With another season of The Bachelorette Australia looming, we have A LOT of questions!
From who Ali Oetjen has ended up with, to who is going to be part of Australia’s ultimate bromance.
However, since the stars give up three months of their lives, there’s one question we’re always asking and that is – how much do the Bachelorette contestants really get paid?
While the cost of finding true love is priceless (for one lucky lad), having to take extended leave from work – or in many cases, quitting your job all together – is a huge risk to take.
Sure, you might get an Instagram sponsorship or free Uber Eats for life upon leaving the mansion but when it comes to pay, your actual work salary isn’t matched.
Here, we breakdown exactly how much The Bachelorette contestants get paid!
How much does Ali get paid to find true love?
If you’re handing out the roses, it’s a completely different story than if you are one of the contestants vying for the heart of the Bachelor or Bachelorette.
After all, the leads looking for love are the draw card and will (hopefully) be commanding the viewers, ratings and advertisers.
So how much is our 2018 leading lady Ali Oetjen earning?
While this is her third reality TV show stint, Ali does have a real job, working in direct sales for Adelaide’s MIX1023.
According to PayScale, the 32-year-old could be on anywhere between 80k to 120k and that’s just for her day job – let’s not forget about her eight-week healthy lifestyle e-book which is sure to bring Paypal to a standstill.
READ MORE: Exactly where to follow The Bachelorette Australia 2018 contestants on Instagram
It is rumoured that The Bachelorette has the same pay packet as Matty J.
It’s no secret that she’s also had a slew of time off in the last year or so.
Back when she was announced to star as the lead, Ali conducted a radio interview with MIX102.3’s top-rating breakfast show – Jodie and Soda – to talk about all that time she has already been given off.
“Have you checked for time off because you’re going to need a little bit,” asked host Jodie Oddy – clearly making Ali nervous.
“How much leave does she have up her sleeve,’ Jodie asked Ali’s boss who was also present for the chat, “because she’s been on the island in Bachelor in Paradise, she’s been to America, it’s going to be looking dire from a HR front?”
“Well I don’t think we’re in the positive with annual leave!” her boss said.
Even though she may be missing out on leave, you don’t exactly have to worry for her well-being.
Last year, “Matty J” Johnson was rumoured to rake in a cool $200,000 pay cheque and considering Nick Cummins was already a celeb in his own right with over 200K Instagram followers, it was rumoured he was paid a hell of a lot more!
WATCH: Meet the contestants vying for Ali’s heart on The Bachelorette
However, Ten were quick to deny MJ’s handsome pay pack saying at the time: “The contractual arrangements between Matty Johnson and the producers of The Bachelor Australia, Warner Bros, are confidential. But the recent claims about the contract are completely inaccurate.”
As for 2017’s Bachelorette Sophie Monk, who started the trend of celeb Bachies, Brisbane’s Courier Mail claimed the popstar took home an eye-watering $300,000 for her season.
While Network Ten declined to comment on the salary rumours, an insider explained, “Sophie will earn a lot more (than previous Bachelors and Bachelorettes) because her management would have negotiated well.”
If we had to take an educated guess, we’d say Ali will be getting something around what Matty got – but honestly, how can you put a price on true love?
Matty J with his lady-love and Bachelor winner, Laura Byrne.
What about the contestants vying for Ali’s heart?
One anonymous reality starlet (from the Bachie-verse itself) told Now to Love: “I don’t remember how much it was exactly but they did it so it was enough to cover daily rent and bills,” she said.
Before the filming of Nick Cummin’s season, another star told Newscorp that “you don’t star on The Bachelor for money”.
“You don’t get paid a wage as such, you get given a weekly expense allowance which is under $100 a day. It is below minimum wage,” the reality star told the publication.
Around $100 a day could still go a long way for contestants who have sacrificed their incomes all together on their quest for true love.
Meet the contestants in Ali’s search for true love!
In 2016, Bachelorette runner-up Matty J told us after he went through “six interviews” and intense aptitude tests and psychiatric tests, he finally landed his dream job in marketing.
But just three weeks into the role of a lifetime, he quit so he could take on another plum gig – starring as one of the contestants on Georgia Love’s season of The Bachelorette… and we all know how that ended!
“I lost my job for the show,” he told us at the time.
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