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If you’ve spent any time watching The Bachelor, then you know the weight that the hometown dates hold.

It’s the first time that the lead gets to see the contestants in their natural habitats. The contestants’ families can make or break the couple’s budding relationships. Past girls have even been sent home after their families gave the leads too much of a hard time.

If you are a devoted fan of the show, then you might think you know the franchise like the back of your hand, but there are actually a few secrets about the hometown dates that might blow your mind.

The homes aren’t theirs

Have you ever been watching the hometown episode of the show and wondered why everyone had such nice homes? Well, don’t worry, you aren’t watching some kind of wealthy twilight zone, some of those homes actually don’t belong to the contestants. In an interview with Huffington Post, former Bachelorette Andi Dorfman said that some contestants will borrow houses for filming.

“I have heard that some people will do their hometown in a different house, like an uncle’s house or a rich grandfather’s house,” Dorfman said.

And it’s not just the American Bachelor contestants who are faking the funk. In 2014, Bachelor Australia contestant Lisa Hyde admitted that the mansion she brought the Bachelor to wasn’t her families.

“Blake was very much aware that it wasn’t our home, but due to reality TV purposes (production company) Shine asked us to go along with it,” she revealed on Facebook.

The families don’t have to cook.

Every time that the lead goes over to dinner at the contestant’s house, there is always a big meal prepared. But sometimes that meal is actually provided by the production team. Dorfman said that since her mom doesn’t really cook, all the food was arranged by production on her hometown date.

Picking an activity

The former Bachelorette also told the outlet that the producers will ask the contestants to pick an activity that means something to them for the lead to do in their hometown.

“I remember for my season, I wanted to go skeet shooting and they couldn’t get everything together for the skeet shooting … so we ended up going to a gun range,” she said. “I mean, what is there to do in Atlanta, Georgia? You go to the Coca-Cola museum or you go shooting.”

No talking to family

Though the contestants arrive in their hometowns before the leads, they aren’t allowed to speak to their families before the dates.

Weird experience

According to Dorfman, the whole hometown date experience is very stange.

“The weird part about the hometowns is that, your family, you haven’t seen them in awhile,” she continued. “For my family, I was like, ‘I’ll be back in a week.’ And then, next thing you know, I’m bringing a guy, so it’s weird for me but even more weird for the family … It was really strange to see my family on TV and in that environment.”

Despite the hometown dates being a little more professionally orchastrated than the franchise would lead viewers to believe, they are still the lead of the shows’ best opportunity to see who the contestants are as people, which can be both a blessing and a curse.

Read more: 

What Happens When a Bachelor Quits and More Juicy Behind the  Scenes Details of Season 23

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