The Real Reason Bachelor Contestants Are Encouraged To Drink
It's no secret that alcohol is a major component of The Bachelor. Contestants can be seen with glasses in hand during many a rose ceremony, especially on that fateful first night. For some, a choice in drink unfortunately becomes the central talking point of the season (cue Champagne-Gate with Kelsey and Hannah-Ann from Peter Weber's season.) Regardless, who can blame the contestants for wanting to calm those pre-filming jitters?
According to past Bachelor contestants, however, this isn't the main reason that alcohol is served on set. Several alums have revealed that the producers encourage cast members to drink.
"It's how they get you to be more talkative, more sensitive," season 17 contestant Leslie Hughes explained to The Daily Beast in 2013. "When I came in for the producers' weekend, I remember it was like 12 noon, and they were like, 'You want some champagne, wine?' And I was like, 'It's 12 p.m., noon!' And they're like, 'Welcome to the Bachelor family.'"
Some Bachelor contestants believe they were manipulated with alcohol
Unfortunately, a few Bachelor alums did not have good things to say when it came to the drinking culture on set. Season 19 contestant Jordan Branch, for instance, believes that producers manipulated her and other contestants by constantly replenishing their glasses, per Spoon University.
Ali Fedotowsky (pictured above), who was the season 6 Bachelorette, also confirmed that contestants drank a lot during filming. "A lot of people drink," Fedotowsky said in a 2013 interview with A Drink With. "If you're smart you don't drink that much. I was in the middle."
As reported by People, Bachelor producers implemented a drinking rule in 2018 to reduce alcohol-related incidents. The new rule prohibited contestants from consuming more than two drinks per hour.
But does this rule still exist? Bachelor alum Kaitlyn Bristowe questioned whether the limit was in place after watching the first episode of Peter Weber's season, via Delish. Whether the rule still exists or not, one thing is for certain: The showrunners still know how to get dramatic scenes out of the contestants.