Bobby Bones took home the Dancing with the Stars Mirrorball Trophy in 2018. Throughout the season, competing against contestants like Mary Lou Retton, DeMarcus Ware, and Nancy McKeon, he seemed unpopular. Recently, he claimed that he “cheated” on rehearsal rules. But, did he really? Read on to find out what he said to Bachelor Nation’s Jason Tartick.
Confessing To Cheating
Bobby had a big following of people who all seemed to vote for him, and some critics felt that he unfairly won because of that. Many DWTS critics slammed him as he didn’t do all that well against folks like Evanna Lynch and Alexis Ren who made it to the finals. Did his confession to cheating help him win?
Speaking on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets on Monday, the country music influencer said that he “cheated.” How did he do that? Well, he claimed that he and Sharna Burgess, his pro-dancing partner, both stuck to the rule of only “four” hours of rehearsal each day. However, he secretly rehearsed for longer.
Bobby Bones, who many Dancing with the Stars critics felt didn’t deserve the win, might cheer about the confession. He explained:
I cheated, in the way of, they give you a limited amount of time with your partner. Like, four hours a day…I would record the session and then go by myself and rent a studio myself and train myself…Like, [I] illegally spent time over…
Others Also Rehearsed For Longer?
Many folks believe that the ABC celebrity dance competition was canceled in in 2019 because of the votes that sent the Mirrorball his way. However, fanatical viewers might wonder about his claim of sneaking in longer rehearsals. After all, he claimed the rules limited him to just “four hours” daily.
Notably, Woman’s Day reported a few months ago that multiple competitors rehearsed for longer than that. The outlet mentioned Felicity Wartman who claimed up to 35 hours of rehearsal a week (5 hours a day). They also cited Kyle Shilling as talking about six hours a day. Meanwhile, Rebecca Gibney complained that the many hours of rehearsal were almost too much for her.
Perhaps the rules changed since 2018, but there doesn’t seem to be anything that supports the claim of four hours a day limitations by Bobby Bones.
Why Was The Win Unpopular?
As Bobby Bones didn’t stun anyone with his dancing talent, it’s unlikely that any claims of breaking the rules helped him. Other factors for his unpopularity came because he’s always banging on about his poverty-stricken childhood. And yes, he talked about it again with Jason Tartick. Additionally, some folks think his sway in the country music scene is more about promoting himself than anything else.
Bobby started talking about “cheating” at the 14.05 marker on the video below:
What are your thoughts? Do you think that rehearsing away from his pro-dancer after set rehearsal hours really constitutes cheating? After all many DWTS fans might see it as a clever workaround rather than outright cheating. Sound off in the comments below, and come back often for all your Dancing with the Stars news and updates.