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Once a reality show wraps, plenty of contestants try to cash in on their 15 minutes of fame, whereas others return to the jobs they put on hold. Sometimes, the winners also walk away with a splashy cash prize, but you may be surprised to learn that a lot of shows actually pay their contestants over the course of filming.
Here’s how much contestants reportedly get paid on 17 popular reality shows:
1.
According to Variety, celebrity contestants on Dancing with the Stars are paid $125,000 for the rehearsals and the first two weeks of the competition.
2.
In a 2023 YouTube video, The Traitors Season 1 winner Aaron Evans said, “So, they don’t technically ‘pay’ you. It’s — I can’t remember what the actual term was — but they basically subsidize what you would’ve got for work with the show. So, I think it’s roughly about like — I don’t know if I’m allowed to say that money – but I think it’s like £100 a day or something.”
3.
According to a lawsuit filed by Love Is Blind Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell, contestants were allegedly paid $1,000 a week while working up to 20 hours a day, seven days a week.
4.
In a since-deleted 2024 TikTok video, Love Island Season 6 contestant Demi Jones reportedly said, “Yes, you do get paid to go on the show. I personally got paid £250 a week. This is obviously to cover all your bills at home because you could have a flat, you could have a car to pay, all the things like that. So obviously Love Island want to make sure that’s all covered for you so you don’t get into any financial difficulties while you’re like away on holiday.”
5.
On a 2021 episode of Jason Tartick’s Trading Secrets podcast, Dean Unglert alleged he was offered $75,000 to be The Bachelor Season 22 lead, and Jason alleged he was offered $100,000 to lead Season 23 (though both men ultimately turned the offer down).
6.
On Trading Secrets, Dean Unglert also said, “They hit me up, and they’re like, ‘Hey, do you want to do Bachelor in Paradise, this other show? It pays $400 bucks a day, and you could be there for up to 30 days, or something like that.’ So I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, great. $400 a day, 30 days, $12,000, that’s fantastic.'”
7.
The women leading The Bachelorette weren’t always paid equally to their male counterparts. In 2023, Season 11 lead Kaitlyn Bristowe told the Trading Secrets podcast, “I think they offered me $40,000. You’d think I’d be like, ‘Jackpot! Sign me up!'” But instead, she hired an entertainment lawyer.
8.
In 2018, Survivor Seasons 7 and 16 contestant Jonny Fairplay told TMZ, “For first person out, three days’ work is $12,500 total. That moves up to around $40,000 if you’re a jury member. The person that finishes second gets $110,000, and then, of course, the winner gets $1,010,000.”
9.
In a 2023 Instagram Reel, The Real Housewives of New York City alum Bethenny Frankel said, “It’s an al la carte Chinese menu how housewives get paid. Most housewives lie about what they’re getting paid, in the same way, most housewives lie about whether or not they were fired. Just know that it ranges from $25,000 for the first season to seven figures. And for some people, more.”
11.
In 2021, Big Brother Season 19 houseguest Elena Davies told Trading Secrets, “We’re paid a stipend per week. $1,000 per week, as long as you film. Say you are the first person sent home and you only film six hours in the house, you get your thousand.”
12.
Elena Davies also told the Trading Secrets podcast, “I got paid almost as much as I got paid for Big Brother filming Ex on the Beach [Season 3], but I only filmed Ex on the Beach for five days because I was the first person that they sent home. I just negotiated better than other people that I know.”
13.
In a 2023 Instagram Story Post, 90 Day Fiancé: The Other Way alum Deavan Clegg reportedly wrote, “We only got $1,000 per episode we were featured in. We paid all travel costs, parking (when filming) food most days. Sometimes we would be reimbursed for certain things like clothing.”
14.
In 2024, I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! Season 2 winner Brendan “Fev” Fevola told his Fifi, Fev & Nick co-hosts, “In 2015, I got paid AU$250,000 upfront, and then AU$5,000 every show after the [first] two weeks.”
15.
In 2015, Married at First Sight executive producer Chris Coelen told The Wrap that the couples on the show are paid “almost nothing.”
16.
Not every reality show pays its contestants. In 2015, The Great British Bake-Off Season 5 contestant Chetna Makan told Digital Spy, “We were warned in the beginning that this was going to be an expensive experience, that we were going to have to spend some money. Because you don’t really get any money to practice at home.”
17.
And finally, in 2020, Too Hot To Handle Season 1 contestant Bryce Hirschberg told the Hollywood Raw podcast that he received “no fee” for appearing on the show.
What’s the most interesting, little-known reality show BTS fact you know? Share in the comments!
