Since its debut in 2002, ABC's reality show The Bachelor​ has evolved into a global
phenomenon, but behind that dramatic quest to find one's true love, there are a lot of
extreme rules contestants have to follow for a chance at their happily ever after.
Bachelor contestants agree to completely disconnect from the outside world, meaning they also
can't contact friends or family while they're being filmed.
As ABC News reported in 2010, contestants are banned from watching television or using
their phones or laptops in the house.
Season 13 contestant Melissa Rycroft said,
"It's kind of shocking because for the first few days you're going through withdrawal of
everything in your life.
And it definitely feels like a bubble."
According to bachelor Jake Pavelka, the supposed goal of forced isolation is, quote, "cutting
away, just the crud that the world inundates you with, that makes a relationship tough."
In 2017, The Verge examined how the contestants keep themselves busy in lieu of screen time.
Season 17 contestant AshLee Frazier said the only book allowed during her tenure in the
house was the Bible, though other contestants said they were allowed to bring some forms
of printed content, just not magazines.
Contestants also revealed that they whiled away the hours between dates with approved
activities such as exercising, strumming guitars, and playing games.
Anyone who regularly watches The Bachelor franchise is familiar with the Neil Lane diamond
rings the finalists are presented with at the end of the season.
The rocks tend to be massive, with Entertainment Tonight putting their estimated price between
$50,000 and $100,000.
However, as Hollywood.com reported, there are some strict stipulations surrounding that
high-dollar bling, specifically when it comes to what happens if the couple doesn't stay
together.
The Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak, who got engaged to DeAnna Pappas at the end of
the show's fourth season, told the site,
"In the contract, it says if you are not together for two years after the final day of the show
airing, you have to give them the ring back."
But what happens to that second-hand ring?
According to another insider,
"It may eventually be repurchased, just like estate jewelry or anything that gets returned.
But it doesn't happen for a while."
A big part of The Bachelor's appeal is gawking at the contrived dates that producers arrange
for prospective couples.
Some notable standouts include Juan Pablo and Kat's Season 18 rave run; Season 16's
awful bikini ski date with Ben Flajnik; and an unbearable singing date on Season 19 with
country duo Big & Rich.
And who could forget when six contestants had to attend The Bachelorette Season 11 star
Kaitlyn Bristowe's fake traditional Irish wake to say "goodbye" to her.
That's ghoulish in more ways than one.
Per The Bachelor's eligibility requirements, contestants must be willing to agree to participate
in all manner of extreme physical activities, including,
"skydiving, snow skiing, ice skating, parasailing, water skiing, rollerblading, and the like."
But what if you just don't want to?
The motto is more or less "suck it up."
This sentiment was clearly evident during a Season 22 group date when the ladies competing
for Bachelor Arie Luyendyk's heart were tasked with competing in a game of bumper cars.
The seemingly innocent challenge traumatized contestant Annaliese Puccini due to some past
bullying she experienced, so she initially refused to participate.
But after some reassurance from Luyendyk, she joined the other ladies and ended up performing
quite well.
It's easy to imagine that anyone appearing on a nationally broadcast hit reality show
might be raking in the big bucks, but if you're a contestant on The Bachelor, you get exactly
zip.
According to Business Insider, the bachelors and bachelorettes are believed to be paid
about $100,000 per season, but contestants reportedly receive no payment.
On top of that, contestants are also expected to arrive with a full wardrobe of impressive
outfits.
Bachelor contestant and subsequent bachelorette Jillian Harris said she re-mortgaged her house
prior to appearing on the show and spent around $8,000 on clothes.
She wrote on her website in 2016,
"I remember when I went on the show we got goodie bags filled with some stuff that they
wanted us to wear but half of it didn't even fit.
And that was it!!!
The girls do have to bring all of their own clothing and of course, they want to be wearing
the best clothes EVER to be seen on TV in!!!"
All of this helps explain why Season 20 Bachelor contestant Olivia Caridi was rumored to have
spent $40,000 on her wardrobe for the show.
Is it true?
Probably not, but it's truer than you might think.
Along with making sure you have the right wardrobe, you'll also need to prove your physical
and mental health.
Per The Bachelor's official eligibility requirements, contestants who are selected to travel to
Los Angeles may be required to undergo physical and psychological examinations and testing
before getting the clear to join the cast.
As ABC News reported in 2010, the vetting process is rigorous and includes an STD screening
and an 800-question psychological evaluation.
According to Dr. Catherine Selden, who conducted evaluations on contestants,
"We want to make sure that people are going to be OK with coping with the stress involved,
and make sure that they are going to be offered the help that they need if it's the case."
In real life, it's normal to enjoy a little meal during a dinner date, but you may have
noticed that on The Bachelor, plates of food often go uneaten.
It's not because the contestants are so enraptured with each other.
It's that the show's participants are instructed not to enjoy their meals.
Season 17 bachelor Sean Lowe told Glamour,
"Nobody eats, and that's primarily because nobody wants to watch you eat and the mikes
will pick up the chewing."
But don't feel too bad.
Lowe explained that producers do let the daters dine before their nighttime date.
"Between the two date portions, they would bring us to a hotel, where you can shower
and change and get ready, and it's during that time that you can eat."
By the way, contestants also have to cook for themselves in the house.
Contestant Ashley Spivey told Refinery29,
"We were responsible for making all of our meals in the house...Dinner would be prepared
by whoever felt like cooking for everyone."
Another extreme aspect of the contestants' lives is the fact that, for almost the entirety
of the show's production, they're under the camera's glare 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
As bachelorette Trista Rehn's release and waiver spells out, she had to agree to waive
her privacy and to being filmed and recorded the entire time, including via hidden cameras
and microphones, though the document notes that cameras will not be positioned to capture
anything embarrassing in the bathroom.
Contestant Leslie Hughes told the Daily Beast,
"[The cameras] are on you all the time.
As soon as you wake up in the morning, your mic is put on you...When you go to bed, it's
taken off."
The only time contestants aren't filmed is if they "win" an evening in the fantasy suite
with the bachelor or bachelorette.
Andi Dorfman wrote in her book It's Not Okay:
"As soon as the door is closed, everyone takes a deep breath...It's the first time you don't
have cameras and microphones on you."
Got an extra $5 million floating around?
That's the amount you'd reportedly be on the hook for if you break contract and reveal
any secrets about the show's outcome before the finale.
The final couple is even periodically whisked off to a "safe house" when filming ends so
they can keep seeing each other in secret, according to bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky.
This lessens the chance of spoiling the ending before the finale airs.
Writing in a blog post for E! News, she said,
"The producers really do everything they can to help the couple see each other and help
keep the relationship strong during the tough few months when the show is airing."
And yet, in 2015, Season 11 bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe released a major spoiler when she
posted a Snapchat video showing her cuddling in bed with contestant Shawn Booth, thus totally
ruining the end of her season for everyone.
"And, you might have revealed something on Snapchat, and you got everyone talking about
saying that you chose him.
Did you just reveal that you chose…?"
"No, I was with Ryan Gosling."
"Oh?
Right."
During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Bristowe said she felt horrible about her
gaffe.
She claimed that she thought she was sending the snap to the producers but accidentally
posted it to the public.
Luckily for Bristowe, she somehow managed to avoid having to cough up that $5 mil.
It's not unusual to see Bachelor contestants taking swigs from flutes of champagne or imbibing
a variety of alcoholic beverages.
This festive atmosphere is especially visible on the series' spin-off show, Bachelor in
Paradise, which faced a major scandal in June 2017.
It all started when contestants Corrine Olympios and DeMario Jackson drunkenly hooked up in
the jacuzzi, right in front of the cameras, sparking an investigation regarding whether
the session was consensual.
The footage, which never aired, was brought to the attention of Warner Bros., the studio
that produces the series, by two producers who reportedly felt uncomfortable with the
situation.
Production was halted for 10 days.
According to a report by People, Warner Bros. ultimately concluded that it "could not support
any charge of misconduct by a cast member," and denied that "the safety of any cast member
was ever in jeopardy."
Jackson maintained to The Hollywood Reporter that the encounter was, quote, "100 percent
consensual," while Olympios told Good Morning America that she had little memory about the
incident due to a mix of the alcohol and prescription medication she'd consumed.
As a result of the controversy, Bachelor in Paradise cast members were only allowed two
drinks per hour.
This rule was reportedly also applied to Bachelor Winter Games in 2018, although it's unclear
whether it's become the law of the land in The Bachelor universe.
Many contestants who go on The Bachelor have no idea how long they'll be away from home,
making packing a potential nightmare.
What's more?
Cast members often feel pressure to look their best on the show, meaning there's a good chance
they're bringing their entire wardrobe, makeup kits, and hair tools.
So you can imagine some contestants were horrified to learn they could supposedly only bring
two suitcases to the mansion.
However, it turns out it's a rule many ladies choose to ignore.
Season 12 contestant Courtney Robertson wrote about the experience in her book, I Didn't
Come Here To Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain.
She said,
"I brought the two suitcases I was told I was allowed to bring, and only later found
out that some girls brought five."
But if you do break the alleged stipulation, you're on your own.
Season 22 contestant Bekah Martinez told Glamour,
"It's not like we had people to carry our luggage.
So if you have five bags, that means you're going to have to wheel them all onto the shuttle
or the bus."
The upside?
Sometimes production assistants will help a gal out in desperate times.
Season 16 star Jaclyn Swartz, told Refinery29,
"If you run out of deodorant, no big.
But brow pencil?
You're screwed!
They definitely aren't running to a Sephora.
I was so paranoid about running out of my brow pencil in Mexico that I brought four
just in case."
When you're booted from The Bachelor, it doesn't necessarily mean your journey is kaput.
At least that's what Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman claimed in her 2018 book, Bachelor
Nation: Inside the World of America's Favorite Guilty Pleasure, writing,
"In the year following the finale of your season, you must be available to take part
in a 'reasonable number' of interviews, photoshoots, and chats for publicity.
You also have to agree to take part in any special episodes of the show, like 'After
the Final Rose' or other reunions, for three years."
Three years seems a tad excessive, no?
The rules are supposedly more stringent if you decide to get married on-air, as Kaufman
added,
"If you make it to the end of The Bach and decide to get married within the two years
following the show, the producers own the exclusive rights to your wedding."
Bottom line for Bachelor contestants?
Win or lose, leave your schedule wide open.
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