Who You Meet At An Open Casting Call For 'The Bachelor'

By Kirsten Onsgard in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 11, 2016 5:47PM

Bringing your mom along for a first date would typically be a red flag, but when 29-year-old Samantha Valenzia auditioned for the The Bachelor in Chicago over the weekend—which is sort of like a first date, for a very specific kind of romantic—she brought her mom along for the ride.

"We've watched it ever since the beginning," her mother, Eileen Connelly, said.

Armed with cocktail dresses, pageant poise and a firm belief that fairytales can come true on national television, she and dozens of would-be contestants filed through a downtown open casting call Saturday for the chance to compete for the attention of a yet-unnamed suitor on a forthcoming season of The Bachelor.

While applicants can also apply online, the Chicago casting call was one of 21 events throughout the country this summer for the 21st season of The Bachelor and 13th season of The Bachelorette.

Applicants had their portraits taken, answered on-camera questions and filled out paperwork with questions that covered not only their professional backgrounds, but also "What's your favorite drink?" and "Why do you want to find love on our TV show?" Between sessions, the mostly young women stopped for selfies with fellow applicants, bonding over giddy nerves and absolute faith in "the process." They were as much fans as they were romantics.

The type?

"Every girl up there is pretty," Connelly said.

"Every girl is pretty, skinny, white," Valenzia said.

"Well, not all white. And there were a few guys too," said Connelly. With one exception—Juan Pablo, one of the most divisive bachelors on the show—every winner and suitor has been white.

24-year-old Hien Doan's background factored into her decision to travel from Milwaukee to audition. She said her parents, who are from Vietnam, are encouraging her to settle down. They "have a roster of people who they want me to marry."

"Basically they're like, 'hurry up and find someone,'" she said. "I wanted to find a guy, to exhaust all my options, before I'm like, 'Okay mom and dad, pick one for me,' because I think that's what they're trying to do."

23-year-old Lexus LaMotte is also feeling the pressure. She joined the casting call while visiting friends in Chicago, but she notes that many women her age back home in Fargo, North Dakota are already married with children.

"I always told myself I would be married with kids by 25—tha's just how I grew up. I just have that mindset in my head that you have to start early," LaMotte said. She was nervous, but said a few drinks beforehand and having a friend with her took the edge off.

"I want to find love," she said. "I don't technically want to get married, but I do want to find someone. I'm ready."

Others said they were fed up with bars, apps and online dating.

"It's hard to find someone face-to-face," 28-year-old Anna Shilov said. She has a 2- and 3-year-old from a previous marriage, and has not dated much for the past few years.

"Nowadays, people either find someone online or a TV show," she said. "That's the way you do it now. It's kind of sad, but that's the way the world is working."

Semi-finalists from these casting calls will travel to Los Angeles later this summer for follow-up interviews, as well as physical and psychological evaluations.

Applicants are also required to give up their right to a private life and a sterling reputation in the service of good TV. Personal information might be used in a way that is "embarrassing, unfavorable, humiliating, and/or derogatory and/or may portray him or her in a false light," according to the show’s eligibility requirements. That means that no, you can't sue if your 15 minutes of fame turn out to be a teary meltdown on network television.

The applicants said they mulled it over but the sacrifice seemed worth it—with caveats.

"I think if you act yourself and stay true to who you are, and what you portray is what you want people to know about you, that is the best foot you can put forward," 25-year-old Megan Vladic said. "It's just like [social media]—don't put anything out there that you don't want people to know."

"But now the whole world knows—your parents know," her friend, 27-year-old Melissa Zeman pointed out.

Being portrayed as "the crazy one" wasn't a deterrent for them, who both said they were "ready for the next step." Nor was the fact that few relationships in the show's history have lasted longer than a year or two.

"That happens in real life too. You win some, you lose some," Zeman said.

The cautious optimism crossed with starry-eyed romanticism that is the franchise's bedrock permeated our conversations with applicants. Valenzia, who has been married before, acknowledged the odds were not in her favor. But she and her mother remained hopeful.

"I would love for her to find true love, because she's already found it a couple of times before," Connelly said.

And how would she feel about seeing her daughter on a reality show?

"It would be tough," she said. "But it would be fun to watch her."