Bobby Bones just made his Season 27 win even more controversial by admitting he “cheated.”
“I cheated, in the way of, they give you a limited amount of time with your partner. Like, four hours a day, they say,” he explained on Jason Tartick‘s “Trading Secrets” podcast Monday.
“So we would do our four, I would record the session and then go by myself and rent a studio myself and train myself. Like, illegally spent time over … because I was so far behind everybody else.”
The radio host, 45, who had “never danced” before the show and was a self-proclaimed “fish out of water,” revealed he was “just as surprised as anybody” else when it came to his and pro partner Sharna Burgess’ victory in 2018.
Bones received lower scores than the other three finalists — Milo Manheim, Evanna Lynch and Alexis Ren — throughout the competition, but took home the mirrorball trophy thanks to an overwhelming amount of votes from viewers.
“I wasn’t in any way polarizing on the show, other than I sucked,” he said “I didn’t run out and [say], like, ‘I’m the best.’ I tried as hard as I could and I got sevens, a couple sixes. A couple eights.”
Looking back, the “Bobbycast” host says his win was controversial among “a small section of hardcore fans,” who he now realizes would “never” have been on his side anyway.
“The fact that I was winning made it difficult on people who had always watched the show. … I was anxious as crap every week, nervous. Because again, I’m a fish out of water doing that,” he added.
Superfans weren’t the only ones Bones received backlash from after winning, though. In August 2024, former “DWTS” pro and judge Julianne Hough said he shouldn’t have won because he’s “not the best dancer.”
The musician hit back at Hough’s diss on social media and called himself the “greatest champion.”
“I was the worst dancer. I take pride in that,” he said in a video shared to Instagram at the time. “Now I tried as hard as anybody in the history of the show but I can’t dance now [and] couldn’t dance then.”
“We did it together. I’m the greatest champion ever. I didn’t say I was the greatest dancer but the greatest champion ever because I’m the man of the people. I’m the man that you guys selected.
The “Bobby Bones Show” host noted that the “DWTS” producers changed the voting rules for the next season after his win.
“I’m a terrible dancer, I was a terrible dancer,” he reiterated. “But they changed the rules after I left because the fan vote was so good.”
The new rules allowed viewers to vote only when the show was live and prohibited fans from voting on the first episode of every season, per Newsweek.
Despite the intense criticism he received for his win, Bones told Tartick that he “loved” his time on the ABC dance competition.
“I have friends that go on [DWTS] occasionally,” he shared. “And I have friends that are still dancers on the show, the pros. Sharna was excellent. She was really hard, but I needed that.”
“DWTS” Season 34 kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 16 on ABC and Disney+ where viewers will see a brand new star-studded cast compete for the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.