The sixteenth season of ABC reality television series The Bachelor premiered on January 2, 2012. This show features a previous contestant from The Bachelorette, a winemaker and owner of Envolve wines, from Sonoma, California, 29-year-old Ben Flajnik, who finished runner-up in the seventh season of the show featuring Ashley Hebert. This season returns with 25 women featured in the competition, excluding a senior citizen.
The season concluded on March 12, 2012, with Flajnik choosing to propose to 28-year-old model Courtney Robertson. They called off their engagement on October 26, 2012.
On September 6, 2011, Flajnik was announced as the next bachelor, and he was subsequently formally named during the season finale of Bachelor Pad.
Notable contestants include Rachel Truehart, who is the sister of The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency season 4 contestant Crystal Truehart.
Unlike previous seasons, traditionally, the contestants would not normally choose to stay the Villa de la Vina in Agoura Hills, California, for long but it appeared for the first night. For the rest of the season, the contestants traveled to Flajnik's hometown of Sonoma and San Francisco in 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.
Biographical information according to ABC official series site, plus footnoted additions.
In week 3, season 15 contestant Shawntel Newton asked to join the cast, but was eliminated by Flajnik in that rose ceremony.
Lindzi Cox, Blakeley Jones, Jamie Otis, Jaclyn Swartz, and Rachel Truehart returned for the third season of Bachelor Pad. Jamie was eliminated in week 4. Lindzi and her partner, Kalon McMahon, were eliminated in week 6. Blakeley and her partner, Tony Pieper, and Jaclyn and her partner, Ed Swiderski, were eliminated in week 7. Rachel was eliminated in week 8.
Jaclyn returned for season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise. She was eliminated in week 5.
Outside of Bachelor Nation, Jamie later appeared in the inaugural season of Married at First Sight.
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