Behind the roses…

Fans got to know former Bachelorettes Charity Lawson and Rachel Recchia as they looked for love on various Bachelor Nation shows over the years. 

The two now co-host the “Bachelor Happy Hour” podcast together, and this week, they revealed production secrets and behind-the-scenes bombshells from their time on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.” 

While answering submitted fan questions, Charity and Rachel dished on whether leads get any input for their one-on-one dates. 

Charity said, “We definitely mention our interests. I think that’s a big one. And then obviously they love a fear one; they love, like, ‘What are your fears?’ And so specifically on my season, I was like, ‘I’ll do anything but’ — which, thank God, we didn’t even travel international, so there was no way to have me shark dive — but I was like, ‘I’m not doing it.’ And, like, shark cage diving? No. And I also said I was not skydiving, and, well, what did I end up doing? Bungee jump with my husband, so I guess it did work in that sense.” 

Rachel added, “I think a lot of the dates are planned pretty far in advance before they pick a lead, but I remember there was one day when they went up to me and Gabby and they were like, ‘Okay, Gabby, tomorrow you get hot tub and wine. Rachel, you’re going in the airplane.’ So I think they do keep things in mind for certain people, but yeah, I mean, they’re all fun.”

The two also spilled how many bathrooms the cast has to share while in the Mansion, and Charity revealed there’s technically four, although not all are accessible. 

“I think there was another one, but we never had access to it. There’s one that’s kind of wrapped around on the other side, but I don’t think anyone [used it], so technically three bathrooms,” she said. Rachel added, “And there are so many spaces that we just can’t access because they’re interview rooms, so they’re production rooms.”

Charity and Rachel then chatted about filming Rose Ceremonies and clarified that there are no names on the roses. However, they do have to hand them out to guys in sections. 

“I did maybe a total of three takes. I did maybe 10 names at a time, and I didn’t have that many guys. I had like only 26 guys, so I basically did three,” Charity recalled. She also shared she knew her top eight by Night 1, so she wanted to get through the ceremonies as quickly as possible. Rachel chimed in and explained how the process works from a production standpoint. 

She said, “The process is that they’ll tell us, ‘Okay, you’re gonna call Joe and then you’re gonna call Bob.’ So you go out and you pick up a rose and you have to hold the rose for a long time, and then you say ‘Joe’ and then you do the same thing, and then ‘Bob.’ And then you’ll leave, and you have to come back and do it again. That’s how they get the take. So those Rose Ceremony nights are long.” 

Hear more of Rachel and Charity’s behind-the-scenes secrets in the full episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour” below!