‘The Bachelor’: Courtney Robertson Turned Down ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ Including $150,000 on Top of Weekly Bonuses
The Bachelor has been airing on our TV screens for nearly two decades, and there’s no end in sight. Every season, 20 to 30 or more female contestants battle for the love of one bachelor through various romantic dates and more drama-filled fights than you could imagine.
One winner on The Bachelor was so famous for being one of the most hated contestants that Dancing With the Stars offered her an incredible opportunity. That’s right — Courtney Robertson from Season 16. But her bachelor fiancé, Ben Flajnik, stepped in to put a stop to that. Fortunately, she has moved on to bigger and better things.
Courtney Robertson’s first TV appearance was with ‘The Bachelor’ franchise
Nearly a decade ago, Robertson made her first TV appearance on Season 16 of The Bachelor in 2012. During this season, 25 women lived in one mansion and competed for 28-year-old Ben Flajnik’s affection.
The reality TV star endured criticism from her competitors for not being quite as solemn about the whole thing. That isn’t to say Robertson wasn’t serious about Flajnuk, but she felt there was no point in dreading the red roses because her relationship would happen if it were meant to be. As it turns out, she never had anything to worry about anyway.
Robertson went on to win Flajnik’s heart in the Season 16 finale of The Bachelor. The two became engaged at the show’s conclusion in March 2012. However, they didn’t make it down the aisle. They called off their engagement by that October.
‘Dancing With the Stars’ approached her, but she declined
Robertson was getting plenty of attention after her reality TV debut as a finale winner and Flajnik’s fiancée. Soon, another ABC series came calling.
“Dancing With the Stars, I had a meeting with them right after my season [of The Bachelor]. That was one I would have loved to have done,” Robertson said on the She’s All Bach podcast.
“They explained the whole thing, like, you get to pick out your music and design your costumes,” the model continued. “I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I would be sparkling all over the place.’ … I got to go and sit in the front row and watch [the show]. And each week you go on, they pay you more. There’s, like, an incentive.”
She claimed that producers offered her $150,000 to join but that she would “make another, like, $30,000 or something” for each week she advanced to the next round.
Robertson said that although she was excited about the offer, Flajnik gave her an ultimatum:
“If you do it, you won’t have a fiancé.”
Since ‘The Bachelor,’ Robertson has moved on to bigger and better things
Although she didn’t accept the opportunity to be on DWTS, she has long since moved on from Flajnik. Today, Robertson is the author of the tell-all I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain.
In her book, she apologizes to her fellow contestants on The Bachelor for being mean, addresses the problems she and Flajnik experienced in their relationship, and even reveals that although plenty of sex happened in the fantasy suites, producers didn’t provide condoms.
In October 2020, Robertson tied the knot with her boyfriend of one year, Humberto Preciado. Together they have two children — one son and a newborn daughter.
