Bachelor Happy Hour: Jess & Spencer, Part 2 — Pickle Traditions & Dishing Advice

Podcast: Bachelor Happy Hour by iHeartPodcasts and Warner Bros
Date: February 27, 2026
Hosts: Charity Lawson, Rachel Recchia
Guests: Jess, Spencer, Malcolm Glabel, Susan
Episode Focus: Exploring holiday and relationship traditions, advice for love and dating, and embracing personal well-being.

Episode Overview

In this heartfelt and lively installment, Bachelor Happy Hour hosts continue the conversation with Jess and Spencer in “Part 2.” The discussion journeys through family traditions (with a hilarious focus on the “pickle present”), balancing relationships, and handling modern dating anxieties. Listeners are treated to honest, funny, and advice-filled stories from the Bachelor Nation favorites, along with Q&A sessions addressing love, self-care, and the importance of not settling. The tone throughout is candid, supportive, and full of laughter.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Traditions and Family Stories

• Visiting the Biltmore & Split Holidays

  • Jess shares how she and Spencer mixed family traditions by visiting the Biltmore Estate, incorporating her mother’s love for beautiful homes into their holiday celebrations.
    • Jess: "Me and my mom would walk neighborhoods and just look at houses sometimes." (04:09)
  • Their Christmas was a marathon of travel between Tennessee and Dallas, connecting with both families and creating new memories.
    • Jess: "Did Christmas Eve in Tennessee. Christmas Day, we drove back to Dallas. My brothers flew in and we had the rest of our Christmas Part 2 here in Dallas." (04:38)

• The Pickle Present: A Quirky Family Tradition

  • Spencer introduces the “German Pickle Ornament” tradition, where the person who finds the hidden pickle ornament gets a special present.
    • Spencer: “We started doing this tradition where you have a pickle ornament and you hide it in the tree. And…whoever finds the pickle gets the pickle present.” (05:20)
  • Jess jokes that, with her siblings, this would have led to “bloodshed.”
    • Jess: "If we had done that in my family, there would be bloodshed." (05:42)
  • They both look forward to carrying this playful tradition into their future family.

2. Defining & Maintaining Traditions

• The couple discusses merging and creating new traditions — like the pickle present and possibly bringing Spencer’s mother to the Biltmore or Tennessee’s Apple Festival.
  • Spencer: “She wants to come to Tennessee so bad… we have this thing in the fall, the Apple Festival.” (06:31)
• Wine tastings, family expeditions, and future plans for joint festivities come up playfully, with invitations extended to hosts.
  • Jess: “Why don’t you come with next time?” (07:24)

3. Advice for Relationship Balance & Self-Discovery

• Listener Scenario: Navigating Marriage, Parenting, and a PhD

  • Malcolm presents the dilemma of "Ashley," a young mother, academic, and wife struggling to find balance.
  • Jess: “I think it's just showing support and over-communicating what you need from your partner.” (10:45)
  • Spencer: “Retain something that's for you… I think having something for yourself because if you don't give to yourself, it's tough to give to a relationship.” (11:12-11:45)
  • Susan: “To have some alone time, absolutely critical. It has to be find yourself time.” (11:52)

• Self-Care and Realistic Expectations

  • Emphasis is placed on not striving for perfection — in parenting or partnership.
    • Malcolm: “You’re not going to do everything perfectly… Some days you only have 70% to give and you gotta divide it up. Don’t be so hard on yourself.” (19:38)
  • The circle discusses the importance of supporting one another, not settling for one-sided care, and intentionally carving out me-time even in chaos.
    • Jess: “If I don't get my gym time, I'm not fun to be around.” (21:04)

4. Candid Dating & Relationship Advice

• Advice for Single Women: Don’t Settle

  • Spencer relates her own experience with less-than-ideal partners before meeting Jess, highlighting the significance of real attentiveness.
    • Spencer: “These were not big asks...I almost felt awkward… I've never had someone actually care so much about all these little intricate things.” (24:49-25:32)
    • Spencer: “If you have to bring up these things multiple times and you're seeing no effort…they don't care.” (26:50)
    • Susan: “If something doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right. It’s not going to get better.” (26:39)

• Modern Dating: Apps vs. Real Life

  • Both guests are skeptical yet understanding of dating apps, focusing instead on meeting people in-person through real interests or communities.
    • Jess: “I do think that people don’t socially interact…enough in modern day dating…adding a phone is adding another layer of disconnect between people.” (28:22)
    • Jess: “Find a community through something that you’re passionate about.” (31:04)
  • Spencer reveals her own boldness: “You would walk up to men and—Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.” (29:48)

5. Building Community & Friendship

• The group discusses the necessity of finding friends via shared interests, like fitness, book clubs, church groups, or local events.
  • Jess: “Go to the farmer’s market, go to a book club…find something you’re passionate about and find a community.” (31:04)
• Jess is praised as someone who “lights up a room” (32:04)

6. Reflections on Regret & Looking Back

• Malcolm and Susan share what they wish they'd done more — less striving for perfection, more enjoyment of everyday moments, especially with family.
  • Malcolm: “I wish I had spent more time just enjoying my kids and the small moments.” (44:12)
  • Susan: “A moment that I was having so much fun, I wish I could do it longer…bonding with you girls.” (44:55)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Traditions:

  • “If we had done that in my family, there would be bloodshed.” – Jess (05:42)
  • “We started doing this tradition where you have a pickle ornament and you hide it in the tree. And…whoever finds the pickle gets the pickle present.” – Spencer (05:20)

• On Self-Care in Relationships:

  • “Retain something that’s for you…if you don’t give to yourself, it’s tough to give to a relationship, anybody else.” – Spencer (11:12-11:45)
  • “Let the laundry go, spend time with your partner…those are things you don’t get back in time.” – Malcolm Glabel (20:09)

• On Not Settling:

  • “If something doesn’t feel right, it isn’t right. It’s not going to get better.” – Susan (26:39)
  • “If you have to bring up these things multiple times and you're seeing no effort…they don't care.” – Spencer (26:50)

• On Modern Dating:

  • “I do think that people don’t socially interact…enough in modern dating. Adding a phone is adding another layer of disconnect.” – Jess (28:22)

• On Community:

  • “Find something you’re passionate about and find a community…and get to meet people.” – Jess (31:04)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Holiday Tradition Stories & Traveling for Family — 03:50 to 07:26
• Pickle Present Explanation & Laughter — 05:14 to 06:25
• Advice for Relationship Balance (Ashley’s Story) — 09:36 to 13:50
• Self-Care Discussion — 11:49 to 13:50
• Advice for Single Women: Not Settling — 24:44 to 26:59
• Modern Dating — Apps vs Community — 27:18 to 32:11
• Memorable Regrets & Looking Back — 43:15 to 44:55

Final Thoughts

This episode radiates warmth, humor, and honest relationship wisdom. Jess and Spencer, with the hosts and guests, offer heartfelt reflections on blending traditions, prioritizing self-care, navigating the ups and downs of relationships, and bravely facing the dating world. Whether you’re single, partnered, or somewhere in-between, the encouragement to communicate, retain one’s individuality, and look for joy in the everyday is relatable and inspiring.

Tune in for:

• Endearing family traditions (and pickle ornaments!)
• Down-to-earth dating advice
• Relatable laughs about food shopping, capers, and “almond moms”
• Encouragement to find community, not settle, and make time for yourself

“Don’t settle. If something doesn’t feel right, don’t make excuses—move on.” – Take it from Bachelor Happy Hour’s Jess & Spencer.