They’re the reality TV shows which follow contestants on the search for love, improving their cooking skills or even gaining a husband.
But the romantic premises of The Bachelor or Married at First Sight are rarely the reason people apply for the shows, a documentary filmmaker has claimed.
Creating A Monster creator Gena Riess told The Morning Show on Thursday most audition because they are bored and ‘lost in life’.
The REAL reason why people go on dating shows: Documentary maker reveals contestants are usually after publicity and are ‘lost in life’
Gena’s documentary interviews a series of former reality TV stars that unwittingly found themselves portrayed as villains when the show aired.
Interview subjects include The Bachelorette’s David Witko, Married At First Sight’s Clare Verrall and The Bachelor’s Sandra Rato.
Speaking to the Channel Seven show, Gena said there were multiple reasons why people auditioned, but it wasn’t always aligned to the show’s storyline.
Thought provoking: Gena’s documentary interviews a series of former reality TV stars that unwittingly found themselves portrayed as villains when the show aired
Series villain: Interview subjects include The Bachelorette’s David Witko
‘Publicity is a big reason for people to go on reality television,’ Gena said.
‘I think some people are maybe optimistic about finding love, usually in the back of their brain.’
She added: ‘They can be lost in their life and maybe a bit bored as well, so that is another reason why people can go on reality television.’
Contestants hungry for fame and something exciting to do got more than bargained for when they discovered they were the series bad guy.
‘I think some people are maybe optimistic about finding love, usually in the back of their brain’: The doco maker said romance was often on the back of contestants’ minds
‘The people that I interviewed they didn’t know that they were going to be the villain and I think that that is always really shocking for people,’ Gena said.
‘When you go on a reality show they are really only showing little bits of their personality, so you only really see these bits that are exaggerated, all your flaws are highlighted.’
Even those who go on the show wanting to the bad guy often find it confronting when they receive backlash from fans.
‘Some people do go in thinking oh I want to be the villain character, but at the same time I think it is always going to be shocking when you see the way that the audience sees you,’ Gena said.
‘They can be lost in their life and maybe a bit bored as well, so that is another reason why people can go on reality television’: Gena said contestants can sometimes be looking for something to do