There comes a time in a woman’s life where curiosity outweighs dignity. Yes, it’s true – I auditioned to be one of the 25 women cast on ABC’s next season of The Bachelor and be scrutinized on TV in front of millions of people.
Before you can call me desperate or pathetic, let’s just take a deep breath and take a second to think about the odds of me even making it onto the show. There were roughly 300 applicants at the Seattle casting call and there are casting calls in almost every state. PLUS there are all of the mail-in applicants as well.
Lighten up y’all, the chances of me making it onto the show, let alone the next round of interviews in LA is slim to none.
So why audition? Well, the answer is simple: what’s more entertaining than public humiliation?
No, honestly, I went part out of curiosity, part genuine interest. I can tell myself all day that I went purely ironically, but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a small part of me hoping I’d magically find my smokin’ hot husband on national TV. And who are we kidding, I think pretty much everyone dreams of their 15 minutes of fame at some point or another.
In all seriousness, you never know where you’re going to find love. My parents met randomly at a bar called Tequila Willy’s on Cinco de Mayo and have been happily married for 28 years now. You just never know. I’m a sappy, cheese-ball romantic at heart and 100% believe in magic – so why rule out something that could potentially be life-changing?
Should I go to the Bachelor casting call today or nah?
— Madeleine Wilson (@MadeleineRose8) June 10, 2016
What I Wore
Do I wear a unicorn head? Go all out classic PNW girl – flannel and all? What’s my angle here? It’s all about strategy, people!
I decided to go for a classic business-casual look – a blazer, tank, skinny jeans, and cute heels. Solid, bold colors look best on camera, so I went with a white tank and hot pink blazer. I knew the bright color of the blazer would hopefully make me stand out from the crowd as it’s very unique and memorable.
The Audition Process
I arrived at Pacific Place Seattle around 5:40 p.m. (interviews started as early as 4 p.m. so I was hoping to beat the initial crowd) and quickly followed the sound of stilettos to the registration table. There were about 20 women in line and roughly 100 milling around the bar and shops – all equal parts nervous and excited. People peered down at the spectacle from the upper levels (I’m sure it made for some quality entertainment). I felt like I was on display at the zoo.
This sounds bad, but I was surprised by how many absolutely stunning, well-dressed women were there. How were all of these beautiful women single?! Where were all the crazies?! Madness, I tell ya. I saw people dressed in everything from athlesiure to Vegas-style dresses. Most women had their hair and makeup beautifully done and obviously put in a lot of thought to their appearance. It was frankly intimidating and inspiring to be around so many gorgeous people! I wanted to be friends with them all – or at least raid their closets.
Sadly, I didn’t see any weird or stand-out people. I was expecting to see SOMETHING – remember the “chicken enthusiast” from Redmond last season? Yeah, I was quite disappointed in the lack of odd characters.
It’s official! I am in line for the #BachelorSeattle casting call. Yes, this is real life pic.twitter.com/Y8E1oYd26v
— Madeleine Wilson (@MadeleineRose8) June 11, 2016
In typical Madeleine fashion, I tried to get to know the women in line next to me. Both had brought friends for moral support – this seemed to be a common trend (guess I missed the memo #lonerforlife).
The girl behind me was told me she was 27 and was “sick and tired” of the dating scene in Seattle. She lamented at the lack of eligible men for the vast amount of women who have their lives together. I wasn’t sure what she was talking about because the number of well-dressed men in suits I’ve seen in Bellevue in the past week alone has left me quite breathless.
Anyways, the two women in front of me did not seem to want to chat much but I overheard one of them saying how she wasn’t able to audition because she wasn’t old enough (you have to be 21 to audition). WHY would anybody in their right mind want to be on The Bachelor if they couldn’t have the help of a little liquid courage?! But I digress…
I made it to the front of the line around 6:05 p.m. I filled out my name, phone number, email address, and then grabbed a questionnaire. After this, you’re instructed to get your photo taken. There were two interns snapping pictures – one was a really, really hot guy and I thanked my lucky stars he didn’t take my picture because I probably would be too distracted to smile cute.
They give you a whiteboard to write your name and phone number on and then instruct you to hold it under your chin. It was quite literally like we were criminals getting our mug shot taken. I never, ever want to see that picture. Ever.
While part of me thought this was so ridiculous and hilarious, I have to say I was relieved to have something to do with my hands (think Ricky Bobby slowly raising his hands – yeah, that would have been me). Thank the Lord, the employees were friendly and speedy – it made the process a lot less awkward.
After getting my photo snapped, I made a beeline for the bar (obviously) and got myself a $5 glass of Rose (hollaaaa). I sat down at one of the few empty tables and got to work on the questionnaire.
The packet was full of questions ranging from details of your physical appearance to your relationship history to why you want to be on the show. How would I describe myself? Um, perfect, hilarious, super pretty, model-like physique, DUH.
These questions were stressful! It was almost as nerve-racking as filling out a job application – I wanted my answers to be just right, but not look like I was trying too hard. Such a delicate balance between crazy (crazy perfect, am I right?) and too normal.
MOST HILARIOUS PART: The line to answer “What’s your favorite alcoholic beverage” was longer than the line to answer “Do you want to get married and if so, why?” I answered “WHY THE HELL IS THERE NOT ENOUGH SPACE HERE?!” (to the one asking about my favorite drink, duh. I mean how can I pick just one. Don’t be ridiculous.)
I finished with my questionnaire in about fifteen minutes which gave me plenty of time to people watch and collect myself before the on-camera interviews.
I was really surprised I didn’t feel more competitive, nervous, or self-conscious talking to anyone. I was just imagining getting cast with all of these awesome women and the lifelong friends I would make. We would wake up early, do some morning yoga, make breakfast, toss back a few mimosas, go on a group date with a hunky guy, then come home and gossip. What could be better than that?
I realized I was starting to get more excited at the thought of being friends with the other contestants than I was about possibly finding my soulmate. Pull it together, Madeleine. This is game time. Focus. YOU’RE NOT HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS!
Finally, my name was called around 6:50 p.m., and five other women and myself followed an intern upstairs. Now, these ladies did not want to chat. Maybe it was the nerves kicking in, but I gave up awkwardly trying to make small talk pretty quickly.
At this point, a producer (I assume that’s who they are) came and fetched each one of us individually. I followed mine to a sectioned off part of the room behind a black theater curtain. There’s a tripod set up with a video camera attached and a big, bright stage light shining on a single chair. The producer instructed me to sit on the chair and once again wrote my name and phone number on a whiteboard. I smiled awkwardly with it for a minute and then the interview began. I think people probably get thrown off and nervous in this situation because it’s so staged (the bright light, the lonesome chair, the camera, etc.). However, I somehow felt at ease.
It was a super short interview and they just asked some of the questions that were already in the application I had just filled out. I think I may have blacked out at one point, but I think it went well overall. Who knows though, I could have just had verbal diarrhea but I tried to show my bubbly, outgoing personality without being obnoxious. I also answered the questions pretty briefly because I didn’t want to ramble on and on. Some women were behind those curtains for SO long! What could they possibly be saying?
And just like that, I was done! I walked out of there around 7:30 p.m. – the whole process only took a little less than two hours. Considering the sheer number of people and logistics involved, the entire staff was so efficient and friendly – it was a breeze!
Next Steps
If selected, contestants will get a phone call from the producers and will be asked to come to LA for more in-depth interviews/testing. I’m not sure what the timeline looks like here because they don’t give that information out, but I’m guessing they’ll begin filming around the end of the summer!
I’ll keep you all updated if I hear anything, but I HIGHLY doubt I will be chosen to move forward. Only time will tell! And let’s all say a little prayer that if I’m chosen, it’s James T. or Derek.
Have you auditioned for The Bachelor/Bachelorette or know anybody who has? I’d love to hear more stories about this whole process!
