1. Contestants have to take a comprehensive psychological exam before appearing on the show.
2. The women have to buy all of their own dresses for the show — ABC provides dresses for only the two finalists to wear during the finale.
3. As a result, some contestants have "cashed in their 401(k)s" before going on The Bachelor.
4. But when you move into the mansion, you get a gift bag full of bikinis, clothing, jewelry, and beauty products.
5. The women also get professional styling done only on the first night and for the finale. On the rest of the nights, they do their own hair and makeup.
6. Those limo exit gimmicks, as well as the order the girls step, are planned by producers.
7. Couples who get engaged on the show have to stay together for two years in order to keep the Neil Lane–sponsored diamond ring. If couples wish to sell the ring after that time period, they have to provide ABC with advance written notice.
8. Some couples use their fantasy suite time to just talk. (Really!) After all, it's the first time they get to spend with each other away from the cameras.
9. No one actually eats on the one-on-one dinners because the sounds would get picked up by the microphones. Instead, contests eat at the hotel beforehand.
10. During filming, the contestants aren't allowed to have cell phones, computers, magazines, music, or even books. They ARE encouraged to have plenty of alcohol.
11. The contestants also do their own cooking and laundry at the house.
12. The Bachelor isn't allowed to wear "stripes, small checkered patterns, big patterns, or solid white" because they don't look good on camera.
13. A family with small children lives in the Bachelor Mansion in Agoura Hils, California, most of the time. They move out when the show is filming.
14. Producers hate the word "process," and if one of the contestants say it, they have to refilm their scene using the word "journey" instead.
15. There's no workout room in the mansion, so contestants have improvised workouts by running around the backyard or lifting random household objects as free weights.
16. The hometown dates aren't always at the contestant's family's house; often they'll use a wealthier relative's pad instead.
17. Each season takes about seven weeks to shoot.
18. One former contestant alleges that in order to get the right footage, Bachelor producers "call you names, berate you, curse at you until they get you to say what they want you to say."
19. The show supposedly doesn't supply condoms in the fantasy suite.
20. According to Dana Weiss, who runs the site Possessionista, "[Former Bachelorette] Jillian Harris wore almost entirely Forever 21."
21. The Bachelor producers custom-build out each dramatic proposal setting, including every little bridge and waterfall.
22. Casting agents hold auditions for the show, but they have also recruited attractive men from the street to come be a part of it.
23. Contestants don't get paid to be on the show, but the Bachelor or Bachelorette do — and the amount is rumored to be well over $100,000.
24. The average Bachelor contestant is 25 and wears a size 6.
25. Rose ceremonies seem quick on the show, but in reality they take several hours to film. Some have gone until 6 or 7 in the morning. Producers also create flashcards with photos to help the Bachelor/ette remember names.
