ABC's The Bachelor and CBS's Big Brother are easily two of the biggest reality shows on television. One is intended to give contestants a chance at a life-changing amount of money, while the other is intended to give two contestants a life-changing relationship. But even though The Bachelor is set up to form relationships, it seems as though the most successful romances tend to come from summers spent in the Big Brother house.
Premiering just two years apart, Big Brother and The Bachelor have been keeping fans entertained since the early 2000s. A group of 16 strangers spent a summer living together while also competing against each other for the first time in 2000. As years went on and seasons came and went, fans watched as more and more "showmances" formed. Some weren't very successful, while others lasted for quite some time, some even leading to marriages and children. The latest couple to come from the show is Big Brother: All-Stars alums Memphis Garrett and Christmas Abbott. The Bachelor premiered just two years after BB in 2002 with hopes of helping individuals find love. While there are quite a few couples that made it work long after their time on The Bachelor, it seems as though there is more news of breakups from Bachelor couples than there is from Big Brother couples.
According to Holr, there are many reasons why the couples from Big Brother tend to be more successful than those of The Bachelor. For starters, time spent together plays the biggest factor. In Big Brother, the houseguests are confined to that house. They are only around their fellow houseguests for the duration of their time on the show. Therefore, if two players begin to date, they are together 24/7 until one gets evicted. Sometimes they can even be together for the entire 3 months if they both make it to finale night. The Bachelor contestants, on the other hand, don’t get to spend as much time together. When Big Brother’s latest couple, Memphis and Christmas, spoke with fellow BB alums and couple Nicole and Victor, they talked about how different the two shows are. Nicole shared she has heard from Bachelor contestants that, when it comes down to it, they only really spend about four days' worth of alone time together before getting engaged at the end of the show. That’s a big difference.
Contestants that go on The Bachelor are looking for love, while contestants on Big Brother are looking for money. Since BB houseguests aren’t typically there to find a relationship, the “showmances” that do form tend to form more naturally and authentically. Couples from The Bachelor are essentially set up together and somewhat forced to like each other if they want to make it to the end. When Bachelor couples do get to spend time together, it's like dating in real life—they get all dolled up to go out. On the other hand, Big Brother couples do not get that luxury. They spend almost all of their "dating" time in a more natural setting filled with lounge clothes and blankets. Big Brother houseguests get to see each other as their most authentic selves, at all times of the day, through almost all emotions. Bachelor couples don't get that advantage.
Although each show seems to have its own advantage to starting a new relationship, Big Brother may take the win for producing more successful relationships. The Bachelor should take notes. The key to prevent couples later breaking up is to get rid of fancy dates and put couples alone together for a longer period of time, with no connection to the outside world.
Source: Holr
