It’s interesting on how things can change over time. Never thought today’s podcast guest would ever be on the show if you were to rewind about 15 months, but here we are. And the ball kinda got rolling when I received the email a couple weeks ago that I’ve posted below. Holly Allen is the recent ex-girlfriend of Luke Pell, after they made their breakup announcement about a month ago after a little over a year of dating. Although, “dating” to Luke Pell he takes awfully loosely when it comes to him wanting to advance his career. Holly has a lot to tell and share, and we even talk about how she wasn’t a big fan of mine back when I wrote the Luke expose in the beginning of April last year, because Holly had just started dating him. We cover the whole timeline of their relationship, the major ups and downs they had, what the hell happened with Winter Games, and so much more. I know, it’s a lot to soak in. But please listen to the whole two hours to get a feel for how bizarre Luke’s behavior was in this relationship. I don’t expect Luke fans to like, or care, about this interview, which is fine. This interview isn’t for them because they’re not going to believe her anyway. I implore those who are neutral or read the Luke stuff last year to listen to this though and realize, frankly, this guy has some major issues. As always, if you’d like to reply to the interview, include Holly’s Twitter handle (@misshollyallen) in your replies. Which is ironic since Holly’s last tweet was basically last year around the time of the expose and from all the people who were warning her, she’d basically gotten off Twitter.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts, RSS, Stitcher, Spotify
Music written by Jimmer Podrasky
(B’Jingo Songs/Machia Music/Bug Music BMI)
Holly joins me to talk about the expose I wrote on Luke last year, how did her relationship start with him (14:20), how serious the relationship got (21:33), what Luke wanted her to do last year once Arie was announced as the “Bachelor” (31:48), were they together or not together when Luke went on Winter Games (38:10), what he told her his reasoning was for doing Winter Games (43:20), hearing from Luke for the first time after Winter Games (50:25), the Winter Games reunion finale disaster and announcing they were together shortly afterwards for damage control (54:55), their breakup announcement in June (1:03:18), how he started treating her (1:12:08), how much she found out about their relationship after the fact (1:16:00), Luke’s new girl, Amanda Mertz, being someone she used to be friends with (1:30:00), and we end with talking about what Luke will do in response to this podcast which ends up being on point (1:48:24).
Facebook – Holly Allen
Twitter – @misshollyallen
Instagram – misshollyallen
As I mentioned in the first paragraph, once the Holly/Luke breakup announcement came through the media outlets in late June, I kinda threw it out there to Holly without knowing her a, “Hey, I’m here if you wanna talk,” never thinking that she’d come on after what happened last year. But shortly after that post, I received this email from her friend:
“Hi Steve,
I’m one of Holly Allen’s close friends. I had a front seat to her relationship with Luke Pell, which is why I’m reaching out to you. I got to know him, and I have been Holly’s sounding board for the craziness that she’s endured for so long. Since she’s always been wary of publicizing their relationship and subjecting herself to public scrutiny, she constantly updated me with photos and details. I read your column about their breakup where you asked her to contact you. I don’t think that’s in her character. She’s very positive and level-headed. I know she really loves his family. And I know she is terrified of hurting people. But she has been hurt. Over and over. I couldn’t just sit back in silence. I have urged her to speak out. Many people have. I don’t think any of her friends liked Luke. We weren’t ok with how he treated her when they were together, and we are certainly not ok with how he’s conducted himself since. Holly has faced a lot of trials and tribulations in her life. She’s been through more than most. So she’s empathetic to a fault. And she stuck by Luke out of love and compassion. But she finally stood up for herself and began calling him on his behavior and then their relationship ended. He’s not used to being held accountable. His fame has given him a free pass to not have consequences for his actions. That is simply not ok.
Originally, it was Holly’s friends who convinced her to go out with Luke. She didn’t know who he was, but everybody thought they were perfect together. She’s our little country girl and Luke’s upbringing seemed to be nearly identical to hers. She’s successful in business, works as a model, but is also a hardworking ranch girl. And he seemed like such a down-to-earth Southern gentleman on TV. And she fell in love with that guy. Sadly, that image couldn’t be farther from the truth. The only thing authentic about him is his accent.
My biggest shock about Luke was his cruelty. The way he speaks about others is spiteful, hateful, and just downright mean. Holly was constantly saying “be nice”. And he was disrespectful to Holly, but that didn’t surprise me knowing what he thought of everyone else. It just seemed like he had a vendetta out for everybody. And he would openly admit to using people in the industry purely to benefit himself. Faking friendships is his forte. Maybe he also gets a high off of the control? Who knows? What I did know was that Holly deserved better. She dated the man for almost a year and a half. Never once did he get her a gift. Not even on Christmas or her birthday. Yet he begged her for months to move to Nashville. She moved in and got a job there. I think he needed her and wanted her validation. But he didn’t give it in return. He didn’t even tell her she was pretty. In fact, he started to criticize her for the way she looked and the way she dressed. He said he’d like if she had breast implants and told her she needed to work out more. He told her she wasn’t physically attractive enough for him. She’s one of the smartest and most genuine friends I have, beautiful inside and out. I hated seeing her hang on to a relationship with a man who I consider to be a vain sociopath. She saw the best in him and I can’t blame her for that. But I saw a man who is utterly obsessed with fame and values no one but himself. And he will go to any extent to keep his fame. He considered other reality shows while dating her and is still obsessed with someday being The Bachelor. He even tried to convince Holly to go on Arie’s season so that she would gain relevancy in Bachelor Nation, go back to dating Luke, and then it would help boost his fame. Of course she shut all of that down. But is this seriously the world we live in?
What I’m not ok with is this. Luke has lied about so many things. He maliciously manipulates situations to benefit himself. He hired a communications coach before going on JoJo’s season so that he’d ensure people would like him and he’d have the best chance at becoming the new Bachelor. Are you kidding me? People make mistakes. Luke doesn’t. He plans things out and manipulates people and situations. The difference is… he is in the spotlight. So he gets away with it. One stint on a reality tv show, and suddenly he isn’t held to the same standards that the rest of us are. He still has his fan base. He still has women Snapchatting him naked photos regularly (he refused to stop allowing that). He still responds to DMs of girls who adore him and shower him with compliments. He lives in a free apartment, walks around in free clothing, and gets paid more than most people’s monthly paychecks just to post a photo on Instagram. I mean, he got a DOG just so he had another revenue stream and he has gotten paid several thousand dollars to post about him. He is selfish. But he’s also blessed beyond measure, yet acts like he deserves it because he’s above everyone else. This celebrity status and narcissist mindset has hurt many people and will only continue to do so.”
That email was pretty eye opening, it got the ball rolling to open up the lines of communication, and here we are today. I applaud Holly for coming on today because she knows she’s going to get sh** for it. You’ll hear towards the end of the interview we even talk about Luke’s next turn and how you know he’ll respond to this by going on a podcast or something. And whaddya’ know. Last night Luke just so happens to post this in his IG story, one day after I said Holly was this week’s podcast guest:
Not surprising in the least bit. We called it. The damage control tour is coming, and what better way than to hop on some religious podcast. It’s all a front. The way you treat people when cameras aren’t around shows more of your character, and you’ll hear in this interview, that’s basically when Luke’s at his worst. Considering what some of his “friends” said when they came to his defense after the Stassi debacle on Winter Games…
…I can only imagine how they’re going to attack Holly. Which is why I give her credit for doing this. She knows it’s coming, but she felt people needed to know the real story, because the guy really isn’t what he’s made out to be. Far from it. As I said on Tuesday, some of the Luke Pell fans who were destroying me last April after that expose, have personally emailed or DM’ed me in the last few weeks since the Holly breakup apologizing to me for what they said while also admitting that Luke had them fooled. It’s pretty eye opening that some of his ardent supporters are now turning on him. That’s what you get I guess when you treat people like garbage.
Holly talks about a lot in this podcast, but here are some of the pictures from their relationship in chronological order, all of which she brings up at some point in the podcast:
Luke’s trip to LA to sign the papers for Winter Games (Nov 2017)
Holly’s bday trip to Temecula right before he admitted to cheating on her with her friend (Jan 2018)
In Pebble Beach with other Winter Games contestants & Chris Harrison for the golf tournament (Feb 2018)
Valentine’s Day while Luke was in LA filming the Winter Games reunion (Feb 2018)
Amanda Mertz w/ Holly in Nashville apologizing and claiming “girl code” swearing she’d never hook up with Luke again (June 2018)
Whether you choose to side with or agree with Holly or not, there’s no need to attack her. She admits she should’ve gotten out of the relationship earlier, she knows she stayed too long, she learned her lesson, and hopefully if it can help at least one person who listens to the podcast to maybe re-evaluate the relationship they’re in, then it was worth it. I appreciate Holly sharing her story and I hope you can too.
“Dr. Reality Steve” emails on Page 2…
shenanigans
July 26, 2018 at 9:33 AM
First, I believe that everyone has a right to tell their story in whatever way they choose – and I certainly don’t judge Holly for telling hers. However, I have to question why Steve feels the need to crucify specific people from this franchise. Luke Pell is old news. Granted, he is a dog, but then, so are many of the guys on this show. It’s a shame that he hurt Holly, but, then again, this is old news. What does Steve gain by airing this dirty laundry over and over again? Is it to prove that he was right? To keep dogging someone he doesn’t like? Steve has the right to do this – however, this interview seemed particularly petty and vindictive on his part. Just my opinion
sunnybay
July 26, 2018 at 10:37 AM
To the 27 year old. A few years back, I moved to a new city in my 20s and was looking to date. For the first year and a half, out of many (25?) first dates I went on, only one came “organically,” and the rest were from dating apps. (My boyfriend of a year and a half is from Tinder, which is not what we were expecting, but hey, whatever works.) I read 30% of marriages from the past five years came from dating apps, and I imagine it will only increase in the future. Dating apps get a bad reputation, but people use them differently to make it work for their own situations. Personally, I think young people are too closed off to meet “organically” in line at the grocery store, and you might only get hookups at bars. I would try a dating app like Bumble or Coffee Meets Bagel that have less of a hookup culture than Tinder. If you really hate your experience on these apps, join some groups (a sports league, a class, various Meetup groups) to meet new people, and you might have better luck there than in line at the grocery store.
tinyred500
July 26, 2018 at 10:57 AM
I’m in total agreement with shenanigans. I’m sorry for Holly and I understand she might want to state her side of things. I’ve only seen some of the stuff Luke has done or been accused of and he’s not in any way is a great boyfriend and his behaviour doesn’t make him look good in anyway, but he’s not a monster etc., and he doesn’t deserve to be crucified on social media. RS is constantly saying people shouldn’t bully others on social media and yet he’s a prime example of retweeting what others have written, setting the scene or adding links to articles or text’s to stir up trouble. It’s bear baiting, and fanning the flames to create the very kind of thing he says he’s against and opposed to. 🙁
sroses
July 26, 2018 at 1:46 PM
Wooow. Not a Luke fan but that was too much. It says just as much about her as it does him. I believe every thing she said but she sounds like she’s trying to ruin his life because he won’t take her back. sad
jlal
July 26, 2018 at 4:32 PM
I haven’t listened to it, and from what I’m reading won’t now. I too wondered when RS announced it, why Luke now? I at first was a Luke fan but quickly realized he was a jerk. Winter Games just reinforced that opinion. Old news. Don’t give him anymore than the 15 mins. he already got.
jlal
July 26, 2018 at 4:56 PM
One observation- in all of the pics his hands are in his pockets while she is hanging on him; very telling body language.
justa_viewer
July 26, 2018 at 5:46 PM
I have issues with RS myself–not the least of which is that he seems to have bought into his own D-list celebrity status and thinks that he can school the rest of us on important social issues-but I’m enjoying *this* podcast. I’m fine with these scummy guys being called on their scumminess. Not that exposing Pell is really going to hurt his currently charmed life, but I enjoyed hearing yet another woman confirm what a creep he is.
LM111
July 26, 2018 at 7:57 PM
I almost always share the same opinion as Shenanigans, Tinyred and Jlal. And, today is no different.
Nothing against Holly, but I didn’t really see the point of this podcast. I’m sure she’s telling the truth, but ok, Luke’s a player… so?
I think Shenanigans hit the nail on the head when she said that RS is probably looking to “prove that he was right”. I thought that too. And since most relationships end at some point, I guess we can all be “right” by predicting a couple will break up! Doesn’t matter who the couple is.
Utterly Ridiculous. No one cares.
I listened to the whole podcast (to kill time on a long drive) and I’m sure Holly’s a decent person, but she needs to let this go. I don’t think she has. She mentioned that they broke up once before and she reeled him back in by initiating contact on his birthday. It worked. Maybe her contacting RS for this interview was her attempt to get Luke to initiate contact (I’m not faulting her, she was in love with the guy, but that’s no way to move on).
On that same note, it’s also pretty obvious that Holly sent RS the “letter from her friend” (with a different email of course), Nobody writes in that much detail about a “friend’s” relationship. Let’s face it – the only people that spend that much time dwelling on a relationship are the actual participants of the relationship. I don’t care how much I love my friends, I’m not writing pages and pages to a stranger about why I think they broke up. It serves no purpose. (RS, do me a solid, compare the IP addresses and get back to us). Not that I care. I’ve been her age. I’ve been in love. Maybe it seemed like a good idea under the haze of a broken heart?
I’m not a Luke fan. I don’t like (or dislike) the guy. Would I date him? No. But so what?
I guess RS failed in getting me to “hate” the guy if that was the goal.
tinyred500
July 27, 2018 at 12:29 AM
@LM111 I thought the same about the letter, it was too detailed and specific to be from a friend, unless she was with Holly 24/7 and making notes.
@jlal agree with Luke’s body language, it said it all pretty much. Holly’s was polar opposite.
rob22
July 27, 2018 at 7:00 AM
A couple of small points on the Dr. Reality Steve questions, since they are pretty straightforward:
In regards to the emailer who has a b/f hung up on his ex-wife. In the best of situations, being the first g/f of a recently divorced man is a tough gig. When they are also still hung up on that ex-spouse, it’s a total loser. Run. Very Fast.
For the emailer looking to date. I’m not from this generation so I don’t do online dating, of course. But a high percentage of people do. Nonetheless, the biggest thing that’s preventing you from getting dates is attitude. If you are truly open to meeting new men and make the time to do so by putting yourself into social situations, it really doesn’t matter what venue you choose. If you “immerse yourself in your work” and aren’t putting yourself out there, I can pretty much guarantee you won’t meet anyone. When I was getting back into dating in my early 20s after a bad breakup, I made a goal of having a date every week. One date. (I’m not saying that I met that goal every week, but I tried.) Every week. So, I met a lot of women & dated pretty much anyone that would say yes. There were a lot of failures, yes. But I ended up meeting my wife at a random event. But I think the biggest factor in meeting her was that I was completely open to dating a stranger in line at an event, so it happened. Attitude is everything. Practice being open by dating and it will happen. BTW: It did take me two years of trying. If you’re looking for a microwave solution, it’s not out there.
crushonspivey
July 27, 2018 at 8:47 AM
Dang. When contestants go low–and they pretty much all do–RS has determined to go lower. Congrats?!
schatzinator
July 28, 2018 at 7:22 PM
Phew. I just endured 12 amazon “quiz” pop-up ads to create an account to reply to these other comments. I’ve never written to RS but I do enjoy listening to his podcasts. I’ve never read the comments to a podcast but I took a look here because the behavior described is AWFUL. Perhaps RS is talking about Luke Pell again because he’s that bad – significantly worse than other contestants that I’m sure he hears about all the time? I’m a trial attorney and arbitrator, and this woman seemed pretty credible to me. And I would certainly write an email like that if the same had happened to one of my best friends. It wasn’t that specific.
Thanks for the podcasts, Reality Steve.
tinyred500
July 29, 2018 at 1:02 AM
I don’t think anyone was questioning Holly’s credibility, her relationship with Luke sounds truly atrocious. I thought the email from her friend was just odd. It was detailed, and it was very long. I like the other commentator wouldn’t be sharing that amount of info with a friend. Holly’s friend is retaining a lot of info. in order to pass on to RS.
RS part in all thing is another thing entirely. He takes almost perverse pleasure in being proved right. He wrote that people shouldn’t attack Holly for what she said, but I take from that and his other past actions, that’s it’s a free for all with Luke. Social Media has become an almost uncontrollable beast, people attack others whom they’ve never met, don’t know, yet feel free to call them all the names under the sun, and feel they have the right just to say whatever they want to them and about them. RS stirs the pot again and again. RS should be fair to all sides (especially regarding SM, there should be some responsibility taken on his part) irrespective who’s at fault.
shenanigans
July 29, 2018 at 9:12 AM
My issue isn’t Holly’s credibility. It’s Steve’s insistence on airing the dirty laundry of a contestant from two years ago, who has already been the subject of multiple columns, Tweets, and podcasts. We get it, Luke is a dog. But then, we knew that two years ago from all of the other material that Steve posted about him.
As Tinyred 500 noted, he takes perverse pleasure in airing other people’s dirty laundry, proving himself right, and feeding the social media beast. That begs the obvious question: should there be a statute of limitations on this stuff? Or, will Luke continue to be crucified for his actions years later, just because Steve has a hair across his butt and it’s a slow week in Bachelor Nation? To me, this has the feel of a vendetta, which is kind of sleazy.
If I were a future contestant with ANYTHING even remotely questionable in my past, I would think long and hard before I signed up for this show. Thanks to Steve and Ashley Spivey, nothing is off limits, including stuff that probably should be.
JMO
tinyred500
July 29, 2018 at 10:33 AM
RS part in all thing….should read – RS part in all ‘this’. Autocorrect strikes again!
schatzinator
July 29, 2018 at 6:07 PM
I hear where you’re both coming from. But I don’t agree.
People are horribly cruel on social media and that should stop. But that is the responsibility of the people that post it, not Reality Steve.
Behavior that is as bad as what was described in this podcast should be called to people’s attention and labelled for what it is, and that’s unacceptable. Similarly, clicking “like” on certain posts as Garrett did is also unacceptable. That’s why Garrett did the right thing and apologized. By calling attention to these things, we can hopefully help stop them from happening in the future. And not just with respect to Luke or Garrett, but amongst a much wider audience.
I have six, four, and two-year-old girls and a two-year-old boy (he’s a twin). I do not want them to become adults in a world where behavior like this is remotely OK. So thank you Reality Steve. I’m sure you want the same for your niece and nephew (if I remember correctly that you have those), and that’s probably part of the reason why you brought attention to these issues.
As for people with anything remotely questionable in their pasts, they probably should not sign up to do a reality TV show. Frankly, that’s not a smart move for most people, even if they have nothing to hide. But, for the most part, the reasons people should or shouldn’t go on reality television shows don’t relate to Reality Steve or Ashley Spivey.
soccertory
July 29, 2018 at 9:49 PM
Schatzinator- AGREED! This is a gossip site about the people who are dumb enough to go on this stupid show. I don’t get why people are suprised? We come here for the dirt, right? I loved this podcast. Sure Steve is annoying when he does his “told you so” dance. But he’s still gonna give the dirt. You sign up for the Bachelor- welcome to your dirty laundry on display. And if you don’t want the dirt, don’t read the blog. Easy enough.
justa_viewer
July 30, 2018 at 10:51 AM
Also, just coming at it from a practical POV, I suppose you would call this podcast a “scoop,” and for now only RS has it. If he’s trying to differentiate himself and his “brand” from the growing number of Bachelor podcasters (including former contestants, apparently), in whatever ways he can, I totally get that he would run with this podcast. Maybe based on feedback, he believes that the subject is still of interest to many of his listeners/readers, even if it is “yesterday’s news” and not that interesting to some of the posters above. Just a thought.
bachfan04
July 30, 2018 at 2:20 PM
I disagree with many of these comments. I am really glad this podcast happened and that Holly came forward to put out truth about Luke and his horrible actions and lack of integrity. Many fan favorite guys are glorified after they come off the bachelor, although Lukes narcissistic actions need to be brought to light. He gives “Christians” a bad name. It is mind boggling how he can claim to be a Christian yet have so much pride and self idolatry (just to scratch the surface). He is disgusting and hearing how he treated Holly and how he treats others should not be swept under the table. Thank you RS and Holly. Hopefully you will save future girls (since we know he likes them young) from this dirt bag by revealing his true colors.
tinyred500
July 30, 2018 at 4:07 PM
@justa_viewer It’s not that it’s just yesterdays news or not interesting. It’s excess coverage what people already know. If Luke has another girlfriend and does the exact same thing again…..will RS record another podcast with that girl? A line needs to be drawn surely at some point? That’s the issue being raised here.
************
We all know RS does the spoilers (that’s why I come here) and finds out stuff. It’s just that over the last two years RS has changed his style vastly etc.
I fear for humanity if we become over zealous with our judge and jury mentality. There are far, far worse people out there than Luke etc.,, and being mindful and keeping things in perspective and proportion wouldn’t go amiss with all this.
wavecatchingmom
July 30, 2018 at 4:50 PM
If Steve wants to make sure we don’t have to suffer through a season of Luke as the Bach. I’m glad he’s doing his part to trash Luke to the fan base. I thought Luke had dead eyes from Jojo’s season and so I’m not surprised. He’s like a big brother to the unselfaware fake celebs. Trash on Steve!! I wish courtney would have thrown Arie under the bus sooner. Alas…