February 21, 2025 • 23 mins
Everyone is wondering what’s going on with The Bachelorette and Bachelor in Paradise, but only Ben and Ashley have the tea! We’re sharing exclusive behind the scenes info on what was planned for the canceled season of The Bachelorette, and we know some major changes coming to Paradise that will totally transform the show!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's Almost Faus podcast. We are here today with breaking news, Yes,
breaking news. We found out about this news at about
eleven o'clock Eastern time last night and decided to jump
on first thing this morning to discuss some updates that
we have found out regarding Paradise and also like what
was happening with the Bachelorette season. Obviously it's been announced
(00:28):
that it's not happening now, but what led up to
this moment. So we're here to discuss all the insider
secrets that we have gathered along with making some assumptions
that actually to date, Ashley and I'm going to sound
like our current president when I say this, we've been
very right on our assumptions. Like we're people are talking
(00:50):
about us and saying like, actually have bet are making
really good assumptions these days.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, we're so good at what we do. Of course,
what we did.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
We could exclusively reveal some of the planning of the
dates that were happening right up until the show was canceled.
So our sources are saying that about seventy five percent
of the dates were planned, Like there were scouting locations
in Europe. We're hearing that Greece and Portugal were in
the mix, and there was going to be an.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
iHeart podcast related date.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
The hope was apparently that we Ben and I were
going to be part of a date with a lot
of the other iHeart hosts like Jenna Kramer, Cheryl Burke,
Jenny Garth, Kevin McHale, and Jenna Ushkwitz.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Just to name a few.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
And the date was not like fully set in stone yet,
but the planning process was in full swing with one
of our producers, and there was going to be a
winner on this day. It was going to be a
competition date and the winner was going to go with
the bachelorette to the iHeartRadio Music Awards and walk the carpet.
March seventeenth is when the awards was supposed to be.
And then we found out that this was just not
(01:58):
going to happen. So it was way more shocking than
something to the production than I think we all assumed.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Okay, so let's do our analytical receptions diagnosis of what
we know so far. So it wasn't the planning process,
So this decision was not made a year ago. It
was not made post even Gen season. This decision was
made in a moment's time, based on something that happened.
(02:30):
We'll get more into that here in a little bit.
This also, to me, Ashley, does not seem like a
money decision that this decision was not. I mean, money
always is involved, right If they thought they were going
to make a buku amount of bucks having this season air,
they would have found a way for it to air.
But it doesn't seem like to me this was the
(02:53):
reason that the show didn't happen because and I say
this because they weren't just now like after Gin season
and seeing the ratings and kind of understanding how you know,
the Bachelorette and The Bachelor were being viewed. They didn't
just decide, hey, let's stick in LA like, let's do
an LA season. Let's make it as cheap as possible. Yeah,
(03:16):
let's not travel, let's do some like maybe like us
stuff where we can drive or like quick easy flights.
They were still considering an international experience. So money, to
me doesn't seem like the culprit. And so now we
have to ask ourselves the question, what did happen? We
(03:38):
have a little bit of information on from our inside
source on possibly what did happen Ashley, Let's talk about
some of the people they were considering to be the
lead of this next season.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Okay, so there are two girls from Grand season that
we're being considered. But here are the juicy there's the
juicy news. We're pretty certain that Maria Maria from Joey's
season was a front runner, as we thought that she
was a front runner to be the Bachelorette during gen season.
The source says that they don't know exactly what happened,
but they couldn't make Maria happen, and that's why the
(04:13):
show didn't get picked up because they just didn't think
that they had a I'm assuming that they didn't think
they had a strong enough lead that was going to
get enough ratings. They also say that The Bachelor didn't
get picked up because the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,
the show that they sometimes have play after the Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It seems like they may have wanted that more.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
What do you mean wanted it?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
More like if they couldn't.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Get the Bachelorette, they wanted they were like, this is
probably gonna be better for the time slot or perform
better for the time slot.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So let's pause here. The Secret Life of Mormon Wives
is now what we assume going to hold a prime
time time slot on ABC, which is owned by Disney
on Monday nights instead of The Bachelorette.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yes, and again it is an assumption that it's being
replaced with the Bachelorette because it's the same demographic, same
type of age group wants to watch this show as
a bachelorette, and they couldn't make the Bachelorette the person
they wanted work. Let's also say that our sources were
saying that they were thinking about Alchill giving Rachel Rekia
(05:26):
a redo. They said that her name was floated around.
But there is a reason that she couldn't do it,
and we can't reveal that at real time.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
But we do know the reason.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I was gonna say we personally do, and we will
tell you soon enough. But production and fans love Rachel,
and I would have loved to see Rachel have her
own season. She's so likable. I really really love that girl.
But there's something else exciting that's happening for her.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So okay, what we know so far is Maria Rachel too.
Girls from Grand Season were being considered for the lead
of The Bachelorette. It sounds like from our source that
Maria was the front runner, that it felt like the
powers that be really wanted Maria to be the lead
of this season. And it almost seems to me, based
(06:17):
on the information we have, that they couldn't make it
work with Maria for whatever reason that was, and as
a result, they had to pull the plug on the
show because somebody that had a lot of influence over
the show was fairly stuck on this Maria storyline and said,
if we're not going to do Maria, it's not worth doing.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Maybe we could say stubborn on the Maria thing, like
if you're not having Maria, you're not having anyone.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And it sounds like that, I mean, based on the
information we have, that seems like the reason that this
season maybe isn't happening because the ratings have not been
good enough. Even though I think there has been great seasons,
I still go back to I think the show took
a massive hit with the men that were cast for
Gen's season. I think Jen did a great job. I
(07:06):
think we've seen Gen really thrive outside of the role
of the Bachelorette, but the men on her season I
think really hurt the show. And because the show decided
to kind of do the don't ask, don't tell, we're
not going to really talk about it strategy. I think
the show is in a really tough place. I don't
believe it's going away, though I will say that I
don't think the show is gone forever.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And neither do the people at ABC. They say that
they think that the show will come back. They get
paradised last year, and now it's back and they're going
to just do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
With Bachelorette, just like a little reboot time.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Now. They're also saying that if they were going to
do the Bachelorette, they were going to bring some familiar
faces to the cast, Like we're hearing Sam from gen
Z and Sam Well, Sam, Oh, Sam, Which one was
the one that was like, oh, like attractive at first
but then then like turned There was a couple Sam Sam,
(08:12):
but the only one I really remember was the one
that was like, Oh, he's suave and then it was like, oh,
he's like kind of ugh.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, So we're actually I'm assuming we're talking about that Sam.
What an interesting choice to bring him back. Maybe it
is a little bit of a redemption moment, because we
do remember him having the conflicts with Devin and kind
of people picking Devin's side, and then obviously that came out.
So maybe they felt like Sam got a raw into
the deal because he was expressing something that now all
(08:42):
of us seemed to agree with.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Good thinking, Wow, we were so team Devin, or at
least I was.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
We all were okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Until the end, and now we're not.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
All right now what I have heard about Maria and Okay,
I pause here because I just I have a hard
time believing that anyone wouldn't want the role if being
asked to be the lead of this show, I can't believe.
Maybe it's just from my own like I could never
(09:18):
imagine turning on the show, but I have a hard
time believing that anybody would. I know that Daisy truly
did because Daisy one really felt like she didn't have
the personality for it, and I can see that. But
also majorly Daisy was rekindling things with her former flame
(09:39):
now Maria, like she has said over the past year,
that she was asked to do the show and then
she decided not to do it. I heard another reason.
I've heard from people close to production that they did
(10:00):
want her to be the Bachelorette. They were like having
her do like lots of filming, and then in the
midst of this filming, they're basically like, this girl is
too difficult to work with. We can't do an entire
season with her. It'll be a wreck. And now they're
floating the idea. Then they were floating the idea of
Maria again and again. Maria, from our source, is saying
(10:22):
she wasn't willing to do it. Do you believe that
Maria wouldn't want to be the Bachelorette?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
No, I mean I think there would be it matter
what life's circumstances were going on. You know, obviously with Daisy,
you meant brought it up, she wasn't confident taking the
role and she was falling in love. It matters kind
of what Maria's dating life is like and what her
personal life looks like now outside the show. And honestly,
I'm not an expert in that. I really don't know.
So I would be surprised if somebody was single. I'd
(10:48):
be surprised if somebody had agreed to go on the
other show that they wouldn't be at least intrigued to
go on and become the lead, because if you really
are someone looking for love or someone looking to promote
the fact to the world that you're looking for love,
being the lead is a really great opportunity for that.
(11:09):
Now the show knows Maria. She showed her personality through
that first show that she was on. It's why people
fell in love with her, It's why she is somebody
we know and talk about to this day. The show
had to know. This is why I have a hard
time with it who she is and who she was,
and how she would be to work with. And if
they wanted that fiery season, if they wanted that mix
(11:32):
between a kateln Bristow kind of season where somebody's going
to say what they're thinking, they're going to do what
they feel like, they're going to push back a little
bit against production, and it makes for a great watch,
then Maria would be a tremendous choice. It would shake
things up a lot, and I actually personally think she
would have been a great choice to watch on television
(11:53):
because it would be that raw, authentic moments of like
awkwardness type of season.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Well, we all know that they have some decision making
issues sometimes when it comes to the lead, and this
is no shade to any of the leads.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I don't want it to be interpreted like that, but
I think we can all agree that there's been some
skeptical choices there. And then I also think that this
is no shade to Maria. I'm not saying like I
don't believe her. But at the same time, it would
be very unique to turn this down based on all
(12:33):
the other leads that I've known in the past and
their decision to take it.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It would be it'd be a very interesting decision and
we'd want to hear about it now. So we have
all this information now gathered up. We have multiple people
they're considering for leads. We have the decision to not
do The Bachelorette. We've both agreed that we think the
show will come back. And so if people are out
there stressing, like, hey, what am I going to do
on Monday nights? The Bachelorette was something I've always enjoyed.
(12:59):
I can't believe it's not going to be on my television.
I will say right now, my guess is the show
will come back and it will come back and in
a great way at some point soon. However, Yeah, we
don't have proof yet. I believe in the franchise. I do.
(13:21):
We don't have proof yet that they can pause a
show and reboot it successfully. We're gonna get that proof
and get that data this year with Paradise, because obviously
Paradise took a year off.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Well technically, Ben, they did pause The Bachelor at in
the two.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Thousands, totally different time.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
It was one hundred thousand percent of time.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I don't think you can compare them. So we have
a whole new and we're going to switch over here
to talk about Paradise. We have a whole new production team,
a whole new staff that is going to take over Paradise.
It's going to be in a new location with a
new team producing it. It's been paused for a year.
We have some information on how Paradise is actually going
(14:02):
to look and work that really intrigues me and makes
me think all sorts of weird stuff. Do you think,
to start this conversation off, Paradise is going to reboot
in a successful way.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
I do.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
I think people are going to want to watch it
again after a longer break than they've had in a
very long time between the Grand Season and the airing
of Paradise. I believe the airing of Paradise will be
back to its regular scheduled programming. I believe it'll be
a summer show, which I believe it should be. I
think that the shooting schedule, especially with the cancelation of
(14:46):
The Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Or the pause in the Bachelorette, is going to be
earlier than it normally would be.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I believe that it's starting to film in May, that
they'll be wrapping up in the early parts of June.
And yeah, Ben is hearing that it's going to be
happening in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I have no idea. It can't be happening.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's one of the two I've been hearing, the Dominican
Republic or Puerto Rico. And I can't conformfirm either way,
but that's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And then I do feel like the core Bachelor audience
they always say that they're most excited for Paradise, even
though so many people come up to me they're like, well, well,
Paradise is the most popular volved and them, I was like, actually,
technically no, like it always will have lower ratings of
the two main shows. It just seems that the fan
base gets more, like the core gets more excited for it.
(15:36):
We know that they're talking to people. I have people
who have who I know they've spoken to and excited
for how they compile this cast, especially that they have
more casts to choose from than they normally do, being
that they did skip that season. And we hear something crazy,
guys freaking crazy. We hear that the Goldens are going
(15:59):
to be part of it. In so now, I hope
that when we hear this, it's not them being like, oh,
they're going to host dates that would be lame. No,
please have the Goldens dating in paradise. I know that
not being ages when I say this, They're not going
to be able to handle the conditions that we had
that we live in, because as a twenty six year
old I had a hard time living in those conditions.
(16:21):
But I hope that they have like this little side
resort that the Goldens are mingling at, because that would
be prime TV.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Can I ask the question that everybody's thinking, Yeah, is
there a world in which a cast member from the
Bachelorette dates somebody from the Golden Show.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Well, yeah, that's going to happen if I do believe
if there's a world in which they do cohabitate, hilariousness,
there'll be a guy that goes after Nancy.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Is that hilarious? I mean for me, like, hey, love
is love is love, but like goodness, gracious.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Okay, So I think that a guy will probably make
a move on it on like a like a Nancy, Okay,
but I don't know that a Nancy would go and
make a move back.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Okay. Again, there's a side of me that would love
to watch that happen. There's also a side of me
that never wants to put anybody in the situation for
that to happen. I love these women, the Susans and
Nancy's and the Jones, like uh and like I just
(17:35):
the Kathy's of the world, Like I just love those women.
They have a sauce spot in my heart. I really
don't want to set them up for that. I don't
like it.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Oh, Ben, that's like so sweet.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I'm like, okay, give me TV. And You're like, no,
why because you think that they're gonna get like heartbroken
by it, like a thirty Oh no.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
No, no, I think it's just gonna get weird.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Okay, well, I think that'll be a storyline, because they'll
want it to be a storyline, But I don't think
that'll be.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
A main thing.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
That'll be like an episode or two that's kind of
supposed to be funny.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
A couple things I want to mention. Because the Bachelotte
didn't get picked up, all the audio video, all those
people that work behind the scenes are out of a job.
For those you know, three months that they've for the
last twenty years consisted consistently had a job, a really
tough position for them to be in, so we're thinking
(18:33):
about them. Those are people that I care about, that
you care about, that we know well, they you know,
have leaned heavy on having this job. And so there
are people that are going to hurt. Outside of the
viewership and the fans of the show, there are people
that are going to suffer because this show isn't getting
picked up. So we hope it comes back in a
(18:53):
lot of ways for so many reasons, but also because
of the people that work on the show.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
And going off that, Ben, why do you think they've
hired a new crew completely.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
For Paradise I actually, and again I'm making an assumption here.
I don't know if it was a new crew as
much as they've lost everybody else and they had to
fill some spots, you.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Mean, like some of our classics, they were just like,
I can't do Paradise.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
They've moved on, They've done out of their things, They've
outgrown it, right, I mean, for so many years it
was the same face as the same people that were
doing Paradise, and I think those people now are taking
steps in their career outside of this show, and it
kind of has been a waterfall effect for many of
them happening at one time, and so they had to
find a way to get a team to produce this show.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I think it was like a clean slate, though I
don't even think it was an option for maybe lower
level producers to go and produce it.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Again, I have no idea. I have no clue on
what's happened, but I do know that it's an new
team and so it will be a new look and feel,
and that's exciting in a lot of ways, because it's
always nice to have new creative voices in there. And
it's also a little scary because we love the paradise
(20:13):
that we saw and that we were familiar with, and
things are going to be different and we don't know
how different. Right, is Jesse going to be the host
of it as well as going to be the bartender
of it? Are they going to have the same intro
music and the same intros that they've had since the beginning?
Like a what's the dates going to look?
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:31):
What's the living condition? Is now going to be? Right?
There was an element of paradise that we love because
of the resort that they were in, was it looked
great on television, and we also knew behind the scenes
there were bugs crawling in the beds and I loved
that aspect we did.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
We love that and we love that like they were
so hot and sweaty and uncomfortable and it added to
the chaos. I want to know, are they going to
be sleeping in air conditioned rooms now? Will there not
be crabs in the toilet? There's honestly part of me
romanticizes that I'm that I met Jared in a situation
(21:05):
like that, Like I kind of love that I had
to like tough it out in every way.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yeah, he sweated on him from the beginning, well, it's
it's gonna be interesting to watch. We are excited for
the future. But this is what we know about why
the Bachelorette isn't happening. It's the information we have on
who they were considering. Uh. And then also what we
know about the upcoming season of Paradise that Ashley believes
will be being filmed in May with again the Goldens
(21:35):
and the Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants on the beach at
the same time. To what capacity, we don't know, but
we do know that right now it's rumored they're both
going to be there.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I do know one more thing to add before
we end this podcast. The change of location. I have
heard again everything is here, set here, guys, so can't
hold anything against us. I heard that the the ownership
of the resort, and you know, it's a resort all
year round. They close for a bachelor and for their
(22:04):
you know what's the creative department to come in and
transform it for probably about two months of the year. Well,
the owner was like, don't I don't these new head
producers not my fave. Don't love working with them. When
I signed onto the show, I was working with these people.
Now all these people are gone, and I don't like
(22:27):
this new these new phases, I don't. Yeah, so that's
why they've changed locations, because the resort didn't want to
work with production anymore.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
So much happening in the Bachelor world. This is the
breaking news that we have for you today. I hope
you have a great weekend. I hope you enjoy your time.
It's cold across the country right now, so warm up,
listen to a podcast. It's freezing, listen to the podcast.
Stay inside, Stay safe, everybody. Until next time, I've been Been, I've.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Been Ashley, see you guys.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
It's Almost Faus podcast. We are here today with breaking news, Yes,
breaking news. We found out about this news at about
eleven o'clock Eastern time last night and decided to jump
on first thing this morning to discuss some updates that
we have found out regarding Paradise and also like what
was happening with the Bachelorette season. Obviously it's been announced
(00:28):
that it's not happening now, but what led up to
this moment. So we're here to discuss all the insider
secrets that we have gathered along with making some assumptions
that actually to date, Ashley and I'm going to sound
like our current president when I say this, we've been
very right on our assumptions. Like we're people are talking
(00:50):
about us and saying like, actually have bet are making
really good assumptions these days.
Speaker 3 (00:56):
Yeah, we're so good at what we do. Of course,
what we did.
Speaker 4 (01:02):
We could exclusively reveal some of the planning of the
dates that were happening right up until the show was canceled.
So our sources are saying that about seventy five percent
of the dates were planned, Like there were scouting locations
in Europe. We're hearing that Greece and Portugal were in
the mix, and there was going to be an.
Speaker 3 (01:20):
iHeart podcast related date.
Speaker 4 (01:23):
The hope was apparently that we Ben and I were
going to be part of a date with a lot
of the other iHeart hosts like Jenna Kramer, Cheryl Burke,
Jenny Garth, Kevin McHale, and Jenna Ushkwitz.
Speaker 3 (01:36):
Just to name a few.
Speaker 4 (01:38):
And the date was not like fully set in stone yet,
but the planning process was in full swing with one
of our producers, and there was going to be a
winner on this day. It was going to be a
competition date and the winner was going to go with
the bachelorette to the iHeartRadio Music Awards and walk the carpet.
March seventeenth is when the awards was supposed to be.
And then we found out that this was just not
(01:58):
going to happen. So it was way more shocking than
something to the production than I think we all assumed.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Okay, so let's do our analytical receptions diagnosis of what
we know so far. So it wasn't the planning process,
So this decision was not made a year ago. It
was not made post even Gen season. This decision was
made in a moment's time, based on something that happened.
(02:30):
We'll get more into that here in a little bit.
This also, to me, Ashley, does not seem like a
money decision that this decision was not. I mean, money
always is involved, right If they thought they were going
to make a buku amount of bucks having this season air,
they would have found a way for it to air.
But it doesn't seem like to me this was the
(02:53):
reason that the show didn't happen because and I say
this because they weren't just now like after Gin season
and seeing the ratings and kind of understanding how you know,
the Bachelorette and The Bachelor were being viewed. They didn't
just decide, hey, let's stick in LA like, let's do
an LA season. Let's make it as cheap as possible. Yeah,
(03:16):
let's not travel, let's do some like maybe like us
stuff where we can drive or like quick easy flights.
They were still considering an international experience. So money, to
me doesn't seem like the culprit. And so now we
have to ask ourselves the question, what did happen? We
(03:38):
have a little bit of information on from our inside
source on possibly what did happen Ashley, Let's talk about
some of the people they were considering to be the
lead of this next season.
Speaker 4 (03:51):
Okay, so there are two girls from Grand season that
we're being considered. But here are the juicy there's the
juicy news. We're pretty certain that Maria Maria from Joey's
season was a front runner, as we thought that she
was a front runner to be the Bachelorette during gen season.
The source says that they don't know exactly what happened,
but they couldn't make Maria happen, and that's why the
(04:13):
show didn't get picked up because they just didn't think
that they had a I'm assuming that they didn't think
they had a strong enough lead that was going to
get enough ratings. They also say that The Bachelor didn't
get picked up because the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives,
the show that they sometimes have play after the Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (04:34):
It seems like they may have wanted that more.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
What do you mean wanted it?
Speaker 3 (04:41):
More like if they couldn't.
Speaker 4 (04:42):
Get the Bachelorette, they wanted they were like, this is
probably gonna be better for the time slot or perform
better for the time slot.
Speaker 2 (04:48):
So let's pause here. The Secret Life of Mormon Wives
is now what we assume going to hold a prime
time time slot on ABC, which is owned by Disney
on Monday nights instead of The Bachelorette.
Speaker 4 (05:04):
Yes, and again it is an assumption that it's being
replaced with the Bachelorette because it's the same demographic, same
type of age group wants to watch this show as
a bachelorette, and they couldn't make the Bachelorette the person
they wanted work. Let's also say that our sources were
saying that they were thinking about Alchill giving Rachel Rekia
(05:26):
a redo. They said that her name was floated around.
But there is a reason that she couldn't do it,
and we can't reveal that at real time.
Speaker 2 (05:36):
But we do know the reason.
Speaker 3 (05:37):
We do.
Speaker 4 (05:38):
I was gonna say we personally do, and we will
tell you soon enough. But production and fans love Rachel,
and I would have loved to see Rachel have her
own season. She's so likable. I really really love that girl.
But there's something else exciting that's happening for her.
Speaker 2 (05:56):
So okay, what we know so far is Maria Rachel too.
Girls from Grand Season were being considered for the lead
of The Bachelorette. It sounds like from our source that
Maria was the front runner, that it felt like the
powers that be really wanted Maria to be the lead
of this season. And it almost seems to me, based
(06:17):
on the information we have, that they couldn't make it
work with Maria for whatever reason that was, and as
a result, they had to pull the plug on the
show because somebody that had a lot of influence over
the show was fairly stuck on this Maria storyline and said,
if we're not going to do Maria, it's not worth doing.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Maybe we could say stubborn on the Maria thing, like
if you're not having Maria, you're not having anyone.
Speaker 2 (06:45):
And it sounds like that, I mean, based on the
information we have, that seems like the reason that this
season maybe isn't happening because the ratings have not been
good enough. Even though I think there has been great seasons,
I still go back to I think the show took
a massive hit with the men that were cast for
Gen's season. I think Jen did a great job. I
(07:06):
think we've seen Gen really thrive outside of the role
of the Bachelorette, but the men on her season I
think really hurt the show. And because the show decided
to kind of do the don't ask, don't tell, we're
not going to really talk about it strategy. I think
the show is in a really tough place. I don't
believe it's going away, though I will say that I
don't think the show is gone forever.
Speaker 4 (07:29):
And neither do the people at ABC. They say that
they think that the show will come back. They get
paradised last year, and now it's back and they're going
to just do the same thing.
Speaker 3 (07:36):
With Bachelorette, just like a little reboot time.
Speaker 4 (07:49):
Now. They're also saying that if they were going to
do the Bachelorette, they were going to bring some familiar
faces to the cast, Like we're hearing Sam from gen
Z and Sam Well, Sam, Oh, Sam, Which one was
the one that was like, oh, like attractive at first
but then then like turned There was a couple Sam Sam,
(08:12):
but the only one I really remember was the one
that was like, Oh, he's suave and then it was like, oh,
he's like kind of ugh.
Speaker 2 (08:20):
Yeah, So we're actually I'm assuming we're talking about that Sam.
What an interesting choice to bring him back. Maybe it
is a little bit of a redemption moment, because we
do remember him having the conflicts with Devin and kind
of people picking Devin's side, and then obviously that came out.
So maybe they felt like Sam got a raw into
the deal because he was expressing something that now all
(08:42):
of us seemed to agree with.
Speaker 4 (08:44):
Good thinking, Wow, we were so team Devin, or at
least I was.
Speaker 3 (08:50):
We all were okay, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:52):
Until the end, and now we're not.
Speaker 4 (08:55):
All right now what I have heard about Maria and Okay,
I pause here because I just I have a hard
time believing that anyone wouldn't want the role if being
asked to be the lead of this show, I can't believe.
Maybe it's just from my own like I could never
(09:18):
imagine turning on the show, but I have a hard
time believing that anybody would. I know that Daisy truly
did because Daisy one really felt like she didn't have
the personality for it, and I can see that. But
also majorly Daisy was rekindling things with her former flame
(09:39):
now Maria, like she has said over the past year,
that she was asked to do the show and then
she decided not to do it. I heard another reason.
I've heard from people close to production that they did
(10:00):
want her to be the Bachelorette. They were like having
her do like lots of filming, and then in the
midst of this filming, they're basically like, this girl is
too difficult to work with. We can't do an entire
season with her. It'll be a wreck. And now they're
floating the idea. Then they were floating the idea of
Maria again and again. Maria, from our source, is saying
(10:22):
she wasn't willing to do it. Do you believe that
Maria wouldn't want to be the Bachelorette?
Speaker 2 (10:27):
No, I mean I think there would be it matter
what life's circumstances were going on. You know, obviously with Daisy,
you meant brought it up, she wasn't confident taking the
role and she was falling in love. It matters kind
of what Maria's dating life is like and what her
personal life looks like now outside the show. And honestly,
I'm not an expert in that. I really don't know.
So I would be surprised if somebody was single. I'd
(10:48):
be surprised if somebody had agreed to go on the
other show that they wouldn't be at least intrigued to
go on and become the lead, because if you really
are someone looking for love or someone looking to promote
the fact to the world that you're looking for love,
being the lead is a really great opportunity for that.
(11:09):
Now the show knows Maria. She showed her personality through
that first show that she was on. It's why people
fell in love with her, It's why she is somebody
we know and talk about to this day. The show
had to know. This is why I have a hard
time with it who she is and who she was,
and how she would be to work with. And if
they wanted that fiery season, if they wanted that mix
(11:32):
between a kateln Bristow kind of season where somebody's going
to say what they're thinking, they're going to do what
they feel like, they're going to push back a little
bit against production, and it makes for a great watch,
then Maria would be a tremendous choice. It would shake
things up a lot, and I actually personally think she
would have been a great choice to watch on television
(11:53):
because it would be that raw, authentic moments of like
awkwardness type of season.
Speaker 4 (12:03):
Well, we all know that they have some decision making
issues sometimes when it comes to the lead, and this
is no shade to any of the leads.
Speaker 3 (12:12):
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 4 (12:12):
I don't want it to be interpreted like that, but
I think we can all agree that there's been some
skeptical choices there. And then I also think that this
is no shade to Maria. I'm not saying like I
don't believe her. But at the same time, it would
be very unique to turn this down based on all
(12:33):
the other leads that I've known in the past and
their decision to take it.
Speaker 2 (12:37):
It would be it'd be a very interesting decision and
we'd want to hear about it now. So we have
all this information now gathered up. We have multiple people
they're considering for leads. We have the decision to not
do The Bachelorette. We've both agreed that we think the
show will come back. And so if people are out
there stressing, like, hey, what am I going to do
on Monday nights? The Bachelorette was something I've always enjoyed.
(12:59):
I can't believe it's not going to be on my television.
I will say right now, my guess is the show
will come back and it will come back and in
a great way at some point soon. However, Yeah, we
don't have proof yet. I believe in the franchise. I do.
(13:21):
We don't have proof yet that they can pause a
show and reboot it successfully. We're gonna get that proof
and get that data this year with Paradise, because obviously
Paradise took a year off.
Speaker 4 (13:32):
Well technically, Ben, they did pause The Bachelor at in
the two.
Speaker 2 (13:35):
Thousands, totally different time.
Speaker 3 (13:38):
It was one hundred thousand percent of time.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I don't think you can compare them. So we have
a whole new and we're going to switch over here
to talk about Paradise. We have a whole new production team,
a whole new staff that is going to take over Paradise.
It's going to be in a new location with a
new team producing it. It's been paused for a year.
We have some information on how Paradise is actually going
(14:02):
to look and work that really intrigues me and makes
me think all sorts of weird stuff. Do you think,
to start this conversation off, Paradise is going to reboot
in a successful way.
Speaker 3 (14:22):
I do.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
I think people are going to want to watch it
again after a longer break than they've had in a
very long time between the Grand Season and the airing
of Paradise. I believe the airing of Paradise will be
back to its regular scheduled programming. I believe it'll be
a summer show, which I believe it should be. I
think that the shooting schedule, especially with the cancelation of
(14:46):
The Bachelorette.
Speaker 3 (14:47):
Or the pause in the Bachelorette, is going to be
earlier than it normally would be.
Speaker 4 (14:51):
I believe that it's starting to film in May, that
they'll be wrapping up in the early parts of June.
And yeah, Ben is hearing that it's going to be
happening in Puerto Rico.
Speaker 3 (15:03):
I have no idea. It can't be happening.
Speaker 2 (15:05):
It's one of the two I've been hearing, the Dominican
Republic or Puerto Rico. And I can't conformfirm either way,
but that's what I'm hearing.
Speaker 4 (15:15):
And then I do feel like the core Bachelor audience
they always say that they're most excited for Paradise, even
though so many people come up to me they're like, well, well,
Paradise is the most popular volved and them, I was like, actually,
technically no, like it always will have lower ratings of
the two main shows. It just seems that the fan
base gets more, like the core gets more excited for it.
(15:36):
We know that they're talking to people. I have people
who have who I know they've spoken to and excited
for how they compile this cast, especially that they have
more casts to choose from than they normally do, being
that they did skip that season. And we hear something crazy,
guys freaking crazy. We hear that the Goldens are going
(15:59):
to be part of it. In so now, I hope
that when we hear this, it's not them being like, oh,
they're going to host dates that would be lame. No,
please have the Goldens dating in paradise. I know that
not being ages when I say this, They're not going
to be able to handle the conditions that we had
that we live in, because as a twenty six year
old I had a hard time living in those conditions.
(16:21):
But I hope that they have like this little side
resort that the Goldens are mingling at, because that would
be prime TV.
Speaker 2 (16:30):
Can I ask the question that everybody's thinking, Yeah, is
there a world in which a cast member from the
Bachelorette dates somebody from the Golden Show.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
Well, yeah, that's going to happen if I do believe
if there's a world in which they do cohabitate, hilariousness,
there'll be a guy that goes after Nancy.
Speaker 2 (16:53):
Is that hilarious? I mean for me, like, hey, love
is love is love, but like goodness, gracious.
Speaker 4 (17:00):
Okay, So I think that a guy will probably make
a move on it on like a like a Nancy, Okay,
but I don't know that a Nancy would go and
make a move back.
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Okay. Again, there's a side of me that would love
to watch that happen. There's also a side of me
that never wants to put anybody in the situation for
that to happen. I love these women, the Susans and
Nancy's and the Jones, like uh and like I just
(17:35):
the Kathy's of the world, Like I just love those women.
They have a sauce spot in my heart. I really
don't want to set them up for that. I don't
like it.
Speaker 3 (17:49):
Oh, Ben, that's like so sweet.
Speaker 4 (17:51):
I'm like, okay, give me TV. And You're like, no,
why because you think that they're gonna get like heartbroken
by it, like a thirty Oh no.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
No, no, I think it's just gonna get weird.
Speaker 4 (18:00):
Okay, well, I think that'll be a storyline, because they'll
want it to be a storyline, But I don't think
that'll be.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
A main thing.
Speaker 4 (18:07):
That'll be like an episode or two that's kind of
supposed to be funny.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
A couple things I want to mention. Because the Bachelotte
didn't get picked up, all the audio video, all those
people that work behind the scenes are out of a job.
For those you know, three months that they've for the
last twenty years consisted consistently had a job, a really
tough position for them to be in, so we're thinking
(18:33):
about them. Those are people that I care about, that
you care about, that we know well, they you know,
have leaned heavy on having this job. And so there
are people that are going to hurt. Outside of the
viewership and the fans of the show, there are people
that are going to suffer because this show isn't getting
picked up. So we hope it comes back in a
(18:53):
lot of ways for so many reasons, but also because
of the people that work on the show.
Speaker 4 (18:58):
And going off that, Ben, why do you think they've
hired a new crew completely.
Speaker 2 (19:04):
For Paradise I actually, and again I'm making an assumption here.
I don't know if it was a new crew as
much as they've lost everybody else and they had to
fill some spots, you.
Speaker 4 (19:18):
Mean, like some of our classics, they were just like,
I can't do Paradise.
Speaker 2 (19:23):
They've moved on, They've done out of their things, They've
outgrown it, right, I mean, for so many years it
was the same face as the same people that were
doing Paradise, and I think those people now are taking
steps in their career outside of this show, and it
kind of has been a waterfall effect for many of
them happening at one time, and so they had to
find a way to get a team to produce this show.
Speaker 4 (19:45):
I think it was like a clean slate, though I
don't even think it was an option for maybe lower
level producers to go and produce it.
Speaker 2 (19:52):
Again, I have no idea. I have no clue on
what's happened, but I do know that it's an new
team and so it will be a new look and feel,
and that's exciting in a lot of ways, because it's
always nice to have new creative voices in there. And
it's also a little scary because we love the paradise
(20:13):
that we saw and that we were familiar with, and
things are going to be different and we don't know
how different. Right, is Jesse going to be the host
of it as well as going to be the bartender
of it? Are they going to have the same intro
music and the same intros that they've had since the beginning?
Like a what's the dates going to look?
Speaker 1 (20:30):
Like?
Speaker 2 (20:31):
What's the living condition? Is now going to be? Right?
There was an element of paradise that we love because
of the resort that they were in, was it looked
great on television, and we also knew behind the scenes
there were bugs crawling in the beds and I loved
that aspect we did.
Speaker 4 (20:45):
We love that and we love that like they were
so hot and sweaty and uncomfortable and it added to
the chaos. I want to know, are they going to
be sleeping in air conditioned rooms now? Will there not
be crabs in the toilet? There's honestly part of me
romanticizes that I'm that I met Jared in a situation
(21:05):
like that, Like I kind of love that I had
to like tough it out in every way.
Speaker 2 (21:11):
Yeah, he sweated on him from the beginning, well, it's
it's gonna be interesting to watch. We are excited for
the future. But this is what we know about why
the Bachelorette isn't happening. It's the information we have on
who they were considering. Uh. And then also what we
know about the upcoming season of Paradise that Ashley believes
will be being filmed in May with again the Goldens
(21:35):
and the Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants on the beach at
the same time. To what capacity, we don't know, but
we do know that right now it's rumored they're both
going to be there.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
And I do know one more thing to add before
we end this podcast. The change of location. I have
heard again everything is here, set here, guys, so can't
hold anything against us. I heard that the the ownership
of the resort, and you know, it's a resort all
year round. They close for a bachelor and for their
(22:04):
you know what's the creative department to come in and
transform it for probably about two months of the year. Well,
the owner was like, don't I don't these new head
producers not my fave. Don't love working with them. When
I signed onto the show, I was working with these people.
Now all these people are gone, and I don't like
(22:27):
this new these new phases, I don't. Yeah, so that's
why they've changed locations, because the resort didn't want to
work with production anymore.
Speaker 2 (22:39):
So much happening in the Bachelor world. This is the
breaking news that we have for you today. I hope
you have a great weekend. I hope you enjoy your time.
It's cold across the country right now, so warm up,
listen to a podcast. It's freezing, listen to the podcast.
Stay inside, Stay safe, everybody. Until next time, I've been Been, I've.
Speaker 3 (22:58):
Been Ashley, see you guys.
Speaker 1 (23:00):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcasts on
iHeartRadio or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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