Reality television can make anyone a just little bit famous. Whether it’s running a $120 million business empire (Bethenny Frankel) or getting paid $200 a pop to show up at the opening of the local grocery store (many former contestants of “The Biggest Loser”), capitalizing on faux-fame has become part of the American Dream. Few are better at extending their 15 minutes than former contestants on ABC’s “Bachelor”/”Bachelorette” franchise. It remains to be seen what Ashley Hebert and JP Rosenbaum will go on to do over the next several weeks and months, but another pair of former “Bachelor” folks are already taking advantage of this season.
Jason and Molly Mesnick (yes, the odd pair who actually got married following the show -- after Jason proposed to someone else and then changed his mind) are using this season to promote the travel company Jason has been working with: Down Under Answers. They have crafted a trip package at the Koro Sun Resortt in Savusavu, Fiji, the resort handily featured on a recent episode of this season’s “The Bachelorette” where Jason and Molly will be part of the scenery. The 10-day, $2,999 package is essentially a chance for fans to rub elbows with the former contestants in paradise, an experience DUA owner Kirk Demeter claims is not unlike old school cruises that featured celebrity guests. “You used to see cruises with former football players and people from ‘The Love Boat’ and this is like that,” Demeter told The Huffington Post. “I think there are a lot of people who want to go on a nice trip and the inclusion of Molly and Jason makes it even more attractive.” The Mesnicks do seem to love travel and this is one of the few times they have taken any advantage of their celebrity and they are doing it for a legitimate business. Most of the past two years for them has been quietly spent in Seattle, Wash. “We got back to normal life pretty quickly,” Molly Mesnick told us. “We live in Seattle so we are far removed from the Hollywood life. We go to work every day and we’ve never taken the path that some people have to stay in the business to remain famous and extend that 15 minutes of fame. We partake in things when it fits into our lives but we’re content to be regular people.” But other former “Bachelor” and “-ettes” have been even more savvy about capitalizing on being “fauxmous.” Check out the slideshow below to see just what these some of these former “most eligible” reality stars have been up to since their last rose ceremony.
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