*A New York Times Bestseller* The first definitive, unauthorized, behind-the-scenes cultural history of the Bachelor franchise, America’s favorite guilty pleasure. For sixteen years and thirty-six seasons, the Bachelor franchise has been a mainstay in American TV viewers’ lives. Since it premiered in 2002, the show’s popularity and relevance have only grown—more than eight million viewers tuned in to see the conclusion of the most recent season of The Bachelor. Los Angeles Times journalist Amy Kaufman is a proud member of Bachelor Nation and has a long history with the franchise—ABC even banned her from attending show events after her coverage of the program got a little too real for its liking. She has interviewed dozens of producers, contestants, and celebrity fans to give readers never-before-told details of the show’s inner workings: what it’s like to be trapped in the mansion “bubble”; dark, juicy tales of producer manipulation; and revelations about the alcohol-fueled debauchery that occurs long before the Fantasy Suite. Kaufman also explores what our fascination means, culturally: what the show says about the way we view so-called ideal suitors; our subconscious yearning for fairy-tale romance; and how this enduring television show has shaped society’s feelings about love, marriage, and feminism by appealing to a marriage plot that’s as old as the best of Jane Austen.

Perfect for fans of Bachelor Nation and Seinfeldia, an illuminating deep dive into the most successful reality TV franchise of all time—The Bachelor. Since its premiere in 2002, ABC’s The Bachelor has become a staple of American television. Now, discover the fascinating history of the show, uncover the ins and outs of the phenomenon that has become Bachelor Nation, and take a deeper look at what separates the winners from the losers. From how best to exit the limo on Night One, to strategies for making a run for the all-important First Impression Rose, to how to avoid being labeled a villain, this clear-eyed guide illustrates the rules and strategies any would-be contestant should know. The ultimate must-read for every fan, How to Win the Bachelor gives you an “entertaining” (Publishers Weekly) inside look at the franchise where The Rose holds all the power.

On March 25, 2002, The TV show The Bachelor aired for the first time on television. On March 25, 1995, seven years prior to the airing of The Bachelor, the original bachelor, a farmer from southeast Nebraska in a small town called Auburn, married a beautiful girl from Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Before there was ever a Bachelor TV show, this farmer had a life-changing real-life experience that is very similar to The Bachelor. This book will make you feel good again about love, marriage, and living the good life. This is a true story of how a farmer had a wild thought come into his mind and changed it into a big decision that would affect him for the rest of his life. This farmer took a big chance in life, and it paid off with big dividends. If you like romance, happy endings, good stories, have a good sense of humor, and want to know that there is hope out there for you, then you must read this book! This book will make you feel good about life again. This book will capture your attention because it is a story of many twists and turns with life lessons that are of value to everyone.

Everybody's talking about the hot new app rating New York's most eligible bachelors. But why focus on Prince Charming when you can read the latest dirt on the lowest-ranked "Bad Bachelors"—NYC's most notorious bad boys. He says... If one more person mentions Bad Bachelors to me, someone's gonna get hurt. Who thought this app would be a good idea? Like dating isn't hard enough without being critiqued for every little misstep. My name is Reed McMahon and I'm supposedly a PR whiz and "image fixer," but now I need some help cleaning up my own image. She says... When Reed strolls into my workplace offering to help save the struggling library, I'm not buying his story. I'm Darcy Greer, a no-nonsense Brooklynite who knows Reed is exactly the kind of guy to be avoided. I've seen the app, and Bad Bachelor #1 has no place in my life. However, the library does need his help, and this guy needs to make some serious amends, so who am I to stop him? If only he didn't work so hard to find redemption... "Delightfully fresh. Stefanie London delivers all the feels in this exceptional opposites-attract love story. Bad Bachelor is an absolute must-read."—LAUREN LAYNE, New York Times bestselling author "Original, witty, and sexy. My #1 romance read of the year!"—JENNIFER BLACKWOOD, USA Today bestselling author

Matt James, the first Black bachelor on ABC’s beloved television show, The Bachelor, shares his views on the controversial topics that defined his season and confronts matters of race, opportunity, and his biracial identity head on. When The Bachelor franchise announced Matt James as the first Black lead, it was celebrated as long-overdue progress on the primetime show. America fell in love with Matt—the Christian, former NFL athlete, and nonprofit CEO—who charmed millions of viewers each week. But the off-screen conversations around the show revealed the realities and inescapable challenges of being Black in America and the depth of racism that still exists. On the show, Matt could only go so far in sharing his own story with America. In First Impressions, Matt shares his views on controversial topics like race and opportunity that defined his season on The Bachelor. Matt lives at the intersection of these important issues and shares the wisdom his experience has granted him. Matt describes the joys and difficulties of being the youngest of two Black sons, raised by a single, working-class, white mother in Raleigh, North Carolina. He elaborates on the spiritual closeness and sense of duty he felt for his mother, but also the complex relationships he had with the many male figures in his life: his prejudiced, Italian grandfather, who had trouble accepting Matt as his own; his father, whose womanizing and petty crime put strain on the family; and his older brother, who was Matt’s protector in youth, but who struggled with the long shadow of their father’s legacy. Simultaneously inspirational and informative, First Impressions will leave readers with a deeper understanding of the life experiences that prepared Matt for such a divisive moment in television history.

The “virgin Bachelor” Sean Lowe reveals the challenges of finding love while championing his Christian convictions in the morally complex world of reality TV. After The Bachelorette broke his heart, Sean Lowe suspected his “nice guy” image hurt him. The show never emphasized it, but Sean committed to living according to biblical standards of sexuality, even as producers emphasized the risqué and promiscuous. A Texas boy from a Baptist home, Sean tells the story of how he went from a Division I college football player to a fan favorite on reality television, taking readers behind the scenes of The Bachelor and The Bachelorette to see the challenges of living out his values and faith—and ultimately winning his true love’s heart. For the Right Reasons is about the journeys we all have to take in the real world, where being “good” is the right thing to do but sometimes doesn’t seem to be enough; where betrayal is commonplace; and where that thing called perfection is actually just a cruel myth. Sean learned a few things from his two seasons on the hottest romance shows on television, and he wants others to benefit from those lessons: good does eventually win, lies will be discovered, and “nice guys” do ultimately finish first.

The right reasons to fall in love with The Bachelor When it debuted in 2002, The Bachelor raised the stakes of first-wave reality television, offering the ultimate prize: true love. Since then, thrice yearly, dozens of camera-ready young-and-eligibles have vied for affection (and roses) in front of a devoted audience of millions. In this funny, insightful examination of the world’s favorite romance-factory, Suzannah Showler explores the contradictions that are key to the franchise’s genius, longevity, and power and parses what this means for both modern love and modern America. She argues the show is both gameshow and marriage plot — an improbable combination of competitive effort and kismet — and that it’s both relic and prophet, a time-traveler from first-gen reality TV that proved to be a harbinger of Tinder. In the modern media-savvy climate, the show cleverly highlights and resists its own artifice, allowing Bachelor Nation to see through the fakery to feel the romance. Taking on issues of sex, race, contestants-as-villains, the controversial spin-offs, and more, Most Dramatic Ever is both love letter to and deconstruction of the show that brought us real love in the reality TV era.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Billionaire Bad Boys series, the first book in her laugh-out-loud romance series about three brothers finding love. Foreign correspondent Roman Chandler has always prized his freedom above all else. Now losing a coin toss has sealed this youngest brother's fate. Finding someone to escort down the aisle is the easy part-every wannabe bride in sleepy Yorkshire Falls is itching to get hitched to this gorgeous, globe-trotting Chandler man. But Roman still lusts after the woman who got away. Stunning heartbreaker Charlotte Bronson has come home to put down roots and get her lingerie business off the ground. She wants a man that won't go chasing off to the far corners of the earth for a breaking news story. He wants her to say "I do."