1. Casting begins more than a year in advance for each season.
2. A private investigator is involved in the casting process. In an interview with Betches, contestant Darius Feaster said, "The P.I. was asking me about my friends’ histories based on pictures from social media."
3. All contestants must undergo STD screenings — and the most common reason why hopefuls don't make it is because they have herpes.
4. They also have to take a comprehensive psychological exam before appearing on the show.
5. And they usually only find out that they've been selected to appear on the show about two to three weeks before filming begins.
6. The women have to buy all of their own dresses for the show. ABC only provides dresses to the two finalists to wear during the finale.
7. Contestants are only allowed to bring two suitcases, which must contain "clothing for both cold and warm weather, athletic wear, bathing suits, heels, tennis shoes, sandals, cocktail, long, and casual dresses, and heavy coats."
8. They also can't bring clothes with "stripes, small checkered patterns, giant patterns, solid white, or branded logos," according to Sean Lowe's tell-all. (However, this is pretty standard for filming any TV show.)
9. Contestants aren't allowed to have cellphones, computers, TV, magazines, or books while filming.
10. However, some contestants have "snuck into various business centers to google themselves while filming," says Amy Kaufman.
11. "The producers wet the pavement with a hose before the limos arrive. "It makes it look shiny and pretty! But if you have a long gown on, it gets soaked!" revealed Ali Fedotowsky.
12. Producers are picky about who gets a funny or elaborate entrance. "If it’s something they want to do, they’ll allow it to go through, and if it’s something they don’t want for you and for your story [they won’t]," Darius Feaster told Betches. "That has a lot to do with the producers and how they want to portray who you are."
13. The first night at the mansion takes almost 12 hours to shoot.
14. The girls are given a welcome basket full of free products and bikinis. According to Courtney Robertson, the bikinis "made your boobs look really big."
15. Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak says the lead often knows on the first night who their final four will be. "Producers orchestrate the entire thing, sitting contestants down with the star, then directing others to kick them out. Then they tell the lead, ‘Pick four people you would like to get to know better.'"
16. A lot of the women pack vibrators. According to Lacy Faddoul, some have even named theirs and made up songs about them!!!
17. Some girls have had to ask for over-the-counter dye kits to maintain their hair while filming. (Ya know, since they're not allowed to leave the house.)
18. "There are more producer-contestant relationships than viewers realize," Jamie Otis told Women's Health. "They're always kept hush-hush."
19. During rose ceremonies, a producer is on hand with flash cards and photos of each contestant so the Bachelor/ette can remember their names.
20. "Producers track the contestants' menstrual cycles and schedule their one-on-one interviews when they were most likely to be a hormonal, emotional wreck," Amy Kaufman revealed in her tell-all.
21. The Bachelor/ette "doesn’t plan the dates and doesn’t even know where or what the date is until either the day before or the morning of the date."
22. They do, however, "get to choose who they want to go on which date. In the beginning, producers will suggest guys, but it’s ultimately up to the Bachelor or Bachelorette.”
23. No one actually eats the provided one-on-one dinners because the sounds would get picked up by the microphones. Instead, contestants eat at the hotel beforehand.
24. Hometown dates aren't always at the contestant's family's house — they'll often use a wealthier relative's home instead.
25. A producer sleeps right next door during the Fantasy Suites — according to Amy Kaufman, the producer is "just a wall over, where they can literally hear what's going on."
26. There's a psychologist on staff.
27. The Bachelorette basically gets to design her own ring "by dropping hints to producers."
28. Couples have to stay together for two years after the show in order to keep the Neil Lane engagement ring.
29. Contestants "probably spend about 72 hours tops with the person [they] wind up choosing, and 12 of that is spent ‘sleeping’ in the fantasy suite," according to former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky.
30. There is no official rule that the season has to end with a proposal.
31. But despite all the drama, there are 11 married couples that have come out of The Bachelor/ette franchise (not counting the ones who have met at separate Bachelor Nation functions): Trista Rehn and Ryan Sutter, Ashley Hebert and J.P. Rosenbaum, Desiree Hartstock and Chris Siegfried, Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici, Jade Roper and Tanner Tolbert, Carly Waddell and Evan Bass, Ashley Iaconetti and Jared Haibon, Rachel Lindsay and Bryan Abasolo, Jason Mesnick and Molly Malaney, Arie Luyendyk Jr. and Lauren Burnham, and Krystal Nielson and Chris Randone!
32. And LAAAAASTLY, there are four more Bachelor Nation couples who are currently engaged: JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers, Raven Gates and Adam Gottschalk, Becca Kufrin and Garrett Yrigoyen, and Kevin Wendt and Astrid Loch.
YAY LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🌹💖
