Man, two brutal stories in Bachelor Nation in the news yesterday that dominated headlines. The first being that Charity spoke out for the first time regarding her time on DWTS and she went in depth about the bullying she experienced. She told this to Cheryl Burke on her podcast that was released Monday. By the way, Cheryl will be on the podcast again later this month or beginning of September. But this was the first time she has opened up about how bad it got for her on the show. Unfortunate to hear, but just like Charity said, can’t say all that surprising. Fans on social media have no chill and will say anything to anyone with zero repercussions. Hate to hear that she went through that when no one else was. Also yesterday, we found out about the
tragic passing of Hailey Merkt, a contestant on Nick Viall’s season, who had leukemia. Maybe you don’t remember Hailey, she only lasted two episodes, but it doesn’t make her passing any less important. If you go to her IG page (@haileymerkt), there is a link to donate to her Go Fund Me if you feel so inclined. Horrible to hear when anyone in the franchise passes away. Condolences to her family and friends.
Lets immediately get to it. Your “Reader Emails” for the week…
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Hey Steve- longtime fan and reader/listener!
Idea:
Have you considered doing a podcast with 2 former contestants (particularly ones who were at odds with each other) at the same time? Like Courtney Robertson with Kacie Boguskie. Or like former exes from the show? Or exes/enemies from any show (The Challenge, Love Island, BIP, etc.)? I think it would be interesting to see how their perspectives have now changed and/or get different sides to the story than us viewers are shown! I know most “villains” or “feuds” are created by the producers/editors so it would be interesting to have two polarizing figures or exes go on your podcast at once to basically quash their ‘beef.’
Or maybe it doesn’t even have to be 2 people who are at odds. Maybe just 2 contestants from the same season who can each give their recollection of how certain events transpired, their experience on different dates, their experience post-show, etc.
My favorite podcasts of yours are always the ones where the guest seems so introspective and has moved past their experience on the show, so I think it would be so interesting to have on 2+ guests at the same time (with a common denominator) to say: ‘hey here’s what I was doing/saying in this moment and why’ or ‘you and I would never be friends in the outside world and that’s okay— here’s why’ etc.
Just a thought!
Comment: I can’t say I haven’t thought about it, but, I’ve never actively gone out and asked anyone about it. It could be something down the road possibly. It would just have to be the right situation because, even though it happened a while ago, that might be the reason why the parties wouldn’t want to do it. Because they don’t have any beef with the other person anymore and dredging it up might be uncomfortable for one or both of the parties. I’d have to give this more thought.
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Per your interview with the charming Rachel Reilly: I am a 64 year old woman and have some girlfriends my age who find men just want to have sex with them. So yes grandpa bachelors are not much different than the younger bachelors.
Comment: Ha ha, I get it. I think she might have been referring to just the idea that they’d be going on looking to capitalize monetarily through social media, so maybe their intentions might be a little more pure. Yes, I think they know they’d get more attention from women (that goes for any guy who goes on the show), but I think these men on Golden Bachelorette would be sorely mistaken if they thought they were gonna be IG famous or could build their brand post show.
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hey, steve.
just had a question for you since i know you’re a big “beverly hills, 90210” fan..
did you also watch 90210, the 2008 reboot? if so, were you happy with the way kelly, donna, & brenda’s characters continued? Yes, I did. And frankly, no I didn’t. There was nothing about the reboot that tied it back to the original other than those characters, and Nat, showing up. To me, it was just another HS show. I didn’t look at it as any continuation of the original. I was fine with the show as a standalone HS show, but nothing about it brought back many 90210 memories for me. Now the 2018 six episode show on Fox where they brought the cast back? That one I enjoyed because it was them. Throwing Jennie, Tori, and Shannen onto some HS show trying to keep us in the loop of what happened in their lives just didn’t do it for me.
I never watched the original series (i was born in 1993), but 90210 (2008) was everything to me since it was right around the time i was in high school.
anyway, sorry if you’ve ever answered this question before.
hope to hear back from you, thanks.
Comment: Now that’s funny that you resonated more with the reboot cast. Makes sense since you were in HS at the time. But I think I speak for a lot of original 90210 fans when we say the 2008 reboot didn’t really do much for our nostalgia factor.
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Morning Steve!
I used to love to walk onto a SW flight and choose my seat spontaneously. However, over the years with the change in boarding groups and the differential seating options based on ticket pricing, I chose to go to another airline where I could choose my seat when I purchased my ticket.
Assigned seating has made the boarding process feel more streamlined and predictable, which lessens the anxiety of finding seats together.
I am excited about the prospect of returning home to SWA! I love everything else they offer, especially the customer service.
BTW…love the podcast. While I don’t always agree, I love the perspective you give on things that makes me question myself! Keep it coming!
Comment: This seems to be the consensus answer I got from a lot of people after sharing the Southwest story. I guess because I’ve rarely flown Southwest, I wasn’t really in tune with how others who flew it regularly felt. And it seems to be they flew it because of the amount of flights, the no baggage fee, the no change flight fee, and because of their low rates. Choosing your own seat seemed to be low on the list as reasons for why they flew it. So now the challenge for SW will be if they can keep everything else the same but add the assigned seating. They already said they’re redoing their planes to get more legroom seats which you can pay extra for. But as long as they keep no baggage fees and no change fees, they shouldn’t lose much business – if any.
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Hi Steve,
To my own surprise, I find myself really liking Devin! Except for the 9/11 conspiracy thing: any chance he said that as a joke? Not that it’s funny, guess I’m just trying to find an excuse for him.
Thanks for all you do.
Comment: It wasn’t said as a joke.
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Hi, Steve
I sent this to you by DM on IG, but you probably didn’t see it. I was listening to Armchair Expert podcast and they were talking to an expert on Munchausen syndrome and the first thing that popped into my mind was Laura Owens! The guest goes into a lot of detail about stories of multiple women who have faked pregnancies and the lengths they go to. I thought it was interesting. I don’t think I saw that. I’ve heard from people recently after having Clayton on and sharing my pregnancy story from people who say it’s more common than I think it is. They all had stories of someone they knew who faked a pregnancy.
My question is actually about Survivor. I used to be a loyal watcher from the first season, but when they switched to Wednesdays I lost touch. I only just picked it up again about 3 seasons ago. What do you mean when you talk about the “new era?” How is game play in this new era different? What makes it a “new era?”
Love your pods. I don’t usually listen to the sports daily because I only like baseball and Olympics and you don’t really cover those.
Thanks!
Comment: New Era is every season since COVID. So basically every season since 40. That’s because after COVID filming went from 39 days long for the first 40 seasons, to only 26 days long post-COVID. It’s a major contention with all players who competed in the first 40 seasons. It’s just a different experience having to be out there 2 weeks longer.
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Hi Steve,
Why do you think Sam’s family is trying so much to control the narrative? Dude did not even get a hometown.. it’s absurd!!
What is this supposed tea Sam and his family keep claiming without evidence they will drop regarding Jenn and her being on joeys season? It sounds ridiculous. Everything they’re saying and threatening to do is ridiculous. Gives off completely naïve and ignorant vibes. But they will not be deterred. So just let them at this point. They’re making it worse for Sam, not better, by doing this.
As for the what they claim they’re gonna out Jenn for? Well, considering the brother-in-law deleted that comment, I highly doubt he’s gonna actually do it. This family talks a big game but they’ve had a month so far and provided nothing of substance, so I think if they continue it’ll be more of the same. But IF the bro-in-law decides to share this Jenn “tea” he claims to have, if it’s what I think he’s referring to, lets just say it’ll make them look even worse than they already have.
Is Tayshia engaged to that guy who appears on some stupid Bravo show? She’s been quiet about him.. I doubt it, since that would be major news that she/him would post, and would be covered by every major outlet.
Has your opinion of Devin changed after the first 4 episodes? I mean, I still think he’s loud and a bit obnoxious. But my thing with him is I still haven’t decided if he was more interested in winning than actually being into Jenn.
Isn’t there some negative intel regarding Marcus? What did you hear??? Nothing that I’ve ever seen any proof of. It’s why I haven’t talked about it all season.
What do you think about Jesse as host of the bachelor?
Thanks for being a great blogger!
Comment: Jesse is perfectly fine for me. The host of this show doesn’t play a major role in my viewing enjoyment. He barely does anything.
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Hi Steve –
Are you into the Olympics? Do you bet on any of the events? I can’t say I am. I’ve followed the results, but have only watched the Team USA basketball up to this point. I’ll watch mens and womens soccer now that we’re in the quarters. And I’ll probably watch golf. And if Danielle Collins makes the womens tennis finals. But no, not betting it.
Do you collect anything such as sports or celebrity memorabilia? Nope. Never been a memorabilia guy. When I was in middle school, I would collect baseball cards. That was a big thing. I had about a 3-4 run where I was obsessed with it and went to card shows, etc. But I haven’t been into it in 35 years. I have no jerseys, no signed photos, nothing. Just not for me.
Big Brother:
Do you think T’kor is going to make crochet hats and clothes cool? Will any crochet products be coming to the Reality Steve merch store? Ha ha, that probably won’t be happening.
Given how early it happened in the season, do you think there is any chance Julie will bring up Angela lying about Matt threatening her when we get to finale or will the audience barely remember either of them? I think once Angela is eliminated from the game (I don’t know what happened on POV this week and if she won and took herself off), Julie is going to have her explain what happened. She can’t NOT ask her.
Despite the Boston Strong comments and visor with fake hair, do you also get the sense that Kenny regrets being on the show and wants to be voted out soon? (I don’t watch the feeds)
Comment: Certainly seems that way. I can’t imagine he’s long for the game.
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Do you think Matt actually paid for his own flight to New Zealand? Probably not, but the more important thing is he didn’t force the show’s hand to do anything. They wanted him on the show and allowed it for storyline purposes.
How high would you rate Marcus for the next bachelor? He seems like such a good guy. Please tell me you don’t actually think the producers would consider Sam M.? Sam M. is not going to be the Bachelor. And I don’t see it for Marcus as well. I have no idea who they’re looking at other than guys in your final 4 like they do every year.
Have you ever looked at the website jokers updates.com? You can read live updates from the live feeders. Also, you can see a snapshot of who is HOH, nominated, have Nots, etc. They also give you a real time viewer rating of the houseguests. Naturally, Lisa and Angela have been at the bottom consistently.
Comment: Yes, but I’ve stayed away from it this season. I’ve gone a full week with basically being able to scroll past anything that’s popped up on TikTok FYP or my IG search page.
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DAILY ROUNDUP 7/31 TRANSCRIPT STARTS ON PAGE 2…
