Reality TV has become a permanent fixture in popular culture. Either you love it or you hate it, you can't deny the fact that our society has become obsessed. Our obsession has grown to the point where a good portion of the television shows on right now are reality shows. Networks know we watch them so they keep making them. One of the most popular reality shows on TV right now is The Bachelor franchise (yes, franchise because this one show has multiple spin-off series i.e The Bachelorette, Bachelor in Paradise, etc.). And I'll admit it, I watch every single one of the shows involved in that franchise. They're completely ridiculous and frustrating, but I love them so much. As I'm watching these shows, I'm questioning how "real" they actually are.
The question of how "real" it actually is starts with the premise of the shows. The Bachelor is about one man dating 30 women in the hopes of finding his wife. The Bachelorette is basically the same except the gender roles are switched. And my personal favorite, Bachelor in Paradise, is when all the unstable cast aways from previous seasons all go to Mexico in the hopes of, you guessed it, finding love. Most the couples that do find "love" on the show, don't last in the real world. The majority break up a few months into their relationship and only a handful of the couples actually make it down the aisle. The point is, the shows track record for successful relationships is terrible. The latest couples from the franchise who happen to still be together are in engagement limbo. They're either going to get married or appear on People magazine with a rip down the middle. The question is now why doesn't it work out?
The contestants are in the Bachelor "bubble" for 2 months with no contact to the real world. Their phones are taken away so all they can do is focus on the "relationships". The dates these people go on are out of a fairytale. They go on extravagant dates in planes and boats with random hot tubs put in the middle of nowhere. The point is, these are not the type of dates one has in the real world. When they get out of the "bubble", it is a shock to their system when all they have is each other and Netflix. When that time comes, the "winner" may realize they fell in love with the fairytale as opposed to the person. That's just my thoughts on the matter. I'm not a relationship expert, but I am a TV expert. I know a good show when I see it and this franchise is full of good shows. It's like watching a slow moving train wreck and I can't look away. I have fallen way too deep into the Bachelor hole so even if its not as real as it wants people to think it is, I'm still going to sit on the couch every Monday and watch the Bachelor (but not until May because the season ended... WHYYY!).
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