Speaker 1: Misspelling with Tori Spelling and iHeartRadio podcast. Oh boy. Okay,
Speaker 1: As if it wasn't real enough already, cool, this makes
Speaker 1: it more real as I am officially announcing it on
Speaker 1: my podcast and misspelling that Hi, I'm Tori Spelling and
Speaker 1: I'm a cast member on Dancing with the Stars season
Speaker 1: thirty three. Okay, deep breath. Sorry that was for me,
Speaker 1: not for you guys. Maybe you should take a few
Speaker 1: deep breaths too for me. Okay, if you know you know, well,
Speaker 1: I assume if you listen to your podcasts, you know me.
Speaker 1: I tell it like it is. I tell every Sorry,
Speaker 1: I just got excited. I love telling everybody about my
Speaker 1: life because I'm like, I had so many years of
Speaker 1: you know, not being me and having everyone else tell
Speaker 1: my story that you know. Now I'm just like, hey,
Speaker 1: this is me. So keeping this secret has been so hard,
Speaker 1: you guys. I have been signed on to Dancing with
Speaker 1: the Star season pretty for like three plus months. I
Speaker 1: couldn't tell you. I couldn't tell anyone. I couldn't even
Speaker 1: tell my friends. Try not to tell my kids. I
Speaker 1: think they found out I was kidding. But yeah, it's like,
Speaker 1: iron't glad. It's like secrecy, so you can't tell anyone.
Speaker 1: But it's like such a big life decision. You know,
Speaker 1: you want to talk to people about it. You wanna
Speaker 1: get advice. Maybe you know what. I'm so swayed in
Speaker 1: the past by other people's opinions. Maybe this is a
Speaker 1: blessing that I couldn't talk to people about it, because
Speaker 1: maybe I would have changed my mind. Nah, going for it. Okay,
Speaker 1: where do I even start? I so much to share
Speaker 1: with you, Okay, So I'm gonna go back to the beginning.
Speaker 1: I was born May sixteenth, nineteen seventy three. I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1: I'm just going to singing with you, Okay. So I
Speaker 1: honestly got the call for Dancing with the Stars season
Speaker 1: won you guys? I remember getting that call because I
Speaker 1: was I don't I go way back, I believe I.
Speaker 1: I know I was with Dean and it was new.
Speaker 1: I hadn't even know I'm mark checklist in my life
Speaker 1: by pregnant season babies. I was not pregnant yet, so
Speaker 1: I had not even gotten pregnant with Liam yet. So
Speaker 1: Dean and I were we even married. I think we
Speaker 1: had just gotten married. I'm not sure on timeline there,
Speaker 1: but I remember getting the call and talking it out.
Speaker 1: I was in Toronto with Dean visiting his family and
Speaker 1: I got the call and I panicked. I was like,
Speaker 1: oh gosh, this bit. And keep in mind, this is
Speaker 1: before it was an uber success. It was a brand
Speaker 1: new show and you know, didn't know what it was
Speaker 1: gonna be, but it sounded really exciting, really fun. And
Speaker 1: I'm not gonna lie you guys. I love dance. Dance
Speaker 1: doesn't love me, h, but I love to dance. I've
Speaker 1: always loved to dance because I love I often joke
Speaker 1: about feeling dead inside with someone. There's things that make
Speaker 1: us feel alive, and dance has always been that thing
Speaker 1: for me. And let's hear I'm a good dancer some rhythm,
Speaker 1: but I've always loved to like close my eyes and
Speaker 1: just move. And you know, I'm a story girl, so
Speaker 1: I always love the story. Like in my head head,
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, I always I always liking
Speaker 1: it too. And this is like not going all the
Speaker 1: way back. But do you know that movie with Canning
Speaker 1: Tatum and Jenna do Wan Step Up. We always think
Speaker 1: of that movie and I'm like, in your head, you know,
Speaker 1: when you're like a lead girl, as the kids would say,
Speaker 1: mean character energy. Yep, that was it. But you know what,
Speaker 1: I'm way way back when I was twelve, of you
Speaker 1: guys during the summer with Michaelsette player, I would pop
Speaker 1: in the tape and I would dance I'm talking to
Speaker 1: fame yep, showing my age here talking flash dance, dirty dancing.
Speaker 1: I was always the lead girl in my head, and
Speaker 1: then I was like, Oh, wouldn't that be nice to
Speaker 1: be the girl that's just so free and has moves
Speaker 1: and dance dances and doesn't give up book nope with me.
Speaker 1: So anyway, when they called, I was like, oh, that
Speaker 1: sounds really exciting. And then I said, right there on
Speaker 1: the call to me Eagan at the time, he said no,
Speaker 1: I can't. I said no to it, and I'm not
Speaker 1: gonna lie. I got multiple calls over the last previous
Speaker 1: thirty two seasons, maybe in fact thirty two calls, and
Speaker 1: the answer was always no, And I always had a
Speaker 1: different reason why I couldn't do it, because back then,
Speaker 1: like why didn't I do it? I was like tip
Speaker 1: top of my game. I was younger and I hadn't
Speaker 1: had babies yet, and I could move and then I
Speaker 1: was like, okay, you know, I'm sure one of those seasons,
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm pregnant, just had a baby. And
Speaker 1: then I had five sea sets, you know, two I
Speaker 1: had five sea sections. You know, I still feel the
Speaker 1: need to say to people not by choice, because people
Speaker 1: think in Hollywood like I looks so easy. You just
Speaker 1: want to see section. Nobody wants to see section. You guys,
Speaker 1: let me just tell you I wanted to push them
Speaker 1: out because the recovery is brutal. They literally cut through
Speaker 1: your muscles and you're never the same. I love my babies.
Speaker 1: I wouldn't change a thing, and I would do anything
Speaker 1: in everything. But it's kind of like, you know, being
Speaker 1: the girl in the box on stage during a magic
Speaker 1: show and they like saw you in half, except they
Speaker 1: literally like it's no illusion. They literally saw you in half.
Speaker 1: And then they're like, oh, I'll throw it all together.
Speaker 1: Shout out to my obgyn and fabulous guy. I know,
Speaker 1: doctor J who I've been friends with for years, did
Speaker 1: all my babies. He did great. But you know, your
Speaker 1: body chooses to recover how your body chooses to recover.
Speaker 1: And then in later years was like, my body just
Speaker 1: doesn't move the same. I had complications with the sea sections.
Speaker 1: I had a hernia from one of the sea sections afterwards.
Speaker 1: If you've read my books, you know all the rama there,
Speaker 1: and yeah, I just like one side of my body,
Speaker 1: my right side. I shouldn't be telling you this because
Speaker 1: now you're gonna look for it on stage, but one
Speaker 1: side of my body just literally doesn't respond the same.
Speaker 1: And I'm no doctor scientist. I can't even say I've
Speaker 1: played one of those on TV that did the list. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm not sure how, but neurologically, when things have been changed,
Speaker 1: they're open and put back together and nerves and muscles
Speaker 1: are cut through sometimes. So my brain is like, okay
Speaker 1: with my right leg step and I go to step up,
Speaker 1: and I one don't have balance anymore, Like I'm off balance,
Speaker 1: and it just doesn't connect. In my head. I'm like, yeah,
Speaker 1: do this, do that, do that, And then my body's
Speaker 1: just like so I had that. So, you know, in
Speaker 1: the last I would say, you know, five years when
Speaker 1: I said no to Dancing with the Stars, I was like, oh, medically,
Speaker 1: I just can't no, no it stop. The table can't
Speaker 1: even entertain it. And then the beast year of my
Speaker 1: life happened, and it's been you know, at the last
Speaker 1: two years. You know, there's been a lot of challenges,
Speaker 1: and we all go through challenges in life, and look
Speaker 1: at me. I still feel the need to say like, sorry,
Speaker 1: I've had challenges. I do read comments. Sorry. People are like, oh,
Speaker 1: she's always playing the victim. Like I'm no victim. I
Speaker 1: have never seen myself. It's a victim no matter what.
Speaker 1: I am a fighter. Things happen and you go through
Speaker 1: and I share it with you guys. And if you
Speaker 1: can take pieces away that you relate to and pieces
Speaker 1: away you're like not relatable, toss that one out, then
Speaker 1: I'm happy because I love sharing my life with you guys.
Speaker 1: But I'm not a victim. Oh my gosh. Like you know,
Speaker 1: I talked about horror films. Even with my I would
Speaker 1: say five C sections, medical challenges. I'd be the sole survivor.
Speaker 1: I am serious. I said this to my daughter the
Speaker 1: other night. Sorry, I'll go back, I'll circle back to
Speaker 1: Dancing with the Stars. You know, I get distracted. But
Speaker 1: the other night, we all love horror films. So sorry,
Speaker 1: you guys have passed that along. I'm thinking, sorry, my
Speaker 1: kid's writing, but they're all creators, like they're all very
Speaker 1: creative and we all like come up with these like
Speaker 1: crazy storylines in our heads. And we were talking about
Speaker 1: the zombie apocalypse as most do you know, And I
Speaker 1: was like I always say to my kids, like, because
Speaker 1: you know, there's situations that happen in life and you're
Speaker 1: driving or you're you know, things happen you're like, oh,
Speaker 1: lock the car door, and people are like, you know,
Speaker 1: my kids are like, what's up? What's going on there?
Speaker 1: And I'm like, guys, don't worry. I got this. And
Speaker 1: I do always liken it to a zombie apocalypse. I'm
Speaker 1: sorry that's where they got it from. I'm like, guys,
Speaker 1: I got you, I got you. Want to do three,
Speaker 1: four o' five, come on in. I was like, if
Speaker 1: something happens, I'm saving y'all. Stella. And my daughter sixteen
Speaker 1: said the other night, Mom, I love you, but I
Speaker 1: don't want to be stuck with you in the zombie apocalypse.
Speaker 1: And I was like, why I would save us? And
Speaker 1: she's like, Mom, I don't think so, Like you can
Speaker 1: barely move, like you don't work out, you don't do
Speaker 1: anything physical, Like how would you do it? I was
Speaker 1: like it's all about the mindset. I was like, because
Speaker 1: I am a fighter in my brain and somehow I
Speaker 1: might not be the strongest. We're close to the strongest,
Speaker 1: not strong at all, but I figure it out and
Speaker 1: sometimes that can get us further in life. Yeah, needless
Speaker 1: to say. When they called this season after the past
Speaker 1: two years and you know, I turned fifty, and everyone's likety,
Speaker 1: it's your second chapter. Time to write your story. And
Speaker 1: I was like, oh, this is so cliche. People turn
Speaker 1: fifty and everyone's like, oh, it's your time. Yeah, and
Speaker 1: your second chapter and write that story. And I was like,
Speaker 1: what's going to happen now? When my life just went
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, my life's right in it for me. Nope,
Speaker 1: let's take back the ring. And so everyone knows what's
Speaker 1: been going on. And I'm a single mom now of
Speaker 1: five going through a divorce, very public one. There's been
Speaker 1: so much said about me, you know, and I comment
Speaker 1: back about like one percent of it, but see it
Speaker 1: all like, you know, is she homeless? You know, get
Speaker 1: a job? Like financial troubles. Well that's true troubles. But anyway,
Speaker 1: it's kind of a lot of it's out there, a
Speaker 1: lot of it's false, but you know there's stuff out there.
Speaker 1: People know that been through it in the last year.
Speaker 1: And when I got called this year, I actually and
Speaker 1: my teens the whole team, right Dan that team. She
Speaker 1: knows that I've always said no, And immediately it was like, oh,
Speaker 1: I'm going to pass right, And I was like, way,
Speaker 1: hold on, and you know, I'm doing this new thing,
Speaker 1: but check. And I was like, dancing with the stars
Speaker 1: literally one of my biggest fears in life. It's so unrelatable.
Speaker 1: People are like, imagine people across the world, what's your
Speaker 1: biggest fear in life? Dancing with the stars? Says no
Speaker 1: one ever except me, because it's something that I always
Speaker 1: wanted to do. Big fangirl, Big fangirl, watch it with
Speaker 1: my kids, watched every season. Oh my gosh, and every
Speaker 1: season I see it and I was like, good for her,
Speaker 1: for him, what I wish I was brave enough to
Speaker 1: do it. I was terrified. I was terrified. And a
Speaker 1: lot of those years, all those years, thirty two times
Speaker 1: I said no, some with validity medical stuff, but most
Speaker 1: of it's just because I was terrified. Fine, because I
Speaker 1: was terrified and I didn't have any belief in myself.
Speaker 1: I would just be like, oh my gosh. All I
Speaker 1: could think were the negatives, like, uh, I'm just I'm
Speaker 1: not able to move, I'm not gonna be able to
Speaker 1: do I'm not gonna be able to take direction. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna go out there and fail fail fail fail fail,
Speaker 1: not even like, Okay, let's think us through. This could
Speaker 1: be a cool experience. I was like, no, no, no, no.
Speaker 1: You know when you're like, your brain's like Highlert Hyler Hiler,
Speaker 1: So it's like fight or flight flight. I always say
Speaker 1: that I'm fighter, but I I chose flight for thirty
Speaker 1: two seasons. And it was just because deep down I
Speaker 1: didn't feel like I was I didn't feel like I
Speaker 1: could do it. I didn't believe in myself. I didn't
Speaker 1: love myself enough. I didn't have enough self worth to
Speaker 1: even contemplate saying yes, and that I didn't deserve it.
Speaker 1: I didn't serve to be there, I didn't deserve to
Speaker 1: do well. It was like it was all so much
Speaker 1: in my brain. And this year I was like, mm hmmm,
Speaker 1: I'm really really trying, you guys to have that be
Speaker 1: the old toy, and you know, I feel like this
Speaker 1: is my year of taking risks and anything that I fear.
Speaker 1: I'm like, gut check, is that my fear? And then
Speaker 1: I'm like maybe not, Maybe that's like carried over. Maybe
Speaker 1: that's just something I've told myself. So I don't have
Speaker 1: to do something or even be scared of doing it.
Speaker 1: It's just it's a fear, can't do it fear. So
Speaker 1: this year I got the call and I was terrified,
Speaker 1: and I said, no, I'm not going to do this anymore.
Speaker 1: This is my time. Everything has you know, personally burned
Speaker 1: to the ground. So my beautiful you know, my life
Speaker 1: has kind of exploded internally and external and I was like,
Speaker 1: I don't want to keep writing that story. You know,
Speaker 1: I've been writing that story of like don't disappoint people.
Speaker 1: You know. Originally I'm I'm the rich girl. I'm you know,
Speaker 1: my dad has so much money, my dad's famous. My
Speaker 1: dad casts me in nine o two one oh true
Speaker 1: true true. And then I was like, oh, so how
Speaker 1: do I fit in? I have to push against I
Speaker 1: have to make myself so small that I can fit
Speaker 1: in and follow everybody else and just kind of exist.
Speaker 1: And I did that to my detriment. That doesn't behoove me,
Speaker 1: or my kids or anyone except the haters. You know.
Speaker 1: So this really has been a year of reflection. Yeah,
Speaker 1: like I have time for that, No, But inside I've
Speaker 1: just been like, I don't want to write this story anymore.
Speaker 1: It's okay to be powerful. I have a lot of
Speaker 1: gratitude to the friends in my life and family that
Speaker 1: have said to me, we believe in you, like you
Speaker 1: can be so much and do so much. You're so powerful,
Speaker 1: you know, I hear that. I'm like, no, not, no,
Speaker 1: I'm not, And specifically, I mean, it's been you know,
Speaker 1: my brother has been so amazing through this, and he
Speaker 1: knew and a couple of my best friends, my best
Speaker 1: friend Jess ruth Ian and Yeah and Brian, Austin Green
Speaker 1: and Shannon and Shan. Shan had the most impact on me,
Speaker 1: I would say, because you know, we I'm so blessed
Speaker 1: that I had this past year with her. And I
Speaker 1: know I've mentioned that because we just never know. And
Speaker 1: this past year was really rebuilding finding our friendship again,
Speaker 1: rebuilding it. And she was so amazing at you know,
Speaker 1: not focusing on herself and what she was going through,
Speaker 1: but being there for her friends, and you know, I
Speaker 1: you know, me. I can close my eyes and see
Speaker 1: the conversation, and I see that final conversation with her,
Speaker 1: and I see her face and I see her saying
Speaker 1: to me, you have to turn your power on. What
Speaker 1: are you scared of? And I'm like that I won't
Speaker 1: be small anymore, that I'll be powerful. She goes, and
Speaker 1: and then I joke, you know, I joke about everything.
Speaker 1: I'm like, then everyone's really screwed because here I come.
Speaker 1: You know, I'm kind of that too thing. But that
Speaker 1: stayed with me. And yeah, so I'm pushing through my fears.
Speaker 1: Oh I feel it right now inside still there. I'm
Speaker 1: a working pagas. So I said yes to something that
Speaker 1: was one of my biggest fears. I said, not just
Speaker 1: yes to Dancing with the Stars. I said yes to me.
Speaker 1: You know, I hate saying my name. I said yes
Speaker 1: to Tory. It's okay, got check. I feel okay saying that,
Speaker 1: and I'm like, okay, I'm gonna go for it. I'm
Speaker 1: gonna turn my power on and I am going to
Speaker 1: believe in me. And so I said yes, and I
Speaker 1: am and this is this is my why I am.
Speaker 1: I am honestly doing this show for me and for
Speaker 1: my kids. But my kids are me, They're the They're
Speaker 1: the best part of me, and I'm gonna cry. I
Speaker 1: want to take this time to do something for me
Speaker 1: that addresses my fears and pushes me out of my
Speaker 1: comfort zone and makes me feel And I want to
Speaker 1: show my kids. I have five beautiful, amazing, resilient kids,
Speaker 1: and I'm raising two strong daughters, Seln Hattie, and I
Speaker 1: want to show them that you can be scared, you
Speaker 1: can be terrified of things in life. Don't let that
Speaker 1: hold you back because you only hold yourself. And I've
Speaker 1: been doing that far too long. I don't want that
Speaker 1: for them, so I need to go out there and
Speaker 1: show them that you can do it. I was born
Speaker 1: into all eyes on me, like cameras might not have
Speaker 1: been on me constantly, they were like the world was watching,
Speaker 1: you know. Aaron Spelling's daughter, Aaron Spelling, like my dad.
Speaker 1: I was born with my family so famous that you know,
Speaker 1: it started there all eyes on us, which is technically
Speaker 1: a camera, a lens on us, and then nine O
Speaker 1: two one zero literally all eyes on us, cameras right
Speaker 1: into your living rooms, you know, for ten years, ten
Speaker 1: amazing years, and then since then, you know, it's been
Speaker 1: for me a journey of I feel like I call
Speaker 1: myself the little engine that could well. Look see, I
Speaker 1: can move, got mad shoulder moves so enough. But I
Speaker 1: would always be like Chuck, Chuck, jug, I can do this,
Speaker 1: and I'd go that mountain and then I'd go back
Speaker 1: down that mountain and then I'd be like, Okay, that's fine.
Speaker 1: And I always have hope. That's one thing that no
Speaker 1: one's ever taken away from me is that light inside
Speaker 1: of me. I have this light inside, as so many
Speaker 1: of us do. And I try to tell my kids
Speaker 1: because this is something that really resonates with me, because
Speaker 1: don't let someone ever put out your light. And I
Speaker 1: love that light dim a little bit, and this is
Speaker 1: my time to be like, that light's still there, it's
Speaker 1: burning bright inside of me. Let's make it brighter. Let's go.
Speaker 1: So yeah, this is my journey, and I hope you'll
Speaker 1: come along for the ride. I have no idea what's
Speaker 1: going to happen. I'm terrified. I have done choreography moves
Speaker 1: in TV shows, TV movies, feature films like I've always
Speaker 1: been taught how to do it. I did theater. I
Speaker 1: had to dance and I'm always like, hey, yeah, you know,
Speaker 1: they said, do you have any dance experience? And I
Speaker 1: was like, well in my twenties in the club, like
Speaker 1: I'd be like, it moves, yeah, that's it. But then
Speaker 1: every time I had to be taught like, uh, choreographed dance,
Speaker 1: I sucked. You eyes like I sucked. But there's cameras
Speaker 1: there that you know, it's okay. You know, we'll rehearse.
Speaker 1: And then they do a take. You screw it up,
Speaker 1: you can't do it, you forget it. You do take two,
Speaker 1: take three, four, five, six, seventy eight, nine, ten, all
Speaker 1: the way to twenty one times one time. Okay, when
Speaker 1: the movie aired, I looked, brilliant, this is live, you guys.
Speaker 1: There's no take too. Oh you get one take, you
Speaker 1: get one chance. That's it. So that was always really scary.
Speaker 1: And whenever I was taught a dance, they would be like, okay,
Speaker 1: even when it's simple, you know, count one, two, three,
Speaker 1: and then they'd always be like on the beat, and
Speaker 1: it would be like beat, and then I'd be like nope,
Speaker 1: uh yeah, even even when I'm I don't even go
Speaker 1: to concerts, but like when I've been at concerts and
Speaker 1: I'm like trying to fit in and like Curtis is
Speaker 1: like playing, like yeah, and I go to clap and
Speaker 1: it's like everyone's clapping and I'm a clap late. I'm like,
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, like I'm just my brain. I'm off
Speaker 1: that way. And then they'd be like, here's this move.
Speaker 1: It's simple, and so on one, two, three heard step.
Speaker 1: I couldn't grasp it. And I'm a really visual person.
Speaker 1: I feel and I was like, why can't my brain
Speaker 1: grasp it? So that was always in my head because
Speaker 1: I was like, Okay, this happened every single time I
Speaker 1: had to do choreography in ship, so that was happening.
Speaker 1: And then my balance is off. And then it's my
Speaker 1: fear of performing in front of people, Like I'm not
Speaker 1: even scared of the millions of people on the TV
Speaker 1: screen because I'm like, okay, I can't see you, but
Speaker 1: i can't see all those people in the audience the
Speaker 1: live taping and I've been to the life taping. Thing
Speaker 1: that scared me. I went to see Jenny perform live.
Speaker 1: I went to see Ion perform live. I've been there
Speaker 1: and it was scary. I was like, oh my god,
Speaker 1: and my heart was pounding out of my chest for
Speaker 1: them because I was like, oh, this is wild because
Speaker 1: it's like not just all of the people and the audience,
Speaker 1: but it's the cameras and the sets and you got
Speaker 1: to get the moves and the judges and it was
Speaker 1: just mind blowing to me. Again, another thing, I was like, man,
Speaker 1: I never do that because I couldn't do that. I'm
Speaker 1: just telling you my feelings. So you know my mindset
Speaker 1: going into this. I'm terrified. I'm terrified. It's going to
Speaker 1: be September seven, seen, it's going to be live, and yeah,
Speaker 1: you do it. I hear that everybody's scared, but they
Speaker 1: don't look on TV. And I'm a fangirl. I watch,
Speaker 1: you know from my living room, comfortm my home on
Speaker 1: TV every season and I'm just like, they look white.
Speaker 1: Everyone looks great. And you know a lot of people,
Speaker 1: I feel I have dance experience, you know, whether it's actors, actresses,
Speaker 1: fingers coming into it, athletes, they all have some sort
Speaker 1: of athletic experience. So this was nothing. You know what
Speaker 1: my well, you know what, No, that's not true. My
Speaker 1: athletic experience five kids, five kids, that's my card game.
Speaker 1: And I literally like I don't work out. Sorry, I
Speaker 1: don't make me time. You know, I have friends, Oh
Speaker 1: my god, my best friend Jess. Way before I got
Speaker 1: offered it this season was like, you know, it's time,
Speaker 1: Like let's get your body into shape, Like let's go
Speaker 1: to plates with me, go hiking with me. She's been
Speaker 1: begging me. Ruthan's like, let's go on walks, and I
Speaker 1: always found an excuse not to do it. So here
Speaker 1: I am and I have started this though in preparation
Speaker 1: in the last three months that I was sworn to secrecy.
Speaker 1: I'm that girl that when I pull up to a
Speaker 1: shopping mall, pull ups Target, pull up to you know, Walmart,
Speaker 1: I will drive around for thirty minutes and find the
Speaker 1: closest spot. And I'm good at it. I'm I'm zoned in,
Speaker 1: I'm locked in. As they say, I I'll follow the crowd.
Speaker 1: I'm like, okay, I see two people leaving, I'm just
Speaker 1: gonna follow them in an non creepy way. And I'm
Speaker 1: always like smiling, so I don't think I'm like creepy
Speaker 1: and following them and I'll wait for that spot. And
Speaker 1: most people are like, just get it done, like you
Speaker 1: want to get inside cares where you park. But I
Speaker 1: was like so physically exhausting for me to walk far
Speaker 1: through the parking lot, not far at all, that I'll
Speaker 1: find a spot super close, stall for thirty months until
Speaker 1: I get it and then let's go to the mall.
Speaker 1: But I've been parking further away, so that was my prep.
Speaker 1: You know, a target, I don't wait for the spot,
Speaker 1: you know, right in front, I park like two rows over. Okay,
Speaker 1: I digress. Okay, do you want to hear now how
Speaker 1: it all happens, because this is stuff I never knew,
Speaker 1: so it's super exciting to me as a fan girl.
Speaker 1: So you sign on. You can't tell anybody that was
Speaker 1: really hard for me, And yeah, then closer bet. And
Speaker 1: by the way, I just got to say, I thought
Speaker 1: in my mind, cause these people look so good on
Speaker 1: the show, the cast, that I'm like, they probably knew
Speaker 1: and were like practicing their routine for months. No no, no, no,
Speaker 1: and everyone across the board gets the same treatment. So
Speaker 1: you know, I can't be like you know, I mean, physically,
Speaker 1: I have, you know, all these physical ailments, and I
Speaker 1: have five kids and I can't do a dance routine.
Speaker 1: So can I start earlier? Nope, nope. Everyone starts the
Speaker 1: same game, and you can't start sooner because you don't
Speaker 1: know who your partner is. Your partner doesn't know who
Speaker 1: you are, and till the day you walk in, you
Speaker 1: walk into the first meet and rehearsal and there you
Speaker 1: guys are. But they did work with me to like
Speaker 1: they were like, okay, I filled out a questionnaire like
Speaker 1: you know, dance experience and not checking that box, you know,
Speaker 1: and they were like music, what's speaks to you? And
Speaker 1: I would tell them kind of the music that speaks
Speaker 1: to me a little bit, duh. I through in flash
Speaker 1: dance and everyone's like, oh, cluchie and not doing that,
Speaker 1: but they want to know who you are and kind
Speaker 1: of what you feel. And I think that's so cool
Speaker 1: because no, I just always thought maybe, you know, people
Speaker 1: were assigned a song and a dance and you're not.
Speaker 1: You know, you get to really like, like my first performance,
Speaker 1: my first song, and everyone has this is like their anthem,
Speaker 1: like a song that speaks to you and makes you
Speaker 1: feel like your own champion and what you want to convey.
Speaker 1: So I thought that was pretty cool. So got to
Speaker 1: work that out and I definitely, you know, well, I
Speaker 1: apologize to the team like a million times, like sorry,
Speaker 1: you got me, you know, sorry, so good and then
Speaker 1: I was like stop, stop, we're working through this. But
Speaker 1: I did say to them, and this, this is true
Speaker 1: I said. I said, I want to be honest with
Speaker 1: you guys up front. I'm not going to be your
Speaker 1: best answer, but I do believe I will be your
Speaker 1: most passionate and creative answer because all I got is heart.
Speaker 1: What was that from? Jerry M. Maguire Google getting junior setup? Right?
Speaker 1: I'm all heart, motherfucker? Sorry? Can I say that? I'm
Speaker 1: all heart? Motherfucker? Right? I'm all heart, and I lead
Speaker 1: with kindness. I'm going to believe in myself. I'm going
Speaker 1: to put all my heart and soul into it, and
Speaker 1: I'm open that all the strateties on my feet, oh
Speaker 1: my gosh, no no, no, no no no. And I'm
Speaker 1: really about storytelling. And I don't just say that works
Speaker 1: my name's in it. I really believe that. I got
Speaker 1: that from my dad and stories are everything to me
Speaker 1: because I feel like if you can get your story across,
Speaker 1: then people understand you and they'll believe in you. You know,
Speaker 1: if you believe in yourself and you can convey your story,
Speaker 1: they might be there for the ride, and that's all
Speaker 1: I can hope for. Okay, So I didn't know who
Speaker 1: my partner was, but I have to say there was only,
Speaker 1: like I said, a few people that I can fight
Speaker 1: it in. And Brian Green was one of the people
Speaker 1: that I was like because he's one of my boy
Speaker 1: besties obviously in real life, and he's been really active
Speaker 1: in the fight of making me believe in myself in
Speaker 1: the last year and really pumping me up and Shan
Speaker 1: were like champions, right, So he's been really like, You're
Speaker 1: one of the most creative people I know, and I've
Speaker 1: seen what you can do when you want to and
Speaker 1: when you believe. So you got to find that. And
Speaker 1: I also was like, you've done this, what is it like?
Speaker 1: And he's like, well, I'm not gonna lie. It is grueling,
Speaker 1: it is hard. It is it's going to be one
Speaker 1: of the hardest things you've ever done. I was like,
Speaker 1: give you my life, but he's like, it's so rewarding.
Speaker 1: It's such an amazing journey and experience, and I think
Speaker 1: that this timing would be perfect for you. I also
Speaker 1: was able to talk to Sharna his Fance, who was
Speaker 1: one of the dance pros on there, so she knows
Speaker 1: all the pros and she knows me well. So she was,
Speaker 1: you know, we don't have a choice in our partner,
Speaker 1: but we speculated and she was like, oh, I wonder
Speaker 1: who they're going to pick. And can't do our accent
Speaker 1: because I do accents terribly. She's such a beautiful accent,
Speaker 1: which I would just butcher dad. Maybe one day I'll
Speaker 1: attempt accents because I tell myself I can't do one.
Speaker 1: Maybe I can't. I'm not going to try that right now,
Speaker 1: baby steps. And apparently it's not a given for the
Speaker 1: dance who comes back each season, like they don't know.
Speaker 1: They get the call like the night before and like
Speaker 1: you're back, and they're like, oh, So she went through
Speaker 1: the dance pros that were there in their last season,
Speaker 1: but we didn't know who's coming back, and she went
Speaker 1: through you know, I said, I have a hard time
Speaker 1: with slips, so I definitely And she's like, you need
Speaker 1: someone patient, okay, and you need someone who's gonna work
Speaker 1: towards your strengths, and someone kind and sweet and just
Speaker 1: you know on tory vibes, and you know, also someone though,
Speaker 1: that's going to push you, because she knows like if
Speaker 1: I not push, sometimes I'll crastinate or make excuses and
Speaker 1: make jokes and take up time so I don't have
Speaker 1: to do it. So don't let me off the book ever,
Speaker 1: And I said, I want, you know, somebody really artistic
Speaker 1: and creative, and I want to push the envelope like
Speaker 1: I want, in some way go outside the box. I
Speaker 1: want to tell a story because my dad was such
Speaker 1: a brilliant storyteller and I really think one of the
Speaker 1: keys to his success. And he always told me this
Speaker 1: is He's like, you know what, everyone has their own stuff,
Speaker 1: and they have hard lives. And you know, this is
Speaker 1: going back when we didn't have phones and we weren't streaming,
Speaker 1: and we weren't you know, it was TVs, you know.
Speaker 1: And he said, at the end of the day, when
Speaker 1: they get home, they want to compartmentalize, and they want
Speaker 1: to take a moment to get out of their own
Speaker 1: lives and their own heads, when they want to watch something,
Speaker 1: when they want to go into that world, and they
Speaker 1: want to be entertained. And I really took that to
Speaker 1: heart and my whole life that really not because I
Speaker 1: just listened to him and understood it. But I feel
Speaker 1: it too. I love entertaining people. I know, if I
Speaker 1: can make you laugh, if I can make a smile,
Speaker 1: if I can listen to you and be a shoulder
Speaker 1: to cry. And I just like people and I like
Speaker 1: making people have me. I always have, So yeah, that's
Speaker 1: my thing. I'm like, I want a partner that's going
Speaker 1: to go with that. And you know, I don't know
Speaker 1: how great I'm going to be and classically do all
Speaker 1: this stuff, so you know, if he and I can
Speaker 1: go in there and tell a story and entertain people,
Speaker 1: and you know I love fashion, so you know me,
Speaker 1: I'm all into. I'm like, I have ideas for creating
Speaker 1: the costumes and what the sets will look like, and
Speaker 1: you know I have all these in wed not the
Speaker 1: like classic ones that you have to do, but you know,
Speaker 1: just like you know, I see it in my head.
Speaker 1: So I'm like, oh, we can tell such a beautiful,
Speaker 1: fun storyline and story and just entertain people. Distract my feet,
Speaker 1: distract my feet. The day I arrived, it was like
Speaker 1: one hundred degrees out that day, you guys, that day
Speaker 1: it was last week. This whole thing just started literally
Speaker 1: like the go time so I arrived in a black
Speaker 1: robe and I had to have the robe covering everything,
Speaker 1: and they were like they let us know. Then seasons
Speaker 1: passed like you know, everyone knows. You know, there's the
Speaker 1: dance studio and the timeline and when it's going to
Speaker 1: start and when they start prepping. And so I guess
Speaker 1: in the past paparazzi have identified the secret cast because
Speaker 1: you know, maybe they saw their hands and they were like,
Speaker 1: oh they you know, hello with my nails, like and
Speaker 1: I have, you know, my hand chain, I always wear,
Speaker 1: my ring I always wear. So there's distinct things. So
Speaker 1: it was like so many things. It was like, you know,
Speaker 1: obviously cover the blonde hair. Not every a gazillion, like
Speaker 1: you know, female celebrities in LA have long blonde extensions.
Speaker 1: It's not like so unique, but you know, to cover
Speaker 1: my hair, took it away, cover my face, cover my
Speaker 1: body with this black robe like head to toe, cover
Speaker 1: my hands inside, and just like you know, you arrive
Speaker 1: and it's like, go to amazing security. Who I found
Speaker 1: out this is super exciting. Wahish I take this off.
Speaker 1: We're doing this whole thing with this. I have the
Speaker 1: visor on. This is the visor. Sorry, I forget we're
Speaker 1: doing a podcast and side from social clips, you can't
Speaker 1: see it, but it is a visor where you can
Speaker 1: hear it and clicking it down. And it is full
Speaker 1: face a visor that covers you from you know, your
Speaker 1: forehead to under your face. It's like super chic and
Speaker 1: it is a little like. It triggers my fear a
Speaker 1: little bit because I wore the same visor when I
Speaker 1: did the first season of Mass Singer and no one
Speaker 1: was allowed to know you there. In fact, no one
Speaker 1: was allowed to know you even after it wasn't about paparazzi.
Speaker 1: It was like on the lot studio like the crew
Speaker 1: couldn't know, the judges couldn't know, the panel like the
Speaker 1: host couldn't know. Nobody could know. And I was the unicorn.
Speaker 1: I'm ass singer and I sang fight song. That's my
Speaker 1: first song. But yeah, I had to wear this every
Speaker 1: show and just so back in the visor, back in
Speaker 1: the visor again. Anyway, So black Robe got my visor.
Speaker 1: And when you arrive at the studio the first day,
Speaker 1: security like you have to call them a block away
Speaker 1: and be like I'm five out. It was like a
Speaker 1: covert mission, which I'm all into that. You know that
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh, this is cool, Like I like that part,
Speaker 1: like hmmm. So I was like okay, I got this.
Speaker 1: So you get handed off to them and they have
Speaker 1: like huge umbrellas and they're blocking you and the dance studio.
Speaker 1: They have like a panel of cameras, like security cameras,
Speaker 1: so no to paparazzi. They cut their eyes on you
Speaker 1: literally like mad props to the entire team of Dancing
Speaker 1: with the Stars, like they're on it. They're locked in
Speaker 1: and so they can see every view of the street,
Speaker 1: every view of like you know, the street behind it,
Speaker 1: and all the doors and all the staircase you know, stairwells, everything,
Speaker 1: so they can see if anyone's like out there. But
Speaker 1: security like rushes you in face. I was like, please,
Speaker 1: no pictures, just kidding. So again one hundred degrees. You
Speaker 1: get in there, you get up, and once you're up
Speaker 1: in the safety and sincty the dance studio, you can
Speaker 1: take off the robe, you can take off the visor.
Speaker 1: And then they were like, okay, are you ready. I
Speaker 1: was like nope, And okay, well you're gonna be ready.
Speaker 1: There's cameras up in the dance studio. You're gonna go
Speaker 1: into that room watch this show. I'm gonna go in
Speaker 1: my partner. Who is it? And oh? I opened that door.
Speaker 1: I did look to the right really quickly because it
Speaker 1: says d W T and I'm like, oh, I know
Speaker 1: that logo. And then I looked over and it was
Speaker 1: Pasha and I was like, yes because, beknownst to her,
Speaker 1: and I was texting with Shanna yesterday Brian's fiance dance
Speaker 1: pro amazing human. Beknownst to her, I was like, by
Speaker 1: the way, you can add fortune teller to your resume
Speaker 1: now because you predicted it. We not predicted it. But
Speaker 1: she went through the list and why this one would
Speaker 1: be right for me? She loves them all, but for me,
Speaker 1: and she was like, you know what, Pasha would be
Speaker 1: really a great, great fit for you. Who was so
Speaker 1: I did the tory like air pump, fist pump? Wait,
Speaker 1: air pumps a fart? Wait what is it? Hump? Wait?
Speaker 1: And you do oh you pull your fist back this pump.
Speaker 1: I always get those two mixed up, you guys. I
Speaker 1: think air pump means fart? Am I right? You guys? Done? Now?
Speaker 1: I believe air pump means fart. Actually it's a tire inflator.
Speaker 1: It's a some kind of pump. It's called it's pump.
Speaker 1: My gosh, I always get fist pump and air pump
Speaker 1: mixed up. But I do do that a lot where
Speaker 1: you like pull your fist in. I go bus and
Speaker 1: I pull it down really hard, like when eating it.
Speaker 1: And that's also like I do that. I have like
Speaker 1: a happy dance when I like get food and I'm
Speaker 1: like excited or like a situation I'm excited, and I
Speaker 1: saw Pasha and I was excited, and I always, in
Speaker 1: my brain I call it an air pump, even I
Speaker 1: don't know. I'm always like ways up. This phone was
Speaker 1: the airphone. So one time we were at Olive Garden
Speaker 1: and so much chick my god, less broadsticks, I mean,
Speaker 1: never lose me forever. Okay, Anyway, my kids and I
Speaker 1: love Olive Garden and we're really excited when we go there.
Speaker 1: And then oh, oh my god, I think the month
Speaker 1: is coming up with endless pasa. When is that? I
Speaker 1: think it's November. Oh my god, is it? It's coming in?
Speaker 1: Put them on my calendar. But anyway, so we're in
Speaker 1: Olive Garden or local one, and we're sitting there and
Speaker 1: the breadsticks came out and the nice young man that
Speaker 1: was serving our table he brought them out and I
Speaker 1: was like, and I did it, and I was like,
Speaker 1: oh my god. He must have thought, like, what is
Speaker 1: wrong with this girl? That was I mean, I know
Speaker 1: people like bread stick come on like that was like
Speaker 1: for kill. But I was like, and I was like oh,
Speaker 1: and I like leaned over to him and I was like,
Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. I just did an air pump and
Speaker 1: he looked at me odd and then I was like,
Speaker 1: my kid's like mo air pumps fart. Nope, nope, fis pump.
Speaker 1: And I was like, oh my god. I was like, wait,
Speaker 1: I just did a fist pump. And he was like, girl,
Speaker 1: you're good. He goes, but I was like, wow, she's
Speaker 1: really excited. Tori Spelling just farted over the breadsticks at
Speaker 1: all of garden. Yep, that happens. So now I always
Speaker 1: am paranoid, which one I'm going to say it wrong,
Speaker 1: But anyway, so I saw Pasha and I was like,
Speaker 1: and I did my little happy dance, like yeah, little
Speaker 1: foody happy dance. I was like, I got shit And
Speaker 1: then oh my gosh, so you guys, I'm like I'm
Speaker 1: going to come on here every week and I'm going
Speaker 1: to tell you about my journey because it is so
Speaker 1: cool behind the scenes and as you can see, well
Speaker 1: you can't see, as you can hear. I am truly
Speaker 1: a fangirl and the whole thing is just so cool
Speaker 1: to see it from the other side. And I'm pushing
Speaker 1: away all those fears right now. I'll keep you updated,
Speaker 1: but just the excited part, like I'm so excited. And
Speaker 1: you know, we met and he was like, okay, let
Speaker 1: me see a little bit of what you could do,
Speaker 1: and taught me a little few moves and I was
Speaker 1: like against. I was like, I'm I was like, oh boy,
Speaker 1: you know, are you sorry you got me? And he
Speaker 1: was like not yet and I was like he's just kidding.
Speaker 1: He was like no, and he was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: I grew up watching you like I'm a kid of
Speaker 1: the nineties. And I was like, oh my gosh. So
Speaker 1: he got stuck with the old chick okay, and I
Speaker 1: was like cool, I'm young at heart. Fun and he
Speaker 1: was like, you know, you're in my living room, like
Speaker 1: this is really cool. And I gave him my story,
Speaker 1: which you know goes on on like you're breaking on
Speaker 1: like it's a long one. But anyway, No, he was
Speaker 1: fine with it. So this point, you guys in the program,
Speaker 1: and I'm gonna time stand this because I want you
Speaker 1: to know, like it is a lot. It is September fifth,
Speaker 1: twenty twenty four, and we've had two rehearsals. We go
Speaker 1: live on September seventeenth. That's it can't change it. It can't
Speaker 1: be like, oh, I'm not ready. How's the nineteenth work
Speaker 1: for you? No? So yeah, and like I said, everyone
Speaker 1: gets the same, so God bless you. You know, they
Speaker 1: throw you in, they like actually step in and then
Speaker 1: you go. But each week there's a technical dance that
Speaker 1: you have to do. And while I knew that, you know,
Speaker 1: of course, I'm like, you know, always here like this
Speaker 1: star and their partner dancing this week to the church.
Speaker 1: So the room to the jib quickstep scares me? Yeah,
Speaker 1: so my So the song I picked really speaks to me,
Speaker 1: really speaks to me now and what I'm going through
Speaker 1: and the human I am blowing up to be. So oh,
Speaker 1: I love it so much. I love this song so much.
Speaker 1: Pasha says, when you're done with the song that you
Speaker 1: probably won't want to listen to it for like a year,
Speaker 1: but that's okay, I'll take it. It really speaks to me.
Speaker 1: So they were able to take that song and what
Speaker 1: type of song because you know each week some sometimes
Speaker 1: there's faster songs, sometimes the slower songs. And this song
Speaker 1: I was given. We were given the technical dance because
Speaker 1: you have to have one of the dances each week.
Speaker 1: Everyone does them all, so that goes with the rhythm
Speaker 1: and beat of this song. So we have a dance
Speaker 1: and yeah, we've had two days of rehearsal and it's like, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'll tell you one thing. And I apologize to Pasha daily, like,
Speaker 1: oh god, I think he has his wife has won
Speaker 1: the Mirror Ball. They have a beautiful baby girl that's
Speaker 1: one years old, and I'm just like, oh my gosh.
Speaker 1: And he's so kind. I got to say, I feel
Speaker 1: for me. They couldn't have known it, but they picked
Speaker 1: the best partner. And I'm just getting to know the
Speaker 1: cast in the pros and they're all amazing. It really
Speaker 1: is a family. And you hear about this, but you're like,
Speaker 1: is it true? Like I know it's a competition, you guys,
Speaker 1: but it doesn't feel like it it feels like everyone
Speaker 1: is rooting for each other. Oh, it's been so beautiful
Speaker 1: in these two days of rehearsal. And then hey, by
Speaker 1: the way, we're gonna start you with two days. So
Speaker 1: so we met, we did the promo shoot, and then
Speaker 1: it was a Labor Day weekend, which you know and
Speaker 1: dancing with the stars. It's a timeline. It doesn't stop
Speaker 1: for anything, including holidays or kids. So I was like, hey,
Speaker 1: good's Labor Day weekend. I got a dance. I just
Speaker 1: want to dance. Name it. Uh huh. So, yeah, I
Speaker 1: had to do rehearsals, had to. I wanted to do rehearsal.
Speaker 1: My thing is and I'll never forget this and I
Speaker 1: never likened myself to this. But I didn't interview Rellie.
Speaker 1: I would say it was before bo so eight years
Speaker 1: ago seven with Lena Dunham, who I was such a
Speaker 1: huge fan and loved girls, loved all her movies, loved
Speaker 1: everything without her and her creativity, I mean, because she
Speaker 1: does it all. She writes, shelter wrecked and produced and
Speaker 1: staring and everything she chooses, you know, the music, the
Speaker 1: wardrobe and just everything. She's a creator and create a
Speaker 1: force to be reckoned. With and she's such a powerhouse
Speaker 1: of advocating for women and just I love that. So
Speaker 1: I was really blessed that she had reached out to
Speaker 1: do an interview with me. I was like, me, Lena
Speaker 1: Dunham wants to interview with me. Mind blown. So, you know,
Speaker 1: in true Tory fashion, I was like, okay, we don't know.
Speaker 1: I'm working. I don't know five time and one of
Speaker 1: my best friends who passed in the last couple of years, Scout,
Speaker 1: was like, Mama, you're doing this. You're going to go
Speaker 1: and you're gonna have an interview with Lena dun And
Speaker 1: he was like, I'm gonna sit right here. You reply
Speaker 1: to this email and say yes, when does she want
Speaker 1: to meet? You're going? And I did, and it was
Speaker 1: it was a life changing experience because we we were
Speaker 1: at Soho house, which I was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: this is cool, okay, and we we talked for like
Speaker 1: hours and you know, when the interview came out, I
Speaker 1: was so proud. It was a beautiful. She wrote it
Speaker 1: so beautifully, but you know, far surpassed like the convo went.
Speaker 1: I mean, she knew. We learned everything about each other's lives.
Speaker 1: We became instant friends and supporters of each other. But
Speaker 1: when she put it out there was something that really
Speaker 1: stuck with me. She was like, I have to go
Speaker 1: back and get the article because I'm gonna misquote it
Speaker 1: right now. But something along the lines that she said
Speaker 1: that when she met me, when from the time she
Speaker 1: met me and we sat down till the time we left,
Speaker 1: she said, and she knew I didn't believe in myself,
Speaker 1: and I had all these things like, oh, you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: all the shit, And she said, but Tory spelling meets
Speaker 1: your eyes and she holds your eyes eye contact and
Speaker 1: never looks away, and the look in her eyes, she
Speaker 1: likened it to a prized fighter. Did they say it right?
Speaker 1: You know? I never know sports champion like a prized fighter,
Speaker 1: like the look, And I was like, how I'd never
Speaker 1: thought about that. I just thought I look people in
Speaker 1: eyes because it's proper, it's the right thing to do,
Speaker 1: and my parents raised me. But it can be scary
Speaker 1: locking eyes with someone, and especially when things get uncomfortable
Speaker 1: and you're talking about things that maybe they're talking about
Speaker 1: stuff uncomfortable, you're talking about stuff and you look away, right,
Speaker 1: and that's a sign of you know, you get nervous
Speaker 1: self doubt, but she said she might have a lot
Speaker 1: of self doubt, but on one hand, she doesn't because
Speaker 1: she never breaks eye contact. And that has stayed with
Speaker 1: me because I am resilient. I am a fighter. I'm me.
Speaker 1: I'm a fine sized, little lad, quirky fighter, but I
Speaker 1: am I have the mindset of a fighter, in the
Speaker 1: heart of a fighter. And I'm telling that story only
Speaker 1: because Pasha said to me. You know, he said when
Speaker 1: we were done the first day that he he said,
Speaker 1: you know what, I really appreciate. He said, you are committed.
Speaker 1: And I didn't know. We danced that first day four hours.
Speaker 1: You guys, I'm winded after walking, you know, fifty feet
Speaker 1: into target. I wasn't winded because I had so much
Speaker 1: drive and hope in me and I was like, you
Speaker 1: know what, here's my partner. I'm not going to let
Speaker 1: him down. And we locked in and I was there.
Speaker 1: I was committed and I listened and yeah, I'm very
Speaker 1: very committed and very focused and very driven. And I'm
Speaker 1: not just work driven. I always thought like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 1: my father's daughter, I'm like, or of course, and you know, yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm not just work driven. I am life driven, yeah,
Speaker 1: because no matter what happens in life, like you got
Speaker 1: to keep going right. So we rehearse for two days.
Speaker 1: That was a whirlwind. I learned my entire dance over
Speaker 1: those two days. In true Tory fashion. I learned some.
Speaker 1: And the first day came in the next day and
Speaker 1: I WASH's like ready, and I'm like, I forgot everything.
Speaker 1: And we're also learning about me. He and I are
Speaker 1: learning about me at the same time. He's learning about
Speaker 1: me and I'm learning about me. That sounds odd, learning
Speaker 1: about me that I tell myself I forgot, but like
Speaker 1: when I get out of my own head, I actually
Speaker 1: feel and remember. So as he's told me, the biggest
Speaker 1: competition in this competition is myself. I'm up against myself,
Speaker 1: just like nope, no. So he videoed and then once
Speaker 1: he feels like I've gotten it, he will turn on
Speaker 1: his phone, set it up on a tripod and videotape
Speaker 1: it so that when I go home I can rewatch it.
Speaker 1: And he's hoping the visual of that will sink the
Speaker 1: moves into my head. So what I go home with
Speaker 1: is the best version. I might have done it, you know,
Speaker 1: fifty times. But as soon as he's like Okay, that's
Speaker 1: a good version. We're gonna videotape this. Anyway. I went
Speaker 1: home the first night and I was feeling plumped. You guys,
Speaker 1: I was like, oh my gosh. I came into it
Speaker 1: thinking I'm never going to be able to do any
Speaker 1: of these dance moves and anything. And by the time
Speaker 1: I got home, up straight my shoulders back, I was
Speaker 1: walking the walk, I had a little grip in my step.
Speaker 1: I was feeling really confident. And I walked in and
Speaker 1: I said to Bo, who's seven, Hey buddy, do you
Speaker 1: want to see my first rehearsal? I have it and
Speaker 1: he was like okay, and so he watched it. And
Speaker 1: after he watched it, I said, do I look like
Speaker 1: a dancer all the confidence in the world. And he
Speaker 1: looked at me and he goes, no, not at all.
Speaker 1: And I was like, rode of the mouths of me.
Speaker 1: I later came to find out that there was one
Speaker 1: move in there that he hadn't seen before, and he
Speaker 1: thought that that one thing because he hasn't seen it
Speaker 1: on the TikTok was like, and it's part of my
Speaker 1: technical dance. That wasn't a move, so you know, you
Speaker 1: never know, but it was so put everything into perspective. Okay,
Speaker 1: So we had our two days of rehearsal and then
Speaker 1: we all flew to New York and that was a
Speaker 1: whirl when trip. In fact, do you know yesterday it
Speaker 1: was announced on GMA and everyone knows every year, I
Speaker 1: couldn't tell anyone was going to New York because people
Speaker 1: track you that way and they'll be like, oh, everyone
Speaker 1: knows there's going to be a date and it's going
Speaker 1: to be announced live on Good Morning America. A whole
Speaker 1: hour dedicade to Dancing with the stars, the cast and
Speaker 1: pro reveal. So I had to be super like, oh,
Speaker 1: another covert insine getting to New York. But also, you know,
Speaker 1: me scared flying. So it's a lot like emotionally, a
Speaker 1: lot goes into it. I was already like exhausted dancing,
Speaker 1: you know, two days in a row, you know, ten
Speaker 1: hour dances between the two days, and then getting on
Speaker 1: a plane flying to New York. Literally flew into New
Speaker 1: York rethanlent with me. We got there, went straight to
Speaker 1: the hotel. Well after of course there was a delay
Speaker 1: and we were stuck on the tarmac for two hours. Yeah,
Speaker 1: but I love them. I made friends of course with
Speaker 1: all the attendants and got there did there was like
Speaker 1: a cast and pro meet and greet private nobody else,
Speaker 1: just as so we can see who's on the cast.
Speaker 1: We can see, you know, pro dancers who they are
Speaker 1: because we don't know either. And yeah, got to that,
Speaker 1: went in and saw the count and I was super psyched.
Speaker 1: There was Son that I was like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 1: I was so excited to see. Like I've worked with
Speaker 1: Eric Roberts before on a show on ABC years ago
Speaker 1: called Absolutely Perfect, and he was so kind and amazing
Speaker 1: when I worked with him, because it's hard to be
Speaker 1: a guest star coming onto somebody else's show. I know
Speaker 1: what it's like tow and O. It was always hard.
Speaker 1: So I was always welcoming and he was so welcoming.
Speaker 1: So I'd worked with him. And then there's Reginald vl
Speaker 1: Johnson Family Matters Iconic, but he and I did a
Speaker 1: TV movie. It was me and him and Patrick Muldoon
Speaker 1: in South Carolina in my twenties and we became such
Speaker 1: good friends. I loved him. I haven't seen him since,
Speaker 1: so I was like, oh, you know, immediately friend friend,
Speaker 1: very excited, and then I got to meet everybody else,
Speaker 1: and everyone was cooler than the next. Like the whole cast,
Speaker 1: you guys, and I know you guys have seen all
Speaker 1: the names announced. Every single one of them is very cool,
Speaker 1: very funny. I love that, you know. Humor is my thing.
Speaker 1: I am psyched to be with the cast that has
Speaker 1: such a good sense of humor, thank God, and so supportive.
Speaker 1: There's not one that's not kind. There's not one that
Speaker 1: I'm like, oh my gosh, like not good vibes, like
Speaker 1: energy is amazing. All the pros are amazing, obviously, the judges,
Speaker 1: the hosts, Oh my gosh, Alfonso Roberto and I who
Speaker 1: is one of the co hosts with Julie Huff who
Speaker 1: I've known for years. But Alfonso and I have known
Speaker 1: each other since our teens, and so I am so
Speaker 1: oh happy for his journey. He's had such an amazing journey.
Speaker 1: And he was like, you know what. He goes, You've
Speaker 1: had a hard past year. He goes, this is your
Speaker 1: time to shine. I was like, I'm going to Yeah,
Speaker 1: we used to go to the Roxbury back in the day.
Speaker 1: We were talking about that, but yeah, so I got
Speaker 1: to know everybody. Then it was like go time, and
Speaker 1: I got to say that one moment before we went
Speaker 1: live on Good Morning America, I was like, what's no
Speaker 1: journ back? Now the world is going to know. Here
Speaker 1: we go. And then we were announced live I'm in
Speaker 1: Morning America and I was like afterwards, posh, I'm like,
Speaker 1: it's real. Now, this is real. He's like it's been
Speaker 1: real and I'm like, no, now it's real like everybody
Speaker 1: in the world. And he sold me accountable now. But
Speaker 1: it was a really great feeling. I'm feeling really cautiously optimistic.
Speaker 1: So I'm going to take you through this journey with me.
Speaker 1: Please come along, and I'm gonna share every week what's
Speaker 1: happening behind the scenes. Sorry, this is my excited toy
Speaker 1: right now. And yeah, my thing is it's my time.
Speaker 1: It's time for me power on