Andy DehnartOn the 20/20 special “Inside the Bachelor: Stories Behind the Rose” last night, Mike Fleiss revealed that Bob Guiney had more sex than any other bachelor, while Chris Harrison says he likes to both slap the bachelors on the ass and to create awkward moments that make people feel uncomfortable.
I didn’t watch the special, because after the wedding and the finale, I just couldn’t take any more of The Bachelor. I also couldn’t take watching 20/20 be used to promote an on-network series while either ignoring or pretending to investigate the accusations leveled against producers that have been backed up by evidence that cast members openly lied–especially because the show’s creator thinks that leaks and accusations are just great publicity, kind of like 20/20.
Thankfully, The Baltimore Sun’s Sarah Kelber recaps highlights from the episode and leads with a comment that affirms my decision not to watch: “Creator Mike Fleiss is creepy. Really, really creepy.” The special also included updates about past cast members (now that’s journalism!) and details that Kelber reports, like the way producers “spent about $20K on dental work for Bachelor Matt.” She also quotes Melissa Rycroft, who said, “I wasn’t innocent, I wasn’t a victim, I knew the relationship was over. It was not a break-up on TV, it was Melissa being lied to by everybody.”
The special also revealed that Chris Harrison smacks the bachelors in the ass before the show starts, according to an ABC News story. “Every time those limos pull up they are scared to death, they’re nervous as hell. I slap them in the butt and I say, good luck, go get ’em. Don’t let me down,” Chris said.
Chris also gets off on making the cast members he loves so much feel horribly uncomfortable: “I relish, and maybe it’s because I’ve been a part of this so long, I really enjoy awkward moments. I mean, I love creating them, I like seeing how people react. I don’t mind it at all.”
Finally, Fleiss said a few things about his heavy hand as a producer. “We need our fair share of villains every season. And now we’re very careful in our casting…to develop characters that the audience is going to root for and root against,” he said. (Oh, like Wes, maybe?) If you’d like to know what will happen in a future season, I’d bet on this: Fleiss said, “One of my dreams is that a couple will fall so madly in love during the course of production that when it comes time to shoot the final episode, the final rose ceremony, they demand a justice of the peace be present, and they actually get married right there on the spot.”
As to sex in the house, in a clip captured by TVTattle, Fleiss says that Bob Guiney had sex with five and a half women, and he said while “there’s not a ton of” sex, said that the average bachelor has sex with three women.