Hannah Brown is currently filming her season of The Bachelorette in hopes of finding the man for her. The goal, as it is with any other season, is to find a man who will propose at the end, so they can start their lives together.
But it’s no secret that the main Bachelors and Bachelorettes are paid a generous amount of money to put their lives on hold to film the show that has millions tuning in every season.
So, how much is Hannah making from this season of The Bachelorette?
ABC doesn’t talk about how much the contestants make for filming a single season. But the message is clear — you film the show to find love, not to make money.
Ben Higgins told BuzzFeed that ABC pretty much just pays you whatever you’d miss from the real world, as you put your career on hold for two months to film the show.
What’s interesting is that contestants don’t make the same thing. Emily Maynard made $250,000 for her season of The Bachelorette, but Sean Lowe reportedly only made between $75,000 and $90,000 for his season. Ashley Hebert was paid on the lower end, reportedly only making $30,000.
Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation, reveals that the salary given to the contestants depends on how much they make in real life. But Kaufman also reveals that the salary appears to have grown from a low-range 5-figure salary to over $100,000 per season.
When she joined The Bachelor, Hannah was working as an interior decorator at Gracefully Done in Northport, Alabama. If producers are sticking to the old payment scale, she would make enough money to cover her time away from work.
But it isn’t all glamorous on The Bachelor. Contestants are responsible for covering their own costs.
Former Bachelorette star Jillian Harris reportedly spent over $8,000 during her time on the show on just clothes and makeup when she was trying to win as a contestant. She writes that she even had to re-mortgage her house.
Now, the show helps out by bringing in a stylist for The Bachelor or Bachelorette. Emily Maynard’s clothing budget was reportedly upwards of $350,000 for the season, which quickly adds up with those beautiful gowns they wear.
The platform can result in more income, as many contestants go on to do different things. For example, many of them have podcasts or are offered to do sponsored Instagram ads.
Some of these ads can pay as much as $5,000 per ad and if celebrities post about seven ads per month, they have another $400,000 a year coming in.
Several Bachelors and Bachelorettes have gone on Dancing With The Stars, which can also give a generous paycheck.
Gawker reveals that contestants get $125,000 for filming the first two episodes, and then it’s $10,000 per contestant for two episodes, $20,000 for the next two episodes, and so forth. By the finale, the finalists get $50,000. The winner could take home up to $345,000 by the end of the season.
There are also possibilities for spin-off shows, as Ben Higgins and Lauren Burnham had their own show on Freeform called Ben & Lauren: Happily Ever After?
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici also filmed Marriage Boot Camp for a huge paycheck, something he admitted on his personal website.
The Bachelorette premieres on May 13 at 8/7c on ABC.