Money Rehab with Nicole Lapin - Confession$ of a Bachelor Alum with Kendall Long

Episode Date: May 26, 2021

Ever wonder how much being a contestant on The Bachelor is REALLY worth? In this financial confessions episode, Bachelor and Bachelor in Paradise Kendall Long (you know her as the one who does taxidermy in her spare time) shows us how multiple streams of income are the key to a lasting career - even for someone who never wanted to be an “influencer”. 

Money rehabbers, you get it. When you're trying to have it all, you end up doing a lot of juggling. You have to balance your work, your friends, and everything in between. So when it comes to your finances, the last thing you need is more juggling. That's where Bank of America steps in. With Bank of America, you can manage your banking, borrowing, and even investing all in one place. Their digital tools bring everything together under one roof, giving you a clear view of your finances whenever you need it. Plus, with Bank of America's wealth of expert guidance available at any time, you can feel confident that your

money is working as hard as you do. So why overcomplicate your money? Keep it simple with Bank of America, your one-stop shop for everything you need today and the goals you're working toward tomorrow. To get started, visit bofa.com slash newprosmedia. That's b-o-f-a dot com slash n-e-w pros p-r-o-s media. bfa.com slash newprosmedia. Hey guys, are you ready for some money rehab? Wall Street has been completely upended by an unlikely player, GameStop. And should I have a 401k? You don't do it? No, I never do it. You think the whole world revolves around you and your money.

Well, it doesn't. Charge for wasting our time. I will take a check. Like an old school check. You recognize her from anchoring on CNN, CNBC, and Bloomberg. The only financial expert you don't need a dictionary to understand. Nicole Lappin. So this may or may not be a newsflash, but The Bachelor franchise has a big fan base.

I am talking millions and millions of people who watch that show. Now, I must admit, I am not one of those millions of people. But even though I don't watch the show, I do sometimes recognize former contestants because they're everywhere on Instagram, bus benches, late night TV commercials, podcasts. Okay, I should say I sometimes recognize former contestants because I had actually lived next to the former Bachelorette, like the main one, and I had no idea who she was. I joked about having a bachelorette pad, and she was like, do you know who I am? I'm like, huh? Hannah? What? Who? Anyway, the point is, I have never watched the show, and yet I have heard of some of these names. That alone is proof that

reality TV has become a big business. I don't need to tell you that. I mean, hello, look at the Kardashians. So of course, because I always have my mind on my money and my money on my mind, I have to wonder, are Bachelor contestants in it for the money? Is this a viable career? Like, how much money are we talking here? And for every Kim Kardashian, there's got to be a Kim Kardashian light who doesn't get to start her own shapewear line. How much are these people on The Bachelor actually making? And should I be the next Bachelorette? Sorry, Jo. I have a lot of questions here. So I reached out to Bachelor, Bachelor in Paradise alum Kendall Long to get some answers. Hi! Hey, love!

So Kendall, I'm so excited to chat with you. But before we start, I have a confession to make. I have never, not once, not ever seen an episode of The Bachelor or any variations of it. Lucky you. So please talk to me like I'm a five-year-old when it comes to all Bachelor things. Yeah, no worries at all. Basically, we kiss and cry on TV, so it's great. Perfect. All of my favorite things. So tell me a little bit about your life and finances pre-bachelor. Pre-bachelor, I was a poor college student, an art student. While I was in school, I had two jobs. I also had a track scholarship. And then when I graduated, I moved to Los Angeles and I was doing creative directing, well, set dressing, creative directing.

And financially, I'm a little squirrel. So I love squirreling away things. But when I was younger, I used to save all my money for one year to buy one toy. I used to have short obsessions. So I was really obsessed with metal detectors. My parents were like, if you want to get a metal detector, you have to pay for it yourself. So Kendall, I've heard a lot of different hopes and dreams for people's savings goals. This is the very first time in my career I've ever heard of somebody saving up for a metal detector. Oh yes. I was thinking like the, it'll pay for itself. You know what I mean? Like I'll take it, I'll take it to the beach, be sober. I'll find some buried treasure. I like always had such a big imagination. So I'm thinking like shipwrecks,

got it. And so my parents were probably just like, she's odd, but you know, she has a goal, which is good. So what did you want to be when you grew up? When I was younger, I wanted to be an investigative reporter. Did you ever think you would be on The Bachelor? No. Yeah. Initially, investigative reporter. Did you ever think you would be on The Bachelor? No. Yeah. Initially, it took a couple glasses of wine for me to actually submit an application. I was with my sister and some girlfriends, house-sitting my parents' place. I never had a TV because, you know, I was still paying off student debt and all that stuff. So I didn't really watch Bachelor, Bachelorette. And then we were house-sitting at my parents' place. They had a TV and we're like, we're going to watch Bachelorette.

And it was Rachel Lindsay season. And she's great. I just loved her whole season. I loved. And so my sister was like, oh, you should totally apply to be on Bachelor. And I was like, I would never do that. I think everyone's always initial reaction is like, it's so sexist. I would never do that.

And then I had a couple glasses of wine and I was like, I could do that. And so I filled out an application, like not seriously. I was like thinking, I was like, I'm a ukulele playing taxidermy clutching twin. I was like, they're never going to let me. And they're like, we have our weirdo. And they called me the next day. With the romance part of The Bachelor, did you get self-conscious? How did you start feeling when there was this media frenzy about your love life and like dating somebody on the show or going through the breakup? Well, so I absolutely loved finding love on the show. And the reason is because it teaches you to be so much more vulnerable, transparent, because everything that happens on the show is going to be aired.

Everyone's going to see it. So I liked the beginning of the relationship in that sense. After the show, you know, only you kind of like business partners because, you know, you're kind of a brand together for the show and for yourselves. So that was like a little bit of the stressful element of it, which if you've never gone through it before, there's a lot of different opinions.

And so it's difficult to hear people who want you to break up, who don't believe your love is real, who, you know, and we lived together for a year. So it's very real to me. So then I'd have people who would like find our phone numbers and try to text us and say that we're cheating. Like, it's just weird. Like, it's a weird thing.

After everything, I would say that I loved how close it brought us. And we have like a really deep friendship because of everything we've been through. And it's unlike any relationship I've ever been in before. So in that sense, like, I'm really glad that I was able to go through that. And what does that mean when you get in? Do you sign a contract? Do they pay you? Tell me everything. No money. What? Yeah, they don't pay you anything. I had to set up like my finances before I left because I knew that I could potentially be gone for three months. So I was like, who's paying rent? Who's paying my bills? You know what? I'm not working. I had savings. Like I was always saving up, but I wasn't to the point where I was like, I could just not

work, you know, for a month at a time and like not worry at all. So yeah, that was, it was, it was definitely a little nerve wracking, but I kind of just welcomed the idea of like having no control. I'm speechless. I'm rarely speechless. So they tell, they put you on a TV show and they don't pay you any money for that. And you still have to pay all of your normal bills, but it's basically a full-time job. Yeah I mean I got paid for paradise they pay people to go to paradise but like the way I see it is I think there's like so many people that would go on bachelor or bachelorette that they're able to do stuff like that but um yep no moolah okay you didn't get money for being a contestant, which I have problems with. They should have paid you.

But the actual Bachelor himself or the Bachelorette herself, they're making money for being on the show? Yeah. I don't really know exactly how much they make, but it's drastically different depending on who it is, what season it is. They never get paid the same. I need to have a talking to with these bachelor folks. They need to pay their people better. We're not struggling though. I mean, I don't know. I can understand like how it's like, yes, we're making a lot of money off of us, but at the same time, we make a lot of money off of the show itself. You know what I mean?

Because influencing exists, I feel like it feels more fair, you know, but not everybody who's on the show does do influencing. So in that regard, like I can understand how maybe there's a little bit of animosity or resent buildup from maybe like a bad edit if you're a villain. Even villains are influencers. So I don't know. I am shocked. I don't even know how that's potentially legal, but I'm more concerned about what you did and then how you paid the bills.

And I'm assuming you just thought this would open up more money-making opportunities down the road? I never really... I didn't know about the whole Bachelor Nation world. I didn't really know anything about influencing. And I was on the show a couple years ago. So at that point,

I don't think the influencing world was as huge as it is now. So for me, I was on the show a couple of years ago. So at that point, I don't think the influencing world was like as huge as it is now. So for me, I was thinking I get to travel for free. This is a great adventure. And, you know, and after the show, I went right back to being a creative director again. I didn't, you know, stop working until like a lot, until months afterwards. And I realized, oh, I can actually make a living off of being on a reality show, which I never thought was a possibility. Where did the money start coming in? Everyone always asks me, they're like, do you work? What's your job? And it's influencing. I think

people trust your opinion or after seeing you on the show and like how you conduct yourself, or they're curious, like what makeup you use or like what's your skincare routine or what are some products that you use? So I took took me I took a lot of learning for me I think initially I was taken advantage of by a few brands different like managers and agents will promise everything and then you know you kind of get screwed over and I think it's because there's so many new people every season that you know there's a lot of naivety and I was kind of like that I was like I don't know how to survive in this world and so I started you know, there's a lot of naivety. And I was kind of like that. I was like, I don't know how to survive in this world. And so I started, you know, finding some people I can trust, learning the ropes of like, and I only wrapped products that I really liked. Cause I, for me,

it was almost embarrassing to be an influencer after the show. I was like, I have a college education. I'm a creative director. So I started off really slow. And I said no to a lot of different things. You know, influencing is kind of like it's it's like a commercial in a sense. And if it's stuff that you really believe in, like, why not talk about it and why not, you know, get paid from it? So that was one side of it. And then now since I've published a book and I'm starting to kind of get into things that that are my own personal projects, that's where the excitement comes in with being an influencer. Hold on to your wallets, boys and girls. Money Rehab will be right back.

Now for some more Money Rehab. What was the first company that approached you for an ad or a partnership? I think, oh, I think it was Be Your Beauty. This is the first one I think I actually did. So I went to this concert event. I took my sister, got her makeup done. It was like this, it was really fun, you know, and they're like, they're fun to work with. And I was thinking at that point, I just really psyched that I could, you know, experience something like that. Do you remember how much they paid you? I don't really remember. Like directionally, I wouldn't even know. $100, $10,000, $100,000, $4 million.

$100, $10,000, $100,000, $4 million? No, definitely not. I wish. I think it was like in like $4,000 range. And what did you think when you got that money? I thought it was easy, easy money was something that I wanted to do anyway. And I've used their products before. And, you know, it's almost, it's almost scary how much money there is in the influencing world. I was just, I was just really surprised and blown away that I could make a living and that I can plan for like a secure future, like off of something like influencing. Like to me, I had absolutely no idea that that existed, especially to the extent that it did to the point where I didn't have to be a creative director anymore. And that was like a huge shift in my life because I had been working so hard. And in three years, I was went from a PA to a creative director. So like, that was like, I felt really proud of like where I was and how

much work I had put in to do that. And then you have the temptation of influencing and you can, you know, put more again, like my goal was to be a documentarian. So I was thinking, I can actually like finance my own passions now. And that was so tempting. I'm so glad that I chose to do that, but it's a risk. It's like a huge risk to be like, in my mind, I'm thinking I can't be an influencer forever. Well, not everyone thinks that. I think that's a really smart mentality to have. So you said the money that goes along with influencing is scary. Scare me, teach me, tell me everything. I mean, scary in the sense that it feels like so organic and natural to do, but you can live off of it. You know, it's like I can do like a post or a story set and

make enough to pay rent. And for me, I've always worked so hard at getting like every single bit of money that I've ever had. And it's not that I'm not working hard. I'm just not working as hard. Yeah. I think a lot of people are so fascinated by the influencer world. I certainly am. I mean, I'm more so with every word you say, because I just had no idea how much influencers could make on social media. Can you give us a sense of directionally, like how much are you making if you're a contestant on The Bachelor or The Bachelor dude himself? I would say it's very different. It kind of is based off of your engagement. So companies will usually ask for your backend, which is based off of your engagement. So companies will

usually ask for your backend, which is the analytics with your posts and your story views and all of that. And I think about it this way. It's kind of like, if you see an ad on television, how many people are seeing, seeing that television ad? How many people are on that channel? And it's very similar to Instagram. Like how many people are going through your page and seeing, you know, so if you view it that way, it's like your own little TV channel. You know what I mean? I would say I don't have a million followers, but I would say people who have around a million

followers are probably being paid about $20,000 per post. $20,000? Did the Bachelor people or the network people talk to you guys about how to prepare for what the show would do to you not really uh they're just like you can always talk to producers who i would see as friends and you know you can talk to them about like you talk with any friend and ask advice and say hey this is weird i've never had to go through this before you know they talk with you about it but i i don't i almost think that bachelor's catching up with, with social media and how social media is affecting contestants. And I think a lot of people have, um, gone through like really hard times

because of social media and, you know, being out there and having so many opinions and some people have really thrived in it. I don't really know if anyone really knows what to do. So they put you on a show, they don't pay you money and they're like, okay, now you're going to get a bunch of followers, go out and make something of your life. Bye. Kind of. Yeah. I mean, but you know, the thing is, I see it as like a headstart, you know, it's like, look, this is a gift. Like it really is. It's a gift to have such a voice, you know? And so with that gift, like you can, it's up to you to choose what you want to do with it. I'm personally glad that I have been able to figure it out myself and have gone through my own road of influencing, being on the show, having a following. It's something

that I never, ever anticipated my life ever being. And I'm cool with it. Like I'm happy with everything that it is. Do you now look at your Instagram and social media purely as a business? Is it fun for you, too? It's fun for me, yeah. So I try not to look at it as purely from a business standpoint. Then again, I'm not really a traditional influencer, I wouldn't say. I like to do art on there. I'll do these weird coffee stain artwork things, or I'll talk about animals. I'm really big into taxidermy, so I'll talk about like animals, taxidermy, like entomology. I'm not really sure if, you know,

Bachelor audience likes that kind of stuff, but I like it, so I still post about it, you know? So I try to keep myself in my page as much as possible. Where did the love of taxidermy come from? Just loving nature and animals. I used to go hiking all the time and just collect skulls. And yeah, I just got a package with a taxidermy piece that I wanted at auctions. I'm not going to open that after this. So you, you, forgive me if this is offensive because I don't know the terminology. So you, you do that. You do the taxidermy, like you put, you stuff animals, basically.

So I've only done it a few times. So I'm like, I see myself as an art collector. So like I collect the art of nature preserved, which is taxidermy. So it's not a business. It's purely a hobby. Yeah. I put more money into taxidermy than I make from it. Let's just say that. I mean, you know, we all have our own hobbies. This one is yours. Maybe tax would be more my hobby. So that's weird. Tax and taxidermy.

That's great. It's a great hobby to have. I wish I was better at taxes. Here's a tip from Kendall you can take straight to the bank. I would just say don't go on if you're doing it to be an influencer or to get money off of it. Because I don't think many people can live off of being an influencer after being on the show. Like any show, you know, you have your main characters that make it through the end.

There's no way of predicting that. So if you're going to go into the show thinking like, I'm going to be an influencer, maybe, maybe not. Maybe you hook up with like an agent that has a couple other bachelor people with them because then they're more reputable and figure out who you can trust early on. And that's it for today's episode.

I'll see you tomorrow for some more Money Rehab. Money Rehab is a production of iHeartMedia. I'm your host, Nicole Lappin. Our producers are Morgan Lavoie and Catherine Law. Money Rehab is edited and engineered by Brandon Dickert with help from Josh Fisher. Executive producers are Mangesh Hatikader and Will Pearson. Huge thanks to the OG Money Rehab supervising producer, Michelle Lanz, for her pre-production and development work. And as always, thanks to you for finally investing in yourself so that you can get it together and get it all.