Bobby Bones Reveals He Never Had a ‘Real, Live, Human Conversation’ With His Mother

When Bobby Bones appears on Running Wild with Bear Grylls on Tuesday night, Jan. 14, viewers will see a lot more than Bones putting his physical life in danger, over and over again. Bones also opened up to Grylls about his challenging childhood, born to his mother, who battled addiction her entire life, when she was just 15 years old.

“We never had a real, live human conversation, my mom and I didn’t,” Bones recalled, in a clip shared exclusively with Entertainment Tonight. “And I loved her, and I still love her.”

Bones’ childhood was far from ideal. His biological father, with whom he has no contact, left when Bones was 5 or 6 years old. Until Bones left home, he never had a bedroom of his own, sleeping on a couch and stuffing his clothes underneath. His troubled upbringing he believes is why he excels at comedy.

“I do stand-up so I can feel love,” Bones acknowledged. “For me, I never had that … My mom was an addict, a lot of drugs and a lot of alcohol. She died in her 40s. So she was never really present even though she was there.”

Bones admits he was terrified of appearing on Running Wild with Bear Grylls, and found out during the experience that his fear was totally justified.

“It sucked,” Bones told PopCulture.com. “It sucked. I don’t like cold weather. I don’t like cold weather and heights. And, guess what I did? Cold weather and heights. It was awesome. That guy, I was like, ‘What’s this, Bear?’ And I was nervous ’cause we had to spend the night in the woods alone. And I’m like, I’m supposed to stay in a tent with some dude I don’t even know? He’s the greatest!

The former Dancing With the Stars champ was grateful to be asked to be on Running Wild, which is why he agreed to do the reality show, even though he didn’t really want to put himself in the precarious situations he found himself in.

“I’m super pumped that I got to be on the show ’cause everybody’s way more famous than me,” Bones said. “So, when I went into it, I was like, I really have to take on every challenge head-on because I don’t wanna be the least famous and the worst. So, I can be the least famous, but, I wanna do one of the best. And, so, not to spoil it but I didn’t die.”

Photo Credit: Getty / Gary Miller