Before we all go ahead and throw caution to the wind for the next season of The Bachelor Australia – we’ve got some serious questions that need answering.
As your resident Bachelor-perts we’ve already got you covered on the big things like:
Meet Nick Cummins: Everything you need to know about Honey Badger
How much does a Bachelor contestant get paid? The answer is rather surprising!
And your one-stop stalking guide on how to follow this year’s Bachie girls on Instagram is ready for you right here.
Meet The Bachelor Australia 2018 contestants
Before we settle into Honey Badger, let’s get some things sorted.
It’s now time to tackle one of the biggest issues since the tampon tax – which is actually very serious and you should definitely check out this article that explains why it is such a huge no-no.
But going back to our present query: Is the Bachelor Australia fake or real?
We’ve heard your cries and have listened to all those who’ve questioned is the Bachelor scripted?…
Now To Love is ready to investigate.
This isn’t the first time we’ve done some digging. We also brought you the truth when we revealed if Love Island is real or fake?
You tell us Keira!
Why do people think Bachelor Australia is fake?
We’re selling the fairy tale!
People can’t help but think that reality TV is fake and when you have a show like The Bachelor Australia, it is understandable why.
If you think the dating show feels “formulated”, with a soap opera-tinge then you’d be right.
We know for a fact that the Bachelor is scripted.
READ NEXT: Why The Bachelor’s Nick Cummins’ family mean the world to him
Elise confirmed what we were all thinking…
Earlier this month, last year’s runner up Elise Stacey told her fans that the show was indeed staged.
On an Instagram Q& A, Elise was asked “Was the Bachelor staged?”
She replied, “Some parts yes… I’m sure they were. My feelings no. Feels like a life time ago!!!”
READ MORE: The Bachelor’s Nick Cummins unmasked: THIS is what he look like with NO moustache!
One of the biggest staged moments from Matty J’s season had to be the ear-piece fiasco.
Halfway through the season, MJ dramatically stopped a rose ceremony to deliver a stirring speech, essentially telling the girls he’s not a puppet…
Despite his ear piece being visible.
Watch it all unfold below!
Then a former contestant blew the lid off, telling Fairfax Media that he always had a producer in his ear to feed through lines.
“Those who had been fighting that week would be the last to get a rose for dramatic effect,” she-who-musn’t-be-named revealed.
“He acted so devastated, heavy sighing and heavy breathing. Once the girl walked out and he heard, ‘OK, it’s a wrap,’ he was back to being happy Matty again.”
So many past contestants speak out about the “reality” of the Bachelor
Season 1 contestant Natalie Sady spoke to Mamamia, saying:
“I’m a big believer that producers can’t make you say or do anything. Yes they can influence you and maybe steer you in a direction, but ultimately it’s up to you how you behave and what comes out of your mouth.”
“Reality TV is half reality, half entertainment. No the show is not scripted, but people are put in to very contrived and controlled situations and then filmed.”
Natalie was brutally honest about her time on the dating show.
Emily Simms, who was made to appear as the villain from Sam Wood’s season, believes she was set up.
“There would be some nights we would be shooting to 1am and some of the girls would have a call time at 6am, it was like, you have got to be kidding?”
“None of these thing happened by accident.”
Speaking of the producers, she said, “I didn’t trust any of them.”
Emily hated how she was portrayed.
Sandra Rato, who also appeared on Sam’s series, had a more positive experience.
In that first rose ceremony everyone accused Sandra of being drunk, but she revealed another side to the story.
“Unfortunately I got pinned being the drunken loud one, but I don’t drink,” she told Confidential.
“I didn’t have any alcohol, I’ve got a loud personality as it is.”
“In my experience, obviously there is alcohol there, but you choose to drink it or not. It’s not forced on you.”
Sandra loved her experience.
Even this year’s Bachelorette Ali has slammed the show, telling Mix 102.3’s Jodie & Soda.
“It really does mess you around in the head”.
Ali Oetjen, who you’ll remember made it to Tim Robard’s final three, shared many bombshells.
She alleged that during her season the girls were given a lot to drink, producers pit them up against each other, were forced to share rooms and prevented from calling their loved ones.
Tim and Ali… Way back when!
Ali Oetjen biggest shockers:
“The first rose ceremony that we ever had where we got introduced to the Bachelor, it actually went over two nights.”
“You had to wear the same dress and you had to get your hair done the exact same way. Everything took ages.”
According to Ali, the women are “drinking so much, all the time”.
“They [the producers] did cotton on as the show went on to give us more drinks so that we would relax and we would do more of what the producers asked of us.”
“Being in the house for about two to three months, not being able to speak to anyone else, your mind is completely focused just on this man.”
“My advice would be to someone considering going on The Bachelor, make sure you’re in for a mental rollercoaster … it’s not all fun and games.”
Ali had hoped to win over Tim’s affections.
And then there’s the saga around Ali’s leg injury that happened while filming resulting in two surgeries and a knee reconstruction.
Ali was swinging off the top of a yacht and landed on a canoe, snapping several ligaments in her knee.
But Ali was gobsmacked when “editing” changed what happened.
“I was really annoyed when I watched the episode for the first time,” she said, referring to the episode suggesting she faked the injury in an attempt to get Tim’s attention.
“I just broke down in tears when I saw that episode because I couldn’t believe that’s what they showed Australia had happened to me,” she said, “but that’s the world of TV”.
Ali has no regrets from the show and will now hold the reins as The Bachelorette.
Ali claims Ten asked a total of three times to be the Bachelorette before she finally agreed.
The ex-producer who confirmed all of our suspicions
In April, an ex-producer Steph (name changed for privacy) spoke to Sea FM’*s Fifi, Fev and Byron about her time working on Tim Robards’ 2013 season.
She dished on how the producers do their very best to guide the Bach to make “good” decisions.
“I think the Bachelor keeps certain people in because it takes the weight off his shoulders.”
“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.”
At the end of the day, the producers want to create great TV. How do you fault that?
She also explained that the show isn’t scripted, instead they adopt a very interesting technique.
“I’ll say, I’m going to ask a question, you repeat the question back in your answer,” she told the presenters.
“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 …'”
As expected, the Bach doesn’t come up with the dates… Though they do have input!
The biggest shocker: Steph reckons there’s a drinking limit, which is roughly two drinks per hour. Steph cites the sexual assault on one Big Brother season as the reason for this.
“That changed all the rules, you weren’t allowed to get blind after that,” she says.
For more of Steph’s bombshells head over here
We miss the days of reunions!
Our Verdict
Order in the Now To Love courtroom!
So after all that, what is our verdict?
Is the Bachelor real or fake?
We think much like The Staircase [WATCH IT!]… We’ll never truly know.
This writer thinks Elise Stacey sums it up perfectly: “Some of it is staged but at the end of the day the feelings are real.”
And in our humble opinion, that’s all that matters.
Who else has spoken out about The Bachelor franchises?
– Tiffany Scanlon lifts the lid on The Bachelor
– “It was all fake!” Sam Cochrane slams Sophie Monk
– The shocking scripted moments that shocked the country
– Elora reveals what didn’t make it to the screens
– Bachelor in Paradise’s Brett Moore addresses THAT girlfriend scandal
– The biggest Bachelor Australia shocks and scandals of all time
