ABC/Eric McCandless The season 29 celebrities and their professional dance partners await elimination results on Icon Night of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’
Does Bachelor Nation have an advantage on Dancing with the Stars? Fan-favorite professional dancer, Cheryl Burke, worries it might appear that way.
“I’m like, ‘But if, you know if Kaitlyn does win, have you thought of maybe not casting a Bachelorette next season?’” said Burke on the podcast she co-hosts with AJ McLean, Pretty Messed Up. “You know because then you don’t want people to start making this conspiracy theory that anyone who’s an ABC talent, right, is going to.”
Kaitlyn Bristowe’s Dancing with the Stars victory marks the second time in a row that a former Bachelorette has taken home the mirrorball trophy. Hannah Brown won season 28 of the dancing competition with partner Alan Bersten. They are just the latest in a long history of Bachelor Nation stars competing on the show, with original Bachelorette Trista Sutter appearing on season one.
Burke did note Bristowe’s win would be exciting for her partner, Artem Chigvintsev. “It would be so nice to see Artem, like, win, Sascha [Farber, who competed with Justina Machado] as well because they’ve never won before but they’ve done the show for so long,” she said.
The only other Bachelor Nation star to win the competition was Melissa Rycroft, the former winner of The Bachelor who was infamously dumped by Jason Mesnick on After the Final Rose. Rycroft competed twice, placing third on season eight of Dancing with the Stars and winning the all-stars season.
While Bachelorettes tend to win, it is not the same for the Bachelors on the show. “We’ve had a lot of Bachelors, they can’t dance,” said Burke, who finished in seventh place this season with McLean. As she put it, “But what happened to the Bachelors? Why can’t they dance? We’ve had a few, but they have two left feet every single one of them.”
Other Bachelor Nation contestants include Jake Pavelka, Sean Lowe, Chris Soules, Nick Viall and “Grocery Store” Joe Amabile.
Bristowe Beat Nelly, Nev Schulman and Justina Machado to Win the Mirrorball Trophy
Bristowe was named the winner of Dancing with the Stars’ season 29 after earning a perfect score during the finale. Her finale performances consisted of a recreation of her Icons Night performance to Britney Spears’ “Toxic” and a Moulin Rouge themed freestyle dance.
Nev Schulman, a standout throughout the season, came in second place. Nelly placed third and Justina Machado came in fourth for the season.
Bristowe Has Been Vocal About Her Desire to Compete on ‘Dancing With the Stars’
She’s been ready ✨ Watch @kaitlynbristowe take the stage during this season of #DWTS!
Bristowe’s years-long desire to appear on Dancing with the Stars came to fruition when Bachelor Nation’s longtime host, Chris Harrison, surprised her on an episode of The Bachelor: Greatest Seasons– Ever!
“I have a very, very real question for you Kaitlyn, and this is a question I am so excited to ask you because well your life is about to change and I’m not joking,” said Harrison. “Kaitlyn, will you be on the next season of Dancing With the Stars?”
According to Off the Vine host, she was originally in negotiations to appear on the competition after being on The Bachelorette. When one user on Twitter asked why a Bachelorette never participated, she responded, “Actually I was offered it, had the contract & Mike Fleiss told me I wasn’t allowed. He said he didnt want people wanting fame after his show.”
At the time, Fleiss responded to her claims, saying she had his full support, but she retorted it was two years too late.
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