Tyler Cameron Was Broke When He Was Dating Gigi Hadid: ‘I Had Like $200’

If you play your cards right, getting dumped on national television can come with many consolation prizes: Instagram followers, brand deals, hopeful hotties sliding into your DMs. Tyler Cameron, who was the second runner-up on Hannah Brown’s season of The Bachelorette in 2019, got those things…but also had to deal with the hefty price tag of his overnight fame. In a recent appearance on the money advice podcast Trading Secrets, Cameron revealed that dating supermodel Gigi Hadid in 2019 (predictably) cost a pretty penny, and his wallet was not up to the challenge.

While Cameron now racks up $250,000 for two Instagram posts (I mean, fair enough, look at him), Trading Secrets host—and fellow Bachelor Nation alum—Jason Tartick reminisced about how broke Cameron was (emotionally and financially, I’m guessing!) coming out of Brown’s season. “He goes to me, ‘Dude, I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. I got $5,000 in my bank account. I don’t know what my next job is, and I’m dating Gigi Hadid,’” Tartick recalled.

“Not even $5,000. I had like $200,” Cameron corrected.

So, how on earth did Cameron afford to take one of the highest paid models in the world out to, say, Nobu, on that budget? Well, luckily, he had a parental safety net. “[When] I’d be going on dates, I’m like calling Pops up in the bathroom,” he said. “I’m like, Pops, I don’t think my credit card’s gonna go through. I need you to send me some money right now. And he’s like, ‘You got it, son, go get it.’” Beautiful. May we all be able to float our children a few hundred bucks when they’re on dates with celebrities.

Cameron said that the fact that Hadid never knew his financial situation was just pure luck: “At this point, I don’t even know what a credit card is. I got a straight debit card, so when you hit zero, you hit zero, you know,” he said. Oh yes, I know! “So I’m just crossing my fingers, hoping it swipes, and it just kept swiping,” he said. Oh babes, it’s giving “college junior who isn’t getting paid until next week” vibes.

I must admit that I find the whole thing sort of charming (if not also annoyingly privileged). At the end of the 15th season of The Bachelorette, Brown chose aspiring singer Jed Wyatt, who ended up being an asshole, over Cameron. (Word to the wise: Never trust the douche with the guitar.) And while, as a viewer, I firmly believed that Cameron and Brown had a connection, it didn’t take long for him to move on—and with a Hadid, no less!

In perfect underdog fashion, after the show, Cameron moved to New York and crashed on his best friend (and at-the-time future star of the Bachelor himself) Matt James’ couch while wining and dining Gig. “[I had] no money, but I’m like the happiest I’ve ever been ’cause the world is wide open to me in New York City. I can do whatever I want,” Cameron said, using present tense to describe his broke era. Cute! It’s like Sex & The City, but for straight boys!

Cameron and Hadid’s romance only lasted a few months, but I don’t envy the financial stress the relationship seemed to have caused him—though given how much he makes now, I’m sure his dates these days go swimmingly. Tyler, if you ever want to spread the wealth, my Venmo is public!