Meet The Family That Actually Lives In ‘The Bachelor’ Mansion

Can you imagine if this was your home?

We’re now in the midst of season 21 of the hit TV series ‘The Bachelor,” and you may think you know everything there is to know about the series. You’ve seen the rose ceremonies, the drama, the exotic dates and, occasionally, a love blossom before your eyes at the famous “Bachelor Mansion.” Well, be prepared to have your mind blown!

The mansion, the set of “The Bachelor,” is actually a place that a real, live family—the Haraden family—calls home. Yes, believe it or not, a family of six lives in the home that is widely known as “The Bachelor” mansion. We’re shocked to find out that the gorgeous mansion is not ABC-owned property, but is actually owned by a real family that lives there full-time when “The Bachelor” isn’t filming.

Here are the four lovely Harden children.

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Marshall Haraden and his wife built the 9,000-square-foot home in 2004 with no idea of the mansion’s fate.

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They were approached by the producers of “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette,” and the rest is history. The two shows have filmed there for nearly a decade now, starting with Brad Womack’s season in 2007. (The one exception was Emily Maynard’s Bachelorette season, which was filmed in her hometown of Charlotte!)

Twice a year, for 42 days, the family moves out of the home and sends everything—literally everything—they own to storage.

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The mansion transforms during those 42 days, as all new furniture and decorations are brought in. Rooms are repainted according to whether “The Bachelor” or “The Bachelorette” is filming. Once the “hometown dates” roll around, the home is restored to its former glory, exactly as the Haradens left it!

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Sounds pretty amazing right? Haraden does share some of the downsides to this arrangement. One of the most glaring is that viewers don’t understand that when show is on TV, it is not filming.

Haraden shares with TODAY, “People think that when the show’s on TV, it’s happening at the house. Sometimes when we come home for dinner at 9 or 10 at night, there’s people outside the gate climbing over the fence or on top of their cars trying to take pictures.”

When the show isn’t filming the Haradens live a fairly average life. Marshal Haraden and his wife own a construction company that specializes in building restaurants and breweries (and the occasional mansion, in the case of their home!).

They go to normal family events, here’s a photo of the family at the youngest son’s high school football game.

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Check out the mansion on “The Bachelor” Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET on ABC, and watch the current “Bachelor” Nick Viall search for love.

Just remember… don’t try to stop by the mansion, you will find the Haradens, not the Bachelor!