It's not always easy finding love, and for contestants on "The Bachelor," it can be prohibitively expensive.

In one episode from the recently wrapped 20th season of "The Bachelor," it was rumored that contestant Olivia Caridi had spent $40,000 on her wardrobe for the show.

While that amount isn't confirmed, contestants are required to provide their own clothing — except for the two finalists during the finale — for the duration of their time on the show. Contestants have said, however, that they receive gift bags with sponsored items to use or wear when they arrive.

When contestants pack, they don't know how long they will be in the "Bachelor" mansion. After they have been accepted, they have roughly two to three weeks to tell their employer that they will be gone for up to six weeks and to figure out their financial situation. They are unable to use phones or the internet or to watch TV while at the mansion.

Jillian Harris, the second runner-up from the 13th season of "The Bachelor" and star of the fifth season of "The Bachelorette," wrote on her blog, "I had remortgaged my house and I spent something like $8,000 on clothing."

Some people borrow clothing from friends to avoid spending a ton of money on a new wardrobe. Lesley Murphy, from season 17 of "The Bachelor," told MarketWatch in an article reporting on the lengths "Bachelor" contestants go to for the reality-TV opportunity. "I have really great friends, and they have even better closets."

After making significant changes to their life to appear on the show, some contestants encounter difficulty returning to the normal world.

Murphy was able to return to her old job after leaving the show, though she ended up changing her career path later.

JJ Lane, a contestant on season 11 of "The Bachelorette," told MarketWatch that he had difficulties finding a job after appearing on the show.

"I didn't understand the magnitude of the show and how hard it is to get a real job right after," Lane said. "Everyone knows who you are and employers see it as a distraction." He is still job-searching after the season aired nearly a year ago.

Most contestants get sent home with nothing. But each one has to decide ahead of time whether the shot at finding love — or fame — is worth it.

SEE ALSO: Neve Campbell explains why she took a break from Hollywood: 'I got tired of the game'

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The border between politics and reality TV is about to get even blurrier.

Sarah Palin, former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate, has been tapped to preside over her own reality court show, according to People.

The magazine reports that she signed a deal with Montana-based production company Warm Springs. The plan is to create a pilot that would then be shopped to networks. 

The show would be a "Judge Judy"-style reality show inside a courtroom, and the production team includes a TV executive who found Judge Judy, according to People's sources.

If it comes to fruition, the nationwide syndicated daytime show would debut in the fall of 2017.

Palin, who was on John McCain's presidential ticket in 2008, is no stranger to reality TV. She had her own reality travel show on TLC called "Sarah Palin's Alaska" that ran for one season in 2010-2011.

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An unusual new reality show has invaded England. "Dogs Might Fly" chronicles a group of shelter dogs who are taught how to fly a plane. The season finale recently aired on Sky 1, and one of these lucky dogs finally got to serve as pilot for the first time.

Story by Ian Phillips and editing by Ben Nigh

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Outrageous, dramatic, instructional, and even touching reality shows have grown into a huge business in the past two decades.

According to National Geographic Channel's numbers, there were 350 new primetime unscripted series on cable television last year.

Clearly, interest in reality TV isn't going anywhere, but critics of the genre are quick to dismiss these hit shows by calling them "scripted" or "fake."

"I've never worked on a scripted reality series. Good luck trying to get f---ing reality talent to do anything scripted, because they're so difficult. So I don't even know what that means, that accusation," one producer of several reality shows, including Bravo's "Real Housewives" franchise, told Business Insider on condition of anonymity.

"There is a cliché that the truth is stranger than fiction. And on reality, I have consistently found that to be the case," Sean Dash, who has produced nonfiction series, including Discovery Channel's "Bering Sea Gold" and "Deadliest Catch," told Business Insider.

"I think the issue often is your viewer cannot believe what they're seeing because it can be so ridiculous or so absurd, but it is actually, literally, exactly what had happened," Dash said.

The issue often is your viewer cannot believe what they're seeing because it can be so ridiculous or so absurd, but it is actually, literally, exactly what had happened.

"I certainly see that plenty of times on the shows that I've worked on, and I go see the comments and I just laugh because yes, that did happen. That genuinely was a father and son rolling around the dirt fighting. That's them; that's not us."

That doesn't mean the shows just stand back and film. The producers we talked to say there is definitely a story they're trying to tell. That can take skill to pull off, and some maneuvering when things don't go as planned.

"As a reality producer, you're dealing with real people with their own minds that have their own images that they want to control or they want to be seen. We don't always know what we're going to get," said producer Rahel Tennione, whose credits range from "Real Housewives" to dating shows like "Tough Love," competitions shows including "The Real Gilligan's Island," and serious docuseries like FX's "Black. White."

Business Insider talked to producers about the behind-the-scenes secrets that go into creating the drama you see on successful reality shows. Here are some of the trade secrets behind TV's most popular reality shows.

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It all starts with casting.

Obviously, a reality show hinges on the people involved. That's where a show can be made or broken.

"We look for people who have really interesting stories to tell who won't shut down on camera, who are outgoing, dynamic personalities, or willing to expose themselves a little bit, for lack of a better term," the anonymous producer said.

Dash said that not everyone on a show gets equal footing. Many times, the cast needs someone who shines above and beyond the others.

"Frankly, you're looking for a star," he said. "You're looking for somebody to hang the show on. And that is such an intangible quality, because people can be incredibly dynamic when you're sitting with them across the table, but they fall flat on screen. And the opposite can happen. You really have to put them on camera to know. But you're looking for somebody that you just cannot take your eyes off of."

Producers are prepared to cut a cast member.

Many reality shows with ensemble casts will bring in more people than they need, because it's hard to tell if someone will fall flat. In those cases, producers try to help the struggling cast member out.

"One thing I like to tell my casts sometimes is, 'Look, I want you to have a story and if so-and-so is showing up for more scenes, they're going to naturally get more screen time, and they're going to tell your story and you'll have less of a voice to tell your story. It's better to be present and show up and have some screen time. The last thing you want is for someone else to tell your story,'" the anonymous producer said.

"You do everything you possibly can to try to bring out the best of them," Dash said. "You try to see who it would be good to pair them up with, who do they bounce off with naturally, what tends to spark them."

But sometimes it's a lost cause. "Real Housewives" is known to bring in extra women who attend shoots alongside the other ladies. And by the end of shooting, it becomes clear whether they've earned a place in the opening credits.

"If somebody just doesn't deliver, they just begin naturally to fade because the edit bay, honestly, is a meritocracy," Dash said. "The best characters win out and the best stories win out. People who don't deliver just end up on the cutting-room floor."

You have to get inside the reality stars' heads.

In Lifetime's hit "Unreal," which parodies the production of a "Bachelor"-like reality show, producers constantly coax their contestants. The truth is that's a very big part of creating the drama you see on reality TV.

"I like to be like an assassin. I'll try to subtly get the story way before the scene," the anonymous producer told us. "I'll put it into their heads so they think about it organically. I'll trick them. Basically, I'll sort of give them story beats a couple days in advance or remind them what's happening in real life and what we want to see in a subtle way, so they don't know I'm doing it."

Sure, that sounds underhanded, but it can actually turn out to be cathartic for a cast member who may not want to handle confrontation, or who's trying to figure out what's bothering them, according to the producers.

"You simply prompt them and you say, 'Hey, so-and-so, I know you feel this way, tell him about that,'" Dash said. "In a weird way, you're doing on-camera therapy, but all you're actually doing is bringing out the tension that exists between these two people and letting them talk it out. I know this sounds bizarre, but I have seen relationships actually improve because of the intervention of the show in people's lives."

The Chinese government has been making an attempt lately to clean up its country's public image.

Exhibit A: banning "silly" architecture. Exhibit B: reigning in the televised activities of its cultural ambassadors.

In this case, that means imposing certain restrictions on the "rich kids" of China — the sons and daughter of the mega-wealthy upper class, who tend to flaunt their wealth across social media.

The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SAPPRFT) has announced a new ban, stating that no reality TV shows with famous kids can be produced or broadcast, reports Xinhua News, China's state news agency. The ban requires reality shows to be "strictly controlled."

According to Xinhua, some popular shows had to be canceled due to the new rules, including titles like "Dad! Where Are We Going?" and "Dad Came Back." 

This announcement comes on the heels of a series of minor scandals surrounding China's wealthy youth, all of which were broadcast via social media.

In one instance, photos posted online showed the "fuerdai"— or second-generation wealthy — burning 100-yuan notes (about $15).

In another, Wang Sicong, the son of China's richest man, released a picture of his dog wearing two gold Apple watches, which retail for $12,000 apiece. (You can follow the husky's luxe life on her own Weibo account.) Wang is notorious for his spending sprees: just last month, he reportedly spent $385,000 during one night out at a Beijing karaoke club, according to Shangaiist.

Also in March, the "Kim Kardashian of China," a 26-year-old celebrity named Angela Young, was the bride at a lavish Shanghai wedding that cost a reported $31 million.

Earlier in 2015, Chinese President Xi Jinping himself directly addressed the issue, urging the fuerdai to "think about the source of their wealth and how to behave after becoming affluent." 

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NOW WATCH: Step inside the 'Kim Kardashian of China's' insane, $31 million wedding

If you've ever felt the crushing disappointment of getting back on a scale and finding your weight back where you started after several months on a successful diet, then you already know:

Losing weight is hard work, but keeping it off is harder.

To find out why, Kevin Hall, a researcher at the National Institutes of Health, began following contestants on the TV show "The Biggest Loser," a reality show in which overweight people compete to win cash by losing the most relative to their initial weight. A study he wrote in 2013 showed that, after returning home, contestants were highly likely to begin slowly gaining back the weight they'd worked so hard to lose.

A recent story in The New York Times looks into a more recent study by Hall, which appears to confirm his preliminary findings. Out of 14 contestants he studied, 13 have regained weight. Four contestants are heavier today than they were before the competition began.

The reason? The body fights really hard against weight loss, especially in the months and years after you finish a grueling diet and exercise plan. And this happens, at least partially, because of a series of complex biological changes that occur when you diet.

These findings aren't new. In fact, other researchers have been emphasizing some of Hall's main findings for years.

For example, Traci Mann, a University of Minnesota psychologist and eating researcher, has said that a central problem of most weight-loss plans is that they're designed simply to help you lose weight quickly, not to keep it off for longer.

Plus, the very act of dieting — restricting the amount of calories you take in on a daily basis — unleashes a series of shifts in the body that make it incredibly tough to keep the weight off. These are the changes on which Hall's study are based.

Some of them include:

1. Your hormones levels change, often making you feel hungrier no matter how much you eat

Losing weight affects the presence of several key hormones in the body. One of them is leptin, one of several hormones that control hunger.

The Times reports that in the years after "The Biggest Loser," contestants reported near-constant feelings of hunger and cravings, which often led some to binge after they'd succeeded in sticking to a healthy eating regimen for several weeks.

While all of the contestants started the show with normal levels of leptin, the levels of this hormone plummeted by the time the show ended, The Times reports: "By the season’s finale, they had almost no leptin at all, which would have made them ravenous all the time." And as they slowly began regaining weight, leptin levels rose a little, but got stuck at about half of what they'd been at the start of the show — which would help explain why they felt such strong urges to eat.

"As you lose body fat, the amount of different hormones in your body changes," Mann told The Washington Post in 2015. "The hormones that help you feel full ... decrease. The hormones that make you feel hungry ... increase."

2. Your metabolism slows down, and more of what you eat gets stored as fat

When you diet, you're effectively convincing your body that it is starving, Mann said. Your body responds by running as efficiently as it can — i.e., burning the fewest calories possible.

This shift "would be a good thing if you're starving to death," said Mann. "But it isn't a good thing if you're trying to lose weight."

3. Your brain becomes more aware of food

In addition to all of the physiological changes that happen during a diet that make it tough to keep off weight, some people also apparently experience psychological changes that could contribute to the struggle.

"Your brain becomes overly responsive to food, and especially to tasty looking food," said Mann, "so the thing you're trying to resist becomes harder to resist."

A 2013 study showed food to people who had dieted and people who hadn't, and then compared their brain scans. Unlike the non-dieters, the dieters tended to show a heightened response in the areas of their brains linked with processing rewards, and a lowered response in the parts of their brains linked with a sense of control.

Biological changes don't mean that long-term weight loss is impossible

None of this means a doomsday scenario for people trying to lose weight, though.

Instead, it points out the problems with focusing entirely on changing what you eat rather than taking into account other behavioral patterns.

These include when you eat, how much you exercise, and whether or not your friends and family members support your health goals. These factors, often lumped together under the term "behavior modification," are the focus of programs like Weight Watchers, for example, and they workfor thousandsof people.

"Most of us know people — friends, family members, colleagues — who have lost weight and kept it off for years by changing the way they eat and boosting their physical activity,"writes David H. Freedman, a consulting editor at Johns Hopkins Medicine International, in a post for the Columbia Journalism Review.

"They can't all be freaks of biology,"says Freedman.

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A recent study that followed a group of winners from the reality TV series "The Biggest Loser" came to some bleak conclusions:

Six years after the show ended, 13 out of 14 contestants in the study had regained a significant amount of weight. Four of them are heavier today than they were before the show began.

The results highlight a disheartening reality: Losing weight is hard work, but keeping it off is harder — especially if you're significantly overweight.

Still, the study's somber findings also draw attention to some key principles that anyone looking to losing weight and stay fit can follow:

READ MORE: Most 'Biggest Loser' winners regain the weight they lost, and it reveals a disturbing truth behind many diets

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1. Aim to lose only a few pounds each week.

Shedding pounds too rapidly can be a red flag for a diet that might encourage unsafe behaviors, and losing weight too slowly might be so discouraging you give up.

Instead, aim to lose about 1-3 pounds each week, University of Texas professor of exercise science and the executive director of the Fitness Institute of Texas Philip Stanforth recently told Business Insider.

"During the losing phase, you need a calorie deficit," said Stanforth. At the maximum, you want to burn 1,000 calories more each day than you eat. "That typically means you're losing a few pounds a week. And that tends to be a lot more sustainable than losing a whole bunch at once."

That jives well with the guidelines from the Mayo Clinic and the UK's National Health Service, both of which suggest losing one to two pounds each week.

2. Be mindful of portion size.

The standard size of many foods, whether they're fast-food, sit-down meals, or even groceries, has grown by as much as 138% since the 1970s, according to data from the American Journal of Public Health, the Journal of Nutrition, and the Journal of the American Medical Association.

So instead of cutting out a specific food group— whether its carbs or fat — you might be better off simply being more mindful about how much of everything you eat.

Of course, there are always some foods to keep an eye out for, like those with high concentrations of a few specific ingredients. A 20-ounce bottle of soda, for example, has roughly 65 grams (just about 16 teaspoons) of sugar. So go for a smaller size instead, or opt for the refreshing classic: All natural tap.

3. "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

If there's any "secret" to eating healthy, chances are it's incredibly basic. Michael Pollan said it well a few years ago: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

Vegetables and fruits are high in key vitamins; most have a good amount of fiber to help with digestion and keep you feeling full.

Dr. Mark Hyman, director of the Cleveland Clinic's Center for Functional Medicine, says "about 70 to 80% of your diet should be plant foods," like vegetables, whole grains, beans, and fruits.

"It should basically include whole, fresh food that's unprocessed and high in fiber and phytonutrients," says Hyman, the latter of which are plant-derived compounds associated with positive health effects.

You can start small, for example, by adding a serving of steamed veggies to every dinner. This list should help you get started.

Ryan Serhant has already been fired twice this season by clients on Bravo's hit real estate series, "Million Dollar Listing: New York." But none of those firings can beat the realtor's story of being fired from his first job ever, as a soap opera actor.

"I was fired from 'As the World Turns' when they killed me," Serhant told Business Insider recently. "That was my first real job where I got a paycheck every week, when I was doing the show."

While many of us had some unsatisfying part-time job as our first paying gig, Serhant was a regular on the now-canceled CBS soap opera from 2007 to 2008. And his exit from the gig was as unique as the work itself.

"It’s not like other jobs where you go in and sit down with the boss and they’re like, 'Listen, things aren’t working out, we have to cut you,' or however else it works in other jobs," he said. "I got a script the night before and the next day I just started killing everyone, and then I killed myself with my grandmother. It was very, very, very dramatic."

About 24 years old at the time, Serhant had actually expected that the role would end soon as the 2008 writers' strike was affecting the bottom line for most of Hollywood at the time.

"I kind of figured it could happen," he told us. "But I really thought that I’m probably the least expensive actor they have here, they’ll probably kill off more expensive talent. Of course, they did, but I didn’t realize I was going to be the one killing everybody and then offing myself, but it’s budget costs. What are you going to do?"

Although his full-time job now is selling high-end New York real estate, Serhant hasn't completely gotten rid of the acting bug. Recently, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Inside Amy Schumer," NBC's "The Mysteries of Laura," and had a memorable role as Hedge Fund Dave in Noah Baumbach's 2014 movie "While We're Young."

Today, Serhant says that getting fired by clients is usually best for business.

"Every client is different, every property is different, and so when the listing comes to an end sometimes it’s best for both sides to go their own separate ways," he said. "Most of the time, the seller just has unrealistic expectations of the market and what am I going to do, and it’s a decision we all have to make as to how much longer do I want to keep working on this if I’m not going to make any income from it. If I’m not going to be able to sell it, then I don’t just want to be a tour guide and I don’t want the stress and all the pressure."

And as for being fired on the current season of "Million Dollar Listing: New York," which airs Thursdays at 9 p.m., expect even more terminations.

"There’s a lot of firing scenes this season actually," Serhant said. "A lot of deals get done, but a lot of deals also don’t get done. So it’s a very accurate depiction of our lives."

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How many times have you watched the stars of Bravo's "Million Dollar Listing: New York" score a six-digit commission after selling a multimillion-dollar property and think, "I am in the wrong business"?

They make it look easy, but Fredrik Eklund, Ryan Serhant, and Luis Ortiz will be the first ones to tell you that money isn't the driving factor for their most memorable commissions.

"It's the difficult ones, the hardest ones, the ones where I negotiate something that I never thought I’d be able to negotiate that I remember most," Serhant told Business Insider. "But don’t get me wrong, I love easy deals, too. But it’s the hard ones that get stuck in your brain."

"I don’t technically feel that it has been one specific deal," Ortiz said of his most memorable moments as a realtor. "I think that my career as a whole is something that I treasure very much, not just because of the monetary value behind the career. It’s everything that I have learned."

From breaking from tradition to the one that took years of pestering to land, here are the "Million Dollar Listing: New York" stars' most memorable career moments:

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When Eklund threw out the rule book and became a social media trailblazer.

In 2013, Eklund thought outside the box and harnessed a very new mode of social media to launch the sales for a posh Tribeca property.

"I launched the building on Instagram and I think at the time it was the first building to ever be launched via Instagram," Eklund said. "Nothing had been written in advance, so that there was no listing, there was no advertisement, and we sold $100 million from that Instagram post."

That time Serhant contacted a developer every week for five years.

As Serhant told us, high-end real estate developers typically use the best agents in the industry and stick with them. So it's tough to get a property listing from them if you're not already in their circle. But Serhant didn't let that stop him.

"I sent an email or called the developer every week," he said. "It took me five years until the person even had a meeting with me. Now there was obviously Christmas week and Fourth of July and stuff where I wouldn’t follow up, but for the most part it was every week sending something in some way, shape, or form. And then when I walked in the door it was very 'Wall Street,' because I was the guy who had been following up for five years. And then I got a project. It was crazy."

How Ortiz landed a client by actually living in several of their buildings over eight years.

"I lived in four apartments in four buildings by the same developer," Ortiz said. "And eight years later, it came through. I tried to get his attention through all those years, and the moment that I expect it the least, it was that moment where I haven’t even thought of it, I get the phone call, which was very strange to me that that person wanted me to sell an apartment. And then you know you can think that it’s just another apartment, another deal, but to me it symbolizes much more."

"Million Dollar Listing: New York" airs Thursday nights on Bravo.

Before Lauren Conrad was a successful fashion designer, author, and lifestyle blogger, she was a lowly intern in the fashion closet of Teen Vogue living in the Hollywood Hills with her best friends.

Like many of us who watched in awe from our couches, Lauren and the cast of “The Hills” endured their fair share of drama — even if it wasn't entirely authentic.

Exactly 10 years after its premiere, we can still remember when Heidi moved out and when Lauren chose Jason over Paris. Here are 17 moments from our favorite MTV reality series ever.

17. A man so great he needed two names

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Oh, Justin Bobby. When Audrina Patridge brought her date Justin by to meet friends Lauren and Lo Bosworth for the first time, their jokes didn't go over so well with JB.

But Lauren and Lo’s teasing didn't scare Justin off. He stuck around to mess with Audrina’s head for a few more seasons

16. Audrina accuses Lauren of hooking up with Justin Bobby

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In season 5, Audrina heard from a friend that her former roommate Lauren had recently been hooking up with her on-again-off-again flame, Justin.

Lauren was hurt that Audrina would even believe the rumors and blamed Audrina for the rift. Even after the two talked, Audrina didn't want to acknowledge that she'd messed up.

15. Homeboy wore combat boots to the beach

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A season 3 barbecue was just one of the countless times Justin left Audrina in the dust. After spending time with the group at Brody Jenner’s house in Malibu, Justin disappeared without a word.

Lauren shows Audrina the helmet Justin left behind for her. Trying to comfort her friend, Lauren reminded Audrina that she deserves more than a guy who wears combat boots to the beach.

How much money is there to be made by starring on a reality television show?

If you're Ryan Seacrest, Christina Aguilera, or Gordon Ramsay, that number is in the millions and can exceed $10 million per season of a show.

But those kinds of paychecks actually go to very few people. Most people starring on reality shows are making salaries that supplement the ones they make at their actual jobs, from their businesses, or from other opportunities afforded them by being on TV, such as licensing deals, book contracts, appearances, or food and liquor products.

Shows that air on broadcast television typically pay their talent larger salaries than those found on cable. And, of course, if the talent is also a producer or gets any cut of the profits, then that can mean bigger paychecks.

Business Insider spoke to agents, producers, and development executives on the condition of anonymity to get a sense of what reality TV is paying its talent.

See how much reality stars are making below:

SEE ALSO: The 'Million Dollar Listing' stars name the most memorable deals they've ever closed

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Star/executive producer: $16 million and up annually

If someone is irreplaceable, created a show, or stars on a show, then a base salary can be compromised for an executive-producer credit and profit sharing. Reality mega stars in this vein include Simon Cowell and Gordon Ramsay.

Cowell, currently a judge/executive producer of "America's Got Talent," reportedly earns an annual income of $95 million. That includes his profits from reality shows and his music label.

Ramsay, who stars on and executive produces at least five shows, reportedly rakes in $4.5 million per season of a show. He adds another $45 million in earnings from his media and restaurant businesses.

Celebrity judges on a broadcast competition show: $300,000 to $17 million per season

The salary for judges on a broadcast competition like "The Voice" or "America's Got Talent" varies widely according to popularity. For example, Christina Aguilera made as much as $17 million a season from "The Voice." By comparison, Blake Shelton makes about $13 million.

For "America's Got Talent," Howard Stern was reportedly paid $15 million a season.

Why so much? In addition to expertise and name recognition, a source told Business Insider that their pay factors in what they could've made during the time they're shooting the show. For example, if they were able to tour.

Hosts of a broadcast reality TV show: $200,000 to $15 million per season

"If you're hosting a show on broadcast primetime network, you get paid a lot," a source told Business Insider. "You start around 10 to $15,000 an episode."

But that all depends on a host's popularity and how long a show runs.

Ryan Seacrest is probably the best example of how the salary for hosting a reality TV show can get huge. Hiring him when he was a popular radio DJ, "American Idol"tripled Seacrest's pay from $5 million to $15 million per season in 2009. Now that the show is over, Seacrest can fall back on other hosting gigs and media productions.

But not everyone has such a great deal. By contrast, "Survivor" host Jeff Probst was reported to be making just $4 million per season for the popular CBS competition in 2014.

Reality television has certainly generated some big paydays for its stars and become a cash cow for networks. But for most of the people we see on-screen, there's very little in the way of payment. 

That may be surprising to you, but that's just the business of reality shows.

Reality shows were designed from the beginning to be cheap television. They're a break from the huge budgets that scripted TV needs, and they give networks more bang for their buck.

"The only people that really make money off the show is the network," a reality TV agent told Business Insider on condition of anonymity.

As one reality producer told Reader's Digest, "We’re always trying to get as much talent as possible while spending as little money as possible. Ninety-nine percent of the people on reality TV get their expenses covered and maybe a daily stipend of $20 or $30, but that’s it."

So how do networks get away with paying people basically nothing?

SEE ALSO: Here's how much money reality TV stars actually make on shows — it's not what you think

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They're free labor by association.

To start, let's look at ensemble reality shows. These are marketed as "fly-on-the-wall" shows, in which the cameras follow people's ordinary (or extraordinary) lives. The "Real Housewives" franchise, "Keeping Up with the Kardashians," and "Pawn Stars" fall into this category.

While the show's main and secondary players are making some kind of salary that ranges anywhere from $15,000 for supporting players to as high as $10 million per season for main cast members, often spouses and friends are paid nothing. They're basically considered part of the package when shooting a main character. These people sign a release for the producers to use footage of them with the understanding that their loved one is really the one making the dough.

Why would anyone appear for free? In some cases, they just want to be on TV; they may want to get their brand, business, or product in the public eye; or they might hope to be promoted to a paid cast member at some point.

In some cases, an appearance fee is paid. For example, if the production needs to make a party look packed, then it will pay some of the people who are attending. One reality TV agent, who asked to remain anonymous, told Business Insider that he knows someone who was paid $1,200, which included that person's hair and makeup, to attend the taping of a friend's party.

They just couldn't hang in there.

When someone is asked to change their lives in some way, a stipend is usually negotiated. This occurs mainly on competition shows, in which one may have to miss or quit work, as on "Project Runway" and "The Amazing Race." And the longer you stay on a show, the more days or weeks you're paid a stipend. But no one is getting rich on a stipend.

The real goal is to stay around as long as possible, so that you're eligible for the higher-paid prizes. For example, the winner may get $1 million, but second place gets $100,000, third gets $90,000, and down the line.

"The longer you stay in it, the more you get paid," an agent told Business Insider.

They just love the game.

For lower-budget cable competitions, it's more likely that eliminated competitors will only get the weekly stipend (if there is one) and no prize money at all. These can include baking competitions, survival shows, and dating programs. These people are usually in it for the love of the game, or have a desire for an adventure.

"It's one of those things where it depends on the show and the show budget," a former producer for a cable competition show said. "If there's an actual perk to be won at the end of the competition show and it comes down to two contestants or two teams, there is somebody that is going home with absolutely nothing but the experience."

Cheers, boys!

This week's episode of "The Bachelorette" was a two-part special, and filled with as much drama as ever.

The episode included a pool party and a football date, and multiple instances of men bleeding.

Of course, there was drama between Chad and the rest of the guys in the house. JoJo ended up giving the rose to Alex instead of Chad during the two-on-one date, but just when you think that guy is gone, he finds a way to stick around.

The show won't return for another two weeks, so until then, here are six must-see moments from last night's episode:

6. Pool party

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Instead of a regular cocktail party before the rose ceremony this week, JoJo stopped by the mansion for a pool party. No drama, just good, old-fashioned fun doing chicken fights, synchronized diving, and hanging with JoJo. Well, until Evan's nose started bleeding.

5. Chad goes off on Derek

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Chad and Derek were roommates, but Derek moved out because he didn't feel safe, and the house even got a security guard. While he's explaining this to JoJo, Chad obviously overhears. After JoJo leaves, Chad takes Derek aside to confront him about it. No punches were thrown, but the tension was palpable.

4. James Taylor needs stitches

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During the football date, Taylor was headbutted. He was told he needed stitches, but asked to stay. "I don't want stitches," a bleeding Taylor said. "I mean, I know that's what the medic said, but I think I'm fine." Okay, Taylor. Okay.

"The Bachelorette" is getting emotional.

Tuesday night's episode ended with Chad's creepy knock on the door, proving that he's not easy to get rid of.

In the preview for the next episode — the show won't return until June 20 — it looks like he's causing just as much drama as usual.

Chad's return stresses the guys out, though they don't seem surprised that he didn't leave, despite having gotten the boot from JoJo.

Multiple clips show JoJo sobbing. In one, she says, "I hate him." Is the him Chad? That might be too easy of a guess. But if it isn't Chad, who is it?

"There's a reason for you to be worried," she says at another point. About what? Worried about safety or being sent home? To whom is she talking?

The preview ends with Jordan comforting her.

While the show is good at making its previews dramatic, the next episode looks like it's going to be an emotional roller coaster.

Watch the preview below:

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Chad is, unsurprisingly,"The Bachelorette's" most talked about person.

The tension in the house between Chad and most of the other contestants has so far been a defining characteristic of this season.

Though he failed to get a rose at the end of the episode, previews show that he's not leaving without the last word.

Social-media monitoring platform Brandwatch found that the hit reality show was mentioned more than 105,000 times online during the course of Tuesday's episode.

Here are the five most talked-about moments from the latest "The Bachelorette" episode:

5. JoJo gave Chad the final rose during the ceremony, sending three guys home, including Ali

8:28 p.m. — More than 1,400 mentions

4. Luke and JoJo went on a one-on-one date and saw country singers Dan + Shay perform

9:00 p.m. — More than 1,500 mentions

3. Chad threatened Jordan

9:50 p.m. — More than 1,620 mentions

Networks have found a new way to make money off their reality shows. They're taking a piece of their stars' businesses.

Once upon a time, networks could produce reality shows cheaply by paying talent very low salaries or nothing at all.

Many stars took these low salaries, because they knew that the shows were a great place to promote themselves, the charities they support, their businesses, as well as launch and promote new businesses to millions of potential customers.

But the TV networks have caught on, and now they want a piece of the pie. 

"Networks are asking for pieces of our clients' business," a reality TV agent recently told Business Insider under condition of anonymity.

In one case, the agent turned down a network's request and it responded by saying it would ban his client's products on the show. In the end, the agent worked out a deal with the network that gave them a cut of the products' profits, but only while the show was on the air.

"Real Housewives of New York" star Bethenny Frankel may be the one to blame for this contractual twist. She is the poster child for parlaying reality-show fame into business success. She developed her Skinnygirl product line while starring on the Bravo show.

Frankel made a very effective demand before signing on to the first season of the show in 2008, for which she was paid only $7,250.

"My only thing I wanted in my contract was everything I did in my work was mine,"Frankel previously told Business Insider. "I was like Tina Turner. I own everything. I just want my name."

That later paid off for her when she sold the cocktail part of her business for a reported $100 million. According to Frankel, her success gave rise to the "Bethenny Clause," in which networks ask for a portion of someone's business when they sign on for a reality show.

But networks are becoming increasingly greedy about having some skin in the game, and the price of reality-TV fame is ever-evolving as a result.

"They used to just ask for a percentage of the whole business and now they ask for incremental upticks," he said. "So they say, you have to submit to us the records for the past couple years for how much your business has brought in, and then they calculate after the TV show’s on the air. If it goes up a certain huge percentage, they will then take a percentage of that difference."

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Chad is undoubtedly the "villain" on this season of "The Bachelorette."

He threatened fellow contestants, and because of his behavior, JoJo didn't give him a rose during the last episode. But previews show he didn't leave right away.

Apparently, he didn't know why viewers hated him and couldn't stop talking about him, but after watching the show, he now gets it.

Chad posted a video on his Instagram account watching and laughing at himself on the show. He wrote, "So I finally watched the show at my sisters. Holy t--s now I understand why some people hate me! Haha but some parts were hilarious too."

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It's not always easy finding love, and for contestants on "The Bachelor," it can be expensive and disruptive. Here are some of the sacrifices contestants make in the name of love. 

Dropping money on a new wardrobe

In one episode from the 20th season of "The Bachelor," it was rumored that contestant Olivia Caridi had spent $40,000 on her wardrobe for the show.

She denied spending that much in a Q&A published on her site, but contestants are required to provide their own clothing — except for the two finalists during the finale — for the duration of their time on the show. Caridi said that her stylist friend helped her pick out her wardrobe.

Some people borrow clothing from friends to avoid spending a ton of money on a new wardrobe. Lesley Murphy, from season 17 of "The Bachelor," told MarketWatch in an article reporting on the lengths "Bachelor" contestants go to for the reality-TV opportunity. "I have really great friends, and they have even better closets."

Others do spend a ton of money in preparing. Jillian Harris, the second runner-up from the 13th season of "The Bachelor" and star of the fifth season of "The Bachelorette," wrote on her blog, "I had remortgaged my house and I spent something like $8,000 on clothing."

Chad Johnson, a contestant on the current season of "The Bachelorette," told Glamour that he packed an entire suitcase full of protein and spent around $7,000 on clothes.

Contestants have said, however, that they receive gift bags with sponsored items to use or wear when they arrive.

Uprooting their entire lives

When contestants pack, they don't know how long they will be in the "Bachelor" mansion. After they have been accepted, they have roughly two to three weeks to tell their employer that they will be gone for up to six weeks and to figure out their financial situation. They are unable to use phones or the internet or to watch TV while at the mansion.

Isabel Goodkind, who was eliminated during the first episode of the 20th season, spoke with AV Club about going through months of the application process and packing her bags for every possible situation — and then leaving on the first day.

"I packed my life up for a long time. I packed for all types of weather," she said. "We're not given any information ... I packed everything possible."

After she was cut, she did her exit interview and that was it.

"And that was after going through months of applications, and videos, and back and forth, and giving up my job, and leaving my life behind, and for it all to come out beneath me overnight was so overwhelming," she said. "That was, I think, the hardest for me, wrapping my head around that I had just gone through so much to get here, and it was over within 13 hours."

Many contestants do leave their jobs to compete on the show.

While Caridi gave up her job for the show, she said, "I did not give up my career. I am confident that I will get another job in broadcast news to continue my career in the television news industry."

Returning to normalcy

After making significant sacrifices to appear on the show, some contestants encounter difficulty returning to the normal world.

Murphy was able to return to her old job, though she ended up changing her career path later.

JJ Lane, a contestant on season 11 of "The Bachelorette," told MarketWatch that he had difficulties finding a job after appearing on the show.

"I didn't understand the magnitude of the show and how hard it is to get a real job right after," Lane said. "Everyone knows who you are and employers see it as a distraction." He was still job searching in March 2016, nearly a year after the season he was on aired.

He added that former contestants may find a supplemental salary from appearances and product promotion.

"It's not a way to make a living," he said. "It is more of a supplemental way to get something out of being on the show."

Goodkind told AV Club that she had thought about staying in California to continue her graphic design career but after vacationing for a bit, decided to head back to the East Coast. She now lives in New York City and is a freelance graphic designer.

"I considered staying out there; I had nothing really holding me back here," she said. I was considering moving out there and starting a graphic design job out there. I really just took time to unwind ... I think about where this took me ... That's interesting to me to think about — that because I went home night one, and I stayed in L.A. for five days, I'm here right now because of it, and I'm very, very happy."

Most contestants get sent home with nothing. But each one has to decide ahead of time whether the shot at finding love — or fame — is worth it.

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There's never a lack of drama on "The Bachelorette."

Even with Chad's final exit within the first five minutes on Monday night's episode, the guys are still confronting each other, and that should come as no surprise.

As a reality dating show, "The Bachelorette" is a competition. And in that sense, it's not so different from another reality show, "Survivor," said Jaclyn Einstein, LCSW, CASAC, a psychotherapist in private practice in Manhattan.

"In 'Survivor,' you win one million dollars and bragging rights," she said. "The prize on this show is the relationship, but bragging rights and ego definitely play a role in it. The fantasy for some contestants on this show may be winning the relationship, hopes, and dreams for the future, while for others, it might be getting public recognition, traveling, etc."

Like in all competition shows, group dynamics play a central role in the drama of "The Bachelorette."

People act differently in a group than when they're on their own. And one dynamic at play in "The Bachelorette" house is group polarization, or "the tendency of a group to make decisions that are more extreme than an individual member might make on his own," Einstein said.

It could explain the contestants' feelings about Chad, this season's villain. Chad was portrayed as a hostile contestant who went as far as threatening another contestant. The house even got a security guard to help ease the tension.

Almost all of the guys had agreed that Chad was bad and needed to go, so when Alex, Chad, and JoJo went on a two-on-date, the guys waited in anticipation to see who would return. Chad was eliminated and Alex was praised as a hero, or in the guys' words, "dragon slayer."

"In this case, the group of men might be more willing to have an extreme view against another member because they have others to back them up," Einstein said.  

But the show is obviously edited to create drama, so it's hard to know exactly how a situation really played out.

When "villains" are formed or confrontations take place, it's all about how the producers are presenting it to the viewers.

"When someone is pigeonholed into a role, it may affect the questions that the producers are asking this individual, which might affect how the individual answers the questions, and that affects how it's edited," Einstein said. "And then when that person is labeled, that will affect the questions the producers ask the other individuals about that person. Their answers can also help create this vicious cycle."

During a video interview on "Jimmy Kimmel,"Chad said he said and did certain things "in order to get the result that I want" but didn't mean anything by it. He also said that he didn't know why people were hating on him until he watched how he was portrayed on the show.

"At the end of the day, it's a show — things are amplified," Chad said. "We try to be ourselves and we try to be who we are but at the same time, whoever you are is amplified up about a million times."

Even with Chad gone, there's still a lot of tension and jealousy between the contestants.

Earlier in the season, the guys bonded around a mutual dislike of Chad. It was an example of a coping strategy called "scapegoating," Einstein said. "It is easier for the group of contestants to focus on one man as 'the villain' instead of the stress and anxiety of competing against each other for the same woman, along with the possibility of being rejected." 

Without Chad there, that common ground no longer exists. As Wells pointed out during Monday's episode, "There was a wonderful thing about Chad that I think we all took for granted was that we had a common enemy. Now that he's gone, I hope that we don't try to find a new common enemy."

Some "mini-Chads" have already emerged. On Monday's episode, Jordan became the target of some ire, and Derek confronted some of the guys outside, including Alex and Jordan, for their clique-like behavior. There's always going to be pressure on a dating show.

Rejection is a major dynamic on any dating show.

"Think about all the rejection that is possible on the show for all of the contestants," Einstein said. "If someone isn't picked for a group date or an individual date, or if they are picked for a group date and don't get the rose — all those things are constant potential rejections. Even the person who ends up winning the experience has experienced rejection throughout the show."

But ultimately, competition is a part of dating in general.

"A lot of people are swiping left and right and comparing and contrasting before even meeting someone in real life," Einstein said. "People are competitive in real life, maybe not as overtly as the guys on the show, but people are competing for the affections of one person."

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"The Bachelorette" is often full of ridiculous moments, including the planting of a tabloid magazine earlier this season to stir up drama, but Monday night's tear-filled episode, which took place in Argentina, still has me laughing out loud.

It all started with JoJo being sent on another two-on-one date — the first time it has happened twice on a season — with Chase and Derek. The date itself was a tango date between the three of them, and that was awkward enough, but things took a laughable turn when JoJo gave Chase the date rose.

Once Derek said his farewell and was in the car, he began to talk about himself in third person, which was hilarious.

"I wasn't enough," he told the cameras. "I thought I was enough; I'm not. I'm Derek and Derek is imperfect."

And then he began to cry, telling himself not to cry ... in third person!!!

As if that wasn't enough, JoJo and Chase continued their date and got all romantic while a singer performed "Don't Cry for Me Argentina," which the editors juxtaposed over Derek crying in the car.

Fans took to Twitter to laugh at the ridiculousness of Derek's goodbye. We see what you did there, "Bachelorette" producers.

JoJo was emotional following the two-on-one date and couldn't bring herself to get rid of anyone else during the final rose ceremony — Wells was also sent packing earlier in the episode— so we are now down to the final six.

You can watch the entirety of the ridiculous scene below:

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