We open on the Portuguese countryside. Dogs are barking. Producers are scrambling. Colton is nowhere to be found. Welcome to part one of The Bachelor finale! There are far too many emotions to go through after last night, so we’re going guest-less this episode to talk about the producers’ rescue mission, the multiple breakups and, of course, Colton’s new haircut. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

For the third time this week we are pleased to present Here To Make Friends! On this bonus episode we are joined by 'Bachelor' season 23 cast member Katie Morton. She told us how she ended up on the show, painted a picture of life inside the mansion, and gave us the scoop about her warning to Colton that shook up the season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re back! And we’re emotionally exhausted after the two-hour screaming match that was Women Tell All. On this episode, we’re joined by New York Times bestselling author Alyssa Mastromonaco, to talk about the many conflicts between the women this season, the origins of the cougar den and the evolution of Hannah B. So take a shower, grab your year’s supply of Halo Top ice cream and listen to this episode of Here To Make Friends! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It finally happened! The long awaited fence jump! It was everything we dreamed of and more. For the first time in Bachelor history, a long-teased “dramatic moment” was actually even more dramatic than we could’ve imagined. On this episode, we’re joined by Bachelor alum and prolific recapper Sharleen Joynt to analyze the jump from every possible angle, sing the praises of boob tape, and break down one of the most heart wrenching breakups we’ve seen on this show. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We happily give all of you our permission and blessing to listen to this week’s episode. It’s hometown week and Colton has families to meet, airplanes to jump out of, and etiquette lessons to learn. On this episode, we’re joined by HuffPost senior entertainment reporter, Leigh Blickley to talk about Hannah’s rapping skills, how excited we are about next week’s fence jump and why this week’s episode was one big feminism fail. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Another week and still no fence jump?! Instead, the contestants spend time in Colton’s hometown of Denver. On this episode, Tayshia spills the tea, Hannah B and Heather cut ties, and Caelynn makes an out of nowhere appearance to save Cassie, as well as her own reputation. To recap and dissect the show’s unfortunate regressive platitudes, we’re joined by Season 21 lead Nick Viall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last year, The Bachelor franchise aired what might be THE most dramatic rose ceremony ever. In a moment that went viral worldwide, Minh Thu, a contestant on The Bachelor Vietnam, confessed her love for fellow contestant Truc Nhu, asking the woman to return the Bachelor’s rose and leave the show with her, which she did in a moment unprecedented for the franchise. On this special bonus episode, we talk to two of the people responsible for The Bachelor Vietnam, Anh Tran, the executive producer and showrunner, and Anh-Thu Nguyen, a story producer. They talk about that shocking rose ceremony, how they’ve adapted the show for a Vietnamese audience and host Khoi Tran’s crossover appearance on this past week’s episode. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week’s episode of The Bachelor gave us all a reason to think about the best part of any good first date. Is it the butterflies beforehand? Getting to know each other? Or the excitement of a possible future? Obviously it’s the hot and steamy make out in the shower. At least it is for Colton and Hannah G., anyway. On this episode, we’re joined by Derek Peth, former Bachelorette contestant and host of The Betchelor podcast. We find out that Demi is more bark than bite, Kirpa goes spearfishing for sea urchin and Colton is warned that someone else isn’t here for the right reasons. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a night of firsts on The Bachelor this week. First kiss, first voluntary departure, and first... loud fight about bullying at the cocktail party? On this episode, Claire and Emma are joined by Bachelor alum Ashley Spivey. They talk about Elyse’s decision to leave, what exactly the definition of a rumor is, and their own first kiss stories. Oh, and what happened to Kirpa’s chin?? See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Down to 15 girls and ‘The Bachelor’ makes its way to Singapore! This week, Tayshia takes the plunge, Demi leeches onto Colton, and Caelynn shares a traumatic experience. Joining us to recap is Bachelor tweeter extraordinaire, Brett Vergara. On this episode we discuss sexual assault. If you need to talk to someone, you can call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Yo ho ho. This week, Caelynn walks the plank and gets a group date rose, Hannah is ‘befumbled’, Elyse takes her first helicopter ride and after opening up about her sister’s death, dances on a platform at a country music performance in true ‘Bachelor’ fashion. Also on this episode -- Colton is definitely not a ‘stretching virgin’ anymore and Caitlin gets sent home early. Joining us to break it all down is friend and colleague, Priscilla Frank. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Welcome to the Cougar Den! Today on the pod, Emma and Claire are joined by Erin Darke, a fellow brave thirtysomething hero, to talk about what they learned on week two of ‘The Bachelor’. On this episode, Hannah B. learns to ride one handed, Billy Eichner plays camp counselor, and Tracy has a meltdown. Did we mention it’s Hannah’s birthday? A toast – Roll Tide! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Have you ever imagined what it’s like to be inside the Bachelor mansion on night one as the limos pull up and the first roses are handed out? Kristen Baldwin, a television critic for Entertainment Weekly, got to live out that fantasy when she covered the filming of the season premiere from the inside. She tells Emma and Claire what got cut, who got kissed, and how everyone keeps it together during the longest night on reality tv. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Here To Make Friends returns! On this episode, Allison Williams joins to help break down the premiere of season 23 of ‘The Bachelor’. In the discussion, we wade through the many intro packages, gimmicky limo entrances, and unfortunate jokes about Colton’s virginity. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Here To Make Friends returns! On this episode, Claire and Emma offer their expert analysis of the cast bios released before Colton's season of 'The Bachelor'. They also create their own imaginary contestants with the help of a few colleagues. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this quick bonus episode, Claire and Emma discuss the latest forensic analysis from Jenna and Jordan, look ahead with hope to Colton's season, AND then recommend our sister podcast IVFML which has recently returned for a second season. We hope you will listen! See you in January! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Paradise finale was full of twists and turns, break ups and engagements. Who went to the Fantasy Suites? Who broke up? Who’s getting married? We go through all the (on and off-screen) drama before saying goodbye to Paradise. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Eric moved on from the cheese, Colton and Tia broke up, and there was a witch hunt, which is actually a pretty good metaphor for this show as a whole. Plus, we found out that our new Bachelor will be Colton! Yay? We’re joined by the pioneer of spring boarding from ‘Paradise’ to ‘Bachelor,’ Nick Viall. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Things got very triangular on Paradise this week. We had Jordan, Jenna and Benoit… Chris, Krystal and Connor… Joe, Kendall and Leo… the list goes on. We discuss Leo’s extremely dark turn and we’re joined by Kenny King to talk about his time in Paradise. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We know you came here for a Bachelor In Paradise recap, but this is now a Peter Kavinsky and Laura Jean fan podcast. …Just kidding. While we’d love to follow our hearts and talk about To All The Boys I've Loved Before, the Netflix romcom that made us believe in goodness again, we do have to break down all that happened in paradise this week. To help us dig a little deeper, we’re joined by Bachelor In Paradise shooting star Jacqueline Trumbull. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re back to the beaches of Sayulita, Mexico, where the vaginas aren’t dancing and the men are weeping. Four hours of Paradise this week means we have so much Colton and Tia to catch up on, as well as the Goose Gang and Johnbilee (that’s John and Jubilee). Joining us to talk it all through is HuffPost’s Priscilla Frank. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

New setting, new show, same drama. It’s Colton and Tia: The Spin-off! And, you know, 20 or so other hot singles on a beach. Honestly, we’re just so happy to finally be in Paradise, even if all we do is talk about Colton and Tia for another month. Here to help us kick it off, it’s Bachelor tweeter extraordinaire and Buzzfeed community manager Brett Vergara! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, Allison Williams joins to recap ‘The Bachelorette’ season 14 finale. We discuss Becca’s level of happiness, Garrett’s poetic kind of love, Blake’s sweaty heartbreak, and ask more of the apology on ‘After The Final Rose’. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This season has been full of intrigue and scandal, so we wanted to get the scoop from someone who knows what’s going on behind the scenes -- Rob Mills! He’s the Head of Alternative Programming for ABC, as well as a prolific tweeter. We talked about his history with the franchise, all those off-screen scandals, what we can expect from Paradise and, more importantly, THE PROPOSAL, The Bachelorette’s underappreciated baby sibling. Enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It was a classic Men Tell All last night... in that the men did not tell all. We really learned nothing new, except that they all still love Becca. On this episode, Jordan steals the show, Lincoln is the elephant in the room, and Jason campaigns to be the next Bachelor. Here to break it all down is Bachelor Nation alum, Michael Garofola. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s fantasy suite week! And this season, the fantasy suite truly turned into a regular dream suite. Not too amazing, not too terrible, just normal! Except for Jason, who didn’t get to participate at all. But after that exit, we have a feeling he was in a lot of Bachelor Nation fantasies last night. To discuss all that and more, we’re joined by the wonderful Caila Quinn! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s hometown week! And the biggest topics of the episode were… Colton being a virgin and his history with Tia. We’ve made so much progress since the first half of the season. Meanwhile, Garrett finds common values, Jason reveals his good-looking family, and Blake reveals a serious trauma. In the end, Tia helps to force Becca's hand and send Colton packing. Joining us to recap is EW TV critic, Kristen Baldwin See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this surprise bonus episode, Shiri Appleby joins Here To Make Friends to discuss the latest and final season of UnREAL, acting and directing since #MeToo, and more. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last night, Colton revealed he's still a virgin, Garrett counted the times he's ever been discouraged, and Blake showed his dance moves. In other news, ABC broke into the broadcast to announce the new SCOTUS nominee and Wills and Leo are heading home. On this episode, E! News Editor Tierney Bricker joins Claire and Emma to recap! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Virginia is for lovers ... or so they say! On this episode, Jason rises the ranks, Chris flames out "guns blazing", and Becca finds a friend in Leo. BOTH Claire and Emma are back this week, and they are joined by good friend of the pod and Bachelor Nation alum Derek Peth. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last night on 'The Bachelorette' we finally arrived at this season's highly anticipated two-on-one date between Jordan and David. But amazingly, it was all overshadowed by Chris and his massive sense of entitlement. And to top it all off, he made it through the rose ceremony and will live to see another episode this season! On this episode, Claire Fallon is joined by writer Kate Dries to breakdown episode five from Becca's season. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, we learned a lot from “The Bachelorette.” We learned about the meaning of angled collars. We learned that there are actually still people in this world who believe the earth is flat. And we learned that our problematic frontrunner was once married for two months. It’s a lot to take in! On this episode, Emma Gray is joined by writer and Bachelor recapper Ali Barthwell, and intrepid Bachelor Nation citizen journalist, Ashley Spivey. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this bonus episode, Emma Gray catches up with Reality Steve about this week's news off camera – Season 14 contestant Lincoln Adim has been convicted of indecent assault and battery. They wonder how this could have been missed in a background check and what the implications may be for the future of this season and franchise. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode, Erin Darke joins Emma to recap episode three of Becca's season. Jordan continues to make great television, Colton and Tia move on, David falls out of bed, and Clay breaks his wrist. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Week 2 felt a lot more like a week 6! On this episode, Claire is joined by Brett Vergara to recap episode two of Becca's season. They discuss the cast ganging up on Lincoln, Connor destroying his date winning souvenir photo, Blake and Becca smashing tons of Arie related stuff, Wills' style and body language, and Colton's off screen history with Tia. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

So, you may remember Jake Enyeart, who got sent home before the rose ceremony because he already knew Becca. We wanted to get a little more insight on their confusing shared history, so we called him up and talked to him about it. He also shared his thoughts on the controversy around the current frontrunner, Garrett. As most of you probably know, Ashley Spivey shared some screenshots of Garrett’s 'likes' on offensive Instagram posts last week, and Emma and Claire reported on his Instagram history for HuffPost on Monday. Some of the posts he liked joked about violence toward undocumented children and mocked trans and genderqueer people. Garrett has issued an apology on Instagram, but we are going to keep following this going forward. On a lighter note, Jake also shared a poem he wrote for Becca that never made it to air. Here’s our bonus interview with Jake, hope you enjoy! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Night one is upon us! On this episode Claire and Emma breakdown the intro packages, the quirky entrances, and wade through a Bachelorette Mansion driveway littered with gimmicks, catch-phrases, and so much ogling. Plus, there is already drama – in the house – and in Garrett's social media history. They're helped by Bachelor Nation super-fan Allison Williams, who came to the studio with pages and pages of notes in hand. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We did the damn thing! 'The Bachelorette' cast bios are out, and this season they're a little lighter than usual. But that didn't stop Claire and Emma who are back at it and bringing you their signature snark and expert analysis. These guys are athletic, age-appropriate, television-movie villains, and ready to retire at 40! Here To Make Friends returns Tuesday, May 29th. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We’re still not over that two-part season finale. So we flew to Austin to talk about it all over again with season 22 contestant, Brittany Taylor, live from the TuneIn Podcast Stage at SXSW. Brittany told us about getting friend-zoned, being besties with Becca, and life after the Bach. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's The Bachelor finale (part two) – plus, After The Final Rose. Arie tries for reconciliation, proposes to Lauren, and Becca is our next Bachelorette! Here to cover it all and more, we’re joined by the definitive chronicler of the world of 'The Bachelor' for the LA Times, and author of new book Bachelor Nation, Amy Kaufman! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Bachelor lived up to the hype, and though it was painful, it turned out to be perhaps the most dramatic finale ever. Tonight ABC will deliver two extra hours of programming, but on this episode we are joined by season 22 contestant Jacqueline Trumbull – she offers her insight as a recent alum and helps us to analyze every moment of night one of the season 22 finale. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Last night we watched the fantasy suite dates! They’re in Peru! Arie points out that Peru has lots of culture, Machu Picchu, the Nazca Lines, and sand dunes. Over the course of the episode he drops the 'L' word quite a bit, cuts Kendall, and talks things over with Ross – Becca's Ex. To recap every moment, we’re joined by the wonderful Vella Lovell, who you may know from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and The Big Sick. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

On this episode we’re going to try to recap what we managed to glean from this Women Tell All. Last night, Caroline teased the drama to come, Bekah explained her status as a missing person, and Krystal joined Arie on the couch. Enjoy a little behind-the-scenes insight and a very pro-glam mindset from our guest, Season 22 contestant Marikh Mathias! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Megan Angelo joins the pod and takes us behind the scenes into her reporting from 'The Bachelor Winter Games'. On this episode we ask whether this special programming was a success, and if it will return. And of course, we analyze every lasting couple, breakup, kiss, and challenge, PLUS the surprise proposal. Bachelor Winter Games, we miss you already! See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've made it to the hometown dates and Arie is showing signs of stress. This week we encountered Kendall's storage unit full of taxidermy, plus her twin sister Kylie! Tia takes Arie to a racetrack, then Arie considers church (and other life plans) with Becca, and survives his encounter with Lauren's dad who it turns out is just a sweet man. Ultimately it was a low key episode of The Bachelor, but feminism fails makes a strong return. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Garofola joins us to offer a behind the scenes look at The Bachelor Winter Games. He breaks down the love triangles, the bromances, what got lost in translation, and what got left on the cutting room floor from episodes 1 and 2. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Buongiorno! This week Arie and the remaining women are in Tuscany. There were pop-up bakers, signature make-out sessions with backs against stone walls, and even a surrogate Italian family. It was a cinematic episode, full of food and wine – pizza, pasta, and truffle hunting! Ultimately, Jacqueline pulled herself out of the running, and Sienne and Bekah were sent home, setting us up for next week's hometown dates. Joining us to recap is 'Bachelor' season 21 alum, Caila Quinn. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Winter is here, Winter Games are coming, and we have so many questions! Here to brief you (and us) on everything 'Bachelor Winter Games' is contestant Lesley Murphy, formerly of 'The Bachelor' season 17 (Sean Lowe's season). She filled us in on what to expect for this special mini season, talked about her life since 'The Bachelor' as a travel blogger, and spoke about her work as a women's health advocate after testing positive for the BRCA 2 mutation. Plus we got her to dish her thoughts on Arie's season so far. 'The Bachelor Winter Games' premiere next Tuesday, February 13th on ABC. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.