The Real-Life Partners Of Dancing With The Stars Pros
ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" may be one of the most challenging reality competitions on television. Professional dancers are known for their grace, excellent balance, and physical strength, and viewers have watched these pros pair up with singers, athletes, and television personalities who sometimes have two left feet. While there have been celebs that have shocked viewers with how well they can rumba, quickstep, and tango their way to the Mirrorball trophy, there were also some controversial contestants. And those who lacked patience and discipline have caused outright drama with their pro partners.
Viewers have watched partners bicker throughout rehearsals and even go so far as wanting to call it quits because it was clear that they just couldn't get along for the show. Who could forget Season 10's unpleasant pairing of reality television star Kate Gosselin and dancer Tony Dovolani, or the disastrous coupling of soccer star Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy in Season 13?
A lack of chemistry can hinder a performance for these couples, and fans have seen a few pros struggle to teach their celeb partners routines. Thankfully, "Dancing With the Stars" is just their day job, and these professionals can go home to their real-life partners without needing to worry how to teach them the cha-cha or Charleston in a matter of days. Several of these pros are married to dancers too! Here are the real-life partners of "Dancing With the Stars" professionals.
Lindsay Arnold Cusick and husband Samuel Cusick
Professional dancer Lindsay Arnold Cusick was only 19 years old when she made her debut in Season 16 of "Dancing With the Stars." However, she would be a member of the dance troupe from Seasons 17-20, until she became a professional yet again in Season 21. It wasn't until Season 25, when she was partnered with singer and actor Jordan Fisher, that she would finally get her hands on the Mirrorball trophy, which she has since considered her favorite season yet, per her website.
As of this writing, Lindsay is partnered with "Bachelor" alum Matt James in Season 30. While the two appeared to have instant chemistry during their practices and on the dancefloor, the pro is happily married to her high school sweetheart, Samuel Cusick. According to People, Lindsay and Samuel tied the knot in 2015 in Salt Lake City, Utah, with the dance pro sharing, "I could never have imagined that when I was 16 years old I would have met the man I would marry and who would by my partner — yesterday, today, and tomorrow!"
In November 2020, the couple welcomed their first child, a daughter named Sage, sharing the wonderful news with her Instagram followers. While the birth of her daughter prevented Lindsay from competing on Season 29, she was able to return for Season 30, telling Hollywood Life, "I want to be a part of this show for as long as they'll have me."
Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green
Season 30 of "Dancing With the Stars" had a first when they welcomed real-life couple actor Brian Austin Green and professional dancer Sharna Burgess as partners on the show. Burgess has been a part of the show since Season 13 as a dance troupe member and later become a pro in Season 16 when she was partnered with comedian Andy Dick. During Season 27, Burgess finally got to take home the grand prize when she won the competition with partner and radio personality Bobby Bones, which came as a shock to many viewers, per The Washington Post.
Burgess and Green made their relationship Instagram official in January 2021 when the dancer posted a photo of the two sharing a sweet kiss while on vacation. The couple has been smitten with one another ever since, even though Burgess admitted to Page Six that dancing with your significant other can be a "challenge." She said, "It's a learning curve for me. I've never done this before. I've never dated anyone that I've danced with, whether it was in my competition life or my 'Dancing With the Stars' career. So everything for me is new."
As for Green, he joked to People, "If I mess up, I wouldn't be surprised if Sharna left me." For their first routine, the couple danced the Foxtrot and ended their performance with a steamy kiss.
Witney Carson and Carson McAllister
Witney Carson McAllister became a professional dancer on "Dancing With the Stars" in Season 18 when she was partnered with Australian singer Cody Simpson. The pair finished in 9th place, but she would go on to win the Mirrorball Trophy the very next season when she was paired with "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air" actor Alfonso Ribeiro. The pro continues to impress viewers with her dance moves, and while she hasn't won a second Mirrorball trophy yet, she has placed 2nd in Seasons 27 and 28.
When she's not dancing with celebrities on live television, Witney is busy raising her family in Los Angeles. The dancer and her husband, Carson McAllister, were high school sweethearts and tied the knot in 2016 in Utah, with "Dancing With the Stars" pro Lindsay Arnold as her matron of honor, per Life & Style. Being so well-known, Witney told People that she enjoys going home to her husband who has known her since way before the fame. "Just knowing that I have someone who knows me before all of this started, someone who has always been there for me, through thick and thin, it's such a comfort. He totally keeps me grounded. I love that he's not in the industry because he can bring me back down to earth."
The married couple welcomed their first child together, a son named Kevin, in January 2021, with Witney and Carson sharing the exciting news on her Instagram.
Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella
Pro dancer Artem Chigvintsev and his fiancée, retired professional wrestler Nikki Bella, have a sweet history together that started when she was partnered with him during Season 25 of "Dancing With the Stars." At the time, Bella was engaged to wrestler and actor John Cena, but after six years together, they called off their engagement in July 2018, per People. By March 2019, Bella seemed to confirm her new romance with the pro dancer when she shared an Instagram photo planting a kiss on Chigvintsev's cheek.
In November 2019, the pro dancer got down on one knee and proposed to Bella during a trip to France. In January the very next year, Bella announced she was pregnant at the same time as her twin sister, Brie Bella, per People. Nikki Bella welcomed her son, Matteo on July 31, while her sister gave birth to her son, Buddy Dessert, who she shares with husband Daniel Bryan, the very next day, according to Us Weekly.
So when will fans get to see Bella walking down the aisle in her white dress? She had previously shared on The Bellas Podcast that the couple was aiming for a fall 2021 wedding, but have decided to hold off on their nuptials, telling ET in June 2021, "If It happens, it happens," adding that the duo had just finished remodeling their new home.
Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson
What better way to find romance than appearing on the same show? Pro dancers Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson's love story took place while the two were both on "Dancing With the Stars." Chmerkovskiy was already a pro, having come into the show on Season 13, while Johnson's first appearance was as a troupe member in Season 18 in 2014, but later becoming a pro in Season 23, per Us Weekly.
According to People, the two stars began dating in 2015 but kept their relationship under the radar. Their romance was short-lived, and Chmerkovskiy moved on with Amber Rose, who he was partnered with on Season 23, but that relationship would be brief too, and the dancer later reconnected with Johnson. Johnson told Us Weekly that it was "almost unavoidable" that she and Chmerkovskiy would come back together, adding, "There's something about the show, man. You're so hands on ... Dance is very physical."
Chmerkovskiy proposed to Johnson in 2018 while the two were in Venice, Italy. Before the two wed, Chmerkovskiy admitted to ET that he felt jealous seeing Johnson dance with other men on the show. "I'm not perfect. But I have to check myself and be fair and say, like ... how can I hold this against her if I'm in the same situation?" Thankfully, his jealousy didn't get the best of him because, in April 2019, the couple got married in a lavish wedding in Rancho Palo Verdes, California.
Sasha Farber and Emma Slater
Sasha Farber and Emma Slater are both professional dancers on "Dancing With the Stars" who became much more than dance buddies when they began dating in 2011. However, their relationship ended in 2014, with Slater sharing with Glamour at the time that the two were better off as friends. "It has just happened in the way we have gone from a beautiful three-year relationship, which I love and cherish to best friends."
But their split didn't last long, and Farber and Slater gave their relationship another shot — this time, the two knew they were meant to be. In 2015, Farber and Slater were back together (via Pop Sugar), and the very next year, he popped the question in the best way possible — during a live airing of a "Dancing With the Stars" results show.
The pro couple got married in 2018 in Los Angeles, California, and Slater had many of her "Dancing With the Stars" friends — including Witney Carson McAllister, Lindsay Arnold Cusick, and Jenna Johnson — act as her bridesmaids, per People. Slater shared photos of her wedding day with her fans on Instagram, captioning one photo of the two newlyweds, "Yesterday was hands down the best day of my life, I'm married to the man of my dreams." While Slater told Us Weekly that they are not in a rush to have kids, they did make a big step in becoming U.S. citizens in 2020.
Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov
"Dancing With the Stars" professional dancers Daniella Karagach Pashkova and Pasha Pashkov have a long history together that began in 2009 when she was just 15 years old and Pasha was 22. At the time, Daniella was nervous to be partnered with Pasha because he was already a successful dancer and she was so young, sharing (via Dance Spirit), "people might not respect us as a compatible pair." However, they proved everyone wrong and won multiple competitions throughout the U.S. and overseas, per Dance Sports Info.
The two would continue to dance together, with their most recent dance competition in 2019 where they landed in 1st place. Dancing together for quite some time, the pair developed a romantic relationship and got married in 2014, per Distractify. The couple brought their talents to the ABC show in Season 28, and as of this writing, are both competing in Season 30. The couple shared with ET in 2019 that while they do want children in the future, their main focus is "Dancing With the Stars."
"If we could, we would've had our baby like five years ago," Pasha said, with Daniella adding, "Absolutely. We really want to focus on this, this is something we've been wanting for a really long time — 'Dancing With the Stars,' not a baby [laughs] — and I feel like now that we have it, we want to put our heart and soul into it and do the best that we can in it."
Cheryl Burke is married to Matthew Lawrence
Professional dancer Cheryl Burke is a "Dancing With the Stars" veteran and has danced on the show since Season 2, taking a few seasons off here and there. She's won two Mirrorball Trophies back to back – in her first season on the show when she was partnered with 98 Degrees singer Drew Lachey and again in Season 3 with former NFL player Emmitt Smith.
It was during Season 3 that Burke met "Boy Meets World" star Matthew Lawrence when his brother, Joey Lawrence, was competing on the show. Burke and Lawrence briefly dated in 2007 but broke up the very next year, per People. Ten years later, the two reunited, with Burke sharing with PeopleTV's Chatter that they both had found a "renewed commitment" to one another, adding that their breakup made the dancer realize that Lawrence was her perfect match. "He's the first man I can say that I feel safe with and that I know will always have my back no matter what."
Us Weekly reported that in May 2018, Lawrence proposed to Burke in Laguna Beach, California, and they tied the knot in 2019. Speaking about growing their family, the married couple shared in April 2020 that plans for a baby were on hold. "We're just waiting to see what happens because I think we were going to move, we were going to start the next journey, but everything's a little bit on pause right now," Lawrence shared.
Gleb Savchenko and Elena Belle
"Dancing With the Stars" pro Gleb Savchenko and professional dancer Elena Samodanova had a 14-year marriage that ended in 2020, with both stars, unfortunately, bashing one another in the midst of it all. Savchenko and Samodanova took to Instagram to share the news of their split, but she later accused her ex-husband of having "multiple affairs" (via People), with rumors that he was being unfaithful with his Season 29 partner, "Selling Sunset's" Chrishell Stause, which both celebs have since denied. However, in an interview with ET, Savchenko claimed that it was his ex-wife who was being unfaithful, adding that not only was he in a "mentally abusive" marriage but that Samodonova was jealous of his success on "Dancing With the Stars."
According to ET, just a little over a month after their split, Savchenko moved on with actor Cassie Scerbo after he was photographed vacationing with her and pals Stause and her former boyfriend, Keo Motsepe, in Mexico. Their relationship was short-lived, with a source explaining (via Us Weekly) that the pro wanted to "heal his relationship with his ex." As of the summer of 2021, Savchenko has been linked to model Elena Belle, per Us Weekly.
As for Samodanova, Page Six reported that she was spotted planting a kiss on "Dancing With the Stars" alum Vlad Kvartin just a month after splitting with Savchenko. As of this writing, there is no word if the two are still romantically linked.
Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Pro dancers Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy found one another thanks to their love of dancing, meeting in 2009 for Broadway's "Burn the Floor." Chmerkovskiy would move on to become a pro on ABC's "Dancing With the Stars" in Season 2 and would see Murgatroyd again when she became a troupe member in Season 12. She then became a pro herself in Season 13, per Us Weekly.
It wasn't long before these two stars made headlines for starting a romantic relationship in 2012, but they split the year after. However, they rekindled their romance, with Chmerkovskiy confirming the news during an interview in 2015. That same year, Chmerkovskiy surprised Murgatroyd when he got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage after a live show in Miami, per E! He shared a photo of the special moment on Instagram, captioning it, "She said 'yes.'"
In 2017, the two celebrated a big year when they welcomed their son, Shai, into the world in January and got married in July at City Hall in New York, having their dream wedding at Oheka Castle in Long Island, New York, that same month, per Us Weekly. The pair have gushed about one another on social media since getting married. Murgatroyd praised her husband and called him an "absolute champion" on Instagram after he appeared on Fox's "The Masked Dancer" at the start of 2021.
Derek Hough is dating Hayley Erbert
Fans can't get enough of former pro dancer turned "Dancing With the Stars" judge Derek Hough (the pro with the most wins thus far) and his girlfriend, Hayley Erbert. The duo met after Erbert joined his and his sister Julianne Hough's "Move Live Tour" in 2014, and by the next year, she and Hough were reportedly an item, with Erbert later joining "Dancing With the Stars" as a troupe dancer in 2016, per Us Weekly. In Season 29, fans even got to watch the two perform a Paso Doble together in Week 6.
Ever since Hough and Erbert began dating, they have been sharing incredibly adorable moments on Instagram. From swimming with dolphins to re-creating one of their first dances together, the two are a match made in dancing heaven.
Hough has been asked on several occasions about when he will pop the question. In an interview with ET, he shared, "I want to marry once. I want to be with that person that I love dearly. I want to get to know that person. I feel like, if anything, it's something that I don't feel like should be rushed into doing at all." Ryan Seacrest also pressed Hough on his thoughts about making that next big step in his relationship, with the pro sharing, "Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes. But you know what's funny? There are so many people getting engaged and married in my circle [right now], and I'm just letting them enjoy that, so my time will come."
Tristan and Tahyna MacManus
"Dancing With the Stars" viewers will remember pro dancer Tristan MacManus and his debut in Season 13 when he was paired with television journalist Nancy Grace. MacManus left the dance competition after Season 17 (via Us Weekly), never taking home the coveted Mirrorball Trophy, but he did go on to dance on the British version of the show, "Strictly Come Dancing" for the 12th and 13th seasons.
The Irish-born dancer has since hung up his dancing shoes after several injuries and became a judge on the Australian version of "Dancing With the Stars" along with pro dancer Sharna Burgess. Speaking to Woman's Day about the transition, he shared, "Dancing is something I've done for 26 years, it's something I still enjoy but I'm ready to take a step back," adding, "I never thought about being a judge, but I love it and it's giving me that extra time to spend with the kids, so it's the best of both worlds."
Speaking of kids, MacManus has three children with Australian model and actor Tahyna MacManus, who he married in 2014, per The Sydney Morning Herald. In May 2021, Tahyna and Tristan welcomed their third child, a son named Tadhg, with the pro sharing the happy news with his Instagram followers. The couple are also parents to a daughter named Echo and a son named Oisin, per Now to Love.
Mark Ballas and BC Jean
Professional dancer Mark Ballas was a fan favorite on "Dancing With the Stars" and is the winner of two Mirrorball Trophies, winning in Season 6 with Kristi Yamaguchi and in Season 8 with Shawn Johnson, per his website. Ballas left the show after Season 25 and took up other ventures, including forming the music duo Alexander Jean with his wife, BC Jean, who he married in 2016.
Billboard reported that Alexander Jean was formed in 2015 and released their first single, titled "Roses and Violets" in 2016. Both Ballas and Jean tell their real-life stories through their music and lyrics, with the former pro stating, "As long as people are feeling something, and they can take something from our story and kind of [say], 'Oh yeah, I went through something like that,' then we're doing our job."
Jean was a solo star before meeting Ballas, but the two now have the opportunity to see the world together while they tour. Ballas shared with ET, "As musicians that are touring, it's rare that your spouse does the same thing and you can actually be in the same band. Usually, you'll be doing all these amazing travels and going on all these adventures, Facetiming, [but] you're lonely. We never have to say, 'I wish you were here.'"
Kym Johnson-Herjavec and husband Robert Herjavec
Former "Dancing With the Stars" pro Kym Johnson-Herjavec and "Shark Tank" star Robert Herjavec have a fairytale romance that all started on the show's dancefloor. In Season 20, Kym was partnered with the businessman, and while they ended the show placing 6th, they developed a relationship that led to marriage and welcoming twins, per People.
Interestingly enough, Robert's "Shark Tank" co-star Daymond John knew instantly that there was chemistry between the two. He shared, "I saw it immediately. I just saw that — this isn't just your dancing partner, but you're talking to 'her' in a very caring manner. I'm just really happy for him." The star couple wed in 2016 in Los Angeles, California, and soon enough, Kym announced that she was pregnant with twins, calling it a "miracle," per People. The couple welcomed their children, Haven and Hudson, in April 2018, with the pro sharing the sweet news on Instagram.
The pair seem smitten with one another ever since tying the knot, with Robert telling Closer Weekly, "We're having a great time!" And Kym adding, "It's been amazing! In one way it feels like we've been married [so long]. In another way, it's gone by so quick. It feels like we've known each other forever. He's just amazing. We're best friends, and it's just easy."