Bachelor Happy Hour – "He Said WHAT?! | Golden Hour"

Podcast: Bachelor Happy Hour
Hosts: Joe Amabile and Serena Pitt (show), but episode hosted by Kathy and Susan
Release Date: December 3, 2025
Episode Theme: Honest conversations about relationships, finances, second careers, and parenting in the "golden" years, peppered with personal stories and candid advice.

Episode Overview

This episode of Bachelor Happy Hour’s "Golden Hour" dives into some of the most hot-button topics facing people—especially women—in mid-life and beyond: navigating finances and relationships, embracing (and surviving) career changes, and parenting through the decades. Hosts Kathy and Susan deliver the content with their signature humor, warmth, and a willingness to be brutally honest about their own experiences.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Traditions & Gift-Giving (04:00–07:00)

• Organizing for the Holidays: Both Kathy and Susan discuss their approaches to holiday gifting, noting the shift to giving “memories” and “experiences” over material gifts as grandkids get older.
• Generational Differences: There’s a nostalgia for classic traditions (like the Sears catalog wishlists), but an acknowledgment that priorities have changed.
• Notable Quote:

  “For me, it’s time spent. I much prefer to give my grandkids—and frankly my children too—memories, experiences. Because that’s what they’re going to remember.” — Kathy (05:39)

2. Navigating Finances in Relationships—Young & 'Golden' (07:06–14:20)

• Starting the Conversation: Both hosts reflect on how financial conversations differ depending on age. Kathy describes joint accounts in her early marriage, while today’s couples often keep some things separate.
• Essential Money Questions: Susan and Kathy emphasize questions like, “How do you want to do the money? Joint account, separate accounts, or something in between?” (08:51)
• The “Home Ownership” Scenario:
  Kathy shares a story about an ex-boyfriend expecting her to pay taxes and make improvements to a house she didn’t own, only to clarify she would be left homeless if he passed away (11:01–12:35).

  “You’re getting the appreciation of the improvements I’m making on the home. And, and I don’t own a home anymore... if something happens to him, you need to move out right away because the house will go to my daughter. I was like—we are SO done.” — Kathy (12:17)

• Lesson: These conversations are uncomfortable but essential, especially in later-life relationships.

3. Second Careers and Personal Fulfillment (20:25–24:12)

• Unexpected Roads: Susan frames hosting this podcast as her "second, maybe third career," and both women marvel at the turns their lives have taken since The Golden Bachelor.
• Support in Relationships: Both agree career changes, even late in life, demand extensive communication with partners.
• Dealbreakers: Kathy is candid:

  “I do not want to date a man who is working full time. Not now, not in my golden years... if the guy is going to put the career ahead of our relationship, that’s not going to work for me.” — Kathy (21:40, 22:41)

4. Supporting a Partner (or Not) & Financial Compatibility (24:12–31:39)

• Would You Support a Partner Financially?

  • Susan: Only if she had enough, and only under the right circumstances.
  • Kathy: Emphatically “No.” Her resources are for her children, and mismatched finances signal potentially mismatched lifestyles and values.
  • Financial Compatibility: Both agree it’s important for partners to be “in the same ballpark," though it’s not always obvious early on.
  • Notable Quotes:

    “If he doesn’t have the money, it typically means we’re not going to have similar lifestyles. So for me, you know, that’s probably not gonna work.” — Kathy (24:40)
    “Does that make me sound hard, Susan? Because I don’t want to date someone who is not in my financial realm... that bleeds over into other areas of our life, our values.” — Kathy (27:07)

• Work Ethic & Lifestyle Matches:

  • Susan values her own hustle and worries about appearing “ugly” or “judgy” in financial conversations.
  • Kathy shares concerns about dating wealthy men who “wield power” with their money:

    “Men that are really wealthy wield power, I think, sometimes with their money. And I didn’t want to be caught under that.” — Kathy (30:03)

5. Parenting Adult Children—Boundaries, Obligations, and Hard Lessons (31:39–44:55)

• Helping vs. Enabling:

  • Both hosts admit to stepping in—financially or otherwise—when their grown kids faced trouble, but Kathy reflects that sometimes they may do “too much” and risk handicapping their kids’ resilience.
  • Notable Quotes:

    “I think sometimes we are handicapping our children when we do too much for them... Letting your children suffer a little bit... is a great learning and maturing event for them.” — Kathy (36:06)

  • Susan feels obligated to help but has established lines about loans vs. gifts.

• Shifting Responsibilities:

  • As kids age, the sense of responsibility shifts, but the urge to “fix” doesn’t always go away.
  • The hosts debate whether helping too much denies children the opportunity to build grit and resourcefulness.

6. Parenting Teenagers—What Would You Do Differently? (43:09–49:39)

• Styles & Regrets:

  • Kathy was the “strict” parent; Susan the “cool mom,” whose boys’ athletic careers were prioritized over work.
  • Even with different parenting styles, both faced unique challenges and recognize that parenting is always a learning process.

• Key Message: Don’t coddle kids out of their biggest lessons.

  • Notable Quote:

    “It is our failures that define us and make us stronger, better humans.” — Kathy (36:48; echoed near the close)

  • Hosts encourage parents of teens to “stick to your guns” and believe they’re building character, even through tough love (51:17).

7. The Chaos of New Parenthood (46:25–50:36)

• No One’s Ready: Stories about returning home with newborns, exhaustion, and the “what do I do now?” panic. Recollections of sleepless nights, colicky babies, and how dramatically life changes after becoming a parent.
• Relationship Strain:
  • The impact of children (especially newborns) on a marriage—less time together, changes in intimacy, shifting priorities.
  • Notable Moment:

    “Now you want me to pull down my pants and have sex? I don’t think so.” — Susan (49:13)

8. Final Reflections and Takeaways

• Hardship Builds Character: Both agree that life’s struggles—financial, parental, professional or romantic—are what shape resilient adults and adaptable parents.
• Aging Perspective: The “second act” brings clarity, confidence, and the awareness that it’s never too late to prioritize yourself and set boundaries.
• Encouragement:
  • “If you’re a parent of a teenager, don’t feel badly. Stick to your guns.” — Kathy (51:17)
  • “Any of you out there that are relating with us and laughing right now with your cup of coffee, we get it.” — Susan (51:25)

Notable Quotes & Moments with Timestamps

• “For me, it’s time spent... I much prefer to give my grandkids and children memories, experiences.” — Kathy (05:39)
• “You’re getting the appreciation of the improvements I’m making on the home... if something happens to him, you need to move out right away... we are so done.” — Kathy (12:17)
• “I do not want to date a man who is working full time. Not now, not in my golden years.” — Kathy (21:40)
• “If he doesn’t have the money, it typically means we’re not going to have similar lifestyles.” — Kathy (24:40)
• “I think sometimes we are handicapping our children when we do too much for them... that’s what makes them strong, intelligent, successful adults.” — Kathy (36:06)
• “Now you want me to pull down my pants and have sex? I don’t think so.” — Susan (49:13)
• “It is our failures that define us and make us stronger, better humans.” — Kathy (36:48; also echoed at 50:57)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Holiday and Gift Giving: 04:00–07:00
• Finances in Relationships: 07:06–14:20
• Second Careers: 20:25–24:12
• Supporting Partners & Financial Compatibility: 24:12–31:39
• Parenting Adult Children: 31:39–44:55
• Parenting Teens: 43:09–49:39
• New Parenthood Chaos: 46:25–50:36
• Final Takeaways: 50:42–52:21

Tone & Style

The episode is marked by warmth, directness, and plenty of good-natured teasing. The hosts openly reveal their mistakes, laugh at themselves, challenge each other, and ultimately deliver both tough love and empathy—especially for women navigating relationships and family in later stages of life.

For Listeners

Even if you haven’t watched The Golden Bachelor or Bachelor Nation, this episode is relatable for anyone navigating money, love, and family—especially during the holidays. The advice is frank and devoid of sugar-coating, but always comes back to laughing at life’s unpredictability, supporting loved ones (with boundaries), and never being afraid to have the hard conversation.