Yahoo News Bobby Bones Is Learning to Be 'Vulnerable' with Wife Caitlin — and Challenging Himself on New Shows
Chase Bjornson/USA Network Bobby Bones
In his new show Snake in the Grass, radio and TV personality Bobby Bones is grateful that he isn't the one teetering on the edge of a cliff, as risky challenges just aren't his thing.
"I just came off of a show called Breaking Bobby Bones, and I had to do a lot of stupid stuff. I hated it all," says Bones, 42, of the Disney+ docuseries in which he met heroes across the United States who taught him how to do their adventurous jobs and shared their impressive life stories.
"So, when it came to the challenges on this show, I was just happy I wasn't having to do them," continues Bones, who hosts Snake in the Grass, which premieres Monday night on USA Network. In an interview with PEOPLE, Bones shares what it was like filming for a month in Costa Rica and how his wife Caitlin Parker Estell has taught him to be more "vulnerable."
RELATED: Bobby Bones Questions Snake in the Grass Competitors' Trust in Each Other During Challenge
"I'm not a brave person. I'm not," says Bones of filming Snake in the Grass. "I would have people walk me to the high stuff and then hold my hand until I got there and then tie me to a rock. I'd watch [the contestants] and just thank God I wasn't having to do it."
Chase Bjornson/USA Network Snake in the Grass contestants
Snake in the Grass is a new competition series in which four contestants join together to win $100,000 — but one of them is a saboteur intent on undermining the team's efforts and winning the cash for him or herself. Bones says that while the Costa Rica location and the extreme challenges are fun, his favorite part of the show is the psychological aspect.
"What I like about the show is you can actually learn something because we talk about tendencies that generally dishonest people have," Bones explains. "I pop up on the screen and go, 'When someone's fidgeting and they're scratching their ear, that could be a sign [that they're lying].'"
RELATED: Bobby Bones Reveals He Is Not Returning to American Idol for Upcoming Season: 'A Great 4 Years'
Despite the tropical locale, Bones didn't enjoy filming. He and the rest of the Snake in the Grass crew were in Costa Rica for a month, which involved daily two-hour drives across bumpy roads and sitting in a hot tent for 12 hours. Bones was car sick every day.
"Filming was really hard and actually it sucked, as in physically. I got so car sick," he says. "I guess they knew I don't demand the fancy Hollywood stuff, so I didn't have a room or anything [while shooting on-location]. I had a tent."
Once Bones was finally done filming, he'd arrive back at his hotel room and jump on air for his 5-hour radio show. Despite the long days, he says it was worth it once he got to see the finished show.
Chase Bjornson/USA Network A scene from Snake in the Grass
Deep water, hot temperatures and lying teammates may have pushed the Snake in the Grass contestants, but Bones says his wife of one year, Caitlin, is the one who has been teaching him about himself. She was there for him when he was filming Breaking Bobby Bones.
"I cried every day because I thought I was going to die every day," says Bones. Estell was also there for her husband when he was filming Snake in the Grass, even though it wasn't as fun as Bones had promised.
"I was like, 'Come to Costa Rica. It's going to be great.' So, she flew down and then we were at a Hilton Garden Inn by the airport," recalls Bones. "It wasn't that great because I was gone the whole time, so I kind of misled her a little bit there. But the days we had off, we got like one day off a week, it was awesome."
Estell and Bones exchanged vows at their Nashville-area home last July. The former American Idol mentor says he "can't believe" a year has gone by already, explaining that Estell has taught him to be more "vulnerable."
"It's been awesome to actually have someone that I can learn to be a bit vulnerable with," Bones says. "I really struggle with that and spent a lot of time in therapy with that."
Caitlin Estell/Instagram Bobby Bones with his wife Caitlin
After growing up in poverty, Bones focused almost exclusively on expanding his career. But Estell has pushed him to take occasional breaks. "At first, I did not like that at all, but now I'm understanding I should be a human being sometimes."
Estell has also helped shift Bones' perspective on his own importance, the host explains.
"I used to think I was the sun in the solar system, and that was the only sun, and there were no other solar systems, honestly," he says. "I've now learned that I'm like a comet. I'm not even a planet. And we're all working together and the world does not revolve around me and it shouldn't. I still struggle with that, but she's awesome in that way."
Estell is well-matched with her competition show host husband. For their one-year anniversary, the couple climbed mountains and rode bikes in Utah.
"She's really athletic, and it's annoying because I used to think I was a pretty good athlete," jokes Bones. "But she is just naturally really strong and good at everything."
RELATED VIDEO: Bobby Bones Marries Caitlin Parker in Intimate At-Home Ceremony: See the Wedding Photos
Bones and Estell also enjoy verbal jousting.
"She's smarter than me, [and] I've really never been in that before," says Bones. "So, now I've learned that when I'm in an argument, and I know I'm losing, I just go, 'Well, I'm not even going to talk anymore because I've just had it.' But really that means I'm not going to talk anymore because you just dominated me in this conversation and I don't want to admit it."
Teasing aside, Bones says their first year as a married couple has been wonderful.
"[It's been] new and refreshing that I actually will get sad in front of someone and happy in front of someone, which I really would never do," he says. "To share the wins and the losses, that's just different."
Snake in the Grass premieres on Monday, Aug. 1 at 11 p.m. on USA Network.
