What Is a Happy Couple Weekend on ‘The Bachelorette’? Inside on Couple’s Life After Filming

After couples get engaged on the Bachelor or Bachelorette, they’re forced to keep their relationship hidden from the public as the finale doesn’t air till months later.

However, that doesn’t mean they don’t spend any time together! While ABC audiences are watching the season play out, the lead and their final pick have happy couple weekends, which are special outings organized by the producers to keep the season’s outcome under wraps.

What Is a Happy Couple Weekend on ‘The Bachelorette’?

Season 11 lead Kaitlyn Bristowe opened up about the secret rendezvous planned by producers between leads and their picks in 2018. At the time, she was engaged to her final pick, Shawn Booth.

“[Happy couple weekends] are in a house with really tall bushes everywhere, so people can’t see in,” Kaityn told Entertainment Tonight. “Producers come because they really want to make sure you’re not leaving the house, because you have to hide there.”

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The “Off the Vine” podcast host described the getaway as three days of “serious quality time” and includes lots of little perks — like a fully stocked fridge full of snacks — to ensure the couple never needs to leave the accommodation.

“They just load up the house with, like, your favorite wines, foods — everything,” she said. “You just make grocery lists.”

Producers take major steps to ensure secrecy, including planning transportation that makes sure the lead and their final pick arrive at their destination undetected. Kaitlyn said they Traveled in “black SUVS,” with “alias names” provided by producers.

“Shawn was Eric and I was Ariel from The Little Mermaid. They even put his name under [Eric] on flights, [so] if they need to call your name, they know to call you Eric,” she explained. “When both of us came down from the plane, the driver would be there with signs saying either Ariel or Eric, and we obviously had to fly down different days.”

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Happy Couple Weekends Have Had Their Drama

Happy couple weekends aren’t always smooth sailing for the Bachelor Nation couples and have been the backdrop for some infamous splits.

Season 22 lead Arie Luyendyk Jr. had a getaway with his pick, Becca Kufrin, but rather than enjoying the trip, he used it as an opportunity to tell her he wanted to end their relationship in order to pursue his connection with his runner-up, Lauren Burnham.

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Couples have also spoiled the outcome of their seasons by accidentally sharing content proving that they were at the same location. Most recently, during Joey Graziadei’s season in 2024, Bachelor Nation sleuths were able to connect that he and his final pick, Kelsey Anderson, were spending time together while their season was still airing.

“We were at a house together that weekend. We were trying to be very smart with what our backgrounds were. Yeah, it was a slip up, [but] we were shocked that people found out that it was the same background in the house,” Joey told Us Weekly in March 2024. “I think anyone would be — because there was not a lot of context. But yeah, those rumors were correct.”