50 secrets only true Bachelor fanatics know
By Sundi Rose
32. Producers Antagonize Contestants To Get The Story They Want
If you’re a Bachelor fan or a fan of any sort of dating show and you aren’t watching Unreal on Lifetime, you’re missing out on a lot of juicy, behind the scenes producer mess. Based on the accounts of former Bachelor producer, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, UnReal gives us the real account of how manipulative the show can get.
One former contestant, Megan Paris, alleges that producers, “call you names, berate you, curse at you until they get you to say what they want you to say.” She appeared on Jason Mesnick’s controversial season, and she claims that none of what you see is, in any way, reality.
She was very unhappy about the way the show portrayed her, and felt like it was a false representation of her true character. According to her accounts they pretty much offer you script in those confessionals and force contestants to say what they want to perpetuate the narrative they want.
Of course, there’s two sides to every story. The show denies this whole heartedly. Executive producer Mike Fleiss denies allegations of scripting and berating contestants. “We don’t do that,” he said. “We’ve never done that and we never will do that.” They maintain they edit for time and that’s it, but we’re doubtful. If we’re to believe anything UnReal has to say, the whole thing is just a story.