This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today.
This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
How Molly got on 'The Bachelor' — but only in these funny videos she makes herself
Molly Hawkey has a frank discussion about the secret she has yet to tell "The Bachelor" in one of her videos satirizing the show.
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
Molly Hawkey has an eyelash go wrong in one of her videos satirizing "The Bachelor."
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
A fake screenshot showing Molly Hawkey getting a date card from Ben on "The Bachelor."
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
Molly dealing with the fact that an expired passport means she won't get to go on a group date on her fictionalized version of "The Bachelor."
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
Molly Hawkey misses a date with "The Bachelor" thanks to being on a jog in one of her videos satirizing the hit ABC show.
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
A fake social media post, with Molly Hawkey inserting herself alongside other cast members of "The Bachelor."
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
There's one "The Bachelor" contestant who you can see in clips online, but you may not recognize her if you've been watching the show. That's because she's not actually on the show — though at first glance, you might buy into the world Molly Hawkey is creating.
Hawkey has been editing herself into video clips of "The Bachelor," playing a heightened version of herself as she allegedly tries to win the heart of Ben Higgins — while winning the hearts of those watching her increasingly ridiculous videos.
She got the idea after editing herself into a Hollywood Reporter roundtable with Oscar-nominated actresses, where she took Reese Witherspoon's place and made it look like she'd been nominated.
"I just did it for fun, and it turned out it looked really realistic and everybody thought it was real for a minute," Hawkey said. "And everybody kept telling me after that that I needed to keep editing myself into things."
She was watching the last season of "The Bachelor," and realized she'd found the next piece of media to edit herself into.
"I don't even have cable. I'm terrible at pop culture! But somebody got me interested in 'The Bachelor' two years ago, and I got hooked. Like an addiction. Like drugs!" Hawkey said. "But I didn't think anyone would believe it, and then when I started putting out the promos [with me in them], everybody was just, 'I'm so excited for you!'"
Sponsored message
Watch Hawkey introduce herself, noting her incredibly old age — for "The Bachelor" — of 37, the oldest contestant in the show's history:
Molly Hawkey introducing herself
"The show only has 22- to 25- or 26-year-olds on it, and I think there's been a couple times in my career where you're not considered for this or that because of your age, so that's obviously part of it. But it also bums me out that people feel the need to conceal their age, and I don't want to conceal my age, and I don't want to conceal all these stupid things about myself that we're all going through, and so I just bring them up out there, and hopefully people can just relax for a second, because it's so stupid. Who cares! It's just, it's so arbitrary. I'm 37!"
It's a multiplatform experience — she's not admitting it on social media either, as she retweets the articles about editing herself into the show while allegedly trying to clear her name and prove that she's actually on the show.
All the women on the show seem the same to Hawkey, so she's not modeling herself after any one of them, but is wrapping all of the show's tropes into one character.
"They're all 'falling for' the guy, they are all there 'for the right reasons,' they're all 'genuine people.' It's just so easy to take any of those things that they're saying. 'I didn't realize it was going to be this hard.'"
A fake social media post, with Molly Hawkey inserting herself alongside other cast members of "The Bachelor."
(
Courtesy Molly Hawkey
)
Sponsored message
Hawkey assumes they have to be having more interesting conversations with the Bachelor himself — right? She says she doesn't think she's a Bachelor kind of girl and doubts she'd ever be put on the show.
"None of them seem very bright — no offense, I feel bad saying that actually. I'm sure they are very bright, but they don't appear that way on the show. They have, I don't know what, a month or two to fall in love with one specific guy? And they all come on the show thinking this is the man I want to marry!"
Despite the videos getting some exposure online, she doubts she'll get a call for the next season of "The Bachelorette." She said that she thinks it would be funny to be on the show, but can't imagine how even with 25 guys vying for her, how she could end up choosing one of them.
While she won't be doing "The Bachelorette," she hopes that these videos will help give her career a little more momentum and open up doors.
"Because I have been a struggling actress for 13 years. ... I book some things every now and again — but I want it to be my career, and I've never been able to make that happen, and I don't feel like I get the opportunities that I deserve," Hawkey said. "I would love it if people listened to my feature ideas, and my pilot ideas. I've written screenplays. But no one's ever read them."
You can watch the latest of Molly's ideas — where she gets lost trying to get to Mexico for a group trip with the Bachelor — below, and follow her alternate reality on Instagram and YouTube:
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our connected community. We are free to tell the full truth, to hold power to account without fear or favor, and to follow facts wherever they lead. Our only loyalty is to our audiences and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen our community.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Right now, LAist has lost $1.7M in annual funding due to Congress clawing back money already approved. The support we receive from readers like you will determine how fully our newsroom can continue informing, serving, and strengthening Southern California.
If this story helped you today, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Your tax-deductible donation keeps LAist independent and accessible to everyone.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
