§Plot

Main article: Rules of The Bachelor

All of the rules are adopted from its parent show, The Bachelor. The series revolves around a single bachelorette (deemed eligible) and a pool of romantic interests (typically 25; 30 in season 5), which could include a potential husband for the bachelorette. The format is the same as the parent show. Unlike The Bachelor, one of two male suitors proposes to the bachelorette for the final selection. The Bachelor does not, however, always propose at the end of the show. At the end of Juan Pablo's season, he decided to "choose" a girl to keep spending time with, but evidentially was not ready for a proposal. A proposal at the end of the show is not always guaranteed. It is up to the bachelor/bachelorette to decide that.

Season 11 is the first season to feature a twist in casting. Since producers could not decide between The Bachelor Season 19 contenders Kaitlyn Bristowe and Britt Nillson, the 25 men participating will decide which bachelorette would make the best wife.

Unlike The Bachelor, all ten seasons of The Bachelorette have ended with a proposal whether or not the Bachelorette decided to accept or decline. Trista Rehn's marriage to Ryan Sutter, Ashley Hebert's marriage to JP Rosenbaum and Desiree Hartsock's marriage to Chris Siegfried have been the only marriages to result. The weddings of the former two were broadcast on ABC.

§Questions of authenticity

Mike Fleiss, creator of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, as well as former contestants, have come forth saying that both shows are scripted. The Bachelorette Season 4 winner, Jesse Csincsak, commented that contestants must follow producers' orders and that a storyline was fabricated in the editing room.

Season 13 contestant Megan Parris said in 2009 that the producers edited footage to create a false storyline. "I don't think showed any real conversation I had with anyone... The viewers fail to realize that editing is what makes the show... You'll hear someone make one comment and then they'll show a clip of somebody's face to make it look like that is their facial reaction to that statement, but really, somebody made that face the day before to something else. It's just piecing things together to make a story." Parris said not only is the show scripted, but that producers "bully" contestants into saying specific things to the camera that the contestants do not want to say. She said, "There's nothing real about . It is scripted. They basically will call you names, berate you, curse at you until they get you to say what they want you to say.

On March 15, 2010, The Bachelorette creator Mike Fleiss appeared on 20/20 to confess that he developed the show's contestants into characters that catered to his audience's tastes, and that they "need fair share of villains every season." Fleiss has come under fire for admitting that The Bachelor has less to do with reality than it does making good television.

By Season 7 of The Bachelorette, some believe that actors were being hired by ABC to play specific roles on the show. Some viewers were becoming tired of the show's scripted nature and speaking out. By Season 8 there were numerous complaints when the entire cast of The Bachelorette overtly acted out the show's written script with the cast of The Muppets.

§Seasons

• Season 1 (2003)

Trista Rehn, the runner-up of the first season of The Bachelor, was the first bachelorette.

• Season 2 (2004)

Meredith Phillips, who was sent home by bachelor Bob Guiney during season four of The Bachelor, was the second bachelorette.

• Season 3 (2005)

Jennifer Schefft, selected by Andrew Firestone in season three of The Bachelor, after her relationship with Firestone ended, was chosen to be the bachelorette for its third season. The season was filmed in New York City instead of Los Angeles.

• Season 4 (2008)

DeAnna Pappas, who first appeared in season eleven of The Bachelor, and was rejected by bachelor Brad Womack in his first season was the fourth bachelorette. Pappas made a surprise return in season 13 of The Bachelor.

• Season 5 (2009)

Jillian Harris, who was eliminated by bachelor Jason Mesnick in season thirteen of The Bachelor, was the fifth bachelorette. She is also the first non-American bachelorette, as she is from Canada.

• Season 6 (2010)

Ali Fedotowsky, who walked away from bachelor Jake Pavelka just before the rose ceremony in season 14 of The Bachelor, was the sixth bachelorette.

• Season 7 (2011)

Ashley Hebert, who was rejected by bachelor Brad Womack in season 15 of The Bachelor, was the seventh bachelorette.

• Season 8 (2012)

Emily Maynard, chosen by bachelor Brad Womack, also in season 15 of The Bachelor, after her relationship with Womack ended, was selected to be the bachelorette for its eighth season. Maynard is the second Bachelor winner to star in The Bachelorette after Jen Schefft. In addition, the production temporarily moved from Los Angeles to Maynard's hometown in Charlotte, North Carolina so that Emily could stay with her daughter Ricki during production.

• Season 9 (2013)

Desiree Hartsock, who was sent home after the hometown dates by Sean Lowe in season 17 of The Bachelor, was the ninth bachelorette.

• Season 10 (2014)

Andi Dorfman, who walked away from bachelor Juan Pablo Galavis just before the rose ceremony in season 18 of The Bachelor was the tenth bachelorette.

• Season 11 (2015)

Britt Nilsson and Kaitlyn Bristowe, Nilsson walked away from bachelor Chris Soules just before the rose ceremony, Bristowe was eliminated by Soules. These two women are both in season 19 of The Bachelor and they will be eleventh and twelfth bachelorettes.

Season	Premiered	Bachelorette	Profile	Winner	Runner(s)-Up	Proposal
1	January 8, 2003	Trista Rehn	Physical therapist	Ryan Sutter	Charlie Maher	Yes
	Rehn and Sutter were married on December 6, 2003 on national television. As of 2015, they are still together and have two children. Contestant Bob Guiney was featured on fourth season of The Bachelor. Rehn was also one of 6 contestants on the first season of Dancing with the Stars.
2	January 14, 2004	Meredith Phillips	Makeup artist	Ian Mckee	Matthew Hickl	Yes
	Phillips and McKee were engaged at the end of the show, but ended their relationship in February 2005.
3	January 10, 2005	Jennifer Schefft	Publicist	None	Jerry Ferris and John Paul Merritt	No
	Schefft rejected both Ferris and Merritt. During the first live final rose ceremony, she chose Ferris, an art gallery director, over Meritt. Ferris proposed to Schefft but she rejected his proposal, stating that the chemistry was not there. Schefft ultimately married Chicago public relations executive Joe Waterman in May 2009; they have two children, Mae Elizabeth and Charlotte Grace.
4	May 19, 2008	DeAnna Pappas	Real estate agent	Jesse Csincsak	Jason Mesnick	Yes
	The wedding was set for May 9, 2009, but they broke up in November 2008. Csincsak is now married to The Bachelor season 13 contestant Ann Lueders. Pappas ultimately married high school teacher Stephen Stagliano in October 2011, whose brother, Michael, was a contestant on the fifth season of The Bachelorette. The couple have a daughter, Addison Marie. Runner-up Mesnick was featured in the thirteenth season of The Bachelor. Finalist Graham Bunn became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad. Another finalist Ryan Hoag became a contestant on the third season of Bachelor Pad. Bunn returned to become a contestant on season one of Bachelor in Paradise.
5	May 18, 2009	Jillian Harris	Interior designer	Ed Swiderski	Kiptyn Locke	Yes
	In July 2010, it was announced that Harris and Swiderski had broken up. Contestant Jake Pavelka was featured on the 14th season of The Bachelor. Runner-up Locke, along with finalists Juan Barbieri, Wes Hayden, Jesse Kovacs and David Good, became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad. During their first season of Bachelor Pad, Locke fell in love with Tenley Molzahn from Pavelka's season, but they broke up in March 2013. Harris was a design team member of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition until its series end in 2012 and now hosts Canada's Handyman Challenge on HGTV. Finalist John Presser is now married to Tara Durr, who was a contestant on The Bachelor: Rome. Michael Stagliano became a contestant on the second season of Bachelor Pad along with Pavelka. Another finalist, Julien Hug, died on November 3, 2010. Stagliano would later return for the third season of Bachelor Pad along with winner Swiderski and another finalist Reid Rosenthal. Kovacs would later return to the first season of Bachelor in Paradise.
6	May 24, 2010	Ali Fedotowsky	Advertising account manager	Roberto Martinez	Chris Lambton	Yes
	Fedotowsky and Martinez broke up in November 2011, but remained friends. Finalists Jonathan Novack (referred to as Weatherman in the show), Craig McKinnon and Jesse Beck became contestants on the first season of Bachelor Pad. Finalists Kasey Kahl, Justin Rego (referred to as The Wrestler in the show) and Kirk DeWindt became contestants on the second season of Bachelor Pad. Runner-up Lambton is now married to Peyton Wright, who was a contestant on the 10th season of The Bachelor. Ty Brown is currently married to Elizabeth Kitt from the 14th season of The Bachelor.
7	May 23, 2011	Ashley Hebert	Dental student	J.P. Rosenbaum	Ben Flajnik	Yes
	Hebert and Rosebaum got married on December 1, 2012 and their wedding aired as a TV Special on December 16, 2012. The couple have a son named Fordham Rhys born on September 30, 2014. Finalists Ames Brown, Blake Julian and William Holman became contestants on the second season of Bachelor Pad. Runner-up Flajnik was featured on the sixteenth season of The Bachelor. Finalist Blake Julian is currently married to Holly Durst from The Bachelor season 12 whom he met on Bachelor Pad 2. Finalist Nick Peterson became a contestant and the winner on the third season of Bachelor Pad.
8	May 14, 2012	Emily Maynard	Children's hospital event planner	Jef Holm	Arie Luyendyk, Jr.	Yes
	Maynard and Holm ended their relationship in October 2012. In 2014, Maynard ultimately married Tyler Johnson, whom she met at church. Finalists Tony Pieper, Chris Bukowski and Kalon McMahon became contestants on the third season of Bachelor Pad. Third-place finalist Sean Lowe was featured on the 17th season of The Bachelor. Bukowski and McMahon returned for season one of Bachelor in Paradise.
9	May 27, 2013	Desiree Hartsock	Bridal stylist	Chris Siegfried	Drew Kenney	Yes
	Hartsock and Siegfried were married January 18, 2015. They currently live in Seattle, Washington. Sixth-place finalist Juan Pablo Galavis was featured on the 18th season of The Bachelor. Finalists Ben Scott, Zack Kalter, Brooks Forester, and Robert Graham became contestants on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise. Fourth Place finisher, Zak Waddell's sister, Carly, would later compete on the 19th season of The Bachelor.
10	May 19, 2014	Andi Dorfman	Assistant District Attorney	Josh Murray	Nick Viall	Yes
	Josh proposed to Andi. The two announced their breakup in January 2015. Finalists Marquel Martin, Dylan Petitt, Marcus Grodd, Cody Sattler and Tasos Hernandez became contestants on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise. Third place finalist Chris Soules was announced as the bachelor on the nineteenth season of The Bachelor.
11	May 18, 2015	Britt Nilsson	Waitress
		Kaitlyn Bristowe	Dance Instructor

§International versions

Country	Name	Host	Network	Date premiered
Romania	Burlăcița	Cătălin Botezatu Bogdan Vlădău	Antena 1	July 7, 2011
India			LifeOK
Germany	Die Bachelorette		RTL	November 24, 2004

§References

[ Source: Wikipedia ]