Bachelor Nation
Will You Accept This Rose? Here’s How to Audition For ‘The Bachelor’
If the “Bachelor Audition Tapes” have you wanting to join in on the action, you’ve come to the right place.
On May 7, Bachelor Nation announced that it is finally dropping footage from the original auditions of fan-favorite contestants and leads. As they put it: “Bachelor Nation fans have been watching love stories unfold onscreen for over 23 years and now, for the first time in franchise history, fans are getting an exclusive look at how it all began for some of their favorite stars.”
Beginning on May 14, “Bachelor Audition Tapes” will air weekly on Bachelor Nation’s YouTube channel. But don’t worry, the channel has already dropped a teaser trailer for the series featuring clips from Hannah Brown, Joey Graziadei, Rachael Kirkconnell, Charity Lawson, Tyler Cameron, Gabby Windey, and more! According to Bachelor Nation, fans “won’t want to skip a second of this series,” so you already know we’re going to eat it up.
Whether watching clips of pre-stardom Bachelor favorites in all their unfiltered, hopeful, and nervous glory has you feeling some type of way about your own journey to finding love, or made you curious about what it takes to make it on to a reality dating show, look no further. We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about The Bachelor‘s audition process, including eligibility requirements for anyone applying or being nominated, as well as some of the most shocking questions on the application.
If you’re ready to ditch the apps and enter the mansion, scroll down to learn how to apply to get cast on The Bachelor.
How do you apply to be on The Bachelor?
You can apply to be on The Bachelor or nominate a friend to join the show on Bachelor Nation’s official website. Per the specific call for contestants on ABC’s casting page: “The search is on for eligible [men/women] who are looking for true love! Do you have the charm, style, class, and culture to be our next star— Or do you know someone who does? If so, APPLY NOW!”
Along with the online application, ABC is known to host multiple Bachelor open casting calls all around the country. While there are no upcoming in-person casting calls (likely because they are currently filming Season 10 of Bachelor in Paradise, we highly suggest that serious applicants attend one of these events to ensure you get face time with the casting team.
Alternatively, a recent interview with Jenn Tran proved to us that having a killer social media presence could also count as an audition. According to The Bachelorette lead turned Dancing with the Stars contestant, she never applied for the show. She stated, “I had a TikTok that I was posting on about, like, PA school stuff, my everyday life, and everything, and a casting producer found my PA school TikTok and then had actually reached out to me.” We wouldn’t bet on going this direction, but hey, if it could happen to Jenn, it could happen to you.
Disney/Christopher Willard
Who is eligible to apply for The Bachelor?
The Bachelor‘s application includes seven major eligibility requirements: You have to be 21 (or older); you have to be from the USA or Canada, but you can’t be from Quebec; you can’t hold a political position; you need a passport; you can’t be in a relationship (unless it’s been less than two months and you haven’t been intimate); you can’t have any felonies or restraining orders; you can’t already be affiliated with production or their sponsors.
None of these strike us as out of the ordinary, other than their definition of a relationship. Seeing as multiple contestants have gone down in infamy for having a secret relationship back home (we’re looking you, Jed Wyatt), the two month rule may not be strict enough. Guess they had to draw the line somewhere?
What questions are on The Bachelor‘s casting application?
The casting application begins with typical questions, requesting your name, gender, birthday, and contact information. What may surprise some is that, by question five, they’re already asking for you to fill in your height and weight. We don’t know about you, but a dating app has never asked us how much we weigh.
If there’s one thing The Bachelor loves, it’s a backstory. Casting wastes no time by asking if you’ve ever been married or have any children right out of the gate. You’re then asked to share what you do for work, and what your closest big city is.
Finally, it’s time to bust out your reason for wanting to join the show. While we’re pretty certain nobody actually puts “I’m here for the wrong reasons” in this box, we’d love to know what past contestants said for this one.
After uploading a stunning picture of yourself and doing a quick round-up of your social media handles, you’re all set!
What comes after the application?
According to an interview with a Bachelor applicant who went through the casting process but didn’t make it onto the show, the process begins with an email. For this applicant, who was nominated for Nick Viall‘s season of the show, it took two emails and a voicemail from casting for her to believe it wasn’t a scam. (Be careful out there!) However, once she formally applied, she was invited to an in-person interview.
The applicant told Refinery29 that during the 10-15 minute interview, “They asked the most basic questions. Where are you from/Where did you grow up/What do you do/What is dating life like in [your town]?” What surprised us the most was that, during the first round of auditions, “They did not dig for ANY dirt…”
While this applicant did not make it any further into the process, Amy Kaufman’s Bachelor Nation reveals that promising contestants are “invited to come to LA for one of two final audition weekends — all expenses paid — to meet the production team in person.” There, you are told to fill out a “150-question personality test” with questions ranging from “Do you have out-of-body experiences?” to “Have you ever wanted to kill someone?” If that wasn’t shocking enough, Kaufman also reveals that all potential contestants meet with the show’s therapist, a private investigator, and a medical examiner at some point throughout the weekend. Make it past all of that, and producers may finally deem you ready to accept The Bachelor‘s rose.
From all of us here at Swooon, best of luck to all the Bachelor Nation applicants out there. We’re rooting for you and cannot wait to watch your audition on “Bachelor Audition Tapes” a few years down the line!
