Pleasantly surprised! Witney Carson was totally caught off guard when she saw Chris Soules, her season 20 Dancing With the Stars partner, in the audience during the Monday, September 30, show!
“It was so nice to see him. I had no idea he was going to be here,” Carson, 25, told Us Weekly and other reporters after Monday’s episode. “I haven’t heard from him in years, literally. So the fact that he showed up was a shock, but I was so happy to see him. He’s awesome. Great guy.”
The former Bachelor, 37, and Carson came in fifth place during their time on Dancing With the Stars. However, he has rarely come back to the ballroom since his season. In fact, this marks his first public appearance since his fatal car crash sentencing in August.
The reality star was sentenced with two years of probation on August 23 for his part in an April 2017 crash. Soules allegedly rear-ended a tractor driven by 66-year-old Kenny Mosher in Aurora, Iowa. Mosher was transported to a local hospital and later died of injuries he sustained in the accident. The former Bachelorette star was accused of leaving the scene before the police arrived.
“All I remember is waking up and just saying, ‘I need help.’ That’s all I knew is something bad had happened and I needed help,” Soules said in an interview with Good Morning America on September 19. “I don’t know that I was thinking clearly. I notified the authorities of what had happened, the paramedics were there, but now I know I was scared and wanted to be in a safer place. I just went home. When I left I called my parents. You know, they’re both in consensus [and] just said, ‘Call an attorney.’”
The Iowa native first appeared on season 10 of The Bachelorette in 2014, vying for Andi Dorfman‘s heart. After coming in third place, he was named the lead for season 19 of The Bachelor, which ended in a proposal to Whitney Bischoff. However, the pair split two months after the finale aired.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
