The Bachelor: How Ben Flajnik Influenced Courtney Roberston’s DWTS Decision

Former The Bachelor winner Courtney Robertson revealed she was offered a spot on another popular ABC television program, Dancing With the Stars, but she ultimately turned it down. Robertson, 38, featured on Season 16 of The Bachelor, during which she got engaged to the season’s star, Ben Flajnik. Ben proposed to her during the season finale, having offered her the proposal and coveted final rose instead of fan-favorite Lindzi Cox.

Things didn’t work out between the two, however, and Ben and Courtney ended things a few months after the season concluded. The pair’s messy split was well-documented via Courtney’s tell-all memoir, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends: Confessions of a Reality Show Villain. In the memoir, Robertson detailed the rocky nature of their relationship and disclosed what wasn’t visible to the public eye, ultimately explaining why they broke up. Despite tensions running high and the relationship souring between the pair, particularly at the time of the release of Robertson’s memoir, Ben and Courtney have patched things up and are now cordial.

Per Us Weekly, Robertson made an appearance on the She’s All Bach Podcast, during which she alleged ABC had put forth a lucrative offer to get her to join Dancing With The Stars. Robertson indicated she was interested in the network’s proposal but when asked whether Ben was on board with her partaking in the dance competition, she replied, “[Ben] was like ‘if you do it, you won’t have a fiancé.'” She later clarified that Flajnik was not the reason she didn’t join the show, rather the cast was already mostly established by the time she had been offered a spot. Still, she made clear Flajnik was not at all keen on the thought of her embarking on the Dancing With the Stars journey.

Robertson, an Arizona native, alleged the offer was worth an initial $150,000, in addition to incentives for advancing in the competition. “You make another, like, $30,000 or something [for advancing],” she said. Courtney’s season of The Bachelor aired in 2012, and while she claimed she’s received other reality TV offers in addition to the popular dance competition, Dancing With the Stars was the only one she mentioned by name, saying, “[DWTS] was one I would have loved to have done.” Ultimately nothing ever materialized in that regard, and while Ben’s support of the idea was clearly nonexistent, Robertson insisted that her ex-fiancé wasn’t the reason she didn’t accept the network’s offer.

While Courtney took on the villain role during her time on The Bachelor, ABC was seemingly fond enough of her to bring her back in other capacities. After rejecting their alleged advances, however, it seems Courtney has moved on from television. Robertson is now married to Humberto Preciado, with whom she tied the knot in 2020. The pair have one son, who was born in June of 2020, and recently announced they’re expecting another child, a daughter.

The Bacheloretteairs Tuesdays on ABC at 8 pm EST.

Sources: Us Weekly, She’s All Bach Podcast