‘Bachelor’ And ‘Bachelorette’ Contestants Have To Kill Time On Set Without Phones, Internet, TV, And Music

When contestants go on either The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, they go in expecting to find the love of their lives, but they have to cut off the entire outside world to do so.

In an in-depth piece published by The Verge, numerous contestants/experts dished on what exactly they have to give up when entering the Bachelor mansion and what lengths producers go to to keep them isolated.

“They want their full focus 24/7 to be on the guy,” said Bachelor expert Reality Steve. “Hence the reason you get so many meltdowns[.] You actually start believing you’re falling in love [with] someone you barely know. It’s essentially like Stockholm Syndrome.”

Of course, the first thing they deprive contestants of are their cell phones. This is especially important as producers want their contestants to have no internet access. Contestants with children are given the opportunity to use a phone every few days to check in, so the producers aren’t completely heartless.

The media ban extends even further to specific kinds of products such as movies, TV shows, music and print products.

Movies & TV

When it comes to access to movies and TV shows, it’s a pretty obvious ban. No movie or TV watching are allowed, as focus is meant to be on the season’s respective bachelor or bachelorette. While it may be controversial, it seems to work, as the the show was recently renewed for even more seasons. The focus leads to some incredibly dramatic reality TV moments.

“The producers’ obligation was to keep us from being distracted from life itself and focus on what we were there for, to meet our future husband,” said Tierra LiCausi, who was a contestant on season 17 of The Bachelor.

Even TV news was off limits, but the producers would fill contestants in on any huge world events if asked.

However, there are exceptions to these guidelines. Occasional movie nights were held on off-days where producers picked a movie for everyone to see. Such examples of those rarely screened films are Interstellar and Ted.

TV was also occasional relaxed towards the end of the seasons. Contestants were sometimes allowed to watch TV at hotels while travelling to filming locations.

Music

A surprising addition to the media blackout is music. Contestants are usually not allowed to bring mp3 players or other music devices.

“We did always look forward to car rides when leaving home base because that would mean we did get to listen to music,” said former contestant Whitney Fransway. “We would only have to film for the first ten minutes when in transport and then we could listen to the music and dance during the car ride.”

There were some varying accounts of this, as some were allowed to listen to them in private, but not while filming or in communal situations. Some producers even loaned contestants iPods or iPads to listen to music while travelling.

The consensus The Verge came to was that it really varied on a case-by-case basis with certain producers.

Books

The main medium allowed were print products. Books and journals were typically allowed, at least in private. Magazines were a one of the big no-no’s, as they could spoil aspects of the show. The only times magazines were allowed was when contestants “coincidentally” found a tabloid about the show while travelling abroad, which stirred up a ton of drama.

One recent season did have an odd book-ban. Only Bibles were allowed during season 17, but some contestants seemed to revel in the spiritual time they found with each other.

“Bible studies were held during my season, the girls would have weekly gatherings to study the Bible or discuss their beliefs [and their] religion (which was very interesting and unique to see),” LiCausi said. “I definitely supported that and thought it brought a good vibe into the house.”

Overall it was a bit gruelling to cut off all access to the outside world, but some actually did enjoy the experience.

“The fact that we did not have electronic devices or televisions to pass any down time ended up being one of the best parts of the experience,” Fransway said. “This is because all of the girls in the house got to know each other so well and so quickly. This is part of the reason why you see us girls developing lifelong friendships after the show.”