In The Bachelor you never want to be the one kicked off in the first episode.
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You've made the effort to apply, went through the casting calls and then turned up for filming in your fanciest duds.
Then, after a few hours, you’re heading back home again.
The only way it could get worse is if that first episode ends without you even getting your "goodbye” moment where you’re driven off in a limo while having a cry.
That’s what seemed to happen to the first-episode losers Autumn, Susie and Urszula. After Nick “Bachie” Cummins handed out his last rose, the show suddenly ended.
It was like the makers were thinking “come on, you don’t really care about those three women. Bet you can’t even remember what they look like”.
And they’d be right. While writing this, I checked their photos on The Bachelor site (that’s where I got their names. Like I’m going to waste valuable brain-cell storage by actually remembering them).
And I swear at least two of them never actually appeared in the show. I have no memory of seeing them before.
Maybe that’s because the show’s editor knew they were toast and felt giving them any screen time would be pointless.
It was a similar story for the the two who got bumped off in the second episode – Juliana and Renee.
Yeah, I had to look up their names too. And, after seeing their photos I tend to think it’s actually the same person.
Maybe the showrunners decided to cut costs and have one person double up as two different contestants.
The takeaway from all this? If you want to survive the early-episode cull, then you have to something to stand out.
Not to catch the Bachelor’s attention, oh no. You need to catch the attention of the show’s creators – they’re really the ones who decide who Cummins can kick off.
So the uber-clingy “I knew him before the show” Cass, Brooke and her “hey I’m cute and I brought you some balls” and Shannon and her over-emoting are all going to be around for a bit. Because they stood out.
Even doing something stupid helps – like jumping in a pool wearing a fancy dress.
Because, with The Bachelor, looking for ratings is more important than looking for love.
Glen Humphries
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
I'm an award-winning senior journalist with the Illawarra Mercury and have well over two decades' worth of experience in newspapers. I cover the three local councils in the Illawarra for the Mercury, state and federal politics, as well as writing for the TV guide. If I'm not writing, I'm reading.
