Reflecting on a recent exchange with Tom Bergeron, Bobby Bones has decided to return his cherished Dancing With the Stars trophy. The decision comes after a series of events that left him questioning his victory on the show.

“I had a bit of a meltdown about a week and a half ago because of Tom Bergeron, whom I love and still love,” Bones, 45, shared during the November 22 episode of his “Bobbycast” podcast. He was caught off guard by Bergeron’s response to a seemingly unrelated question about surprising eliminations, which didn’t even mention Bones directly.

Bergeron, 70, had previously expressed to Parade that he found it surprising when Bones emerged as the winner of season 27, despite never reaching the top of the DWTS leaderboard throughout the competition.

“I’m fully aware of my situation,” Bones commented, reflecting on the impact of Bergeron’s remarks. “It hurt my feelings deeply. I have a job where I share opinions regularly, and when I stir up controversy, which happens sometimes, I’m okay with it because that’s part of what I signed up for.”

Despite his success, Bones has always been somewhat perplexed by his win on Dancing With the Stars in 2018, alongside professional partner Sharna Burgess. During a conversation on Jason Tartick’s “Trading” podcast, he described the ballroom experience as “weird” and even humorously speculated that he might have “cheated” to secure the victory.

According to Bones, he was hurt by Bergeron’s comments because of their past interactions on DWTS.

“That was somebody [who] was so helpful to me during the show ‘cause he knew I was struggling,” the radio host said. “I still love Tom, but that hurt my feelings.”

As a result of the drama, Bones publicly revealed he planned to return his mirrorball trophy back to ABC.

“I was made to feel I was really bad at dancing, which I was, [but] then I got to be OK,” Bones said, noting he does regret returning the trophy. “Someone has reached out to me from the network, and they said they would give it back. It’s whatever I want.”

Bones, meanwhile, has yet to decide whether to accept the returned mirrorball.

Ever since the 2005 debut of Dancing With the Stars, fans have been very vocal about what they do and don’t like — and who deserves to be on the show. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and […]

“It’s not just about Tom, [but] it’s the association sometimes. I look at that and that’s the only thing I’ver ever done where I purposefully just tried hard, worked hard, tried to make people better around me,” he recalled. “I would help other contestants [during] their camera time. … I did everything I could to help, and then for people to go, ‘We think you’re less than,’ that was my association with the trophy.”

Bones continued, “There are things where [I understand] people don’t like me because I say this or feel this way, I signed up for that. This is the only thing where I was the underdog who won, and then that’s held against me. That association kind of soared it a bit.”

Bones further revealed that he never had any “intention of going on” DWTS in the first place, but was approached with the opportunity as a way to promote his role on ABC’s American Idol.

Tom Bergeron may not miss his role as cohost of Dancing With the Stars, but there is one thing from the ABC series he wishes he still had in his life. “The paycheck,” Bergeron hilariously revealed in a recent interview with E! News. “There are some people I miss, but I’m really happy not hosting.” […]

“I remember saying, ‘I’ve never danced, that sounds fun, but I don’t plan to last four weeks,’” he said. “I don’t do anything without going as hard as I can. There was a time … [when] I was so behind that I would go and rent a studio by myself and put the phone up and watch practice and try to do it better.”

Bones stressed that he had “never been more committed to anything” as he was to DWTS — until he married his wife, Caitlin Parker, in 2021.

“I was so committed,” he said. “I was proud of myself, [and] I wasn’t as bad as I was made to believe I was. I’m not good, by the way.”