Michelle Money and Cody Sattler met on the first season of Bachelor in Paradise and moved in together shortly after the September 2014 season finale aired on ABC. Although they didn’t get engaged on the reality show, Cody relocated from Chicago to live with Michelle and her daughter in her Utah home until they announced their breakup in December 2014.
In June, Michelle posted several photos on Instagram that hinted at a renewed relationship with Sattler, but it turns out they were back together for a reason — a paid appearance on a reality TV show.
According to blogger Reality Steve , Michelle and Cody were together last summer to film the upcoming season of WeTV’s Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars, something that has now been confirmed by the network’s newly released Season 5 preview video (below).
So, did Money and Sattler fake their relationship to get a paycheck and more time in the spotlight? And don’t they have to be married to go on Boot Camp ?
Just weeks after Michelle unexpectedly shared photos and a video of Cody enjoying a pool party at her home in Salt Lake City last June, the couple did a paid appearance together at the Palms Pool Las Vegas . That’s when fans started to question whether they were reunited for love or money.
Join #TheBachelor ‘s @MichelleMoney & @Cody_Sattler as they find their own paradise this week at Ditch Fridays! pic.twitter.com/Tq9WuK7g6B
— Palms Pool & Dayclub (@PalmsPoolLV) June 23, 2015
Although Michelle and Cody did not appear to be together romantically after their Vegas appearance, they did get together for a business venture. Cody’s fitness business revolves around a 30-day challenge and he wines and dines a winner every month.
Several months ago, he added Michelle’s makeover services to the prize and while many fans thought the pictures below signaled a continued relationship, it turns out that they were traveling together to meet up with one of the winners of Cody’s challenge.
Reality Steve states that Marriage Boot Camp is all about “manufactured drama” and couples do not need to be married to go on the show.
“Most of the people on it aren’t married,” Steve writes. “Some are, but a majority aren’t. It’s basically just a relationship counseling show.”
Although it is about making a relationship better, the cast also gets a paycheck for appearing on the series. That’s what is making Cody and Michelle’s appearance on Celebrity Boot Camp questionable — they always seem to write glowing things about each other when they do appear on social media together.
Celebrities who have appeared on the reality show in the past have made six figures for their appearance. Even former Bachelor Sean Lowe admits that he and his wife Catherine appeared on a previous season of Boot Camp “for the money.”
And while being married isn’t a requirement, one would assume that being in a relationship is part of the deal.
Interestingly enough, Michelle stressed how “single” she is when she took over the BachSnaps Snapchat account during the preview of the movie “How To Be Single” at the end of January — just one week after she posted an Instagram pic of Cody captioned, “Certain people come into your life and leave a mark that can never be erased.”
In January, Michelle went to California for Jade and Tanner Tolbert’s wedding and claimed that Clare Crawley was her date — Cody was nowhere in sight. Considering they both appeared on Bachelor in Paradise together on Season 1, why wouldn’t ABC invite them as a couple to the filming of the Bachelor At 20 wedding special that aired on Valentine’s Day?
What goes down on Marriage Boot Camp will undoubtedly be scripted (Michelle has done some acting in the past). The fight they appear to be having in the preview video above obviously didn’t have any bearing on their business relationship or their friendship.
Do you think Michelle and Cody were in a relationship when they filmed the Celebrity Boot Camp , or did they take the gig for the money and to keep their names in the spotlight?
Marriage Boot Camp: Reality Stars premieres in June 2016 on WeTV.
[Image: ABC Television Network]