'Bachelor' hopefuls routinely get rejected for having STDs, new book claims

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Los Angeles Times staff writer Amy Kaufman is claiming in a shocking new book that anyone looking to find love on “The Bachelor” needs to be free of sexually transmitted diseases — and that is often easier said than done.

Kaufman’s upcoming tell-all, titled “Bachelor Nation,” which focuses on ABC’s hit reality TV show, claims that potential contestants have been required to participate in a medical examination to ensure they are completely healthy and drug-free.

An excerpt published by The New York Post Tuesday stated that if anyone had an STD, they would be taken out of the running immediately.

And it turns out that was supposedly the top reason why applicants didn't make it onto the show.

“As soon as the medical tests came back, you’d see that herpes was the biggest thing,” said Ben Hatta, former assistant of creative and executive producer Mike Fleiss. “And sometimes you’d be the first person to tell a contestant that they had herpes. You’d be like, ‘Uh, you should call your doctor.’ Why? ‘We’re not going to be able to have you on our show, but you should call your doctor.’

“Then they’d realize they’d been denied from ‘The Bachelor’ and now a bunch of people knew they had herpes,” stated Hatta.

But when it came to psychological tests, it turns out the show’s producers allegedly are not as strict.

“There’s psychological tests they have to pass, but there’s a window of the pass, do you know what I mean?” claimed producer Michael Carroll. “You’d know there’d be a possibility of [someone] being kind of unhinged – like, she passed, but just barely. You can see it at the casting events during the interviews: ‘Oh, this chick is going to go f---ing nuts. She’s amazing.’”

Former contestant Rozlyn Pappa said that despite her ongoing battle with depression, she turned out to be a desirable candidate for the show.

“If they were really trying to protect you, you’d think that would be sort of a red flag and they would say, ‘Well, maybe this is someone who can’t handle this kind of pressure,” said Papa. “But instead, it was almost like, ‘OK, perfect. You’re perfect for the show. You’re going to cry. You’re going to say some really screwed-up stuff.’ Looking at it, I can see why I should not have been a candidate.”

"Bachelor Nation" hits bookstores March 6.