Takin’ it back old school again with today’s podcast guest, and it’s a very revealing one as Melissa Schreiber from the “Bachelor” season 15 (Brad Womack 2.0) and “Bachelor Pad” season 2 joins us for a talk. And this talk isn’t so much about her career on the show, because that’s not what defines her. It’s more about her story and everything that she’s been open about since her time on the show. Melissa is gay. But she didn’t come out publicly until two years after her appearance on “Bachelor Pad” season 2. We talk about how that came to be, the decison behind it, when she knew, her relationships with women, and so much more. In addition, Melissa talks about her daily struggle with anxiety and OCD, how it’s affected her, and why she started writing her blog, What You Don’t See, to share her stories and help others. A really interesting chat with someone I’ve known for the better part of 6 years and I think if this can help at least one person who listens today, whether they’re confused about their sexuality, or dealing with the same type of anxiety and OCD that Melissa deals with daily (something she even goes through during this podcast), then I’ll feel the mission was accomplished. Melissa doesn’t have a Twitter, but if you want to add her on Instagram and leave a comment there, I’m sure she’d really appreciate it. Also, check out her blog that I just linked to and read about her daily anxiety and OCD struggles. Pretty revealing stuff. Thanks again to Melissa for coming on and sharing her story.
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)
(SPOILERS) I first give a recap of the Vegas Fan Appreciation Party and reference the BIP cast list I tweeted out last night. Melissa then joins me to talk about her brief stint on Brad Womack’s second time around as the “Bachelor” (8:02), going on “Bachelor Pad 2” (19:09), post-show ridicule she suffered (31:43), coming out as gay in 2013 after the show (34:12), starting a blog opening up about her anxiety & OCD and the extent of how bad it can get for her.
Facebook – Melissa Schreiber
Instagram – melissjill7
Blog – What You Don’t See
Last night I tweeted out your original cast list for “Bachelor in Paradise.” We’re a week into filming, and I can tell you, there’s quite amount of sh** that’s already gone down. And stuff about to go down that I’d heard about months ago, couldn’t run with it (and you’ll know why), but I’m guessing will play out on BIP in the next week or so and then I’ll be able to tell you since it will have officially happened. Anyway, a lot of stuff has happened and we’re only a week into filming. You will know in due time. As for the original cast list that I tweeted last night, when I copied and pasted, I completely forgot one of the women’s names, and that was Sydney from Colton’s season. So, the season started with 11 women and 9 guys, and then on Day 2, Kristina Schulman came on the show. Here is your original cast list:
Men:
Kevin Fortenberry (Hannah’s season)
John Paul Jones (Hannah)
Dylan Barbour (Hannah)
Cam Ayala (Hannah)
Blake Horstman (Becca’s season)
Wills Reid (Becca)
Clay Harbor (Becca)
Derek Peth (JoJo’s season, BIP season 4)
Chris Bukowski (Emily’s season, Andi’s season, Bachelor Pad season 3, BIP seasons 1 & 2. Yes, he has come out of retirement. Shocked by how many people on Twitter last night responded to Chris being there in amazement. I’ve mentioned at least 3 different times since I started talking about BIP cast that Chris Bukowski was gonna be on this season. This wasn’t news).
Women:
Hannah Godwin (Colton’s season)
Caelynn Miller-Keyes (Colton)
Nicole Lopez-Alvar (Colton)
Onyeka Ehie (Colton)
Tayshia Adams (Colton)
Sydney Lotuaco (Colton)
Jane Aver (Colton)
Demi Burnett (Colton)
Katie Morton (Colton)
Bibiana Julian (Arie’s season)
Annaliese Puccini (Arie)
Kristina Schulman joins on Day 2, Wells is still the bartender, and there are plenty others that will be joining the show in the coming weeks, a lot of which I’ve already posted in past columns. Some have already shown up and are gone, I will say that. This is just your original cast list and who was there when rose ceremony #1 rolled around. So the first rose ceremony, the men hand out roses and 3 women get eliminated (Isn’t it kind of amazing how a lot of sites posted their BIP casts right after I did last night without crediting my site, and they were exactly the same? And oh yeah, all those sites also just totally and coincidentally didn’t have Sydney on their cast either. Wow. Amazing how that works, huh? So laughable). More to come in the following weeks on the sh** show that is BIP season 6.
Send all links and emails to: steve@realitysteve.com. To follow me on Twitter, it’s: www.twitter.com/RealitySteve. Instagram name is “RealitySteve,” or join my Reality Steve Facebook Fan Page. Talk to you tomorrow.
