Reality Bites: An Interview With Courtney Van Dusen

Courtney Van Dusen had been a fan of rock band Poison as young child, but never dreamed that she would get a chance at love with former lead singer Bret Michaels. The young reality star dishes about the show, the rock star, why she was happy with her elimination and more.

Sha Hartley: Why did you decide to audition for Rock of Love 2?
Courtney Van Dusen: It seemed like a fun experience to be a part of and I absolutely LOVED the first season!

After you were told that you made it through, what happened next?
They called me on a Friday and told me that I needed to be on an airplane to L.A. on the following Tuesday. So I did what any other girl in my position would do: I freaked out for a solid hour, went shopping, got my hair and nails done, freaked out some more, went on a diet and exercised like crazy…like that makes a difference in three days!

Did you meet Bret right away?
Nope! They kept us locked up in hotel rooms away from the world for three solid days.

Did you share a room with anyone?
No. We were all in our own separate hotel rooms.

When you finally arrived at the house, who did you really start interacting with first?
I think it was Ambre. We clicked first. She’s a sweetheart.

On some different sites, I was reading comments on how some watchers feel she is fake because she’s an aspiring actress. She didn’t come off that way at all?
I can see why people would think that, but I didn’t get that fake vibe from her. I mean, the girl took care of me while I was wasted instead of chasing after Bret!

That’s true. I saw that. Which one of the girls did you not get along with?
I wasn’t in the house long enough to have a personal problem with anyone. It was after the show finished filming that all the stupid drama started.

What drama was this?
It’s basically one girl so desperate for attention that she’s going around trying to create problems between herself and/or other people.

He’s very charismatic. You can definitely tell he’s a rockstar.

I assume you can’t name names?
I could, but it would be feeding into the exact hype that she wants.

A hint: is she blonde? That would give everyone some ideas.
Possibly. (Laughs)

When did you get to meet Bret?
Thursday when they took us to the mansion. We all met him when we lined up on the stairs for the photoshoot he did.

What was your reaction?
I was nervous and my self-esteem dropped 50 million points. It’s hard to be introduced to a guy after someone as gorgeous as Inna drops into the splits and bounces her butt cheeks off the ground!

I liked Inna. She seemed bad ass.
She is. To the point where you can’t hate her, she’s honest.

I was disappointed when she was eliminated. I feel like there are other girls who should’ve gone before her.
Agreed. And there are some girls that should have stayed longer, but you know, the man wants what he wants.

And he clearly likes them younger. The oldest ones were sent home on at the same time.
He wants a trophy.

...That he can put in bed until the next season when it’s time to dump her and look at the new girls. That’s how it was with “Flavor of Love”. Flava Flav was only truly guaranteed another season if he dumped the other girl. She even made a Myspace blog about it.
Then good luck and godspeed season 3 ladies! Season 3 will be disgusting. Each season gets progressively more nauseating.

Is Angelique really crazy?
I don’t have anything bad to say about Angelique honestly. She may be a bit over the top with her sexuality, but she’s French. They’re much more liberal and free with their bodies.

True. Did you ever get that feeling from Kristy Jo like she had multiple personalities? I keep seeing people say this.
I didn’t really interact that much with her. She didn’t make much of an impression.

Getting back to Bret, how much time were you able to spend with him?
I think I spent a total of two minutes with Bret.

Well, that sucks.
I didn’t even know I’d spent time with him until I saw the outtakes on the website. Shitty, huh?

Pretty much. You didn’t know because you were intoxicated at the time?
Exactly.

Another thing I thought it was odd how he told some of the other girls to tell you that your tour stops here when you woke up. Did he not have the balls to tell you himself? He gladly told the other girls when they were eliminated.
Not that it makes it right. We’re all adults here, but it isn’t totally unheard of.

What’s something many viewers might not know about Bret?
He’s very charismatic. You can definitely tell he’s a rockstar.

Were you ever a fan of Poison?
I was a superfan was I like four and five. My Dad was a Poison fan.

Who would’ve thought that child would grow up and get a chance to date the band’s lead singer?
Not this little chick!

Do you wish you had stayed longer or are you glad you were sent home?
I don’t regret for a minute the way things went down.

Why is that?
I missed my family, my friends, my life. It was just so far removed from everything that I loved, it felt unnatural and almost undesirable. Yeah, the glitz and glamour aspect of it was pretty rad, but I knew my heart wasn’t there. And why stay and fight for something I wasn’t even sure I wanted?

I can understand that. It’s interesting how some things turn out to be completely the opposite of what one thought.
Oh yeah! And saying how you’d handle a situation and then being placed in and behaving the way you said…whoa. So two different levels.

You basically left with no interest in Bret at all?
It’s not that I wasn’t interested in him. I just wasn’t interested in the situation.

Are you going back for the reunion?
I’m contractually obligated.

Looking forward to it?
Oh yeah. I’m excited to see the girls I like again, and to party with Big John.

When will the reunion be?
It’s the first week in April.

I’ll be watching!
I will be, too! (Laughs) We don’t get to see anything until it airs!

But you get to see everything firsthand!
True, but editing is genius!

Except the viewers mostly only see the fake stuff and get online to find out the real deal!
(Laughs) Well shit, if they portray me all shitty, you best believe I’ll set the record straight!

It always happens with reality shows. Then people go to that person’s Myspace blog and see that the situation was a different story.
But even those are just a portion of the truth, you know?

Yes. More people people are inclined to believe them though because of what reality TV has become.
Agreed, but isn’t the saying something about three sides to every story? Yours, mine, and the truth?

That’s right. Would you do another reality show?
Depends. I wouldn’t do another dating one!

Next stop: "The Hills".
I want to be on one where I can win some money!

"Deal or No Deal"?
No deal. I want to go on "The Amazing Race".

Would you go on "The Real World"?
That was the first reality show I wanted to go on, so hell yeah!