Reality TV
Bachelor In Paradise Just Introduced Prize Money & A New Format
Here’s how the new system works — and how the cast might use it to strategize.
From its new location to its revamped filming style, Bachelor in Paradise has been embracing change for its milestone 10th season — and in Week 6, Jesse Palmer dropped the biggest bombshell yet.
“This year, we’re raising the stakes,” the host announced after the Aug. 4 rose ceremony. While Jesse stressed that the show is “still looking for couples who choose love,” he explained that those budding couples will now have to contend with yet another curveball: cash.
Here’s everything to know about the Bachelor in Paradise prize money and new format so far.
Shaking Up Paradise
Late arrivals to Paradise are a dependable source of conflict, even for solid couples. But for the rest of Season 10, no new singles will be entering the chat. As Jesse explained, the existing pairs will instead participate in compatibility tests to see if they’re suited to leave the beach together. For example, the first such exercise was based on partners guessing numbers in their beach beau’s life — like the number of unread messages in Bailey’s phone, or how much money Faith Martin spends on her beauty routine.
As new showrunner Scott Teti recently told Entertainment Weekly, “We’re taking a lot of time to think about them and creatively how to implement them and not be so on the nose with things and keep people surprised at the results that we're getting.” Successfully making it through each week gives couples the chance to make as much as $500,000 at the end of Paradise.
The bottom three couples will be at risk of elimination, though, as they won’t automatically be given roses to pass out. Only the winner can decide who will get the chance to hand out a stem, adding a group element to the otherwise personal choice of who to give a rose to (or not).
For example, Bailey Brown opted to send home Leslie Fhima and Gary Levingston, explaining that other couples needed more time to work on their respective connections. Of course, this system could theoretically let the cast eliminate couples who they think are too strong (i.e., potential threats to the prize pot).
Looking Ahead
As Jesse noted at the end of Week 6, there will still be opportunities to consider potential chemistry with new partners who are already on the beach.
The fusion of dating and competition isn’t new to TV — and it’s not even new to Bachelor Nation, as Jesse noted of the short-lived series Bachelor Pad that predated Bachelor in Paradise. But this change marks a major update in how couples might navigate their beach relationships going forward.
