You Can’t Tell *Anyone* You’ve Been Cast
Like. Not a soul. Former Bachelor contestant Chelsea Roy told Vox, “We sign a big NDA where we’re not allowed to tell anyone that we’ve been cast and we’re going to start filming the show. I was able to reach out to a couple of people, local people, and say, ‘I would like to support your store in exchange for some exposure in the next few months. Just trust me.’”
You Have to Buy All Your Own Clothes
So, what happens when you can’t borrow clothing? You gotta buy it—and ABC certainly isn’t footing the bill. Bachelorette Jillian Harris said she legit took out a second mortgage on her house to buy $8,000 worth of cute outfits for The Bachelor, while former cast member Bekah Martinez told Glamour she spent around $800 on heels and makeup.
You Aren’t Allowed to Wear Patterns
Notice how The Bachelor cast members are almost always in solid colors? It’s because producers make them follow a pretty specific dress code. In his tell-all book, For the Right Reasons, Bachelor Sean Lowe revealed that contestants can’t wear “Stripes, small checkered patterns, big patterns, and solid white.”
Ha, clearly Kelley Flanagan didn’t get the memo about that last one judging from this pic.
Limo Dresses Have to Be Approved
Former contestant Jaclyn Swartz gave Fashionista some intel about how limo arrival dresses work, explaining, “You’re by yourself in a hotel room and you come with a dress and probably a backup dress. The stylist and a producer will come around to [your] room and they’ll approve the dress for the first night. That’s usually to make sure no two girls are wearing the same dress.”
You Have to Pack 14 Rose Ceremony Dresses
But Let’s Be Real…You Probs Won’t Wear Them All
Fan favorite Ashley Iaconetti told Fashionista, “The mentality you really have to go with is [that] you wear your favorites first. I know you want to save the best for last, but you have to be realistic and think, I’m probably not going to be here last.”
Everyone Has to Take a STD Test
Sounds invasive, but it kinda makes sense? I mean, the Bachelor/ette often ends up having sex with multiple people on the show during the fantasy suites, so ya gotta stay safe! That said, former contestant Leslie Hughes told the Daily Beast the tests were “crazy.”
And Yep, a COVID-19 Test
On top of STD tests, every contestant competing on The Bachelorette and The Bachelor has to take frequent coronavirus tests—and because even Zach Shallcross’ most recent Bachelor season had a case of COVID, something tells us cast members likely still have to take routine tests.
Oh, and You Have to Have a Full Psych Evaluation
‘Kay, There’s an Explanation Though…
“It can be a somewhat emotionally taxing—people don’t realize how fast emotions get involved,” Catherine Selden, PsyD (who conducted psych evals for the show back in 2010), told ABC. “We want to make sure that people are going to be okay 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.”
Cell Phones Are Confiscated
Imagine going weeks without your cell phone. Truly, the horror, but that’s exactly what goes down on The Bachelor. Leslie Hughes confirmed as much, telling the Daily Beast, “We have nothing. We are completely cut off from the world. We have to talk to each other—we have nothing else to do.”
Music Is Straight-Up Banned
There’s a Two-Drink Rule
You Have to Make It Through Each Rose Ceremony—No Matter How Long
Pack your comfiest pair of heels and drink plenty of caffeine, because you’ll be standing a lot. Rose ceremonies can take HOURS and can have contestants up All. Night. Long. “It is absolutely exhausting,” Sean Lowe told Glamour. “That first night lasts until about 7 a.m., and then each one after that lasts until about 3 or 4.”
Prepare for a *Long* Wait Between Roses
“On TV, what you see is I hand out a rose, the girl comes forward and accepts it, and then I hand out another rose,” Sean told Glamour. “In reality, there’s about three to five minutes in between each rose because all 15 cameras have to reposition.”
Don’t Be Offended if Your Name Is Forgotten
You try remembering 30+ names in one night, mmkay! At the first rose ceremony, the lead might need some help remembering, well, who you are. “How do you remember the names at the rose ceremony? Well, I doubt many people could remember at 25, so the Bachelor/ette goes into the rose ceremony room and says a few names at a time and then leaves to get the next few names,” Ali Fedotowsky Manno told E!.
You’re Not Allowed to Interact Off Camera
Big Brother is always watching. This show doesn’t want to miss even a second of drama, and according to Sean Lowe’s book, there’s an “Ironclad rule [of] no interaction off camera.”
Actually, You Aren’t Even Allowed to Go Off Mic
In her interview with the Daily Beast, Leslie Hughes dropped this bombshell: “They 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.”
Also fun fact, Bachelor in Paradise cast members are mic’d with these weird necklaces.
No One’s Allowed to Eat the Food
Another juicy BTS fact from Sean Lowe’s book? No one is allowed to actually eat the food on those fancy dates they go on. “No one looks good eating, and microphones pick up all kinds of chomping,” Sean explained.
But Don’t Worry—You Won’t Go Hungry
“Before we went on the date, the producers sent food to our hotel rooms,” Sean revealed. “We ate in our rooms and then went out for dinner, where we would be given beautiful food arranged nicely on the plate. This was just for show.”
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