After years of final roses and 2-on-1 dates on the reality television show “The Bachelor”, it’s safe to say the term love has taken on a whole new meaning.

Once upon a time, two people would meet face-to-face and would form relationships until it either became love or didn’t. But at least it was without the attentive eyes of camera crews and millions of viewers watching.

There was once a time when love was just love. But nowadays, it seems love is just another synonym for money.

For years, the theme of love has been milked for what it’s worth by television producers, who produce reality television shows like “The Bachelor” and “The Bachelorette”.

It’s not to say that I don’t find these shows entertaining. I can’t deny the fact that I, along with my friends, have tuned in to watch the show many times, and I can’t deny the fact that I secretly prayed a couple of those times that the bachelor would choose a certain girl for his final rose.

But I just don’t think it’s right to use the word love on a show like this.

What happened to the days when love didn’t shine bright big dollar signs? What happened to the days when love didn’t cause women or men to walk out of limos to meet their potential soul mate in a ridiculous and often embarrassing fashion?

This past Monday, all these thoughts were running through my head as I watched the season premiere of “The Bachelor”. Chris Harrison, the host of the show, is always using the word love to describe what the bachelor or bachelorette is looking for.

But is love really the right word? Maybe the right word would be fame or money, or both, but most of the time, love isn’t what many of these people sign up for.

While there have been a few successful relationships resulting from these shows, emphasis on a few, more often than not, love is the last thing on the minds of the show’s contestants.

It doesn’t matter how many ways these shows try to spin it, the term love should not be used so lightly, and is better off left out of the show.