“The Bachelor” fan favorite Bekah Martinez, who appeared on Arie Luyendyk Jr.’s season, is opening up about the true cost of participating in the hit franchise.
“My biggest fear was, ‘Where am I going to get all these dresses?’” Martinez, 23, told Glamour. “I was like, ‘This is going to cost me thousands of dollars if I buy all of these.’ Knowing that there’s a potential to go on the show for two months and not make any money during that time — I’m not working, but I still have to pay rent and all my living expenses — there was no way I could spend a few grand on clothes.”
Martinez said she only learned she’d been selected to appear on “The Bachelor” less than two weeks before shooting began, which added more pressure. Producers informed her she needed to bring along eight weeks’ worth of clothing and prepare for all possible weather conditions.
Martinez, who quit her job as a nanny to go on the show, was luckily able to borrow much of her “Bachelor” wardrobe — “about 12 different dresses and a bunch of casual wear from some brands,” she said — and purchased shoes, accessories and other items from Nordstrom Rack.
“I probably spent about $700 or $800 on that stuff, but when I got back to Los Angeles, I was so broke I returned everything that still had tags on,” she said. “Some of the girls who didn’t have the resources to borrow things from showrooms or friends probably spent a significant amount of money — at least a couple thousand, easily. You need a pretty extensive wardrobe.”
But although Martinez didn’t wind up with Luyendyk Jr. and returned home “pretty broke,” she added that her “Bachelor” experience was “one-hundred percent worth it.”
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