August 22, 2024 • 17 mins
We’re getting to know the REAL Greg Grippo! Ben is hanging out with Greg from Katie Thurston’s season and hearing the story of how he ended up on The Bachelorette, what his life was like after leaving the show, and what’s next after his split from Victoria Fuller!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is the Almost Famous podcast. We're here in San Francisco. Yes,
this is the weekend of the Almost Famous golf tournament,
which will be an annual thing probably for the next
thirty years. Because I'll be working for Almost Famous for
the next thirty years. I'll be sixty years old talking
about the Bachelor. That's cool, right, right, It's very cool. Yeah,
that's a really cool place to be. But this is
the first year of it. The reason we're doing it
is to bring people together because in this bachelor world,
(00:28):
it's a little chaotic. It's not a lot of time
just to sit back and hang out and just be
together with people outside of your season. Today, we have
somebody I've always been super intrigued by for multiple reasons.
One of those is because the girls in the Almost
Famous podcasts really love Greg Grippo.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Oh that's sweet.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Yeah, they really do.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
In fact, one of the girls that work for the
Almost Fans podcast said, all of her friends are super
excited to meet Greg Gripple.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
That's sweet. I feel like I haven't met any of them.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Yeah, they're nervous.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm nervous come on this gracious, Greg, welcome, I'm glad
to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
You're sporting our brand already, I am. I have had
this for years. What is the true story of why
you're wearing our T shirt?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Andrew and I were playing. It was a little bowling
ball game outside in the yard, and then he whipped
the ball at me. Wind hit my chest. Shirt gone.
I said, you know what, I'm gonna rock the almost
famous scare for the rest of night.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
It's a good workout shirt. You can cut the sleeves
out of it if you like a little tight, a
little snug, but I'll take it. It's it's one that
I don't even own. I saw you, I said, I'm
gonna get one. That'd be nice. It probably is my
face in the back, doesn't it. Actually no, it doesn't.
Wild Greg, you have had a wild ride through this franchise. Yeah,
(01:51):
tell me if I'm wrong. My assumption of you has
always been this show is not something that you were
seeking after.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, you know, I don't think it's I wasn't. To
be honest with you, I mean I got called uh
three times for the show. Twice I turned it down
third time. I said it before and I'll say it again.
It was on my dad's anniversary. Uh. I was during COVID.
(02:19):
I was living in New York City working a job
I didn't love, and I was just like, screw it. Yeah,
you know what bachelor has some sick dates. Let me
travel a little bit. I mean it was a bubble season,
but we went to New Mexico, and I mean I
was single at the time, and I just it was
a shot in the dark. My sister ended up submitting
me years prior. They called me for Becca kuferin season.
(02:40):
I was way too young for that, and then Claire's
and I was also not ready enough for that, and
then uh, Katie's. It was just right timing.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
So like when it comes to you and Katie, let's
start there.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, you get on this show that you weren't you
know they said no to multiple times? Yeah, like why
was Katie as the bachelorrette something that you were like,
this is the one I would go for.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, I mean I you never Also, I feel like
I don't know about you, but for me, I was
never one hundred percent sure that it was kat Katie.
I mean we were hearing groomors and I was like,
all right, it's definitely gonna probably be Katie. I was
hoping it was gonna be Katie. But I think it
was just the place that at least I thought I
was in at the time, and I thought that I
(03:26):
was in a good enough place. And I also just
like kind of just like wanted to take a chance
at something and it was exciting to me, and I
was just like, you know what, at the end of
the day, I could get sent home night one and
that's also okay, and like I was fine with that.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, I would agree with you because my season of
The Bachelor, at I didn't know who the bachelottes were
going to be and it was two, so they too.
I had two that season and that was a wild
ride because then they made you choose on night one
which one you wanted, you voted, and then one stayed
and one went home.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
That's interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
That's so the complaint that like you were never there
for the right reasons is one that like, not that
you have that complaint, I'm saying in general, like anybody
gets the complaint like you weren't there for the bachelorrette,
It's like, well, no, you didn't really know who it was, right, Yeah,
Like of course I wasn't maybe there for the bachelors exactly.
You know, no until you show up.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, no, you have no idea. I mean, it's just
like you know, you're hoping at the end of the day, like, hey,
I could have a connection with the person, but you
also feel like it's a long shot also because it's
hard to envision when you really don't know one hundred
percent who the person is.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And then you went through it and things started to
change for you, like feelings started to grow, emotions started
to come out, you went through this whole thing. We
obviously know how your season the Bachelorette ended, but your
story really started post Bachelorette, like where you were a
fan favorite, like you.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Really it depends on who you're asking, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I mean, I think you listen to the critics more
than you hear the like compliments. But I think in general,
from my perspective as an outsider, like people loved you.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, well, it's it's nice to know that that you
at least took it like that. I mean I felt
at least right right out of the show, right out
of the gate, not in the beginning to I'm talking
about towards the n as soon as I left, I mean,
I was it was. It was a scary time, at
least for me and at least like I was. It
(05:20):
was just like a humbling experience, and I I felt
like I was just like a shell of myself during
the time. But it I feel like I cracked out
of that in the last year or so, so I
feel like I'm in a good spot right now. But
during it all, it was rough.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You felt like the world was like coming at you
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I wouldn't say coming at me. It just felt like
a lot all at once.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Did it affect your personal life.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, without a doubt.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
How did you deal with that?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Gosh went back to therapy. I mean, I discovered that
I had so much to work on, even like post
like stuff with like my father and like my family
dynamic that I had to work out on my own,
you know, my own grief towards him and and you know,
(06:13):
sadness towards how I was feeling with my own family dynamic.
You know, leaving my mom by herself was just a
struggle for me, And there was just so much personal
things I had to go through that, Like I was
figuring out that, like Okay, maybe I wasn't ready for
this at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So I don't know if this question will come off
It will probably come off a little intrusive. But without
the show, m how would you have confronted those things
that obviously were needing to be confronted at some point?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, absolutely, just not knowing when they would have been.
You know, it's tough to say, you know, because in
what happened in life and my reality, I mean, it
was maximized to put it right into my face and
to show me that I needed to continue therapy and
continue work on myself. And I mean, hey, it like
(07:07):
it took. I mean, I've been off the show fraud.
I think it's like three years at this point, and uh,
I finally feel like I'm in like the healthiest spot since,
like my dad got sick.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
But obviously that's I mean, to the viewers who don't
know the behind the scenes, don't know the work you're doing,
don't know where I think they're going to hear that
and be like that's interesting because you obviously are now
still single, right, and so you come off a very
public breakup, so at some point in this whole thing,
you decide to come back on national television and announce
(07:44):
a new relationship and walk into that whole path, right, Like,
how did that even get to the point where you
were saying, yeah, I'll go back on TV. Not maybe
even like ideally, but just I'm going to go back
on television and announce a relationship again, start this whole
new journey.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I mean I was in I was head over eels
for I was she uh, and I saw the backglass
that she was getting and and knowing what she was
about to walk into at that reunion, I mean her
and I were having discussions. I really didn't want to
go on, but I was also getting every one in
(08:23):
my circle was telling me not to. But at the
end of the day, like I was like, if we're
going to do this, I'm gonna have to stick this
out with you, and I just I went out there.
We kinda went and uh went to the gauntlet and
uh took it to the head and uh, I mean
it was it was. It was a tough way to
start everything for us, but I feel like there was
(08:45):
no other way.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
So you went back on television.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Did you feel like the response was similar to your
time in the show or did you, like, were you
in a different place coming off of that.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
No, I feel like I was in a better spot
because I feel like I was. I think that her
and I both knew that it was gonna be pretty tough.
I think my toughest during that time. You know, I
said this on Jason's that like it was the toughest
bar about it always seeing how it affected her. Yeah,
(09:16):
it was, Uh, the world was really hurtful towards her,
which sucked in it, and it was it was hard
to see.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I didn't feel and it's been a bit since I
saw that interview. I didn't feel like you had a
defensive spirit, like it felt like you were very much
in this place of no like like her or not,
this is where we're at.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Yeah, I mean I was so content and happy. I
mean contense probably, I mean I think intense a good word. Yeah,
And I think that her and I both knew that
the way we started off, and whether people believed it
or not, we knew that that was the truth of
(09:57):
it all and we felt certain about it. And that's
why I was out there.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, it was like it wasn't as a viewer, I
don't think as a for me, as a negative. It
is like, no, there's no like defensiveness. Like you're not
like reacting to the comments and the questions. You're you're
just answering them. Yeah, because it's where you're at in life. Yeah,
you're gonna move forward absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
How long ago was that?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Uh? What was that?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Was that?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Two years ago? At this point? I think it was.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So now you're back out into the world two years
ago in a new relationship that ends at some point
here along the journey, and you're sitting here with us today. Yeah,
do you, like, can you catch us up on where
you're at mentally just as a human outside of you know,
the ending of that and entering into the new world again.
(10:52):
You talked about your journey of getting back healthy, confronting
some of the things you wanted to or needed to
confront that you maybe even know you need to confront.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, where are you at today?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah? I think that's like the biggest thing is that
like a lot of the things you need to confront.
That's the most frustrating part about it is that you
don't maybe don't realize in the moment that you need
to confront and like looking back on it all and
like I think taking some a step away from dating
has been the healthiest thing for me. And it's been
what what month is at August? I mean it's been
(11:23):
what six months or since seven months since uh her
and I have ended at this point, and I haven't
been dating, and it's been feeling really good to just
worry about myself, focus on myself, and it's I feel
just like I'm in a healthy spot.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
I really do.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
And it's felt like this has been needed and I
feel good about it all.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Is there anything else you'd like to say about that,
Like just that relationship ending because the public. I mean,
you guys kept it a secret, like you did you
and then you're entitled to that. Yeah, I don't need
to give you an apology for that, like you're titled
to however you want to process that. But it ended,
and everybody was kind of like, you know, the people
that celebrate you are like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
No, I get it, I get it. I mean I
think that I think maybe her and I were just
a little timid because of how brutal things started with
the public. And you know, I again, she's incredible, She's
an incredible person. I wish her all good things in life,
and there's nothing bad to say. There's nothing bad about
(12:30):
how we ended it. We just ended up working out.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
One of the things to transition here that I've always
found impressive with you and a few others, you guys
have a group of friends. Yeah, unlike any other season
of the show. I have friends for my season. Right,
there's a few ID name I'm not going to because
I would forget somebody and then I get in trouble
for it. But there's a few people I still keep
(12:57):
very close ties with. But your friendships from the show
are like best friends. They would I've interviewed some of them,
and they would fight for you with every word they say.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Yeah, they they've got your back. What caused that?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Was it just right timing, right place, or what kind
of cultivated this friendship that we've never seen come out
of that seat?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Like one season, man, I I really just got lucky
with the group of the guys that I was with,
And I think being in that in in like a
little bubble season helped a lot. We just spent a
shit ton of time together where we weren't traveling, where
all we had to do was just talk. We saw
each other's true sides right off the bat, and I
(13:40):
mean those guys are you know, Justin and Andrew Trey
are my brothers. I mean, yeah, Andrew and I have
helped me through rough times now in life. They've seen
me through many seasons of my life now and I
consider them family at this point.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I feel it, man.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
I mean, I know you probably don't actively listening to
the almost of his podcast, but.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Listened to a few episodes.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Thank you, buddy. Yeah, it means a lot to me.
You know, wear you're wearing our brand new issue.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Listen to some.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
But I would say interviewing those guys, especially a few
months ago when we're in Beverly Hills, like they would.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Fight for you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
They've got every like every word they say, has your bag?
Speaker 4 (14:19):
So you're now single?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah, I have to be one of the most eligible
bachelors in New York City. That sweet, You haven't dated
in seven months? What is outside of romance or even
inside of romance?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Like?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
What is life? What are you hopeful for moving forward?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
You know, I think family is the most important thing
to me, and I'm hopeful that I'm going to find
a person soon enough. In the next hopefully within three years.
I'm hoping. I'm like giving myself a realistic timetable, and
i'd like to buy a house, and i'd like to
start settling down at some point in my life and
(15:00):
start building roots. And yeah, I mean that's kind of
like where my mindset is. I'm not putting any rush
on it. I'm not really going to put a you know,
a strict timeline on it. But at the moment, I'm
content with being alone and i'd rather and I'd rather
continue to work on myself than rush into anything. And
(15:22):
I'm just at a good spot in my life. And
you know, I've been traveling a lot with Andrew, been
working a lot with him, and uh, I'm just excited
for the next step. Whenever that is. I feel like
it's going to come unexpectedly, so we'll see. Now.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Final question, you've gone through the Bachelor world, You've gone
through a relationship outside of that world, but still kind
of in it. Like, what are you looking for in
in your partner? I mean for me and I'll and
I'll give you a little buffer here, Like I learned
a lot from my failed relationship from the show on
what I was looking for when it comes to my
partner for life just you know, not because anybody was bad,
(16:01):
It was just because we're different.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
But what do you now, like what characteristics stand out
to you in this next partner of yours?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Hm hmm, characteristics of my next partner? I you know,
I think, and this is not a knock on any
of my past relationships about what they were lacking at all.
I think. You know, what's important to me is that
(16:29):
there's gonna be changes in life no matter what. You know,
Seeing like how my brother is with his wife, and
like seeing seeing the examples of my life my sisters
who are they're married to. Things don't always work out
as planned. And all I want is just to be
(16:50):
with someone where you know that that person is going
to have your back no matter what, no matter what
obstacles come come in throughout life, just that trust into someone.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's incredible when you find it, man, Yeah it is.
It's a whole different world. Yeah, it changes everything.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Great.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Thanks for sitting down, Thanks for being the hot seat.
Of course, we really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.
Can't wait to golf with the Mark. I can't wait
to hang outside for Its great to meet you in
person yep. Likewise, cheers, Buddy, Cheers.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeartRadio,
or subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.
This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast
with iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
This is the Almost Famous podcast. We're here in San Francisco. Yes,
this is the weekend of the Almost Famous golf tournament,
which will be an annual thing probably for the next
thirty years. Because I'll be working for Almost Famous for
the next thirty years. I'll be sixty years old talking
about the Bachelor. That's cool, right, right, It's very cool. Yeah,
that's a really cool place to be. But this is
the first year of it. The reason we're doing it
is to bring people together because in this bachelor world,
(00:28):
it's a little chaotic. It's not a lot of time
just to sit back and hang out and just be
together with people outside of your season. Today, we have
somebody I've always been super intrigued by for multiple reasons.
One of those is because the girls in the Almost
Famous podcasts really love Greg Grippo.
Speaker 3 (00:43):
Oh that's sweet.
Speaker 4 (00:44):
Yeah, they really do.
Speaker 2 (00:45):
In fact, one of the girls that work for the
Almost Fans podcast said, all of her friends are super
excited to meet Greg Gripple.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
That's sweet. I feel like I haven't met any of them.
Speaker 4 (00:55):
Yeah, they're nervous.
Speaker 2 (00:58):
I'm nervous come on this gracious, Greg, welcome, I'm glad
to be here.
Speaker 4 (01:05):
You're sporting our brand already, I am. I have had
this for years. What is the true story of why
you're wearing our T shirt?
Speaker 3 (01:12):
Andrew and I were playing. It was a little bowling
ball game outside in the yard, and then he whipped
the ball at me. Wind hit my chest. Shirt gone.
I said, you know what, I'm gonna rock the almost
famous scare for the rest of night.
Speaker 2 (01:26):
It's a good workout shirt. You can cut the sleeves
out of it if you like a little tight, a
little snug, but I'll take it. It's it's one that
I don't even own. I saw you, I said, I'm
gonna get one. That'd be nice. It probably is my
face in the back, doesn't it. Actually no, it doesn't.
Wild Greg, you have had a wild ride through this franchise. Yeah,
(01:51):
tell me if I'm wrong. My assumption of you has
always been this show is not something that you were
seeking after.
Speaker 3 (01:58):
Yeah, you know, I don't think it's I wasn't. To
be honest with you, I mean I got called uh
three times for the show. Twice I turned it down
third time. I said it before and I'll say it again.
It was on my dad's anniversary. Uh. I was during COVID.
(02:19):
I was living in New York City working a job
I didn't love, and I was just like, screw it. Yeah,
you know what bachelor has some sick dates. Let me
travel a little bit. I mean it was a bubble season,
but we went to New Mexico, and I mean I
was single at the time, and I just it was
a shot in the dark. My sister ended up submitting
me years prior. They called me for Becca kuferin season.
(02:40):
I was way too young for that, and then Claire's
and I was also not ready enough for that, and
then uh, Katie's. It was just right timing.
Speaker 4 (02:51):
So like when it comes to you and Katie, let's
start there.
Speaker 2 (02:54):
Yeah, you get on this show that you weren't you
know they said no to multiple times? Yeah, like why
was Katie as the bachelorrette something that you were like,
this is the one I would go for.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Yeah, I mean I you never Also, I feel like
I don't know about you, but for me, I was
never one hundred percent sure that it was kat Katie.
I mean we were hearing groomors and I was like,
all right, it's definitely gonna probably be Katie. I was
hoping it was gonna be Katie. But I think it
was just the place that at least I thought I
was in at the time, and I thought that I
(03:26):
was in a good enough place. And I also just
like kind of just like wanted to take a chance
at something and it was exciting to me, and I
was just like, you know what, at the end of
the day, I could get sent home night one and
that's also okay, and like I was fine with that.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
Yeah, I would agree with you because my season of
The Bachelor, at I didn't know who the bachelottes were
going to be and it was two, so they too.
I had two that season and that was a wild
ride because then they made you choose on night one
which one you wanted, you voted, and then one stayed
and one went home.
Speaker 4 (03:58):
That's interesting.
Speaker 2 (03:59):
That's so the complaint that like you were never there
for the right reasons is one that like, not that
you have that complaint, I'm saying in general, like anybody
gets the complaint like you weren't there for the bachelorrette,
It's like, well, no, you didn't really know who it was, right, Yeah,
Like of course I wasn't maybe there for the bachelors exactly.
You know, no until you show up.
Speaker 3 (04:17):
Yeah, no, you have no idea. I mean, it's just
like you know, you're hoping at the end of the day, like, hey,
I could have a connection with the person, but you
also feel like it's a long shot also because it's
hard to envision when you really don't know one hundred
percent who the person is.
Speaker 2 (04:33):
And then you went through it and things started to
change for you, like feelings started to grow, emotions started
to come out, you went through this whole thing. We
obviously know how your season the Bachelorette ended, but your
story really started post Bachelorette, like where you were a
fan favorite, like you.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Really it depends on who you're asking, I think.
Speaker 2 (04:52):
I mean, I think you listen to the critics more
than you hear the like compliments. But I think in general,
from my perspective as an outsider, like people loved you.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
Yeah, well, it's it's nice to know that that you
at least took it like that. I mean I felt
at least right right out of the show, right out
of the gate, not in the beginning to I'm talking
about towards the n as soon as I left, I mean,
I was it was. It was a scary time, at
least for me and at least like I was. It
(05:20):
was just like a humbling experience, and I I felt
like I was just like a shell of myself during
the time. But it I feel like I cracked out
of that in the last year or so, so I
feel like I'm in a good spot right now. But
during it all, it was rough.
Speaker 4 (05:36):
You felt like the world was like coming at you
a little bit.
Speaker 3 (05:42):
I wouldn't say coming at me. It just felt like
a lot all at once.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
Did it affect your personal life.
Speaker 3 (05:47):
Yeah, without a doubt.
Speaker 4 (05:48):
How did you deal with that?
Speaker 3 (05:52):
Gosh went back to therapy. I mean, I discovered that
I had so much to work on, even like post
like stuff with like my father and like my family
dynamic that I had to work out on my own,
you know, my own grief towards him and and you know,
(06:13):
sadness towards how I was feeling with my own family dynamic.
You know, leaving my mom by herself was just a
struggle for me, And there was just so much personal
things I had to go through that, Like I was
figuring out that, like Okay, maybe I wasn't ready for
this at the end of the day.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
So I don't know if this question will come off
It will probably come off a little intrusive. But without
the show, m how would you have confronted those things
that obviously were needing to be confronted at some point?
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Yeah, absolutely, just not knowing when they would have been.
You know, it's tough to say, you know, because in
what happened in life and my reality, I mean, it
was maximized to put it right into my face and
to show me that I needed to continue therapy and
continue work on myself. And I mean, hey, it like
(07:07):
it took. I mean, I've been off the show fraud.
I think it's like three years at this point, and uh,
I finally feel like I'm in like the healthiest spot since,
like my dad got sick.
Speaker 2 (07:23):
But obviously that's I mean, to the viewers who don't
know the behind the scenes, don't know the work you're doing,
don't know where I think they're going to hear that
and be like that's interesting because you obviously are now
still single, right, and so you come off a very
public breakup, so at some point in this whole thing,
you decide to come back on national television and announce
(07:44):
a new relationship and walk into that whole path, right, Like,
how did that even get to the point where you
were saying, yeah, I'll go back on TV. Not maybe
even like ideally, but just I'm going to go back
on television and announce a relationship again, start this whole
new journey.
Speaker 3 (08:01):
I mean I was in I was head over eels
for I was she uh, and I saw the backglass
that she was getting and and knowing what she was
about to walk into at that reunion, I mean her
and I were having discussions. I really didn't want to
go on, but I was also getting every one in
(08:23):
my circle was telling me not to. But at the
end of the day, like I was like, if we're
going to do this, I'm gonna have to stick this
out with you, and I just I went out there.
We kinda went and uh went to the gauntlet and
uh took it to the head and uh, I mean
it was it was. It was a tough way to
start everything for us, but I feel like there was
(08:45):
no other way.
Speaker 4 (08:46):
So you went back on television.
Speaker 2 (08:48):
Did you feel like the response was similar to your
time in the show or did you, like, were you
in a different place coming off of that.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
No, I feel like I was in a better spot
because I feel like I was. I think that her
and I both knew that it was gonna be pretty tough.
I think my toughest during that time. You know, I
said this on Jason's that like it was the toughest
bar about it always seeing how it affected her. Yeah,
(09:16):
it was, Uh, the world was really hurtful towards her,
which sucked in it, and it was it was hard
to see.
Speaker 2 (09:24):
I didn't feel and it's been a bit since I
saw that interview. I didn't feel like you had a
defensive spirit, like it felt like you were very much
in this place of no like like her or not,
this is where we're at.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
Yeah, I mean I was so content and happy. I
mean contense probably, I mean I think intense a good word. Yeah,
And I think that her and I both knew that
the way we started off, and whether people believed it
or not, we knew that that was the truth of
(09:57):
it all and we felt certain about it. And that's
why I was out there.
Speaker 2 (10:00):
Yeah, it was like it wasn't as a viewer, I
don't think as a for me, as a negative. It
is like, no, there's no like defensiveness. Like you're not
like reacting to the comments and the questions. You're you're
just answering them. Yeah, because it's where you're at in life. Yeah,
you're gonna move forward absolutely.
Speaker 4 (10:16):
How long ago was that?
Speaker 3 (10:17):
Uh? What was that?
Speaker 1 (10:18):
Was that?
Speaker 3 (10:19):
Two years ago? At this point? I think it was.
Speaker 2 (10:31):
So now you're back out into the world two years
ago in a new relationship that ends at some point
here along the journey, and you're sitting here with us today. Yeah,
do you, like, can you catch us up on where
you're at mentally just as a human outside of you know,
the ending of that and entering into the new world again.
(10:52):
You talked about your journey of getting back healthy, confronting
some of the things you wanted to or needed to
confront that you maybe even know you need to confront.
Speaker 4 (10:59):
Yeah, where are you at today?
Speaker 3 (11:00):
Yeah? I think that's like the biggest thing is that
like a lot of the things you need to confront.
That's the most frustrating part about it is that you
don't maybe don't realize in the moment that you need
to confront and like looking back on it all and
like I think taking some a step away from dating
has been the healthiest thing for me. And it's been
what what month is at August? I mean it's been
(11:23):
what six months or since seven months since uh her
and I have ended at this point, and I haven't
been dating, and it's been feeling really good to just
worry about myself, focus on myself, and it's I feel
just like I'm in a healthy spot.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
I really do.
Speaker 3 (11:39):
And it's felt like this has been needed and I
feel good about it all.
Speaker 2 (11:47):
Is there anything else you'd like to say about that,
Like just that relationship ending because the public. I mean,
you guys kept it a secret, like you did you
and then you're entitled to that. Yeah, I don't need
to give you an apology for that, like you're titled
to however you want to process that. But it ended,
and everybody was kind of like, you know, the people
that celebrate you are like, I don't know.
Speaker 3 (12:07):
No, I get it, I get it. I mean I
think that I think maybe her and I were just
a little timid because of how brutal things started with
the public. And you know, I again, she's incredible, She's
an incredible person. I wish her all good things in life,
and there's nothing bad to say. There's nothing bad about
(12:30):
how we ended it. We just ended up working out.
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (12:34):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (12:35):
One of the things to transition here that I've always
found impressive with you and a few others, you guys
have a group of friends. Yeah, unlike any other season
of the show. I have friends for my season. Right,
there's a few ID name I'm not going to because
I would forget somebody and then I get in trouble
for it. But there's a few people I still keep
(12:57):
very close ties with. But your friendships from the show
are like best friends. They would I've interviewed some of them,
and they would fight for you with every word they say.
Speaker 4 (13:07):
Yeah, they they've got your back. What caused that?
Speaker 2 (13:11):
Was it just right timing, right place, or what kind
of cultivated this friendship that we've never seen come out
of that seat?
Speaker 3 (13:16):
Like one season, man, I I really just got lucky
with the group of the guys that I was with,
And I think being in that in in like a
little bubble season helped a lot. We just spent a
shit ton of time together where we weren't traveling, where
all we had to do was just talk. We saw
each other's true sides right off the bat, and I
(13:40):
mean those guys are you know, Justin and Andrew Trey
are my brothers. I mean, yeah, Andrew and I have
helped me through rough times now in life. They've seen
me through many seasons of my life now and I
consider them family at this point.
Speaker 4 (13:57):
I feel it, man.
Speaker 2 (13:58):
I mean, I know you probably don't actively listening to
the almost of his podcast, but.
Speaker 3 (14:02):
Listened to a few episodes.
Speaker 2 (14:03):
Thank you, buddy. Yeah, it means a lot to me.
You know, wear you're wearing our brand new issue.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Listen to some.
Speaker 2 (14:09):
But I would say interviewing those guys, especially a few
months ago when we're in Beverly Hills, like they would.
Speaker 4 (14:13):
Fight for you.
Speaker 3 (14:14):
I appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:15):
They've got every like every word they say, has your bag?
Speaker 4 (14:19):
So you're now single?
Speaker 2 (14:21):
Yeah, I have to be one of the most eligible
bachelors in New York City. That sweet, You haven't dated
in seven months? What is outside of romance or even
inside of romance?
Speaker 1 (14:31):
Like?
Speaker 4 (14:31):
What is life? What are you hopeful for moving forward?
Speaker 3 (14:37):
You know, I think family is the most important thing
to me, and I'm hopeful that I'm going to find
a person soon enough. In the next hopefully within three years.
I'm hoping. I'm like giving myself a realistic timetable, and
i'd like to buy a house, and i'd like to
start settling down at some point in my life and
(15:00):
start building roots. And yeah, I mean that's kind of
like where my mindset is. I'm not putting any rush
on it. I'm not really going to put a you know,
a strict timeline on it. But at the moment, I'm
content with being alone and i'd rather and I'd rather
continue to work on myself than rush into anything. And
(15:22):
I'm just at a good spot in my life. And
you know, I've been traveling a lot with Andrew, been
working a lot with him, and uh, I'm just excited
for the next step. Whenever that is. I feel like
it's going to come unexpectedly, so we'll see. Now.
Speaker 2 (15:38):
Final question, you've gone through the Bachelor world, You've gone
through a relationship outside of that world, but still kind
of in it. Like, what are you looking for in
in your partner? I mean for me and I'll and
I'll give you a little buffer here, Like I learned
a lot from my failed relationship from the show on
what I was looking for when it comes to my
partner for life just you know, not because anybody was bad,
(16:01):
It was just because we're different.
Speaker 3 (16:03):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (16:03):
But what do you now, like what characteristics stand out
to you in this next partner of yours?
Speaker 3 (16:08):
Hm hmm, characteristics of my next partner? I you know,
I think, and this is not a knock on any
of my past relationships about what they were lacking at all.
I think. You know, what's important to me is that
(16:29):
there's gonna be changes in life no matter what. You know,
Seeing like how my brother is with his wife, and
like seeing seeing the examples of my life my sisters
who are they're married to. Things don't always work out
as planned. And all I want is just to be
(16:50):
with someone where you know that that person is going
to have your back no matter what, no matter what
obstacles come come in throughout life, just that trust into someone.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
It's incredible when you find it, man, Yeah it is.
It's a whole different world. Yeah, it changes everything.
Speaker 4 (17:05):
Great.
Speaker 2 (17:05):
Thanks for sitting down, Thanks for being the hot seat.
Of course, we really appreciate it. Thanks for being here.
Can't wait to golf with the Mark. I can't wait
to hang outside for Its great to meet you in
person yep. Likewise, cheers, Buddy, Cheers.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Follow the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast on iHeartRadio,
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Hosts And Creators
Ben Higgins
Ashley Iaconetti
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