True Love on "The Bachelor"?

The current season of “The Bachelor” follows Jake, a handsome pilot from Texas, in the search for his soul mate. In the most reason episode, which aired February 8, 2010, Jake visited each woman’s hometown. Over the course of two hours, there were several allusions to fairy tales. Gia, a swimsuit model from New York, tells the audience: “I want the fairy tale.” Ali, an Advertising Account Manager from Massachusetts, notes: “Every moment with him is unbelievable, out of a movie, a fairy tale.” When Jake visits Vienna, a Marketing Representative from Florida, her father states: “I’ve always treated her just like a princess, and that’s how I expect you to treat her.” Jake responds, “If we wind up engaged and married, she will definitely feel like a princess.”

“The Bachelor” emphasizes the romance perpetuated by current fairy tales. Candles and roses are present at almost every date, the contestants fall in love at first sight (they must since the show lasts approximately three months), and the idea of a soul mate is substantiated by the engaged couple. As a result, reality (e.g. work, children, bills, etc.), which rarely interferes with “true love” on “The Bachelor” eventually derails the majority of engaged couples on the show. The engaged couples as well as the “The Bachelor” cult following are shocked when the couple doesn’t walk down the aisle and live “happily ever after.” However, are these breakups truly surprising?

The idea that love alone can overcome difficulties in marriage, childrearing, sickness, and poverty is a false notion perpetuated by fairy tales and “The Bachelor.” While love can propel a couple towards the altar, it is rarely the only factor sustaining long-term relationships. If “The Bachelor” wishes to sell “happily ever after” and not just the illusion of “happily ever after,” the producers should place contestants and their eligible bachelor within the context of their real lives, filled with single parenthood, minimum wage employment, and car payments. But, who would ever watch a genuine reality show that mirrors our own lives, when fairy tales and the lives of princesses, princes, models, and superstars are so much better?