The real reason the dates on The Bachelor are so incredibly awkward.

The candles are lit, the champagne is flowing and Richie is just about to lean in for that all-important first kiss. Sounds romantic, right?

Except for the fact that you’ve been on this date for eight hours, you’re tired, there’s a boom mic hovering over your head and about 20 crew standing around watching you awkwardly pash.

Yep, turns out those romantic and intimate one-on-one Bachelor dates aren’t as impressive as they seem, as one former producer revealed to news.com.au.

“Every date usually takes a whole day [to film] and there’s a huge crew,” the former producer of the popular dating show revealed.

Here’s a reminder of who’s still in the running for Richie’s heart:

“When they’re not on camera…the girl’s producer will take [her] away and the Bachelor’s producer will take him away so there’s no collaboration between them,” they said.

The secret behind Megan’s date dress revealed! Post continues after video.

That means: no kissing, no hugging, no TALKING unless the cameras are switched on. Oof.

And to get the perfect shot, the contestants are often made to do the same thing over and over again.

“There’s always three cameras on them ... we’ll have hours of date footage and it’s surprising how boring the dates actually are. For things like walking — say they’ve got to walk down the beach — then they’ll get them to walk down a couple of times," the producer said.

Sorry, Richie, but if this is what it takes to go on a long romantic walk on the beach with you, you can count us out.

Catch up on the latest episode of Bach Chat: