Despite being entirely engrossed in all the Bachelor In Paradise drama, since watching UnREAL and, you know, just generally cluing up on reality TV, whether what we’re watching is actually real definitely plays on our minds.
Steph, an ex-Bachelor producer who worked on Tim Robards season of the show (AKA the best one), has opened up about how much input the producers have, how much of what we see is scripted and whether contestants are there ‘for the right reasons.’
Speaking on Fox FM’s Fifi, Fev and Byron breakfast show this morning, Steph revealed that while the Bachelor isn’t told who to keep in, “He’s guided towards decisions.”
“I think the Bachelor keeps certain people in because it takes the weight off his shoulders,” she explained. “He knows for the show to do well it’s got to be interesting, but it’s hard for him to be interesting the whole time. If he keeps the crazies in, that’s a great show. Let’s keep it entertaining, let’s work together.”
As far as whether contestants are actually paid actors, Steph puts that rumour to rest: “They’re not actors. I was involved in casting and you discover who’s putting on an act pretty quickly.”
She went on to say that the producers had issues with Tim Robards, as he fell for his now fiance Anna Heinrich in the early stages of the show.
“We had a problem on Tim’s season because he fell madly in love with Anna quite quickly,” she said. “‘Who do you want to go on a date with?’” ‘Anna.’ ‘OK, and who next?’ ‘Anna.’ He had to work with us a little bit.”
As far as whether what we’re watching is scripted, Steph says: “They’re not fed lines, but there are standard producer tricks. I’ll say, I’m going to ask a question, you repeat the question back in your answer. I’ll say ‘How did you feel when Richie brutally rejected you at dinner?’ and they have to [say] ‘When Richie brutally rejected me at dinner, I felt …’
They can always say they don’t want to say it, and that’s fine. But the thing with people on reality shows nowadays is they’re quite savvy, so they want to be entertaining because that means more airtime. The smart ones will give us good stuff naturally.”
Steph also revealed that the cocktail party and rose ceremony is filmed over two different nights and that there’s a limit on how many drinks the contestants can consume.
Ah, reality TV, we love you.
