The Bachelor

The Bachelor Information

The Bachelor is an American reality television dating game show debuting in 2002 on ABC. For all seasons, the show is hosted by Chris Harrison. There are three related series: The Bachelorette, Bachelor Pad, and Bachelor in Paradise.

Production

It is produced and directed by Mike Fleiss and is shot by camera operator Jesse Fleiss. Supervising producer (2013-14) is Elan Gale.

Plot

As the show is designed, the series revolves around a single bachelor (deemed eligible) who starts with a pool of romantic interests (typically 25) from whom the bachelor is expected to select a wife. During the course of the season, the bachelor eliminates candidates (see The elimination process), with the bachelor proposing marriage to his final selection. The participants travel to romantic and exotic locations for their adventures, and the conflicts in the series, both internal and external, stem from the elimination-style format of the show.

The above description is a general guideline. In practice, the show does not always follow its designed structure, and those variations are often a source of drama and conflict.

A candidate who was eliminated returns to the show to plead her case to the bachelor.
A bachelor distributes more roses or fewer roses than planned.
A bachelor eliminates both women in a two-on-one date.
A bachelor eliminates a woman outside of a rose ceremony.
The bachelor chooses to pursue a relationship with his final selection rather than propose marriage.

The two most notable cases where the bachelor violated the premise of the show are Brad Womack, who selected neither of his final two women, and Jason Mesnick, who in the After the Final Rose episode broke off his engagement and proposed to the first runner-up. (The two are now married.)

Setting

For the first two weeks of filming the contestants stay in "Villa De La Vina," a , six-bedroom, nine-bath home in Agoura Hills, California. The custom home, built in 2005, is located on 10 acres at 2351 Kanan Road. As of October 10, 2008, the home was listed for sale at a price of US$8.75 million. For the third and remaining episodes are the contestants have filmed around the world. Episodes have been filmed throughout the United States, Canada, England, New Zealand, Vietnam, Korea to name just a few. The Agoura Hills, California mansion was not used during a few seasons including season 7 that was filmed New York City, where Charlie O'Connell, who had appeared in Sliders with his brother Jerry O'Connell, lived, Paris, France for season 8; Rome, Italy for season 9, where Lorenzo Borghese lived who is half-Italian.

The elimination process

On each Bachelor episode, the bachelor interacts with the women and presents a rose to each woman he wishes to remain on the show. Those who do not receive a rose are eliminated. Eliminations are based upon the bachelor's personal feelings about each contestant, guided primarily by the impression made by each woman during dates or other events of the week. Most roses are presented at a rose ceremony at the end of each episode, but roses can also be bestowed on dates. Typical activities include

A group date, in which the bachelor and a group of women participate in an activity. Sometimes the activity takes the form of a competition, the winner or winners spending more time with the bachelor. The bachelor typically presents a rose to the woman who makes the best impression during the group date.

A one-on-one date, in which the bachelor and one woman go on a date. Except in the late stages of the season, there is a rose at stake: At the end of the date, the bachelor must decide whether to present the woman a rose. If the woman does not receive a rose, she is eliminated immediately.

A two-on-one date, in which the bachelor and two women go on a date. At the end of the date, the bachelor must decide which woman receives a rose. The woman who does not receive a rose is eliminated immediately.

Except in the late stages of the season, the episode concludes with a cocktail party to which the bachelor and all women not yet eliminated are invited. At the first cocktail party of the season, the bachelor presents a first impression rose; roses are typically not presented at any other cocktail parties.

Every episode concludes with a rose ceremony which has its own conventions.
- The women who have not been eliminated stand in rows at one end of the room, and the bachelor faces them. The bachelor has a tray with roses.
- The bachelor takes a rose and calls a woman by name. The woman steps forward, and the bachelor asks, "Will you accept this rose?" The woman accepts, takes the rose, and returns to her original position.
- When there is one rose remaining, host Chris Harrison says, "Ladies, this is the final rose," then tells the bachelor, "When you're ready."
- After all roses are distributed, host Chris Harrison tells the women who did not receive a rose to "take a moment and say your good-byes."

The final episodes of each season traditionally follow this pattern:

The bachelor visits the home towns and families of each of the four remaining women. At the rose ceremony, one woman is eliminated, leaving three.
The bachelor and the three remaining women travel to an exotic location for a series of one-on-one dates. At the conclusion of each date, the bachelor offers the woman the keys to the fantasy suite which allows the two to spend the night together without cameras present. At the rose ceremony, one woman is eliminated, leaving two.
In a The Women Tell All episode, the women who had been eliminated from the show participate in a talk show where they discuss their thoughts and experiences.
The two remaining women separately meet with the bachelor's family. At the end of the episode, the bachelor proposes to one of the women by presenting the final rose.
In an After the Final Rose episode which immediately follows, the bachelor, the finalist, and the runner-up participate in a talk show. The identity of the next season's bachelor or bachelorette is often announced at the end of the episode.

A woman may withdraw from the competition at any time if she is no longer interested in the bachelor. On rare occasions, a woman is removed from the show for breaking one of the rules.

The bachelor has wide discretion in choosing how many and when to present the roses. For example, Sean Lowe presented several roses at his initial cocktail party.

It is common to accuse a contestant for not being on the show for the right reasons, meaning that her aim is not to establish a relationship with the bachelor but rather to garner publicity for her own career, induce jealousy in an ex-boyfriend, or simply to get a free trip to exotic locations.

Seasons

Season	Premiered	Bachelor	Profile	Winner	Runner(s)-Up
1	March 25, 2002	Alex Michel	Management consultant	Amanda Marsh	Trista Rehn
1	Michel did not propose to Marsh, but instead they entered into a relationship. Marsh and Michel broke up after several months, and runner-up Rehn was featured on the first season of The Bachelorette. Marsh married her childhood friend, Jay Caldwell, and they have a daughter named Chloe.
2	September 25, 2002	Aaron Buerge	Vice President of a chain of family-owned banks	Helene Eksterowicz	Brooke Smith
2	They broke up after several weeks. Buerge became engaged to Angye McIntosh and married in 2009. They also have a daughter named Aven. In 2013, Eksterowicz got engaged to senior technology consultant, Andrew Goodman and they got married that year as well. Finalist Gwen Gioia became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad.
3	March 24, 2003	Andrew Firestone	Sales manager of Firestone Family estates	Jen Schefft	Kirsten Buschbacher
3	Schefft and Firestone broke up after several months but remained friends. He is now married to actress Ivana Bozilovic. Firestone and Bozilovic have two sons, Adam Brooks, born on March 21, 2009 and Shane, born on January 27, 2014 and a daughter, Anja Jasmine, born on April 15, 2011. Schefft was featured on the third season of The Bachelorette.
4	September 24, 2003	Bob Guiney	Creator of a mortgage company and former suitor on The Bachelorette	Estella Gardinier	Kelly Jo Kuharski
4	Guiney did not propose to Gardinier but she accepted a promise ring indicating that they would still date. They broke up shortly after the show aired. Guiney later married soap opera star Rebecca Budig, but they split after five years of marriage. Meredith Phillips, who came in fourth, was featured on the second season of The Bachelorette.
5	April 7, 2004	Jesse Palmer	Canadian American college football player	Jessica Bowlin	Tara Huckeby
5	Palmer did not propose to Bowlin. They continued to date but broke up several weeks later.
6	September 22, 2004	Byron Velvick	Pro bass fisherman and divorced father	Mary Delgado	Tanya Michel
6	Velvick and Delgado split after five years.
7	March 28, 2005	Charlie O'Connell	Actor	Sarah Brice	Krisily Kennedy
7	O'Connell chose Brice to be the winner but did not propose to her and instead began a relationship. They broke up in September 2007, but got back together in 2008. However, they called it quits again in 2010. Runner-up Kennedy became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad.
8	January 9, 2006	Travis Lane Stork	Medical doctor	Sarah Stone	Moana Dixon
8	The Bachelor: Paris. Stork did not propose to Stone. Instead, they began a relationship. They broke up shortly after the show aired. Stork is now featured on The Doctors and is now married to pediatrician Charlotte Brown.
9	October 3, 2006	Prince Lorenzo Borghese	Cosmetics entrepreneur	Jennifer Wilson	Sadie Murray
9	The Bachelor: Rome. Borghese did not propose to Wilson. They entered into a relationship, and broke up in January 2007. Finalist Tara Durr is now married to John Presser, who was a contestant on the fifth season of The Bachelorette. Another finalist, Erica Rose, became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad and later returned for the third season of that show.
10	April 2, 2007	Andrew Baldwin	US Naval Officer	Tessa Horst	Bevin Nicole Powers
10	The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman. Horst and Baldwin called off their engagement one month after the finale, but continued their relationship. They broke off the relationship in September 2007. Finalist Peyton Wright became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor Pad and is married to Chris Lambton, who was the runner-up on the 6th season of The Bachelorette.
11	September 24, 2007	Brad Womack	Bar owner	None	DeAnna Pappas and Jenni Croft
11	Womack chose Croft and Pappas as the two finalists, but they were both rejected in the season's finale. Pappas was featured on the fourth season of The Bachelorette. Womack returned to the show for its 15th season (see below). Finalist Sarah Newlon became a contestant on the third season of Bachelor Pad.
12	March 17, 2008	Matt Grant	Global financier	Shayne Lamas	Chelsea Wanstrath
12	The Bachelor: London Calling. Grant and Lamas broke up in July 2008 as they felt their lives were going in different directions, but stated they would remain close friends. Lamas is now married to Internet personality Nik Richie. Finalist Holly Durst became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad, which she later co-won along with her ex-fianc and former Bachelorette contestant Michael Stagliano. Durst is married to The Bachelorette season 7 contestant and dentist Blake Julian whom she met on the second season of Bachelor Pad.
13	January 5, 2009	Jason Mesnick	Account executive, single father, and former suitor on The Bachelorette	Melissa Rycroft	Molly Malaney
13	On the season's finale, Mesnick had called off the engagement with Rycroft, and resumed a relationship with runner-up Malaney. Rycroft later appeared on the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars and is now married to Tye Strickland and has two children. A daughter, Ava, born February 2011 and a son, Beckett, born April 2014. Rycroft also took part in the fifteenth season of Dancing with the Stars and won the program. On October 20, 2009, Mesnick proposed to Malaney in New Zealand, which she accepted. They were married on February 27, 2010, in California. Mesnick and Malaney's wedding aired on national television on March 8, 2010. The couple welcomed their first child, Riley Anne Mesnick on March 14, 2013. Third-place finalist Jillian Harris was featured on the fifth season of The Bachelorette. Finalists Natalie Getz and Nikki Kaapke became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad while Rycroft co-hosted the program. Getz went on to co-win the first season of Bachelor Pad. Another finalist, Ann Lueders, is now married to The Bachelorette winner Jesse Csincsak and has two children: a son, Noah, born in 2011, and a daughter, Charlotte, born in 2014.
14	January 4, 2010	Jake Pavelka	Commercial pilot and former suitor on The Bachelorette	Vienna Girardi	Tenley Molzahn
14	The Bachelor: On the Wings of Love. They ended their relationship in June 2010. Pavelka appeared as a celebrity contestant on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Fourth-place finalist Ali Fedotowsky was featured on the sixth season of The Bachelorette. Runner-up Molzahn along with other finalists Gia Allemand, Ashley Elmore, Elizabeth Kitt, Michelle Kujawa and Jessie Sulidis became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad. On that show, Tenley Molzahn got together with Kiptyn Locke from The Bachelorette season 5. Allemand would return for the second season of Bachelor Pad along with finalist Ella Nolan, winner Girardi, and Pavelka himself. Shortly after, Gia Allemand committed suicide, in August 2013. Kitt is currently married to Ty Brown, a contestant from the sixth season of The Bachelorette. Kujawa also became a contestant on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise.
15	January 3, 2011	Brad Womack	Returning Bachelor (see above)	Emily Maynard	Chantal O'Brien
15	Womack and Maynard broke up while their season was airing, but got back together after the show's finale. However, they called it quits for good in May 2011 but remained friends. Third-place finalist Ashley Hebert was featured on the seventh season of The Bachelorette. Finalists Alli Travis, Michelle Money, Jackie Gordon and Melissa Schreiber became contestants on the second season of Bachelor Pad. Maynard was featured on the eighth season of The Bachelorette. Money also returned for season one of Bachelor in Paradise.
16	January 2, 2012	Ben Flajnik	Winemaker and former suitor on The Bachelorette	Courtney Robertson	Lindzi Cox
16	Flajnik and Robertson originally broke up in February 2012 while their season was airing. However, they were later reconciled and got engaged for the second time, but broke up again in October 2012 for good. Runner-up Cox, along with finalists Blakeley Jones, Jamie Otis, Jaclyn Swartz and Rachel Truehart became contestants on the third season of Bachelor Pad.
17	January 7, 2013	Sean Lowe	Entrepreneur and former suitor on The Bachelorette	Catherine Giudici	Lindsay Yenter
17	Lowe and Giudici were married on January 26, 2014. Lowe appeared in the sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Desiree Hartsock, who came in fourth, was featured in the ninth season of The Bachelorette. Finalists AshLee Frazier, Jackie Parr, Sarah Herron and Daniella McBride became contestants on season one of Bachelor in Paradise.
18	January 6, 2014	Juan Pablo Galavis	Former pro soccer player, former suitor on The Bachelorette	Nikki Ferrell	Clare Crawley
18	Galavis did not propose to Ferrell, but instead they decided to enter into a relationship. They ended their relationship in October 2014 after months of fighting, including competed in Couples Therapy. Andi Dorfman, who came in third, was featured on the tenth season of The Bachelorette. Runner-up Crawley, along with finalists Elise Mosca, Danielle Ronco, Lucy Aragon, Christy Hansen and Lacy Faddoul became contestants on season one of Bachelor in Paradise. This would be the first season since Season 11 that did not end with a proposal.
19	January 5, 2015	Chris Soules	Farmer and former suitor on The Bachelorette

Spin-offs

The show's success has led producer Mike Fleiss to create multiple spin-offs, including The Bachelorette, in which the format is gender-reversed. The bachelorettes are eliminated contestants from The Bachelor.

On August 9, 2010, Bachelor Pad premiered, giving previous contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette the opportunity to compete in dating-themed eliminations for $250,000.

On August 4, 2014, Bachelor in Paradise premiered, giving previous contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette the opportunity to compete for love in dating-themed eliminations.

The weddings of Trista Rehn (the first Bachelorette), Jason Mesnick (13th Bachelor), Ashley Hebert (seventh Bachelorette) and Sean Lowe (the 17th Bachelor) were broadcast as television specials. Rehn's vow-renewal ceremony upon her 10-year anniversary was also broadcast.

Questions of authenticity

On February 26, 2009, in an exclusive interview between The Bachelor Season 13 contestant Megan Parris, and Steve Carbone, Megan commented that the producers edit the footage to create a fictional storyline. "I don't think [the producers] showed any real conversation I had with anyone... The viewers fail to realize that editing is what makes the show... You'll hear someone make one comment and then they'll show a clip of somebody's face to make it look like that is their facial reaction to that statement, but really, somebody made that face the day before to something else. It's just piecing things together to make a story."

On March 26, 2009, Megan Parris argued that not only was the show scripted, but that producers bullied contestants into saying things to the camera that contestants did not want to say. "'There's nothing real about it,' she said of the show's trademark "confessionals," in which contestants talk to the camera about the latest goings-on. "It is scripted," she said. "They basically will call you names, berate you, curse at you until they get you to say what they want you to say." Both ABC and Warner Bros., the studio that produces The Bachelor, had no comment."

On March 15, 2010, creator Mike Fleiss appeared on 20/20 and said that he develops contestants into characters that will cater to his audience's tastes and that they "need [their] fair share of villains every season." Fleiss has come under fire for admitting that The Bachelor has less to do with reality than it does making good television.

On February 24, 2012, during the taping of The Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor, a private conversation between contestant Courtney Robertson and a show producer went public when microphones were accidentally left on in between camera takes. The conversation revealed the producer's role as a coach encouraging Robertson to fake certain emotions for the camera which she was not feeling.

Lawsuit

In December 2011, the producer of The Bachelor sued Steve Carbone, proprietor of the website RealitySteve.com, for leaking unreleased information about the show, claiming Carbone encouraged contestants of both The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to break their confidentiality agreements. Carbone has denied that the source of the leaks are current contestants.

International versions

Country	Name	Host	Network	Date premiered
'	The Bachelor Australia	Osher Gnsberg	Network Ten	September 8, 2013
'	The Bachelor	Fabio Arruda	RedeTV!	November 21, 2014
'	The Bachelor Canada	Tyler Harcott	City	October 3, 2012
'	Suomen unelmien poikamies	Sami Kuronen	Nelonen	February 2008
'	Der Bachelor	Arne Jessen	RTL	2003
'	????? Haravak	Guy Geyor	Channel 10	2009
'	The Bachelor New Zealand	TBC	TV3	TBC 2015
'	Ungkaren	Christopher Dons	TVNorge	2003
'	Kawaler do wzi?cia	Krzysztof Banaszyk	TVN	October 8, 2003
'	Burlacul	Lucian Marinescu (1) C?t?lin Botezatu (2-)	Antena 1	June 8, 2010
'	???????? Holostyak	Petr Fadeev	TNT	March 10, 2013
'	Der Bachelor		3+	October 30, 2013
'	The Bachelor	Jeremy Milnes Hugo Speer	BBC Three Channel 5	March 30, 2003 August 19, 2011
'	???????? Holostyak	Hryhoriy Reshetnyk	STB (Channel)	March 17, 2011

Parodies

The novelty of the show makes it a ripe target for parody.

Ben Stiller produced a web spoof of the series entitled Burning Love.

Late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel also created a parody called "The Baby Bachelor", in which the titular role is given to his 3-year-old nephew Wesley.

The Fox Network produced a show, Joe Millionaire, based on the premise that the bachelor was a millionaire heir, when in reality, he was not.