'The Bachelorette' and 'The Bachelor' Leads Have Very Little Time to Fall in Love

Citizens of Bachelor Nation have always had some burning questions. But one of the biggest questions is about how long it actually takes to film shows like The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, since over the course of the season they’re supposed to find their soulmate. Throughout the season, the Bachelor or Bachelorette dates around 25 people over the course of weeks, but how many weeks?

The Bachelorette and The Bachelor both work on faster timelines than typical relationships — instead of years together, they have only weeks. Not only that, but when it comes to exploring their physical relationship, they really only have one night. Plus, their entire relationship plays out in front of cameras (except for fantasy suites) ... so how long does it take to film?

The romance of Bachelor Nation plays out over a couple of months for viewers, but sometimes it’s even shorter for the contestants. Filming typically takes place over the course of six to nine weeks.

There were two Bachelorettes in Season 19, and filming was only from March 26 to May 13, 2022, just 48 days, or about seven weeks.

As for Season 20's Charity Lawson, reports say she filmed an even shorter season at about five weeks over the course of spring 2023.

Per Bustle, Charity's season began filming just one week after Women Tell All aired (the special aired on March 14, 2023). Reality Steve also noted on his podcast that Charity was apparently was down to six contestants after only two and a half weeks of filming.

Basically, it all comes down to how quickly the season lead makes their decisions.

Even with the limited time, the season leads really don’t get much time to spend with the contestants. Former Bachelorette Ali Fedotowsky shared with Women’s Health, “I would say you probably spend about 72 hours tops with the person you wind up choosing, and 12 of that is spent ‘sleeping’ in the fantasy suite.”

So over the course of five weeks, in Charity's case, the Bachelorette lead spends maybe a total of three days with the suitor they end up choosing, which is pretty wild to consider.

One brilliant thing about Bachelor Nation is how we’re invested in the season lead before the show even begins. Because we’ve known Charity since Zach Shallcross's Bachelor season (which premiered in January 2023), we feel like it’s about time for her to get her happily ever after.

So although Charity's only known her contestants for maybe five weeks by the time one of them is supposed to get down on one knee, it doesn’t feel that rushed for us at home.

That’s because we’re watching the show play out over the course of about 10 or 11 weeks. That’s even longer than Charity has actually known the men. And the footage we see on screen is really most of the time the Bachelorette gets with her contestants. While there’s a lot we don’t see, there’s not that much time they spend together that we’re unaware of.

While a 35-day relationship might have been standard in the early 1900s, it's a little unorthodox by today's standards.

While The Bachelor and The Bachelorette are very structured, Bachelor in Paradise has a very different form and structure. The former shows have a series lead who goes on group dates and one-on-one dates throughout the season to eliminate their contestants rose by rose.

Typically, they have dates every day or every other day, and then the cocktail party is a completely different day. This means that for every episode we watch that has two or three dates plus a cocktail party, it really is a very quick process.

On the other hand, Bachelor in Paradise has contestants coming in and out of the island. Some go on dates while others are just spending time together on the beach. Because of this, the rose ceremonies can be as frequent as every other day.

Filming typically happens over the course of about three weeks. However, BIP couples tend to be more successful because they get to spend so much time together within those three weeks.