Bonner Bolton: I broke down in tears after my 'Dancing with the Stars' exit, Sharna Burgess and I had ups and downs

Bonner Bolton admits leaving Dancing with the Stars was a very emotional experience for him.


During a Tuesday morning appearance on Good Morning America, Bonner talked about what it was like to compete on Dancing with the Stars with his professional partner Sharna Burgess when just last year, he wasn't sure whether he'd ever walk again following a near-fatal bull riding accident.

"Sixteen months ago, I was laying face up in a hospital bed wondering if, you know, I was ever going to walk again. I had a 1% to 5% chance of ever doing that," Bonner said, who was briefly paralyzed from the neck down after being thrown from a wild bull in a competition arena.

"In fact, I broke down in tears last night on the plane over [to New York] just thinking about how far I've come in the last 16 months, and it's really touching for sure. It's truly humbling."

With Sharna at his side during the GMA interview, Bonner confessed it was a little disheartening to be compared to the other contestants and receive negative feedback from Dancing with the Stars' judges over issues such as being stiff while dancing, which is actually a physical limitation Bonner has as a result from the accident.


"I have a square metal frame in the main rotator point of my spine in my neck which, you know, for a dancer that's your most important thing, so it makes dancing incredibly hard for me," Bonner said.

However, the model maintained an optimistic attitude throughout his eight weeks on Dancing with the Stars. He and Sharna were just eliminated on Monday night's show before the semifinals.

"It's been amazing to find out the range of motion I have, you know, gotten back from all of this, and I thank [Sharna] for pushing me as hard as she has," Bonner said.

The cowboy also wanted viewers to know the unflattering video package featuring Bonner and Sharna in an argument during a rehearsal that played before their first dance last night was not representative of what their dynamic was really like on the show overall.

"I do have to clear the record. [The footage] was maybe five minutes of our entire week. We have a great working relationship. Every couple that goes through that process has its ups and downs," Bonner explained.


"You've got to put all that stuff behind you and keep moving forward, and we do a good job of that every week."






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski