SWK: Is there anything juicier, and stranger, than hometown visits on reality TV shows? A mandatory episode baked into the format on faves like The Bachelor and Love is Blind, hometown visits amp up the awkwardness by exposing the cast members' relationship to outside eyes. They're a cornerstone of the format because it gives family members an opportunity to weigh in on the bizarre setup of finding love on a TV show.
BB: The hometown visit gives us another dose of reality within the reality TV show (reality squared). They usually include family members or friends who didn’t initially sign up for the show but participate reluctantly. They bring a level of skepticism to the format, letting the viewers in on who might not be “there for the right reasons”.
SWK: Yeah, the family members tend to fall into the same roles or tropes, even from show to show. The overprotective brother or father, the kid sister who says too much, the wine mom who has *opinions*.
BB: And judgy grandsons too. The hometown visit is always a juxtaposition to the fairytale part of The Bachelor. It gives us that moment of tension, a hurdle to jump over for the young couple (or golden years couple), it offers us a plot twist that is essential to the story.
SWK: It also reinforces the grand ol' tradition of asking for permission, which is likely why every dad/brother/male authority figure is overbearing and suspicious, like, I'm going to be handing my female family member off to a playboy who is dating four women at the same time and has an endless supply of leather zip jackets? The bizarre part of the setup is that hometown visits with partners are already nerve-wracking and guaranteed to go weird, so adding in the fact that you met your potential mate on a reality TV show means the visit is doomed from the start.
BB: Right, in addition to the awkwardness of meeting someone’s parents for the first time, you have to answer for the fact that you’ve met this person on a TV show. And um, what might have compelled you to make that decision. Naturally, parents may not be thrilled, but many seem willing to play along with the charade. It feels like reality TV is constantly striving to project an image of being more "real," and that's what the hometown visits aim to provide.
This authenticity pursuit seems to be in full display with The Golden Bachelor, where Bachelor Nation has discovered a fresh approach to pull at our heartstrings and project a more genuine vibe. Contestants in their golden years are assumed to be less driven by the desire for fame and Instagram followers—well, at least that's what the spin-off wants us to believe. This imparts a sense of authenticity to the hometowns, a quality that the original shows don't always manage to convey.
SWK: I think probably the most heightened hometown visits are on Love is Blind, in large part thanks to the social experiment of it all. Nearly every parent or parental figure in the hometown visits for the show is like, you just met this person in a pod and why are you doing this? Their reactions, though justified, also don't seem to really change anyone's minds. It creates great soundbites, and chats for the reunion episode, but ultimately most of the couples stay together after hometown visits.
BB: In Love is Blind, meeting the family establishes a new cast of characters that are important for the final wedding scene as well. There is a lot of drama that unfolds when a contestant is left at the altar, leading to a face-off with the parents of their now-ex.
SWK: Props to the producers, they know how to use family drama to maximum effect in the hometown to wedding pipeline. They make sure at least one family member comes to the weddings, ideally the most bitter or skeptical one, and then capture their righteous horror or need to start a fight when their beloved family member is abandoned at the altar.
One of the most memorable of these moments has to be in Love is Blind season 2, when Nancy's brother confronts the man who just said "I don't" to his sister, serial dud Baptiste. The cameras keep rolling as his family tries to talk him down, adding a dramatic end to the wedding that was never to be.
BB: There is truly nothing better than family drama and any way a reality TV show can tap into it is a win for the producers. One of the most popular storylines in the Housewives Franchise involves strained mother/daughter relationships. Examples include Kandi Burruss and Mama Joyce, Candiace Dillard Bassett and her therapist mom (she goes by "The Diva Dorothy" on Insta), and the recently volatile relationship between newcomer to Salt Lake City, Monica Garcia, and her mom, Linda. These relationships carry so much history and trauma, and showcasing them allows the producers to essentially create a season-long equivalent of a hometown visit.
One of my favourite hometown moments comes from the iconic Karen Huger of The Real Housewives of Potomac, who is appointed the ambassador of her hometown, Surrey, Virginia (aka Karentown). She famously shoots a Surrey ambassador video (in Potomac), proudly representing Surrey ham and peanuts. Additionally, she holds the distinguished title of the Grand Dame in the Surrey Parade. Her hometown visit serves a similar purpose by giving us access to Karen’s history, making her appear more “real” to the viewers.
SWK: In typical Housewives fashion, they take a segment that has been used on other reality TV shows to humiliate or expose cast members, and instead turn them into celebratory homecoming parades. Maybe part of it is also unlike on other shows, the Housewives don't need permission from family or their hometown reps to live their lives on TV and make bad decisions.
BB: True, the Housewives are grown whereas the female cast members on The Bachelor and Love is Blind are infantilized by family hometown visits. The Housewives hometowns also add to the classic rags-to-riches narrative that the franchise relies on. The expectation is that viewers will aspire to the same level of wealth and fame enjoyed by the Brovolebrities, finding joy in the journeys of stars like Karen who’ve climbed the social ladder, upgrading from “Surrey local” to “Grande Dame”. Little do they realize, most of us wouldn't trade our cozy obscurity for that kind of limelight. You couldn’t pay me all the Surrey peanuts in the world to trade places with a Bravolebrity.
SWK: If anything, their hometown parades are a reality check against embracing that level of fame and exposure. They serve to prop up their personas and make them heroes, rather than give us access to more of their real self or the selves they are around family. Leave it to the Housewives (and their respective producers) to make even a family visit an opportunity to push a narrative.
The viewers at home are dying to know…how would your family handle a hometown visit style segment?
BB: My family is so dang sweet; they would be perfectly polite in front of the cameras and then horrified behind closed doors.
SWK: My family would be like, oh the family dog doesn't like him…so it's a chop.
Which cast member would you want to bring home, and why?
BB: Obviously, I would want to bring home Karen Huger, the Grande Dame of our times. She would also come bearing many gifts like La Dame fragrance and her infamous three-wick candle.
SWK: Who was that woman who fed wine to her dog on Love is Blind, Jessica? That level of chaos would really shift the spotlight away from me during dinner. Sip, sip.
SWK: Is there anything juicier, and stranger, than hometown visits on reality TV shows? A mandatory episode baked into the format on faves like The Bachelor and Love is Blind, hometown visits amp up the awkwardness by exposing the cast members' relationship to outside eyes. They're a cornerstone of the format because it gives family members an opportunity to weigh in on the bizarre setup of finding love on a TV show.
BB: The hometown visit gives us another dose of reality within the reality TV show (reality squared). They usually include family members or friends who didn’t initially sign up for the show but participate reluctantly. They bring a level of skepticism to the format, letting the viewers in on who might not be “there for the right reasons”.
SWK: Yeah, the family members tend to fall into the same roles or tropes, even from show to show. The overprotective brother or father, the kid sister who says too much, the wine mom who has *opinions*.
BB: And judgy grandsons too. The hometown visit is always a juxtaposition to the fairytale part of The Bachelor. It gives us that moment of tension, a hurdle to jump over for the young couple (or golden years couple), it offers us a plot twist that is essential to the story.
SWK: It also reinforces the grand ol' tradition of asking for permission, which is likely why every dad/brother/male authority figure is overbearing and suspicious, like, I'm going to be handing my female family member off to a playboy who is dating four women at the same time and has an endless supply of leather zip jackets? The bizarre part of the setup is that hometown visits with partners are already nerve-wracking and guaranteed to go weird, so adding in the fact that you met your potential mate on a reality TV show means the visit is doomed from the start.
BB: Right, in addition to the awkwardness of meeting someone’s parents for the first time, you have to answer for the fact that you’ve met this person on a TV show. And um, what might have compelled you to make that decision. Naturally, parents may not be thrilled, but many seem willing to play along with the charade. It feels like reality TV is constantly striving to project an image of being more "real," and that's what the hometown visits aim to provide.
This authenticity pursuit seems to be in full display with The Golden Bachelor, where Bachelor Nation has discovered a fresh approach to pull at our heartstrings and project a more genuine vibe. Contestants in their golden years are assumed to be less driven by the desire for fame and Instagram followers—well, at least that's what the spin-off wants us to believe. This imparts a sense of authenticity to the hometowns, a quality that the original shows don't always manage to convey.
SWK: I think probably the most heightened hometown visits are on Love is Blind, in large part thanks to the social experiment of it all. Nearly every parent or parental figure in the hometown visits for the show is like, you just met this person in a pod and why are you doing this? Their reactions, though justified, also don't seem to really change anyone's minds. It creates great soundbites, and chats for the reunion episode, but ultimately most of the couples stay together after hometown visits.
BB: In Love is Blind, meeting the family establishes a new cast of characters that are important for the final wedding scene as well. There is a lot of drama that unfolds when a contestant is left at the altar, leading to a face-off with the parents of their now-ex.
SWK: Props to the producers, they know how to use family drama to maximum effect in the hometown to wedding pipeline. They make sure at least one family member comes to the weddings, ideally the most bitter or skeptical one, and then capture their righteous horror or need to start a fight when their beloved family member is abandoned at the altar.
One of the most memorable of these moments has to be in Love is Blind season 2, when Nancy's brother confronts the man who just said "I don't" to his sister, serial dud Baptiste. The cameras keep rolling as his family tries to talk him down, adding a dramatic end to the wedding that was never to be.
BB: There is truly nothing better than family drama and any way a reality TV show can tap into it is a win for the producers. One of the most popular storylines in the Housewives Franchise involves strained mother/daughter relationships. Examples include Kandi Burruss and Mama Joyce, Candiace Dillard Bassett and her therapist mom (she goes by "The Diva Dorothy" on Insta), and the recently volatile relationship between newcomer to Salt Lake City, Monica Garcia, and her mom, Linda. These relationships carry so much history and trauma, and showcasing them allows the producers to essentially create a season-long equivalent of a hometown visit.
One of my favourite hometown moments comes from the iconic Karen Huger of The Real Housewives of Potomac, who is appointed the ambassador of her hometown, Surrey, Virginia (aka Karentown). She famously shoots a Surrey ambassador video (in Potomac), proudly representing Surrey ham and peanuts. Additionally, she holds the distinguished title of the Grand Dame in the Surrey Parade. Her hometown visit serves a similar purpose by giving us access to Karen’s history, making her appear more “real” to the viewers.
SWK: In typical Housewives fashion, they take a segment that has been used on other reality TV shows to humiliate or expose cast members, and instead turn them into celebratory homecoming parades. Maybe part of it is also unlike on other shows, the Housewives don't need permission from family or their hometown reps to live their lives on TV and make bad decisions.
BB: True, the Housewives are grown whereas the female cast members on The Bachelor and Love is Blind are infantilized by family hometown visits. The Housewives hometowns also add to the classic rags-to-riches narrative that the franchise relies on. The expectation is that viewers will aspire to the same level of wealth and fame enjoyed by the Brovolebrities, finding joy in the journeys of stars like Karen who’ve climbed the social ladder, upgrading from “Surrey local” to “Grande Dame”. Little do they realize, most of us wouldn't trade our cozy obscurity for that kind of limelight. You couldn’t pay me all the Surrey peanuts in the world to trade places with a Bravolebrity.
SWK: If anything, their hometown parades are a reality check against embracing that level of fame and exposure. They serve to prop up their personas and make them heroes, rather than give us access to more of their real self or the selves they are around family. Leave it to the Housewives (and their respective producers) to make even a family visit an opportunity to push a narrative.
The viewers at home are dying to know…how would your family handle a hometown visit style segment?
BB: My family is so dang sweet; they would be perfectly polite in front of the cameras and then horrified behind closed doors.
SWK: My family would be like, oh the family dog doesn't like him…so it's a chop.
Which cast member would you want to bring home, and why?
BB: Obviously, I would want to bring home Karen Huger, the Grande Dame of our times. She would also come bearing many gifts like La Dame fragrance and her infamous three-wick candle.
SWK: Who was that woman who fed wine to her dog on Love is Blind, Jessica? That level of chaos would really shift the spotlight away from me during dinner. Sip, sip.
