I don’t know about you, but when I watch a new season of The Bachelorette or The Bachelor, one of the first questions that comes to mind is what on earth these attractive hopeless romantics do for a living that allows them the free time to put their lives on hold and search for love on national television.
Personally, I revel in seeing the job descriptions under the names and ages of each contestant. So-and-so is a “data analyst,” a “software salesman,” a “firefighter,” a “realtor,” a “business owner,” a “professional wrestler,” and so on and so forth. The face behind the profession is often so different from what we’d expect, which is part of the fun; we have ideas of what a “construction salesman,” looks like, and then we see them shirtless on TV fighting over a pretty girl and think “huh, that’s not what I would have pictured.”
It all comes back to the age-old adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Nevertheless, without prejudice or judgment, it can be fun to try and pin down someone’s profession after seeing them stumble over their words and go pink in the cheeks from a new crush.
That being said, unless it’s explicitly mentioned, sometimes we can go a whole season without knowing what the star of the show does for a living. We’re told what the contestants do, but what about our leading man or our leading lady? Which brings us back to Charity Lawson, the star of season 20 of The Bachelorette. Exactly what does this Georgia native do that allows her to drop everything and search for a husband on national TV?
Other than being America’s sweetheart, what does Charity Lawson do for a living?
We first met Charity on Zach Shallcross’ season of The Bachelor in 2023. From day one she melted our hearts with her Southern charm, effervescent smile, and aura of positivity. Seeing her go home heartbroken was heartbreaking for us in return. Fortunately, her shot at true love didn’t stop there as she was invited to return that same year to headline season 20 of The Bachelorette, again making us wonder what on earth this woman does that allows her so much free time to put nearly half a year of her life on hold.
It turns out that Charity is a child and family therapist who graduated from Auburn University in May 2022 with her master’s degree. Filming for season 27 of The Bachelor began in Sept. 2022 so she had only five months to put it to good use until it was time to find her future husband. Filming for season 20 of The Bachelorette began the following year in March 2023, so she truly only had a sliver of time between one show and the next to polish up those credentials.
Watching Charity interact with her suitors on The Bachelorette (and even with Zach on The Bachelor) is proof that she knows a thing or two about how to have a real conversation. She doesn’t beat around the bush, allow for red flags to go unaddressed, or foster bad relationship habits that’ll bite her later. After all, those are some of the very issues she helps her clients work through.
Indeed, there is perhaps no one better to serve as the Bachelorette than a therapist. Want someone who can be vulnerable? Check. Want someone who can be empathetic? Check. Want someone who will understand you for all your unique traits? Check. She may not be perfect (none of us are) but Charity is living proof that having a trained therapist in the driver’s seat of a reality dating show is one smart move.
