Why don't cast members just... not get married?
I would love to understand the contractual obligations of this show more. I find the pressure to commit to marriage after six weeks to be so strange when there doesn't seem to be anything barring them from continuing to date without getting married just yet.
To me, that would be the win-win — get to the finish line, commit to one another, and just date like normal people. But why do several of them actually get married? Is there a monetary incentive to marry at that moment? Is that the only way you keep the ring (which I imagine was gratis)? Why would you rush a wedding (that likely isn't the wedding of your dreams) when you don't have to?
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I wondered if there's an added incentive too, like being able to keep the ring, or having the wedding paid for. Otherwise, I'm not sure I would risk getting publicly dumped in front of the cameras and a crowd of people, even if everyone attending knows it's a bit of a farce.
I like the pressure the show puts on them to get married. It's absolutely ridiculous, but they lean into it. Like, three of their friends come and maybe, maaaaybe, some family: no one thinks it's a real wedding with any significance. I do like seeing them get all frothed up about the wedding then dumping each other at the alter. It's just a fun exclamation point on the series instead of, "well, 6 weeks are up and these normal people have decided to date still, the end!"
I have all these questions too!! I thought I was just confused bc I hadn't seen the first season, but I thought the "wedding" was really just like a "yes I'll marry you someday" not "I'll marry you right this second?"