Name: I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends
ISBN: 9780062326706

Courtney Robertson

In I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends former Bachelor “villain” and season 16 winner Courtney Robertson shares her story of love and heartbreak, and the reality of appearing on reality TV. For the first time ever, a former Bachelor contestant takes us along on her journey to find love and reveals that “happily ever after” isn't always what it seems.

Confessions of a Reality Show Villain

I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends

Elizabeth Moore

I wildly enjoyed this gossip-fest and I finished it in one day and I’m not embarrassed.

Jennifer Dieter

I'm incredibly embarrassed to admit I read this book cover to cover. BUT the Bachelor is hands-down my favorite guilty pleasure. If every couple wrote books about their demise, I would so read them out of pure curiosity. And it wasn't nearly as poorly written as I expected. I still don't care for Courtney or Ben, but I definitely appreciated the behind-the-scenes look at the tight lipped franchise.

Courtney Robertson joined season 16 of The Bachelor looking for love. A working model and newly single, Courtney fit the casting call: She was young, beautiful, and a natural in front of the cameras. Although she may have been there for all the right reasons, as the season unfolded and sparks began to fly something else was clear: She was not there to make friends. Courtney quickly became one of the biggest villains in Bachelor franchise history. She unapologetically pursued her man, steamrolled her competition, and broke the rules—including partaking in an illicit skinny-dip that sealed her proposal. Now, after a very public breakup with her Bachelor, Ben Flajnik, Courtney opens up and tells her own story—from her first loves to her first moments in the limo. She dishes on life before, during, and after the Bachelor, including Ben’s romantic proposal to her on a Swiss mountaintop and the tabloid frenzy that continued after the cameras stopped rolling. For the first time ever, a former Bachelor contestant takes us along on her journey to find love and reveals that “happily ever after” isn't always what it seems. Complete with stories, tips, tricks, and advice from your favorite Bachelor alumni, and filled with all the juicy details Courtney fans and foes alike want to know, I Didn’t Come Here to Make Friends is a must-read for every member of Bachelor nation.

This was a very fun, light read! I really enjoyed reading about the relationships she had with famous people, especially Jesse Metcalfe, and reading the behind the scenes things from her season of The Bachelor. I wish I had rewatched her season before reading it, because I don't remember the people she talks about at all. Definitely need to rewatch it and then possibly reread those chapters.

I think she does a decent job of recognizing her faults, though there were some side comments she made that were kind of dickish. I do feel sorry for her though with how terrible her reputation was on The Bachelor and afterwards. There's such a double-standard the way women are treated vs how men are treated on these shows, and she really was crucified more than most any other contestant. Obviously there were things she said and did on The Bachelor that she shouldn't have, and she acknowledges her issues, but the shady editing really made her seem a lot worse from what she says. Again, I wish I'd rewatched the season before reading the book, and I'm definitely going to be on the lookout for the things she talks about when I do rewatch!

It's definitely clear though that Ben is an asshole. He really let the fame get to his head and didn't give a shit about trying to maintain the relationship. I wish Courtney had left him a long time before she actually did, because their relationship was pretty toxic from what she said. It doesn't sound like her relationship history is great in general though, as several of her relationships were toxic and with assholes.

One thing I really did get a kick out of was reading the stuff about Arie after watching his season of The Bachelor. When the book was written, he hadn't been chosen as the bachelor so she was talking about just another Bachelor Nation alum. It is interesting to compare Courtney to Lauren, who won his season, as they are SO incredibly different in looks, personality, everything. Like, did Arie's type just totally change in the few years between their relationship and his season? It's very bizarre.

The only negative about the book itself is that some of the "Keeping It Real" tidbits broke up the action too much. I think I would've preferred these between chapters instead of in the middle of them, and some of them were pretty pointless. I did enjoy some of them though!

Overall, it was an easy and fun book, and I appreciated getting her perspective on the season. Watching it live, I thought she was pretty crazy but I didn't necessarily dislike her. It was just very clear that she was confident, bordering conceited, and was in it to win it. These are qualities that are condemned in women but celebrated in men, especially on these shows, so I really liked seeing her more vulnerable side in this book. I hope this book has helped change people's opinions of her. She's not a saint by any means and I don't agree with or support everything she said or did, but she was definitely unfairly demonized.

I Didn't Come Here to Make Friends Confessions of a Reality Show Villain

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