Reality TV dating shows are kind of fun but at the end of the day, they’re far from reality. People have been watching “The Bachelor” since 2002, and in those 18 years, the show has focused on bringing big personalities to the screen.
Even with the long history the show, only 17% of relations ended up working out. ScreenBinge takes a look at why the many dating shows that have sprung up, such as “Flirty Dancing,” “Love Island,” “First Dates,” “Love is Blind” and “Dating Around,” have resulted in so many romantic failures. While all these romances look good on the screen, these relationships hardly last —with a few exceptions of course, such as Trista and Ryan from “The Bachelor,” who have been together for 8 years.
Why Relations in Reality TV Fail
So let’s begin with why reality TV show couples don’t last long. One of the greatest culprits in this regard is that the dates are planned by the show. In real life you plan the date, and surely they aren’t as romantic as shown on the TV. This act of pair-making and making someone that you hardly know go out on a date really kills the emotional and romantic feelings of a person.
The second reason is that the public eye is on you — the camera is on, which totally changes the way you and your potential partner behaves. Of course everyone becomes a little bit “not themselves” in front of the camera, especially knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of people watching you.
The pressure involved in these shows makes participants take decisions that they might not take if they weren’t on TV, so sooner or later, when the cameras are off, the real personalities and behavior come out. And when it’s faked so much on the TV, the real behavior totally shakes both the partners.
The contestants come from different towns, cities and sometimes even different countries. So of course, one of them has to move. Imagine one person giving up their job and friends to totally relocate to a new place. The compromise is too big for any normal person.
Another problem with dating shows is that they don’t give you the time needed to understand or get a feel for a person; the season has to end up at a particular date so that the next season can be filmed. This little time really isn’t enough to know or truly feel for someone. It can take months or even years to choose a partner — all this can’t happen in an eight-episode season.
There’s also the pressure of winning on the show. After all, that’s why the contestants are there. Coming on a show, leaving your job and responsibilities, playing along on the game: No one would do that just to come and lose. So couples may pretend to be all lovey-dovey while in reality they might not even want to meet ever again after the show.
Every relationship gradually grows, with movie dates, walks along the beach, late night calls and text messages until you slowly start understanding the other person.
But the problem with these shows is that they start off quickly. But in a reality show the slow burner is set to its highest flame and relationships start off spicy and super intense; once the contestants start living together it is then when the real issues arise. If you want to talk about real love, The Flat Share review might help you put things in perspective.
Honestly, most of the participants aren’t looking for a real forever and ever relationship. People like to be on the TV and be recognized when they walk down the streets, but in reality most of them do realize the real love of their life will not be found on a reality TV show. Most participants are looking for a good time, drinks, hot tub conversations and the amenities provided by the show rather than something long term.
I mean, who would mind an all-expenses paid trip to a resort or a mansion and miss out on the free stuff? There’s a five-star environment, dozens of activities to do and partners to mingle with.
Even if couples work well together, they’ve been spending time enjoying and doing fun activities. But once the couple starts to fight, there is a higher chance of a break-up since until now, they had seen the good only. So participants can get immensely furious when they have their first fight; this doesn’t happen with real couples as they have gotten to know each other gradually and understand each other better.
One of the major reason of failure is that, once the show is filmed, couples are asked to hide from the public eye. This long separation often leads to couples losing interest in each other and breaking up and, in fact, finding a new partner too sometimes.
So getting your life partner from a reality dating show might not be the best idea, but still, they’re fun to watch. The drama, the fights, the affection but at the end of the day it’s all entertainment; the producers are making money, while the controversies keep the show interesting.
