If you’re a member of Bachelor Nation, you may have wondered how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette make per episode or season as leads of the ABC franchise.
From Matt James to Katie Thurston to Peter Weber, there have been dozens of Bachelors and Bachelorettes over the years, and each of them has a different salary, depending on how good their lawyers are and when their season aired. (Though the Bachelor franchise is one of the most-watched TV shows now, it wasn’t until a couple seasons in that the series became the ratings monster we know today.) Still, while there are a lot of factors that determine a Bachelor or Bachelorette’s salary, most leads make around the same money because of a flat fee that ABC starts each Bachelor and Bachelorette at. (More on that later.)
So how much do the Bachelor and the Bachelorette get paid? Read on to find out the salaries of some your favorite Bachelor Nation stars. (Click here to read about how much Bachelor and Bachelorette contestants make.)
How much do the Bachelor and the Bachelorette make?
According to Reality Steve, the current standard rate for Bachelors and Bachelorettes is $100,000. Though we can’t know for sure, this means that many of our recent favorite leads (Ben Higgins, Kaitlyn Bristowe, Rachel Lindsay) likely made around $100K for their seasons, which isn’t bad for two months worth of work. Still, though most Bachelors and Bachelorettes make at least $100,000 these days, that wasn’t always the case. And, like most jobs, there are some Bachelors and Bachelorettes who have been able to negotiate more money than their peers. Though we don’t know all of them, read about the Bachelor and Bachelorette salaries we know ahead.
Emily Maynard — The Bachelorette, Season 8
Image: ABC/Rick Rowell.
Salary: $250,000
Emily, who was the season 8 Bachelorette in 2012, is often cited as one of the highest-paid Bachelors or Bachelorettes. In Touch reported at the time that Emily, thanks to intense negotiations, was paid to star as the lead of The Bachelorette, which was more than any other Bachelor or Bachelorette at the time. “The producers have completely changed the format this season in order to meet Emily’s demands,” a source told In Touch at the time.
In Touch also reported that Emily was also specific about the type of men she wanted on her season. “She wanted only the best-looking, most mannered guys,” the source said. “She’s whittling it down to a handful of candidates who she will spend a lot more time with. If she doesn’t like a guy, he’s gone.”
Ashley Hebert — The Bachelorette, Season 7
Image: ABC/Rick Rowell.
Salary: $30,000 – $100,000
Ashley, who was the season 7 Bachelorette in 2011, has had a lot of controversy around her Bachelorette salary. Us Weekly reported at that the time that Ashley made $30,000 for her time as the Bachelorette, which would’ve been $70,000 less than her peers at that time. Reality Steve, however, countered Us Weekly’s reporting and wrote in a blog post at the time that Ashley made around the standard $100,000. “I’m sorry, but Ashley would have to be the worst negotiator in the history of negotiations if she ever accepted that gig for $30k,” he wrote at the time.
Meredith Phillips — The Bachelorette, Season 2
Image: KATHY HUTCHINS / MEGA.
Salary: $10,000
As one of the first Bachelorettes, Meredith’s salary wasn’t much. She starred as the season 2 Bachelorette in 2004. In Bachelor reporter Amy Kaufman’s 2018 book, Bachelor Nation, Kaufman reports that Meredith was paid $10,000 for her time as the Bachelorette more than a decade ago. The salary is about a tenth of what leads make today. In the book, Kaufman writes that it would be “incredibly rare for someone to make less than six figures” today.
Image: Courtesy of Penguin Books.
Bachelor Nation by Amy Kaufman
Buy: 'Bachelor Nation' by Amy Kaufman $13.89To get more of an inside scoop, check out Los Angeles Times writer Amy Kaufman’s book, Bachelor Nation: Inside the World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure, for a deep dive into the Bachelor franchise. The book uncovers the secrets of Bachelor Nation, from how much the Bachelor and the Bachelorette are paid to the rules contestants have to follow, that producers don’t want fans to know. It’s a must-read for any Bachelor Nation member.
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