Ali Fedotowsky’s exit from the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast might have caught listeners by a surprise, but the former Bachelorette made it clear that her decision to leave had nothing to do with cohost Rachel Lindsay.
“When I decided to do the Bachelor podcast, I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m a super fan, I’m going to love this! We’re going to be set, we’re going to talk to all the guests.’ And I basically did not realize the time commitment that it was going to take to do it,” Fedotowsky, 35, told Us Weekly exclusively while discussing her partnership with Campbell’s Well Yes! Sipping Soups. “Some people are like, ‘Oh my gosh, did you and Rachel have a falling out?’ Absolutely not. Like, Rachel and I are great. There’s no problems with me and Rachel. Honestly, it was a time thing.”
Fedotowsky added that there was a lot of prep, including taking notes during the episodes, that went into recording the podcast, which launched in July 2019. She also cited missing moments with her two kids — Molly, 3, and Riley, 19 months — whom she shares with husband Kevin Manno.
“I thought it was going to be, like, ‘Oh! I get to sit and chat for an hour every week, this is going to be so cool and fun!’ It just was not that. And it was, like, with my kids, I honestly found … Rachel had so much going on in her life too, and with our two schedules, we were just never lining up. And it was becoming a lot,” she admitted. “One day, when I was running out the door to try and get there, literally my daughter was crying. She was like, ‘Mommy, stay home with me. I miss seeing you.’ And I just realized, between doing the podcast, and working with Home & Family, and my website, and my photoshoots, and everything else I’m doing, and when I saw Molly like that, I was like … ‘Something’s got to give.’ And I was like, ‘I need to put my family first, and as fun as this is, I can’t take this on right now.’”
Since Fedotowsky left the podcast, season 14 Bachelorette Becca Kufrin stepped in.
“I am so excited that Becca’s doing it now,” the blogger explained. “I think that’s awesome. I think, like, two non-parents would be better to do something like that!”
Fedotowsky’s focus has since shifted to keeping her kids healthy.
“Anyone who follows me on social media knows that I eat pasta, like, so much. The reason I do that — not only because I love it — is because it’s easy. It’s easy. It cooks fast, I can eat it quicker,” she told Us, noting she falls off the wagon when she tries to meal prep and eat healthy. “So, for me, I found Campbell’s Well Yes! Sipping Soup. They are so easy to grab, they have 20 percent of your daily veggies, non GMOs, no artificial flavors, and they’re just delicious and easy.”
Fedotowsky added that her daughter Molly has gotten pickier as she’s gotten older.
“Molly used to be so good when she was younger. We gave her all the veggie stuff instead of the fruits, and now that she’s 3 and has a mind of her own, more in the toddler phase, it’s much harder for her,” the reality TV personalty told Us, noting the toddler loves Campbell’s Tomato and Basil flavor. “Well, usually I make one and then I have to end up giving it to her, and then I have to make another one for myself, but luckily she loves eating them!”
With reporting by Emily Marcus
