We already know that reality TV shows tend to hide their stars away from the rest of the world. It happened with Big Brother, where contestants were allegedly stuck in a hotel room and not allowed to even glance at their competition during the casting process. It happened on Jersey Shore, where housemates weren’t allowed to have cell phones, watch TV, read, or listen to music. Apparently, drama stems from complete boredom.
Beauty and the Geek allegedly took the isolation to a brand new high. Nate Dern, who appeared on Season 3 of the CW series, told UCB Comedy it was a “crazy experience” because contestants weren’t allowed to “talk to [their’ friends,” “look at the internet,” or “read a newspaper.”
In an interview with Alloy, Season 3 contestant Niels Hoven claimed cast members were sequestered in a hotel with very little outside interaction the week before filming. To make sure there are no leaks about who gets eliminated, contestants are sent back to a hotel when they’re voted off. They must remain there, with limited human contact, until filming wraps.
Can’t help feeling in love
What’s a reality TV show without an all-star editor? A series is only as juicy as the drama is cut to be. Apparently, the editors on Beauty and the Geek were so good at their craft that they actually almost fooled a contestant into believing he had a real relationship on the series. Boy, was he mistaken.
Season 3 geek Nate Dern (above right) told UCB Comedy that he ended up kissing “beauty” Jennylee Berns (above left), a UFC ring girl, during one alcohol-fueled night. Their minor romance was completely transformed in the edit room.
“They heightened it and made it like this love story that spanned all eight weeks of the show, which wasn’t really true, but they made it into this big thing,” he said. “And then, you know, it’s crazy, and you’re like ‘maybe I do have a romance with this person’ and you start questioning yourself.”
Dern claimed that when he saw Berns again she seemed kind of embarrassed that they had hooked up in the first place. At that point, she had apparently fallen into the arms of Frankie Muniz.
Any relationships that might have spawned on Ashton Kutcher’s Beauty and the Geek were doomed from the start. Though the show was touted as a “social experiment” rather than a dating show, any time you pair up eight dudes with eight women, sparks are bound to fly. Be it the time Mensa member Brad Hooker locked lips with model Erika Rumsey or a steamy game of strip poker, the relationships on the show seemed oh-so real. Unfortunately, they were effectively forbidden after the series, at least until it aired on TV.
According to Nate Dern (above left), castmates aren’t allowed to talk to each other after filming until the show airs on TV. Though this might keep nosy fans from knowing if anyone fell in love on set, it also makes it difficult to have a real relationship. Dern admitted it was six months before he was able to see his on-screen paramour Jennylee Berns (above right).
“I get there, and it’s very clear that any magic or chemistry that had been between us was completely gone,” he told this hyperlink UCB Comedy.
One geek lost his v-card on set
Beauty and the Geek claimed that they didn’t care about their geeks’ sexual history, but that doesn’t mean the show was without its virgins. Though one v-card didn’t last long on set, producers somehow spared the audience the excruciating experience of watching a grown man awkwardly lose it on camera.
