The Bachelor (Season 16)

Host

Chris Harrison

Original run

January 2 - March 12, 2012

Bachelor

Ben Flajnik

Winner

Courtney Robertson

Proposal

Yes

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Season 15	Season 17

The 16th season of The Bachelor premiered on January 2, 2012. The show featured 29-year-old Ben Flajnik, a winemaker and owner of Envolve wines.

He was rejected by Ashley Herbert in the 7th season of The Bachelorette.

He ultimately chose to propose to Courtney Robertson.

Filming and development[]

Casting and contestants[]

During the 2nd season finale of Bachelor Pad, Flajnik was ultimately announced as the next Bachelor.

Production[]

Unlike previous seasons, the contestants would not stay at the Bachelor Mansion in Agoura Hills, California for long. After night one, the contestants traveled to Flajnik's hometown of Sonoma, California; San Francisco, California; Park City, Utah; Vieques, Puerto Rico; Panama City, Panama; Belize and Switzerland. Appearances for this season included recording artist Matt Nathanson and country singer Clay Walker.

Contestants[]

The season began with 25 contestants.

Future appearances[]

Lindzi Cox, Rachel Truehart, Jamie Otis, Blakeley Jones and Jaclyn Swartz all went on to appear on the 3rd season of Bachelor Pad. They finished 9th/10th, 2nd, 13th/14th, 7th/8th and 5th/6th respectively.

Jaclyn Swartz also appeared on the 2nd season of Bachelor in Paradise. She finished 11th/14th.

Call-Out Order[]

Order	Bachelorettes	Week
Order	Bachelorettes	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
1	Rachel	Lindzi C.	Kacie B.	Emily	Rachel	Nicki	Kacie B.	Kacie B.	Courtney	Lindzi C.	Courtney
2	Erika	Jamie	Blakeley	Rachel	Courtney	Kacie B.	Lindzi C.	Nicki	Lindzi C.	Courtney	Lindzi C.
3	Amber B.	Rachel	Courtney	Lindzi C.	Jennifer	Lindzi C.	Rachel	Lindzi C.	Nicki	Nicki
4	Elyse	Blakeley	Jennifer	Courtney	Lindzi C.	Jamie	Nicki	Courtney	Kacie B.
5	Jenna	Emily	Emily	Kacie B.	Jamie	Rachel	Courtney	Emily Rachel
6	Courtney	Kacie B.	Elyse	Elyse	Nicki	Courtney	Emily	Emily Rachel
7	Emily	Casey S.	Jaclyn	Jamie	Kacie B.	Casey S.	Jamie
8	Samantha	Brittney	Erika	Jennifer	Elyse	Blakeley	Casey S.
9	Casey S.	Erika	Rachel	Casey S.	Blakeley	Emily	Blakeley
10	Amber T.	Shawn	Lindzi C.	Blakeley	Casey S.	Jennifer
11	Holly	Nicki	Nicki	Monica	Emily	Elyse
12	Jamie	Jennifer	Casey S.	Nicki	Monica
13	Shira	Elyse	Samantha	Samantha	Samantha
14	Blakeley	Samantha	Monica	Erika Jaclyn
15	Brittney	Courtney	Jamie	Erika Jaclyn
16	Nicki	Jaclyn	Brittney	Shawntel
17	Dianna	Monica	Jenna Shawn	Brittney
18	Jennifer	Jenna	Jenna Shawn
19	Lyndsie J.	Amber B. Amber T. Anna Dianna Holly Lyndsie J. Shira
20	Anna
21	Monica
22	Jaclyn
23	Shawn
24	Kacie B.
25	Lindzi C.

	The contestant received a first impression rose.
	The contestant received a rose during the date.
	The contestant was eliminated.
	The contestant was eliminated during the date.
	The contestant quit the competition.
	The contestant was removed from the competition.
	An eliminated contestant asks for a chance to return, however was denied.
	The contestant won the competition.

Episodes[]

No. in season	Title	Original air date
1	"Week 1: Limo Arrivals"	January 2, 2012
Jilted Sonoma, Cal., winemaker Ben Flajnik begins a new quest for love as this durable matchmaking contest's Season 16 bachelor. In the opener, Ben meets and greets his 25 would-be partners at the entrance to the Malibu mansion. (One arrives on horseback; another's older than he might have suspected.) And he receives his first kiss before the opening cocktail party begins. Then come push-ups, a gangsta rap and a first-impression rose, and before the evening's over Ben pares the field to 18.
2	"Week 2: Sonoma"	January 9, 2012
The 18 survivors of the opening cocktail party venture to Sonoma, Cal.—Ben's hometown—where the season's first one-on-one date takes place. In it, Ben and the chosen bachelorette view each other's home movies. Later, two gals will be sent home, but first there's another one-on-one date (a Redwoods romp with Ben and his dog, Scotch) and a group date for 12 women, who enact a play written by Sonoma children. Then there's an adults-only party in which one gal turns a pool into a hot tub.
3	"Week 3: San Francisco"	January 16, 2012
Ben returns to his hometown, San Francisco, with the 16 remaining gals and goes skiing with 11 of them. (It's a hilly city.) He takes another to City Hall, where they're serenaded by singer-songwriter Matt Nathanson. There's also a cocktail-party crasher, a woman who already knows Ben and wants to add her name to his list of romantic possibilities. The official bachelorettes are not amused. One woman faints and another breaks down in tears at the rose ceremony, and when it's over 13 have roses.
4	"Week 4: Park City"	January 23, 2012
Ben and his 13 would-be soul mates visit Park City, Utah, for kayaking, rappelling, fishing, horseback riding, a rain-soaked dinner and a concert by country star Clay Walker. Before Ben sends two gals packing, there's romancing and sniping as well. Next stop: Puerto Rico.
5	"Week 5: Puerto Rico"	January 30, 2012
Ben visits Puerto Rico with the 11 remaining women. Nine of them "play ball!" at Roberto Clemente Stadium in Carolina (the Hall of Famer's hometown), and one gal has Ben to herself for a tour of Old San Juan, where they happen upon a wedding. Another bachelorette goes yachting with Ben. But when he returns to his hotel, he's surprised by another gal, who taunts the others about it at the rose ceremony. Then Ben and nine women head to Panama.
6	"Week 6: Panama"	February 6, 2012
Ben escorts the nine remaining bachelorettes to Panama for a visit to an Embera Indian village and, for one gal, a one-on-one date on a deserted island. Before three are sent home, there's also a two-on-one date that features salsa dancing. Next stop: Belize.
7	"Week 7: Belize"	February 13, 2012
Ben and the six remaining bachelorettes visit Belize. One-on-one date activities include biking on a limestone-coral island, a visit to Mayan ruins (where Ben hears something surprising) and diving. The group date also involves diving, this time with sharks. At the rose ceremony, Ben has four roses to dispense. He'll visit the recipients in their hometowns.
8	"Week 8: Hometowns"	February 20, 2012
Ben visits the hometowns of his final four contenders. He's greeted by a marching band and skeptical parent in one town, and a protective mom in another. He also goes on a shopping spree before returning to L.A., where one bachelorette receives bad news. For the other three, there are roses and a trip to Switzerland.
9	"Week 9: Switzerland"	February 27, 2012
Ben and his three finalists visit Switzerland for picnicking, Alpine rappelling and, perhaps, fantasy-suite nights. There's also a helicopter tour, a train ride—and the return of a rejected bachelorette, who needs to know why Ben didn't pick her. Then Ben must reject another woman before he and the final two head to Zermatt, Switzerland, and a meeting with Ben's family.
10	"The Women Tell All"	March 5, 2012
Ben faces bachelorettes he rejected—and one, Courtney, who's still in the running. One of the castoffs, Emily, has some things to say about Courtney. There's also an appearance by 2011 contestant Shawntel, a season review and profiles of the finalists, Courtney and Lindzi.
11	"Finale"	March 12, 2012
Season 16 finale: Ben and finalists Courtney and Lindzi are in Zermatt, Switzerland, for Alpine fun (skiing with Lindzi; a helicopter ride over the Matterhorn with Courtney) and that final rose. But first, there are meetings with Ben's mother and sister, and they're concerned about Courtney's reputation for not playing nicely with the other bachelorettes.
11	"After the Final Rose"	March 12, 2012
In this special episode immediately following the finale, host Chris Harrison recapped Ben's journey as the bachelor. Ben first talked about feeling shocked by Courtney's behavior on the show, admitting that it was the reason why he and Courtney went for days without talking. He also addressed the allegations of cheating in the tabloids, stating they were all false. Courtney was summoned next, and talked about her relationship with Ben. She expressed feeling hurt about their breakup, which occurred a week before Valentine's Day, but admitted feeling responsible for the problems they endured. After their reunion, the couple stated they are taking steps to fix their relationship, and are still together. Chris then presented the engagement ring to Ben, which Ben returned to Courtney to renew their engagement. Later, Season 7's bachelorette Ashley and fiancé J.P. Rosenbaum discussed their future plans, including their wedding and having children.

Where are they now?[]

Ben and Courtney ended their engagement a few months after the show.

Ben is currently dating Stephanie Winn.

Kacie Boguskie is married to Rusty Gastom whom she met in 2012. She now goes by the name Kacie Boguskie Gaston. They have a son, Ranger, and a daughter, Everly Sue.

Jamie Otis is married to Doug Hehner whom she met when she appeared on Married at First Sight in 2014. They have a daughter, Henley, who was born on August 22, 2017, and a son, Hendrix Douglas, who was born on May 13, 2020.