After spending years behind the camera, former Bachelor and Bachelorette producer Julie LaPlaca is able to share her own story in her latest book, The Love Producer.
“It was a protracted journey to get here, you recognize?” Julie, 41, shares in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly before her book hits shelves Tuesday, July 7. “After I left the show, I handled a whole lot of shame and a whole lot of wounds that I needed to confront.”
Following a profession in daytime television, Julie had a front-row seat to a number of the most dramatic Bachelor Nation journeys to this point, working on seasons featuring Ben Higgins, Hannah Brown and Peter Weber, the latter of whom she had her own “fantasy suite” with in the true world after filming.
“Interestingly, the entire experience at The Bachelor and all the things that happened was really then the catalyst for me to go on this deeper healing journey and understand my patterns and my blocks in love and relationships and, you recognize, fear of using my voice and sharing my truth, and so it was a protracted, healing journey to get here,” she tells Us. “For some time, I used to be attempting to hide behind fiction. For some time, my body was in fight, flight, freeze mode after leaving a show that I’d been at for seven years … after which I ultimately, on my spiritual journey, really got the guidance that was essential to share my truth and share my heart, and the hopes to assist other women on their journeys as well.”
While at first it was “really hard” to work through a few of her feelings of shame surrounding her relationship with Peter, 34, writing her side of the story was “super healing and cathartic.”
“I hid behind fear for a very very long time, and whenever you’re living in a state of fear, it’s really not a superb place to be,” she continues, noting that she’s “relieved” fans will finally get to read her perspective. “It’s like there’s been this weight on my shoulders. I believe for some time I had, like, a scarlet letter on my back and … it’s super freeing [to leave that behind]. … I’m really glad that, through the writing process, and thru sharing my words and my truth with the world, that everybody will know my story, and that I could just put that chapter behind me and step into this latest chapter.”
Seven years into her Bachelor Nation stint, Julie — who writes in The Love Producer that she was once asked about becoming the Bachelorette herself — decided to go away the fact TV world behind. The profession shift inspired a journey into hypnotherapy, Reiki and other types of energy healing as Julie chased her own joyful ending.
Before departing from the Bachelor franchise, Julie experienced an extreme burnout, which manifested through shocking physical symptoms. Now, her life feels way more peaceful.
“I get normal hours of sleep. I’m in a position to work out repeatedly. I’ve really gone into an attractive routine,” she tells Us. “Once you’re within the chaos of entertainment within the entertainment industry, it becomes so normalized — this go, go, go, work, work, work [mentality]. Twenty-hour days were totally normal. I didn’t think twice when chunks of hair were falling out of my head, and I used to be waking up in these piles of sweat. It was just normal, and … I’m still uncovering that it’s not normal, and for my very own health and wellness, and mind, body, soul connection, it was essential to make those changes.”
Still, pressing pause on her producing profession wasn’t a straightforward alternative to make. “It was hard to go away that industry. I continually wondered, you recognize, if it was a giant mistake,” she says. “Especially whenever you’re tied to such a giant show like The Bachelor, and everybody’s like, ‘That’s the best job ever, it’s a dream job.’ … [But] then you definately’re like, ‘Is it though?’”
Former Bachelor contestant Peter Weber may need finally met The One. The fact star shared a sweet photo of himself with Brook Sill via Instagram in June 2025, revealing that the pair were officially an item. Weber had previously confirmed he’s involved with someone special when he appeared on an episode of iHeartRadio’s “The […]
The job also seeped into her personal life, with rampant speculation surrounding the character of her reference to Peter. Following his season 24 journey — Peter was briefly engaged to final rose winner Hannah Ann Sluss before attempting to this point his runner-up, Madi Prewett — his friendship with Julie led to a handful of romantic encounters.
While the story Julie shares isn’t all rosy, she has nothing but love for the time she spent with Peter — and the way it helped her begin her path to healing.
“I’m finally in a spot where I feel really free, and I’m excited for all the things that’s unfolded. … He was a giant catalyst for me, like, leaving and embarking by myself healing journey, and diving deeper into understanding my patterns with men, you recognize, why did I all the time go for Peter Pans, for those who will,” she tells Us. “And so, I’m super grateful for him.”
Having been through her own transformation, Julie is able to be a guide for other women to “help them embody their leading lady energy” and break through their very own barriers. This December, she’s hosting her very first retreat at Playa Escondida in Mexico, where Bachelor in Paradise is filmed.
“I’ll be inviting women to return to Paradise with me,” she says. “I’ll be your love producer, and I’m going to bring different love producers which have helped me on my journey, so we’ll have various healers and teachers to do a bunch of various workshops to really break through those blocks, so you could possibly really attract the love you wish from the within out.”
The Love Producer hits shelves Tuesday, July 7.