Speaker 1: This is Conversationous with Olivia Jade and I Heart Radio podcast.
Speaker 1: Hello everybody, Welcome back to Conversations. I am I say
Speaker 1: this every episode, but I am genuinely so excited for
Speaker 1: today's guest. And I think I feel like these episodes
Speaker 1: are so much more special when I know the person
Speaker 1: coming on. And so I'm really really excited because today
Speaker 1: I have Miss Jenna Johnson coming on. And if you
Speaker 1: don't know who Jenna is, she is an amazing person,
Speaker 1: an amazing dancer. She's a pro on Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 1: She's actually the wife of my partner Val who I
Speaker 1: was paired up with this season for season thirty of
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars. And I want us to get
Speaker 1: to know her a little bit. I want to talk
Speaker 1: about her season being partnered with a female for the
Speaker 1: first time in history on Dancing with the Stars, and
Speaker 1: just get all that information. So with that being said,
Speaker 1: please welcome Miss Jenna Johnson. Yes, Hi, welcome to my
Speaker 1: New York Hotel room. Oh my god, gorgeous love it.
Speaker 1: I miss you already. This is really weird that we
Speaker 1: don't see each other every week anymore. It's been well,
Speaker 1: I guess yesterday marked a week since the end. I know,
Speaker 1: but it's very weird. It's so weird. Do you feel
Speaker 1: weird not dancing on a Monday? Um? Yes. And it's
Speaker 1: funny because I feel like Val tried to prepare me
Speaker 1: for it of like just get ready because it's going
Speaker 1: to settle in and it's gonna hit you. And I
Speaker 1: was like, yeah, yeah, I've I felt this before, but
Speaker 1: yesterday was really apparent. I was like, man, I miss it. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And I don't know. I just you give everything for
Speaker 1: so long, for so many hours, and you just have
Speaker 1: such purpose every day that when it comes to a halt,
Speaker 1: although you know what's coming to an end, it's just
Speaker 1: it's wild, I know. And I feel like for some reason,
Speaker 1: even though I've obviously never been on any other season
Speaker 1: of the show, I feel like I feel like it
Speaker 1: went by really really quickly, like faster than normal or
Speaker 1: is this normally how the process is? No? Last season, well, no,
Speaker 1: this season flew by, And I feel like because it
Speaker 1: was such a great energy all around with everybody, and
Speaker 1: I think a lot of the partnerships really had a
Speaker 1: great time, it just flew by. I mean, as stupid
Speaker 1: and cliche as it is, like time flies when you're
Speaker 1: having fun, but it flew like I remember the promo
Speaker 1: shoot day like it was yesterday. Same. That's the scariest
Speaker 1: part to me, though, because I even remember when I
Speaker 1: first met Val, like day one. He was like, enjoy
Speaker 1: the next three months because it's gonna you're gonna blink
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be over. And I was like, Okay, yeah, whatever.
Speaker 1: And I really do feel like I blinked in it's
Speaker 1: sucking over and I don't know how it happened. I
Speaker 1: know it's pretty devastating, devastating. Was this your favorite season
Speaker 1: that you've done on the show, you think, or just different?
Speaker 1: Here's the thing, it's I've had many favorite amazing seasons
Speaker 1: for different reasons. I think this one was so uniquely
Speaker 1: special in so many different ways, um that it will
Speaker 1: forever mark like a very very special place in my heart. Um.
Speaker 1: I think as scary as it was, and I this
Speaker 1: is gonna sound crazy, but I remember meeting you and
Speaker 1: being like, by the way, like I'm not lesbian or anything,
Speaker 1: I'm just standing with the girl this season like I was,
Speaker 1: I didn't know how to handle myself or carry myself.
Speaker 1: You know. It was just like so new territory for me.
Speaker 1: But I really think being partnered with a girl was
Speaker 1: so much more. I just felt so much more connected
Speaker 1: and emotional and her and then understood it was it
Speaker 1: was insane. Yeah, And all the guys are always all
Speaker 1: the mail pros are like, we have the harder job.
Speaker 1: I think you take the cake this season for the
Speaker 1: hardest job by far. I mean not even that. But
Speaker 1: I've just I've now felt what it's like to dance
Speaker 1: of both a guy and a girl. The girls have
Speaker 1: it wait harder. Really, that's the tea guys, that's just
Speaker 1: my opinion. That's the t I want to get into,
Speaker 1: like the whole this season a little bit later, because
Speaker 1: first I feel like I want to hear just about you,
Speaker 1: like your upbringing, how you got into dance. I would
Speaker 1: just want the people listening to know, like who you
Speaker 1: are and how you ended up on the show and
Speaker 1: meeting Val and like making all these connections to get
Speaker 1: to the point where you're at now. Oh man, All right,
Speaker 1: well here we go. Um. So, I actually was born
Speaker 1: in California, Um, but early on I moved to Utah
Speaker 1: for my dad's job, and in Utah there for some reason,
Speaker 1: is this massive dance hub. There are thousands of different
Speaker 1: dance studios UM in that state, but specifically there's this
Speaker 1: one that just like breeds dancers. So I started dancing
Speaker 1: at the studio when I was three years old. I
Speaker 1: didn't want to do anything else, Like truly, I don't
Speaker 1: have any real hobbies because there's nothing that I wanted
Speaker 1: to do other than dance while growing up, Like I
Speaker 1: didn't want to play any sports, didn't want to do
Speaker 1: any of that. Like, I just loved it. I loved
Speaker 1: performing UM and at this studio. Just to listen names
Speaker 1: so you understand, this is the studio that Derek Julianne
Speaker 1: went to. Lindsay, Whitney, Brandon, we all come from this studio.
Speaker 1: So I actually grew up dancing with Lindsay and Whitney
Speaker 1: and Brandon. Um we're all the same age and they
Speaker 1: were my best friends growing up. I danced competitively ballet, jazz, contemporary,
Speaker 1: hip hop, and then was into used the ballroom when
Speaker 1: I was around I think I was about eight. But
Speaker 1: I never wanted to choose like one or the other,
Speaker 1: so I just I did all of them and basically
Speaker 1: had no social life throughout high school because I was
Speaker 1: at a competition one weekend. Then I was at another
Speaker 1: competition this weekend. Anyway, Um, yeah, it was amazing And
Speaker 1: I always knew I wanted to pursue dance, but I
Speaker 1: never knew that I could actually have a career or
Speaker 1: make a living for myself dancing, like you know, at
Speaker 1: the time, what did that mean? So anyway, I was eighteen, Um,
Speaker 1: I was pretty successful growing up. Um, I have some
Speaker 1: some titles. And anyway, I was eighteen, I tried out
Speaker 1: for a show called Say You Think You Can Dance?
Speaker 1: Got onto that show, Um, made it to the top
Speaker 1: four girls. We actually film, you know, the studio where
Speaker 1: you were hearst the opening number for the finale across
Speaker 1: from dancing, So that's where we filmed. Stage thirty six
Speaker 1: I think it is. Yeah, So You Think you Can
Speaker 1: Dance is at CBS. Yes, I had no idea, So
Speaker 1: we filmed there and during that season there was a
Speaker 1: full season of Dancing with the Stars happening across the hall.
Speaker 1: Producers saw me on that show, UM, and I got
Speaker 1: hired the next season, which was amazing. It was insane,
Speaker 1: like a dream, I you know, fresh out of high school.
Speaker 1: All my dreams are coming true. It was. It was insane. UM.
Speaker 1: My first day of Dancing with the Stars rehearsal. I
Speaker 1: was the only new person that season. So i walk
Speaker 1: in for my first like group number, and I'm like,
Speaker 1: so nervous, new kid whatever, so young, and like these
Speaker 1: are all my idols. I walk in and one of
Speaker 1: the first person people I see is Vow and he
Speaker 1: comes right up to me, his little slagger, his little
Speaker 1: a walk, Oh my gosh, and he starts introducing himself.
Speaker 1: He was it was really nice. He went out of
Speaker 1: his way anyway. I didn't think much of it because
Speaker 1: I'm also really focused. I've been working in my whole
Speaker 1: life for this like dream job. Um. One of our mentors,
Speaker 1: my mentors at the time, her name is Mandy Moore.
Speaker 1: She was choreographing this number and she happened to put
Speaker 1: me in battle together, so we were partnering. Whatever. He's
Speaker 1: the whole time just like flirting with me in my
Speaker 1: ear and I'm like, this guy stopped just stupid little things.
Speaker 1: When I was like, you know, midweight through, I'm like, oh,
Speaker 1: you smell really nice. He's like my cologne. You could
Speaker 1: sell this on the streets in New York. I'm like,
Speaker 1: who is this guy? Who does he think he is? Um?
Speaker 1: And another funny story from this same rehearsal, no joke,
Speaker 1: this is my first time meeting that Schmerkovsky brothers, like
Speaker 1: in person, because Max was on the show too at
Speaker 1: the time. Right, Max was also on this season. I
Speaker 1: got partnered with Max at a different part and no joke,
Speaker 1: Maxico's who is this And I'm like, I'm Jonna and
Speaker 1: He's like, no, no, but like who are you standing
Speaker 1: in for? And I was like, I'm sorry, my name
Speaker 1: is Jenna. I'm on the ship. Like that was his
Speaker 1: first his first words to me, stop cut too, brother
Speaker 1: in law, Brother in law. It was a love story.
Speaker 1: But yeah, So that was the first time I met
Speaker 1: Thal and that was season eighteen of Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 1: That's how old were you? I was nineteen at the time.
Speaker 1: Oh my god, you were a baby. I was night.
Speaker 1: I was nineteen years old. Yeah, a baby, Oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: Never in my life did I think I would ever
Speaker 1: meet anybody in Los Angeles, hey be. Never wanted to
Speaker 1: date a dancer, ever dancer? Um. But yeah, I just
Speaker 1: I just think things happen when you least expect them.
Speaker 1: And that was definitely in a moment. Yeah, totally. When
Speaker 1: you're not looking for something, they kind of just like
Speaker 1: fall right into your lap. I am a huge believer
Speaker 1: in that. And also I think one of the cutest
Speaker 1: things I remember was probably like my first or second
Speaker 1: I've never told you this. It's probably my first or
Speaker 1: second rehearsal with thou and you know, I'm just getting
Speaker 1: to know. I'm talking basically family stuff, and he gets
Speaker 1: so excited. He's like talking to me about his whole
Speaker 1: proposal story to you, showing me photos videos. He was
Speaker 1: so giddy to tell me this proposal story. I was dying.
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, this is so cute. I need
Speaker 1: to meet her. And then literally, like I think the
Speaker 1: next day you walked in and that was our first meeting.
Speaker 1: But it was very cute. I will give it to
Speaker 1: about he is incapable of planning anything ahead or just
Speaker 1: planning in general. Um, and so when he pulled off
Speaker 1: the proposal like it, I was absolutely stunned, like shocked,
Speaker 1: beyond belief. Did not expect it, and I was like, man,
Speaker 1: you can relax for the next ten years because that
Speaker 1: took the cake. Yeah, this like a public story. Do
Speaker 1: you do you guys talk about you always tell the
Speaker 1: audience how it happened because it's so cute. Yes, So
Speaker 1: I had actually just one UM Dancing with the Stars.
Speaker 1: This is when we had a spring season. I had
Speaker 1: one with Adam Rippon and Val didn't do that season
Speaker 1: because he was on tour with his brother Max, so
Speaker 1: he would like fly back and forth and come support
Speaker 1: me on Monday nights watching the show. It was so sweet. Anyway,
Speaker 1: we always love to do some sort of trip every year,
Speaker 1: just the two of us after the season UM, and
Speaker 1: we really love Europe. So we had planned that, you know,
Speaker 1: we had been a part because he'd been on tour
Speaker 1: I've been doing this season. After the season, We're going
Speaker 1: to go on a big trip of some sort. And
Speaker 1: I was like, you know what, they can you please
Speaker 1: plan this because I just don't have any time during
Speaker 1: the season is too much, So he was in charge. UM.
Speaker 1: So I finished the season. We went straight to Amsterdam
Speaker 1: was our first stop. And this was the other weird
Speaker 1: thing is he knew for sure that speaking to my
Speaker 1: dad was mandatory. And another thing that we just we
Speaker 1: hadn't even looked at rings together. We hadn't like, I
Speaker 1: just kept sending him engagement rings, but like I never
Speaker 1: was particular about the shape or whatever. So and I again,
Speaker 1: he can't plan ahead. So I was like, well he
Speaker 1: hasn't even looked at rings, Like there's no way. So
Speaker 1: we go on this trip. I also basically packed his
Speaker 1: bags for him. Didn't see anything in the back, so
Speaker 1: I already looked. Um. We get to Amsterdam. We spent
Speaker 1: a few days there. It was amazing. I've never been before. Um,
Speaker 1: we just had such a great time. This is like
Speaker 1: four days in Amsterdam, nothing happened. Then we go to
Speaker 1: Venice and we had a magical first day there. Our
Speaker 1: second day and we like to go a little bit
Speaker 1: bougie on these trips, like we like to go to
Speaker 1: the night us, like dinner parties and and experience it,
Speaker 1: you know. So he had told me that our second
Speaker 1: day in Venice we were going to be going to
Speaker 1: this like dinner party experience extravaganza. And I was like, absolutely,
Speaker 1: I'm down. So that's how he got me all dressed
Speaker 1: up and typical Vale. It's like ten minutes before reservation,
Speaker 1: He's laying butt naked on the bed, scrolling on his phone,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, I hate being late. So I was
Speaker 1: so pissed at him, and I was hungry, like absolutely
Speaker 1: starting and I'm not nice when i'm hungry. So I'm like, babe,
Speaker 1: get your clothes on, let's go. What's going on? He
Speaker 1: gets ready he was stalling. I found out later. Um,
Speaker 1: we get ready. We take this little boat over to
Speaker 1: San Marco Square and we He's like, okay, we have
Speaker 1: to go to this little cafe. Someone's going to meet
Speaker 1: us there and then take us upstairs to like the
Speaker 1: dinner situation. Great, So go to this little cafe and
Speaker 1: it's outdoors, it's outside, it's in the middle of the square.
Speaker 1: It's like the epitome of romanticism. It's just like insane.
Speaker 1: So we're sitting there, there's like a live band playing.
Speaker 1: There was a rose on our table. I'm just like
Speaker 1: in heaven. All of a sudden, the band starts playing
Speaker 1: our favorite song, which is Larre. It's this Italian song,
Speaker 1: and so they start playing it and I'm like, oh
Speaker 1: my gosh. He's like, you know, it's good luck to
Speaker 1: dance in the square, and I was like what. We
Speaker 1: never like him publicly anywhere, just for fun. So I
Speaker 1: was like all right. When in Venice, so we stand
Speaker 1: up and we're like slow dancing, and he starts telling me.
Speaker 1: He starts talking to me in my ear and he's like,
Speaker 1: you know, when I was seventeen years old, I came
Speaker 1: to Venice for the first time, and I promised myself,
Speaker 1: when I found the one that I wanted to marry,
Speaker 1: I would take her here and propose. Here. Got down
Speaker 1: on one knee. I'm like, what's happening, pulls out this ring.
Speaker 1: Everyone's staring at us, is like screaming, clapping, cheering, crying.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what's going on in the meantime, Olivia? This
Speaker 1: is where this is where it gets crazy. He had
Speaker 1: hired a full team, like a video three videographers, photographers
Speaker 1: that were acting as tourists that were like staged in
Speaker 1: the cafe around the square, capturing this whole thing from
Speaker 1: like when we got off the boat to sitting to
Speaker 1: slow dancing today. Captured the whole thing, and so he proposes.
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh. One of the first things
Speaker 1: I said is did you ask my dad? He was like, yes,
Speaker 1: you see it in the video. Um. And then all
Speaker 1: of a sudden, this whole camera crew comes out and
Speaker 1: they're so excited they take us, we do a whole
Speaker 1: romantic photo shoot with the sunset. I was like, what's
Speaker 1: going on? Do we still get to eat dinner? But yeah,
Speaker 1: I was starving. But it was just so amazing and
Speaker 1: the I love thoughtful things, and that was just so
Speaker 1: well thought out that I just appreciated it so much.
Speaker 1: And I loved too because he was like, I didn't
Speaker 1: do I didn't propose with our families whatever, but I
Speaker 1: wanted them to be able to like be here in
Speaker 1: this moment with us, so I wanted to be able
Speaker 1: to capture it. So it was just so sweet. He
Speaker 1: really thought this one through. He really I thought it through.
Speaker 1: What was his because I know when we first met,
Speaker 1: I don't even think you had maybe you had done
Speaker 1: one session with Joe Joe, and I think it was
Speaker 1: still kind of like I think I had to be
Speaker 1: day one or day two of rehearsal. You were like
Speaker 1: nervous obviously, just because you guys were literally making history
Speaker 1: on the show. Had never been a same sex partner.
Speaker 1: What was like advice from like family or from Vale
Speaker 1: or somebody that like did they have anything to say
Speaker 1: or an opinion on it, or or were you just
Speaker 1: kind of like solo navigating. You know, I think something
Speaker 1: and I'm sure you learned this, but Val does not
Speaker 1: care at all what people think. And that's why I
Speaker 1: think one of his best qualities which sometimes freaks me
Speaker 1: out and he can get in trouble for sometimes, but
Speaker 1: he just doesn't care and he's going to live his
Speaker 1: truth and do whatever he wants or that's going to
Speaker 1: make him happy. And so with this, he just kept
Speaker 1: telling me that because I wasn't nervous to dance with
Speaker 1: a girl, I was nervous about everything else that came
Speaker 1: with dancing with a girl, you know, and making this
Speaker 1: history moment. And so he was so encouraging and just like, YO,
Speaker 1: use this opportunity to be creative and to like make
Speaker 1: history viral, do things that no one's going to expect
Speaker 1: you to do. So I really valued that. Um My family,
Speaker 1: you know, because I grew up in a very Christian home,
Speaker 1: I was really nervous about not nervous. Um. I was
Speaker 1: just like, how is what's their reaction going to be?
Speaker 1: You know? And so I'll never forget after the producers
Speaker 1: told me that, you know, you're probably gonna be dancing
Speaker 1: with a girl this season I called my parents and
Speaker 1: I was just like holding my breath for their reaction.
Speaker 1: And the first thing that they said, my dad said,
Speaker 1: he was like, you know what an honor that they
Speaker 1: would choose you and trust you with this, And that
Speaker 1: really just I think eased my heart and I was like,
Speaker 1: you know what, this this is an honor. So I'm
Speaker 1: gonna give a thousand percent um. But yeah, it was
Speaker 1: it was a lot having to kind of break the
Speaker 1: ice to everybody, and you know, everyone's reaction was different,
Speaker 1: and having to explain it. It was crazy. I honestly
Speaker 1: didn't even know what it would look like because I
Speaker 1: had watched the show growing up and obviously see male
Speaker 1: female partnerships, and so I remember after you guys first
Speaker 1: dance though, like week one, first ballroom floor dance, and
Speaker 1: was like, oh, like they're going to be just fine.
Speaker 1: I didn't expect it to be. So it was powerful
Speaker 1: to watch, but it was also like, I didn't know
Speaker 1: physically with two females dancing, like how do you make
Speaker 1: that look like natural and really really like exciting and
Speaker 1: fun to watch? Cringe and not cringe, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean? And I think that was our goal the
Speaker 1: whole season and I think because we were so comfortable
Speaker 1: with it and just went like dobe into it and
Speaker 1: didn't hold back, I think then everybody else was able
Speaker 1: to watch it and be like, oh, this is natural,
Speaker 1: this is you know, this is okay. I enjoyed this.
Speaker 1: It's entertaining. Yeah. And I think also just watching you guys,
Speaker 1: and specifically watching Joe Joe this see in from day
Speaker 1: one to day eighty something or however many days the
Speaker 1: show was till the finale, the growth she had because
Speaker 1: of you, and she will say at first, she gives
Speaker 1: so much credit to you about how you helped her
Speaker 1: find this sense of confidence, and it's so apparent, like
Speaker 1: being in the same room as her from day one
Speaker 1: to the finale day, like just the growth she's had
Speaker 1: and the confidence that she's built from the show. And
Speaker 1: I relate to her in a certain sense, but I
Speaker 1: think it was on such a grand scale for her
Speaker 1: of just like, Okay, this is me. I have to
Speaker 1: be comfortable with who I am. I'm spreading a message.
Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's like she's eighteen, Like
Speaker 1: that's so young to have the opinions and you know,
Speaker 1: just the feedback from the world and yeah, and like,
Speaker 1: sometimes you don't want to hear what people have to say,
Speaker 1: and you just want to love who you love and
Speaker 1: you want to live your life and your child still.
Speaker 1: And I thought, just from just it was amazing to watch.
Speaker 1: And I give you a lot of credit. I know
Speaker 1: she gives you a lot of credit too, because I
Speaker 1: think when you're partnered with somebody who really cares and
Speaker 1: you can really trust them, they just not truly bring
Speaker 1: that out of you. And I credit Valor lot to
Speaker 1: like just the confidence I built from doing the show.
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, I saw the same thing with you.
Speaker 1: You know. I feel like in other seasons, I've been
Speaker 1: able to help some of my celebrity, my male celebrities,
Speaker 1: um grow, evolved, get better at dancing, but this was
Speaker 1: this season I really saw um my efforts helped transform Jojo,
Speaker 1: you know, into I guess a woman, and maybe because
Speaker 1: I had done something similar, you know, I could relate.
Speaker 1: I looked at her and saw the eighteen year old
Speaker 1: me and there was so much potential, so much growth,
Speaker 1: um so many areas to gain confidence until like be
Speaker 1: accepting and loving of herself. And I really did see that,
Speaker 1: and I think that it helped the blow of getting
Speaker 1: second place, UM was seeing I felt like I had
Speaker 1: already won because I just saw such an incredible outcome
Speaker 1: of who she was becoming, and I was just like,
Speaker 1: you know, this is the best I could have ever
Speaker 1: asked for. Like that's a win within itself. I mean,
Speaker 1: I wish people could really see like I mean, you
Speaker 1: can hear us. I'm sure you can see on TV,
Speaker 1: but the way people transform from the show, and I
Speaker 1: feel like, specifically people who maybe are a little bit
Speaker 1: younger and feel lost in just a certain degree, because
Speaker 1: I can relate to that, like coming onto the show
Speaker 1: being in my early twenties feeling like what's my purpose?
Speaker 1: I feel like nobody really likes me in the world,
Speaker 1: and like, now I'm going to put myself on national
Speaker 1: TV and it's probably all going to fail and it's
Speaker 1: going to be embarrassing. And then literally after like day two,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh wait, this is really fun. And
Speaker 1: then week two and then week three and then week four,
Speaker 1: and I was like, I'm obsessed. I love this. I
Speaker 1: love myself. I love waking up and being in my
Speaker 1: own body and getting to do this. And I feel like,
Speaker 1: just from talking to Joe, I feel like she had
Speaker 1: like a similar experience. But I know that that has
Speaker 1: to do with you a lot, and I just think
Speaker 1: it's amazing. But I think too, you know those people
Speaker 1: that you're explaining, and I think you're one of um.
Speaker 1: Jojo is definitely one of them. And it can be
Speaker 1: younger people. They are the most fulfilled and gained the
Speaker 1: most out of the show. You know, it does change
Speaker 1: their life in a sense. And I saw it with you.
Speaker 1: I mean your body changed. I feel like your confidence changed,
Speaker 1: the way that you carry yourself. I saw that was Jojo.
Speaker 1: You know, she was like wearing little crop tops towards
Speaker 1: the end, and she would never have worn that week one.
Speaker 1: I know. She said that in an interview. She's like,
Speaker 1: I didn't even want to show my arms before and
Speaker 1: now I'm here and I'm like the whole last woman.
Speaker 1: I I made her cry one time. One time I
Speaker 1: made her cry, and it was because it was our
Speaker 1: second week. She was wearing this baggiest shirt and I
Speaker 1: was like, Jojo, I can't see your body. You need
Speaker 1: to take it off. She had something underneath. I knew it.
Speaker 1: She's like, I'm not taking it off, and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, but I will not dance with you until
Speaker 1: you take it off. Tears, full tears, and I was like,
Speaker 1: is this happening right now? Full tears, sobbing, And we've
Speaker 1: talked about this, so this isn't private. I know I
Speaker 1: can speak on it, but sobbing. And then I just
Speaker 1: like kind of it hit me and I was like,
Speaker 1: where is this coming from? And She's like, you know,
Speaker 1: I don't like my arms, I don't like my shoulders.
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm brought her And I was like,
Speaker 1: I wish you could see how actually stunning you are.
Speaker 1: So I grabbed her hands. We walked in front of
Speaker 1: the mirror, we did some like affirmations for a set,
Speaker 1: she took off her shirt and we danced, and then
Speaker 1: literally the next day she came in the crop top
Speaker 1: and like never wore a full baggy shot ever again.
Speaker 1: And I was like, such a moment. That's something she'll
Speaker 1: also remember for the rest of her life, which I
Speaker 1: just think is I mean, the show, it's really crazy.
Speaker 1: It does stuff to you. You're only in it for
Speaker 1: three months, but it's crazy. Okay, now that it's over, though,
Speaker 1: what's what's upcoming another season? I'm assuming on the show,
Speaker 1: I actually got Valento a pickle. Last time I asked
Speaker 1: this question, I accidentally I don't know if I like
Speaker 1: exposed too much information, So you don't have to answer
Speaker 1: anything if you don't want to again, vows an open book.
Speaker 1: He doesn't care. Um. No, I'm excited because so val
Speaker 1: and I aren't going on to Dancing with the Stars
Speaker 1: tour this year, which is wild for us because we've
Speaker 1: been on about seven of them. Um. You know, it's
Speaker 1: it's hard to say no because we love performing. But
Speaker 1: I think it's time for us to start being our
Speaker 1: own family and you know, being married and not being
Speaker 1: married on the road or on a TV show. It's
Speaker 1: you know, it's I'm excited to have this moment together
Speaker 1: and to have some time to just like breathe out,
Speaker 1: take our time with things. Um. But we have some
Speaker 1: upcoming projects that I'm really excited about. We also teach
Speaker 1: for a kid's convention. Um, I'm sure Bell told you
Speaker 1: about that. But we go out on every weekend we're
Speaker 1: in a new city teaching. It's called seven Dance that
Speaker 1: we're gonna me starting up at the beginning of the year.
Speaker 1: So come January we're gonna be traveling. I can't wait. There.
Speaker 1: These kids are amazing and like the best. So what
Speaker 1: does that entail, Like you guys go to different cities
Speaker 1: and states and just train kids that are Is this
Speaker 1: with like dance and co vals thing or is this no,
Speaker 1: that is with a different company. Yeah, it's what I
Speaker 1: essentially grew up doing as a competitive dancer as a kid. Um,
Speaker 1: this is what inspired me to want to be a dancer,
Speaker 1: a professional dancer. Basically, it's a weekend long thing. You
Speaker 1: come and you take classes. You got to compete with
Speaker 1: your studio, so we'll teach about six classes a weekend
Speaker 1: and it's like full out dancing. Oh, it's just amazing
Speaker 1: that it's awesome and year old sty thousands of kids,
Speaker 1: and it's awesome to see this new generation of like
Speaker 1: these are going to be the superstars you know. Yeah, totally. Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm gonna look down because I wrote out one question
Speaker 1: that I saw online and I just changed it a
Speaker 1: little bit because I thought it was such an interesting question.
Speaker 1: And okay it says obviously it didn't say online and
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars partner, But tell me about a
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars partner who touched your heart and
Speaker 1: tell me about one who changed your practice. And I
Speaker 1: loved how this person word at that. I thought it
Speaker 1: was fascinating. Mm hmm changed my heart, changed my practice. Wow,
Speaker 1: it's so great. Um. I will say that Joe. Joe
Speaker 1: definitely changed my heart. Um, just in how I saw
Speaker 1: the world, how I saw people, how I saw myself,
Speaker 1: how I was more accepting. She definitely changed my heart
Speaker 1: in so many ways. UM changed my practice. I would
Speaker 1: say either my partner, Adam Rafon, he was an Olympic
Speaker 1: ice skater and at the time while he was doing
Speaker 1: the show, he was traveling. This was just up for
Speaker 1: the Olympics that happened, and they went on this tour,
Speaker 1: this like nationwide tour with all of the Olympic skaters together.
Speaker 1: So we would legit wake up at six am practice
Speaker 1: in any hotel, lobby, hotel, convention center, the jan keyest
Speaker 1: little studios all over America, and then he would go
Speaker 1: and do these like four hour shows where he was
Speaker 1: skating full out, doing me in greats. Then we would
Speaker 1: travel that night or the next morning and then rehearse
Speaker 1: at six am. That I just saw such commitments and
Speaker 1: he never complained one time, not one time. And I
Speaker 1: knew he was exhausted beyond belief, but he would give
Speaker 1: me everything, um when we would step into the rehearsal,
Speaker 1: and I just from then on, I committed myself to
Speaker 1: every time I'm going to step into a dance studio,
Speaker 1: I'm going to give my all because if he is exhausted,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, I I can do this. I can
Speaker 1: do a three hour rehearsal, you know what I mean. Um.
Speaker 1: So I feel like that changed just the way my practice,
Speaker 1: meaning the way I hold my rehearsals, the way I
Speaker 1: show up, the way I commit myself. Um. He really
Speaker 1: really touched me then. But I would also say my
Speaker 1: last season partner, Nie Shulman Catfish, Um, he challenged me,
Speaker 1: and at first I hated it and I was like
Speaker 1: this guy like he would like not question me, but
Speaker 1: he would be like, are you sure? Or maybe we
Speaker 1: could try this? And I was like, but you know,
Speaker 1: I think that was the New Yorker and him, But
Speaker 1: it also pushed me and made me have options ready,
Speaker 1: made me be quick on my feet, and I would say,
Speaker 1: I really appreciate that that And before I would never
Speaker 1: have taken that. I'd have been like, sorry, buddy, no, no, yeah,
Speaker 1: like this is that I'm actually the pro. Yeah, well
Speaker 1: that's good. Though, I feel like they can also create
Speaker 1: new experiences. I don't think I ever tried to give
Speaker 1: my two cents this season. I was just like, I
Speaker 1: don't know what I'm doing, nobody, whatever you want, yeah, literally,
Speaker 1: whatever Val wanted. I was like, okay, I'll try it.
Speaker 1: It was hard, though, and it's hard also like form
Speaker 1: my like on the opposing end, it's hard to put
Speaker 1: that much like trust into somebody else. And obviously, I
Speaker 1: feel like with most of the contestants, like after a
Speaker 1: few days you realize that that person has your best
Speaker 1: interests and like you can fully trust them and they
Speaker 1: know what they're doing. But it is hard, like it's foreign,
Speaker 1: you know. I want to ask you because it is
Speaker 1: normal for us, because we do this year after year.
Speaker 1: We and then we actually kind of expect it from
Speaker 1: our celebrities, where you're walking into this blindly and you're
Speaker 1: right to be able to trust somebody, you know, with
Speaker 1: what you're wearing, what you're doing, what you're looking, like,
Speaker 1: how you're dancing feels that is that must be terrifying.
Speaker 1: It's terrifying, and I think for me personally, it was
Speaker 1: like ten times more scary because I hadn't put myself
Speaker 1: out publicly, you know, in two years, and I've told
Speaker 1: you about this privately before, but just for the people listening,
Speaker 1: it was like really hard for me to to know.
Speaker 1: Like I I never thought for a second like val
Speaker 1: or whoever they ended up partnering me with, would have
Speaker 1: like mal intentions or like wouldn't have my best interest.
Speaker 1: Like I I believed in the person I was dancing with.
Speaker 1: I'm like, Okay, it's going to be fine. It's all
Speaker 1: really sweet people. But also I had known like how
Speaker 1: people viewed me and the way when I would be
Speaker 1: out and about people would treat me or look at me,
Speaker 1: and I didn't want that to like interfere with anything.
Speaker 1: So I was really hesitant to even say as to
Speaker 1: the show. And then once I did say yes, I
Speaker 1: was like, well, this is my first time being public again.
Speaker 1: So anything I say or I do, or the way
Speaker 1: I dress or something that's in a package that oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, why did they add that in my package?
Speaker 1: Like I didn't want that to be seen. Like moments
Speaker 1: like that I was really nervous about because I just
Speaker 1: didn't want the narrative that had already been put out
Speaker 1: there about me to go any further. So that was
Speaker 1: like hard for me, just coming from a place of
Speaker 1: like I already feel like so many people don't like me,
Speaker 1: So now I'm nervous to like trust again just in
Speaker 1: general and to like be your pure authentic self. Yeah, totally.
Speaker 1: So that was like a little scary for sure. But
Speaker 1: as I said, like, after I think one or two practices,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, this is actually really fun, Like
Speaker 1: I enjoy this. Well, you know, I will say that
Speaker 1: I think that thou was the absolute perfect partner for
Speaker 1: you because he cares Beyonce and he again he doesn't
Speaker 1: care about what anyone's as or thinks. Um, he will
Speaker 1: make those assumptions for himself. Yeah, that was super evident
Speaker 1: to like day one or two. He like, Yeah, But
Speaker 1: I also think that he gave you everything and was like,
Speaker 1: I'm the number one fan, her number one supporter. I
Speaker 1: will ride or die for this chick, you know what
Speaker 1: I mean. And I think you would have gotten that
Speaker 1: with other guys on the show. But I think that
Speaker 1: he gave he was the perfect partner for you. I agree.
Speaker 1: I think to like everything happens for a reason. I'm
Speaker 1: a huge believer in that, and I just think that
Speaker 1: that whole situation and him because as I don't want
Speaker 1: to be repetitive, but also like I feel like I
Speaker 1: hadn't had some especially a stranger that didn't know me
Speaker 1: before all this, Like I hadn't had somebody like believe
Speaker 1: in me or trust me or want to see me succeed.
Speaker 1: So I was really thrown off honestly when I met
Speaker 1: him and he was just super nice and like a
Speaker 1: genuine teammate. I was like, is this real? Like as
Speaker 1: somebody and I hate to like put any words into
Speaker 1: your mouth, but like I bet it was also weird
Speaker 1: feeling to be treated with like love and respect and
Speaker 1: like genuine the best interest, your best interests in mind
Speaker 1: every single day. And I'm sure that that was a
Speaker 1: scary but like also really beautiful feeling. Yeah, it was
Speaker 1: really rewarding. Like it's just something that I never thought
Speaker 1: would happen from the show. But it's so happy you
Speaker 1: did the show me too, Like what if you would
Speaker 1: have said no, I know, I think about that often.
Speaker 1: I'm like, what would I be doing. I'd be probably
Speaker 1: in heavy therapy still, which I have dialed back on,
Speaker 1: which I think is a good a good thing for
Speaker 1: me because that means that you know, I'm I'm progressing.
Speaker 1: I'm getting out of my little um funk I've been
Speaker 1: in for a few years, slowly but surely. But I
Speaker 1: credit so much of that to the show, and dance
Speaker 1: is therapy. Dance is therapy. I highly encourage everybody to
Speaker 1: try it. If you're a little sad, just blastom music
Speaker 1: on your TV. Bust a move. You'll be fine. Go
Speaker 1: on Dancing with the Stars if you can. The world
Speaker 1: is your oyster. At this point, all right, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: wrap it up, but I want to ask you. Is
Speaker 1: there anything that I didn't know to ask that you
Speaker 1: want to share, or anything that like our question that
Speaker 1: like maybe somebody has asked you before and it was
Speaker 1: just a really really great question and you have good
Speaker 1: perspective on it, or something that even though I know
Speaker 1: you pretty well, I would say that I could have
Speaker 1: missed out on. Oh, or is there anything you want
Speaker 1: to talk about like upcoming? Do you have projects? I
Speaker 1: think you I had a thought for you, Jen, I
Speaker 1: think you should do a clothing line because I didn't
Speaker 1: know the Joe and Jack's brand wasn't yours. So I've
Speaker 1: been like, yes, I've been wrapping it this whole time,
Speaker 1: really really like proud of it. And then I realized
Speaker 1: that you did a collaboration with them, and I was saying,
Speaker 1: this woman has great style and she knows from being
Speaker 1: in the gym all the time. You guys should see
Speaker 1: her body. It's insane. And also a professional dancer, Like
Speaker 1: I think you could really nail a line suited for that.
Speaker 1: So that's my business. Two cents, Thank you so much.
Speaker 1: Maybe should go into it together. I do, actually, I
Speaker 1: do have a dance for a line with a company
Speaker 1: called Joe and Jack's um Well released her first collection
Speaker 1: and it was fun to see people wearing it this
Speaker 1: season and dancing with the stars. Here's the thing. I
Speaker 1: would love to do that, but my brain doesn't know factories, manufacturing,
Speaker 1: dealing with that whole end. I feel like my brain
Speaker 1: is more creative and not like the business side of it.
Speaker 1: So I think I would go absolutely psychotic m trying
Speaker 1: to do it all myself. But maybe we'll put out.
Speaker 1: You know that val had a line called Valentine Dude.
Speaker 1: He told me this like recently, like towards the end
Speaker 1: of the season, and I was like, what, Yes, he
Speaker 1: had like such great little shirts and this like little
Speaker 1: logo and sweatpants. It was amazing. I think we need
Speaker 1: to bring that back, bring back Valentine. We're like plugging
Speaker 1: a brand that doesn't exist anymore. I know, I know,
Speaker 1: I know. He told me to Me's like, it's just
Speaker 1: too cool. It was just too cool that the people
Speaker 1: didn't get it. And that's why that is the most
Speaker 1: well thing to say. It was too cool. Yeah, um no,
Speaker 1: I think that's something that I don't know. I don't
Speaker 1: actually know if we've really talked about this, but I
Speaker 1: am just so into I think also after seeing Joe
Speaker 1: Joe's transformation, even your transformation, I'm just like all about
Speaker 1: bodied positivity right now. And I've been on both ends
Speaker 1: of the spectrum of like being hated on because I
Speaker 1: was too fat for everyone than being skinny shaved because
Speaker 1: I'm too skinny. I need to go to eat a Hamburger,
Speaker 1: like I just can't deal anymore. And I just think
Speaker 1: that everybody is in their own phase of life, and
Speaker 1: especially women. I think our bodies are transitioning all the
Speaker 1: time and evolving, and I just think it's so important
Speaker 1: to embrace every stage, every phase that you're in because listen,
Speaker 1: without this specimen thing, like, we wouldn't be here, we
Speaker 1: wouldn't be doing what we get to do every day.
Speaker 1: So yeah, body post to the man. I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: all about it being great for our bodies and in
Speaker 1: every phase of life. I couldn't agree more. And I
Speaker 1: feel like it's hard to being a quote unquote influencer
Speaker 1: or like on like social media or whatever you wanna
Speaker 1: call me. But it's hard because I feel so hypocritical, right.
Speaker 1: I post my best angles, like the best you're always
Speaker 1: looking like a snap tan, the best outfit I have,
Speaker 1: Like I'm always putting something out there that I'm like
Speaker 1: I feel my most confident in, which I think is
Speaker 1: cool to a certain degree. But also I'm I'm a
Speaker 1: hypocrite because I have so many moments where I'm really struggling,
Speaker 1: like looking at myself in the mirror or like not
Speaker 1: liking how my body looks, or one week feeling like, wow,
Speaker 1: you look really good, and then just being a human
Speaker 1: and a girl and my body like completely fluctuating in
Speaker 1: a week, and then me feeling like about it because
Speaker 1: I'm so used to comparing myself online, and I think
Speaker 1: that's it's something that so many young girls deal with
Speaker 1: and social media in general, And you know what I
Speaker 1: thought about. I don't know if I might have talked
Speaker 1: about this on an episode before, but I feel like
Speaker 1: social media should have like some sort of age limit
Speaker 1: because when we were growing up, it was like I
Speaker 1: was the last, right, Like I think I was the
Speaker 1: last generation that didn't grow up with social media, Like
Speaker 1: I just made it out of like elementary school with
Speaker 1: no Instagram, no Twitter, Like I guess there was Twitter,
Speaker 1: but like we didn't use it um And I feel
Speaker 1: like it it enabled me a to like use my
Speaker 1: brain and my memory and create these crazy, crazy stories
Speaker 1: that maybe didn't exist, but I could use my imagination
Speaker 1: as a child, and I just feel like that is
Speaker 1: not really a thing anymore, and it makes me sad.
Speaker 1: I was just on the train, no Joke, and there
Speaker 1: was this this little girl with her mom and her brother.
Speaker 1: She was probably no joke twelve, maybe eleven twelve, reading comments,
Speaker 1: scrolling through comments, comments, and it wasn't I don't know
Speaker 1: if it was photo of her, what ab what. She
Speaker 1: was just reading comments and I was like, this is
Speaker 1: absolutely terrible and just for probably ten minutes straight on
Speaker 1: the train, every comment she was reading. Damn, that is
Speaker 1: not good for children to care to want to read
Speaker 1: those comments, to believe any to like even have interest
Speaker 1: in going through what they have to say. You know,
Speaker 1: Oh man, Yeah, I am one thousand percent on board
Speaker 1: with an age limit to social media. Yes, there's got
Speaker 1: to be some restrictions. It's just getting and it's not
Speaker 1: healthy for anyone, even being in our twenties. It's not
Speaker 1: like me reading my comments, even if they're nice, it's
Speaker 1: not like it gets me anywhere that far, Like, I
Speaker 1: don't know the brains are meant, well, we're definitely not
Speaker 1: meant to know this many people or know about this
Speaker 1: many people and see this many people like I don't
Speaker 1: think us as humans were built for that. Well, and
Speaker 1: it's inevitable too because and thou will say this all
Speaker 1: the time to me, I'll get hundreds of comments, but
Speaker 1: if there are four that are negative Nancy's, I'm gonna
Speaker 1: only remember those four periods. Only remember those four and
Speaker 1: why how is that good for our brains? I just
Speaker 1: had hundreds of comments that were like Queen, yes, four
Speaker 1: comments I know, vaders and that's all I care about.
Speaker 1: And I'm like I did something wrong, no, because it's
Speaker 1: just how our brains are programmed. We want to please people,
Speaker 1: we want people to like us, and the reality is
Speaker 1: like our parents. My parents growing up always told me, like,
Speaker 1: you know, you can't please everybody. Not everybody's gonna like you.
Speaker 1: And I also grew up knowing that, like there's always
Speaker 1: somebody that's going to be smarter and nicer and prettier
Speaker 1: and kinder, but there's no me. And that's like such
Speaker 1: a cheesy, like easy mindset to have, I mean hard
Speaker 1: mindset to have, but it's easier said than done. Yeah,
Speaker 1: But like being a kid and I remember going to
Speaker 1: the playgrounds, I remember having like plates with my friends
Speaker 1: and not having a device at all. You know, I
Speaker 1: feel like we're just missing out on a lot of
Speaker 1: actual human interaction rather than social media interaction. And it's
Speaker 1: it's sad. I think that it needs to get some help. Yeah, somehow,
Speaker 1: I know it makes me so sad. I was talking
Speaker 1: about that with my sister last night. Actually, we were
Speaker 1: like really getting into this topic randomly, and I was like,
Speaker 1: it's just really scary that I don't think there is
Speaker 1: a way now, we're in so deep. If you did
Speaker 1: take away social media, I think people would freak out,
Speaker 1: like I don't think we can, which is so scary.
Speaker 1: So at least like Instagram. If you're listening, maybe throw
Speaker 1: up an age restriction. I don't know, help some way.
Speaker 1: Um all right, well, I love you. Thank you so
Speaker 1: much for coming on this podcast. You're always so entertaining
Speaker 1: to listen to genuinely. From day one, when I met
Speaker 1: you and you walked in the rehearsal room, I just
Speaker 1: didn't want you to leave. Um, so I'm so happy
Speaker 1: you came on, and I'm so proud of you. Look
Speaker 1: at you. You have your own podcast. Girl. I'm so
Speaker 1: awkward still. I'm like, I feel like the only episodes
Speaker 1: that I'm like really comfortable with are like you vow
Speaker 1: my sister being on, Like I'd like to interview people
Speaker 1: I know because I'm like, well, if I mess up,
Speaker 1: they'll sense it and they'll cover for me. These are
Speaker 1: the best podcast to listen to, though, because they're like
Speaker 1: honest and real. So you're nailing it. Thanks Bay enjoying work.
Speaker 1: Give vala hug for me. I'm giving you a virtual hug,
Speaker 1: and I love you. And I'm so proud of your season. You,
Speaker 1: I mean, you murdered it. It was insane. Thank you,
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, and thank you guys for listening.
Speaker 1: And we'll see you next week. Peace,