Spilling the tea.

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 have previously shared production bombshells from their time on “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette.”

This week, they welcomed former “Bachelor” producer Desiree Duckett to the podcast, who revealed behind-the-scenes secrets and how she navigated cast relationships. Dishing on how producers get paired up with cast members, Desiree shared that it’s a matching system. 

“I don’t really get a say in who I get paired up with, but the executives, they usually do try to pair us up based on who they think we would be a good fit with,” she revealed. “Like personality-wise, and maybe even some background things based on what they know about us and what they’re starting to learn about the contestants. So, they do usually do a really good job, but it can be hit or miss because we don’t really know each other yet…You always will find your people. That’s happened to me a few times where I didn’t start with someone but ended up getting really close with them and still am close with them. It all kind of naturally shakes out I think the way it’s supposed to.”

Desiree also revealed that she begins talking with cast members before filming starts and then continues throughout the process. 

“I talk to the contestant, it’s pretty much right as soon as they find out they’re going to be on the show,” she shared. “Like maybe a couple weeks before, I start reaching out to them. I like to do my first conversation on FaceTime because I want them to see me because I know people have this idea of what a ‘Bachelor’ producer is like and looks like and all of that. So, I like to get on FaceTime so they can look at me and be like, ‘Oh, that’s it? Like, we’re fine.’ I’m not scary, I’m just like you guys. So, I like to do that because I feel like it puts people at ease, and then really that first conversation we’re just getting to know them.”

The producer also noted that people on the show are free to connect with other producers; they're not stuck with their initial pairing. She also touched on forming relationships with cast members and how she navigates it.

“I think part of what makes a really good producer is being an open book,” she admitted. “I’m not gonna ask you to open and share your thoughts and feelings with me if I’m not willing to do the same. So, I think that creates a space for friendship to grow and for people to understand each other…I know how important it is to, especially when you guys are there you don’t have your phones, you don’t have your families, to be able to talk through those things to understand the feelings. And sometimes it’s a little bit of tough love on my end because if you’re going through something and you’re upset, you might want to run. You don’t want to talk about it. But I know you’re not going to get to where you need to get to by the end if you don’t talk it through. At least with me.”

Desiree also confessed that it’s hard for her to separate her emotions and has cried alongside cast members before. 

“I don’t know if that’s good or bad, but I have cried in the interview chair with both of you guys [Charity and Rachel]. I’ve cried outside of the interview chair with you guys because when you start to care about someone, then you do kind of take it on a little bit,” she shared. “It’s a lot for us to take on also. A lot of emotions for us to take on. I like to be so present and so there, and I don’t know if this is good or bad either, but I’m not really even aware of what’s going on in my outside life because I don’t know if there’s a way to do this job without being fully, fully in it. So yeah, I don’t know if I do the best job of separating it, but then I think that’s what makes me a producer who really cares.”  

Listen to the rest of Desiree’s interview in the full episode of “Bachelor Happy Hour” below!