The participants travel to romantic and exotic locations for their dates, and the conflicts in the series, both internal and external, stem from the elimination-style format of the show.

In truth, the series occasionally deviates from its intended format, which can lead to drama and conflict among people involved in the show.

Like Mesnick, Arie Luyendyk Jr. also broke off his engagement and during the After the Final Rose episode, he proposed to the first runner-up (Lauren Burnham)[6]—to whom he is now married.

It is common for contestants to be accused of not being on the show for the "right reasons," with their aim not to establish a genuine relationship with the Bachelor but rather to garner fame or attention of some kind.

These reasons include: become an influencer, become a cast member on Bachelor in Paradise, Dancing with the Stars, or the new Bachelorette, induce jealousy from an ex-boyfriend or other people in their personal life, or just to simply get free trips to exotic locations.

[116] On March 15, 2010, Mike Fleiss appeared on 20/20 and said that he develops contestants into characters who will cater to his audience's tastes and that they "need [their] fair share of villains every season.

[118] On February 24, 2012, during the taping of the Women Tell All episode of The Bachelor, a private conversation between contestant Courtney Robertson and a show producer went public when microphones were accidentally left on in between camera takes.

[127] In June 2021, it was announced that long-time host Chris Harrison was stepping down permanently after widespread criticism of comments he had made which excused the past behavior of a cast member who had been accused of racism, saying he was not the "woke police".

has parodied the series as The Baby Bachelor, a sketch where the titular role is given to host Jimmy Kimmel's three-year-old nephew Wesley.

On June 1, 2015, Lifetime began airing Unreal, a scripted drama about a producer who works on Everlasting, a fictional reality series similar to The Bachelor.

It is based on Sarah Gertrude Shapiro's short film Sequin Raze and her experience as a field producer on The Bachelor.