There are many career paths that have come from the Bachelor franchise (but there will always be just one Chris Harrison.)
Contestants can go on to become The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, they can become an influencer and do Sponcon for hair treatments and vitamins, or embarrass themselves on a spin-off if they’re still pretending to be looking for love.
Some contestants take the tell-all book route if they can get a publishing deal and are willing to share juicy details from those ever-secretive fantasy suites.
Ever wondered what really happens when the cameras aren’t rolling? Or perhaps what happened between Andi Dorfman and Juan Pablo Galavis that almost made her head explode?
We’re taking a look at some of the juiciest revelations from Bachelor franchise tell-all books.
1. Ben Flajnik and Courtney Robertson skinny dip session
In her book, I Didn’t Come Here To Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain, the villainiest villain of them all, Courtney Robertson, shared some salacious and downright hilarious details about her time on The Bachelor and what happened between her and multiple suitors throughout her dating life.
Not only did she date a handful of celebrities, but she shared some unknown details about what happened between her and Ben Flajnik.
The pair infamously engaged in a late-night romp in the ocean, leaving viewers questioning if they actually had sex or not.
Courtney revealed they in fact did, but it was “just the tip” because the waves kept pulling them apart. Poor Ben ‘just the tip’ Flajnik will never live that down.
The only thing more embarrassing? Courtney also revealed Ben really likes Justin Bieber. Perhaps that explains the awful haircut? Courtney claimed in her book that it reminded her of Francine from the Arthur cartoons on PBS.
2. Producers will pay contestant bills
Amy Kaufman, a Los Angeles Times journalist, gave Bachelor fans one of the most comprehensive looks into what goes on behind the scenes in her book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure.
In another sign that the Bachelor franchise is one big career opportunity, many contestants are forced to quit their jobs to participate on a show in which they have no idea if they’ll be on for 2 days or 2 months.
Though, let’s be honest, a majority of contestants barely even have what could be considered a job. Dog lover? Free spirit? Sportfishing enthusiast? Yep, all code for unemployed and looking for a career in reality television.
Due to leaving their jobs, some contestants find themselves unable to pay their bills. When Desiree (Hartsock) Siegfried couldn’t pay her rent, producers stepped in and took care of it just to keep her on the show.
She told the book author, “Quitting my job was a huge risk. About rent time, I said, ‘I won’t be able to continue unless you pay mine.’”
3. The contract is intense
Signing a contract to appear on The Bachelor is akin to signing with your bloody fingerprint, proclaiming your devotion to Chris Harrison, and drinking the Bachelor Kool-Aid (that’s champagne, by the way.)
In Amy Kaufman’s book, she reveals details on the contract contestants sign, and it’s nothing short of insane (though appearing on a show in which you fight 30 other people to date one person who you are forced to proclaim is soo amazing, is also pretty insane.)
In a contract that is 27 pages long, a particularly stunning clause says: “I UNDERSTAND, ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT PRODUCERS MAY USE OR REVEAL PERSONAL INFORMATION WHICH MAY BE EMBARRASSING, UNFAVORABLE, SHOCKING, HUMILIATING, DISPARAGING, AND/OR DEROGATORY, MAY SUBJECT ME TO PUBLIC RIDICULE AND/OR CONDEMNATION, AND MAY PORTRAY ME IN A FALSE LIGHT.”
The whole villain edit makes total sense now, along with contestants being made to look like they’re talking to animals and all the forced Neil Lane proposals.
4. Manufactured drama
In one of the more cringe-worthy revelations from Amy Kaufman’s book, she drops details about a stack of hundred dollar bills (and no, it’s nothing to do with strippers, though that might be less grotesque.)
Scott Jeffress, supervising producer on the first season of The Bachelor with Alex Michel would keep a stack of hundred dollar bills in his pocket and hand them out to producers for completing certain tasks.
Kaufman wrote in the book, “The first producer to get tears? A hundred bucks! You get [Alex] Michel to make out with the right girl? A hundred bucks! Catch a chick puking on-camera? A hundred bucks!”
It’s like watching one of those early 2000s Nickelodeon game shows, but rather than getting to climb the Aggro Crag, you get a girl to admit her bumper car trauma.
5. Nick Viall didn’t call it making love during the fantasy suite
In one of the most cringe-worthy moments in Bachelor franchise history, Nick Viall confronted Andi Dorfman on After the Final Rose. On live television, he asked her why she would “make love” to him if she wasn’t going to choose him.
The entire audience, plus Chris Harrison and all the cameramen were stunned into silence, and viewers at home began chugging their wine real quick.
After reading Andi Dorfman’s tell-all book, It’s Not Okay: Turning Heartbreak Into Happily Never After, she dished on what really went down between her and Nick Viall in fantasy suites. In it, Nick doesn’t come off looking as emotionally sensitive as he did on After the Final Rose.
Andi wrote, “As he opened his mouth to speak, I was certain he was going to tell me he loved me. But instead, he asked, ‘Would you rather?’ Naked, and caught completely off guard, I thought, What the f**k?
She continued, “‘Ummm . . . would I rather what?’ ‘Would you rather make love . . . or f**k?’ he asked without hesitation or the slightest sense of how bizarre this conversation was.”
So, apparently, Nick Viall isn’t very romantic, and he’s also pretty kinky.
6. Hannah Brown crashed Hannah Godwin’s hometown date
Bachelor Nation will forever feel bad for our favorite Bachelorette Alabama Hannah. After Jed Wyatt broke her heart, coming on the show with a girlfriend back home, viewers felt for her.
However, Hannah Brown was not always as sweet and innocent as she appeared on camera, at least according to Colton Underwood.
In his book, The First Time: Finding Myself and Looking for Love on Reality TV, Colton reveals Hannah was not happy about being sent home.
She crashed his hometown date with Hannah Godwin (there are way too many Hannahs in this franchise) and freaked out on the other girls.
Colton wrote, “She was still stewing about not getting a rose and wanted more clarity from me. In reality, it seemed she wanted to lash out and vent.” He goes on to write that Hannah went off on the other girls.
Interestingly enough, the scene never aired on television, most likely due to Hannah becoming the next Bachelorette.
7. Sean Lowe didn’t think Catherine Giudici would be his match
Sean Lowe and Catherine Giudici are considered one of Bachelor Nation’s most successful power couples, and they’re one of the few that has stayed together post The Bachelor finale.
What comes as a bit of a surprise is that Sean Lowe didn’t even think he and Catherine were a good match. Judging by their personal lives and interests on paper, this pair would have swiped left on each other had they been on Tinder.
Sean would be the picture-perfect all-American boy in a button-down Ralph Lauren shirt with his trusty golden retriever by his side, above a caption that said: “I love Jesus and my mom.” Catherine would see it and scoff, thinking Tinder was a bad idea.
In his tell-all book, For the Right Reasons: America’s Favorite Bachelor on Faith, Love, Marriage, and Why Nice Guys Finish First, Sean describes how incompatible he and Catherine were.
He wrote, “I really liked Catherine, but she was a Birkenstock-wearing, vegan food blogger from Seattle. I was a meat eater who’d worked in the oil and gas industry. She came from a Filipino culture. My family was a bunch of Texans. How could that possibly work out?”
Well, apparently opposites attract!
8. Emily and Brad didn’t have the most romantic engagement
Emily Maynard is the female Sean Lowe within The Bachelor franchise; pretty, blonde, all-American, likeable, and agreeable.
Her tell-all obviously wasn’t as funny or salacious as say, Courtney Robertson’s, but she did dish some pretty interesting behind the scenes details.
For example, that super romantic looking engagement between her and Brad Womack 2.0 was unsurprisingly not as lovey dovey as viewers were lead to believe.
In her book, I Said Yes: My Story of Heartbreak, Redemption, and True Love, Emily writes about the moment after she and Brad got engaged, noting that it wasn’t what she was expecting.
She wrote, “After I said yes, Brad scooped me up in his arms and said, ‘Wow, Em! You’re a lot heavier than you look.’”
Wow, that’s definitely the kind of guy 30 women should be fighting over for 2 months right?
9. Amanda Stanton disses Josh Murray
Josh Murray was criticized in Andi Dorfman’s tell-all book for his allegedly abusive behavior, and Amanda Stanton added further fuel to the fire.
In her own tell-all book, Now Accepting Roses: Finding Myself While Searching for the One and Other Lessons I Learned from The Bachelor, Amanda recounted the emotionally abusive behavior she claimed Josh displayed.
She wrote, “Josh didn’t want a fiancée, he wanted a robot he could program and control.” She also wrote about his jealous behavior and claimed he didn’t want her having anyone else in her life.
That’s not exactly the kind of behavior that will snag you The Bachelor gig.
10. Andi reveals what really happened with Juan Pablo
For all the dirty details Bachelor franchise memoirs dish, there was none more hilarious than Andi Dorfman talking about the night she spent with Juan Pablo Galavis in the fantasy suites.
It was claimd that Juan Pablo has some very specific things he does to get the ladies, but Andi was absolutely not into it. Not only did she reveal that he was pompous and narcissistic, but she told readers want went down in the fantasy suite, which led to her breaking up with him in an infamous conversation.
In her book, It’s Not Okay: Turning Heartbreak Into Happily Never After, Andi wrote, “He blasted Ray Jay and R. Kelly all night long and showed me dozens of videos of his old soccer highlights on YouTube.”
Apparently. Juan Pablo’s dating repertoire doesn’t go past a middle school dance.