Bobby Bones Says He Is ‘Never Dancing Again’ After ‘DWTS’ Win

Bobby Bones took home the coveted Season 27 Mirrorball Trophy on Dancing With the Stars, but the radio host has already put away his dancing shoes. Bones, who won with partner Sharna Burgess, says he will stay off the dance floor from now on.

“I’m never dancing again. I have retired from dancing,” Bones told PEOPLE. “The dancing thing was crazy because I went into it not knowing how hard it actually was. Being around the pros and actually seeing them do their thing, they’re professional athletes.”

As the founder of the popular The Bobby Bones Show on iHeartRadio, the Arkansas native was unprepared for how quickly fans of DWTS would turn against him.

“The people on the internet that loved that show were brutal to me,” Bones admitted. “If people love dance, you didn’t love me on that show. If people love people going on and trying something new and putting their heart on their sleeve and being uncomfortable, then I think that’s who I was able to connect with. No one who was a ballroom fan was ever going to like me.”

Bones credits Burgess with not only helping them become the champions, but for pushing him far out of his comfort zone.

“I had no experience,” Bones acknowledged. “What I meant by not being good enough is that Sharna pushes me. I was never to the level, even when the show ended. She had professional athletes for like the last six or seven seasons, and then all of a sudden she gets Howdy Doody, who has never danced before. I think for her that was a struggle at first. I didn’t know anything about dancing.”

Even Bones concedes that he wasn’t the likely choice to take home the prize.

“We’re just people trying to figure it out and I was trying to figure out that show every week,” the 38-year-old said. “I was not the best dancer. Except for [Grocery Store Joe Amabile], I was the second worst dancer on the whole show. We bonded in our inability to dance. I take that Mirrorball everywhere.”

Bones might stay off the dance floor, but he is eager to return for the upcoming Season 17 of American Idol, where he will serve as an in-house mentor for the entire season.

“For me, to be back in a place where I actually know what I’m talking about — because I just got off a show where I had no idea what I was doing for three months at all — it’s really exciting to come and actually know a little bit,” Bones said.

Following Bones’ contentious Dancing With the Stars win, the series announced they will not return for the spring lineup, but is expected to return next fall. Season 17 of American Idol will premiere on March 3 on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Theo Wargo