Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe is opening up about her time on the ABC dating show – including the hefty salary she was paid to be its star.
Bristowe recently appeared on a two-part episode of Trading Secrets, the podcast hosted by her fiance, former corporate banker, and onetime Bachelorette contestant Jason Tartick. They discussed the details of her reality TV contracts.
“I didn’t go to college, I didn’t know anything about credit scores,” the Canadian native said. “I just floated through life.”
Bristowe revealed that in 2015, after competing on Chris Soules’ Season 19 of The Bachelor, she had a “$2 net worth” and only a $1,500 stipend from the network to her name.
After four months of “waiting,” Bristowe learned she had been chosen as the franchise’s next star.
“I think they offered me $40,000 to be the Bachelorette,” Bristowe told her fiance. Given her financial situation at the time, she said “you would think I’d be like, ‘Jackpot! Sign me up!’” the reality star joked.
But rather than accepting the network’s first offer, Bristowe decided to push for more money, hiring “one of the best” entertainment lawyers in all of LA – with a $5,000 loan from her stepdad to cover his retainer.
Kaitlyn Bristowe details contract negotiations on The Bachelorette
Even after hiring a lawyer, Bristowe told her fiance, she still had to fight for the salary she felt that she deserved.
“One of the executive producers said, ‘You got an entertainment lawyer, and you’re asking for this amount of money? I’m sorry, I thought this was about love for you,’” the former Bachelorette said.
“F*** off!” Bristowe continued. “It’s about love and money, okay? They go hand in hand for me right now.”
Famously, Bristowe’s Season 11 of The Bachelorette started with not one but two leading ladies, as both she and fellow The Bachelor Season 19 contestant Britt Nilsson were initially chosen to star.
On the season’s first night, the contestants voted for Bristowe to be their Bachelorette, and Nilsson was sent home.
But when the network first told her that she would be “going against Britt,” Bristowe said on Trading Secrets, “I was like, ‘I’m not doing it.’”
“Then I said, ‘I’ll only do it if you pay me as much as you paid Chris Soules,’” the reality star continued. “I said I wanted to make the same as he did.”
How much do The Bachelor and Bachelorette stars make?
So how much money did Bristowe end up taking home? It’s not exactly clear.
But according to Insider, stars of the hit ABC dating series typically earn around $100,000 for roughly two months of “work.”
Per the outlet, the highest-paid Bachelorette star in franchise history was Emily Maynard, who reportedly earned a whopping $250,000 for her Season 8 of the show.
The lowest-paid was Season 7 star Ashley Herbert, who Us Weekly reported made only $30,000 for her time on the show.
The Bachelorette is currently on hiatus.