This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast. Chris Harrison coming to you from the home office in Austin, Texas today. I am so excited for this particular episode of the most dramatic podcast ever. Two very good friends are coming on the show, Ashley Ikenetti and Jared Habn.
Obviously they are married, but we got to know them first of all separately because ash was on Chris Soul's season of The Bachelor, and then Jared was on the next season of The Batcherette with Caitlin and Britt it
turned out to be Caitlin Bristow season. And then they went on a couple of seasons of Paradise where we fell in love with these two as they attempted to fall in love, although it seemed like love was going to elude them, especially Ashley I who was more known for tears, more known for being in love with Jared, but Jared was never going to reciprocate that. It just seemed like this romantic comedy that was never going to have that happy end, and yet it did, and it has.
They are married, they have a beautiful baby boy, Dawson. They are expecting their second child in July, which is unbelievably exciting. They're now living their lives, hosting podcasts and running the coffee shop and lounge Audrey's up there in Rhode Island, so a lot to catch up to today with Ashley I and Jared. Ashley, Jared, good to see you guys. And Ashley, you look beautiful. You're glowing, so let's just get that out of the way. But Jared,
I caught a glimpse and you've lost some weight. You're looking swelt, you're looking fit. Are you just trying to piss your wife off?
Obviously it's annoying that I lose weight when she gains it during pregnancy, even though it's not your fault. You're growing another human being. If I put weight on, it's nobody's fault of my own. You can blame number two on this one.
There's the sympathy weight. Usually, usually that's what dads do, is they go sympathy weight. It's like an extin to eat you would. So when she was pregnant with Awesome, you gain weight?
Yes, yeah for how Nick even said like, hey dude, yeah, of course I.
I won't freaking Nick. So we go to see him in La and this was right after Dawson was born or whatever she was pregnant. And then Nick like literally the third thing he says to me, he's like, huh pull the wait on. Huh. I was like, dude, I good to see you too. Go straight to hell. And then he's like smiling and he's like no, no, no, you look good. You look good, and it's Nick Way, I'm like, bro, get out of my face. Why am I here? Why am I here?
Tanner's like, welcome to the Zadbod life.
I know.
So honestly it was comments like that. I was like, I gotta get out of here. I got I gotta get it.
How much of zempic are you taking? What's going on?
No zempic?
Uh?
So I downloaded like four months ago, I was, you know, going to the gym, and it's just like, tired of just doing the same old thing, was to do something. So then I signed up for a half marathon because I was like, all right, I'm going to train for something. I want to train for something, okay, And then I decided I didn't like running, and so then I downloaded this app called Fitbod, and I really I freaking love
this thing. Because it just gives me different routines. And also it brings out the competitive side because it gives you goals to hit, and if you don't hit those goals, it alerts you.
This sounds like an ad but it's not.
That's why Lauren loves orange theory because it's competitive. She says she's not competitive, but she is. It's a total lie. Don't ever let Lauren's ema get away with saying she's not competitive. By the way, you guys, you do. You both look great and congratulations. Baby number two is imminent. Where where are we in the grand scale of things? What's our due date?
So he's cooking at three seventy five right now, said about thirty five minutes, So we're about twenty seven minutes in now.
I guess I think it's like exactly two months away right now, Like if you were to look at the date, yeah, it's like I would.
So we're going to have an early or of July. Baby, Is that right?
It's late. It's a late late mid July.
Maybe like around July twenty sixth?
Is that is that somebody's birthday?
That's that's my birthday?
And then uh, everybody wants me to have a baby on their birthday.
But also, you know Trista had her first baby on my birthday.
Well that is too saw.
Wild is that the first Bachelor baby was born on my birth It was really wild. So baby Brady we're calling it.
That's already Dawson's middle name.
But we can do baby Brady, Dawson Brady. Do we know it's a boy. Yeah, obviously Dawson. Dawson came from Titanic.
Yeah, thank you for not thinking it's from Dawson's Creed.
No, no, but by the way, nothing's not by the way, nothing wrong with James Vanderbeek also living in Austin right now. Great guy.
Oh he seems super cool. I love following him.
He has forty seven kids.
Yeah.
I went to a soccer game recently and he was there and we were in the same suite and he and his wife his kids, by the way, are lovely, but there it's like a circus. But he's in town. I just saw him, his daughter actually saying at this event we were at Okay, not from Dawson's Creek. It was from obviously Titanic, one of the greatest movies that Ashley thinks she ever saw and baby number two is also going to be a boy Do we have a name already?
We think we do? Okay, Yeah, we think so, but we're not saying is it okay?
Yeah? But is it derived from sports? Or is it derived from a movie? Or is it derived from a boy band? Just give us that much.
Nothing for the first name, but the middle name will have an ode to pop culture of course.
Yeah, so it's a family name. It's the first name is a family name. Ashley loves this name. It took a while for me to come around, but.
Yeah, it's it's no, but it's bizarre. The naming thing was interesting when I went through it twice. The pressure of that, Yeah that's what you think? Okay, what going to yell on the playground? What are they gonna yell on the ball field? What are they gonna yell in the theater?
You know?
Like, what are the different iterations of this name that will turn into what?
You know?
It's funny the pressure. Did y'all think about that?
Oh? Yeah, I've thought about like what name would get my kids ass kicked?
Yeah?
Like I don't want to name it that right, you know? Like what what name was bullied when I was a kid, the poor thing, because it's you don't think about that, because I'm like, all right, I want to name my kids something cool and unique and different, and I'm like, but kids are cruel. I also don't want to be made fun of for the first twelve years of his life.
I think our generation is naming their kids weird things, so it's like not even the thing anymore to make fun of names.
Like, We're not going to get on The Bachelor in like thirty years and it won't be like you know, the Lorens we went through, you know, the nine different Laurens, Lauren M, Lauren L, Lauren Z. So what will that will be the interesting thing to see, like what the names are twenty years from now and all the reality shows when the Chiron pops up Dawson's two Did he just turned two? Right?
He turned to in January?
Okay? Wow, so he's walking talking. I've seen and heard his singing and dancing routine. The guy is killing it.
Yeah, we don't know. Well, I think he has rhythm from Jared. Jared's really good at choreography. Jared's club dancing skills will make meke Frinch as every girl will cringe at her husband club.
Then I don't think I have good choreography, but Ashley's just so bad that any rhythm that this kid has he definitely got for me absolutely did not get it back. A possible boy band future, one can only hope, honestly up Like, dude, if he I mean, I just want obviously I want him to love sports. I won't force him to do it. But that was a way that my dad and I bonded. Yeah, And I like, he'll
appreciate this. So I was going through like an accidential crisis the other night and just like thinking about fatherhood and other night or just like like generally in my life, he's going.
Through a mid life crisis right now, dude.
I youtubed the end of Field of Dreams while I was given Dawson a bath and was watching.
It, Dad, do you want to have a catch?
You want to have a catch, And it was just like, so I start crying by myself thinking about this moment with Dawson many years from now, and then of course thinking about this moment with my dad and just like having this moment to myself in the bath for while Dawson's in the bath and I'm in the bath room giving him a bath. And then it was funny because on the YouTube algorithm, it obviously gives you suggested next video.
And the next video was an interview with Kevin Costner when he was on Conan O'Brien, and it said Kevin Costner asked why grown men cry at the end of field of dreams? While I'm crying at the endfield dreams.
That gets me every time, and flashed forward. By the way, God, what would that be eighteen years from now? Well, I guess twenty years from now when Joshua is twenty two years old now and just graduated from TCU, just graduated college. And obviously you guys met Joshua back in twenty fifth teens. That was ten years ago. You guys met josh my son oldest when he was twelve years old. So he just graduated. Him finishing his last game, walking off the field and going up to give him a hug. That
was that was my field of dreams moment. I cried like a baby. It just gave crushed me. Those last going to tournaments in high school, the last college game. Lauren and I are moving him into his apartment. I'm telling you. It will fly by.
It flew by for us, for you. I remember when you moved him into his first year of college. It feels like yesterday, right.
Dude, I remember you. This was we were in Ireland with Caitlin. Yeah, it might have been Clarney or something like that. But he was there, and then you were You're kicking the soccer ball with him, and then us guys were there too. But I remember all of us were like, well, no, we're not. We're not disturbing Chris with his son right now like you were. We're all very scared to like, oh no, no, no, no, no, he needs like you know, he's with his son right now. Nobody go near nobody go near you.
That's funny. Those are what I do. I relish those moments as I think back now, and I'm glad they traveled with me so much, and and you know, they met so many of you guys during your time on the show, which is wild. You know, Andrew Firestone and
I because we were very similar in age. We have these pictures and same thing with Bob Guiney, some of our older bachelors that they met him when they were born or just born, and it's crazy to me to think how that because I had two sets of lives going bachelor life and then my family and my kids growing up, and those intersected a lot, which is and they're kind of crossing over with all of you guys as well.
It was pretty wild, so sweet, yeah, and must to you almost feel like you were living two lives.
Well, when people say what's your favorite season, what's your favorite thing, and I'm like, it's going to be boring, You're not going to like it. It's when my was swinging on the Eiffel Tower when we were in France, and it's when my son kept asking for chocolate tacos which were crapes, you know, when we were looking at the Eiffel Tower, and you know, eating gelato on the steps in Italy, and you know, those are the moments I remember. It's I mean, obviously, if you want to
talk about the show, you know it's Ashley crying. But if it's and then they would say which time?
Too many times she's still everybody asked me that, Like the amount of times I get asked, does Ashley cry that much?
I'm like, who do you think cries more? Now? I mean, obviously you have a lot of hormones kicking, so you're emotional. But I could see Jarrett almost crying more now, as have the roles reversed with this midlife crisis you're going through.
No, I just internalized every time a few times through the midlife crisis. Yeah, definitely. Oh dude, she cries.
Yeah.
I literally can't have a serious conversation without crying, which really sucks.
What we were watching the other day was it The Land before Time? We were showing done.
Oh, it was Home We're Abound, And I wasn't actually about to cry during that.
There was a different movie than then you started crying out. I can't remember. But we're showing Oh, we're watching.
That full House episode for Uncle Jesse's.
Yeah, we're showing Dawson full House and there's an episode where there's a grandfather that dies in the episode, and Ashley, I look over as Dawson's watching, and oh, please, you always say that. He always says that, like, oh, I'm not crying, even though there is water in her eyes. That is crying.
Speaking of crying, Ashley and I were texting the other day and I said, did Jared watch the Tom Brady Roast on Netflix? It was the funniest thing that I have ever seen. It was genius. And I'm not the biggest Tom Brady fan. I know you are, but I said, tom Brady isn't the hero we asked for, but he's the hero we needed right now to step up and to allow himself to be roasted. It's something that the whole world just needed to rally around of, like, okay, we can laugh again. And so I was texting with
Ash and I said, Hey, what did Jared think? Knowing full well you watched it and we're obsessed with this. I couldn't believe her answer when she said, Jared has not and maybe will not watch the Roast of Tom Brady.
It's not that I will not, it's the fact that it's three hours long. So I watched. I also have never enjoyed roast because I just like, I get it right. It's like bit after bit after bit, new comedian, bit after bit afterbit, new comedian. And so I watched clips of it and then, like, you know, so many of my friends are like, can you believe Belichick said this?
Or Belichick said that? And it's just like like I saw the clips of Belichick and it's very clear that a comedian wrote those jokes and he's saying them now. Don't get me wrong, I'll give him props for saying it, but it's like.
Well, of course Belichick didn't write a comedy bit. But the point I mean, but to hear to hear Drew Blood and Gronk and those guys just do it and allow and Brady to sit there and take it was brilliant. And the fact that they got they got Robert Kraft and Belichick and Brady on the same stage and they did a shot together. I told Lauren, I go, you don't understand how crazy this is, and like, what a big sports moment this is. It was wild to see.
And I will say, if you're if you don't want to watch the whole thing fast forward, uh watch Jeff Ross because he kicked the whole thing off. But go to Nicky Glazier.
I saw the Nicky Glazer.
I will say, the Gronk jok wher is like I know that fake.
Money even I know that, and then kill Tony crushed it towards the end. Those are the two. But it was I I was like, Jared's got to be dying loving this because it was maybe the best performance Tom Brady ever gave. It's the performance we needed from him. This world needed to be brought together to laugh at ourselves. So you should relish in the fact that your hero rose once again to save the world.
Oh trust me, I relished in every second where people. I can't believe it became the pop culture phenomenon that it is. Like I was like always doing a roastar you know, people will like it, and then it just became the topic of every every podcast, every talk show, Like everywhere I had looked, they'd be talking about the Tom Brady roast and like, I cannot believe how big this thing was.
Well, it was the first time we could all, honestly, the first time comedians really let loose in a public forum without locking up our phones. And you know, because it was live on Netflix, they let it loose. And it was the first time we all just laughed in unison because there was someone Because there was someone so big. It took Tom Brady. It took someone so untouchable, unapproachable, so big that he was above reproach. That's what you needed. You needed that mount rushmore of a human to go
bring it on. I'll be the guy. If it was anybody else, it would have fallen on deaf ears.
And it's good that it's Brady that you know, he was just so successful and good looking and he's got it all. And it's like it's there's people that like they're like, we need we don't mind tearing that guy down because we know he's fine.
Well, it's like when I host an event, you know, it's easy. It's like I just did an event the other day and Tim Tebow was in the audience, and I'm like, yeah, you just picked the biggest, most famous, safe guy. You make fun of him because we can all laugh at that because there's nothing to laugh at with Tebo. The guy's perfect and he's this like wonderful human being, and so you make fun of it, and that's like everyone can rally around that. It's like you
don't want to pick on the smallest guy. You pick on the biggest guy.
But yeah, what I didn't like was after that. I'm sure you saw the headlines were Brady, because obviously I love Brady, but it's like when he said that he regretted doing it, don't say.
Well that was Look, my guess is that it was just one off com and I didn't. I never even saw where the comment came from. He said, yeah, my kids didn't love it.
Me.
Look Gizelleizell.
She'll got angry text afterward and was like, what are you doing?
There's no pun intended when I say Gizelle really took it on the chin there, but she really did. And her jiu jitsu teacher. I mean it was the jokes did right themselves. They were pretty good, but I was shocked to hear and I just I think it'll be cathartic for you man, sit down and watch the show. I was looking back over the both of you and
going over because it's funny. How when I become friends with somebody, and I've been friends with you guys for ten years now, as I think ash you started twenty twenty fifteen.
Right September is when I met.
Our ten year anniversary is coming up? Is that diamond anniversary? What do I get you? Is that?
Right?
Wow?
Yes, that's the ring upgrade.
But so I've known you guys for the better part of ten years, which is wild to me, and so I kind of forget sometimes where y'all came from. I mean, I know you're on the show, but I'm like, I kind of lose the specific site. I went back and I'm like, okay, so Ash was on Chris Soul's season, and now I started looking about who else came off that season, and a lot, a lot, a lot of stars came off that season. Whitney won it, so to speak. They didn't stay together, but there was Becca who was
runner up, who was a huge star. Didn't Jade wasn't Jade on that season?
Yep, Jade was fourth, and then Caitlyn was there.
Yeah, and Britt, by the way, I forgot Britt was even on that season. And that's where Caitlyn and Brett came from, which is wild to me as well. And what I never put the two and two together of you and Jade were on the season together and then Jared and Tanner were on Caitlyn and brit season together.
Right, Yes, I'm thinking about my season. You definitely got probably the most engagement from the girls on my season collectively, because I'm thinking about Caitlyn twice.
Chasler.
Within Bachelor Nation, we had Caitlyn's engagement, Jade's engagement, Carly's engagement.
What are you talking about Instagram, like what going.
Yeah, Carly out of Paradise as well? I forgot about Yeah, Carly Wedell was on that season.
Chris and then yeah yeah and you and then you forget Jane Tanner are really the only success stories.
To make it out well ten years ten years, uh, and Tanner did.
Tanner made it on Kaitlyn season. He was like eighth or ninth or something like that, and it was so funny because he was very self aware and he's like, honestly, I'm just not screwing up. I'm just coasting, like I want to see how far I can get without I don't really have a good connection with Kaitlyn. And then we were just joking about how he was going to be.
It was gonna be like him and shot in the final two and Andrew shows up all disheveled, hasn't showered, shaved or anything like that, being like, Kaitlyn, please send me home, and then she gives him her final rose and he's like, you gotta be.
Kidding men, you guys. So in your season started with the debacle of the two bachelorettes that we were voting on, and then we swore we would never do that again. And they did.
And then fast forward.
Yeah, it was a lot different the second.
Not any better, but just different. And then so did you did you remember did you vote for Kaitlin or Britt?
Dude? Vote? I voted for Britta and Caitlyn still to this day will never let me live it down, which I can't blame.
I mean, the fix was in. We were never going to let Britt win. The other producers had the fix in, the scales of justice were not even in that vote, and Caitlyn became the best. I didn't. So you you voted for Britt.
That's funny, Yeah, but I I also it was terrible because I had this two incredibly good looking women who were funny, personable, way out of my league, and I'm like, oh, I have to choose which one I want to date. This is the stupidest night of my life.
Yeah. But Britt was so your original type. Yeah, I agree, And then Caitlin was the type that you became to you started to like, yeah.
Yeah, once you went to your boy band phase. And but that season was good because we traveled, Like you said, we ended up in Ireland. We had different travel planned, but things were so good in Ireland. We decided to stay because we were gonna leave. I think we were going somewhere in Asia. Maybe I forget where we were deaf.
Yeah, is that your theory? Is that how it happened in your memory, Chris, because Jared has a different memory.
Oh, what's the memory?
I got screwed out of a hometown? That's my memory because I was fourth and we were supposed to go from From what I'm understanding, we're supposed to go from Ireland to back to hometowns and then go I don't know the location, but like somewhere for fantasy suites, yes, and then fancy suites. Something happened.
The Nick sex happened.
No, that's the story they gave us.
No, that's that's true. Though, that's true.
You're telling me that I got screwed out of a hotel hometown because Nick and Caitlyn had sex.
Essentially, Yes, that's the Nick just.
Talking. I was like two months ago.
Oh I thought it was actually know, I don't like the sex.
We had to like kind of change up the storyline.
Yeah, who told you that? Yeah, No, it's true. Well me, Caitlyn didn't have anything to do with it. Well, I guess she kind of did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, it was.
I hope she's aware of everything was.
Going according to plan. And then obviously Nick and Caitlin the infamous uh sex in the hotel there in Ireland, and then we didn't want it because when we leave you stop filming, right because you know, we have dark days with the with the crew and we had to shut down for a day then we all travel and so we were just going to let the steam out of the balloon there and and it was just going to lose the storyline and lose the momentum of what was going on, because really what it came down to
was obviously Sean and Nick and the craziness that was going on, and we just didn't want to lose that, so we kept it going and so we kind of just blew up the rest of it and then we ended up going That's why we went from like Doublin Trellie, but then we just went up north to locker Urn up in northern Ireland to that resort, which is a good golf course as well, by the way, which is really what I cared.
About obviously the most important.
Yeah, but that's that's what happened. Your season was blown up because of that.
I can't imagine. I would actually love to see Caitlin and meet your family Warwick, Rhode Island. That would be hilarious. But I'm just glad you didn't go to Fantasy.
And then so both and then Ash came on Winter Games, which was an absolute blast. I had the I had the best. So it was funny because Bachelor Winter Games is something it was an experiment we tried because the Winter Olympics were going on and they obviously they weren't on ABC, and ABC's like we got to counter program something against the Olympics because no one's going to watch ABC and no one cares, so just we just just
create something. So we were like, oh, we'll go to Vermont and we'll shoot Bachelor Winter Games, our own Winter Olympics. And we were so burnt out. I forget whose season we came off, but we just we had just come off a bender of a season. We most of us didn't even go home. I went home, changed suitcases and went to Vermont for like three weeks and lived in this snowy house and it was so we were all a little fried, but it turned out to be really fun.
Did you remember it as fun ash or was it just a disaster for you?
It wasn't It was fun. Yeah. It was definitely like the easiest of all these.
Yeah, the pressure was yeah, it was. I mean, u key was there for.
Jared feels awkward? I love thee an Okay, yeah, no, it was definitely easy breezy.
And then we went to Winter Games and then we went to Paradise twice.
Right, well, yeah, we went to Paradise twice before Winter Games, before.
The cap Okay, so that was so we went. Yeah, Winter Games was like fifteen sixteen, and then.
It was Winter Games was seventeen.
Fifteen sixteen, and then yeah, yeah win Winter Games.
Yeah, like the end of sixteen seventeen.
Yeah.
Yeah, you and I got together in the winter of eighteen.
And then I went to Bachelor in Paradise, Australia. Yeah, which was stupid. I made it, okay.
You also was easy breezy.
I don't remember you doing that. You went to Bachelor of Paradise Australia.
Because I was on the phone with I won't say producers names, but I was on the phone with the producer who was inquiring about Winter Games, and then they were like, hey, listen, you're not gonna be on Winter Games.
We have to choose Ashley over it.
Obviously, it was probably like they were like, we don't want Ashley Jared to be on the same season again, and.
Then America can't take this.
Yeah, it's just like, guys, we're bored. So then they were like, would you want to do Bachelor in paradish Australia. They're doing Americans and Grant was down there and Daniel McGuire the Canadian. Yeah, And so I was like, yeah, I'll do it. And then I made it through five Row ceremonies didn't kiss anybody while I was there.
They didn't kiss anyone. It was also came home befoorrid that back to me and I was like, cool, well, I'm leaving in two days for my show. I'll probably kiss someone. And it all worked out well for you.
It's so funny man, that. Yeah. Anyway, different life is it?
I mean, it really is. When you guys think about it. Now you're about to be a parent of two, and when you think of all the the hijinks and shenanigans and the craziness that went on it, it's it's got to kind of blow you away and in a good way, though.
Oh yeah, totally. It's so crazy when people come up to us still and they're like, I'm so glad it happened for you, and I'm like, we have been together twice as long now as we were ever not together.
Yeah.
Yeah, but the show kind of got I mean, people got to know you guys so well, or at least they feel like they did obviously going through these journeys with you. I'm sure that you still get if there's a couple like even like you run into Shawn and Catherine or Ryan and Trista, easy to root for, easy to like. But I don't know if anybody went on a journey like we went on with the two of you, like together, are they not? Are they together? We want
them together? So it really was this rom com between the two of you, unlike any of our other seasons and couples.
Yes, thank you, my dream come true.
Rom com like Jayde and Tanner are boring is like come on, we Yeah, they went off and had their own show and like just they came back. It was like the couple that like showed up day one of school and then you didn't see him again. They showed up a graduation. We're like, have y' all been here the whole time?
Yeah? With three kids at graduation?
Yeah? Oh wow yeah nice and don't happy quick?
No getting flying.
Through that, y'all. S y'all are living in Rhode Island, right know?
Yeah, Ashley hates it.
I do.
Well.
Her biggest argument will know how to settle it, to be honest, I.
Will figure it out. Yeah. She wants to be home closer to fam, which makes sense. I love Rhode Island, So just kind of figuring it out right now.
Like, well, you're you're having babies in Virginia. Is that like a home turf thing?
I know. Well, so my dad's a doctor. My dad's annologist, So I like to be at the hospital in which my dad is ancycologist.
Yeah.
I like it.
I like home field advantage.
Field advantages the exact way of putting it, like, you could not have it, couldn't have a better.
Yeah, the hospital. Everybody knows who she is, not only because like a little princess, Yeah, because of her dad and she's very much taken care of and Fairfax is such an incredible hospital. It's just a no brain.
Also, not sponsoring the show.
If they want to.
Okay, So of all the things you guys fight about, you do fight about where you're going to live. That's a big thing.
Yeah, yeah, it's a big thing.
We don't like fight about it. Like it's not like an we don't fight about it, but like it's like a constant like always there. Where will you know if you talk about the future and you're like, oh, is that where we will be in the future, will he be playing softball on this field?
Yeah? When I like, that's funny you think Dawson's going to play baseball there because he'd been playing baseball about oh, at least a thousand miles away.
It's not a thousand.
Here's the thing. I just I find it interesting because that's something that couples like Lauren and I went through it and when we started dating, and I said, Hey, this train is going to end up in Texas, so don't get on. Don't get on this train at all if you don't want to go on this trip with me. Because I'm I knew I was going to boomerang back.
I was already even towards the end of the Batchel I was already looking at homes here in Austin, I knew I wanted to move back here between here in Dallas, and when Lauren and I really fell in love and decided, you know, to do life together, I was like, look, you know we're going to work. I'm taking off to Austin. Let's do this. And we chose Austin because neither one of us have ever lived here. We could build a life together and do it together and do something kind
of different. Like I grew up in Dallas, he was in Chicago. Let's do something where we are kind of on neutral ground and we can kind of build it together. Have y'all, where would that be for you? Guys? Where's the dream for you?
Maybe?
Cranston?
I think like just for me, I would just want to be back in Virginia, which is like something I never expected myself wanting until we had a kid. I always was the girl that was like, I'm happy to move back to Rorde Island. I don't care I'm anywhere. I'm gonna be happy. I love the ocean. I love Newport. I do love the ocean. Yeah, I do love Newport. But it's like that's not going to suffice when it's just so nice to like sit around just with Dawson in like a playroom with my mom and my sister.
And yeah, yeah, it's definitely like the I think the biggest I don't want to say issue, but it's more it's just like there, it's always there because I can see it. You know that she's very clearly much happier anytime she's in Virginia. And not that you're sad here, but you're just you're always with your mom, You're always
with your sister. Yeah, you know that's where you want to be, which totally makes sense, you love because then when you're there with Dawson, it's like Dawson is not just hanging out with you, Yeah, it's like a he's hanging out with three or four people at once. So and then I'm like, you, Chris, when we first got together, this this train is going to Rhode Island. And then she was totally fine with that and there's no issues. But obviously, you.
Know, things have changed, kids changed that you can change that.
You know, So, I mean, we'll figure it out. I'm not concerned about it. It's not like she's.
I'm not like every day I'm like, I can't believe I'm here. I'm so sad. You know, it's just like it's kind of more.
Of like a and it's not la a place across the country, you know, yeah, literally an hour flight.
Yeah, it sounds like y'all are about to have two places.
I say that I would like to have, you know, I said, And in the dream world, we'd have like the beach house here.
Yeah you know, I mean it's place place.
Yeah exactly, and you can like AIRBNBA or college students live in the beach town and.
So yeah, the Escape Patch just really need to figure out a way to get more free flights. That's what's I can just buy.
I am such a huge Southwest pand here's another shout out or something I'm not paid for. But their companion pass is the most brilliant.
So you guys will determine this later. But this is crazy, But Jared, I didn't know you owned a lounge in coffee shop.
Yeah you didn't know.
I swear to god, I didn't know. I didn't know.
I had no.
I don't know why I didn't know.
Well, you're not supposed to know. It's like it's not that's not true.
I think I should know. That's that's information I should know, I felt really bad.
We should definitely have shared that.
Yeah, it's probably because Ben Higgins is too busy talking about his crappy coffee all the time.
I know it's very good coffee.
No, I'm just kidding. Shout out to Ben Higgins and his coffee company.
Yeah, it was funny. When I first opened, Ben reached out was like, you know, would you want to carry generous and I was going to reach out anyway. I think, you know, it's a perfect fit. So yeah, we opened Audrey's Coffee House in Lounge. It's in South Kingston, Rhode Island, in December of twenty twenty one. Audrey is her mom, So you know, I wanted to name it a family name, something meaningful to us because it was a family business.
I love the name Audrey reminds me of Audrey's half Burnt, Audrey Halfburn, and so I just always felt like, oh, let's get a coffee at Audrey's. It's gotta drink at Audrey's. It felt right. And so it actually used to be a different coffee shop that I went to when I was in college, and so I was very familiar with the area and just working restaurants all my life. I always wanted to own and operate my own place and
felt like I could. It's obviously so stressful, the margins are so small, but I love I do love owning the place. Like as much as I bitch about it and complain and it tires me out and it takes up so much of my time and effort. There is this feeling of pride that I get from from being there and being in the midst of the chaos with you know, other employees that work there, and you know, they're an attachment of my family now, and it's it's nice.
There's something to be said about the camaradity that a brick and mortar business brings, especially a small one.
It's something that's lost today, isn't it. I Mean, there's so many businesses and things that just are generated and you're not really getting your you know, your hands dirty, so to speak. And yeah, I think this generation and I feel bad that they will miss out on that brick and mortar experience of what it's like to go to a building and to have to keep it clean and to work on it and to stock it and to grind there and it becomes this place that means a lot to you.
Oh, one hundred percent. It means so much to me because Ashley and I another you know point.
Of these are the two points of contention that.
You have Pien on is how much time it takes me there.
But he likes it, like he doesn't really want to change that.
It's a passion.
It is a passion. And because so many times I've told her I will change, I will change, I will change, and I've I've tried, and I've definitely gotten so much better.
You know, the first six months, you couldn't get worse. He was there for like we counted one hundred hours one week, but it was when we didn't have.
A kid, and we did have a kid. Oh, Dawson was born in January, a month after reopened.
Yeah, so it was like a he's watch TV all day with him.
He's a throw rug at that point.
Yeah, he's fine, but yeah, it's just I it is another kid to me, Like I care about it so much and just like being there, there's nothing, there's not a better feeling than when someone comes in and sees me like washing dishes or whatever.
I need literally unplugged, unclogging toilets.
Unclogging toilets, but most of the time that's very rare. Yeah, thank god. Yes, but obviously washing dishes, making drinks, making food, doing whatever I need to do. And it's always nice when someone who's a fan of the show comes in. They're like, I can't believe you actually work.
If there's any fans listening, you're in Rhode Island, go to Audrey's. Yeah, stop by and order a nice piping hot cup of generous coffee compliments of Bin.
Yeah, that coffee is so expensive.
It goes to a good cause, Yes, nonprofit, which is great. I wanted to thank you for coming on. But before we go, there is something that seems to be happening every time I have someone from the show on. It may not it may not be the case with you too, But I just had bread Walmeck on it happened, and I had Jason Tartick on and it happened. I'm like, Okay, I'm just gonna make this a thing when I have Bacheler's and Bacheorettes on. What is the one thing you
wanted to ask me? What's that question? You're like, I want to know the truth about this. Is there anything that's a good question?
Because we've become so much more comfortable with you over the past few years.
Say we're intimidated as we're on the show, I would be so scared. I was so scared to talk to.
You, which is so funny because I really tried so hard to ingratiate myself to the cast and to get to know most of it, but not everybody. But like I try, you You're so.
Nice and like so social around us and like open and welcoming. But I was still like that as a celebrity in the room, like I can't.
Oh yeah, yeah. I remember one night at Paradise, we were waiting for something like Rosa mourn or whatever, and we were just talking sports, and I remember you said something like you were busting my balls, and I was like, dude, Chris Harrison's bust my balls? Do I bust his balls back? Are you gonna get offended if I say something.
We're probably talking about the Patriots.
Oh, you were talking about the Cowboys. It's gonna make like a Cowboys.
It's easy to make fun.
Of Quincy Carter joke or something.
You could just make a Dak Prescott joke.
Yeah, I know, man, what something I've always wanted to ask you. So, how about this at Rose ceremonies, Right, you show up at like, I don't know, two in the morning sometimes like that's the first time, like we see you when you intro and then you come back at two in the morning. What do you do in between? Do you sleep?
I used to so back in the day, I would stay up, you know, because I was young and you know, vibrant and could do that. It would be nothing. I'd get there like probably run ten thirty or eleven or whatever, have dinner, and I'd sit in the control room because I needed to listen to what was going on and see the storylines that were being pushed and to talk,
you know with the producers and all that. So I'd come hang and then you know we would do uh tink tank and then you know, break for Rose ceremony. Then it got to the point where you know, I had so Chris Sole season still they was probably still I was sleeping in the closet, you know, and the so in the Bachler in the bachelor mansion, in the master bedroom and master bathroom, there's that walk in closet and that's where Carrie Fetman, my stylist and the stylist
for the show. We would keep all the clothes, and so they that's the one place in the house there was no cameras, no lights, no nothing. We would go in there and that's I would make a makeshift little bed and we would just sit in there and I would lay down and go to sleep in the closet.
If we walked into the closet and just like Chris Harrison's sleeping dur a cocktail party, amaze.
And then they got me finally because it wasn't because they were nice, because lord knows that's not the case. But they got me at trailer and down by production and I would come in, make sure I knew what was going on, get dressed, and you know, sometimes you stay awake through tink tink, but there was it just went so long. I would go to sleep and then
Paullie would come wake me up. Big Polly if you guys don't remember who Polly was, the guy who the big guy that usually would either kick people out, not you guys, but people listening, would you know, come get the suitcases. And that was Polly. And so he would come wake me up and they drag me back up for the road ceremony at four, five, six in the morning. And you know, because I did, I didn't have the union issues. So what would happen is if your camera, audio, whatever,
you would shoot all night. You shoot your eight hours, ten hours, whatever it was. We always went into overtime. But then that crew would go home at six or seven in the morning, Me and Gina and Carrie make up wardrobe and myself. We would then turn around and have to do the date card like two hours. You know, as y'all remember, we'd get to bed at six thirty seven in the morning, and then at nine o'clock in the morning we had to do a date card to
set up the dates for that day. And so I was the only one that had to turn around and do that because all the rest of the crews would change over. And so I would go home for like an hour. Sometimes it was really depressing. I'd come home and the kids would be leaving for school, and I would like hug the kids. I would go lay down in bed for an hour, shower, shave, and go back up to the mansion.
It was really wild, and then could you sleep after that?
And then I would sleep that afternoon. Usually I wasn't on that date. I'd make sure I wasn't on that date that day, so I would sleep that day so I had to pick the kids up from school at like two thirty. But you're just a zombie.
Now.
I have a question.
Yeah, what is tink tink?
Oh?
That's where I would come in. And that's what we called the tink tink, like the call the tink tink. Sorry to break this up, but it's time for the roads ceremony.
I have one more question.
There's even a little glass. We would set it on the washer and dryer, and you know Pollie would fill it up because you know, Polly was the floor director and he's in charge of everything going on on the floor, so he would like, have my little butter knife, and then it would say, do not touch tink tink.
It was I they I know. I don't even know if you can answer this. If you if they ever asked you to be a part of the franchise again in any capacity, would you be open to it.
I would never say never, you know, I like my mom taught me well enough to say never say never. I can't see a world in which I would want that, or which in which I would think it would be healthy or good for me. We have the project going at Merritt Street Media now with Doctor Phil, which is going to be awesome, and you know, that ship is sailed. In my life, it was so wonderful and I'm so
grateful for it. It brought me so many blessings. Two of them are right here in front of me, like the friends I never thought I was going to meet and have in my life. So I always look at it as a blessing. But I think things happen in your life for a reason, but also for a season, and that season of my life I think has passed and I'm excited for the next one. So but it's not because of like any bitterness of like screw those guys or whatever.
What's your relationship with Like with doctor Phil.
Really bizarrely close now he is.
He want to know, like what you guys look like if you're having a beer at the bar.
Yeah, he's it's more of an I It's it's more of an iced teeth thing. He's a big iced tea guy.
Uh.
When you go into his office after his show, he always has iced tea.
Uh.
He does have a sweet tooth and you know, the first one of our first meetings, we sat there and we almost emptied out a box of Girl Scout cookies. But he is such a thoughtful, smart human being. And he's one of those guys I always say, you run into a text and he can, you know, because he has that slow drawl. People like that can be easily underestimated in life because oh he's he's a redneck, or
he's I dare you to underestimate someone like that. He is unbelievably smart, brilliant, gets the gets the business, which is really fun. It's it's been really fun to get to know him and become friends with him and Robin and the family, and he's really taken Lauren and I under his wing and just a sweetheart of a guy.
That's so great.
We're so happy for you, guys.
We're seriously so excited for you.
Guys.
Will find your way on. I'm sure we would love that you and you said, Dawson and Little Brady, Little Brady Tom Tom Yeah.
Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Tom Karate Kid three Ninches John John John John, Yeah, there we go.
That would make sense.
You want to mention John Paul Jones to me today because his name is John Paul. Yeah, John Paul Jones is my favorite because my name is John Paul. I was like, cool, bro, that's a throwback.
Christopher, Chris, Chris. Maybe you know Harrison. Those are good middle names, those are strong, those are strong presidential names.
Yeah, Harrison is a very.
Yeah.
I know you guys have to go, but I just wanted to say thank you for the support the Friends show. You guys have always been so wonderful. Lauren and I love you guys to death, and if we don't talk for some reason between now and two months from now, I wish you guys all the blessings in the world. On a healthy, beautiful baby boy.
Oh, thank you, thank you.
Our ten year anniversary coming up.
Ash, I can't wait to see the diamond.
Bye, guys, thanks for listening. Follow us on Instagram at the most dramatic pod ever, and make sure to write us a review and leave us five stars. I'll talk to you next time.