Cassidy Timbrookshas pulled back the curtain onreality TVwith a shocking confession – she was coached through her experience on Season 26 ofThe Bachelor. For some viewers, the idea of coaching could undermine the show’s carefully maintained illusion that contestants are genuinely looking for love. ButThe Bacheloris an environment designed to manipulate and disorient,to wring dramatic moments out of its cast, often at their expense. So it makes perfect sense to train –a player must understand the show’s formula and producer tactics to successfully navigate the game. Cassidy’s revelation highlights how blurry the line between reality and performance really is.
Cassidy recently appeared on theGame of Rosespodcast with hostsLizzy PaceandChad “Bachelor Clues” Kultgen– who, she revealed, was her coach. While former contestants often offer casual advice to friends entering the franchise,Cassidy seems to be the first to walk into theBachelor Mansionarmed with the training of a studied expert. In 2021, she reached out to Chad, asking if he’d consider coaching her. He jumped at the opportunity, and the two began their pre-season preparation.
Reality TV or Professional Sport?
The coaching process began months before filming. The first step was an audit of Cassidy’s Instagram, removing ex-boyfriends, middle fingers, and anything else that might have raised flags for casting producers. “I think a lot of players don’t realize,you’re playing the game as soon as you decide to apply,” Clues explained. He transformed her profile into a polished visual resume. From there, they went throughrounds of castingand meticulously mapped out strategies for every aspect of the show.
Early in the process, it became clear to Clues that Cassidy would be a prime candidate for avillainous role. Despite her training,Cassidy believed the recent loss of her father would protect her from being portrayed in a negative light, so she found herself ill-prepared to look for warning signs or fight against an unflattering edit. On the show, Cassidy’s villain arc is set into motion in her first frame of screen time, and by the time she recognized it taking shape, it was already too late to course-correct.
The final blow for Cassidy came when she shared a little too much information with a fellow contestant about a past hookup.That contestant ran to producers to tattle on Cassidyfor violating anunspoken ruleof the Bachelor franchise: Players must be untouched virgins who have never encountered a man before meeting the lead.Cassidy was unable to talk her way out of elimination.For producers, it was a tidy conclusion to the storyline they’d set up – an early-season villain defeated, and the human being behind that character discarded, left to return home to a barrage of vicious messages from audience members who delighted in her demise.
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Despite Her Elimination, Coaching Proved Effective
Though Cassidy was eliminated early, she’d been excelling up to that point. When producers asked her to perform a specific limo entrance, she complied with their request. In exchange, she asked them to let her speak with the lead first on night one, a bartering technique her coach had discussed extensively with her. They agreed, andCassidy was not only the first woman to speak with him, she also got the first kiss of the entire season. She developed a promising emotional connection and physical chemistry with the lead almost immediately. On the season’s first date, Cassidy dominated screen time. She planned out a specific structure: “I kept it light and fun and flirty in the morning, and then in the evening I had a more serious tone, as is generally the flow.”Cassidy’s strategic performance earned her a coveted group date rose.
Ultimately, withproducers crafting her villain edit,her oversharing error became an insurmountable obstacle that toppled her otherwise well-crafted game. But she was only the first player Clues sent into the show, and her experience gave him a wealth of behind-the-scenes insight that sharpened his coaching. Since then, his approach has evolved, andhe’s advised numerous players through all his favorite shows.I sat down to talk with him about what it’s like to coach reality television contestants, and where he plans to take it next.
A Conversation With “Bachelor Clues”
Bachelor Clues refers to himself as a civilian, meaning he’s never been on reality television, buthe’s become one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in Bachelor Nation and beyond.When he started coaching with Cassidy, his goal was simply to see if he could get a player cast, and he succeeded on his very first attempt. From there, he’s set his sights higher and higher. When he sends a contestant into a reality show, he formulates a personalized strategy that will help them achieve goals like winning a season or gaining a following on Instagram. But his own goal as a coach is longer-term and larger-scale:to create a true reality superstar.
Clues trains his players through every stage of the process: applying, navigating the show itself, and perhaps most importantly, leveraging the experience post-show. “How do you capitalize once your season’s airing…how do you really piggyback on that momentum?” he asks his players. In pursuit of his goal of guiding someone into stardom, he advises his contestants toutilize social mediato make the most of their time in the spotlight. A key part of his coaching now centers on getting players to what he calls “third wave shows,” programs likeThe TraitorsorHouse of Villainsthat cast all-star contestants from various shows and networks. Securing a spot on one of these shows can be career-defining. “If you have four or five episodes of being one of the main characters [onTraitors],I can absolutely make you a reality star.”
How Do Producers Feel About Outside Influence?
Between his coaching,his podcast, and the book he wrote with his co-host,“How to WinThe Bachelor,”producers have become acutely aware of Clues' influence. On Season 27 ofThe Bachelor, a contestant was allegedly caught reading the book during filming. Some of the podcast’s unique lexicon has made its way into the show’s social media presence, and even into the show itself. And in more subtle ways,the influence ofGame of Rosesand Chad’s coaching can be felt in every episode the franchise puts out now.
Producers have been resistant to this infiltration of their shows. “The people that were in charge of the Bachelor franchise when my coaching really started to take hold in the game…they hated this idea that anybody from outside the franchise could have any impact or influence over it whatsoever.” But his impact is undeniable – and a massive benefit to the franchise.The Bachelor’s “for the right reasons” facade was fake long before any contestants were trained; coaching just makes them more skilled at navigating the game – and frankly, at helping to uphold that illusion. “What they should have done, in my opinion, is worked directly with me to make the best seasons of the show of all time. Instead they tried to erase even the idea that anybody was being coached,” he tells me. I couldn’t agree more.
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Clues Is the Future
Clues' designs for reality television are far-reaching and forward-thinking. He’s actively pitching his own reality shows and continues coaching contestants across several series and networks. He tells me he’s still searching for his “Tom Brady” – a player who’s in it purely for the love of the game, willing to entirely fabricate a character, win the season, and then reveal the truth:It was all a performance.Ultimately, that’s the most compelling aspect of reality television – the balance between authenticity and artifice.
Fans and producers alike should embrace Clues' approach; contestants have always entered these shows with strategies, he simply fine-tunes them. “I know for sure that all of those producers are very aware of me coaching players and how we talk about the show and all that. And I don’t know what the future holds for the franchise or our peripheral influence over it. Butas long as there’s a show, we’re going to keep doing what we’re doing.”
