The Bachelor (American TV series) season 16

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.

Casting and contestants
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.

Filming and development
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.

Contestants
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.

Bachelor Pad
Lindzi Cox, Blakeley Jones, Jamie Otis, Jaclyn Swartz, and Rachel Truehart returned for the third season of Bachelor Pad. Otis was eliminated in week 4, Cox in week 6, Jones and Swartz in week 7, and Truehart in week 8.

Bachelor in Paradise
Swartz returned for season 2 of Bachelor in Paradise. She was eliminated in week 5.

Other appearances
Outside of Bachelor Nation, Otis later appeared in the inaugural season of Married at First Sight.

Call-out order

 * The contestant received the first impression rose
 * The contestant received a rose during the date
 * The contestant was eliminated
 * The contestant was eliminated during the date
 * The contestant was eliminated outside the rose ceremony
 * The contestant quit the competition
 * The contestant was disqualified from the competition
 * The previously eliminated contestant asked for a chance to return, but was denied
 * The contestant won the competition