There are many behind-the-scenes secrets that most fans watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette have absolutely no idea about. It's not a huge surprise that most reality TV shows have a lot more to them than the edits that are presented on television. It takes a lot of work to produce a successful reality series, and that is particularly true when it comes to a long-running hit franchise such as The Bachelor.
Behind the scenes, producers, leads, and contestants are all just doing their best to create very entertaining reality television for Bachelor Nation to consume. It takes a lot of rules and a lot of secrets in order to keep a season of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette together, and while most of those guidelines are put in place for good reason, there are also certain production details that might seem ludicrous to the average viewer. So, let's explore some of the craziest secrets behind this hit show.
Contestants Must Bring (& Buy) The Clothes They'll Wear On The Show
It seems like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette has a very limited (or nonexistent) budget for the contestants who go on the show. As reported by Cosmopolitan, Jillian Harris claimed that she took out a second mortgage on her house so that she could afford $8,000 worth of clothes to wear on the show. In turn, Bekah Martinez spent as much as $800 on high heels and makeup for her to wear on The Bachelor. Overall, the women are told to pack a total of 14 dresses for them to wear during the rose ceremonies throughout the season.
The Entire Cast Undergoes An STD Test
According to Leslie Hughes - a contestant from Sean Lowe's season of The Bachelor - every single contestant is required to go through an STD test (via Daily Beast). Leslie called these tests "crazy," making them sound very intense. This is probably done considering that there's a chance that the contestants could get intimate with the leads, but it still sounds like a lot to require an entire cast to do. In addition, new COVID-19 tests were recently put in place for the current seasons of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, and there are also the full psych evaluations that the cast members are required to pass.
Each Contestant Is Limited To A Two-Drink Rule
On paper, it appears that the contestants on The Bachelor and its spin-offs are only allowed to have two drinks per night (via People). It is important to put emphasis on the "on paper" part of that sentence because this is clearly one of those rules that most contestants get to break and then seemingly get away with it without a scratch. Even Matt James' very recent season featured quite a few cast members who appeared to be extremely inebriated during certain scenes.
The Bachelorette season 17 airs Mondays at 8 pm ET/PT on ABC.
Sources: Cosmopolitan, Daily Beast, People