Kaitlyn Bristowe was offered a measly $40,000 when she was gunning to be the next “Bachelorette” in 2015.
Bristowe shared on Monday’s episode of her fiancé Jason Tartick’s “Trading Secrets” podcast that she had been living off of just $1,500 ABC paid her between Season 19 of “The Bachelor” and Season 11 of “The Bachelorette while the network deliberated between picking her or Britt Nilsson to star on the franchise.
“I think they offered me $40,000. You’d think I’d be like, ‘Jackpot! Sign me up!’” Bristowe, 37, told Tartrick, explaining that she hired an entertainment lawyer to help her with negotiations.
Bristowe — who noted that she could only afford the lawyer’s “upfront retainer of five grand” with the help of her stepdad — said the legal eagle “changed a lot and negotiated [her] contract big time.”
“One of the executive producers said to me, ‘You got an entertainment lawyer, and you’re asking for this amount of money? I’m sorry. I thought this is about love for you,'” Bristowe recalled.
She continued, “F—k off! It’s about love and money, OK? They go hand in hand for me right now. Because they said you’re going against Britt, I was like, ‘I’m not doing it.’”
Bristowe proceeded to play hardball, telling the execs that she would only accept an offer if they paid her as much as former “Bachelor” star Chris Soules, 41, whom she dated on Season 19.
“I said I wanted to make the same as he did,” Bristowe said, adding that “Bachelor” stars had been offered a range of $75,000 to $100,000 in the past.
The “Off the Vine” podcast host was smart with her negotiations and made sure that ABC would still pay her even if she lost out on the gig to Nilsson, 36.
“I had also negotiated that if it was her I still got money,” Bristowe said.
All her hard work paid off quite literally, and she went on to star as the next “Bachelorette” where she got engaged to contestant Shawn Booth.
She and Booth, 35, ultimately broke up in 2018 but Bristowe still got to keep the Neil Lane engagement ring since they were together for more than two years.
“Neil Lane has first rights of buying it back,” Bristow explained, adding that she could sell the $30,000 ring with the jewelry brand’s permission.
Bristowe continued doing business with ABC when she and Tayshia Adams, 32, were named co-hosts for Seasons 17 and 18 of “The Bachelorette” after 51-year-old Chris Harrison’s controversial departure.
While she described co-hosting as her “most lucrative gig,” Bristowe said that ABC listed her and Adams as “guests” instead of hosts so the network didn’t have to pay up.
“They didn’t want to pass what a host would make,” Bristowe said. “I think we got a little more [for Michelle Young’s season than Katie Thurston’s season].
ABC ultimately named Jesse Palmer, 44, as the permanent host of “The Bachelor” franchise in 2020.
Bristowe also dished on her earnings during her time competing on “Dancing With the Stars” in 2020.
“You get a bonus every week that you make it,” Bristowe said. “The final four are in the final episode, they all get paid the same. … But your signing bonus, I think you can negotiate a bit, like, to sign to say you’re going on the show.”
While she didn’t give specific numbers, Bristowe, who ended up winning the dance competition, said she was told the Mirrorball trophy she was awarded costs $10,000 to make.
Bristowe and Tartrick, 34, have been linked since 2019 and got engaged in May 2021. Tartick competed on Becca Kufrin’s season of “The Bachelorette” in 2018.
