On November 18, “Stage-Five Bachelorette “Clinger”, Jamie Doran, decided to do a tell-all interview after what he said was an 18-month media ban.
Appearing as part of a five-episode mini-series (appropriately tagged as “stages one to five” of the So Dramatic! Podcast, the 40-year-old told host Megan Pustetto about his dispute with Warner Brothers, how he had reached out to former Bachelor Nick Cummins for support, what he really felt about his edit (“I’m actually a nice guy”) even what the casting process was like.
While what he had to say has been some serious watercooler fodder, there’s one thing we’re most excited about. The behind-the-scenes goings-on of the Bachelor franchise — as told by Doran.
So far, Pustetto has released two stages of the series, and thanks to Doran’s candidacy, we’ve already learned so much.
What is the casting process like?
“Ivan (Married At First Sight) was in my audition for The Bachelorette and he didn’t get through. Jackson Garlick was also in my audition. We had a group audition with about 200 people and they chose six people to have these hardcore one-on-one interviews with a panel of Warner Bros. people.”
What is the editing process like?
It’s no secret that Doran is a stage-five clinger, however, he initially wanted a “villain” edit.
“I didn’t know what I was getting myself into and be careful what you wish for because I was half saying it as a joke,” he said. “Then it happened and I was not so thrilled about it. I do believe I regretted it.”
As for his edit as a whole: “What has put me in this position now and I’m not throwing shade at anyone, [but] I got such a bad edit in The Bachelorette. I feel that I’m playing catch-up now with the public. I’m trying to prove to people, and maybe a little bit too hard, that I’m actually a nice guy; I’m not a bad guy. I’m not a stage-five clinger or whatever they portrayed me as/the villain…. But, I’m not the way they portrayed me.”
How do the producers get involved?
When it came to Jess Glasgow and the infamous comments about “wandering fingers”, Doran said the former Noosa politician was “encouraged to do it” by the producers.
“In the famous episode where Angie is the farmer’s wife, I’m the farmer, and Jess is the horse’s ass and he made the ‘wandering fingers’ comment and lost his job over it,” Doran told Pustetto.
“They were coming in and saying things like, ‘The whole idea of this shoot is to get your wild side out, so get a bit crazy, get a bit kinky, be stupid and yeah, Jess said that comment, but they’ve hung him for that.”
“I don’t know if it was ‘kinky’, but it was naughty or something like that He lost his job, his family haven’t taken it well, and he’s still in a dark place over it.”
In fact, Doran also blamed the producers for his “clinger” edit.
“I don’t believe I played it up, but I listened to the producers too much and I lost my organic flow because the producers were in my ear too much and there were guys on the show who were warning me.”
How do you get picked for Bachelor in Paradise?
According to Doran, if you don’t do what the producers want, they hang the opportunity of going to Paradise over your head and if you’re wondering why he is a glutton for punishment going on a second show, he signed the BIP contract first.
“They made me sign the Bachelor In Paradise contract before The Bachelorette even aired. I thought I was going to come out looking like Carlin Sterritt, believe it or not. I know it’s funny when you see the edit, but there were a lot of good times, especially with Angie,” he said.
“I flew to Fiji, three days after I was sent home from The Bachelorette on air. So, I went out on The Bachelorette on a Thursday night and I think I flew to Fiji on the Tuesday.”
Listen to the So Dramatic! Podcast for the full chat.