Not Everyone Has Sex In The Fantasy Suites

On The Bachelor, the implications of the fantasy suite are clear. By the time the overnight dates appear, the star of the show has been dating their potential partners for several weeks, met their families, and gotten to know them. Like many adults with an active dating life, it's generally assumed that the camera-free fantasy suite dates will be used to get a little frisky – though the Bachelor or Bachelorette in question rarely shares exactly what went on behind closed doors. Many viewers assume that sex is the natural next step at that point in the show (and the relationship), but does everyone have sex in the fantasy suite on The Bachelor?

While some do choose to have sex in the fantasy suite, others simply use it as a chance to get to know the person they might be getting engaged to without the intrusive camera crew around to document every second of the evening. It's the one time all season long that they have total privacy and don't have to worry about all the people at home watching, so it's a chance to see if the connection they've forged is real and genuine. Sometimes figuring that out involves sex, but not always. Take these couples, for example...

Emily Maynard

This Bachelorette was a single mom who wanted to set an example for her daughter by not having fantasy suite dates at all, so the question of sex didn't even come up. In a blog post for People, Emily wrote about how anxious the fantasy suites made her because of what they implied, which was another reason she decided to forgo them. "I also feel like my relationships have been so honest and real that there was really nothing they could have told me overnight that would’ve changed my mind," she added.

Sean Lowe

Though Sean did have overnight dates, as a born-again virgin he chose to use the fantasy suites just to talk. In his book For The Right Reasons, Sean wrote, "I wanted to use that night, alone, without any distractions, to really connect with the women. Plus, I wanted to know how they'd act when the cameras weren't rolling."

Brad Womack

Brad was another Bachelor who just wanted to use the fantasy suite to chat with the women. "I wanted to take the opportunity with all three of the women to talk, off camera, so we could all feel even more comfortable," Brad said in a blog post for People. "By this time, I had gotten to know the women so very well and I wanted to feel confident in the fact that, after talking with each of them all night, I knew exactly what type of woman each of them is. I wanted to be confident that I actually knew these women as well as I thought I did."

Though series creator Mike Fleiss said that most Bachelors will have sex with an average of three women over the course of the season (what about the Bachelorettes, Mike?), the fantasy suites aren't all about sex. At the end of the day, they're about getting to know someone without prying eyes, however the Bachelor or Bachelorette chooses to go about doing that.