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Speaker 1: This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous Podcast

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Speaker 1: with iHeartRadio.

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Speaker 2: It's a special episode of the Almost Famous Podcast. Guest

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Speaker 2: host Rachel is with us. We have Luke Pell as

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Speaker 2: our guest.

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Speaker 3: Luke, welcome, Hey, thanks for having me on. Ben, good

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Speaker 3: to see you again. It's been a few years.

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Speaker 2: A lot's happened in your life in the last few years.

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Speaker 2: Now you and Rachel have never met, and today we're

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Speaker 2: changing that. But we both want to tell you congratulations

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Speaker 2: from the very start, Luke, on some recent things happening

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Speaker 2: in your life and one of the big reasons why

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Speaker 2: you're here.

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Speaker 4: With us today.

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Speaker 5: Awesome, Thank you so much. That means that it's.

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Speaker 2: A lot, So let's start at the beginning. For those

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Speaker 2: like Rachel h Now, we're not going to talk a

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Speaker 2: lot about your experience on The Bachelorette or any other

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Speaker 2: spinoff shows, but just for fans to be reminded, you

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Speaker 2: were a part of Bachelor Nation. You still are a

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Speaker 2: part of Bachelor Nation. You are on JoJo's season of

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Speaker 2: The Bachelorette, which happened to be the year after I was.

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Speaker 4: On the show.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, a while ago.

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Speaker 4: Now it is Rachel.

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Speaker 2: Caitlin Bristow posted a picture of when she was the Bachelorette,

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Speaker 2: which is a season I was on and it was

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Speaker 2: nine years ago.

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Speaker 4: Isn't that wild?

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Speaker 6: Isn't it crazy how fast it goes? Mine was already

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Speaker 6: three years ago, like it was actually yesterday. But you guys,

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Speaker 6: were you on Winter Games together?

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Speaker 5: We were whoa very true yeah.

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Speaker 2: Okay games that never happened again and nobody watched it

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Speaker 2: was wild.

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Speaker 6: We were just talking like, did Winter Games actually happen

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Speaker 6: or did we imagine it?

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Speaker 2: I think for some I think for some of us,

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Speaker 2: most of us, we hope it was just a dream,

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Speaker 2: an imagination, something that just popped up and existed and

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Speaker 2: went away.

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Speaker 4: But we were on that show together. Yes, I kind of.

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Speaker 3: Wish they would bring it back, honestly. And some people

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Speaker 3: that have watched it that I've they're like, oh, what

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Speaker 3: was that show? They ever heard of it? And I'll

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Speaker 3: be like, I'll tell them, we'll talk about it. They'll

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Speaker 3: go look it up on YouTube and they're like, that's

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Speaker 3: actually amazing. You have people that can't speak English language

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Speaker 3: barriers like all over the world, like global.

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Speaker 5: It completely way more entertaining.

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Speaker 3: And you've got the sports side of it and non

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Speaker 3: athletes competing in the Olympic sports, which is also entertaining

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Speaker 3: in and of itself.

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Speaker 2: I enjoyed it. I had a really good time. And

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Speaker 2: it's one of those shows, Rachel, where you feel like

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Speaker 2: you're just hanging out with friends most of the time,

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Speaker 2: Like you don't feel like you're actually on a show.

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Speaker 2: You're just kind of kicking it in this cabin. That

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Speaker 2: was my experience. Now, Luke, you have gone beyond the

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Speaker 2: Bachelor into a very successful personal life. Until we get

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Speaker 2: into the big reason you're here today, in the big

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Speaker 2: announcement and the thing we want to celebrate in the

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Speaker 2: last let's say six years of your life, then what

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Speaker 2: have you been up to career wise kind of personally?

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Speaker 4: What does your life look like?

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Speaker 3: Yeah? You know so Idi, Yes, we talked before COVID

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Speaker 3: the last time I was on with you and Nashley,

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Speaker 3: and you know, I was still in Nashville and I

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Speaker 3: had been doing Nashville music there for a few years. Uh,

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Speaker 3: I guess professionally as a career, and COVID happened and

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Speaker 3: that was a really a good reset for me. You know,

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Speaker 3: I've gone into commercial real estate right during COVID, and

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Speaker 3: so I've been doing that the last four years now,

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Speaker 3: and it's it's been great.

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Speaker 5: It's been a great transition.

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Speaker 3: You know, I knew that at a point there you

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Speaker 3: start this process and you kind of have a life

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Speaker 3: moment and you say, what's my perspective here on the

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Speaker 3: next like a five year planner, Like what what do

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Speaker 3: you when do you want to start a family?

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Speaker 5: What does that look like? How do you build an environment?

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Speaker 3: And that's conlusive for having a family and doing that,

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Speaker 3: And so for me that was, yeah, getting out of

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Speaker 3: the entertainment business and working my way back to Texas

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Speaker 3: which just recently moved back to Texas, and and kind

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Speaker 3: of setting roots here close to home and uh and

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Speaker 3: and getting ready.

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Speaker 5: To star our family. So yeah, it's been quite a process.

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Speaker 3: It's been a few years in the maying and took

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Speaker 3: some turns and unexpected things that happened. But I'm very

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Speaker 3: happy and blessed to be where I'm at right now.

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Speaker 2: And you are also an entrepreneur. I don't know if

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Speaker 2: you're still involved. You had started or been involved in

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Speaker 2: a moving company. Is that still exists today?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so I'm still equity stakeholder in black Tie Moving.

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Speaker 3: My location is up in Louisville, Kentucky, and the headquarters

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Speaker 3: since in Nashville. So a friend of mine started that

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Speaker 3: and franchised it, and I started the first franchise for them.

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Speaker 2: So he's up to a lot, Rachel. Wow, the show

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Speaker 2: did not slow him down obviously. This last couple of weeks,

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Speaker 2: the announcement came out that you are engaged.

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Speaker 4: Now we have followed.

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Speaker 2: If you're a part of Bachel Nation, you've probably followed

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Speaker 2: Luke's story, you know, and kept up with his life.

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Speaker 2: A lot of the behind the scenes romantically has not

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Speaker 2: been shown, but this one was and I started to

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Speaker 2: watch it and I started to see you. I was like,

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Speaker 2: I wonder if this is the real deal, and it

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Speaker 2: is all right if you don't mind. Luke catches all

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Speaker 2: up on maybe what we didn't see, your your love story,

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Speaker 2: how you met, uh and then ultimately where you're at today.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so the we met actually through Instagram and uh,

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Speaker 3: you know there's.

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Speaker 5: Yeah I did DM slide That's what I actually knew.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, so that works for Bence, I said, well,

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Speaker 3: I guess it works for a lot of people now.

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Speaker 3: And the more I've we've we've talked about that, people

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Speaker 3: are like how have you met? It was like, there's

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Speaker 3: a DM slide, and I'm hearing it's actually pretty frequent.

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Speaker 3: Maybe like the most frequent answer that I hear now

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Speaker 3: is that that's how people are. I did.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, No, I did, absolutely, And I don't even know.

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Speaker 3: Honestly, we were talking about like how did it come

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Speaker 3: across We didn't have a lot of mutual friends. I

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Speaker 3: think it's the Instagram algorithm. It was like an explore

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Speaker 3: pace thing. I was like, oh my god, she's she's gorgeous,

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Speaker 3: and you click on it and then you kind of

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Speaker 3: like learn about somebody, like hey, you know, like what

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Speaker 3: their values, how important family, all these different things you

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Speaker 3: can see by somebody's Instagram. Sometimes sometimes people they curate

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Speaker 3: their Instagram a little differently.

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Speaker 5: But but but.

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Speaker 3: Hers is very much who she is as a person

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Speaker 3: and very transparent, and so she's just an incredible person.

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Speaker 3: And uh and so we we, uh, you know, we

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Speaker 3: talked through DMS for a little bit and and then

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Speaker 3: we initially we didn't actually meet until late February of

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Speaker 3: this year in person, and so it's been quite an

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Speaker 3: expediitted timeline. If you're not on reality TV shows, it's

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Speaker 3: been an extabouted timeline, but so.

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Speaker 6: Brought you together in Instagram and then how long were

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Speaker 6: you talking online or over the phone and show you

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Speaker 6: guys met how many months?

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so like it was just a brief interaction like

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Speaker 3: two months prior.

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Speaker 5: And so there was you know, where you where do

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Speaker 5: you live.

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Speaker 3: I didn't know anything about her, and she was like,

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Speaker 3: you know, Max, you know, looking at moving back to

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Speaker 3: Texas next year, and et cetera, et cetera, and then

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Speaker 3: it just was kind of tabled.

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Speaker 5: And and and and then it came back around.

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Speaker 3: But I guess, like I said, late February, and she

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Speaker 3: happened to be in Dallas at the same time as

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Speaker 3: I was, and we met up for coffee and and

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Speaker 3: then just kind of took it from there and then

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Speaker 3: I traveled out to I guess our really our first

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Speaker 3: like real date was in Dallas, and then we ended

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Speaker 3: up doing Easter together and just one thing led to

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Speaker 3: another and a matter of family are very early on

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Speaker 3: this spring, and uh, they were great, and everything just

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Speaker 3: kind of fallen into place.

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Speaker 5: And so you know, we're.

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Speaker 3: Both people of faith and very forward with you know,

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Speaker 3: what what our past has been and who we are

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Speaker 3: as people, and very forthcoming with all of that, and

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Speaker 3: I think that that's what really, you know, bridge that

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Speaker 3: gap for us and and made us feel comfortable with

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Speaker 3: each each other.

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Speaker 5: Moving forward so quickly, beautiful.

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Speaker 4: Your fiance's name is Haley James. Correct.

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Speaker 2: Yes, she's originally from where rock Wall, Texas, Rockwall, Texas.

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Speaker 2: And you're from Dallas.

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Speaker 3: Burnett, Texas originally, yeah, which is closer to Austin.

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Speaker 2: Burnett, Texas. I know, Burnett, Texas. My cousin is talking

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Speaker 2: to a girl from Burnett, Texas. Actually, oh my god, yeah,

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Speaker 2: not a very big.

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Speaker 5: Time probably know who it is.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, after the after this, I want to check to

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Speaker 2: see if you do.

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Speaker 4: I just got to download on her.

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Speaker 2: Uh so you you obviously did she know of who

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Speaker 2: you were when you two met?

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Speaker 4: Like did she had she seen the show?

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Speaker 3: She had seen the show? Yeah, I don't, you know

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Speaker 3: obviously yours and my shows have been so far in

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Speaker 3: the past. I don't know that it mattered registered with

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Speaker 3: her and that currently like I was like I was

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Speaker 3: from the.

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Speaker 5: Show because it's been several years. But yeah, I mean

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Speaker 5: caught up, caught up quickly. Yeah, it was a bashelar thing.

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Speaker 2: So okay, And so when you first reached out to her.

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Speaker 2: That is not the reason why she was like, oh,

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Speaker 2: I'm interested in this guy. I know him from the show.

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Speaker 2: She was like later on that became.

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Speaker 4: Apparent to her.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, exactly.

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Speaker 4: That's the best way to do it, Rachel.

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Speaker 2: That's some good advice for you is to you know,

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Speaker 2: not everybody can't can't get mad at somebody for watching

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Speaker 2: the show, but you can definitely question them when they're like,

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Speaker 2: I'll go on date with you.

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Speaker 4: I remember you from the show.

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Speaker 6: That absolutely, I will say, though she probably did know

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Speaker 6: because all of my friends are like FBI agents and

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Speaker 6: they send me a full back as soon as I tuck.

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Speaker 5: That's true. The the CSI agents come out pretty quick.

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Speaker 2: Yeah, Luke, you kind of touched on it. But now,

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Speaker 2: for the remaining time we have, I really want to

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Speaker 2: get to know you and and Haley as a couple.

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Speaker 4: What made her?

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Speaker 2: I mean, obviously her beauty stood out to you at first,

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Speaker 2: but then as you got closer to an engagement, what

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Speaker 2: about her stood out to you to make you feel

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Speaker 2: so comfortable that, even after five months of knowing each

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Speaker 2: other in person, you said, this is it.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, you know I touched on it earlier, but yeah,

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Speaker 3: I think, you know, for both of us, you know,

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Speaker 3: and she's got her own stories. She's been through quite

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Speaker 3: a lot in the last few years, and one of

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Speaker 3: those things was her dad passed away in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 3: and so you know, that's just one of the things.

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Speaker 3: And so she had been through a rollercoaster of just

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Speaker 3: emotion and just life changes and things like that. And

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Speaker 3: so you know, I had gone through some some big

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Speaker 3: relational changes myself early in twenty twenty three or a

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Speaker 3: year ago, and so we were both in a place

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Speaker 3: of just really digging down deep and I think finding

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Speaker 3: ourselves and what we really wanted in life. And you know,

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Speaker 3: our faith brought us together. And then just that ability

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Speaker 3: for us to both I think, be vulnerable and just

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Speaker 3: really not put on a mask of who we were

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Speaker 3: or why, what our intentions were or anything like that.

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Speaker 3: We were just very everything was on the table very

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Speaker 3: early and said, look, there is no nonsense. I'm not

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Speaker 3: here to just date around and see how this goes. Like,

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Speaker 3: I'm looking for somebody to spend my life with. And

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Speaker 3: you know, I would love for this to work out,

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Speaker 3: but let's be very upfront about everything coming into it,

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Speaker 3: so that we're not wasting each other's time or the

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Speaker 3: family's time or anything like that, or dragging anybody else

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Speaker 3: into this. And so that's that was it, you know,

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Speaker 3: And so I think that was the advice piece of

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Speaker 3: anybody was ever to ask me. It's it's it's be

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Speaker 3: as transparent as you can be and focused and intentional

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Speaker 3: up front. You know. I think the world we live

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Speaker 3: in now is so full of distractions, and you know,

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Speaker 3: Instagram and other people on you know that are just

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Speaker 3: talking into our life and it becomes all this noise.

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Speaker 5: And if you can find a way to shut out.

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Speaker 3: That noise and really focus on your own part and

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Speaker 3: what God's put on your heart.

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Speaker 5: And who who you should.

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Speaker 3: Be with from that standpoint, and what you want in

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Speaker 3: terms of having a family and the future, I think

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Speaker 3: that would save a lot of drama on a lot

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Speaker 3: of breakups and confusion for people.

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Speaker 6: How quickly after the first date did you know that

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Speaker 6: she was the one? Was it really soon on?

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Speaker 5: I would say it was. It was within probably the

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Speaker 5: first thirty days. Yeah, after our first date, you know,

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Speaker 5: we had a coffee date went great, and we.

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Speaker 3: Had like a you know, more formal dinner date, and

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Speaker 3: you know, but still just like meet at the restaurant type.

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Speaker 5: Of dinner date.

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Speaker 3: And really, you know, we were very careful up front too,

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Speaker 3: and very like we put in some parameters of saying like,

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Speaker 3: let's not make this casual. Let's not you know, go

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Speaker 3: go to the club and and have this this this

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Speaker 3: party thing and and just kind of hanging out. Let's like,

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Speaker 3: let's sit down, have a nice dinner together, be very

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Speaker 3: formal about our and I think that also helped where

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Speaker 3: we were going. So there was no just you know,

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Speaker 3: emotional I guess what they call it where youngitulated with

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Speaker 3: somebody up ron or used just being to somebody it's

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Speaker 3: like what where what direction are you setting in that part?

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Speaker 5: We put that in the same direction.

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Speaker 3: And so we were just very and it almost seems

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Speaker 3: on paper that almost seems to go it's more interview style.

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Speaker 5: It's like a job interview or whatever, if you think

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Speaker 5: about it.

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Speaker 3: But when we did it, it was built on a

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Speaker 3: foundation of respect. I think is really what the common

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Speaker 3: theme for both of us is. We just respected each other.

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Speaker 3: We respected each other's our past and what we were

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Speaker 3: looking for in our intentions, and that just really set

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Speaker 3: us up for success.

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Speaker 2: So now that uh, it's official. You guys are engaged.

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Speaker 2: What's the timeline. Obviously this has been, like you said,

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Speaker 2: an expedited dating process, But I am with you where

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Speaker 2: I feel like once I met my now wife, it

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Speaker 2: wasn't it wasn't with in a few hours that I

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Speaker 2: didn't think, yeah, this is this is the one. So now,

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Speaker 2: what does the wedding look like? Well, are you guys

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Speaker 2: starting to plan prep talk about.

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Speaker 3: Yeah, so we're actually gonna do like a private family

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Speaker 3: only only ceremony much much sooner and then we'll get married.

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Speaker 3: It just because of the logistics of fight and everything

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Speaker 3: that we would build, people in Prentish and then living

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Speaker 3: in all those things. We'll get married, have a prep

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Speaker 3: ceremonial family and then we'll do dark together the ring

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Speaker 3: in the spring next next spring. And uh it sounds

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Speaker 3: like we've you know, picked a venue and and she's

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Speaker 3: excited about it. Yeah, so I think that'll be the

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Speaker 3: fun part where we get to celebrated with friends. But

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Speaker 3: we also it takes a little bit of stress out

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Speaker 3: of the whole the planning process. It doesn't put as

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Speaker 3: much you know, anxiety and suspense on that planning process.

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Speaker 3: When you're like, well, we're legally legally getting married, have

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Speaker 3: a private ceremony and do more of a large celebration

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Speaker 3: later in the spring when everything's right.

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Speaker 4: Are you ready to be a married man?

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Speaker 3: I'm so ready to be a married man, ready to

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Speaker 3: be a dad, a married man. I'm just I'm just

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Speaker 3: excited about that season of light. And you know, it's

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Speaker 3: been it's been a long time time coming. As both

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Speaker 3: of you guys know, it's like, uh, you've you've probably

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Speaker 3: seen it. Don't know if you've experienced that feeling yourself,

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Speaker 3: but you know, reality TV it can kind of become

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Speaker 3: this hamster wheel of if you want it to be,

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Speaker 3: you can kind of continue to continue on in that

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Speaker 3: space and your perspective too, you know, leave that world

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Speaker 3: and say.

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Speaker 5: I want a family, I want to I want to

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Speaker 5: build a family.

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Speaker 3: Is you know sometimes difficult to see and and and

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Speaker 3: and navigate, but it's uh, it's amazing.

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Speaker 5: But the Bachelor of franchise at the same time.

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Speaker 3: Like there's been some great success stories, like obviously like

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Speaker 3: Sean Catherine from.

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Speaker 5: Way back, and like it worked for.

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Speaker 3: Them immediately on the show and they're still happily married

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Speaker 3: at some many you know, such a big beautiful family,

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Speaker 3: and but for a lot of people it just becomes

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Speaker 3: you know, it's like spin off shows and other things happening,

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Speaker 3: and like when you when you start, you know, so.

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Speaker 4: I'm with you.

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Speaker 2: And as soon as you make that decision, it isn't easy, Rachel,

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Speaker 2: I don't know if you can relate with this at all.

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Speaker 6: Yeah, it's gonna say, tell me more, I'm still on

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Speaker 6: the hamster.

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Speaker 2: It's a hard decision to kind of divorce yourself from

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Speaker 2: the separate yourself from. But once you do, yeah, uh,

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Speaker 2: it's it's so good. There's a lot of peace to it.

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Speaker 2: And then the show becomes this amazing chapter of your

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Speaker 2: life and not this defining moment. It's just like a

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Speaker 2: really important memory and it's not this thing that you

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Speaker 2: have to keep.

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Speaker 4: Up with.

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Speaker 6: Love it is there going to be anyone from Nation

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Speaker 6: in attendance?

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Speaker 5: Yeah, no, absolutely, Yeah, I'm excited to have.

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Speaker 3: Like I was actually just Chase McNairy just got married

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Speaker 3: in Colorado over the coourth of July weekend and so

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Speaker 3: I would say grimsmoon for that uh wedding and we

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Speaker 3: had a great.

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Speaker 5: Time there and and then yeah.

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Speaker 3: I'm still really close with Chris Soles he spends a

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Speaker 3: lot of time. I lived in Scottsdale for a couple

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Speaker 3: of years. He would come down in the winter and

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Speaker 3: stay with me and go OFLF and whatnot. And so yeah,

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Speaker 3: I mean, there's there's gonna be several people from Bachelor

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Speaker 3: Nation there, and obviously a few people from Nashville that

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Speaker 3: were on the show as well.

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Speaker 4: So I don't know how Chris Sol's is friends with everybody,

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Speaker 4: but he is. It's wild.

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Speaker 2: He is at every wedding I've ever been a part of,

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Speaker 2: and it's awesome. Yeah, I love him so much, but

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Speaker 2: he is friends with every single human.

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Speaker 3: He's such a good friend. I mean he'll just show up.

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Speaker 3: Like I get a phone call on like a Friday afternoon.

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Speaker 3: I'm at the office like three pm. He's like, what's

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Speaker 3: dy trying to up the office. He's an Iowa. He's like, uh,

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Speaker 3: He's like, what are you up to? I was dismissing

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Speaker 3: the office. He goes, what do you wanna do for dinner?

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Speaker 3: I was like, He's like, I'm in the air, I'll

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Speaker 3: be I'll bean I'm landing in two hours, just no warning,

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Speaker 3: just shows up and like he's just that friend. He's like,

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Speaker 3: it's just a fun guy to hang out with and

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Speaker 3: then he'll stay for a month, you know.

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Speaker 5: Yeah, so we have a lot of fun to get it.

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Speaker 4: He's a good dude.

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Speaker 2: Well, Luke, we're going to be happy for you here.

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Speaker 2: Congratulations to you and Haley James on this engagement. We

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Speaker 2: will be following your story and kind of keeping tabs

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Speaker 2: on the wedding plans and the wedding date and all

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Speaker 2: the announcements about the wedding. But until then, from the

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Speaker 2: almost samous family and Rachel, myself and Ashley who is

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Speaker 2: texting on a thread but cannot be with us, congratulations

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Speaker 2: and we're so excited for your future.

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Speaker 5: Well, thank you so much.

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Speaker 3: And I also want to tell Ashley and Jerry congrats

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Speaker 3: on the new edition that their family and that's beautiful,

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Speaker 3: beautiful kids love to meet him someday.

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Speaker 4: Yeah, we are.

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Speaker 2: We are anxiously waiting here for her return so she

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Speaker 2: can give us the whole rundown and all the details.

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Speaker 2: But we haven't got it yet, and so we're waiting

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Speaker 2: here to give her a big congratulations.

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Speaker 4: But it's a big deal.

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Speaker 2: Again, another success story from the show. Like you said,

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Speaker 2: Jared and Ashley just making babies and I love it,

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Speaker 2: keeping the fire alive until next time.

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Speaker 4: I've been Ben and I'm Rachel and that was Luke.

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Speaker 5: Thanks for joining us, Luke, thank you guys.

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Speaker 1: Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.