Not quite Paradise! The cast of Bachelor in Paradise doesn’t have total freedom while filming the Bachelor spinoff series in Mexico.
“It’s nowhere near as glamorous as people think it is,” Kalon McMahon dished during an appearance on Houston’s ABC affiliate after season 1 of BiP in 2014. ”When I was on The Bachelorette, I was in four countries in five days. You see all these magnificent aerial shots, but what people don’t know is you’re locked in these hotels, you’re deprived from talking with family or friends, you don’t get to read the newspaper, you have no idea what’s going on in the world around you except for what they give you.”
Fellow season 1 contestant AshLee Frazier added that it was a “well-produced” show, Kalon added, “It’s a well-produced show, let’s just say that. They know your weaknesses, they know your strengths, and they know how to put those things together.”
While Ashley Iaconetti met now-husband Jared Haibon filming Bachelor in Paradise, their relationship was rocky during their stints on seasons 2 and 3 — and the conditions were just as tough.
“I think everybody, whenever they see us from the show, they’re like, ‘Oh, my God, how [beautiful].’ Sunsets are incredible, but, like, [the toilets] barely flushed. … You share, like, one bathroom with eight dudes,” Jared told Us Weekly exclusively in August 2021, adding that there are “crabs everywhere” and no air conditioning.
The couple also agreed that while contestants often return for a second stint on BiP, round two can be more difficult.
“I think it’s more difficult because when you go through it a couple of times, and then you’re removed from it, to go back into that world, you’re not as naive as you first were,” Jared said. “It’s just a different experience. It’s not any less real or anything like that.”
Ashley added that filming BiP Is “less of a fantasy” the second time.
In addition to dealing with the outdoor conditions, the ABC series began enforcing a two-drink per hour limit amid season 4 after there was a sexual misconduct investigation involving Corinne Olympios and DeMario Jackson in 2017. (Warner Brothers found no “evidence” to support claims at the time.) Prior to that season, the “bar was always open,” according to Caila Quinn.
“Not a single drinking rule [in Paradise],” the Bachelor season 20 alum, who appeared on BiP season 3, said on Us’ “Here for the Right Reasons” podcast in August 2021. “In the mansion, there were no rules [either]. [But] mine was right before that controversial season with a Corinne.”
Scroll through for more BiP rules and secrets: