WEBVTT - Bachelor Countdown Day 7: Ben Higgins 0:00:00.760 --> 0:00:03.800 This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast 0:00:03.840 --> 0:00:04.640 with iHeartRadio. 0:00:05.600 --> 0:00:09.160 Hey everyone, welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast. Today we 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:14.680 are continuing our countdown to Grant season by interviewing former Bachelor's. 0:00:15.000 --> 0:00:17.320 Today's Bachelor is Ben Higgins. 0:00:17.600 --> 0:00:17.920 Wow. 0:00:18.840 --> 0:00:22.960 Wow. We were joking before starting recording that this could 0:00:23.000 --> 0:00:25.439 be the easiest interview that we've ever done here on 0:00:25.440 --> 0:00:29.200 the Almost Famous Podcast, or it could be the hardest time. 0:00:29.200 --> 0:00:33.879 Will tell Ben, are you worried about some of the 0:00:34.000 --> 0:00:36.800 questions that I might ask? Because you know, I do 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:43.960 ask some scary questions to our guests, and today our 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:48.160 producers have written questions that I have been curious about, 0:00:48.560 --> 0:00:50.919 but I wasn't sure I was gonna be brave enough 0:00:50.960 --> 0:00:54.280 to ask. But since we're both thinking it, I might 0:00:54.480 --> 0:00:56.960 have to. And I'm gonna blame them for being the 0:00:57.000 --> 0:01:00.280 ones that really put it on paper. 0:01:00.400 --> 0:01:04.240 Yeah. I haven't seen the rundown. I chose not to 0:01:04.280 --> 0:01:06.400 look because I just want I want to be interviewed. 0:01:06.400 --> 0:01:09.559 It's been so long since I've done a deep dive 0:01:09.880 --> 0:01:14.800 into that season that this is exciting for me. 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:17.080 You don't scare me, so. 0:01:18.080 --> 0:01:20.800 I am the least scary person of all time. We 0:01:20.880 --> 0:01:22.440 all know this everybody. 0:01:22.040 --> 0:01:24.080 Knows me, not to some of the past Bachelor's I 0:01:24.080 --> 0:01:28.560 think exactly scared. Yeah, Ashley, you got me, Like, I 0:01:28.600 --> 0:01:31.480 don't know about this. No, this will be great. I 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:35.160 cannot wait to reminisce. Here's the only thing I want 0:01:35.200 --> 0:01:40.000 to start with, though, will be Please forgive me if 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:44.560 I don't remember. That is such a distant part of 0:01:44.600 --> 0:01:46.640 my life. Not in terms of and I've said this 0:01:46.680 --> 0:01:50.000 many times, I'm very grateful for that opportunity. I had 0:01:50.120 --> 0:01:53.120 met some amazing people, but my life has moved on 0:01:53.240 --> 0:01:56.600 so much from then. Not in terms of my disassociation 0:01:56.680 --> 0:01:58.960 with the show. I want to support the show, just 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:03.720 mostly with tons that there will probably be things that 0:02:03.800 --> 0:02:07.080 I forget and you'll have to maybe remind me, but 0:02:07.120 --> 0:02:09.160 I'll love to speak into it once you remind me. 0:02:09.520 --> 0:02:12.440 So Ben, we'll start off with when did you know 0:02:12.600 --> 0:02:14.520 you were going to be the Bachelor? And I want 0:02:14.560 --> 0:02:17.959 you to say dead truth, like I knew that they 0:02:18.080 --> 0:02:20.919 were gunning for me during Caitlyn season at this point. 0:02:21.880 --> 0:02:27.040 Yeah, I'd say the first moment that I realized something 0:02:27.120 --> 0:02:29.560 was up. So when we were in the house in 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:34.480 the mansion, I will say I don't remember many guys 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:37.560 I don't really remember anybody there that was looking for 0:02:38.639 --> 0:02:42.600 becoming the bachelor. I remember some people talking about it. 0:02:42.639 --> 0:02:46.000 I remember Paradise being brought up, and then I kind 0:02:46.040 --> 0:02:50.280 of remember those conversations never being that existent in our house. 0:02:50.320 --> 0:02:52.840 So it never felt like anybody was there pushing to 0:02:52.880 --> 0:02:58.840 be the lead. It wasn't until San Antonio that I 0:02:58.880 --> 0:03:01.799 started with Yeah, I started to feel like I'm being 0:03:01.840 --> 0:03:06.600 treated a little differently than most here. It was the 0:03:06.680 --> 0:03:09.880 moment when Sean and I were roommates. Yeah, and Caitlin 0:03:09.960 --> 0:03:13.760 snuck into our room, and you know, her and Sean 0:03:13.840 --> 0:03:16.400 had a conversation or whatever they did right next to 0:03:16.440 --> 0:03:21.360 me in the bathroom, and I was very much not 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:25.760 invited to that party. And in the bathroom, yeah, and 0:03:25.800 --> 0:03:28.000 I left, No, I went to the bathroom. 0:03:28.280 --> 0:03:29.400 I went, well, you went to. 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.640 The bathroom to give them privacy? How long did you 0:03:32.720 --> 0:03:33.720 spend in the bathroom? 0:03:33.840 --> 0:03:38.960 A long time, most of the evening into the wee mornings, 0:03:39.640 --> 0:03:40.600 wee hours of the morning. 0:03:40.680 --> 0:03:41.680 Do you sleep in the tub? 0:03:42.680 --> 0:03:45.600 I sat on the floor. I just I think I 0:03:45.600 --> 0:03:46.600 fell asleep, like. 0:03:46.880 --> 0:03:50.840 I And so that was very early on in the season. 0:03:51.360 --> 0:03:55.200 And I remember leaving the hotel and not being upset 0:03:55.360 --> 0:03:58.080 because it was so early on and I really didn't 0:03:58.160 --> 0:04:00.840 know what I was getting myself into, and I had 0:04:00.880 --> 0:04:03.560 felt very uncomfortable whole time. I remember going to one 0:04:03.600 --> 0:04:07.480 of the producers after they had already asked me if 0:04:07.560 --> 0:04:09.920 Caitlyn came into our room, so I did not out her. 0:04:09.960 --> 0:04:11.960 I want to be clear, I was not the one 0:04:12.000 --> 0:04:14.200 to tell anybody that she was there. This is a 0:04:14.240 --> 0:04:18.640 secret I kept for multiple days. Three days later and 0:04:18.680 --> 0:04:21.840 a producer came to me and said, to Kaitlyn's thinking 0:04:21.839 --> 0:04:24.200 to your room. I said yes. They asked me what happened. 0:04:25.279 --> 0:04:27.200 I explained, I said, you know, the truth of this is, 0:04:27.800 --> 0:04:30.200 I think I want to go home, like if I'm not, 0:04:31.200 --> 0:04:34.480 if I'm just a burden here, then I need to 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:36.880 go home because I don't want to just be like 0:04:36.920 --> 0:04:38.920 another cog in the wheel and it makes it easier 0:04:38.920 --> 0:04:40.479 for everybody. And I understand where I'm at, in the 0:04:40.480 --> 0:04:41.160 position I'm in. 0:04:41.400 --> 0:04:42.200 I'm just going to go home. 0:04:42.600 --> 0:04:44.440 And they said, let's think of let's talk about it. 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.200 They came back to me that evening and they said, 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:47.920 we really want you to stay, and Caitlyn wants to 0:04:47.960 --> 0:04:50.560 talk to you. So Caitlyn has this like very friendship 0:04:50.600 --> 0:04:52.400 conversation with me, where she's like. 0:04:52.360 --> 0:04:53.600 You know, on camera. 0:04:54.680 --> 0:04:56.840 It was on camera. It never got showed because they 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.600 never really showed any of that. It would have probably 0:04:59.680 --> 0:05:04.680 ruined the season, right she you know, the producers had 0:05:04.680 --> 0:05:07.480 asked me to keep it quiet, and so I did. 0:05:08.240 --> 0:05:10.800 I didn't tell anybody else, really, I don't think. Maybe 0:05:10.800 --> 0:05:12.520 I told Jared Jard been the only one I would 0:05:12.520 --> 0:05:18.279 have told. But they she has this like very friendly 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:20.680 conversation with me, like a lot can change before the end, 0:05:20.760 --> 0:05:22.760 and I really want you here, your place of fun 0:05:22.800 --> 0:05:26.960 and comfort and all those things. And I left the conversation. 0:05:27.000 --> 0:05:29.120 I said, if you know what, I'll stay, Like why not? 0:05:29.240 --> 0:05:31.719 This will be fun. I was convinced this could be 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:35.800 a good experience. I didn't really know what that was 0:05:35.920 --> 0:05:40.120 at the time, but it was, you know, a seed 0:05:40.160 --> 0:05:41.800 in my mind that the show had talked to her 0:05:41.800 --> 0:05:43.440 and been like, hey, you can't let this guy go 0:05:43.560 --> 0:05:46.400 right now, like you can't let him go home yet, 0:05:46.520 --> 0:05:49.640 we need him here a little longer. Then I get 0:05:49.800 --> 0:05:54.760 eliminated from the show. We're in Dublin and I'm sitting 0:05:54.760 --> 0:05:57.920 in my hotel room with my producer at the time, 0:05:58.000 --> 0:06:01.120 Megan and the executive produce her at the show back 0:06:01.160 --> 0:06:04.360 then comes in and she sits with me, and she's 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.640 asking me how I'm doing, and she's talking to me 0:06:06.640 --> 0:06:09.280 about everything and how, you know, how the experience was, 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:12.080 and at the end of that conversation goes, how would 0:06:12.080 --> 0:06:16.320 you like to be the Bachelor? I was like, this 0:06:16.320 --> 0:06:20.640 seems very soon. I feel like I'm still getting tricked. 0:06:20.920 --> 0:06:22.640 I feel like I'm still in this world. 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:29.240 And this might be the earliest they've ever asked somebody that. Seriously. 0:06:29.800 --> 0:06:33.640 Yeah, so I you know, we kind of that conversation 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.280 came and went, and I went back home, and then 0:06:36.320 --> 0:06:39.279 I started hearing rumors of other guys getting you know, 0:06:39.360 --> 0:06:42.040 the interviews, and there's rumors of other guys that were 0:06:42.040 --> 0:06:47.040 going to be chosen. And it wasn't until a few 0:06:47.040 --> 0:06:49.080 months before the show that they called me and they 0:06:49.120 --> 0:06:54.080 actually asked officially. But there was a good few months 0:06:54.120 --> 0:06:57.640 in between the airing of the show and when they 0:06:57.720 --> 0:07:00.320 asked that I was kind of hesitant or thinking, no, 0:07:00.440 --> 0:07:02.239 this isn't for me. I mean, I went back to work, 0:07:02.880 --> 0:07:04.680 I was kind of getting back into a rhythm. 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:07.320 So it was a while. 0:07:08.080 --> 0:07:11.320 But now looking back, I should have been smart enough 0:07:11.320 --> 0:07:15.240 to be like they they treated me differently. 0:07:16.160 --> 0:07:22.800 They certainly did on your Night one totally honest. Who 0:07:23.040 --> 0:07:24.640 was your top three coming out of the limo? 0:07:26.160 --> 0:07:30.360 It's a good question. I mean, I think Night one 0:07:30.400 --> 0:07:32.720 is really such a blur for any bachelor or bachelor. 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:38.280 It happened so fast, But I remember being it was 0:07:38.320 --> 0:07:41.160 beca tilly for sure, because Becka and I had talked 0:07:42.000 --> 0:07:47.280 before the season started, and I had said, Hey, I'm 0:07:47.280 --> 0:07:50.560 going to be the Bachelor. If you're interesting, coming on, 0:07:50.640 --> 0:07:52.840 come on, And she did and she was great, and 0:07:52.880 --> 0:07:55.200 I was so excited that she took that risk to 0:07:55.200 --> 0:07:56.280 come back a second time. 0:07:57.080 --> 0:07:58.800 Olivia obviously got. 0:07:58.680 --> 0:08:00.400 The final first first impression. 0:08:00.760 --> 0:08:02.800 Yeah, and then Jen Salviana, So like, those were the 0:08:02.800 --> 0:08:05.520 three that I remember on Night one just being super 0:08:07.040 --> 0:08:11.920 like they stood out. But even then, it's it's so 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:15.080 hard to tell. You have like five minute interactions. 0:08:14.520 --> 0:08:18.000 With each mm hmm. So with Becca, what was the 0:08:18.000 --> 0:08:19.920 extent of your communication before the show? 0:08:20.760 --> 0:08:24.160 We she had I think either we had ran into 0:08:24.240 --> 0:08:26.840 each other somewhere and we were mostly in a very 0:08:26.920 --> 0:08:32.160 like friendly like texting place, fretty friendly. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:08:32.200 --> 0:08:34.720 and just kind of conversing back and forth talking about 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:38.360 the show, joking back and forth with each other. It 0:08:38.559 --> 0:08:44.360 wasn't super extensive, so there wasn't this everyday type of thing. 0:08:44.400 --> 0:08:47.240 It was once a week, you know, once every couple weeks. 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:49.720 It was Hey, how's this going for you? Kind of stuff? 0:08:52.000 --> 0:08:54.080 And I think once I was announced as the bachelor, 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:57.360 that became like a less of a friendly thing and 0:08:57.360 --> 0:09:01.000 more of a hey, what Like what should I do? 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.360 Was the question, and I said, you should come on 0:09:04.040 --> 0:09:08.560 if that's something you're interested in doing. During that conversation too, 0:09:08.600 --> 0:09:11.240 because we were able to talk before the show, I 0:09:11.320 --> 0:09:13.160 had told her, and this will be funny later on, 0:09:14.679 --> 0:09:19.680 not funny, it's funny now that because obviously we're great friends. 0:09:20.440 --> 0:09:23.120 I had told her, Hey, because if you do come 0:09:23.160 --> 0:09:28.680 on and you risk this situation, I will never make 0:09:28.800 --> 0:09:32.719 you be eliminated in an unfair way, like at a 0:09:32.800 --> 0:09:34.920 rose ceremony, like I will always do it when I 0:09:34.960 --> 0:09:36.680 want to explain everything. 0:09:36.760 --> 0:09:39.839 Okay, did you promise her a certain point like I'm 0:09:39.880 --> 0:09:42.520 not going to eliminate you in the first couple of weeks. 0:09:42.840 --> 0:09:45.400 No goodness, No, I never said that. No, there was 0:09:45.440 --> 0:09:47.720 never that. It was just hey, when you if you 0:09:47.760 --> 0:09:51.040 do get eliminated, I will always do it like in 0:09:51.080 --> 0:09:54.760 a better way than how everybody else is. Because for me, 0:09:55.640 --> 0:09:58.440 and I think for her, she was in a different world. Right, 0:09:58.480 --> 0:10:00.960 she'd come off of the last season. She was risking 0:10:01.000 --> 0:10:05.840 it again coming on this season. Her family, right was 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.240 going to be involved again. There were so many things, 0:10:08.280 --> 0:10:10.520 and so that was my hope. Now I didn't stick 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:12.720 to my promise, and she got really mad about it. 0:10:13.040 --> 0:10:14.160 We're in worsea, Indiana. 0:10:14.880 --> 0:10:19.880 She's still there, and at that point I knew that 0:10:19.920 --> 0:10:23.920 we weren't going to, you know, be it there at 0:10:23.960 --> 0:10:27.199 the end. But Becca was always kind of in the 0:10:27.240 --> 0:10:30.040 top because she's such a joy to be around, such 0:10:30.040 --> 0:10:31.000 a joyful human. 0:10:31.120 --> 0:10:31.839 She's so fun. 0:10:32.200 --> 0:10:34.680 She got the process, and the girls loved her right 0:10:34.760 --> 0:10:37.640 like her and Jojo were best friends. They still are, 0:10:38.720 --> 0:10:41.959 And so it was like such a cool I felt 0:10:42.000 --> 0:10:42.680 like maybe. 0:10:42.440 --> 0:10:43.319 I was oblivious. 0:10:43.480 --> 0:10:46.280 I felt like it was such a cool last you know, 0:10:46.400 --> 0:10:51.120 eight people, because everybody's having so much fun. We're figuring 0:10:51.120 --> 0:10:55.800 this thing out, traveling the world bow and warsaw, and 0:10:55.880 --> 0:10:57.839 I kind of come to this realization, Oh my gosh, 0:10:57.880 --> 0:11:01.319 next week is hometowns. Yeah, I don't want to put 0:11:01.320 --> 0:11:03.160 her family through this again. I don't want to put 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.920 her through this again if I know, this isn't going 0:11:06.000 --> 0:11:08.400 to be the one at the end, even though she could, 0:11:08.600 --> 0:11:13.040 you know, be there. And and so I'm like coming 0:11:13.040 --> 0:11:16.120 to this realization right before the Rose ceremony. And so 0:11:16.400 --> 0:11:21.520 I eliminate Becka in Warsaw and we go and I 0:11:23.200 --> 0:11:25.839 specifically said that guy, want to walk you out? And 0:11:25.920 --> 0:11:27.679 she said yes, and we sit down the bench in 0:11:27.760 --> 0:11:30.960 Warsaw and she goes, you promised you wouldn't do this 0:11:31.040 --> 0:11:34.640 to me, and I was like, I know, and I'm sorry. 0:11:34.920 --> 0:11:35.920 I don't know what else to. 0:11:35.920 --> 0:11:39.000 Do because was she the only one eliminated at that 0:11:39.080 --> 0:11:41.440 Rose ceremony because you had a two on one that week? 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:42.640 Did you have a two on one? No, you didn't 0:11:42.640 --> 0:11:45.040 have a two on one? So then was she the 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:47.640 only one eliminated at the Rose ceremony so that you couldn't. 0:11:47.360 --> 0:11:52.440 Do it because the twins went home after visiting my parents' house? 0:11:52.800 --> 0:11:55.880 Yeah, exactly, That's what I remembered. Yeah, yeah, so remember 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:57.720 somebody got eliminated in another way. 0:11:58.120 --> 0:11:58.400 Yeah. 0:11:58.440 --> 0:12:00.480 So it was like a very brutal mon mo from 0:12:00.520 --> 0:12:04.000 me because and my hope was that, you know, Becca 0:12:04.000 --> 0:12:06.440 and I would always stay connected and we have she's 0:12:06.520 --> 0:12:08.520 one of the closest people to me on the show still. 0:12:09.000 --> 0:12:11.160 But at first I think she was really upset, Like 0:12:11.200 --> 0:12:15.640 I think she was really mad that I didn't give 0:12:15.679 --> 0:12:19.840 her the respect that I promised I would give her, 0:12:20.120 --> 0:12:21.760 and I think that was a fair thing. And it 0:12:21.800 --> 0:12:24.559 was one of those moments that you're sitting there and 0:12:24.600 --> 0:12:26.560 you're like, I don't know what I can do, Like, 0:12:26.720 --> 0:12:29.040 there's nothing I can do about this other than you 0:12:29.360 --> 0:12:31.400 have every right to get so mad at me right now. 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:44.800 We had the most fun week after you eliminated her. 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:47.160 She was like, I don't, like, I don't feel like 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:50.520 going home yet. So she came over. She slept over 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:53.920 at my apartment for three days and we basically took 0:12:54.080 --> 0:12:56.440 We did take out for every meal, and we watched 0:12:56.440 --> 0:13:02.839 Gray's Anatomy all day long. It was so fun. No, 0:13:02.920 --> 0:13:05.400 not at all. No, she didn't give me much details, 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:08.079 you know, but she's just like bombed. 0:13:08.160 --> 0:13:10.600 But I was hoping you'd be like, yeah, she was 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:12.520 like just ripping you a new one. 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:18.160 No, okay, So that means that you were more into 0:13:18.200 --> 0:13:23.000 Becca than you were into say, like Amanda and Kayla. 0:13:23.200 --> 0:13:26.319 I don't know if that is a fair statement. I think. 0:13:27.600 --> 0:13:30.760 At that point, so many of them kind of existed 0:13:30.880 --> 0:13:31.880 within the same. 0:13:32.720 --> 0:13:35.240 Sphere, like they were all like on the same level. 0:13:35.280 --> 0:13:36.840 And then there was Lauren and Jojo. 0:13:37.360 --> 0:13:40.040 Yeah, I'd say that would be the fair statement my 0:13:40.280 --> 0:13:47.800 concern with Amanda m Again, I feel very lucky because 0:13:47.800 --> 0:13:49.559 if you look at the list of people that were 0:13:49.559 --> 0:13:51.640 on that season, you're like, this was the most incredible 0:13:51.640 --> 0:13:53.360 group of all time. And I would stick to that 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:56.200 and I would scream it from the mountaintops and everybody's 0:13:56.240 --> 0:14:01.440 happy and healthy and doing their thing today. I I 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:07.200 didn't know about Amanda because it wasn't at that level right, 0:14:07.320 --> 0:14:08.840 Like she wasn't going to be there at the end. 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:10.400 That was very obvious to me at that point. 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:14.439 And she had two kids, Yeah, And I had said, 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:19.280 I don't want to go to her hometown because you're 0:14:19.320 --> 0:14:23.280 bringing kids into this. That feels weird, that feels messy, 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:27.880 And the show was like, yeah, but kind of what 0:14:27.880 --> 0:14:31.400 they do with me. I think they really wanted Amanda 0:14:31.440 --> 0:14:33.120 to be the lead of this next season. I thought 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:34.960 that it made sense to me. It would have been 0:14:35.040 --> 0:14:36.240 an amazing lead. 0:14:36.760 --> 0:14:38.840 They saw her as like an Emily Maynard part two. 0:14:39.280 --> 0:14:42.520 Yeah, and I think for me it made sense, and 0:14:42.600 --> 0:14:44.480 I didn't want to take that away from her. Now, 0:14:44.520 --> 0:14:46.600 looking back, I don't think it would have mattered if 0:14:46.640 --> 0:14:48.280 she went home in the top five or the top 0:14:48.320 --> 0:14:54.080 four or whatever that was. But I, in my naive mind, 0:14:54.360 --> 0:14:56.400 and I'm trying to go back to this time, thought 0:14:56.680 --> 0:15:00.880 I'm doing the right thing by giving her the opportunity 0:15:01.280 --> 0:15:05.120 to become the next season's lead, by going to her hometown. 0:15:05.640 --> 0:15:08.560 Well, I still think Amanda would say thank you. I 0:15:08.560 --> 0:15:11.160 think she'd be glad that that happened. And I don't 0:15:11.200 --> 0:15:13.080 think that kids in chart thinking it was anything other 0:15:13.160 --> 0:15:13.600 than cool. 0:15:13.920 --> 0:15:17.800 I don't think they even probably remember it. But I'm 0:15:17.840 --> 0:15:19.920 going back to a place where at the time, it 0:15:20.040 --> 0:15:23.600 is your world, right, So you don't know the outcomes 0:15:24.240 --> 0:15:26.720 or the results from any of these decisions, and so 0:15:26.840 --> 0:15:29.600 for me, you're trying to weigh all those options, and 0:15:29.600 --> 0:15:33.120 you're like, Okay, if I was, since I am the 0:15:33.120 --> 0:15:37.080 one making the decisions here, this does feel like the 0:15:37.160 --> 0:15:38.080 right decision to do. 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:40.040 So. 0:15:41.960 --> 0:15:44.480 But it wasn't that I was uninterested. I was very 0:15:44.520 --> 0:15:45.800 excited about it. 0:15:45.800 --> 0:15:46.600 It just wasn't. 0:15:46.720 --> 0:15:49.720 I just knew where the outcome was going to be. 0:15:50.400 --> 0:15:53.480 And so we went back to her hometown with her kids. 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:56.880 I had asked the show to be respectful of that, 0:15:57.360 --> 0:16:01.320 given what I knew was going to be happening. And 0:16:03.680 --> 0:16:06.320 everything went awesome. I had a blast. Her kids are great, 0:16:06.520 --> 0:16:10.240 family's awesome, Amanda's great. And then I think, you know, 0:16:10.320 --> 0:16:12.320 the big moment for me, the moment where I got 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:16.200 the maddest I ever was on the show was when 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:18.320 they asked me to tuck the kids in at night. 0:16:18.680 --> 0:16:22.920 Cool. I remember this now in the. 0:16:23.240 --> 0:16:26.760 F Yeah, and I was like, no, I'm not doing it. 0:16:26.840 --> 0:16:27.680 I'm not doing it. 0:16:28.400 --> 0:16:30.960 But then you're sitting so you have to like, this 0:16:31.000 --> 0:16:32.720 will get us a little bit of a scope to 0:16:32.880 --> 0:16:34.600 like the decisions you have to make as the lead. 0:16:35.240 --> 0:16:37.040 You're in the family room with the whole family. 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.520 They go, Hey, the kids are upstairs, are going to bed, Ben, 0:16:40.560 --> 0:16:43.120 you want to go up there? And you're sitting there, like, 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.560 I got two options, say no and then bring up 0:16:46.560 --> 0:16:49.720 a whole array of questions from everybody sitting in the room, 0:16:50.200 --> 0:16:53.760 or say yes and just do it and hope for 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:58.080 the best. And so I was like, all right, let's 0:16:58.120 --> 0:17:00.960 go because I didn't want I felt like if I 0:17:01.000 --> 0:17:04.560 said no, everybody would be questioning that Amanda would read 0:17:04.560 --> 0:17:06.760 through the lines there this could blow up in my face. 0:17:09.040 --> 0:17:11.199 So I went upstairs and then that's when I went 0:17:11.200 --> 0:17:14.439 out to the van and just blew a gasket. 0:17:16.320 --> 0:17:17.240 What'd you say to them? 0:17:18.280 --> 0:17:19.119 A lot of things I. 0:17:20.880 --> 0:17:26.560 Should have said, honestly, I think mostly you know, you commit, 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:29.080 like you've asked me to trust you all, and these 0:17:29.119 --> 0:17:34.399 are the moments why I don't. You've put me in 0:17:34.440 --> 0:17:38.240 a situation that can affect others when I've tried so 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:41.320 hard to not do that. I think I was in 0:17:41.359 --> 0:17:43.000 the right. I think the show thought I was in 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:44.720 the right. I think every producer there was like, I 0:17:44.800 --> 0:17:50.399 get it, this sucks, but like it's good TV and 0:17:50.440 --> 0:17:52.080 they'll be all right. Those kids will recover. 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:56.840 So the other time you blew a gasket with the 0:17:56.880 --> 0:18:01.359 show was when you were running for office in Colorado 0:18:02.160 --> 0:18:07.719 Congress the House, and then they told you, after already 0:18:07.760 --> 0:18:11.840 being involved in running, that you had to stop. Can 0:18:11.880 --> 0:18:12.760 you tell us this story? 0:18:13.080 --> 0:18:13.320 Yeah? 0:18:13.359 --> 0:18:15.320 So, I mean there's a long backstory to that. So 0:18:15.480 --> 0:18:17.280 I get off the show, and I had always talked 0:18:17.280 --> 0:18:18.960 and I still to this day, have an interest in 0:18:18.960 --> 0:18:22.399 getting involved in my community in some way. So I 0:18:22.600 --> 0:18:24.560 thought it'd be fun to be on a city council. 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.080 I always thought it would be fun to be in 0:18:27.119 --> 0:18:30.920 some situation where I was in the know. It's something 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:35.920 I desire and making decisions that feel logical and rational 0:18:36.080 --> 0:18:40.399 on behalf of the community around me. To what scale, 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.280 to what degree, I don't really know, but it was 0:18:43.320 --> 0:18:46.720 always something that intrigued me, and I had brought this 0:18:46.800 --> 0:18:48.359 up when we were filming the show, probably with some 0:18:48.400 --> 0:18:51.040 producers over dinner. So I get off the show and 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:54.120 right away they have this idea, what if we did 0:18:54.200 --> 0:18:57.720 kind of a docuseries show about you running for office, 0:18:58.640 --> 0:19:03.480 and we helped support the whole thing financially, and we 0:19:03.760 --> 0:19:04.760 filmed the whole. 0:19:04.520 --> 0:19:07.000 Thing, and then maybe one day you're in office. 0:19:07.119 --> 0:19:09.720 And at the time, because I was twenty six with 0:19:09.760 --> 0:19:13.600 no money, I thought, this is an incredible opportunity. If 0:19:13.600 --> 0:19:16.399 I'm going to be able to run for office and 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:20.320 have somebody support it at the scale that they could, 0:19:21.680 --> 0:19:23.800 then I'm going to say yes. And so I said 0:19:23.840 --> 0:19:28.720 yes and signed a contract for a show. That's an 0:19:28.720 --> 0:19:33.359 important note. Well, I don't know necessarily the behind the 0:19:33.359 --> 0:19:35.280 scenes of what happened, but I went through the whole process, 0:19:35.280 --> 0:19:39.560 got my name on the ballot, advocated for myself around 0:19:39.600 --> 0:19:43.160 my community, had so many five o'clock in the morning breakfasts, 0:19:44.000 --> 0:19:47.400 and then filmed the show of all this stuff, and 0:19:47.440 --> 0:19:48.800 I got my name on the ballot and the night 0:19:48.880 --> 0:19:51.639 of my celebration party for doing that, which is a 0:19:51.680 --> 0:19:54.840 big accomplishment. They call and they say, you need to 0:19:54.840 --> 0:19:59.800 pull out the race because and here's their reasoning, and 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:01.840 and here's legally what I can say. 0:20:01.880 --> 0:20:03.160 But what is true. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:08.520 Is they said they found out recently from some of 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:12.679 their attorneys that when you run a political campaign on TV, 0:20:12.800 --> 0:20:16.880 you have to show whoever the person's running against, equal amounts, 0:20:16.920 --> 0:20:20.920 which is a true thing. And I don't know if 0:20:20.960 --> 0:20:25.240 this was just them not knowing and figuring out at 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.280 the last moment with wild timing, or if this was 0:20:28.320 --> 0:20:33.560 strategic in whatever way, or if they said, hey, this 0:20:33.880 --> 0:20:35.919 isn't going to be a great look, don't I don't know. 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:40.320 I have no idea what the situation necessarily behind the 0:20:40.359 --> 0:20:41.840 scenes was. But that's what I was told, and I 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:42.320 had to. 0:20:42.680 --> 0:20:45.880 And you flipped out. When do you flip out? 0:20:46.080 --> 0:20:49.760 I flipped out when, well, right there, because this is 0:20:49.800 --> 0:20:52.560 my community around me, right these are the like. At 0:20:52.560 --> 0:20:57.640 this point, I was still recently off the show, so 0:20:57.920 --> 0:21:01.479 this had gotten national coverage that I was running. I 0:21:01.520 --> 0:21:04.520 had convinced everybody in the community that this wasn't some 0:21:04.680 --> 0:21:09.280 setup for more attention, and so me backing out makes 0:21:09.320 --> 0:21:12.080 everything that I said and tried to claim within the 0:21:12.119 --> 0:21:15.080 people in my neighborhood go, no, this is exactly what 0:21:15.119 --> 0:21:17.199 it was. It was a seat and it leaves the 0:21:17.200 --> 0:21:21.960 seat wide open. Yeah, And so there was a lot 0:21:22.000 --> 0:21:25.920 of there was a lot of i'd say pain right 0:21:26.000 --> 0:21:29.200 after me as the bachelor. That happened because the people 0:21:29.240 --> 0:21:32.520