Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to Danielle With a podcast that if
Speaker 1: your hip to industry. LINGO recently flipped into my solo
Speaker 1: interview series teen Beat. But since I Danielle Fischl, director, podcaster,
Speaker 1: mom of two, and TV ready ballroom dancer, I am about
Speaker 1: to go out on the road for the Dancing with
Speaker 1: the Stars Live Tour. I figured that I'd not only
Speaker 1: be updating you from all cities like Hershey, Pennsylvania and Banger, Maine,
Speaker 1: I'd also prep a bit and return to talk to
Speaker 1: some of my favorite pros and contestants from the show.
Speaker 1: I'm hosting twenty eight live performances over three months, and
Speaker 1: since this is a safe space, I will admit one thing.
Speaker 2: I have no idea what to expect.
Speaker 1: Yet I am very excited to meet some of you
Speaker 1: live and in person at these shows, and if worse
Speaker 1: comes to worse, I will just use any free time
Speaker 1: I have on the bus to force Jenna Johnson to
Speaker 1: help me get abs. But today I wouldn't just return
Speaker 1: to Danielle with for any meaningless reason. It would have
Speaker 1: to be for a guest of the utmost importance, a
Speaker 1: superstar even, And so for this week's special episode, I'm
Speaker 1: joined by the owner of not only one, but two
Speaker 1: mirror ball trophies, with her most recent victory capturing the
Speaker 1: nation by storm and forever changing the culture of the
Speaker 1: show moving forward. She first appeared on the ballroom floor
Speaker 1: as a member of the troop in seasons sixteen and seventeen,
Speaker 1: then the following year was promoted to big League competitor,
Speaker 1: and it only took two cycles to score her way
Speaker 1: into the winner's circle, partnered with Alfonso Ribero, who at
Speaker 1: the time was just a lowly celebrity contestant, but with
Speaker 1: her help not only transformed into one of the most
Speaker 1: impressive winners in the show's history, he would later become
Speaker 1: the face of the process. Then, over the next thirteen seasons,
Speaker 1: she'd have eight top five finishes, including her turn with
Speaker 1: Milo Mannheim, whose second place showing is often referred to
Speaker 1: by dance experts as a total effing crime against rhythm.
Speaker 1: But in twenty twenty five, things began to look up
Speaker 1: or should I say down under, when she paired with
Speaker 1: human Koala Bear Robert Erwin, and right out of the gate,
Speaker 1: the pair stole America's hearts, gliding into the finals and
Speaker 1: securing the len Goodman Trophy. It makes you wonder how
Speaker 1: could she top it? What's next for this fellow mom
Speaker 1: of two adorable boys who seems to capture dance magic
Speaker 1: year after year. Well, i'll tell you what. She's sitting
Speaker 1: with me to talk about her undeniable Hall of fame
Speaker 1: career in the hollowed halls of Dancing with the Stars
Speaker 1: and what I can expect on this tour. I'm wildly
Speaker 1: nervous about it. So please welcome to Danielle with the
Speaker 1: reigning champ, Miss Whitney Carson.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, what an intro. Chills Like, Oh my god,
Speaker 3: this is incredible. How do I put that Danielle in
Speaker 3: you listen monologue for myself.
Speaker 1: I will get it for you. We'll we'll snip it,
Speaker 1: we'll send it in. It's actually a really a really
Speaker 1: great intro for my one of my first questions, which
Speaker 1: is I when we had Alfonso on the show, Yeah,
Speaker 1: talk about getting chills. The way he spoke about you
Speaker 1: and the love and the reverence and the respect he
Speaker 1: has for you, and the way he knows you and
Speaker 1: like really sees you was so special. And one of
Speaker 1: the clips of him talking about you, what pretty viral.
Speaker 1: What did you think when you first heard that.
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh, he is just such a gem of
Speaker 3: a human. I mean, you know him, you've known him
Speaker 3: for years, but he really is like an uncle a
Speaker 3: brother to me. And he really helped me kind of
Speaker 3: spread my wings in this Hollywood world. Because I'm from
Speaker 3: American for Utah, a small town. I did not know
Speaker 3: what I was getting myself into and at eighteen, like
Speaker 3: you're still a kid, and so the fact that he
Speaker 3: was my partner was such divine intervention for us, because
Speaker 3: he really he actually really taught me so much and
Speaker 3: kind of put me under his wing. And from then
Speaker 3: on we've just had like this inseparable bond and something
Speaker 3: that I can't really explain, but it's it's a bond
Speaker 3: that's really traveled with us through adulthood and through my marriage.
Speaker 3: And he's always been a mentor to me. But that
Speaker 3: specific interview that he did with you, I he had
Speaker 3: never told me those feelings or thoughts before, and so
Speaker 3: I was hearing it for the first time on social
Speaker 3: media and I immediately started crying because he's one of
Speaker 3: those He's that type of person that just knows you
Speaker 3: better than you know yourself and use that for me.
Speaker 3: And so I was like, you know what, that is
Speaker 3: so true and it just resonated so much with me,
Speaker 3: and obviously it resonated with so many of you guys
Speaker 3: and people watching, and it just kind of took off.
Speaker 3: And I'm just so grateful that he's always been in
Speaker 3: my corner and he's just been such a safe space
Speaker 3: for me in a world that can be so stressful
Speaker 3: and that you can kind of lose your way at times,
Speaker 3: and it's such a crazy wild ride within this industry,
Speaker 3: and especially with the show, how stressful and how physically
Speaker 3: and mentally demanding it is for him to be there
Speaker 3: in the studio and mentoring me and just honestly just
Speaker 3: being there made it made me feel like I was
Speaker 3: so safe. Yeah, And so that's what he is for me.
Speaker 3: So that was really sweet to see that kind of
Speaker 3: go viral and people just love that because our bond
Speaker 3: is very special.
Speaker 2: Yes, well, that's very apparent.
Speaker 1: I am speaking to you the day before you leave
Speaker 1: for Australia with your family. We were just discussing before
Speaker 1: we started recording about how stressful the idea of a
Speaker 1: sixteen hour flight is with two small children, how excited
Speaker 1: are you? And how excited are the kids for this trip?
Speaker 3: We are so extremely excited. We honestly weren't planning on
Speaker 3: going to Australia this quickly, but it kind of just
Speaker 3: fell into place, and the kids are We actually surprised
Speaker 3: them on Christmas morning that we were going, and so
Speaker 3: they were so excited. And my boys love animals and
Speaker 3: they just can't stop talking about the koalas and they
Speaker 3: love Robert. So the fact that we get to combine
Speaker 3: all of those Robert and animals in the zoo, like,
Speaker 3: we're just so so excited. So they this is actually
Speaker 3: the first trip with jet out of the country so internationally,
Speaker 3: so I think it's going to be the trip is
Speaker 3: going to be crazy, but when we get there, it's
Speaker 3: going to be it's going to be amazing. And I
Speaker 3: have facetimed and texted over what we're going to do
Speaker 3: and our plans. He's like, can I just go ahead
Speaker 3: and plan everything for you guys? And I'm like please,
Speaker 3: I'm like please, here take it. And so he's been
Speaker 3: very kind and sweet enough to He's got a whole
Speaker 3: plan for us. We're in Robert Irwin's hands.
Speaker 2: For oh Man two weeks.
Speaker 1: You're in very good, capable hands, so that's at least
Speaker 1: a safe feeling.
Speaker 3: Yes for sure.
Speaker 2: How once you touched down, how long are you there
Speaker 2: before you return home?
Speaker 3: So we're we fly to Sydney and then Brisbane and
Speaker 3: then we're going to go I think the Zoo's like
Speaker 3: an hour and a half away, and then we'll spend
Speaker 3: a whole week at their lodge, which they've so graciously
Speaker 3: hosted us for that. We're really excited about that though.
Speaker 3: I heard the food's amazing and so we'll do that
Speaker 3: for a week and then we'll be on the Sunshine
Speaker 3: Coast for the second week. So we wanted a little
Speaker 3: bit of zoo, a little bit of like the beach town.
Speaker 3: So everything recommended by.
Speaker 2: Robert so oh, I love it.
Speaker 3: I will let you guys know because I know you
Speaker 3: guys are going or trying.
Speaker 2: Are we are? Yeah, we're going to book a trip.
Speaker 1: I don't know exactly when, but uh, I think are
Speaker 1: you guys going to be there through the Australian.
Speaker 3: Open I think so yep? Oh man, oh, I'm like,
Speaker 3: do I try and go?
Speaker 2: You should? Absolutely?
Speaker 3: Yeah, that would actually be incredible, But we actually we
Speaker 3: decided not to bring any help. So I'm like, our
Speaker 3: kids allowed? Kids allowed there?
Speaker 1: I don't know they are. You're allowed it, You're yeah,
Speaker 1: kids are allowed at ten. I mean it's going to
Speaker 1: be you know if one of you will probably be
Speaker 1: up and down and up and down trying to keep
Speaker 1: you know, you don't want them like loud, But yes,
Speaker 1: I think I think kids are allowed.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: I mean you can't be in Australian during the Australian
Speaker 1: Open and not try to go.
Speaker 3: I know, okay, we'll try and go. I know Carson
Speaker 3: will probably be all for it with the sports and
Speaker 3: exactly Robert too. I'm like, I'm sure Robert will want
Speaker 3: to go as well.
Speaker 2: So yes, yes, you guys should think it'll be fun.
Speaker 1: I can't imagine when you started a career in ballroom
Speaker 1: dancing you thought it would lead to zoo trips with
Speaker 1: the Irwin family and.
Speaker 3: You never And that's what's so beautiful about this show though.
Speaker 3: You get to meet so many different people and walks
Speaker 3: of life that you just would never expect to become
Speaker 3: friends with. I mean, if I never had this career,
Speaker 3: I mean, I don't you know, I wouldn't know Robert
Speaker 3: Irwin and He's like one of the most special people
Speaker 3: in my life. So I'm very grateful to be on
Speaker 3: a show that allows that to happen and to create
Speaker 3: friendships and long lasting friendships forever. No, I never thought
Speaker 3: in a million that one of my good friends would
Speaker 3: be a zoo keeper from Australia. And it was so
Speaker 3: funny during rehearsals too. I would get, you know, towards
Speaker 3: the end and be like, Okay, come on, like you
Speaker 3: know this, like you know the dance deep and he'd
Speaker 3: be like, remember, Whitney, I am just a zoo keeper.
Speaker 1: I'm like, right right, You're not as much as it
Speaker 1: seems like it. You're not a fellow professional dancer, right this.
Speaker 2: You've known this for a few weeks.
Speaker 3: Yeah, No, but he honestly, it's going to be hard
Speaker 3: to have another partner compared to Robert. I mean, I know,
Speaker 3: this is so amazing. I mean, you know how incredible
Speaker 3: he is.
Speaker 2: He's truly incredible.
Speaker 1: I tell everybody every chance I get, like, exactly what
Speaker 1: he seems like is exactly what he is.
Speaker 3: I know. Literally, it's so funny, and I forget that
Speaker 3: he's twenty one because he acts like a forty year
Speaker 3: old I know, and then sometimes you get little glimpses
Speaker 3: and you're like, oh right, okay, you're all one yes exactly,
Speaker 3: but he's yeah, no, he's amazing. So we're really excited
Speaker 3: to see him look good.
Speaker 1: I want to talk a little bit about young Whitney.
Speaker 1: Kid Whitney, your mom was a travel agent and your
Speaker 1: dad was in software developing. How did you gravitate toward dance?
Speaker 3: Well, you know what, my mom, she actually grew up
Speaker 3: very very poor. She could not afford dance, and she
Speaker 3: really always wanted to be a dancer. And so I
Speaker 3: think she knew when I was her first So I
Speaker 3: think what she knew that she could tell that I
Speaker 3: kind of liked to dance. She was immediately like okay,
Speaker 3: Like she kind of lived a little bit vicariously through
Speaker 3: me because she wanted to give me all the opportunities
Speaker 3: that she didn't have. And so that's you know, I
Speaker 3: started dance very young, and I loved it, loved it,
Speaker 3: loved it. And then as I grew older, she actually
Speaker 3: became she started a swimweark company, so she was an entrepreneur.
Speaker 3: And of that get I remember her starting this business
Speaker 3: in our basement and just hustling, and I think that's
Speaker 3: where I get kind of my entrepreneur gene a little
Speaker 3: bit that little fire in me to be an entrepreneur
Speaker 3: because I saw her work so so hard for something
Speaker 3: that she wanted so badly. So that was she was
Speaker 3: amazing example to me of hard work and being a
Speaker 3: mom and balancing it all. And it was really inspiring
Speaker 3: for me as a kid and a teen to watch
Speaker 3: her do that. And my dad, he was in software development,
Speaker 3: so he was obviously the techie guy, but they did
Speaker 3: trade a lot for my dance training because you know,
Speaker 3: at times we couldn't afford it, and they wanted so
Speaker 3: badly for me to go after my dreams. And so
Speaker 3: I'm just so thankful that they were able to sacrifice
Speaker 3: so much for me too. I mean, that's what you
Speaker 3: do for your kids, and now having kids, and like
Speaker 3: you would do anything for them to have their dreams
Speaker 3: and to go after their dreams. And so my dad
Speaker 3: did a little bit of the stage work, so he
Speaker 3: would actually take down sets for us and travel with
Speaker 3: us to competitions and set it up to trade for
Speaker 3: a lot of my dance training. So he did that
Speaker 3: as well as software development, and then once the Swimwork
Speaker 3: company kind of took off, they kind of tag teamed
Speaker 3: that together. So very very hard working parents came from so.
Speaker 1: And creative to think like, okay, there's other ways of
Speaker 1: you know, other than cold hard cash. There are other
Speaker 1: things we can do. And so even just thinking of that,
Speaker 1: like I can take down and put up sets and.
Speaker 3: Yep, and they just they were just willing to do
Speaker 3: that for me, and it was I'm just so thankful
Speaker 3: for that and the example of hard work and perseverance
Speaker 3: through everything. I truly believe if you work hard enough,
Speaker 3: like you can do anything. And that's what you know.
Speaker 3: I always tell my brothers and sisters who are adults
Speaker 3: now and just you know, I'm kind of living proof
Speaker 3: of that, like you can do anything that you set
Speaker 3: your mind to. And yeah, they they We had an
Speaker 3: amazing childhood and very grateful for that.
Speaker 1: Was the goal always to end up in Los Angeles,
Speaker 1: Like when you start dancing and you know you're going
Speaker 1: to pursue a dance career, is the goal, like let's
Speaker 1: get to LA.
Speaker 3: You know what. That Actually that wasn't really in my
Speaker 3: sight because I feel like it was so scary for
Speaker 3: me because you know, I've always been born and raised
Speaker 3: in that small town, and I just loved dance. I
Speaker 3: loved it so much that I didn't really have sights
Speaker 3: on TV or film or that was really wasn't really
Speaker 3: in my headspace. I actually had all of my classes
Speaker 3: set up for college and I was on the dance team.
Speaker 3: I had auditioned for the dance team in college, and
Speaker 3: I was kind of going that route, like Okay, maybe
Speaker 3: dance can just be a passion of mine and not
Speaker 3: something that's really on TV or film. And then that
Speaker 3: I remember so thinking you can dance. Came to Salt
Speaker 3: Lake City and my mom the two nights before was like,
Speaker 3: Mom's intuition is so good, but she was like, I
Speaker 3: really just feel like you need to try. You need
Speaker 3: to try an audition for this and just see what
Speaker 3: happens and you don't. Don't get upset or you know, determined,
Speaker 3: but just just go for it. And so two nights
Speaker 3: before I grabbed my partner and we la last minute,
Speaker 3: got a routine together, and I was just like, Okay,
Speaker 3: let's go for it. And that just really skyrocketed my
Speaker 3: career into TV and film and so you can dance,
Speaker 3: and then dancing with the Stars found me on that show, okay,
Speaker 3: and the kind of the rest is history from that,
Speaker 3: But my mom's intuition, she knows.
Speaker 2: She knew for sure.
Speaker 1: So that was around twenty twelve that you were on
Speaker 1: So You Think you Can Dance. You finished in the
Speaker 1: top six, and in that first season you were partnered
Speaker 1: with Steven twitch Boss, a dancer that I as a fan,
Speaker 1: admired very much from afar.
Speaker 2: What are your memories of working with him?
Speaker 3: Oh, my gosh, that was one of the most influential
Speaker 3: times in my career was with Steven. And he was
Speaker 3: such a beautiful person, a beautiful dancer. Obviously, everyone who
Speaker 3: watched him dance just felt an instant connection sol to soul.
Speaker 3: It was kind of indescribable. And working with him, he
Speaker 3: was so sweet. Because I was a ballroom dancer, so
Speaker 3: I wasn't like completely comfortable with hip hop, and although
Speaker 3: we cross trained a lot, I mean, this was hip
Speaker 3: hop hip hop, so I was very much intimidated. But
Speaker 3: he made it so fun, He made it so comfortable.
Speaker 3: And who was our choreographer, Luthor lu choreographer, and they
Speaker 3: had known each other for a while, so I just
Speaker 3: remember coming into the studio and feeling like so welcomed
Speaker 3: and we had we just had so much fun. And
Speaker 3: that was one of the most memorable routines that I
Speaker 3: ever did on the show. So again, I'm just I'm
Speaker 3: so grateful that I was able to have the opportunity
Speaker 3: with him. That was fun.
Speaker 2: That was very fun, so fun.
Speaker 1: You were there for two seasons and then in twenty
Speaker 1: thirteen you made the jump over to Dancing with the
Speaker 1: Stars as a member of the Troop.
Speaker 2: Right.
Speaker 1: It was a little bit of a hot button issue
Speaker 1: this season because some were critical of pros who don't
Speaker 1: start in that like.
Speaker 2: Quasi prentice position.
Speaker 1: Do you think it should be mandatory to ease into
Speaker 1: the competition by starting on troop?
Speaker 3: I mean, you know what's hard is so they took
Speaker 3: away the Troop for a while, and so I think
Speaker 3: like that transition kind of changed the way the producers
Speaker 3: thought about the Troop and getting promoted to being a professional.
Speaker 3: I do think that it helps a lot because the
Speaker 3: east of the show is something unlike anything. I mean,
Speaker 3: you can't be prepared for a show like this, no
Speaker 3: matter how much training in the studio that you do.
Speaker 3: So being on the troop and it helps you see
Speaker 3: kind of how it works, how the beast of the
Speaker 3: show works, and how to teach, because you can be
Speaker 3: the best dancer in the entire world, but if you
Speaker 3: don't know how to teach, then you know that it
Speaker 3: can become very hard for you, and you know, you
Speaker 3: do have to be I think it's it's helpful if
Speaker 3: you are a little bit cross trained, because now now
Speaker 3: we're seeing you know, the freestyles, and we're seeing you know,
Speaker 3: obviously there's jazz and contemporary styles that get judged, and
Speaker 3: so it is really nice to have a little bit
Speaker 3: of everything, and also just to get a little bit
Speaker 3: more information and education under your belt before you get
Speaker 3: promoted as a pro. And I did feel a little
Speaker 3: bit bad for Yawn that he wasn't able. I mean,
Speaker 3: he had never been involved in the show. I mean
Speaker 3: it's nice when you can kind of see it firsthand
Speaker 3: before you step into that role. Yeah, and so I
Speaker 3: think it would just be helpful. I don't know if
Speaker 3: it needs to be mandatory, but I think that it
Speaker 3: would help.
Speaker 2: The pro Yeah, benefits the pros.
Speaker 3: It benefits the pros. Honestly, Like, if I had to choose,
Speaker 3: I would say put me on troop first before I
Speaker 3: get promoted to a pro. But yeah, I think it's
Speaker 3: it was very helpful. And then obviously each season that
Speaker 3: you do as a professional is still so much that
Speaker 3: you learn. I mean, my first season to this season
Speaker 3: is dramatically different. You know, each you learn more and
Speaker 3: you get better at teaching, you get better at choreographing,
Speaker 3: you get better about how you plan everything, and so
Speaker 3: now like within the last even few years, I feel
Speaker 3: like I've gotten a grip on that where I feel like,
Speaker 3: you know, I've watched back some of the routines that
Speaker 3: I did with Von Miller and I'm like, oh my gosh,
Speaker 3: what was I thinking? You know, which I think everybody
Speaker 3: does that at some point in their work, correct, But
Speaker 3: you know it definitely each season teaches you and makes
Speaker 3: you grow in ways that you didn't expect.
Speaker 1: And as we talked about, then in your second season,
Speaker 1: you were paired with the incomparable Alphonso Ribero and you
Speaker 1: take home the Mirror Ball Trophy with him. Did that
Speaker 1: partnership feel special just right from the start?
Speaker 3: I yes, And I remember actually our first meeting and
Speaker 3: I knew exactly who he was. They used to just
Speaker 3: surprise us and it got it got.
Speaker 2: When people, yeah, because sometimes people didn't know who.
Speaker 3: They were exactly, and you're like, nice to meet you.
Speaker 3: I don't know anymore. But they surprised me on this
Speaker 3: one because I think they knew I would know who
Speaker 3: he was. I mean, I watched Fresh Prince all growing up,
Speaker 3: like I wash, so of course I was instantly excited
Speaker 3: when I met him, and then we started to get
Speaker 3: into I remember it was just simple chochaw locks across
Speaker 3: the floor and he got it like that, and I
Speaker 3: was like, Okay, this is gonna be really good. And
Speaker 3: I could just feel it. I could just feel how
Speaker 3: different it was, and he was so good in the
Speaker 3: fact that, like, okay, so it's my second season, right,
Speaker 3: I'm still very much competitive, Like I'm still trying to
Speaker 3: prove myself in a way, because you know, the first
Speaker 3: season I was with Cody Simpson and I got we
Speaker 3: got eliminated I think like the fourth or fifth week
Speaker 3: fairly early. So I still had something to prove and
Speaker 3: I was very competitive and very hard, very hard on him,
Speaker 3: and he was just so patient and kind with me,
Speaker 3: and he was exactly what I needed to be, like, Okay,
Speaker 3: it's okay, it's about it's about making the celebrity better.
Speaker 3: And I think all when once you get into a group,
Speaker 3: you understand that, but at the beginning you're really focused
Speaker 3: on you know, I've got to prove myself. I have
Speaker 3: something to prove, and I want to win, and you're
Speaker 3: very much competitive in that way. So so he was
Speaker 3: really good to kind of like balance out the mental
Speaker 3: part of everything and the emotional part of everything.
Speaker 1: Yeah, that part would be hard because you know, the
Speaker 1: celebrities on the show are not usually trying to leave
Speaker 1: there with a new career as a professional dancer.
Speaker 2: Like that's that.
Speaker 1: You know, we go into it for different Everyone comes
Speaker 1: into it for different reasons. But like best case scenario,
Speaker 1: you're getting somebody there who just wants to learn and
Speaker 1: wants to improve week after week and wants to have
Speaker 1: fun doing it and wants to be out of their
Speaker 1: comfort zone and wants to, you know, see how far
Speaker 1: they can take this and is competing with themselves.
Speaker 2: Week after week.
Speaker 1: But for you guys, especially when this is what you've
Speaker 1: trained for your whole lives, like this is your career,
Speaker 1: this is your reputation, this is so it's hard to
Speaker 1: separate between me Whitney Carson wanting to put on my
Speaker 1: best performance and show people what I'm capable of, but also,
Speaker 1: oh yeah, this it's called Dancing with the Stars, and
Speaker 1: I need to make my star look good. And so yeah,
Speaker 1: that would be really like, that's a that's a that's
Speaker 1: a learning curve that you have to go through between
Speaker 1: finding the balance of showcasing what you're capable of and
Speaker 1: making your star shine.
Speaker 3: Yeah, and I think that it takes honestly years to
Speaker 3: do that. I mean, I, like I said, I didn't
Speaker 3: really quite figure that out fully until the last maybe
Speaker 3: five years. And with some celebrities it's just so different.
Speaker 3: Like I know, for me, some celebrities, I don't I
Speaker 3: don't dance like my full ability, like I don't like
Speaker 3: I'm able to. I almost dance like a notch down
Speaker 3: just in case something happens and they fall off timing.
Speaker 3: And so if they're off timing, I watch them and
Speaker 3: I go off timing so it looks like they're on timing.
Speaker 3: We find little tricks that kind of allow them to shine,
Speaker 3: which in which in turn honestly makes makes you like
Speaker 3: look better as well, because you know, it's it's a
Speaker 3: win win when you when you do it that way
Speaker 3: and you really think about their journey and their and
Speaker 3: what makes them shine and finding those moments to really
Speaker 3: make them stand out.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what do you think made him such a perfect
Speaker 1: contestant for the show.
Speaker 3: If you know Alfonso, he is good at everything and
Speaker 3: that mentality it takes a certain personality, takes a certain
Speaker 3: person whether it was it was something in their childhood
Speaker 3: or their career or whatever they that made them that way.
Speaker 3: But Alfonso is that like if he wants to golf,
Speaker 3: he's the best at golf. If he is trying to
Speaker 3: do tennis, he's the best at that. He will go, go,
Speaker 3: go until he is he's mastered it. And so that's
Speaker 3: how he came into the Dancing with the Stars. He
Speaker 3: wasn't like, Okay, I'm here to have fun. Obviously, I'm
Speaker 3: sure that's yeah, that comes with it, but he was like,
Speaker 3: I'm going to give this everything in my like like
Speaker 3: everything that I have. And I think that was the
Speaker 3: same with Robert too. And you have those few personalities
Speaker 3: where you're like, Okay, like this, I know, I know
Speaker 3: he's going to do amazing because he's got he's got
Speaker 3: what it takes to really go there and on a
Speaker 3: show like this, you have to do that. You have
Speaker 3: to put your whole soul and heart and everything into it.
Speaker 3: And that's just his personality. And I think that he's
Speaker 3: been in TV for very for so long, so he's
Speaker 3: comfortable on camera and that really helped. He was very
Speaker 3: mature in the way that he handled the producers in
Speaker 3: the studio and with me, and very much like calm
Speaker 3: and collected, and he was I think that he was
Speaker 3: just such a just a special person for people to
Speaker 3: watch too. They just connected to us so much because
Speaker 3: we connected obviously, and people root for the connections and
Speaker 3: the partnerships too. Yeah, we made We made the talk
Speaker 3: shows quite a bit from our little banter, which was
Speaker 3: really funny.
Speaker 2: That's so cute.
Speaker 3: People still tell me they're like, my favorite thing you
Speaker 3: ever said to him was when you hit hit him
Speaker 3: in the crotch and you said you need a snack.
Speaker 3: It's like, that's a good line. I still do that
Speaker 3: nowadays too. I'm like, I hit people like, you need
Speaker 3: some food. Food get better. You have some chips, will
Speaker 3: make it better, I promise. But yeah, I think just
Speaker 3: his personality and his drive and the way that we connected.
Speaker 3: I think what is what made us successful. And now
Speaker 3: he's like such a big part of the show. He's
Speaker 3: such a he's the heart of it, you know my opinion.
Speaker 3: So I think that it all worked out for the best.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, he's such an incredible host.
Speaker 1: I know everyone who's ever seen the show with him
Speaker 1: knows that he is spectacular to watch and everybody talks
Speaker 1: about Everybody just watches him, and then every now and
Speaker 1: then someone will just look at each other and go, Wow,
Speaker 1: that's he's good.
Speaker 3: He's really good.
Speaker 2: He's really good.
Speaker 3: I love that he is so invested in each of
Speaker 3: the celebrities too. Yeah, don't you feel like he gave
Speaker 3: you like some good advice and he was very much
Speaker 3: like just he wants everyone to genuinely do well. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and he takes his job seriously. So it's like if
Speaker 3: if he knows that you're struggling with something in the week,
Speaker 3: he'll he'll maybe bring that up or he just really can.
Speaker 3: He really puts everything he has into everything that he does.
Speaker 1: So he really does. He's everyone's safe space. I mean
Speaker 1: really that he is. He gives everyone that feeling. If like,
Speaker 1: as long as I'm here and I'm with him, I
Speaker 1: know I'm in a safe place.
Speaker 3: Yeah exactly. Oh I love that. How did you feel
Speaker 3: like your last your last week, Like did you feel
Speaker 3: like did you feel like you got out what you
Speaker 3: wanted from this experience? Or like, well, how what was
Speaker 3: your mental space coming into it? Like did you just
Speaker 3: want to have fun or did you want to win?
Speaker 3: Like what was your mentality?
Speaker 1: I'm curious when I first started, before we even started,
Speaker 1: once I knew I was doing the show, So like
Speaker 1: sometime at the beginning of August, when I knew, Okay,
Speaker 1: I'm doing the show, I was like.
Speaker 2: I'm gonna win. I want to win.
Speaker 1: I'm very competitive, but I'm also like competitive and a realist.
Speaker 1: And so once we actually started and I saw all
Speaker 1: the other dancers, and you know, going into it, obviously
Speaker 1: I was a fan of the show, so I knew
Speaker 1: there was going to be a lot more involved in
Speaker 1: winning than just dance ability. It's likability and personality and
Speaker 1: who connects with the audience, and you don't know, like
Speaker 1: those are all factors kind of completely out of your control.
Speaker 2: And I remember then, like on pretty.
Speaker 1: Much the first week, being like, oh wow, this is
Speaker 1: a stacked season on all of those fronts, like different,
Speaker 1: different likabilities, different rivalries, different partnerships that people are going
Speaker 1: to root for, lots of prior dance experience, and I,
Speaker 1: similar to Robert, had no prior dance experience. Wow, so
Speaker 1: you know, I'd never even taken a dance class.
Speaker 3: So it was like, my goodness, I didn't know that.
Speaker 1: Yeah I have, I've never I'd never danced, and so
Speaker 1: then I kind of was like, Okay, well, maybe I'm
Speaker 1: not gonna win, which is fine. Maybe there's a win
Speaker 1: in a different way, and that is then I was like,
Speaker 1: the win is competing with myself and getting better every
Speaker 1: week and feeling like, you know, the language of dance
Speaker 1: is both in my body and in my brain, and
Speaker 1: I feel like I just understand it more and I
Speaker 1: definitely feel like I got all of that out of it.
Speaker 1: What I will say is that if I wasn't if
Speaker 1: I didn't have small kids, I probably would have. And
Speaker 1: I don't know if it really would have made that
Speaker 1: much of a difference, because I don't look back on
Speaker 1: my experience on the show and say I didn't work
Speaker 1: hard enough, like.
Speaker 2: We brusted our butts.
Speaker 1: But when I left the studio, I then did have
Speaker 1: to come home and be a mom, and I had
Speaker 1: to put my kids to bed, and I had to
Speaker 1: you know, there were things I had to do that
Speaker 1: I wanted to do in order to not feel like
Speaker 1: I just a bit truly abandoned my family. There was
Speaker 1: enough feeling like you do that anyway, And then it
Speaker 1: meant like I had fifteen to twenty minutes at night
Speaker 1: to review tape and right before I would fall asleep.
Speaker 2: And if I were younger and or did not.
Speaker 1: Have children, there probably would have been more I would
Speaker 1: have I would have been able to do than just that.
Speaker 1: So who knows though if it would have made a difference,
Speaker 1: I wouldn't change anything about my experience.
Speaker 3: That's so I'm so glad. I just was curious about that.
Speaker 3: I feel the exact same way because I have two
Speaker 3: little ones as well. But I think that's what makes
Speaker 3: us have such a unique perspective when we do get
Speaker 3: get out on stage, when we do dance, and when
Speaker 3: we do emote like like, I feel like I connected
Speaker 3: to you so much because you are a mom, and
Speaker 3: like your heart and your passion and your like the
Speaker 3: way that you emoted on stage like made that so personal,
Speaker 3: like so cool, So I feel like it was all
Speaker 3: it was all meant to be. I mean, is your
Speaker 3: balance like we balance so much as a mom, Like
Speaker 3: I know, it was crazy like towards the end, like Carson,
Speaker 3: my husband was like, just go for it. He's like,
Speaker 3: I got the kids, so they didn't have a mom
Speaker 3: honestly for probably the last like four weeks of competence,
Speaker 3: Like I left before they got up, and then I
Speaker 3: came home when they after they went to bed, like
Speaker 3: they did not have a mom. I was like, so sorry,
Speaker 3: I will see you in four weeks.
Speaker 2: And there there was no other way around it.
Speaker 1: Had I made it, had I made it that far,
Speaker 1: that would have been the exact same situation for me.
Speaker 3: Too, exactly. And it's just it's just so hard when
Speaker 3: you are balancing so many different things.
Speaker 1: Yes, and you feel so guilty too because you're like,
Speaker 1: they don't understand, they have no idea. And my son,
Speaker 1: my son did have a meltdown. I told you about
Speaker 1: my oldest son's meltdown. He was like, I hate this job.
Speaker 3: I did not hear that.
Speaker 2: Oh my god, yeah, he said to me. He was like,
Speaker 2: I hate this job. Why did you even take this job?
Speaker 2: You don't have time for me? And Keaton anymore. All
Speaker 2: you do is dance, dance, dance.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, shattered, shattered, literally kill me. I'd be like, okay,
Speaker 3: I'm quitting. I know.
Speaker 2: I was like, it's not gonna last forever.
Speaker 1: It's nice weear, but if I make it to the finals,
Speaker 1: We've only got four more weeks, Adler, and he was
Speaker 1: like he was very upset.
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, Oh that's far. The mom guilt is
Speaker 3: so real.
Speaker 2: Yes, it really is.
Speaker 1: Once you win your first Mirror Ball trophy, does the
Speaker 1: pressure lesson or do you have like a taste for
Speaker 1: blood now and you just want to keep winning another one?
Speaker 3: Oh goodness. I got to think back to when I
Speaker 3: first won. I feel like you can kind of take
Speaker 3: a deep breath a little bit. You can kind of
Speaker 3: be like, Okay, I feel like I've proven myself a
Speaker 3: little bit, I can win, and now it's just kind
Speaker 3: of I think it was interesting what you said take
Speaker 3: the wins in different ways, like, and I think that
Speaker 3: that is the mentality you have to have because not
Speaker 3: everyone can win, and it's not really about the pros
Speaker 3: winning anyway, So it's not really about us winning our wins.
Speaker 3: Like I feel like with Danny last season, not Daniella,
Speaker 3: but with my danny E Minola, it was more about
Speaker 3: like you know, the viral stuff like on social media,
Speaker 3: and like that was like our in our own way,
Speaker 3: like our win, you know, like for us, like that's
Speaker 3: what we were trying to really push because we knew
Speaker 3: like there were some crazy good dancers, so like we are,
Speaker 3: we're not gonna win, so let's let's do our thing.
Speaker 3: Let's try and win in different ways. And I think
Speaker 3: that's how you have to think on this show. But
Speaker 3: after I won the first time, I feel like that
Speaker 3: was kind of the mentality. So each somebody after that
Speaker 3: was like, well, how can I make him look good?
Speaker 3: And how can I make us go as far as
Speaker 3: we can? And I think at the beginning you can
Speaker 3: kind of tell if you have a winner or not,
Speaker 3: like kind of you can tell. You can be like
Speaker 3: maybe not a winner, but you can tell if you're
Speaker 3: gonna make it to the finals. And then there's obviously
Speaker 3: that dark horse where people don't really know. But I
Speaker 3: think every season I have a pretty good intuition. So
Speaker 3: I mean with Milo, I thought, really we had it. Yeah,
Speaker 3: that was the only one where my intuition was not right.
Speaker 1: Did you were you just as shocked by that finale
Speaker 1: as everyone else.
Speaker 3: Yes, yeah, but at the same time, looking back, looking
Speaker 3: back at the time now, but looking back, you know,
Speaker 3: Milo was so young and we did not have TikTok,
Speaker 3: so we did not have that that younger viewership that
Speaker 3: we have now. And I do believe if we had
Speaker 3: that younger viewership, we probably would have won. But because
Speaker 3: Bobby was so popular with that demographic. But that, I mean,
Speaker 3: it makes sense looking back.
Speaker 2: Now, why that right, Yeah, you're right, that younger demographic.
Speaker 1: You don't think about that that like, before the age
Speaker 1: of social media and really getting to get this younger
Speaker 1: generation hooked on the show. That that wasn't his youth,
Speaker 1: which would be such an asset now, was actually a
Speaker 1: detriment back then, right.
Speaker 3: Like if I think if I you know, if he
Speaker 3: did the show right now, I think hands down he
Speaker 3: would he would win. He would take it. And it's
Speaker 3: just the timing of it all. But honestly, we talk
Speaker 3: about it all the time, Milo and I it actually
Speaker 3: did us good, didn't win because now it's so talked about,
Speaker 3: which you know, we'll take it, we'll take it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean, it really is finding wins in other
Speaker 1: ways that like that really was the win, you know,
Speaker 1: the win was in that situation that everyone for years
Speaker 1: since has been like talk about a robbery.
Speaker 3: Talk about exactly. Yes, And I remember the first who
Speaker 3: was it that? Do you remember Chelsea High Tower? Yes,
Speaker 3: for the first pros. I remember her telling me celebrate
Speaker 3: in the small successes. So like every if they point
Speaker 3: their toe on a certain count, that celebrate, celebrate that, right,
Speaker 3: So like I kind of had that mentality throughout the
Speaker 3: years of just like celebrating those moments.
Speaker 1: Yes, well that it's a perfect transition into our buddy
Speaker 1: Robert Irwin. I remember after Week one, a dance that
Speaker 1: I think goes down in the show's Hall of fame
Speaker 1: for Week ones. I saw you at rehearsal and I
Speaker 1: told you, guys, how thought how much I just how
Speaker 1: magical I thought it was, And you mentioned how hard
Speaker 1: it was going to be to continue that trajectory. Were
Speaker 1: you nervous coming off a dance that Derek said might
Speaker 1: be the best Week one performance ever?
Speaker 3: Yes, I was very nervous. I mean I think we
Speaker 3: were the thing about that Week one and I think
Speaker 3: about the thing about Robert Irwin coming in after Bendy.
Speaker 3: Bendy was so beloved and she obviously won, and now
Speaker 3: her brother coming in and the Irwin family is just.
Speaker 2: A trus Yes, yes, yes they are. There are royal family.
Speaker 1: They are They're not even American, but there are somehow
Speaker 1: there are a royal family, yep.
Speaker 3: And they deserve all of it. But it was a
Speaker 3: lot of pressure for us because that first week, so
Speaker 3: we were like, my mentality was like, just do the
Speaker 3: absolute best that you can do, Like I'm not holding
Speaker 3: anything back. I'm just gonna push, push, push, And you know,
Speaker 3: normally I feel like I would maybe hold some things
Speaker 3: back week one, maybe I wouldn't, you know, go as
Speaker 3: strong as I did. But because we had this pressure
Speaker 3: my mentality and we had so much time that it
Speaker 3: kind of just that's kind of just what it was.
Speaker 3: So we just we pulled out all the stops on
Speaker 3: that week one, and I think Derek saying that it
Speaker 3: was the best he's ever seen was great, but it
Speaker 3: also hindered us just a little bit because after that,
Speaker 3: people had an expectation every single week, So of course
Speaker 3: we had that pressure, and but I think that's what
Speaker 3: makes the show so beautiful and our journey so beautiful.
Speaker 3: Is it kind of did this? Yeah, people love to
Speaker 3: root for that. People will love to root for you
Speaker 3: when you do go down, and they need, you know,
Speaker 3: a hero story, they need an arc. So like if
Speaker 3: we stayed there the whole time, I don't know if
Speaker 3: the you know, our journey would be the same and
Speaker 3: the same outcome, you know. So I think that it
Speaker 3: all played out to how it was supposed to do.
Speaker 3: But lots of pressure, definitely, But I love what Robert
Speaker 3: always says is pressure is a privilege. So that's our mentality.
Speaker 3: We were like, this is a privilege to match that,
Speaker 3: try and match that. And obviously each I mean, you know,
Speaker 3: because you've done it, Each style is different. You have
Speaker 3: weaknesses and strengths within each style, and Robert's strength was jive,
Speaker 3: like he is the jive King. So anything after that
Speaker 3: was a big challenge. And what you what everyone saw
Speaker 3: on the live show was hours and hours and hours
Speaker 3: of of you know, training, And I really realized that
Speaker 3: after we did the team dance. Did you were at
Speaker 3: the team dance, right? You did your other team? But
Speaker 3: I realized that really it was very apparent when we
Speaker 3: did the team dance because I was watching Alex Earl
Speaker 3: and Robert side by side learn the same things. Yeah,
Speaker 3: and her hit the position immediately, and with Robert it
Speaker 3: took a long time to get there. And I think
Speaker 3: that's the difference when you have dance experience versus when
Speaker 3: you don't and you don't so it, I mean it.
Speaker 2: Took and I was wit next to Whitney.
Speaker 3: Levitt exactly exact so you got it.
Speaker 2: So I was like, oh, oh, okay, yeah, but.
Speaker 3: You have to you have to work that much harder,
Speaker 3: in which I wish people would have seen in the
Speaker 3: packages a little bit more grind like. It's a grind
Speaker 3: like if you don't know how to put your hip
Speaker 3: to the left and put your arms straight like immediately,
Speaker 3: like it takes some time.
Speaker 1: It takes some time, and you look like a baby
Speaker 1: deer just you're like.
Speaker 2: And so the fact that where you start.
Speaker 1: On day one and some time even in the middle
Speaker 1: of day two, compared to like, oh my gosh, only
Speaker 1: a week later, here we are with what we put
Speaker 1: out in front.
Speaker 2: Of millions of people.
Speaker 1: Live you don't if you're only there a small period
Speaker 1: of time or you're not really committing, it's not.
Speaker 2: Going to look great. But it but with the hours
Speaker 2: and hours and hours and hours in the grind, I.
Speaker 3: Know, then yeah, then that's what people see. And and
Speaker 3: that's the other thing too. With the week one, we
Speaker 3: had three weeks to prepare versus five. Yep, that was
Speaker 3: also I mean, if we had three weeks for every dance,
Speaker 3: like we.
Speaker 1: Got it like unbelievable, exactly. I know, And I remember
Speaker 1: those first three weeks because I know there were a
Speaker 1: lot of people that had already then learned their second
Speaker 1: week during those three weeks, and we talked about what
Speaker 1: we were going to do. We did like a little
Speaker 1: bit of it, but I think, you know, Pasha didn't
Speaker 1: know me well enough at that point, and I think
Speaker 1: he was worried that if we'd learned too much of
Speaker 1: that second week things for this first week, we're going
Speaker 1: to fall out. And also like you don't really know
Speaker 1: what your celebrity is gonna be like at that first
Speaker 1: live show until you have your first live show.
Speaker 2: You can do run throughs and you can do show
Speaker 2: and tells.
Speaker 1: But like the night of that live show is a
Speaker 1: you can't prepare for it, No, you can't.
Speaker 3: And I think the pros are just as nervous as
Speaker 3: the celebrities on that one because, like you said, the
Speaker 3: like what do you crack under pressure? Do you live
Speaker 3: under pressure? Like we don't know. Are you gonna forget
Speaker 3: everything that we can hit the last three weeks? Yeah,
Speaker 3: So it was very telling when Robert came alive, like
Speaker 3: he comes alive like with when the cameras are on,
Speaker 3: and so that for me, I was like, Okay, I
Speaker 3: can take a deep breath now, like he's he's good
Speaker 3: with pressure, which you don't get that a lot.
Speaker 2: Yeah. Yeah, what was your connection to him?
Speaker 1: Like right from the beginning, so many people felt like
Speaker 1: they saw you guys as like a big sister little
Speaker 1: brother relationship.
Speaker 2: Did it feel like that at day one?
Speaker 3: It honestly did like it honestly really did. He. I
Speaker 3: met him when he was eleven, when Bindy did the show,
Speaker 3: So it felt very much like someone that I already knew.
Speaker 3: And obviously I didn't have a chance to really get
Speaker 3: to know him when he was there with Bindy, just
Speaker 3: because you know, we were all in our own worlds.
Speaker 3: But when he showed up and he walked in, he
Speaker 3: was just so excited and I could tell he was
Speaker 3: really nervous. Yeah, I mean he Robert doesn't really get nervous,
Speaker 3: but the energy, I just felt like a little bit
Speaker 3: more nervous energy. And I felt instantly like I wanted
Speaker 3: to like shield him and like him. And I think
Speaker 3: because because I am a mom now and like him
Speaker 3: being so young, and you know, I have two boys,
Speaker 3: and I immediately wanted to just protect him and be
Speaker 3: like it's fine, you're good, I've got you. We got this,
Speaker 3: like we're so and it was just the energy was
Speaker 3: so infectious and it was it just felt really warm,
Speaker 3: and it felt really really good. And then I started
Speaker 3: doing a few like kicks and flicks with him because
Speaker 3: I knew our first dance with Jives. I was like, Okay,
Speaker 3: we're going to test this out a little bit. And
Speaker 3: I was like, what have you been doing for three months?
Speaker 3: Because you got announced? Yeah, now are you taking dance?
Speaker 3: Were you taking dance lessons this whole time? And he
Speaker 3: had done none of it? I'm like, why wouldn't you
Speaker 3: do something?
Speaker 4: Hello?
Speaker 3: Anyway, So we were starting from ground zero, but he
Speaker 3: learned so quickly that I was like, Okay, that's a
Speaker 3: really good sign that his agility was really good. He
Speaker 3: was very athletic and he was able to learn quickly,
Speaker 3: which is exactly what I was looking for. So I'm like,
Speaker 3: even if you don't have dance experience, if you can
Speaker 3: learn pretty quickly and keep it retained, yep, that's going
Speaker 3: to be really important. So that's what I was kind
Speaker 3: of looking for with that one. But immediate connection, immediate
Speaker 3: like protectiveness.
Speaker 1: At one point, you jokingly wanted to play matchmaker for Robert,
Speaker 1: the planet's most eligible bachelor, and then your inbox was.
Speaker 2: Attacked with dms.
Speaker 1: Can you give me a little bit of the vibe
Speaker 1: of maybe some of the messages you were receiving?
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, what started out as like a really
Speaker 3: big joke, it started becoming very real for every girl
Speaker 3: in America and Australia. So somehow my email was getting
Speaker 3: leaked and I was getting emails of applications, I was
Speaker 3: getting DMS, I was getting text messages. People really did
Speaker 3: their detective work with my email.
Speaker 4: Oh but some of them were really sweet and like amazing,
Speaker 4: Like some of these girls really just want to meet Robert,
Speaker 4: and like I don't blame them, I don't blame them
Speaker 4: at all for shooting their shot.
Speaker 3: Yeah, but a lot of them were just a full
Speaker 3: explanation that they love animals and they're really good. I mean,
Speaker 3: they're great girls, but it just became so overwhelming for
Speaker 3: me that I was like, Guys, I can't focus on
Speaker 3: I'm trying to win a competition, like I can't Matchmaker
Speaker 3: right now, Robert, you're on your own. And Bendy was like, yeah,
Speaker 3: thank goodness, I have someone to help me with this, because.
Speaker 2: I'm sure that happens to her too.
Speaker 3: Yes, So we've kind of split the load there, but
Speaker 3: I'm like, Robert, you're on your own now. I'm gonna
Speaker 3: let you handle that well.
Speaker 1: Another big discussion this past season involved the online discourse.
Speaker 1: A lot of very passionate fandoms were participating, and social
Speaker 1: media played a much bigger role on the show than
Speaker 1: it ever has before. The word toxic was thrown around
Speaker 1: quite a lot. Did it affect you and Robert at all?
Speaker 3: Not really. I feel like Robert and I are very
Speaker 3: much in the same person as far as like comments
Speaker 3: online and feeding into the negativity. We're just not by nature,
Speaker 3: we're not negative people, and so we don't like that
Speaker 3: energy at all. So anything negative it kind of bounced
Speaker 3: right off of us, and we kind of focused on
Speaker 3: what we were doing. I mean, we're all human, and
Speaker 3: obviously sometimes I would read it and it would hurt
Speaker 3: my feelings a little bit, but I wouldn't let it
Speaker 3: affect me. If anything, my personality being a dancer and
Speaker 3: getting critiqued so much, that's that was my whole life.
Speaker 3: It was getting critiqued. It was fixed, fix your head,
Speaker 3: fix your fix, fix fix fixed. So for me, critiques,
Speaker 3: constructive criticism I love and I actually take that and
Speaker 3: it motivates me. If it's just nasty and mean, I
Speaker 3: don't really care. I don't really care. It kind of
Speaker 3: bounces right off of me. But I know a lot
Speaker 3: of people. I mean, I feel like Robert and I
Speaker 3: were lucky enough to not get as much as some
Speaker 3: of the other couples did. Like I felt like Whitney
Speaker 3: and my thought a lot, and that would be very
Speaker 3: very hard to deal with if I was getting that
Speaker 3: every single day. And she is a tough she's a
Speaker 3: tough woman, Like that's that's very very hard to do
Speaker 3: when you're getting you know, such negative, hateful comments every
Speaker 3: single day. And I think people need to realize that
Speaker 3: we're all human, we're all trying to do, you know,
Speaker 3: the best that we can. So I do feel bad
Speaker 3: for some of the couples that really got it, yeah, badly,
Speaker 3: But I didn't. We definitely didn't feed into it, and
Speaker 3: we would definitely if there was anything negative, we would
Speaker 3: just swipe, or we would just not read it or
Speaker 3: you know, kind of protect our peace, I think, because
Speaker 3: it's it's mentally challenging already enough as it is.
Speaker 1: You know, yes, absolutely, I feel very much the same way.
Speaker 1: I'm also just not a negative person, and so if
Speaker 1: there is some of it out there, I really try
Speaker 1: to just go, oh.
Speaker 3: Okay, did you feel did you feel like you got
Speaker 3: any at all?
Speaker 2: No? Not nothing. Nothing.
Speaker 1: That was just straight up nasty people being you know,
Speaker 1: people saying whether or not they thought I could dance
Speaker 1: or critical or whatever. Sure, but like people just being
Speaker 1: nasty to me. No, I really was spared. And and
Speaker 1: like you said, some people were not spared.
Speaker 3: That, and and that would be that would be very hard.
Speaker 2: But very hard.
Speaker 1: Looking back on your partners, Milo excluded, is there someone
Speaker 1: that sticks out as a competitor who deserved a longer run?
Speaker 3: Kind of thing? Packed all my partners I've had, so
Speaker 3: many deserved a longer run. I'm trying to think. I
Speaker 3: feel like all of the partners that I feel like
Speaker 3: had potential all made it to the finale. Okay, I
Speaker 3: do feel like with von Miller, I feel like those
Speaker 3: that's one season that I kind of looked back at
Speaker 3: and wish I would have tried a lot harder. And
Speaker 3: not that I didn't and not that I didn't put
Speaker 3: my best effort forward. I just wish I would have
Speaker 3: had him in the last few years to really give it.
Speaker 3: You know, I know a lot more, I'm a lot
Speaker 3: more experienced, and I feel like I could really because
Speaker 3: he was so strong and so athletic. I do feel
Speaker 3: like I could give it a better a better season
Speaker 3: if I had him in the last few years, for sure.
Speaker 3: So that's kind of one season that I go, I
Speaker 3: regret a.
Speaker 2: Little bit, right, You wish you knew then what you know.
Speaker 3: Now exactly, And that's that's hard, right, Like everyone kind
Speaker 3: of does that. But I think that's one specific because
Speaker 3: he just had come from the Super Bowl, he was
Speaker 3: MVP Super Bowl champ and there were a lot of
Speaker 3: expectations on us and I really I had just gotten married,
Speaker 3: so I feel like I was very much in this
Speaker 3: marriage bubble and you know it's hard, it's hard to
Speaker 3: balance all of that, but I really feel like I
Speaker 3: wish I would have given it a little bit more.
Speaker 1: I totally get that you are a mom of two,
Speaker 1: as we've mentioned, and you look absolutely incredible. I think
Speaker 1: a lot of listeners, including myself, want your tips and tricks.
Speaker 1: So let's talk about Finesse. Tell me about it. Tell
Speaker 1: me about your app. Why did you create it?
Speaker 2: I want to know everything.
Speaker 3: Oh, you're so sweet, Thank you. It's actually been a
Speaker 3: passion project of mine for many years. As like I
Speaker 3: grew up, I really realized that like a lot of
Speaker 3: dancers don't have the accessibility of really good mentors and trainers,
Speaker 3: and people either can't afford it, or they don't have
Speaker 3: teachers close by, or they don't have studios close by.
Speaker 3: And so this was kind of a project for us
Speaker 3: that can be accessible and affordable to anyone that wants
Speaker 3: to learn ballroom dance and wants to learn from me
Speaker 3: specifically and have and learn choreography that I do on
Speaker 3: the show. And also we have some workouts on there
Speaker 3: as well, so if you're looking to dance and get
Speaker 3: some cardio and move your body, there's workouts in there,
Speaker 3: and then if you're wanting to learn just the basics
Speaker 3: and choreography, there's also a lot of options on there
Speaker 3: as well. So it really started as like a passion
Speaker 3: project that really anybody can access. And it's been really
Speaker 3: well received and we're so so excited about it, and
Speaker 3: it's been really fun. It's been really fun to kind
Speaker 3: of give back to a dance community that's given me
Speaker 3: so much and and I you know, I'm so grateful
Speaker 3: for my childhood and having great mentors, so I just
Speaker 3: really wanted to make sure that everybody had that accessibility.
Speaker 1: I love that. I'm gonna I'm going to join, by
Speaker 1: the way, Yes you need to, It's so yes, I will.
Speaker 1: All right, let's get to the chase. After something like
Speaker 1: season thirty four basically winning the show's super Bowl, do
Speaker 1: you plan on returning to the show and defending the title?
Speaker 3: It's oh my goodness, he's hitting.
Speaker 2: Me with the hard, hard hitting questions.
Speaker 3: I know everyone's uh, not everyone, but you know, people
Speaker 3: are asking me, They're like, please don't retire, and I'm like,
Speaker 3: it's it's a hard it's a hard decision, right because
Speaker 3: it's a show that I love very much and it's
Speaker 3: been so much part of me and I've mentioned that
Speaker 3: so many times, and it's had kind of a resurgence,
Speaker 3: and it's beautiful that people are giving dancers a platform
Speaker 3: and us this opportunity to share what we love so much.
Speaker 3: TBD to be.
Speaker 1: DEBD, I mean, how could you top Robert. That's the
Speaker 1: hardest parts.
Speaker 3: That's the hardest part. That's the hardest part. But like
Speaker 3: you said, it's it's not every season about winning the
Speaker 3: Mirror Ball, right, Like, it's not. That's not necessarily what
Speaker 3: it's about. You can find your own experience and your
Speaker 3: own growth and your own successes without winning the Mirror Ball.
Speaker 3: So and you know, I don't I don't expect to
Speaker 3: win again. But actually, Dina just text me the other
Speaker 3: day She's like, you're not pregnant, right, And I'm like, oh, gonness.
Speaker 3: So we're kind of we're kind of tossing it up
Speaker 3: because you know, my youngest is too and we want
Speaker 3: more children, and you know, unfortunately it's kind of the
Speaker 3: timing of it all, so it's like, do we have
Speaker 3: a baby? Ye, go back to the show. So we're
Speaker 3: kind of okay. I mean that so TBD. TBD, honestly,
Speaker 3: my honest, honest response to that.
Speaker 1: Okay, I appreciate the honesty. I am about to embark
Speaker 1: on a wild adventure. I'm doing the Dancing with the
Speaker 1: Stars Live tour. You have participated in the past, and
Speaker 1: you'll be coming for some special dates with Robert on
Speaker 1: this live tour as well.
Speaker 2: What should I expect?
Speaker 3: What?
Speaker 1: The fact that we have to do our own hair
Speaker 1: and makeup is traumatizing me.
Speaker 3: It's actually it's actually great because you have you get
Speaker 3: to explore some amazing in the country, and you know
Speaker 3: what we don't get to do on camera or on
Speaker 3: the show is to really meet the fans who have
Speaker 3: voted for week after week after week. And that's the
Speaker 3: best part. That's the best part of meeting the fans
Speaker 3: and being able to give them something that you know
Speaker 3: that they want and that they love, and that is
Speaker 3: performing and spreading joy and like you know, then they're
Speaker 3: so excited and it's just it's an amazing full circle
Speaker 3: moment where you're like, Okay, this is why I do
Speaker 3: what I do. You know, I really feel the love
Speaker 3: and the energy in each theater, and I love that
Speaker 3: they do theaters now because it used to the arenas
Speaker 3: and it was just it wasn't intimate. So this book
Speaker 3: very intimate. And you have you ever done live performances
Speaker 3: like on Broadway or anything, or.
Speaker 1: Never have done Broadway, but for we've done a podcast
Speaker 1: live tour.
Speaker 3: And you know, Okay, so you know how that feels.
Speaker 3: And I think you're gonna you're gonna be way more
Speaker 3: laxed because no one's judging you. They well, they love
Speaker 3: you for you and for what you can offer, and
Speaker 3: that's that's amazing to them. So they're they're gonna be
Speaker 3: so excited. It's gonna be chill. I mean, nobody's be
Speaker 3: judging you. Honestly, you could go out just like that,
Speaker 3: like I would just do natural makeup and just have
Speaker 3: my hair like this and do the costumes and okay, fun,
Speaker 3: it's so fun. You're gonna don't stress about it. Honestly,
Speaker 3: it's it's it's a blast.
Speaker 1: Okay, I'm really looking forward to it. How do you
Speaker 1: pack to be gone for so long?
Speaker 3: Like?
Speaker 1: Do you just bring warm sweatsuits? I'm gone through the winter.
Speaker 1: I'm doing all the January February dates.
Speaker 3: Okay, are you gonna be on the East coast then yes?
Speaker 3: Or yes? Yeah? I mean, I would just plan on
Speaker 3: loungey where plant like a few things that you can
Speaker 3: explore the city, because it's really fun to go do
Speaker 3: that and do kind of the touristy things in the
Speaker 3: city and then you perform and then you go to
Speaker 3: bed and you hang out with everyone and it's it's
Speaker 3: really so how many dates are you doing?
Speaker 2: I'm doing twenty eight shows?
Speaker 3: Oh my gosh, so exciting. Yeah. No, I would just
Speaker 3: pack light because hugging lugging that suitcase in and out
Speaker 3: of the bus and into the venue. Make sure you
Speaker 3: have like a little carry on so you have like
Speaker 3: your makeup, your toilet stuff, and your shower stuff, so
Speaker 3: that you can just take that little carry on into
Speaker 3: the venue. Great, I mean, so just like do that
Speaker 3: so you don't have to get your whole big suitcase out. Okay,
Speaker 3: just a little carry on and then just have fun.
Speaker 3: I'm I'm jealous you're doing that many dates, like I
Speaker 3: would love to do that. How are your boys staying home?
Speaker 1: They're staying home, but my husband is going to bring
Speaker 1: them out for about a week, So I'm going to
Speaker 1: be gone for two weeks. Then they're going to come
Speaker 1: out and join me for a week. Then when they
Speaker 1: go home, I'll only have one week left.
Speaker 3: Perfect. See that's perfect. Yeah, my kids are coming. We're
Speaker 3: doing an RV, so we're renting an RV. It's so great,
Speaker 3: and they're just doing city to city with me because
Speaker 3: I yeah, and like we've done the whole bus thing
Speaker 3: before where I actually had my contract the last time
Speaker 3: I did tour that Carson had a bunk. Great, actually
Speaker 3: had his own bunk with me, and so that was
Speaker 3: really fun. But you'll have a blast, You'll you'll have
Speaker 3: so much fun.
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to it and I'm going to have
Speaker 1: to pick one of your and Robert states I want
Speaker 1: to come and watch when you guys are there, so.
Speaker 3: Me too, I think I swear we do la but.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you do.
Speaker 1: You're you're more of the local ones I think. Also,
Speaker 1: are you Vegas too?
Speaker 3: Vegas too?
Speaker 2: Okay? And will you be at the Irwin Gala on
Speaker 2: September on May third? Yes, me too, I'm so excited.
Speaker 1: Okay, good Bank reunion, Yes, Okay, great, I'm really looking
Speaker 1: forward to it. Whitney, thank you so much for spending
Speaker 1: your time with me. Have the best time in Australia.
Speaker 1: I'm going to want all the details. I'm going to
Speaker 1: make sure you have my phone number so we can text.
Speaker 1: But when you get back, I want to know everything
Speaker 1: about it. I want to hear all the details. I
Speaker 1: want to see family pictures. I adore you and just
Speaker 1: loved my time with you this past season and think
Speaker 1: thank you so much for spreading your light and sharing
Speaker 1: it with all of us here today.
Speaker 3: You are the best. Thank you for having me. Love you,
Speaker 3: Love you ma.
Speaker 4: Bye, okay bye.
Speaker 1: Danielle with the Stars Produced and hosted by Danielle Fischel.
Speaker 1: Executive producers Jensen Carp and Amy Sugarman, Executive in charge
Speaker 1: of production Danielle Romo, producer, editor and engineer Tara Sudbosch.
Speaker 1: Theme song by Justin Siegel. Follow us on Instagram at
Speaker 1: Danielle with Stars and vote for me