This is the Ben and Ashley I Almost Famous podcast with iHeartRadio.
Hey guys, we welcome to the Almost Famous Podcast. Today's guest Day Love guest Day. Today it is Kelly flanagain. You know that, you guys know her from Peter Weber's season from back in twenty twenty and she was eliminated in week seven, but then she dated Peter once or twice, maybe three times.
We'll ask about it. Kelly, welcome to.
The show, and we just wanted to extend our sincere condolences by the passing of your dad less than a month ago.
We're so so sorry. I just can't imagine what you're going through.
Yeah, thank you guys. Good to be on here. Yeah, it's been my life has been in shambles the past couple of months. So hopefully we get into that, but it's it's definitely been a lot.
What do you.
Okay? I think with interviews with people like you, and it's interesting. I remember I think it wasn't your last time on the show, but your very first time on
the show was during COVID. I remember exactly where a sitting, I remember a lot of what we talked about and now when we interview people like you who have you know, a few years removed from the show, obviously been through a lot which will dive into I think one of the most helpful things for listeners is like try to give a relatability and a perspective, because you're probably going through a lot of stuff that people are going through listening to it, maybe not all at the same time,
but like people are going to be able to relate. So when you say shambles, what do you mean by that? Because this has been a this is like a the last month for you, I cannot imagine and I don't have words to like try to like console, but like I just can't imagine, And so can you explain shambles a little bit?
Yeah, and don't be afraid to cry like I've been.
I'd probably cry too same.
I've literally I've been trying to figure out like when I could actually come out and speak about it, because I who I thought I was like cool and I was going to be like all right, No, it's like the.
Second anybody like you're like, okay, I can hatele those and then like words starts trying to come out of your mouth and I can't do it either.
Yeah, no, it's stuff. So I one, I I'll start with this because this doesn't make me cry. I went through a really really bad breakup and I was kind of in a position where I was like I looked back and the information that I was finding out a lot through social media. I have never had this amount of people reach out to me to tell me like who I was dating and like what was going on
behind my backs or who they were truly. And I think that's just like a really really confusing state because I was with this person for almost like a year and a half and I was just like I in my own head gathered like, oh, this is who that person is. And then after the fact, when I started figuring out like the cheating and all of that stuff, like what he was doing behind my back, that's like
minuscule to what I found out. Who I found out like like what was going on and who he truly was was a situation where it's probably the most confusing state of mind you'll ever be in because you've convinced yourself of like I know this person, I've been with this person, I was living with this person, and to find out like all of it or not all of it, but a lot of it was like not true and
a lie. It definitely messes with your head. And I'll sit here and say with that, it's more of like it's a hard breakup at first because the confusion and like you're in your head and you're like what just happened? But then in the long run, you look back and you're like, who thank God, Like that wasn't my life. Thank God I got out of that situation. So that was really hard for me. And if you guys want
me to go more into that, I can. But then the second thing that happened is like right when that was going on as well, my father got sick and I was just like, WHOA, what's going on? What's going on? And I always knew my dad was a bit older, but like we were just here with him for Thanksgiving, and like I remember he kept saying like I'm super cold, I'm super cold. We're out to dinner. But he was
like in high spirits and like everything was good. And then we got a call that like he was in the hospital and we're like whoa, Like what's going on? So I immediately I was unfortunately in Chicago for a funeral, and so I had to like immediately fly down. And for the next three weeks we were in the hospital with him, and he had double pneumonia and the rhinovirus I think, so it was just like a huge hit on him. And then we just kind of kept thinking,
We're like, is there a recovery to this? Is there a full recover to this? Like like what's going to happen? And in those three weeks were they were hard, but also I'm like really really grateful for them. Oh god, God, I thought I was gonna be able to hold it together. But I was grateful for those three weeks because like we got to like spend like precious time with him and like, oh my god, I can't.
Oh it's okay.
We were able to like tell him how much we appreciated him and how great he was, and like just how much we like valued him as like a father and also like a person. And then every day was like hard because he was in such a fragile state in that hospital and like us kids were like taking shifts and the smallest thing, like the smallest thing could have made him pass. So we were like on top of it, like you have five out of the six
kids or attorneys. So you have like a bunch of attorneys in a room, but we don't know anything medical, and we're just like trying to figure it out. Like we learned about vitals, we learned about like medications and like them interacting like his daily medication. Some of them were interacting with the medication that he needed in the hospital. And so we're like sitting there calling people nurses, doctors,
family friends. Like it's so crazy because I can't even tell you how many people on social media, Like when I was doing my post reached out to me and they're like watch for this, watch for that, like helping me, and I was like, whoa, this is crazy. Like social media is a very very powerful place, and a lot of other people like experienced the same thing that he
was going through. Like I remember one message was they're like listen and my grandpa, I think it was, is like ninety years old, had double pneumonia, was able to come back from it. And we're like, damn, okay, so it gives you hope, But yeah, it was. It was a tough three weeks of us like being with him, and I'm not gonna lie, it's like exhausting because you're in fight or flight, Like if something happens, you're like, oh my god, am I responsible? What do I do?
But I really appreciate like those three weeks like spending with him.
You mentioned the rhinovirus. What is that?
No, I think it's like a new thing. Okay, whether it's the flu, whether it's similar to COVID. I think it's something along those lines, but I think it's a little bit newer.
I'll say this, I'm in a weird emotional state myself right now, where like two weeks away from having a little girl. So it's I'm like on the edge of breaking most moments. I'm sitting here and I'm watching you and like, it's not fun obviously to come on an interview and cry like you're apologizing. You shouldn't apologize at all.
That's kind of why we do it. And I'm also thinking what better testimony, Well to have a daughter like you, but then to know that your daughter is so emotional over your like passing, Like what better way to like remember him? Yeah, and what better way to like, you know, if you just came on here, you're like, yeah, that
was really tough. That sucked. You want to talk about a breakup, like it's I just want to tell you, like this is this is an incredible like testament to him as a father and as a person, that this is what your reaction is.
Then I truly like have never met anyone like him. And I know a lot of people say that and they're like my father was the best, this, that and the other. But like that man, like what he like gave us provided for us, like he would like literally never see know to us. Like one of the things he said to us, he was like, listen, I want to give you guys an education and if you guys want to go through that, like that's the one thing I could give you that no one can take away.
Like he was just he just had like a genius mindset. Like he was a smart guy, but not only a smart guy, Like he didn't have an ego behind him. Like he was always so kind to literally anyone, like so generous, like generous in ways that like people don't even think of. But the law firm that he created,
like those people were his family. Like people go to work and people are like they they don't assume that your boss is going to be like overly nice to you or like treat you as if like your family, Like my dad like that office, his family, all that stuff. And what's crazier too, is he came from like a broken family. Like this man didn't really know the definission of family. Like he had a mom and a dad.
His dad had him in later years. His mom was a bit younger, but she like abandoned him and his brother, and he was like kind of on his own, was being raised by his grandma for a little bit. He always like glorified his dad, but like his dad wasn't necessarily hands on. So my dad came from this broken family, never thought he was going to have a family, Like he was like I just don't think it's in my cards.
And he got married at forty eight, Like he got married a lot later and my mom was thirty six, so like they were an older couple. And then they decide to have six kids in seven years.
I saw you post that on Instagram. I thought that was really really special, right he started seting then he was just like no, let's just keep it going.
And he just for my mom she really wanted, but he was like down for it. He's like all right whatever, like he was he wasn't like this very powerful guy that had an ego behind him and was like you do this, you do that. Like he was a really powerful guy and like had a lot of success, but like he like was never phased by anything. Like he was like, all right, if you want to do that, go ahead, like sure money, Like what do you want?
Like you just see a lot of people in power these days have like this ego behind them where they're like you listen to me, and these are the rules and that and the other. And he just like let my mom be who she was, do what she wants. And my mom's like a little bit nutty. We love her, but she's a little bit nutty. And he was just like always rolling his eyes like, oh oh god, Connie,
like you're you're a special one, you know. So yeah, it's just like looking back on the situation, like I can't say, like how grateful I am.
You also have a testament of like how much you all looked up to him because five of the six of you became lawyers with him, as you know, your aspiration.
But he never like put pressure on us to be like you guys have to be lawyers, Like it was all our choices, which is really cool. Like he never pressured us to do anything, Like even when I went on The Bachelor, he was like, yeah, do what you want. Like I don't understand it, but do what you want. Talking about being an influencer, like he thought it was the coolest thing in the world. He was like, I don't get it, but he was like I think Kelly like holds up a person, people like like the person,
then they buy it. Like he was so proud, like telling all of his friends, and he was always like, so many people look at this stuff, like I can't believe, like the people that follow her, and like the amount of numbers, Like he was always so intrigued, but like was always so supportive and it was really cool.
That's so sweet.
He passed away on Christmas Day, Yeah, and you said that he was just holding out for that because that was his very holiday.
Yeah. So growing up, like again, he had like a broken family and he would say things like some Christmases
like he didn't have anywhere to go. Man, I thought it was going to be able to keep it together, but he sometimes like didn't have anywhere to go for Christmas, And so it kind of became a thing for him when we were growing up, Like he would like panic, Oh my gosh, he would like panic, and he just wanted to make sure we all had like a good Christmas growing up, and like he would do outrageous things, like outrageous like he would get we had like a
living room in Chicago that had like a really tall ceiling. He would get like trees from Wisconsin on these like
massive trucks like ship down to our house. That's so cool. Yeah, to make sure like all of us had a great Christmas because like because like he never did growing up, but yeah, so like Christmas became just like huge to him and he always like appreciated it and like wanted to go so far out of his way to make sure like everyone was happy and had a great Christmas and like had a bunch of presents and like it was just like our house was lit up like crazy,
like we always had Christmas lights everywhere. So I think he just wanted to like give that to us. And oh my gosh, I think he like knew so he was we brought him home. One thing he wanted was for him to be home, and he was like, I
don't want to be in this hospital anymore. And there would be days where he'd be like doing super well, so we were able to communicate with him, and a lot of days he was like full fledged sleeping, but sometimes it would be like hold your hand, like squeezer hand, or like do this if like you want this, that and the other. So he there was one day where he just had like a lot of energy in him and he's like, get me out at this place. I don't want to be here. I don't want to be here.
I want to go home. I don't I want to go home, and so we're like, all right, his goal is he wants to be home. The only problem was he was like in a really fragile state that we didn't know if he could make it on the car ride home because he was like he was on all this oxygen and there was like little things that kept happening, whether it was like his blood pressure dropping or his respiratory was too high and we had to switch masks
and do all this oxygen stuff. So we're like, oh, man, like are we going to be able to get him there? And we got him here and the ride was fine, even though a bunch of doctors were like telling us otherwise we got him here, and he was here for like a couple of days, and then when we told him like Merry Christmas, like you made it to Christmas, like, his vitals just started going.
We've talked about the like the importance of making it to Christmas for him and the legacy that he has left with you and the memories that he's left with you. I guess because I don't have a lot of words right now, Kelly, I think to kind of do a very odd transition into a breakup. But before we do that, I do want to ask you, with all that we've just said, what, like what will this memory be now?
I mean, obviously Christmas Day was an important day to him, It's going to be an important day to you for many reasons now to remember, to celebrate, you know, to pass that on. But as we now, you know heal the best we can and move forward, like what will the memory of your dad be that you want people to remember?
I think I'm going to talk about something a little bit different, just because I need to like keep it together, and then we'll go to that. One thing I do want to say is this was like a learning experience for me that I've never dealt with and I know a lot of people go through this. It's a way of life. I personally just never knew like this kind
of pain existed. And again, like I just personally want to thank every single person that reached out to me through social media because I said, like I don't know what this means, but like the amount of people that like have experienced grief and was like messaging me and like telling me all this stuff, Like then I never like wish it upon anyone, and I know, again it's a way of life, Like it's a really confusing state, and like so many people who are messaging me, and
to be honest, like I was reading like all of it, but I couldn't even respond to people because every time I would just break down, like when I would go to respond, but I was looking at all of it, and it's just so crazy to me that like so many people, especially at my age, I have even dealt with something like this. And again, like I'm not naive. I know it's a way of life, but it's so hard because you have this person that like you love and you're like okay, now, like how do I cope
with it? Like what do you do, and like people would say, like you just always have this type of grief like in you like this sadness, but like you get stronger, so it like never goes away. And I think what's different And like a breakup is like you're like, Okay,
I got out of that situation. You get some closure in some sense, and then you're like then you move on and you move on to like a next person and you're like, okay, this is fine, Like you start being grateful and you're like that person wasn't for me and all of this stuff. With this, it's just like a different kind of pain where you're like I love
that person, I didn't want them to go. You can't necessarily like have closure to be like, well that person wasn't good to me or this person you know that person did this. Like with breakups, it's so different and the pain is so different because you're just like you get closure on that, but with this you don't. And you can't sit there and be like, well my dad was like not a good person and I'm so glad that like this happened. Like it is, it's wild. It's
wild to deal with. But again, like social media is a powerful place, and like people have been messaging me, like reaching out, like telling me how they dealt with it and all this stuff, and yeah, it's it's weird, but there are the first couple of days I was like a mess, like an absolute mess actually the first like week or two. But then you just like day by day get like stronger, and that's something that I learned, like it never goes away. And just.
Thank you for sharing that, because yeah, I probably can't even.
Talk right now either, but but like it's always been my biggest fear to lose one of my parents.
And then you know, you get married and then like your biggest spirits love at your spouse, then you have kids, and then like your real biggest spirits was your kids.
But like.
I I've never experienced any of it. It's like the scariest thing ever. And I feel so much for what you're going through.
Yeah yeah, but like I can't be Ashley at the end of the day, Like I can't be so sad over it, because like we look back and we do have to be grateful. Like my dad was eighty seven years old, like he was at an older age. He has experienced so much in his life, like everything and it's like he experienced everything. He had so many kids, we all loved him, and then like he got to even be with some of his grandkids. He just had
like a beautiful, beautiful life. So it's like he wasn't cut short of anything, and you have to like remind yourself of that to be like, he lived a beautiful, beautiful life. So yeah, it's like it's hard.
There's an interesting statement you made there where the grief will always be inside of you, but you'll grow stronger because I think we could, we should would We would sit here with you and talk about this moment and your dad and who he was to you and your family for hours, and it wouldn't do it justice. We will make the very weird transition.
I have a good transition point.
Well, okay, okay, what did your dad think about your ex.
Who wronged you?
So, to be honest, my dad was never like a judgy person, Like that's more you know, my mom will have more of an outward voice on things, but my dad was like are you okay? Like he was never he never he like never talked shit.
Yeah, it's like my dad, my dad, Can you just call someone out and they suck no.
He was like, no, they're great, They're great like that. So it was you know, I think actually my mom was like, can you put your podcast up here on the TV and out of like all of it, like my parents watching it. I think some of my siblings were here too. He said, he was like, hell, you look great on TV, like good job. Like it was never like negative, you know, it was always like hell, like proud of you, You're amazing. So yeah, it was.
It was pretty funny. But I think, listen, I don't think he's gonna have much to say unless I really got caught up. But I didn't. Like I was in a relationship and I got out. That's that's the gist of it.
But there is some interesting like points here that I think to make sense of it.
All.
The last few months have been horrific no matter what. Like the fact you got out of this relationship is a good thing, right, well, but like it's not. It doesn't make the breakup any less of a breakup. It was still a separation.
It weirdly like the amount of pain for my dad, like it was almost like, oh my god, that doesn't even matter to me. Like the breakup. I think it was just more confusing for me, Like when if you went through a breakup and you're like okay and it finished on like fine terms, like okay fine. I think the hardest part was like confused in your head and
then you go through this. But at the end of the day, I'm very grateful that the breakup happened, and then on nfortunately my dad's stuff happened, because if it was reversed and I had someone by my side consoling me through this and then I found out what was truly going on, that would have been like terrible, you know. So even though they both suck, like you, I'm just trying to look for what to be grateful for in
each setting. Again, my dad passing, like it sucks and it's really sad, but then like I just try to think positively, like he lived a great life, He did everything he wanted, Like we got those three weeks to spend with him in the hospital telling him how important he was to us and how much we loved him and all that stuff, Like it wasn't just like a sudden he's not there anymore. So there's like so many little blessings within the horrible circumstances.
Does that make it easier. Hearder you think which part the three weeks leading up?
Oh so my brother, My brother made a comment, he spoke about it, and he was like, man, he was like, honestly, like you got to be great full Dad was eighty seven. He lived a beautiful life. He was still like walking around and even though he was a bit weaker, he like still was living a great life until the till the end. And he was like he wasn't in a wheelchair, he wasn't like strictly on oxygen for years on end,
like he was still functioning. And he was like the difference is I would want to almost like when I have to go, He's like almost have a heart attack and like go, Like I don't even want those three weeks. And I was like, no, I highly disagree. Those three weeks were like beautiful to me. So it's like you got to spend time with him. You got to take care of him, like you got to like tell him, like you got to like tell him how important he was too.
So you definitely get more closure that way, like you can't like you're not going to look back and be like I wish I said this, I.
Wish I said that yeah, exactly exactly.
I think it's probably best for everybody feelings.
Yeah, so I think those three weeks were like beautiful. We got to like tell him everything we wanted to and and it's like this guy has like given us like everything, our whole life, like everything, Like he was so unselfish and it's like, how do you repay that?
Not to be a Bachelor interviewer. But did Peter reach out?
Uh?
Yeah he did. He did, which was very nice. Yeah, he did. I mean he he was down here for the time that we were dating. You know, he knew my parents and my dad had his pilot's license and you know, Peter being a pilot, so they would have a conversation to talk about and it was like stupid little things. My dad has this old Jaguar, like a vintage car, and none of us, none of us kids know how to drive it, and Peter like knew how
to drive stock. So like brand happiness that Peter might drive it around because no one else would appreciate it. You know, Peter reached out and that was very nice of them.
The it's I didn't think about it that way, that this interesting season of life where you know, now you're
sitting in something that's so much more important. You've talked about the the power of social media now in two different ways, uh, And I think that actually would be a very like unfamiliar experience for most people in the spotlight to have social media be used for two beneficial practice purposes, one communicating that the guy you're dating sucked, and then two coming in support of you and trying to share with you any insight that maybe would be
helpful during this season of healing and processing and you know, loss, h Have you always had this kind of experience on social media? Is this or is this new?
No?
I mean not necessarily with the breakup. I think there was just a lot more details to give in this scenario that I just didn't know about. And that's maybe why it happened with my dad's situation in the social media Like it wasn't even the grief thing too, Ben, it was when we were in the hospital, the amount of people who were having like who had similar experiences that were like informing me and teaching me like NonStop, like whether it was hey, if he has double pneumonia,
make sure like you're checking antibiotics. His body could respond poorly to this one, but it could like do this one better. Like they were just teaching me. And when it came to like the respiratory stuff him on oxygen, like people were telling me their past experiences and also just like helping, Like I was like messaging them back and I was like, hey, this is what's going on right now, Like what do you think it is? Whether
his blood pressure dropped too low. We also had a family friend that we were calling and doctors and some of my girlfriends from Alabama. They were nurses that I was speaking to, but they're like, hey, if blood pressure is low and like his vitals are fine, like this is what could be going on. So I was like taking a picture of the vital sending it over to people and being like hey, like do you know what
this means? And people were just like telling me. And then we would kind of tell the nurses like do you think it's just that and the other And we solved like a lot of problems with that. There was one point where his body was like two dehydrated and they need to get like a v an IV in him like asap, and that worked. And there was like another time where we thought we were going to lose him.
They gave him too much of a diuretic, and like they're like we like the second doctor that came were like asked the nurse, like how much of a diuretic did they give him? And you saw his face he was like, oh shit. So I think, you know, there's there's things that can go wrong on a daily base there and it's not necessarily anyone's fault, but it's a kind of trial and error. So I was just learning like so much through social media with the grief, through
the hospital experience. Yeah, and I guess the breakup, but it's it just made me think. I was like, man, like, social media is beyond powerful and I don't know if i've like ever. I feel like people have helped me in other scenarios too with this. This isn't like a one or two and done. I learn a lot from a lot of the people that follow me, and again I apologize for me not responding to everyone, but I was reading every single one of them and being like,
how does this work? What's going on? But yeah, I think I don't know. Maybe I maybe I'm like pretty open with some things that are going on in my life and kind of ask and people respond, I don't know. I don't know, but yeah, I've like I've had I've learned a lot of other things too.
Also weird transition. I think everything will be like a weird transition today. But like this is still on the topic of your family. Your sister's part of the Prince Harry and Megan Marvel produced series Polo on Netflix, and you appear in an episode.
Did you guys ever interact with Harry and Meghan?
They were at one So my sister and her husband do I don't know, once a year, twice a year, a couple of times a year, because they're in that world. I mean, I just go up there to do whatever, you know. My sister's like come to a game. There was one game that we went to that they were there, and like, if I wanted to, I could have gone and introduced myself with my sister, and but I was like, yeah, I just don't want to bombard them, you know, I
just like, what am I going to say? Hi? So so yeah, no, they hosted a dinner, they hosted a game which I was at. They were around, but I was like, what would I even say?
What about your sister?
Does?
She had more of a relationship or like can tell us like if which side is which side of Megan do we believe?
I don't think she knows them well enough like that to like actually have an opinion when she's it's more of like dinners her husband playing games against them and they'll talk, but they're definitely not like close. Yeah, I think it's more so. And again, like Harry's not there on a day to day, like he's in that world and he'll play pullout here and there, but like he's not like has his own team playing and all these tournaments and all that stuff. Who's like in Wellington NonStop?
You know, I don't I don't think. I don't know if he even has a place in Wellington, which is where they play. So I think it's more of pops and pops in and out.
Just to be clear for anybody listening, I believe Kelly has a seagull that is chasing after something in the background. And so if you can hear a bird, Ashley has not gotten birds in her parents' house.
It is a.
Seagull saying hello to everybody listening. It looks like a beautiful place. By the way, I want to close this time with you out kind of going back to the question I asked earlier about kind of the legacy of your dad, because that never really got answered, and I want to make sure that gets answered answered. But I want to do at the very end because I don't want to obviously, like sandwich all of this up into like an emotional like bomb and then just make you,
you know, have to sit in it. And so there are a few points that I want to pull out here that I think people are very curious about when it comes to the situation that happened a few months ago. Right, this made obviously a lot of headline. We covered it here, We talked about it here. It was very confusing for so many reasons, probably most confusing to you, Kelly. It
sounds like you found out about your ex living. I don't know you put into your words, I'll put in the mind and you can correct me or tell me. I'm living a different life a second, like a whole nother life through social media to go back to that, but it sounds like this all kind of came in at the same Like from what I'm hearing from you is all these like messages started coming in at a
similar time. And I want to know what sparked that, because if this was like a routine for him, if this wasn't something new to him, then why all of a sudden did multiple people reach out at the same time.
I don't even know what. So I had a burner account messaged me and was like, if you're still again, like we weren't. We weren't in. We weren't in like a great place over the summer. But we broke up and I was like, all right, I need to get out of that. I need to get out and he's like, no, you know, give me another shot, give me another chance. So I just stopped posting him so much on social media because I was like, I don't know where this
is going to go. I don't want to put the pressure, like outside pressure on this, Like I want to figure it out myself without an outside pressure. But I would I wasn't hiding anything. I would still post that I was in Philadelphia. I would still post that he would be in some of my photos. It's just like I just changed the trajectory to not being like this is
my relationship twenty four to seven. So people would keep seeing those photos and then that's when I got someone message me to be like if you're still dating him, like he's essentially cheating on you, and I was like what, And so then I saw I started putting things together in my head and I was like what, Like there was other sketchy things that were going on that I probably was writing off in my head because I genuinely thought this person would like never be a cheater and
like I was fooled, But there was other things going on where I remember this influencer she started following him this summer and I asked about it. I was like, because they had like a previous past. And I asked about it because I kept seeing her at events like everywhere. And I was never rude, I was never malicious. I just really would just like not not like give her the time of day, Like I wasn't gonna run up to her and say hi, I was just doing my thing.
And then I said something to him about it, and I was like, you know what, I keep seeing this girl at all these events we have mutual friends. I feel bad that, like we were in a group circle and she was like standing out of it and it made me feel bad. So I said something along the lines of like I'm just gonna start being nice to her, and I noticed that tipped and I noticed that something was off, being like he was like why, you know
why why? And it was like the energy was off with the way he responded, and I was like, I think there's something more going on here. So I went to her page and there was like a reel, and the reel said something along the lines of like, I ran into a guy that I used to have a thing with, and I don't think the reason for running into him is because we are going to date, but I but it just goes to show you that you could run into anywhere, anyone, any place, and like, I
didn't expect to run into him. And I was like, why would she make the comment of I don't think running into him was the reason why we're going to date. If he openly told her we were openly dating, that wouldn't even cross her mind. So I knew something was off. So I reached out to a mutual friend and I said, Hey, are you close with this girl? Will you figure out what's going on? She was like that girl's a girl's girl. Reach out yourself, She'll tell you everything you want to hear.
So then when I reached out to her, We got on the phone real quick and she's like, what do you want to know? And I told her this situation and she was like, holy shit, you've been dating him like this whole summer. I said yeah, and she was like, well, this is what's going on. And she sent me like receipts of everything and.
Like there was something going on between her and him.
So he would like keep it up in the air to be like, you know, I'm single, but I talked to Kelly today and I really love her, but who knows if we're going to get back together. So he was like keeping her on her toes, but he was like sending her black cars to come to a party and making them. He took her phone and was like, let's take a selfie together, very handsy with her and all that stuff. But she was the one. She was like, I'm not gonna lie. If I allowed it, something would
have happened. But she was like there would be times where he made it like seem like it wasn't one hundred percent over and I just didn't want to overstep. That was one scenario. Okay, that was just one. So then I started researching and I was the one. I was like, I don't care how crazy I look. I'll
reach out to anyone I can. And so I started reaching out to girls that like other sketchy things have happened with them around, whether it's friends or girls that I met, And then that's when it started really coming down. And then when I announced it, like it was like the flood gates opened. So that's kind of how it worked. And then this girl that he had sex with in California when I did the podcast, she reached out to me and she's like, give me all you want, and
I said, okay, what happened? And she told me everything that he was like using my name to like pick them up, to being like this girl and like showing in my Instagram. This girl broke my heart. She broke my heart.
No, this is all coming out after you did the Chicks in the Office interview, So like you would are you were already so screwed over by not screwed over, but you know, he was just totally unfaithful seeming going into that podcast. Podcast comes out, and then even more women come out of the woodwork.
Yeah. Yeah, So she sent me like all the receipts and she told me what happened, and yeah, he was like using my name to pick them up, and but it's it's crazy, Like it's not only that, Like I was finding out even more stuff, like I found out that he was logged into my like personal Gmail account for over a year, and I was like, what the hell, Like every uber that I've taken, all my contacts, all of my like calendar, everything I would ever just like
was on his phone, so like just creepy behavior like that. And he kind of like outed himself on that because I went to go log in and it was like a double authentication thing and he was like, by the way, like this popped up on my phone. I was like, why are you logged into my email? This was like when we were breaking up, and he was like, I don't know, like you must have logged in. I was like,
I never logged in on your phone. And then I went to go look when that device was logged in and it was like October twenty twenty three, So I was like, this guy has had access to my personal email account for the past year. Like it just like weird, weird behavior. And I was finding out even more stuff, like I just genuinely had no idea who this person was. I found out that a big part of his career and success as they owned like strip clubs and he
was helping manage them. Not once did I ever hear that, And it was like years of his life and I never knew any of that. Like I was under the impression that this guy hated strip clubs. Little did I know, like he was working them owning them, like and that's like equivalent to me dating someone for a year and a half and me never telling them that I'm an attorney or went to law school. Like it was like a prevalent time in his life and he would just
like tell me that he didn't like them. So it was just like it just goes to show you, like I knew nothing, Like I thought this person was this way, and then like I just found out like almost every content and even when he cheated on me with the girl in California, like he told me he was out there for a conference with all of his like these buddies in this group that he's in. He told me he was out there for a conference, So I thought he was at these events for a conference. She's like, no,
I met him at Delilah's. We went to a strip club together after, and then I went home with him on a day to day Like I didn't know what he was up to. It was like lies. I thought he was at these party conferences his past history. I didn't know anything about it. I thought he was managing restaurants, which I think they were also doing. But there was a lot of parts, whether it was past present that
I just I didn't know anything. Like I again, I just had people reaching out to me telling me, like all of these crazy, crazy stories, and honestly, there's a lot that I don't even feel comfortable talking about, but it just goes to show you that, like I had no clue of who I was with.
I'm just so surprised girls didn't reach out before.
So I like asked that, And a lot of girls are under the assumptions that, like an influencer won't see it, or they were under assumption of you never know, she might be on a break with him and they might not be together. But a lot of the same thing was one, I didn't think you would see it, and then two like I didn't know where your relationship stood, and we didn't want to get involved and then a
lot of people were like, we thought he changed. So between those it was that was like kind of the same answers.
How did you guys meet through.
Mutual friends, which I thought you could? Yeah, And with that too, I think our mutual friends knew more than I did and maybe didn't fully indulge. And then when the whole influencer thing happened, I actually called one of them and said, you were there, do you know anything? And she said no, but yeah, maybe they just don't want to get involved. I'm not sure, but I don't
think I was getting the whole truth on that. That like kind of hurt me that I was like, ah, shit, like I value some of those people.
This is the wildest like I mean, I know it's the like cliche comparison. It's like not only a TV show, but it's like the there's many TV shows I could like name right now that would make me think of this scenario, and none of them would be good. It's creepy, it's weird, it's deceitful, it's unfaithful, it's all these things and so and.
What's even weirder too, is like again I was under the impression where you know, he would tell me things like me doing social media. It would be things like, oh, well, where I want my future to be is I want a flip phone. I don't even want to be on social media. I don't want it, like any of this stuff. And one I was like, well, this is my job and I actually really like it, like whether people make influencers or all. Like, I genuinely, truly truly enjoy what
I do. And I'm like always so grateful day to day that I'm capable of doing this. But it always kind of made me feel like a little shitty that that was like completely different, Like he wanted this super private life and then I'm doing this and I was like, man, like I felt like you knew who I was coming into this, Like it's not like it just came to me while I was dating you.
Yeah, he also probably wanted a very private life because the more you posted about him, the more likely he was going to get caught.
Well what's crazy, Ashley is like, So he would say those things, but then when we break up, he went and bought like twenty five thirty thousand fake followers. So I'm like, do you understand how confusing that is for me? Like I have someone telling me like, no, I want nothing to do with this life. But then like.
This is a liar.
It just like that those things that like truly don't add up in your head. That's what like confuses you. But in the long run, like even now, especially going through my dad's stuff, like I just look back and I'm like thank the Lord, Like, can you imagine if I actually settled down with this and this became my life, like I would have been really bad, Like it would have been bad.
Could you mention if you're with him during that vulnerable part of life.
Was like the consoling and like and so what you're saying is the timing actually for his like messies. It seems actually it feels like it worked out in your favor in terms of like getting out of that.
I could not imagine. I could not imagine if it happened like during or after. Like it again, everything happens for a reason. And even though everything was like so close together and it was really confusing in a really hard time for me, and like still a hard time with like my dad's stuff, but yeah, I'm very grateful that it happened before.
Well, Kelly, between that story and just you know, the way you carry yourself, and you've always been so graceful and poised and so smart, and I you know, I don't know if it's something that would interest you, but I really do feel like you'd be really hard to beat as the Bachelorette for the next season, Like, come on, try to find a better candidate than you. I feel like everybody would love it. I think that you bring a lot of viewership back to the show. So I'm putting in my boucher for Kelly.
So outside of the Bachelorette campaign, which we'll start here on the Almost Famous podcast, we'll be totally fine doing that. Would you say yes to it if they asked?
I don't know perfect age thirty two.
I think I'm a little bit older, you know what I mean.
I don't think that everybody would like that.
Yeah, that's true, but I don't think it's ever really been done. Like I'm thirty two. I would need guys that are like older. You know, you usually see the guys that's like twenty four to twenty five, but like my guys would have to be like late thirties, like maybe some forties that really.
Thirty Hell of that we would love to see.
It and actually, yeah, I don't know. I don't know, Ben, I never has never even like gone.
There, well will now I'm guarantee there's gonna be a headline out tomorrow that says something similar to that. So uh, outside of the Bachelorette that we're very much in favor of, and it makes a lot of sense. And sometimes we say that and it's like, yeah, I don't know, I actually really like this idea. You, Kelly, We've obviously been a part of multiple you know, I love stories of yours, obviously, I don't know, Like Ashley said, is it Peter one,
two or three? I don't I can't track how many times it's come back.
Together making fun of you for that either, No, just like you.
It's it's just like I find it funny. What am I doing?
What with the lessons learned and romantically good and bad? Kind of where is your mind at right now when it comes to dating? What are you looking for? What have you kind of learned that you should be looking for?
I listen. I usually I never regret any relationship, no matter how bad it is, I never regret it because there is always a silver lining of me learning something throughout all of them, So even like some of the hardest ones and all of that, like I won't regret it. But I think a lot of things that I've realized is I tend to go for I'm kind of a homebody. I don't really I don't really drink. It's a rarity for me. I'm a homebody. I probably should should get
out more than I do. I think I'm like so reserved that it's like almost not healthy in that manner. So I need to like start going out more and socializing more. But I tend to date people that are like really really big partiers, are always out, extremely social, like kid not really sit in much. That's one thing I learned is like maybe stop going for someone who's put so much value on that. I think that's like
been my lesson through some of them. Another thing I learned is it's gonna sound weird, but like I just want someone that I could just like laugh with and like has more of an easier going personality, like kind of my dad and my brother, my brother Tom, I'm like his biggest fan right now, just saying like all the stuff that he did for my dad and like how like loyal he was, and like how like he's just like a good person. He's not like super reactive.
He's just like always in high spirits. And it's something I really value in him, and I valued in my dad that I've noticed, like some of my siblings are a little bit more harsh and rash and just like on a day to day, like I like never fight with him, and I just like really value his mindset. And I've been in relationships where people maybe were more explosive one and I've learned, like I don't do well with that personality, and I guess I just like I
just want to have fun. I just want someone who's like not so reactive, because like I really don't do well with that, and maybe someone who's not necessarily like super social, super social partier, like NonStop, you're going.
To be the coolest wife ever. Because once I got married Ashley and I joke about this, it's either thirties or its marriage. There's very few evenings that I'm not in bed by eight point fifteen, and I could not be happier. Like it is a dream. It just seems to happen. Once you find that person, I think you're onto something there. I actually think it's a key element in a relationship. When you find that human who is like so happy just being with you, which typically means
you're married. It is like the most like amazing experience, and I want that for you because it changes things. And going out now seems like the most massive feat you can Actually it's the biggest.
Unless it's like going out to dinner. That's the one thing. Oh my god, they're going to a party.
Oh good goodness, going to a bar.
Oh my god. I tell you, when the last time that happened?
I know, and I don't. I'm just like I feel like I'm an old soul, but yeah, I don't know. But I'm telling you I'm almost unhealthy the other way, Like I'm almost like never want to leave, never want to do anything. I'm like a little reclue. So I think I did that in the past like a year and a half, two years or something. But I was like, Okay, I need to start pushing myself to get out to do things because I'm just like happy by myself and
doing It's awesome. You guys have no idea how much I love plans like I love Yeah.
You're in it. You're like fully dove in headfirst and I love it.
Thirty like a family we have like a family farm. And by the way, I want to give a shout out because Kelsey Weir is guys, I don't know if you know her well, but truly the greatest human I have met on this entire earth. I've never met someone so supportive. I've never met someone who is just like there for you and like truly just like a great human being.
You guys are roommates for a while.
She I'm not going to speak on it, but she she came back to the US for a little bit, and yeah, she came to visit me in Miami and she we like spend months with each other whether whatever is going on. But yeah, her, she like immediately flew in. When we had the few her up in Chicago for my dad, she like immediately flew in. My brother is married and they're on their third kids. So life has just been like hectic for all of us. And Kelsey came in. She was like, all right, I'm cooking dinner
for everyone. I'm doing this like anything that she could to get like everyone's mind off of whatever. Like we needed to write their obituary. We needed to like plan flowers, like there's a lot that you have to do for a funeral, and that girl came in just like a powerhouse, being like where can I help? What can I do? And just like literally I'll be on the phone just
crying and she'll be like, it's okay, it's okay. I think sometimes I know that I just hide my emotions sometimes or maybe run away from them, and she was like, it's okay, cry it out, like speak about it. Like she's just she's very, very supportive and sweet and I couldn't ask for like a better friend.
She's been in. Yeah, and it's nice that it comes from the show.
Is like that's the thing that I'm most grateful for or like coming out of that show is her. But her and I are like little Grandma's together. We go and we guard. I don't think she likes the gardening as much as n she's like a truer with it. So, yeah, we do some boring things. In her thirties.
Oh, she's known for her crying, so she definitely understands yours.
You know what's crazy? Ashley from who Kelsey was shown on TV versus Who Kelsey is Maybe now I don't know if it was growth within her or if like she triggered on the show. She is a com She's probably one of the most stable people in certain senses. She loves her, she loves her what is it called conspiracy things, and she'll go on ransom but truly like
a stable person. And then if I were to go back and watch the show, I'll be like, I don't even recognize that girl, Like it is like completely far fetched. I don't know if she was triggered on the show or if she's learned a lot and she's like, but yeah, she's nowhere near Like she's really not a big crier like I've since the show. I think she's maybe cried to me like two or three times. If that, it's just like a whole different person crazy.
I kind of have that with my co host Ashley was known for crying, and she's very stable mom of two, like keeps life together. Now you can still get her going.
Obviously, Yeah, but.
Yeah, I would agree, I'm not like I cry, probably a little bit more on your average girl my age, but I wouldn't say it's very off.
From the norm.
Oh all right, well, we do want to finish.
With you giving a little bit of a debdication to your dad, even though I know that this is very hard.
Well, yeah, and the reason is because you you started the show off. You came on here and you said, Hey, I thought I was in a place I wanted the opportunity to talk about it is what you said, and you thought you were in a place that you could do it. You know, I don't know what you expected, like without emotion, but I don't know if that's ever going to exist. It's a sweet testament. I see it
as like the most pure, sweetest testament. So I did we do want to give you the opportunity as we close out here to kind of send us off with a message of what you wanted to say, like why did why did you want the opportunity to speak about this moment?
Yeah? I think I just want to speak about this is because one again, like I didn't know this kind of pain existed, and going through this experience, I have learned that it is probably one of the most painful experiences anyone will ever experience. And I personally want to say that like I feel and I now understand like people that have experiences I now could like understand what they've gone through, and before that, I had no clue, Like,
no clue. You always here like someone's parent passing and you're like, man, I feel bad for them, but like until you experience it yourself, I genuinely don't think people understand the pain. And again I've been learning, and I think the most important thing is again, it'll never go away, but you do get stronger, and just like, be easy on yourself. Don't sit here and think like I need to get over this. I need to get over this I have right now. I thought I was strong enough
to do this, but I can't keep it together. But sometimes I try to push those emotions off and it's like no, no, no, it's healthy to feel them, feel them, and it's okay. And it almost goes to show you how much I appreciated this man, because like he's done
everything for us. But I feel for anyone going through this, and I'm thankful that a lot of people have helped me through this, some people I don't even know, just social media connections and teaching me about grief and teaching me like how its what the trajectory of this looks like.
You can't just sit there and say like oh, I'm gonna move on from this like a relationship and have closure there, like like you want him here, like you didn't want him to pass, Like you don't ever sit there and think like negative things towards him, if anything, You're like, I love you, like I don't want you to go, but I guess you just like learn how to live with it.
I just can't imagine being like that getting over that thought of like I can't FaceTime him, like I can't just tell him this or that, and it's like he's never gonna.
Sit in that chair in the failure room with us and stuff like that.
Yeah, And it's actually crazy because you a lot of people who like reach out and have like a lot to say are people who have experienced this. For example, like Hannah Ann her husband's father just passed away, so super super supportive, like super supportive, sending flowers, like sending me these messages. Again, Kelsey is like my Diehart hero
that I owe her the world. But you have other people that have experienced this, and like when things like this happen, you like they come in strong and you never you never suspect some of them. But it's just crazy how a lot of people that like showed up to my dad's wake, even a lot of them were people who have lost a parent, and like understand the pain. Again, Like before this, I was naive to it. I had
no idea what it felt like. And you hear someone losing a parent, You're like, oh, I feel bad for them, and but you really really don't understand it until you experience it. And then I think, just like, lean on your family, lean on your friends to get over to get over some of the grief and to learn how to deal with it. My family has like a very sarcastic way of you know, saying his jokes or all
of this stuff. But we just like keep living through him with a lot of the things that he does, and even things that he would get like upset about will be like running around and we'll say and it'll make us laugh instead of getting like really really sad and the dumps about it. We just keep trying to keep it like super super lighthearted and it helps a
little bit. And I think the one thing too, that I learned from this experience is like something that really helps is people that knew him and people that message you like stories about the experiences that they had about him or with him, those like take a little bit of the pain away because you're like, oh my god, like other people saw it too, or like it brings you back to like a memory that other people have experienced with him, and it's like it brings like a
smile to your face. That I have learned. And then another thing I've learned is when this happens, like you, none of us wanted to leave the couch. We didn't want to leave the couch. I could like barely eat. I could like didn't want to get up and like make myself food, and some of our neighbors like brought
over like homemade lasagna are like food. And one of the things that I've learned is like if one of my friends has to unfortunately deal with this, which everyone will, but like at an age like mine, it it just kind of sucks even more. But food, Sending food is like one of the best things you could do in this scenario, because like the last thing people want to do is like get up and start like making food.
So sending food to us was just like huge. I was like, all right, I'm popping into lasagna in and like we're good to go, and I would like take some bites, but you just learn certain things. And I think what those two things is, you know, do give Sending them food really helps. But then also people who are sending like a memory that they had with him is like takes a little bit off.
Kelly, you said something that will stick with me, hopefully forever. My memory isn't always great, but it hopefully will. You said that in moments of this type of pain, the grief may never leave you, but you're just going to grow stronger. Kelly. I think you are in the midst of that, and I think you're a testament to that, and I believe it to be true because I'm seeing it in you. Thank you for coming on here, thank
you for having this conversation. Thank you for speaking into the people out there listening who have probably gone through something similar and as you said, it's a part of life. We all will at some point. And thank you for giving us some words of love and wisdom. And again, there aren't a lot of words in this moment too, there's no words to make you know any of this better, but we are thinking about you. You and the family. Please pass that on, and we appreciate you coming on
keep doing you. You've been through a lot, and I guess I just want to tell you, probably like Kelsey told you, it's okay to feel it, because goodness gracious you have you've been through it in the last few months. So thanks for sharing your story.
All right, guys, thanks for having me.
Oh, thanks for being here and for sharing.
Yeah.
Sending you so much love, Bye bye, guys.
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