Here's the truth about how much 'The Bachelor' contestants drink on the show

ABC

"The Bachelor" contestants have access to unlimited booze.
It helps keep the drama unfolding.
But some past contestants think it has gotten out of hand.

On the second episode of this season's "The Bachelor," there was no doubt that Corinne Olympios was the talk of the house.

But what was also clear from her confessionals and behavior was that Olympios appeared intoxicated. Here are some choice quotes from everyone's new favorite villain last night:

"Brittany is like, half-naked. And that's freaking me out...she better not steal my thunder or I will literally punch her in the face."

"Nick held my boobs today. Like, he held my BOOBS. No one has ever held my boobs like that. And no one ever will."

"XOXO, Gossip Girl."

"Bachelor" fans also questioned Olympios's level of intoxication:

So how much do contestants drink on "The Bachelor"?

Turns out it's a lot, and producers keep it flowing freely during the episodes.

"It's how they get you to be more talkative, more sensitive," season 17 contestant Leslie Hughes told The Daily Beast. "When I came in for the producers' weekend, I remember it was like 12 noon, and they were like, 'You want some champagne, wine?' And I was like, 'It's 12 p.m., noon!' And they're like, 'Welcome to the Bachelor family.'"

ABC

Corinne Olympios on "The Bachelor."

"A lot of people drink. If you are smart you don't drink that much! I was in the middle," Ali Fedotowsky, a former "Bachelor" contestant and "Bachelorette," revealed in an interview with A Drink With Chicago.

Essentially, you're drinking unlimited beverages - wine, beer, champagne, shots, you name it - for free for as long as you're on the show. The drinking is a way for producers to get contestants to open up, start drama, and forget about the cameras.

But sometimes, the drinking does get out of hand. On season 19, contestant Jordan Branch got incoherently drunk at a cocktail party. After she was eliminated, she told TMZ that "producers manipulated contestants by constantly refreshing their glasses."

Branch also said she had confided to producers that she was worried about over-drinking on the show, but that they did nothing to stop her from blacking out while taping and handing her more drinks.

ABC

Jordan Branch during "The Bachelor" season 19.

Of course, the contestants don't have to drink, and show sources explained to TMZ that "contestants are free to make their own decisions about drinking, and sometimes those decisions are 'not good ones.'"

But this responsibility to make the right choice can be hard on contestants, especially alcoholics who are pushed to drink. "Bachelor" contestant and "Bachelorette" star Meredith Phillips, who later opened up about her alcoholism and drinking on the show, said it's hard to turn down.

"It's always right there," Phillips told ABC News in 2013. "There's a lot of booze."

Though she said it was her choice to consume it, it was too available for her to resist.

"It shouldn't be prevalent all the time," she said. "It shouldn't be available, you know? I mean, it was just too easy."

Peter Kramer/Getty Images

Meredith Phllips during "The Bachelorette."

Loveline host and addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky told Entertainment Tonight that he's treated alcoholics who have been on these types of reality TV programs and that it's not a good environment for them.

"What really disturbed me was, I was treating alcoholics who had been on reality shows, and they were very clear that, in spite of talking about their alcoholism, they were still encouraged to drink," said Pinsky. "In a way, you can't blame reality producers for encouraging drinking, but it's certainly not healthy."