Speaker 3: just doesn't didn't fit the mold of like the character
Speaker 3: that I was supposed to be. I don't know what
Speaker 3: do you think about that, Ash?
Speaker 6: I think it's interesting because they pretty much let everybody
Speaker 6: talk these days on a podcast, especially their own Warner
Speaker 6: Brother one. But it always seems like somebody turns up
Speaker 6: on a really big podcast after that as well, and
Speaker 6: you were just never on the docket to be able
Speaker 6: to be talked to, and when we would inquire, even
Speaker 6: months after you were on the show, they still wouldn't
Speaker 6: let you.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I know. But to be honest, like, I don't
Speaker 3: even think it would have done me any good because
Speaker 3: I was still upset and like confused and yeah, in sight,
Speaker 3: but maybe, I mean maybe it would have given people
Speaker 3: a little bit better of an understanding of like who
Speaker 3: I am at the slightest.
Speaker 6: But I agree with you, I agree with you. I
Speaker 6: think it probably would have been bad. I think you
Speaker 6: probably would have been too defensive and it just wasn't
Speaker 6: the time for that. Now, did you look forward to
Speaker 6: possibly having an opportunity in Bachelor and Paradise to kind
Speaker 6: of clear your name?
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, definitely I was looking forward to that. I
Speaker 3: was like, this could be a great opportunity for people
Speaker 3: to finally get to know me. And I feel like
Speaker 3: I feel and I'm ready, like I'm so ready to
Speaker 3: find my person. I like I've been ready even went
Speaker 3: on the show, like genuinely looking for that.
Speaker 1: That's not going to happen.
Speaker 2: It looks like, well, it's a mistake you not going
Speaker 2: on Paradise.
Speaker 3: No, I'm not not her mistake.
Speaker 2: That's a big mistake.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's unfortunate, but like I said, everything happens for
Speaker 3: a reason. Yeah, and uh yeah, I don't know. It
Speaker 3: might be good. I've might just be opening wounds again
Speaker 3: as well. Yeah, but yeah, it's just really unfortunate about
Speaker 3: like just not getting that opportunity and then hearing who
Speaker 3: is going on and then you know, I just feel
Speaker 3: like I, I don't know, deserved a second chance.
Speaker 2: We all deserved second chances. Sidney and I hate I think.
Speaker 2: I think the perfect person for Paradise is somebody and
Speaker 2: this isn't what I wish on anybody. I think one
Speaker 2: of the many perfect people to go on Paradise is
Speaker 2: somebody that says they went on the show, they did
Speaker 2: their best. The show knows what they did to them.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: I don't know if this new Bachelor and Paradise crew
Speaker 2: has any idea of what your experience was actually like
Speaker 2: on the show. I think there's very few, and I
Speaker 2: don't think many of those people still work on the
Speaker 2: show anymore. But anybody comes off of it and said
Speaker 2: the show made them feel alone is somebody that I said,
Speaker 2: I say as a fan of viewer, a former contestant.
Speaker 2: Paradise is the place for you, and it is a
Speaker 2: mistake that you aren't going because if this show made
Speaker 2: you feel alone, the show has a lot of issues,
Speaker 2: but one of the things the show has always done,
Speaker 2: at least in the few last few years, it's allowed
Speaker 2: the redemption story to happen in Paradise, which always becomes
Speaker 2: a very beautiful moment for you and for us fans.
Speaker 2: So it is a mistake that they haven't had you there.
Speaker 2: And I will say that it's something that is unfortunate
Speaker 2: that you will not be on the beaches to get
Speaker 2: your redemption story that no matter what you deserve, because
Speaker 2: this was not great for you. The show did not
Speaker 2: like help you find love or really you know, increase
Speaker 2: your self talk or make you feel any better. And
Speaker 2: that's why I want you in Paradise.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think about it too, And I also I mean,
Speaker 3: there are people that there are a like few people
Speaker 3: that can you continue on to Paradise that know my situation,
Speaker 3: and one of them that I'm that I've been speaking to.
Speaker 3: But I'll be honest too, I think like I wasn't
Speaker 3: very proactively wanting to go on also because I wassident,
Speaker 3: because I was so hurt and upset and kind of
Speaker 3: like like, how could you know they do some of
Speaker 3: the things that they do to me? But but yeah,
Speaker 3: I just think that's like, that's I just had so
Speaker 3: much growth and I was like, I don't know if
Speaker 3: I even want to risk that again, you know.
Speaker 2: Sydney, thank you for coming on the show with us.
Speaker 2: Thank you for sharing your side. Thank you for being
Speaker 2: so nervous to talk to me. Goodness, am so scary.
Speaker 2: It makes me feel good about myself. I'm going to
Speaker 2: tell my wife that somebody was scary. I thought I
Speaker 2: was scary. She'll laugh. Sidney, thank you for sharing your side.
Speaker 2: We hope, I mean, I know Ashley is going to
Speaker 2: keep close with you, but I just I hope the
Speaker 2: best for you. I hope the lessons learned help your life,
Speaker 2: and I hope the moments of growth continue for all
Speaker 2: of us here. So thanks for listening to Infamous. Sidney,
Speaker 2: thank you for being a part of it.
Speaker 1: Thanks Sydney, and I've Been Ben, I've been Ashley.
Speaker 2: Bye.
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