Witney Carson just made one of Dancing With the Stars’ biggest announcements Monday, as it was revealed that she is pregnant and still returning as a professional dancer on the show for season 35.
“I feel like I’ve been keeping a dark, dirty secret for a really, really long time,” the two-time mirrorball champion tells The Hollywood Reporter of how she’s feeling about the news being out for the public. Her answer is a reference to a month of speculation that she was expecting her third child with husband Carson McAllister.
Because of the rumors, fans thought this meant Carson was bowing out for season 35, but that is not the case. She is continuing on as a Dancing pro this fall, and is partnered up with Guillermo Rodriguez. Carson says her decision to come back was not made quickly or lightly.
“In my first trimester, I was extremely sick. I dropped out of some things that I had been contracted in just because I was so, so sick,” Carson says. “I genuinely didn’t think I was going to be physically able to do the show, and Deena Katz and I, the casting director, had a lot of conversations, and I started to feel a little bit better. We just decided, kind of me, my husband, and Deena were like, if you feel good enough, why not?”
The news was announced on Good Morning America, tied to her appearance on the franchise’s spinoff The Next Pro, which tasks a group of dancers to compete for a shot at being the next Dancing pro. Carson, a seasoned pro herself, was “honored” to be asked to guest judge Monday night’s episode where contestants had to teach fans a number (basically a mock Dancing episode). The experience itself surprised Carson, saying she “didn’t actually expect how much I would love it.”
“I’ve always been a performer, always a competitor, and I just didn’t really know what to expect,” she says. “I loved being able to give really positive criticism. It was so much fun.”
Below, Carson answers all your burning questions about her Dancing return while pregnant (Will she participate in group numbers, or only dance with Rodriguez? Whose idea was it for her to do the show pregnant?), what it was like seeing her former partner Robert Irwin host Next Pro, why she thinks that dancer was eliminated on Monday night’s episode and if she’d consider judging the mainstay series down the line.
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How are you feeling about this news being out; that you are expecting, but you are also returning for next season of Dancing With the Stars?
I feel a little bit crazy, to be honest, but I’m really excited for it to all finally come out. I feel like I’ve been keeping a dark, dirty secret for a really, really long time. I love dance. I love to compete. I love being on the show, and I also love being a mom, and I want to grow my family. So if I can do both and the baby is healthy, then I am gonna try and do it all, because women are amazing. Why not just try and do it? I’m just really excited for everything to start up. I think it’s gonna be a very memorable, memorable season.
This is the first time a pro has gone into the season pregnant. Daniela previously said that she found out at the very beginning of a season, and you have also been pregnant on the show, but you revealed that much later into the season, so I have to imagine these seasons will be very different experiences for you.
Yes, I am actually going into my second trimester next week, so this is the latest I’ve ever been pregnant dancing, competing; anything. The fact that I am going to be in a little dance costume, being pregnant, is going to be very interesting and something I’ve never done before. But I’m really excited. As long as I feel good and the baby’s healthy, then I think everything should be totally fine.
I’m a little bit nervous just with how people are going to react, but you know what? This is just what I feel is right for my family, and this is also my livelihood. Like, the show is also something that I have to do to provide for my family. Working while growing a human is going to be a challenge. But I think it’s going to be also hopefully inspiring, and hopefully it will go okay, and people will embrace it.
When you told the Dancing With the Starsteam you were expecting, whose idea was it for you to still continue on the show as a pro?
Honestly, it was something that me and my husband really discussed. In my first trimester, I was extremely sick. I was very, very sick. I couldn’t get out of bed. I dropped out of some things that I had been contracted in just because I was so, so sick. I genuinely didn’t think I was going to be physically able to do the show, and Deena Katz and I, the casting director, had a lot of conversations, and I started to feel a little bit better. We just decided, kind of me, my husband, and Deena were like, if you feel good enough, why not? Why not do it? I actually just told the whole cast. I told all the pros, and it was really sweet. Everyone was very, very excited and very supportive.
Your celebrity partner is Guillermo. Have you two chatted at all, and how are you feeling about taking on season 35 with him?
We will meet this week. He’s very sweet, I can tell just from what I’ve seen online and on TV. He’s a dad, so he totally gets it, so hopefully he’ll be very sweet and supportive, which I anticipate. I’m really excited to see what he can do and what his personality is like. I think [season 35] is really going to be about having fun. Last season was super, super intense, very stressful. I felt like last season was definitely like mine to lose because Robert was so great and so popular, and I feel like this season it’s really just about having fun with Guillermo. And who knows, maybe he will make it really far. Maybe he’s an exceptional dancer, and I just have no idea.
Will you participate in group opening numbers and other supplemental dance numbers, or do you think you’re solely going to focus on your partnership with Guillermo?
Yes, my plan as of right now is I have been rehearsing for all the group numbers. I’ve been pretty much the same involvement as I would be, not being pregnant. Everyone in production has been very helpful and supportive, like if if I need to rest or take a break; they’re very much on top of that. Anything that I don’t feel comfortable with, I speak my mind. So as of now, we’re just doing everything routine, as if I wasn’t pregnant. Everything has been cleared for me to keep continuing on what I would normally do, so that’s what I’m gonna do, just obviously be more conscious of lifting and falls and stuff like that. They’ve all taken such great care of me. I’m not really worried about taking a step back because I feel really good and really healthy. We’re just going to take it week by week, and day by day.
It was recently revealed that your Dancing With the Stars: Juniors dancer Kamri Peterson has joined the troupe. What was your reaction when you heard that news?
Oh my gosh, I was so excited. The last time I worked with her, she was like nine or 10. She was so, so little, and the fact that I just saw so much of myself in her then, and now that she’s actually on Dancing With the Stars and she’s around the age that I started, it feels so full circle. She feels like my daughter in a way, which I had no part in raising her, but she still feels like a part of the family, so to be able to have her on a season with me, and I’m obviously pregnant, it just feels like a very full circle moment for me to have another family member there. I’m extremely proud of her, and she’s a star. She’s gonna kill it.
When you were approached about coming on as a mentor, and also presented with the idea of the show, Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, what was your initial reaction?
I thought it was such a great idea because there’s so much that goes into being a professional on this show, so I feel like it was a brilliant idea to bring people in behind the scenes a little bit more on what we actually go through. We love what we do, and everyone is very good because we’re so passionate about what we do. But for people to be able to have a better look into that, and then also see all the different challenges week by week that go through in a season, is really interesting and really eye opening. I’m very honored to be a part of it, especially because Robert was a part of it, and it felt like [it was] still in the dance family. It was just a perfect fit.
When you filmed, you were fresh off of your season 34 win, so what was it like seeing Robert Irwin in this host role?
Oh my gosh, he’s so good. He’s so so talented. He taught me so much about hosting and acting, and all sorts of things I didn’t expect from him. I knew he was uber talented in a lot of things, but I didn’t realize how good he was at hosting. I felt like a big super fan, mom, big sister cheering him on. And being in Australia was so fun too because I love Australia. I feel like I’m an Australian now because of my tie to the Irwins. It really just felt like home.
You were brought in for a great challenge where the dancers had to dance with fans; people that could potentially be a contestant on Dancing With the Stars with no dance experience. Was there anything you wanted to offer as advice to the dancers when they were taking on this experience of teaching people who don’t know how to dance, ballroom?
I was brought in for this specific challenge because obviously I’ve been on the show for a long time, so I’ve been with a lot of different celebrities. I’ve made it to the finale five times. I’ll just say I’m experienced without feeling too old. This was a really fun challenge for me to come into because the contestants were really challenged on a mini Dancing With the Stars episode, challenged in what we actually do. For me, I wasn’t allowed to give them any advice. I was there really to observe with the other judges, Shirley and Mark, in rehearsals. We wanted to really, really assess their ability to choreograph, their ability to pivot, their adaptability, how they are in a room with a stranger, a beginner, a novice dancer, and how they bring out their strengths and hide their weaknesses — things that we really look for as judges. I was very, very impressed with all of them.
At the end of the episode, Nina was ultimately eliminated. What do you think she was lacking that resulted in that elimination?
Everyone was really good. Again, they only have two days to teach their fans this routine, so the fact that all of them pulled that off was really impressive. Nina still did an incredible job. With her, I think that she might have been maybe the least knowledgeable on how to teach the quickest and the most efficient. She is knowledgeable in teaching and dance, but specifically when it came to time management and being able to pivot, she was just a little bit slower than the others, so she didn’t get as much out of her fan as the others. That was really the factor when we were comparing. We felt like in the studio, she just didn’t give enough direction efficiently. She still was great and beautiful. They did an amazing job, but that was a hard one. I never want to be a part of eliminations. I did not want to see anyone go home. I’m like, can we all win? Just let’s all be pros. Let’s just switch out every season.
How did you enjoy taking on this authoritative role on Dancing With the Stars? What was it like for you being behind the judges’ panel?
Oh my gosh, it was so much fun! I didn’t actually expect how much I would love it, because I just never really saw myself in a judging role. I’ve always been a performer, always a competitor, so I just didn’t really know what to expect. But I absolutely loved it. I loved being able to give really positive criticism, positive feedback. Again, the elimination part I could do without, but being able to sit back and not being stressed about performing, and just being able to talk, it felt super natural.
Would you say that the experience of guest judging on Next Pro piqued your interest potentially down the road to become a judge on Dancing With the Stars?
Oh, I would absolutely love that. The judges do an incredible job already, so, you know, I’m not looking to take anyone’s place. But I am so so open to that. I think it would be so much fun, and I would absolutely love it. I loved every second of it.
You will also be on the next episode of The Next Pro, dancing alongside the contestants. Is there anything that you can tease from that, and how it differed from your guest judge role?
I can tell you, I liked being a judge more than that. Even though I wasn’t getting judged, it was still very stressful, because you were the partner of someone that could potentially go home. There was a lot of pressure on me to make sure I supported them, and I always have that pressure, but it felt like a life-changing decision for someone. I cared a lot about these dancers already, so being their partner and potentially having one of them go home was an added layer of stress. It was very stressful, but the contestants were so sweet and kind, and the partner that I was paired with, he was absolutely lovely. I had such a blast, and I can’t wait for people to watch because there’s also some more surprises for the finale as well. It’s going to be a really good three weeks.
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Dancing With the Stars: The Next Proairs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC, with episodes available to stream Tuesdays on Disney+ and Hulu. Season 35 of Dancing With the Starswill sport a double premiere on Sept. 15 and 16.
