Years after JoJo Fletcher and Jordan Rodgers were swept into a whirlwind romance on “The Bachelorette,” the couple is turning their attention to helping divorcees find their second chance at love on “The Big D,” whose unfiltered setting leaves little to be discovered after the cameras turn off.
“There’s no fooling people in this scenario in this sort of situation,” Fletcher told TheWrap in a recent interview. “You dive in headfirst; you uncover all the good, the bad, the ugly; you feel it out … and you see that happen a lot with so many different people on the show.”
In the reality dating show, which premiered Wednesday on USA, Fletcher and Rodgers host recent divorcees looking for their lifelong partner in paradise. There’s a twist, though, as their exes are along for the ride. Naturally, chaos arises when the group shares a house and contestants can’t hide from their past mistakes with their former partners as new couples form.
“On ‘The Big D’ you can’t just present the best version of yourself — you’re with everybody 24/7 cameras running 24/7. If you’re trying to like make a fake first impression, because there’s somebody else that you may like, your ex is right there and [they’re] gonna call you out if you’re like lying about the type of person you are,” Fletcher said. “I actually prefer this way — on ‘The Bachelor,’ it’s amazing, it’s this fairytale — but the problem with that is when you come out of that, you’re not really set up to deal with the real issues that life can throw at you.”
Whereas “The Bachelor” sets couples up with impeccable dates that fill up a couple’s time with nonstop romance, reality sets in immediately for “The Big D” singles, who must quickly decide if their sleeping arrangements will include their ex or a new flame.
“Very early on, these couples go into the house, and some of [them] want to get back with [their] ex and some of them don’t, you get to decide are we sleeping in the same bed?” Rodgers added.
As resident reality experts after meeting on “The Bachelorette” and hosting home renovation reality series “Cash Pad,” Fletcher and Rodgers found themselves giving advice to the singles on shaking off concerns about cameras and being present with their potential matches.
“Being on TV … for the first time, it’s hard to get comfortable,” Fletcher said. “I think sometimes you get so in your head that you’re not allowing yourself to just truly be in the moment … That was something I experienced early on going onto ‘The Bachelor’ for the first time — for the first two, three weeks, I had a hard time just like opening up, I was so conscious about everything that was going on around me.”
After getting used to the cameras, Fletcher encouraged the singles to suspend their disbelief during the not-so-typical dating experience, confirming “you can fall in love on TV.”
“People think it’s crazy, but here we are,” Fletcher said of her marriage with Rodgers. “It doesn’t work out for everybody, but if you are truly there to do something, whether that’s self growth, whether it’s to rekindle, whether it’s to find love again, if you put yourself out there and you open your heart up to possibilities, a lot can happen.”
For Fletcher, whose parents were previously married to other people before tying the knot, divorce doesn’t define the journeys of the singles on the show, instead demonstrating the potential connection and romance ahead of them.
“None of them get married, thinking they’re gonna get a divorce; it’s never what you want,” Fletcher said. “This show is not about supporting divorce, but it’s about letting people know that there is hope after heartbreak … If the reality is if it doesn’t work out, and sometimes it doesn’t, you can still move into a healthy, amazing relationship, if you will allow yourself to do that.”
“The Big D” premieres Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.
