The Bachelorette

Given the instant success of The Bachelor, it is no surprise that ABC wanted to give the reality dating competition, which premiered in 2002, a spinoff.

Instead of having men hand out roses, The Bachelorette gave the women the power to select their future partner — and also not surprisingly, the show has a way higher success rate than its predecessor.

Since Trista Rehn handed out the first rose pin during Season 1 of the show, there have been 19 proposals.

How long has The Bachelorette been on?

The show premiered in 2003 and the inaugural season featured Trista Rehn, who chose firefighter Ryan Sutter as her winner. Today, the couple is still happily married and has two children together.

The Bachelorette also made headlines in 2015 when it selected both Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nilsson as contenders and had the men decide who should hand out the roses. Spoiler alert: Kaitlyn Bristowe won.

In 2021, Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia were selected as the next Bachelorette leads, after competing on Clayton Echard's season.

Does The Bachelorette get paid?

According to Reality Steve, recent leads on The Bachelorette get paid a minimum of $100,000.

Bachelorette Winners:

Trista Rehn — Winner: Ryan Sutter (still together)
Meredith Phillips — Winner: Ian Mckee (broken up)
Jen Schefft — Winner: Jerry Ferris (broken up)
DeAnna Pappas — Winner: Jesse Csincsak (broken up)
Jillian Harris — Winner: Ed Swiderski (broken up)
Ali Fedotowsky — Winner: Roberto Martinez (broken up)
Ashley Hebert — Winner: J.P. Rosenbaum (broken up)
Emily Maynard — Winner: Jef Holm (broken up)
Desiree Hartsock — Winner: Chris Siegfried (still together)
Andi Dorfman — Winner: Josh Murray (broken up)
Kaitlyn Bristowe — Winner: Shawn Booth (broken up)
JoJo Fletcher — Winner: Jordan Rodgers (still together)
Rachel Lindsay — Winner: Bryan Abasolo (still together)
Becca Kufrin — Winner: Garrett Yrigoyen (broken up)
Hannah Brown — Winner: Jed Wyatt (broken up)
Clare Crawley — Winner: Dale Moss (broken up)
Tayshia Adams — Winner: Zac Clark (broken up
Katie Thurston — Winner: Blake Moynes (broken up)
Michelle Young — Winner: Nayte Olukoya (broken up)
Gabby Windey and Rachel Recchia — Winners: TBD

Where is The Bachelorette mansion?

The Bachelorette is filmed at the exact same mansion as The Bachelor, which is located in Agoura Hills, Calif. The mansion is owned by the Haraden family, who rent it out to ABC for six weeks at a time to allow filming.

The family is also used to Bachelor Nation fans coming by on surprise visits. "Sometimes, you know, he’s not having it. They have got to turn around," Nick Haraden said of his father letting fans get a look inside. "Other times he’s like, 'Yeah, come on in, I’ll show you around.'"

Does The Bachelorette get to keep the clothes?

Despite having gowns custom made, The Bachelorette is not allowed to keep the clothes from the show. However, Andi Dorfman did admit to taking home a few items. "Let's just say some things might have gotten 'lost' along the way," she cheekily said.

She added, "We spent eight hours trying on everything and picking out outfits; then a seamstress came and fitted everything for me. A few weeks into filming, we did another fitting and picked out more outfits, and we were still picking out outfits all the way until the end."

According to the show's stylist, Cary Fetman, the show's wardrobe budget during Emily Maynard's season was $350,000. "It was bigger than any previous season – and we still went over," Cary told In Touch.