This is the most dramatic podcast ever and iHeartRadio podcast. Chris Harrison coming to you from the Home Office in Austin, Texas. And for the first time ever, I have a guest, obviously not on the show. I've had many guests on the show, but I've never had a guest here in Studio A, here in the Home office in Austin, Texas.
Do you know that I did not know that? This is an honor.
This is the first time I've ever had anybody in my home. That's the reason is Studio A is in our home. I'm not just going to have everyone in our house. So here we go. Jason Tartick the first guest ever at the Home Office in Austin, Texas. He was here a month ago for our wedding. It's our one month anniversary. Lauren and I have made it. That's really the big I've heard, that's really the big one to get over is that one month anniversary.
Thirty days, thirty days.
I got to get to that day. We have crushed the first thirty days.
Which day was the best.
But so when Jason came to the wedding, I said, look, you and I at some point we got to sit down and we got to talk. We got to do this, and we both decided obviously during my wedding not the time to do that, and uh, but we we kind of put it on the back burner and it just turned out that Jay was coming back into town for this Sergio Garcia four Ties event for kids event that we just did.
So we just.
Happened to be back a month later. Perfect timing. We both were talking as he was coming into town and we said, it's time, it's time we have a talk. So here it is Jason Tartik Chris Harrison. The most dramatic podcast ever find you. You have never felt the wrath of the hot Seat before?
Yeah, well that was an intense start.
I'm like with jall, we did have a conversation about us having to talk.
I agree what it was. We'll see.
It worked out perfect. This weekend made a couple deals with Chris. I was like, great, I'll come on your show if you come on my show. But I have felt a little bit of the intensity of the hot Seat. I think the last time you and I were this
close with microphones in our face, seeing miked up. Well, yesterday we had some fun at the Sergio Tournament, but was in two thousand and eighteen when I was in the hot seat at Mentel All after Becca Kouprian was the batterrip, but they didn't sit us this close to each other.
We had a little bit more space.
I was trying to think, you know what's funny when I think of you, I don't even remember what season you were on. There's certain the rest of the world, no, but there's certain seasons are there's certain people where they're friends of mine, and actually, like, if I'm going to have to go do a show, I'll have to or an interview, I will have to go look up like Wells Adams like stuff like that. I'm like, I just know him as a friend now, and you're the same.
I'm like, what season were you on? And Becca's season, which ironically was when I started dating L's Z. Yeah, was becka season. It was her tell All where we kind of first had our first rendezvous on our first big date and the infamous Cabo trip happened after the Final Roads special. But we have never really sat down and had this heart to heart, which I'm glad we're finally doing. And the overview of this whole thing too. Your second book is coming out. Yeah, obviously, I'm going
to reciprocate. I'm going to go on Trading Secrets, Jason's amazing podcast. If you're into business, which you should be, I love the way you approach business. I love the way you talk about things because you extrapolate things into an everyday bite size, digestible comment, break down whatever. I'm like, oh, I understand this now. So if you're not savvy about business, if you're not into it, check out Trading Secrets.
But the new book, yes, the new book, it connects actually to this show, I think. So it's called Talk Money to Me. It's available for pre order now on Amazon. But the whole idea is, it's like when love meets money, right, And we have so many hard conversations about just love in general and compatibility and all these things, but the idea of money, it's something we neglect. And so that's the main preface of the book.
Easily the number one thing that breaks up families, marriages, relationships, and it's something we never talk about exactly, is money. And Lauren and I have had this conversation and we've had some other business people on to kind of go into this, but it is such a vital It's like we talk about kids, do you want to have kids? You want to have kids? When do we want to have kids?
Sure?
Where do we want to live? How About how much debt are you bringing into this relationship? And by the way, that doesn't mean if you have a lot, I'm going to break up with you, but if LZ is walking into our relationship with a million dollars in debt, I need to know that that is massively important. And that's a question that we don't often ask our significant other. And then you get into it and you know you're your five steps past. You know, you bury the lead of this whole thing.
It's the transparency, in the clarity is what drives a unit, right. And so it's not that in that circumstance, which was a made up hypothetical that Elsie would have a million dollars a debt, it's that it wasn't talked about. And when it's not talked about, resentment builds. Where resentment builds, it breaks relationships, it impacts It's crazy to think that financial discussions inspects intimacy in the bedroom. And so the
whole book is my first two introductions. Now I'm about my life right, So I'm an MBA and accounting and finance. I own a few businesses. I've leant over one hundred and fifty million dollars two businesses. So if I'm making mistakes on this, which I've made a lot on which I talk about in the book, I assume that a lot of people haven't had the conversations. And so it's ten chapters, two introductory chapters of things that I screwed up. The next eight chapters are questions. So the answers are
not subjective, they're objective. The answer is a number, and it's a number you need to know about yourself and your partner. How to have the conversation, how to improve that for your well being, into work as a unit, to increase and build your overall financial wealth and happiness.
Hugely important.
Read this.
Get it into your college kids, your high school kids' hands. You know the quicker you learn this, and you know we'll talk probably much more about this on your podcast. But it's it's something I just wasn't taught. And it's laughable that we go through high school, even college and we don't really learn compound interest. We don't learn about alone. What that means about balancing a checkbook. Sure I can make an ash tray, but you know, but I can't
balance a checkbook. How are we not teaching kids? You know that I'm not here to poopoo on algebra, But let me tell you what I've used more of in my life more than algebra.
Yeah, exactly.
And a basic skills of knowing, investing and managing your money is so important totally.
And I think one thing you see now, especially with social media and everything happening in our world, is like keeping up with the Kardashians, right, like what are you wearing?
How are you showing your wealth?
And there's so much actual gas lighting through assets in today's world.
So the idea of like.
How about you just pull each other's credit report and maybe like talk through the successes you've had and your credit score and your income and your debt, because that shows the truth. Numbers don't lie, they don't take things out of context. And then you could have open conversations, which was increasing vulnerability, increasing connection, and overall increasing the over overall health of a relationship.
This is a freebie for you for your next book. Lay it up and It's only a chapter, so it's not going to be that expensive, but one of the chapters needs to be before you see each other naked, see each other's credit score.
Ooh, I like that line. I do have a line in there similar to that. So if we could talk openly about sex and have sex with one another, then we should be able to talk about our finances and what we want out of our life.
If I feel free to say, Hey, I would like for you to dress up like a circus clown before you come in the bedroom, I think I should also say how much student loan debt do you have? I know one's a little sexy than the other. Well really, the clowns not. But you get the point.
Is this a thing of yours Chris?
It is. No.
We don't like clowns. We don't like clowns. Not one of the fantasies. You and I have had a good couple of days. We've been here, played a little golf, we've had we're sitting on a couple of shiner blondes Texas, and maybe had a tequila shot before we came on the show. Because we're going to dive into it, We're going to talk about the relationships. It's funny, you know, because I met you obviously you were on the show, and it was rumored and talked about you actually being
the Bachelor. I'm curious because you know, I know probably fifty percent of what's really going on behind the scenes because they were very much they love to kind of keep their cards close to the vest when they're making those decisions about who the bachelor bache Arett's going to be sure they would ask me or ask my opinion, but you know opinions. How that goes in your mind of what you were talked about? How close were you to being the Bachelor?
Did you put in a good word for me? What's that? Did you put in a good word for me?
I've said a million times I wanted you to be the Bachelor. There's two people that were in your camp I know for sure. Yes, Yeah, the executive producer Bennett Oh okay, greater fellow Buffalo boy Buffalo that was in the bag, Buffalo Buffalo. Yeah, that was easy. Bennett wanted you to be the Bachelor, so did I.
Okay, so that's good to know I had two people in my camp. I never truly thought I was going to be the Bacheler truly, and I didn't think.
It because.
I always thought cold storyline was just incredible and quite frankly.
We didn't know the real storyline. I did a whole story.
Right, but I'm like, this guy is six foot four, looks like Kenda Barbie Doll played in the NFL. He's a stud and he's a virgin. Like, okay, wow, that's great TV. And then the other thing is I thought that Blake was really like Blake's watching him deal with his breakdown with Becca was like I was crying for him. So I was like, this is a clear third runner,
like if they both get sick or something. Colin, Jason and I asked for a lot of transparency because of work with leadership, and I got a lot of transparency of like i'd say, like twenty five percent, thirty percent. There was one time I think they're like, hey, I think odds have jumped up to like sixty percent. So there was a lot of transparency there. But at no point did I actually think it was going to be me.
Yeah, I don't know how close. Yeah, from my mind, I felt that was probably the case. You probably had a thirty forty percent chance. We wanted it to be more. I just thought you would have been a good everyday guy. We could have fixed the hair. At the time, you know, there was some tragic Buffalo stuff going on with the hair. You know, no offense to Buffalo because I love it and I got to get there soon. But the yeah, there was a lot of hair gel back then. But
you've come a long way. I mean the fashion look as you sitting here right now, you're such a fashion Easta.
Now.
I don't know about that, but I might have to take this coat off because it is getting a little hot, knowing the topics coming up, so if it comes out that, I know, it gets intense.
But it was something I thought would have been great because I really do think you would have been a good Bachelor, just because you're such a sincere guy, and I think America at the end of the day. Yeah, the Colton in a you know, Colton was obviously a great season, and could you have jumped that fence? I don't think so. So Obviously the Colton season was pretty phenomenal, but I think there was a show to be had with you, just because America, especially with the Bachelor, resonates
with relatability and you're just a relatable guy. I think people watch you, they listen to you, and you're like, I see myself in this guy. He's the kind of guy I could date, And so I think it would have been a good season.
Yeah, two thoughts I have, because you.
Don't need the Bachelor to be explosive bachelorette more so that drama helps bachelor. You really don't need that. I mean, look at Sean Lowe. Yeah, not the craziest explosive story. I mean, and he was one of our most popular bachelors.
Yeah, I mean, I don't.
I think if you look at the like talked about some of the history of the Bachelor's I don't know that you'd call most of those individuals explosive, right, Like no, Matt James very even, Keel good guy, Clayton pretty even, Keel Nick's a pretty like even keel guy, Ari Ben Higgins, Right, I don't think you're talking about these like explosive personalities. Two things I have when I think about the time of like the selection of the Bachelor, that whole thing.
I remember I'd get a lot of shit from people or like Reddit blogs and stuff, and they'd be like, oh, he's campaigning so hard to be the Bachelor. And I always thought about that, and I was like, oh, maybe I should have acted like I didn't want it. But no, like the reality is like that's wasn't It wasn't a campaign.
I just wanted to be the Bachelor.
I got it, Like who everybody wants to be the Bacher. So I guess maybe there's like you should have played it more cool.
No, it's And by the way, what are you doing on Reddit?
All those blogs get sent, they get sent. You don't get the dms where they send you the links? No, okay they do.
Oh god.
The other thing is I would say, god, I don't.
I would say back then, I would have been like, I'm such a different person than I was back then. So you know, things change. It's time for me to like put my head back into that space. It was twenty eighteen, it's about to be twenty twenty four. In that wild it's I just don't know, like where time goes, because it seems like a whole different life ago, you.
Know, I mean, when you're five six years removed, it just seems we were all, you know, so much more innocent, different. I mean, well, I think about when I started the show. I moved here in ninety nine to la and you know, jumped on The Bachelor and two and is when it aired, and then I stayed there for twenty years. Yeah, I mean, who does that? It just doesn't happen in this business. And so when I think about the kid that started and the man that left, you know, I've been married, divorced,
to kids, kids in college. I mean, life has changed quite a bit.
It's hard to put yourself back.
And that's not even technologically speaking. How the world has changed and dating and all that. Yeah, you can't go back and look at that kid, that innocent kid that came from Buffalo and just hey night one. Yeah, I hope you like me.
Now he's a jaded ex reality TV, broken down brus Cloud.
So you get done with the show and then famously you start dating Caitlin Bristow. What precipitated that. I forget how that whole thing started.
The heart rates instantly went up.
Chris just got hotter in this room.
I was the whole the whole thing was.
Interestingly enough, I met her on her podcast because my understanding is she wanted me to be the Bachelor and then when they picked Colton, she was like, well, we got to jump on a show because like I really wanted you to be the bachelor.
Three people in your corner there caitle too, so she was like, let's maybe the only person that had less poll than me on the.
Show was fair.
So she wanted to just be like, well, what's next.
And so that's when I interviewed with her. But the first time I ever messaged Caitlyn, ironically enough, was I had gotten off the show and I had learned just about the whole ins and outs of this world and how kind of crazy it was, and you know, when you get off, you step into this mayhem and I always, you know, I didn't know what the hell to do about, like how to deal with it because a lot of like agents come up to you and all this stuff, right, And I I started to research like people that were
on the show that had done a really good job, and I reached out to all those people that had done and be like, hey, just got the show a little confused as to how this world works. Do you have any insight. She was one of the people that I reached out too, and she was great. She had she like gave me great insight, and that was it. And then she asked me to come on the show and I'm a podcast with her in late October, and.
That's where the sparks flew.
That's where the sparks look.
Okay, I did. I actually didn't tell.
Me, at least I don't think for her. I remember when I first hugged her, I was like, oh.
That's interesting. I didn't know that story. I didn't know where you guys actually started dating or whatever. So it was on the it.
Was it was yeah, it was well, we didn't know. She interviewed me on the show. I remember the sparks flew when I remember giving her a hug, and there's just a lot of banter, and she reminded me a lot of like people back home, and I was like, oh, this girl's awesome. Then a friendship established. She put me in the friend zone for a little bit, and then we dated shortly thereafter a few months or so.
I really appre So here's what's interesting about the two of you. Obviously I've been involved or you know, somewhat in touch or connected to a hundred breakups on the show. Because you know, I'm either friends with or have worked with someone in that relationship. I was thinking about this
earlier before you and I came on today. I've never been so intertwined with a relationship and a breakup as I have been with you and Caitlin, because I guess I've never been as close with both people, and consider both of you friends, still talk to both of you. I invited both of you to our wedding. You guys both graciously showed up at our wedding. So I was just thinking, you know, usually there's a breakup and I'm friends with the bachelor, or I'm friends with the bachelorette.
I'm not usually as close with the cast member that they got engaged with. So it's funny that I'm even sitting here with you, you know, not the bachelorette. And so it just goes to show like I'm good friends with both of you guys, and I've never I don't think I've ever been as involved or connected to a breakup as this one. And you know, Lauren and I both said we're inviting both of you guys to our wedding. There is no question that both of you guys are invited.
We're going to just hit the ball over to their court, and it's totally up to you, guys. If one of you come, if both of you come, if none of you come. It was totally up to you, guys. And I really appreciated the fact that you both came. You both like put your swords down whatever. I don't know where it stood at the time. I don't care what it meant. What meant the most to me was that you both said, we love you guys, We're going to support you, We're going to beat your wedding.
Yeah, And there was nothing more important. I mean, we have again, Chris, you and I have known each other now since twenty eighteen. I think from the get go. I remember us talking about soccer, and we just developed a good friendship. And Bennett, of course and I had good friendship back then, and year over year that friendships progressed. And for me, there was nothing more important than being there,
because it was to honor your day. It was to honor your celebration of love, your journey, your trials and tribulations to the happiness that you've finally got and to see you that happy and Lauren that happy.
I would have kicked myself in the head, lived and regret.
If I didn't go because of a prior relationship that didn't work out.
Especially because it turned out to be such a kick ass party.
There was a kick ass party, and the best part was is that I think if you look at that group of bachelorettes and bachelor's and former contestants that were at your wedding, there are a lot of tangled webs.
There are a lot of tangled leaves.
There was definitely drama in the past with a lot of them, and there still is current drama with some of them. But every single person there me included, every single person there made it about you two, and it was literally it was such a beautiful day.
We talked about you. We had the Friday night event that it was LZ's idea to have everybody over here to kind of break the ice and so we could all, you know, in the safe confines of this house, see each other talk, let the weirdness kind of leave the room. So then when we all get together on Saturday for the wedding, we're ready to go. And obviously one of the awkward moments was going to be you and Caitlin, and I was thinking to myself, I'm glad they're both here.
I'm grateful and it's going to be fine. But yeah, there's going to be that moment when they first see each other. But you guys actually saw each other at the hotel before you came here, just total happenstance that you she they walked into the bar you were sitting at, right.
Yeah, yeah, I mean there's a lot of irony, and like the universe works in weird ways.
You guys gave us three hotel rooms to stay at. Yeah, okay.
I had booked a room for Caitlin and I had the minute we got the original invite, which is quite some time.
When you were still together.
So we had talked about like, hey, what do you want to do with this? Do you want to take it off?
Take it?
And so she was like I'll stay with trist I was like, okay, I'll take it. So I didn't read that room was at the Omni, but we could have booked at three rooms, three hotels and wells and every I was like, all right, well' where are you gonna be.
Let's meet up.
Then we're gonna be, Bob, We're gonna be We're all really good friends. And they were all at the other hotels like okay, so I was at this hotel by myself. So I'm getting ready. I'm like, I'll have a drink before Chris's party. And I go down to the I go down to the bar. I looked to my left and I see I see three very good looking women like get up and walk down, and I'm like, who was that? I was like, okay, I couldn't tell. But then I went, it's funny.
I went.
I kind of did a circle and I sat down, and then I did another look and I was like, oh shit, that's Kateland and some of the others. And I was like, what do I do here? And Caitlyn broke the ice. She texted me and goes, hey, can you tell the bartender to hurry up? Like we put the order in twenty minutes ago. I was like, I thought that was here, but I didn't have time to say hello because you guys ran so quick.
Sprinted out of the bar printed.
I was like, what are we doing?
You know we're going to be together in thirty minutes. I'm like, what did y'all share a car over here?
No? I offered that. I said, okay, now that we broke the ice. I'm gonna get an Uber Excel. If anybody in your group wants to come, you know, come on join. And uh, they were like, oh, we're good. We actually already ordered the Uber. So I came solo and I was the first one. I was twenty minute, twenty five minutes late.
Here's what I appreciate. Yeah, yeah, I mean I would say you were on time. Good, that's fashionably late, you know, twenty twenty five minutes. The funny thing is Laura and I were sitting here and you know the time, say it's five thirty. I forget when the party was supposed to start, but it was sometime, you know, late afternoon evening, and nobody's here. I'm thinking, you know, maybe nobody shows up. I don't know who's in town. I don't know who
came to our wedding. Like maybe you know they nobody's here. It's like a super Bowl party or a birthday party and nobody shows up your birthday. Yeah, yeah, it was uh. And then like twenty five minutes later, one car pulls up and it's Jay. So Jason comes in and he was like, hey, thanks for showing up. You're it man, we're gonna have a real crap load of chakouterie to eat and a bunch of wine. But then everybody started filing in behind you. I think thirty minutes was kind
of the go to. Mark be thirty minutes late was the go to.
Yeah, well, there's a lot of people just coming in by the minute, but I was the first one here.
I was like, Okay, this is gonna be a good time. Let's let's get after it here.
So Caitlyn showed up, and I think everybody was kind of just keeping that eye out, you know, like as voyeurs and just as you know, people that are tied to this franchise, we all we all knew the score. We all knew that they just broke up. So we're like, we'll keep an eye on the vibe in the room, and are they gonna talk and are they gonna hug?
And I was really pleasantly surprised to see you guys gave each other a big hug, you talked, y'all are smiling, laughing, and everybody just dove in and it was like you said, there's a lot of baggage in that room because it's one big and we've all dated, we've all they've been engaged and broken up and all this stuff, and so, yeah, there's a lot of baggage in that room, and there was a lot of drama, but everyone left it at the door and everyone had a great time, which I appreciated.
Yeah, And I think in a lot of this world there's always so much noise. Well, you're dealing with your own internal battles with whoever it may be or what may have been and what is and that's a general statement, and then there's other people that had so much noise because there's always so much like gossip behind the scenes
and then outside noise. And I think one of the biggest takeaways I always think about is it can be just so productive to sit across from the person you might have dilemmas quarrels with and just like talk it out right. And I think a lot of the people there that I think a lot in general everyone got along really well, but people that may have had past experiences or whatever just saw each other eye to eye and it was it was a moment of like happiness.
Everyone's there to celebrate you guys. And I thought that was just like a beautiful night. It was I really think it was a beautiful night of people like reconnecting and smiling and celebrating, and it was awesome.
It was a lot more emotional than I thought it was going to be. I wasn't expecting to be like hit so hard by just seeing the faces that I saw and feeling the love that I felt, and just how casual it was and how just I don't know. I was talking actually to the Lady Gang and Kelty Knight and I were chatting about this, and I said, you know, it was kind of the goodbye that I guess I never had with all of you, you know, getting everybody together, and I'm kind of that connective tissue
that will bring that crew together again. Maybe it's the last time all those people kind of get together again, from Trista to Tasha, you know that my run of shows, and so it was kind of cool to just get everyone together in that in that sense.
Yeah, you know what's interesting is I felt like such a high Friday. And I'm sure some of this is connected to my personal stuff, but I felt like such a high Friday, and Saturday or wedding Sunday, I felt like so down and out.
I was like a little sad.
I was like, it was so it was such a like the show's over.
Yeah, Like I didn't see Like, I don't know, there's so many people that I hadn't seen so long. In the conversations, I'm like, I think one of the things is like, well, probably that group of people will probably never as long as we live, like all be in the same room having some of the conversations and laughs. We did, and there was something that was like really fulfilling getting all.
The wives together, you know, our significant others were all there, and I was like, I agree, I was I didn't really think of it alone. Actually who unfortunately couldn't be there. He and uh and Molly came in the next day and so they he was working on production and they were trying so hard. So he came for the wedding.
He just couldn't make it. In one of our former executive users and he said the same thing where he's like this is that was a special group that was together in such an emotional night of I don't know, there was just a lot of love of everyone. I think everybody just was almost like we all needed it.
We all just kind of needed there was because there's whether it's surrounding the franchise itself, surrounding each other, whatever the controversy and so many things that have been said and done, but very few people actually know the intimacy and the love and the respect and friendships we have within. And you know, it gets exploited a lot and gets talked about a lot, but it's not truly seen for.
What it is.
And I think in that room that night, we all just kind of were able to take a deep breath, and we weren't on camera, we weren't on microphones. Everyone could just relax.
Yeah, And I think a bunch of us said, it's a testament to you and Lauren, because everyone there, especially for those two days, brought such positive, kind energy, and a lot of us were like, it's just a testament to Chris and Lauren, like they surround themselves. Think about all the hundreds of people you've come across in the days of doing this. You guys, clearly surround yourself with people that provide good energy and fulfill you guys, and
fulfill a room. And that's how your wedding felt, That's how the Friday night before felt, and it was it was special.
We appreciated it and thank you for that. We loved every second of it, and I got it. I was actually I had a little fomo because you know, obviously it was our wedding night, and so you guys took off and all went out and Laura and I had a couple more stops to make that night for her family and some other friends. So we had to go to another event after everyone left our house, and you guys all went out downtown, and I was, I kind
of had fomo. I'm like, there, this is this party in this love fest is going to continue, and I'm not going to be a part of it. I'm not going to hear that. I'm not going to know you know these stories until tomorrow of what was said, what was done? Was it awkward When I came up to you and Caitlin when you all were talking by my fridge, and I asked if y'all were going to hook up?
I'm dying right now. I thought it was funny. I thought you were you were funny.
Chris is just it was all right, here's here it goes.
The conversation it was we were just the funny part is is like we it was like the first words we had said to each other in three months. Like two minutes into it, here cubs Chris, So, you guys gonna hook up tonight? And I think I think your line was trust me breakup. Sex is amazing and I'm like Jesus, it's.
Not healthy most of the time. It's very dysfunctional, but it could be great.
They're unbelievable, and I think in general both Caitlin and I are lighthearted. We both laughed and I thought it was I thought you were pretty funny.
You always are.
I think that's if for anyone listening to this right now, we got to give you a little shout out. Chris is one of the You're one of the funnier people I've ever met, and your wit is time perfectly like the chirp you made yesterday to the guy golf. It's perfect. So the timing of that was absolutely hilarious.
Yeah, you and Kaylyn had your moment and the wedding went great. You guys leave. You did not hook up. For the record, no, they did not hook up. But much to my chagrin, I thought like because selfishly I thought this would be kind of the not the trifect. I guess the exacta hitting the home run exact at the Kentucky Derby. I get married. I'm crushing it in my own love life, and then boom, Kaylin and Jason hooked up at my wedding, Like what a great story. But it was not to be. You guys, you get
they did not. For all the tabloids out there taking notes, they did not hook up. I hate to do this, but I'm gonna put a pin in this for now. We're gonna stop, We're gonna take a break, but this conversation will continue. A lot of emotions, a lot more to talk about, and I have a lot more questions to get to with Jason Tartik. So we'll do it in the next episode of The Most Dramatic Podcast Ever.
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.