‘The Bachelor’: How Long Are the Rose Ceremonies, Really?
Ever wonder why contestants on The Bachelor are so upset after being eliminated early on in the competition? It might be in part due to sleep deprivation.
Bachelors and Bachelorettes, as well as Bachelor contestants and crew members, have opened up about how long the rose ceremonies really take to film. It’s not nearly as seamless as it looks!
The first rose ceremonies can last into the morning hours
Remember on Colton Underwood’s season and Week 1 of Peter Weber’s season, when fans noticed the contestants seemed to be toasting champagne while roosters were crowing? As it turns out, they were right.
Bachelor director Ken Fuchs told The Hollywood Reporter that the first rose ceremony lasts well into the morning hours most of the time.
“There’s a lot of women that the bachelor needs to meet…It just takes time,” he explained. “It’s a long, long night. It’s always been quite an accomplishment to get through it, since it’s inevitably sunlight by the time you drive home.”
Former Bachelor Sean Lowe told Glamour the same sleep-deprived story. “That first night lasts until about 7 A.M., and then each one after that lasts until about 3 or 4,” he explained. No wonder everyone looks beat by the time they get in the limo to head home.
Adjusting the cameras and remembering names takes plenty of time
So why do the Bachelor rose ceremonies take so long? There are a few reasons. Former Bachelorette (and Bachelor contestant) Ali Fedotowsky said that the Bachelors and Bachelorettes don’t remember names nearly as well as it looks like they do on TV.
“Well, I doubt many people could remember all 25 [names],” she explained to E! News, “so the Bachelor/ette goes into the rose ceremony room and says a few names at a time and then leaves to get the next few names.” That means that there’s time in between each take when the Bachelor/ette looks over flashcards with the contestants’ names and pictures.
Lowe added in his Glamour interview that the cameras have to be repositioned as well to ensure the best shot. This makes the night last a long, long time.
“It is absolutely exhausting,” he said. “On TV, what you see is I hand out a rose, the girl comes forward and accepts it, and then I hand out another rose. In reality, there’s about three to five minutes in between each rose because all 15 cameras have to reposition.”
Some think the long hours add to the ‘Bachelor’ drama
Of course, there’s an upside to the long nights. The rose ceremonies become higher-stakes and much more dramatic when contestants are exhausted, hungry, and worn out from a night of drinking on top of it all.
Add an hours-long cocktail party, hopes that you might meet the love of your life, and trying to stay calm on camera in full hair and makeup, and it all adds up to a lot of tears and disappointment.
Fuchs said he thinks the long nights of filming might add to the emotion the Bachelor contestants display, especially when most of them have never appeared on television before.
“It’s an emotional night any way,” he said. “And if you’re gonna go home and you’re sent home, I’m sure it’s a little more emotional because of how long or how tired you might be. It’s an exhausting process every day.”
According to Fedotowsky, the Bachelor contestants are immediately scooted away to a nearby hotel if they don’t get a rose. “They leave the mansion that night and go to a hotel near the mansion,” she explained. “I’m sure they are sent home the next day or soon thereafter.”
