PureDWTS Season 22: Ben Higgins Confirms He is NOT Doing DWTS, There is No 13th Couple
*shakes head* Normally I wouldn’t even feel the need to post this, but after the last 24 hours or so and some of the nonsense I’ve had to field on Twitter, I feel like it was necessary…
…despite suspicions from some fans that a surprise “13th couple” was getting added to this season’s already stellar lineup, and that Ben Higgins was going to announce this morning on GMA that he was joining the cast, he confirmed to Variety Magazine that he is definitely NOT doing DWTS this season:
Higgins says he will not compete on ABC’s reality dance competition because he wants to focus on his engagement — but he did allude to an offer.
“My focus is not on what’s next. It’s on Lauren and I. Any decision that was made post show was based on what was best for us, and I believe that what’s best for us is to really concentrate on what’s best for us and to really spend as much time together as possible,” Higgins said.
Asked by Variety if he received an actually offer, “The Bachelor” tried to explain, saying, “Right now, a lot of those requests come down through the ABC pipeline so, I don’t want to call it offers, but just people asking if I’m interesting comes down from a group that is separate that me. Was I asked? I’m sure it was talked about.”
However — the couple will be watching “DWTS.” They agreed, “It’s a great cast!”
For once, a Bachelor contestant seems to recognize that doing DWTS immediately after he & his lady go public is maybe not the best thing for their relationship – just ask Chris & Whitney. Kind of refreshing…even if he come across kinda dodgy & redundant saying it 😛
I guess I have to place just a bit of the blame for the hoopla on this picture that Jenna posted on Instagram, though, as it seemed to whip fans into a frenzy, thinking “she got a promo shot, that means she’s a pro!”
ETA: Oh looky…promo pic of the whole troupe. Makes it a bit less suspicious that Jenna got her own, eh?
Also seeming to incite speculation about a thirteenth couple: the fact that Emma has deleted this post she made last week explaining that she’s taking a season off from the show. I’m guessing she took it down due to some of the irrational rage from fans in the comments section, as Emma has always done a stellar job of keeping things low-key and drama-free…but of course, some interpreted it as “she took it down because she got a partner after all!”
Apparently pointing out that a) we’ve never had 13 couples in a spring season, b) there were none of the typical smoking guns (subtle-as-a-sledgehammer clues during the cast announcement, pictures taken at McCadden, leaks from other media sources), and c) none of my sources have seen Emma at McCadden for the past 2 weeks, or have heard anything about a 13th couple, makes me a big ol’, spirit-crushing meanie to some on Twitter. Gosh, facts are so inconvenient sometimes, aren’t they? 😛 Denial is not just a river in Egypt, folks, and I just don’t see the point in indulging some kinda childish fantasies when I know for a fact that there are no more additions to the cast.
So what do I make of all this? I think TPTB were keeping either Emma or Jenna (or even both) in their back pocket, just in case Ben did sign on – the last time we reported, he was waffling pretty heavily. Could explain why Jenna got a promo shot, and why Emma was seen rehearsing with the cast a few weeks back. However, as I told another Emma fan on Twitter – Emma’s a smart girl, and I think she may have recognized that potentially getting trouped was both a demotion and a pay cut, and likely not worth her time. She may have said “Y’know what? No thanks, I’ll sit this one out.” Which left Jenna – and then when Ben ended up passing on the offer, they just kept her in the troupe. This is all speculation on my part, but I think it makes sense. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Emma, and I do think Jenna will eventually become a pro – it’s just not happening this season. It’s already gonna be a bit of a bloodbath, with so many big names this season – if Ben had signed on, I doubt he would have lasted very long, anyway, up against the likes of Antonio, Ginger, Von, etc.
Soooo…can we all agree that this season has 12 couples now? 🙂
