The Real-Life Partners Of The Dancing With The Stars Season 35 Cast

There's a reason "Dancing with the Stars" is kicking off its 35th season. It's apparently not losing steam either, as the Season 34 finale in 2025 drew the show's largest same-day finale audience since November 2016 (and that's not accounting for later streaming). From intense physical preparation as celebrities undergo the grueling dance schedule to scandalous affairs and showmances between partners, the show provides endless entertainment ... even after the cameras stop rolling. And each crop of contestants brings in a fresh audience, with new fans tuning in to see their favorite famous faces dance the cha cha and samba. 

We now know the full list of stars that will be competing for the Mirrorball Trophy in 2026, and it includes everyone from an Olympic athlete to a celebrity chef and a podcaster. But which contestants are single heading into the season, and which already have partners waiting offscreen? We're taking a look at the significant others of this year's crop of "Dancing with the Stars" contestants.

Actor Julia Stiles is joining the cast of Season 35 of "Dancing with the Stars," with fans eager to see if she'll recreate some of the famous moves from her iconic 2001 film, "Save the Last Dance." On the ABC reality competition, Stiles will be paired with Ezra Sosa, a relative newcomer with two seasons as a pro partner under his belt. But offscreen, the actor has been married for nearly a decade.

The star, who became a household name in the '90s and '00s thanks to her roles in the aforementioned dance classic and teen flicks like "10 Things I Hate About You," actually met her husband, Preston Cook, on a movie set. Cook was working behind the scenes as a camera assistant on the film "Blackway," starring Stiles, and the two quietly began dating in 2014. A year later, they were engaged, with the actor recounting the story on a 2016 episode of "Live with Kelly!" (via US Magazine): "It was a full moon. We were on a tropical island, and he's a really good man. I found it!" The happy couple went on to welcome three children: son Strummer in 2017, son Arlo in 2022, and a third child in 2023.

Jenna Dewan is coming into this season of "Dancing with the Stars" with an edge. No, it's not her pairing with a legendary partner like Val Chmerkovskiy, but her extensive dance background. Fans immediately flagged that her history as a dance pro made the casting unfair, but Dewan insists this is an entirely new world for her. "I do not know how to ballroom dance ... It's a new technique, brand new technique," Dewan told Entertainment Weekly, adding, "It almost threw me off initially because I had to unlearn a lot of — I don't want to say bad habits — but just habits of the style that I'm used to."

While it remains to be seen how her skills will translate, one thing is for sure: her longtime fiancé, actor Steve Kazee, will be cheering her on along the way. Dewan started dating the Tony Award-winning star in 2018, and they announced they were expecting a baby together in 2019. The couple got engaged in February 2020 and welcomed son Callum a month later. Daughter Rhiannon joined the family in June 2024, announced via a joint Instagram post by the couple. As for the couple's now six-year engagement, Dewan told People earlier this year that they would likely tie the knot soon, revealing, "We're planning on it. We're getting closer." Dewan also shares daughter Everly with her ex-husband, Channing Tatum. 

R&B singer and actor Tatyana Ali will show off her dancing skills on this season of "Dancing with the Stars." The casting comes just a few months after she celebrated a major milestone — her tenth wedding anniversary. Yep, Ali has been married to Stanford professor Dr. Vaughn Rasberry for ten years. He currently works as an associate professor of English and an associate professor of African and African American Studies at the prestigious Northern California University. 

The couple wed back in July 2016, after meeting in a pretty un-Hollywood way — on a dating app. She told "Entertainment Tonight" at the time, "Vaughn and I met on eHarmony! It was my first time dating online. We wrote letters for months before we decided to Skype. And then, of course, met." The former "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" star and the award-winning author have since welcomed two sons, Edward in 2016 and Alejandro in 2019. 

We'll see if boy bander Taylor Hanson has what it takes on the dance floor as he competes for the Mirrorball Trophy on Season 35 of "Dancing with the Stars." Off the dance floor, the former teen heartthrob certainly has his hands full — he's a happily married father of seven. A large family is familiar territory for Hanson, as he's also one of seven kids and famously found success in a band with two of his brothers, Zac Hanson and Isaac Hanson. Hanson married as a teenager after taking the plunge with wife Natalie Anne Bryant in 2002 when he was just 19 years old. The cute couple originally met as teenagers while Hanson was on tour and played a show in Bryant's hometown, Atlanta, Georgia. The rest is history, as they went on to add four sons and three daughters to their brood. Bryant started a baby naming consultation business called Modern Moniker in 2020 with her sister-in-law Kate Hanson, Zac Hanson's wife.

The couple celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary this June. Back in 2022, the pop star posted a throwback photo on Instagram in honor of their 20th anniversary alongside the caption, "20 years today, still just a couple crazy kids. I'm the luckiest." 

While the ladies are likely thrilled to see former "The Bachelor" star Tyler Cameron take the dance floor with partner Sharna Burgess, they're in for a rude awakening. The reality star is now off the market after proposing to girlfriend Tate Madden in August 2026. They shared the exciting news on Instagram, with Cameron writing alongside photos of the romantic moment, "Better late than never they say." The caption poked fun at the fact that the couple has been dating for quite a few years after originally meeting on the set of his home renovation show, "Going Home with Tyler Cameron."

Madden worked behind the scenes shooting photography for the show, but it wasn't until 2024 that the couple went Instagram official. That September, Cameron shared a video of the couple dancing, captioning it, "Found a cute girl to dance with."

We all know that Giada De Laurentiis kills it in the kitchen, but what about in the ballroom? The Food Network superstar is partnered up with legendary pro Alan Bersten for the upcoming season, and she's also partnered up in real life. The celebrity chef has been dating Emmy Award-winning producer Shane Farley since 2015 and opened up to People about why their relationship works so well back in 2024, explaining, "He has a lot of patience. I think patience and laughter [are the key], and we try not to take things so seriously." 

For his part, Farley also had wonderful things to say about his partnership with De Laurentiis. He told the same outlet, "Giada is one of the most positive people I have ever met. She's warm and absolutely beautiful — what you see on the outside is there on the inside as well." De Laurentiis shares a daughter, Jade Thompson, with her ex-husband Todd Thompson, a former fashion designer. 

"Crazy Rich Asians" actor Harry Shum Jr., who's currently starring on "Grey's Anatomy," will be dancing alongside longtime pro Jenna Johnson. The actor will also celebrate his 11th wedding anniversary during this season of "Dancing with the Stars," as he married fellow actor Shelby Rabara back in November 2015. The adorable couple welcomed their first child, daughter Xia, to their family in March 2019. 

When asked about the secret to their happy union, Shum Jr. told People, "I don't know if I have a secret. I think, to me, it's like there's no secret. I think it's just loving each other in different stages." As the actor hits the dance floor, his wife, who is a dancer herself and a former Laker Girl, is also keeping busy professionally. The UCLA graduate most recently voiced the character Snappy in "Toy Story 5." 

Fans were surprised to see Conner Leavitt on the contestant list for Season 35, but he's no stranger to the "Dancing with the Stars" stage. When his wife, "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" star Whitney Leavitt, competed last season, he was always sitting in the front row cheering her on. That enthusiastic support may come back to haunt him now that he's competing himself. As he explained to Entertainment Weekly, "I'm a bit nervous. I might be the only contestant this season who has booed the judges. Hopefully they're not out for some revenge because there were a couple of scores where I was like, 'Oh,'" Conner explained to the outlet, noting his boisterous support of his wife on the show. 

Since Whitney finished sixth on the reality competition, the Leavitts have certainly been busy. After living in New York City to support his wife's successful stint on Broadway in the musical "Chicago," Conner and his family settled back in Utah this summer. Whitney explained the move to Good Housekeeping in August 2026: "It was very hard to leave New York, but it wasn't working for our family and our kids. We enjoyed the opportunities — we never wanted to say no. But we needed groundedness. With this house, we've found our base camp." The couple shares three children: daughter Sedona and sons Liam and Billy Gene.

One of the most surprising cast members on this season of "Dancing with the Stars" is Savannah Bananas baseball star Jackson Olson. If you're unfamiliar with the Savannah Bananas — it's a family-friendly exhibition baseball team that calls itself one of the greatest shows in sports, so Olson will be no stranger to captivating audiences with his athletic prowess. We'll see him take the stage with partner Emma Slater. 

Off stage, you might be surprised to see who the baseball entertainer is dating. He went public with a girlfriend in April 2026, posting an Instagram photo at Disneyland and captioning it, "Applications closed." That caption referenced a past TikTok, where he said he was taking applications for a girlfriend. It turns out, his new significant other is none other than Maggie Sajak — a "Wheel of Fortune" fixture whose dad happens to be the show's legendary host, Pat Sajak.