What Life Is Really Like At The Bachelor Mansion (Not So Glamorous)
The Bachelor Mansion may seem like a glamorous, luxurious place to stay for a couple months, but the experience resembles something more like a summer camp than a five-star hotel. Contestants don’t have their own rooms (and only have two bathrooms available to get ready in). There’s also no professional chef or maid service. Life in the Bachelor Mansion actually feels a lot like living at home–just with 29 other people who are falling in love with the same person you are.
“We have to do our own cooking, our own laundry… We do everything you would do when you’re at home, except be able to go outside of your home,” former Bachelor contestant Leslie Hughes told The Daily Beast.
If contestants want a specific meal, they have to write down the ingredients for the producers to go grocery shopping. Unless they go on a date or another contestant in the mansion is cooking for everyone, no one’s cooking for the contestants.
“Ashley S. introduced me to spaghetti squash. Tara made awesome tacos. The Bachelor girls are obsessed with Sriracha. We had a couple of huge jars in the kitchen full of junk food, most notably peanut butter M&Ms and Chris Soules’s favorite, Oreos. The couple pound jar would empty within a few days,” Ashley I. said of her time on The Bachelor.
Do ‘Bachelor’ contestants do their own hair and makeup and bring their own clothes?
It’s a valid question because the women on this show all look as if their hair and makeup are professionally done. They also all look as if they’re wearing stylist-chosen clothes. Each season, the women, in particular, all seem to be wearing the trendiest items.
But according to Hughes, the contestants are responsible for all of their clothing, hair, and makeup.
“It’s a lot of suitcases,” she said.
And remember: only two bathrooms!
Many contestants go on a shopping spree upon finding out they’re headed to the Bachelor Mansion.
“I freaked out pretty heavily about it and then borrowed from my friends, bought some stuff on the cheap (think: Forever 21 and H&M) and was lucky enough to have a few items donated,” said Yoga instructor Katie from Sean Lowe’s season.
There’s no privacy
On top of the less-than-glamorous living situation, contestants also completely relinquish their privacy upon entering the mansion. From the moment contestants wake up in the morning to when they go to sleep at night, cameras are rolling.
“They are on you all the time,” said Hughes. “As soon as you wake up in the morning, your mic is put on you…When you go to bed, it’s taken off.”
Because a producer, camera person, mic person, or handler is always close by, contestants feel the stress of having zero alone time.
“Having someone around at all times, you’re going to get emotional, you’re going to cry,” adds Hughes.
Despite the cramped quarters and lack of privacy, many contestants leave the show feeling it was a positive experience. In fact, Hughes calls it “one of the best experiences of her life.”
Read more: ‘The Bachelor’: Colton Watched The Fence-Jump Episode With Cassie’s Family
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