Two years ago, Courtney Robertson joined Season Sixteen of The Bachelor looking for love. A working model and newly single, Courtney fit the casting call: she was young, beautiful, and a natural in front of the cameras. While she may have been there for all the right reasons, as the season unfolded and sparks began to fly something else was clear: she was not there to make friends.
Courtney quickly became one of the biggest villains in Bachelor franchise history. She unapologetically pursued her man, steamrolled her competition, and broke the rules—including partaking in an illicit skinny-dip that sealed her proposal. Now, after a very public breakup with her Bachelor, Ben Flajnik, Courtney opens up and tells her own story—from her first loves to her first moments in the infamous Malibu mansion—in I DIDN’T COME HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS: CONFESSIONS OF A REALITY SHOW VILLAIN (It Books; June 24, 2014; Hardcover; $24.99), by Courtney Robertson with Deb Baer.
Opening up about life before, during, and after the Bachelor, including Ben’s romantic proposal to her on a Swiss mountain top and the tabloid frenzy that continued after the cameras stopped rolling, Robertson shares her story of love and heartbreak, and the reality of appearing on reality TV. With insights including:
• Why Courtney never felt threatened by the other contestants when it came to “winning” Ben, and what it was really like to share a house and travel around the world with all of them
• As a high school senior, the call from Abercrombie & Fitch that changed her life
• How growing up in a household where she was taught to never trust men turned Courtney into a serial rebounder with a taste for bad boys
• Courtney’s actual rejected greetings for Ben on their first night, as captured in her journal
• The five questions Courtney would recommend any future contestants ask the Bachelor, and the most important one that she herself failed to ask
• How, on the show, Courtney lived her very own version of the Bridesmaids’ bathroom blow out scene shortly before the group baseball date in Vieques, Puerto Rico
• How Courtney was able to keep her engagement to Ben under wraps before the season finale aired
• The real reason Courtney led the paparazzi to a bridal shop for an impromptu dress fitting after the show aired
• What the real-life relationship between Courtney and Ben looked like after the cameras went away, and why it finally ended
Filled with all the juicy details Courtney fans and foes alike want to know—including which actor begged her not to do the show in the first place, and all the details of her steamy post-relationship romp with another member of Bachelor nation—I DIDN’T COME HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS is part hilarious romp through Bachelor-land, and part no-holds-barred look at what happens when a very real relationship implodes as the world watches.
I DIDN’T COME HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS features engaging “Keeping It Real” sidebars, complete with stories, tips, tricks, and advice your favorite Bachelor alumni, including advice from Kalon McMahon on how to “embrace your inner villain,” kissing tips from Arie Luyendyk Jr., Ashlee Frazier with tips for future contestants, and Chris Bukowski on his craziest fan encounter post-show. And, with a juicy epilogue that has the latest on Courtney, her cast mates and more, I DIDN’T COME HERE TO MAKE FRIENDS is a must-read for every member of Bachelor nation.
ABOUT COURTNEY ROBERTSON
A model and actress, Courtney Robertson has appeared in numerous print, runway, and television campaigns and in the pages of Vogue, Self, InStyle, and Fitness magazines. She lives in Los Angeles, California. Twitter: @bugrobertson | Instagram: @bugrobertson