Now that you’ve loved, laughed with, cursed at and cried through another highly entertaining season of Bachelor in Paradise, you may have thought all your emotions were spent. But did you know you’ll have to wait three long months before the franchise returns in January 2019?
What are you going to watch? How will you get your fix of singles looking for love, drinking too much and making bad decisions? You need your reality TV dating shows, right?
OK, don’t panic. Luckily, after a lot of digging, we found some shows to tide you over until The Bachelor returns with open arms and bearing a rose.
Some of the shows we’ve listed involve celebrities, some are exclusive to millionaires and some feature people of questionable morals and intentions, but they all have one thing in common: a quest to find love. Here are the best reality dating shows on streaming platforms to tide you over until 2019.
‘Rock of Love With Bret Michaels’
Of course you remember Bret Michaels, lead singer of the glam rock band Poison. Like many other aging celebrities, he turned to reality TV to help boost his career and, oh yeah, look for love. Where they found these thirsty "ladies" we'll never know, but not one of them can hold their liquor. Grab your favorite pair of acid wash jeans, a can of Aqua Net and a bottle of Zima and enjoy all three seasons on Hulu.
‘The Millionaire Matchmaker’
Love her or hate her, Patti Stanger is an expert when it comes to finding romance for wealthy men and women. But Stanger has rules, and if you break them, she'll break your legs. Just kidding, she'll just yell at your in her mom voice and kick you out of her "Millionaires Club." Stanger's most important rule is no sex before monogamy. A good idea, but let's just say her club is full of rule-breakers. You can find all eight seasons on Hulu.
‘Flavor of Love’
Who's that grinning man with a giant clock hanging around his neck? He's musician and rapper William Drayton Jr., aka Flavor Flav, formerly of the hip-hop group Public Enemy. After a stint on VH1's The Surreal Life in 2004, he hosted his own dating show for three seasons. Women of all socioeconomic status (and IQ) levels joined "the house" and competed for the love of the clock-wearing rapper. Full disclosure: There are things that happen on this show that have never been seen on TV before or since. If you like your reality TV raunchy, this is the show for you. Watch it on Hulu.
‘Dating Naked’
In case you had any doubt, the contestants are indeed naked on this show. Whether or not that's good or bad is up to you, but it does create a serious amount of awkwardness. Luckily, the show is set in a warm, tropical climate, but snorkeling naked with manta rays and jellyfish did seem a bit ill-advised. You can stream all three seasons at VH1.com.
‘The Cougar’
This show delightfully plays with stereotypes. The typical social norm is that men prefer to date younger women. In this show, however, a woman in her 40s (the cougar) looks for love with men in their 20s and 30s (the cubs), and it's incredibly refreshing — except we're curious how many young male viewers developed an Oedipus complex after watching this show. You can stream The Cougar on Amazon Prime.
‘Are You the One?’
If you prefer millennials over cougars, then this is the dating show for you. Mostly in their 20s, these Romeos and Juliets are known for hangouts, hookups and heartbreak — and sometimes a contestant experiences all three in one show. What's also fun about Are You the One? is the crossovers with other MTV shows like The Challenge and The Real World. Seven seasons are available to stream at MTV.com.
‘Beauty & the Geek’
According to the show's poster, Beauty and the Geek is the "ultimate social experiment" because it pairs men with super-high IQs with beautiful women. Sound a little sexist? Don't worry, in season four the show pairs a sexy dude with a nerdy female, because that balances things out, right? What's really fun about the first episode is that they show goofy clips from the contestants' audition tapes. Episodes are available on YouTube.
‘I Wanna Marry Harry’
This dating show may have the best premise of all time: Young American women are led to believe they are competing for the affection of Great Britain's Prince Harry. The ginger-haired hunk isn't the prince, however; he's an actor who answers only to the name "Sir" on the show. Now that the real prince is married to Meghan Markle, there's little hope for a season two. Stream I Wanna Marry Harry on Amazon.
‘Joe Millionaire’
The premise of Joe Millionaire is a little messed up: 20 women are flown to France, where they think they'll be competing to date a man who's inherited $50 million. In reality, the dude, Evan Marriott, is a construction worker and a huge douche. But if it wasn't crazy, it wouldn't be on TV. Episodes are available on YouTube.
‘Temptation Island’
This show must have sounded like a good idea during the pitch, but in reality, yikes! On Temptation Island, real couples are sent to a tropical island, isolated from their respective mates, then tempted by a dozen or so hotties. Add in lots of alcohol and the smallest of bikinis, and relationship goals go out the window. The producers even sent home one couple who had a kid together because they didn't want the family to end up in therapy or worse. Episodes are available on Amazon.
‘Love Connection’
Back in the 1980s and '90s, Chuck Woolery hosted the dating show Love Connection, where contestants chose a date from three videos, went out on the date and returned to the show to spill all the details. Now, the show is back with sassy Andy Cohen and is no longer limited to heterosexual romance. Yay for inclusivity! Watch on Fox.com.
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