Bachelor Beginnings with Andrew Firestone and Ben Higgins

This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast. Chris Harrison still here at the Rosewood, Montecito. Again, as I said before, that's what bougie people call Santa Barbara. And I am so excited about this particular episode because two guys I love and adore, and I loved him so much that I actually wanted to put these guys together, and we did. We all went and played golf years ago. I think it was a Jaden Tanner's wedding, and I said, you have to meet this guy. Y'all are going to

I tell people that about Andrew's just so sweet.

Yeah, he's handsome. In fact, on the way here, you want to hear a good story. Yes, Ashley and I are driving here actually acknety Okay, it's a great story. And so we're driving from LA to Santa Barbara and her Hyundai Tucson and Ashley goes, I've never met Andrew, and I said, you've never met Andrew? How has that happened? But she just hasn't been around for all the times that we've gotten to hang out.

Who's Evince? She goes, who, Like, what's Andrew? Like? I was like, he's Bob Guinny, funny.

Chris Harrison handsome and he and she goes, Okay, no, she stops me shoes that makes sense, Like Bob, you wouldn't say he's the most handsome man in the world. She goes, So, I don't see Andrew being funny because he's so handsome.

I said, here's the problem.

You're gonna fall in love with Andrew, like you're gonna do all the girls do like they meet him and afterwards they all giggle. They're like, yeah, it's just kind of because I'm talking about me.

By the way, Bob Guinny, who listens to the show almost famous, big bone, you have a great personality. You have a great personality, and we love you. And speaking of love more, and Andrew his beautiful wife Evanna sitting right here, and so I think all of you for being here, and most importantly, you guys brought me at tequila. We did which I am grateful for and old.

There's there's not many places you can spend twenty five dollars on a tequila drink, but this is one of.

The roads put it on you.

I just had a.

Thirty four dollars martini. Yeah, yeah, it was impressive.

It served it in a home depot.

But he did marry up though. I want to say that you did marry up. Yeah, very it's impressive.

I remember when I first met Evana. I was at a guy named Jason Carbones house that we had a party. Jason used to work on the show, kind of producer. He directed from a hot moment and we were there. Do you remember that? It was right after was it Tristan Ryan season? I don't know, I forget what it was, but you would you it was fairly reason You've broken up with Jen and you walked in with Evana and everybody thought the same thing, like what is happening here?

But but I actually met Havanna through the Bachelor, So I was back for the final you know, the The Men Tell All. Jen Scheft was then the bachelorette, and so she had her men tell All and they had me back and they were trying they forgot about Yeah, they were trying to they were trying to stir stuff up. Oh isn't this so weird?

That's not like me?

Yeah? Right, Uh but anyway, and I and there there's a there's a there's a funny picture of you and I on stage and I'm kind of floppy haired and but dressed up. And then that night I was flying back to New York and I had about four hours to kill after the show is done taping, and so I met some friends in LA and that was where I met Havanna. And it was literally minutes after you had the taping of you know, The Men Tell All? And then I met her and that was that was

And there was modern time then you had your iPhone. It would have been like just blue, but it was like you know, flip all the way through. And then I realized this had happened, and I'm like, oh my god, how do I make this right?

Do I write her again and say I'm sorry? Like but I she just wrote back and just said, why don't we catch up the next time you're on the West Coast?

Psycho?

You weirdo?

Psycho was my number.

Yes, but that was that It was ironic. So like, you know, this bachelor family we always talk about, you know, I just met Claire's husband. Yeah, right, and and all this stuff might happen because of the show, one way or another.

And so yeah, it is a tangled web we weave is and you guys have been married. How long you all you're married?

It'll be fifteen years? Sweet Mary in a row and then.

Three unbelievably beautiful kids, thank god. Ivanna is so beautiful, Jean Brooks. And we have Anya, and then we have maybe my favorite human being on the face of the earth, The Shaney Act, Sugar Shane. Uh. To explain Shane, your youngest, I would say, watch, uh, watch John Belushi, not in it, not in his life, but he's a little bit like John belushy animal house, like throwing a bowling ball down a flight of stairs, lit on fire like that is

Well?

Yes, yes, that wasn't a pause similar to Bachelor World though, so you've met Jessica. I don't think you have yet. Andrew is not so I message her on Instagram. She goes home, says, mom, this guy who was on the Bachelor messaged me. She doesn't watch the show, she never really had, and her mom goes, do you remember this? You never talked about boys like I'm really Jessica's first legitimate boyfriend, which is amazing for me. Yeah, she has no idea what she's missing and I married her.

But her mom tells the story. Her mom loves the show.

Jessica is home from college on weekend, walks into the room, sees me on TV, sits down for like ten minutes, and her mom says, she remembers this because it's very unlike Jesskin goes, I can date that guy, so sim not like a Bachelor connection. But and Jessica remembers seeing me then she like that reminded her. Oh yeah, I did see him on TV. I'll go on a date with him. So not like we didn't meet through the Bachelor, but that was her first introduction to me, just in ten minutes.

She didn't have to watch a lot, which is great. She'll never watch the show.

She you'll think she'll watch though, did you she refused. I want to hear her so all answer for it. Did you ever watch the show? No? And Ivanna's never watched the show. I was just a so you've seen you. I know you've seen the show, but you never watched Andrew Firestone. I don't know if that's is that on film? That's probably on a film weed. I want you to watch it like the show. We etched it into tablets and we put it up on this HD. Would not have been kind of me, No, it was. I'm very grateful.

Wasn't he in like a couple of seasons, didn't he do? Was he?

Well?

Yeah, it's typical.

You were on the Bacherette and then you come on and be the Bachelor and then he jumped a fence and ran away in Portugal.

But but there's a there's a lot of film on him, you know, like like, yeah, that's the that's the that's the kind of the weird thing. I would think as a as a new person coming in and meeting somebody that was on the show, it's like, well, it's like you've already done, like we've seen these moves, We've seen you know, we've heard this, this, this this banter.

Well, I asked, Jordia's there, how do you think he did as a straight guy?

Yeah, he was awful. How does everybody not know?

How does he said that?

Who so?

So?

His new husband he had inklings that once he watched the show. Oh yes, he clearly saw. He's like I didn't know what he guess?

I did?

Nobody guess, And so.

That's that's really that's a really interesting.

But he got into the show.

The funny thing is Jordan said he was in the other room and he'd be yelling at Colton, like, why did you get rid of her?

She was great, Hannah b was amazing.

And he really got into the show. Was a fan, he goes, I kind of forgot it was even Colton and I just started watching that he got into.

It was really that would be really fun. I would love to sit down with Jordan and watch like that show with him. Yeah, to be an analyst unpacked.

There was a lot to that there, and we did that with a lot of wine and NAPA. But I really you guys were in a different time and place. You were old school when we were still figuring out the show Andrew, and it was still so different to find that guy no one had ever heard of, and he would come in and be the bachelor, and then there's flash forward to that formula of you go on the Bachelorette, you get popular, we put you on as the bachelor, and so on.

The secrecy part of it for me was so weird, Like it was it was like Cloak and Dagger, like they not only during the during the shooting, right like everything was so under wraps, and we had code names and nobody supposed to know who I was and whatever else. The girls didn't know who I was, And I remember clearly I was staying. I was staying in the in the bachelor mansion.

Yeah, back then it was also different because the guy or the made the lead would stay in the mansion the little time where we had the rose ceremony myself and then we flipped it. By the time we had been the ladies when it wasn't it was he was old school. He was in the original mansion in Malibu and it was.

And it was like they didn't want anyone to have like contact, and like I was sequestered. Like even so one day, like I'm just bored out of my mind. It was a down day, so I'm like walking around and I made my way up to a cover where the production was and they had these tents and stuff like that, and I never forget. There was this some girl what she had the ear thing in and whatever else she's production and she and I'm like just kind of making small tag. I just want to talk to somebody,

Had no idea.

I had a new idea who I was because they had sequestered me so much, even from the people that weren't supposed to know who I was. And then we'd go, oh my god, that this like the lengths they would go through to keep us, you know, a secret, and then they reveal on Good Morning America. It was the oddest ten weeks, twelve, whatever it was.

Which is funny because back then you didn't have nearly as hard a time keeping somebody quiet because there was no social media. Not everyone in the world had cameras on their phones, et cetera. So it was just so much easier to do that back then. I remember. So, Yeah, we shot. It was this awesome house. It wasn't like a great house you would want to live in, but it was cool for shooting. It was right on the

Then it was beautiful. It was it was very cool.

And the ladies.

The ladies were also in Malibui. They were down the pch and this other else kind of I think it was Zuma Point doom is where your your ladies were.

So I would get up in the morning.

It was funny when I would do day cards. I would get up and I would go to their house a different house, and introduce the dates, et cetera. Then I would come to the bachelor mansion and talk to Andrews like a bunch of back and forth. It was we streamlined it much more when we flipped it, like for you.

Yeah, I have a question for you. Yeah, Chris, this is your podcast, but I do a question now. I've always wanted this so back then, you know, Andrew is similar to your age, right, the greatest host of all time on television. How in the world did you host a show, a dating show with somebody equal to you? Because for me, I always looked at you as a friend but also a mentor. You give me great advice.

A party, it's a couple of years. But remember he was right where I wanted to be. Like, so he was a couple of years older, married with a young son, and so that was so like it was actually I think the dynamic was perfect because that was kind of like what I was looking, you know, to accomplish. Now. A lot of times the sincerity of the bachelor thing gets drawn into question and I get that, you know whatever. But when I did, it was so long ago. I

Like, yes you are, that's true.

So after I met her, of Anna, three months after two and a half months after we met, we were dating back and forth. She said, well, this isn't gonna work. We're going long term, you know, a long distance. It's not going to work. So I up and moved. I literally moved to l A And like she's like, bang, its just no. So like I go down there, how many houses did I see before I bought one. I saw the first house I saw. I'm like, oh, does'll work.

It's in the same City's like, oh my god, that's that's like, that's not romantic, that's stalker.

It's not. It's not.

It's like it's like there's a very thin line. He watched it really well. He doesn't watch So I'm a huge rom com fan. I love rom coms, and it is funny how many rom comms you watch and you're like, you know, is that romantic or is it like illegal?

Yeah, I can't get away with that. Like me, I don't get away with that stuff. It's like some of the stuff that John Hughes would pull in those movies.

You're like, ah, yeah, that's that's not healthy.

Those girls should have run.

But I agree with you because Chris gave me life advice that I still quote and still live by today.

Like I've told him this a thousand times.

But the advice he gave me off camera in a bar over a glass of whiskey was use this whole thing to enhance life.

Already had not change your life completely.

That is still not only when it comes to like my faith tradition what I do. But it's still like my career choices, like is this enhancing or is this changing me? So I'm with you on like you looked at him as okay, he has what like you are looking for, so you can listen to him as equal partner, you know, like he's got your back. But I did the same thing, you know, fifteen years later. But it's interesting from your perspective on how did you do that with confidence?

It changed? It definitely changed because obviously I grew with the show as well. I mean having when you're in at five ten years. By the time you got on the show, I'd been doing it so long. I was like, I've been here, done that. I can help you navigate this and work this through your life. With Andrew, like when I'm with you and some of kind of the younger bachelors, it is interesting. I feel like it's my kids coming back from college, Like Joshua's home this summer,

So the next morning I show up to work and I literally can't get in the door.

There are pallets of Firestone wine and beer in front of the front.

Door, like ten feet high. I'm like, holy crap, that.

Is a boss.

I kept everybody pretty buzz all the way through. That is a boss move. That is awesome. That's a great story. And so we had Firestone beer.

Yeah, and it was it was sort of a necessity. Not that I don't enjoy a nice cheap beer every once in a while, but like for the all the time I was going to be there, like it needed to be well stocked. So we got that taking care of. My brother showed up the next day. He brought it Brun the Cavalry.

It was amazing. And the other thing that I always loved about Andrew is when we got to the end, he demanded that he bought his own engagement ring. He got engaged, he got proposed to Jen Scheff, and Andrew said, I will not take a free ring. I think it was to Corey back then those who was Harry Winson, it was Harry Wents okay, and so he's like, no, no, I'm I'm I'm paying for this, Like.

No, no, you don't understand how it works. The show pays for it, dude.

He's like, no, no, if I'm getting engaged, I'm paying for the ring.

And that was it was also so I never I never took a dime to be on the show, and I never no compensation throughout the whole thing, like like it would come good or bad or whatever. I just wanted it to be sincere and I want to be authentic and like you can you can say you did like me, didn't like me, whatever else. But I was never unauthentic, like I was always my true self.

Like then a sellout.

Yeah I took the ring, I got paid, I'm about it.

But again, like when I I remember about Jason Carbone, I remember sitting, you know, after the last show or thing was filmed, whatever else, and I was like, yeah, this is probably the last time you guys do this. He's like, no, this is this show is gonna go on forever. I'm like, no, wait, people are not gonna want to watch this, like what it already happened two

You know, it was it was great because I had a deal in my contract where if the Batcher did all that, I got that money.

So I sent my kids to college. But again, that's that's that's the.

Old school version of the show where we were all figuring it out, versus it became a machine and became an industry by the time you came along, and we had it down for better and for worse, by the way, for much better. We were better facilitating the show and helping people through it and helping people after I mean, after Andrew was done, it was like, bye, the show's over by But.

Actually, to be honest, it wasn't that unfortunately, because I'm not for you, no, no, no, it was crazy. So so the show's done and like I'm like, were re released into the wild and so I'm going back to my normal life. And I was working for the winery then, and I do things like winemaker dinners I do. I was in sales, I was selling my family's wine. And they're like, well, no, you really can't do that, and no, you can't do that wine maker dinner, Mike, what are

This is what I do.

So, you know, they were so controlling or try to be controlling afterwards of what I did or didn't do. And again I didn't do anything else really in television. Occasionally I would do a you know, pop up on you know, on the mentel all or whatever else, but really I kind of disappeared back to what was my own life, and they were trying to like control what that was.

You get those wonderful threatening calls from the lawyers.

Well one and my brother was like, Okay, if you really want to do this, we can do this. But you picked a guy that was you filmed at our winery. You promoted that, you know, the fact that this was a wine making family, that this was a legacy family, and now you want to not let him do that, right, they they ran into the wrong family. Yeah, it was much my brother would have relished that time. My brother, who many of people in that watched my season got to know a little bit. He is a very.

Guy, a knife to a gunfight. When they came, he's in the Marine Corps. So like, you don't want to mess with my brother, unlike when they came after mister Higgins.

Yeah, yeah, they have. Yeah, but they didn't care that much about software sales. For some reason, they didn't get any hard time. They really they really ripped me apart for user manual writing.

But there was there was one in particular with this, you know, it was a you know, this event that we did every year, and they're like, well, I don't think it's a good idea that you're that you're promoted on.

I don't remember asking you exactly. I love that we're all together for this event tonight. It was great, we're going to Brett Young. Are you going to change?

Yeah? I thought I am okay. Yeah, because I am okay, I was. I took a nap before this. I was watching the PGA Championship.

Is there a smaller pair of shorts you can wear? Is this long?

I just haven't pulled up because this is I.

Can literally see your lunges through that.

Thank god, this isn't TV. Beginning this close. This has turned into a Siginfeld episode.

And you know when the when the guy wore the jogging shorts and he's like, so, you guys can't say this, but Ben's right in front of me, He's in it, and.

It's I was just trying to size up is my wife? Both of those is trying to let him know, you know.

And both of us are oddly turned on. Rushmore us more.

By the way, Uh, congratulations to you. You are now officially the first person who's ever repeated as a guest on my podcast.

Are you serious?

Do we have the steak knives for Ben? Do we have the steak knives?

Oh?

That's so you get a free set of steak knives. So you know, there is a butter knife from the Rose. My first, and I'm gonna cost us nine hundred dollars and this is my first.

I'm like ninety nine percent sure that none of this stuff is even plugged in, like you're just doing me a favorite.

Totally.

This is an Aaron, you came to my hometown. I'm waiting till you leave the room and we can actually tape this.

Yeah, but I'm glad we all got together and I'm glad you I'm glad you two again. One of the things I love about this show and I'll always remember about it is just the connections and the people we've met, and the fact that we're all going to hang out tonight and drank way too much tequila and have a great time is one of my favorite things. And it's been a great day. I played golf with Wells Adams down and that was the last.

Time we were together. Was playing golf up up in Pebble Beach.

Oh yeah, we have right. We all did play at Pebble Beach. I remember winning that day. But you saw Wells this morning. Get to hang out with you guys today. It's it's awesome.

He did win that day.

One of those things about a buch of fun dad strength, where it's just like I just always kind of get in Yell's head and went alone.

You know, Chris is a good golfer, And now I'm not gonna bore everybody with golf talk.

We just played in Orlando. This year.

He came to this great event that uh in Orlando that we do and Wells and I've played in the year before. Chris comes this year and UH and beats us both solidly. Uh, even not playing his best golf, he goes and beats Wells today. He beat up beat me in pebble there like my dad, I love dearly. Not the best golfer, good golfer, not the best. There is something about Chris where if I looked at like a second mentor somebody has had a big impact in my life, Chris would be right there right that I

And there's just something about him that just never lets me. Yeah, it just makes me mad.

Well, we'll do a bench off. As I look at your left testicle right now and those shorts, Quin, I didn't know what to do. I don't look what are with my hands, I don't what to do. I have to ask you one serious question before we wrap up.

Yeah, it's up.

Because I've heard I've heard grumblings and rumblings. So The Bachelor announced they're finally going to do this elder boxer show. It was a show I was going to host and do pre pandemic. Obviously, with writers strike, they're bringing the show back. Are you going to host? Would you host? Because you should host?

So here's my honest answer. I would love that show.

And I think you know me well enough to know that, like, that would be my dream show, Like I can't.

You're agreaet with older people. I'm great with older.

People, like you feed me my old meal every day. I'd want your advice, I'd want your opinion. If they asked, I would love to be involved. I think it's a good show and I think it I think it is what the franchise needs.

It takes away so much of what.

Is going on currently and focuses on love stories again, which I think is we've missed in the last three years.

So I know I've not been asked. I haven't been asked one thing about it.

I am literally just saying I like the idea of a bunch of people telling their stories again, which I think is what I when I was on the show. What you love is the human experience back when we told stories, back when we told stories, and that's what I would be about, is the story behind it. I have as much idea about the show as any other fan does.

Yeah, so I think that's It's my guess is that's the same as everybody. They have no idea what the show is going to be yet, because they've just announced it. I mean, and a lot of this came out of the writer's strike. It probably would never have gone if it hadn't been for the writer's strike. But there's such a need for unscripted So the show is going to go, and it'll go in the fall. It'll be tough sledding, but I think it would be a great announcement. Like, I think it'd be fantastic.

It's it's similar to how I view it is. I have not done really anything with the show since my time as the Bachelor. Yeah, and I've moved on with my life. This is the only thing that's ever came about where I was like, I would love that. I didn't want to be I didn't want to take over. I never made a phone call and never made a text.

Never want to do that. It'd be similar to well, the one that didn't I did not. Yeah, I'm the one person. Yeah.

Actually the two guys that didn't call for your job are probably sitting right here.

How I view is Wells Adams, Wells Adams should do like Wells is paradise right, Like that dude fits perfectly there.

This feels like me. I'm old, like in my soul like I'm old. Yeah he is. He's like an eighty five year old man. Yeah I am.

Yeah, And so I think it would just be really fun for me to do. I don't know if it will ever happen, but I would love I would be really excited if it did. And but I the first phone call i'd make, I've always already thought about it would be to you to say should I do this? And what would be your advice? I would love for you to do it. Yeah, And you know I'd be on board and I would help you ever. I have no I have no doubt.

Yeah, I'll be in your ear. I would come in the control room and I would just talk in your ear.

It feels like a good bad and say, Ben.

You shouldn't have worn short shorts today. Andrew fire Stone, Ben Higgins, thank you, guys, thank you. We have to wrap up because, uh, we have a great dinner to go to. We got a bread young concert to go to, we have cocktails to partake in.

We're gonna set a record for how much money we can spend for iHeartRadio. Like the most expensive hotel in the universe, and now we're gonna go to the most expensive restaurant in the universe.

To know what I love? What is it?

Used to just be almost famous that would have to cover this tab. Now Chris has his own podcast and he has to watch the money just to fly off.

I'm gonna take Colossi of Soul Bottles and just knock them over.

I love you guys, Thanks for being here, 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.