Photo: ABC
Leek week I was hanging out with my friend at a bar and she chugged her beer and made us leave because she didn’t want to miss The Bachelor Winter Games. That’s how popular that show is, when even an even worse spinoff reels the viewers in. But people love watching a bunch of women trip over themselves in order to get the attention of one guy. But if that sounds like a show you one day want to be a part of just make sure you’re completely and utterly STD free.
According to a new book by Amy Kaufman called “Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure,” gals interested in being on the show need to make sure they have no STDs. Kaufman adds that having an STD is the number reason why contestants get turned away.
If women who submit applications (and videos of themselves) catch the producers’ attention, they are flown to L.A. where they have to fill out a 150-question personality test. Contestants also have to meet with the show’s on-site therapist where they have to give blood and urine samples. And this is where many women are given the boot.
The medical exam is where most women flunk out and get sent home, because if it turns out they have an STD, they’re promptly eliminated from the casting process.
“As soon as the medical tests came back, you’d see that herpes was the biggest thing,” says Ben Hatta, the executive producer’s old assistant. “And sometimes you’d be the first person to tell a contestant that they had herpes. You’d be like, ‘Uh, you should call your doctor.’ Why? ‘We’re not going to be able to have you on our show, but you should call your doctor.’ Then they’d realize they’d been denied from ‘The Bachelor’ and now a bunch of people knew they had herpes.”
After STDs, mental issues are the next reason contestants may be given the boot.
“We lose a lot of great potential characters because we’re so tough and stringent, Hatta says. “Anyone who has any sort of borderline personality disorder or instability or any sort of past involving contemplation of suicide — we just can’t take the risk. We just don’t.”
So there you have it, ladies. If you’re interested in having the country watch you do all you can to get a guy who uses a lot of hairspray set his eyes on you, just make sure you’re clean and good to go!
