Each season, a bachelor or bachelorette looks to find a fiancée among a group of 30 contestants. Though the featured bachelor or bachelorette each season receives some sort of compensation — usually over $100,000 a season according to reality television blogs — contestants say they are not paid for their time on the show.
The show features well-groomed men and women discussing their fear of intimacy in a glamorous Los Angeles mansion and various tropical locales, however, the televised journey for love can take just as big a hit on their finances as it does on their self-confidence.
Contestants do receive gift bags with sponsored items like bathing suits and yoga mats, and some have been able to parlay their appearance on the show into a media career. However, preparing for the show and living with reality television fame can be no bed of roses (excuse the pun) when it comes to keeping your savings account intact.
Here’s how the show works: Each week the bachelor or bachelorette sends home a number of hopefuls until one is left standing. The season typically ends in a proposal, though only one couple from The Bachelor and three couples from The Bachelorette are currently married. (Another bachelor, Jason, did Mesnick,marry a contestant, though not the one he originally chose.) The show’s host, Chris Harrison, has become a household name and the spokesman for romance, as contestants experience their 15 minutes of fame, often followed by appearances in spinoffs like “Bachelor in Paradise” and a spike in their Instagram followers.
“I had remortgaged my house and I spent something like $8,000 on clothing,” wrote Jillian Harris, who was the second runner-up on the 13th season of “Bachelor” and was later the star of the fifth season of “Bachelorette,” on her blog. Other contestants have been more thrifty, signing sponsorship deals with clothing labels or borrowing from friends.“I have really great friends, and they have even better closets,” says Lesley Murphy, a former political consultant and contestant on season 17 of “Bachelor,” in an interview with MarketWatch. “Other people said they spent a ton, a lot of people came with four or five bags,” she says, adding that some contestants who came with large wardrobes were still sent home on the first night.
After completing various interviews, questionnaires and background checks, contestants typically find out that they have been accepted to the show about two to three weeks before filming begins. In that time, they have to inform their employer — if they have a job — that they will be gone for anywhere from a week to a month and a half, assemble a TV-ready wardrobe and settle their finances for the next six weeks, since they are not allowed to have access to their phone, the Internet or television during filming.
“I only had about two and a half weeks from when I officially got the word,” says JJ Lane, a former investment banker and a contestant on the 11th season of The Bachelorette, in an interview with MarketWatch. “I had to set up auto bill pay and give my parents my deposit slips and access to email passwords.” As far as wardrobe, Lane says he only bought one new suit for the show, but other contestants showed up with “gobs and gobs” of new clothes.
During each episode, contestants accompany the bachelor or bachelorette on various group dates or one-on-one dates, flying in helicopters, relaxing in hot tubs or engaging in performance or athletic competitions led by celebrities like comedian Amy Schumer and Laila Ali, a retired professional boxer and daughter of Muhammad Ali.
When they’re not on dates or filming interviews with producers, contestants are left to pass the time in the mansion or hotel without many distractions. “Filming was mentally and physically exhausting,” Murphy says. “I had to take time out every day to be alone with myself.”
The show provides food for contestants, but when staying in the mansion, any cooking, laundry and other chores are up to them. Some activities have to be improvised — Murphy says a beaten path in the backyard served as a running track for contestants who wanted to exercise in between filming sessions. Though contestants may access a phone in cases of emergency or to talk to their children, most other media, including books, aren’t allowed. “You never really go offline like you do on the show,” Murphy says.
For some, that isolation can be relaxing. “My favorite part was being disconnected,” Lane says. Cast members can lounge by the pool, and drink and eat without being bothered by work emails or phone calls.
After the rose ceremony
When the season ends, it is back to reality for the temporary television stars. In some cases, like Murphy’s, contestants have been able to return to their former jobs and resume a relatively normal life. (Murphy ended up leaving her job after a few months to pursue a marketing career in Argentina and now runs her own travel blog.)
Others, especially those who are portrayed negatively on the show, have had more trouble. On the show, contestants have claimed to have quit their job to prove their commitment to the process. Lane, who was unemployed when he went on the show after working in corporate finance at J.P. Morgan and other firms, says he has had trouble re-entering the industry. “I didn’t understand the magnitude of the show and how hard it is to get a real job right after,” Lane says. “Everyone knows who you are and employers see it as a distraction.” Lane first appeared on the franchise nearly a year ago, and is still undergoing his job search.
It is possible to financially benefit from that fame, but the returns are minimal for most people. Lane estimates that former contestants can make about $2,000 to $3,000 for appearances at bars or other venues, and promoting products on personal social media accounts usually doesn’t add up to a livable salary unless you’ve gained more than a million followers. “It’s not a way to make a living, it is more of a supplemental way to get something out of being on the show.”
Despite the downsides to reality TV fame, both Lane and Murphy say they don’t regret the experience because of the transition it brought to their lives — for better or worse. “It came at a great time in my life. I came away with a lot of great friends,” Murphy says.
“Everyone has different reasons they do it,” Lane adds. “I did it because I needed a change in my life coming out of a divorce. It was completely opposite from everything in my life up until then.”
Others, especially those who are portrayed negatively on the show, have had more trouble. On the show, contestants have claimed to have quit their job to prove their commitment to the process. Lane, who was unemployed when he went on the show after working in corporate finance at J.P. Morgan and other firms, says he has had trouble re-entering the industry. “I didn’t understand the magnitude of the show and how hard it is to get a real job right after,” Lane says. “Everyone knows who you are and employers see it as a distraction.” Lane first appeared on the franchise nearly a year ago, and is still undergoing his job search.
It is possible to financially benefit from that fame, but the returns are minimal for most people. Lane estimates that former contestants can make about $2,000 to $3,000 for appearances at bars or other venues, and promoting products on personal social media accounts usually doesn’t add up to a livable salary unless you’ve gained more than a million followers. “It’s not a way to make a living, it is more of a supplemental way to get something out of being on the show.”
Despite the downsides to reality TV fame, both Lane and Murphy say they don’t regret the experience because of the transition it brought to their lives — for better or worse. “It came at a great time in my life. I came away with a lot of great friends,” Murphy says.
“Everyone has different reasons they do it,” Lane adds. “I did it because I needed a change in my life coming out of a divorce. It was completely opposite from everything in my life up until then.”
