What To Know
- Witney Carson will be partnered with Guillermo Rodriguez on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars.
- Before her partner was revealed, Carson shared her excitement over Rodriguez joining the cast in an exclusive interview with TV Insider.
- Carson revealed on Good Morning America that she will compete on Season 35 while four months pregnant with baby number three.
Witney Carson has a feeling Guillermo Rodriguez will go far on Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars.
Rodriguez is one of four confirmed celebrity contestants for the ABC competition show’s new season, including Summer House star Ciara Miller, The Traitors‘ Maura Higgins, and Savannah Bananas baseball player Jackson Olson. While the full cast list has yet to be revealed, Carson announced on the Monday, August 17, episode of Good Morning America that she will be partnered with Rodriguez for Season 35.
Before the partner reveal, Carson shared her excitement about the Season 35 cast in an exclusive interview with TV Insider. “I think Ciara is going to be fantastic. I also think Maura is gonna be amazing, too,” she said before teasing her partner. “I’m actually really excited for Guillermo. I love Guillermo. I think he’s really funny and really sweet. I think he’s gonna be, like, the Andy Richter of the season. You know? He’s gonna be the people’s prince, for sure.”
Carson referred to how Richter and his partner, Emma Slater, became fan favorites on Season 34 of DWTS last year. Despite earning lower scores than their competitors, fan votes helped them reach Week 9. Richter and Slater finished the season in seventh place overall.
Carson will likely strive to win over fans in a similar way with Rodriguez. “I’m really curious to see what he has in store, because I don’t think I’ve ever seen him dance,” she teased.
The pro dancer continued, “The girls, as well, I think they’ll be very coordinated. I think Ciara would be really good with Val [Chmerkovskiy]. I think they would be really great together. Maura, I know she wants Mark [Ballas], which I think they would do really well, as well. But I’m super excited. It’s gonna be, probably, the best cast we’ve had in a long time.”
The full Season 35 cast lineup will be announced on the September 2 episode of GMA. “They keep it so secretive, like, we literally don’t know anything, nothing,” Carson stated.
In addition to announcing her partnership with Rodriguez on GMA, Carson also revealed that she is currently expecting baby No. 3 with her husband, Carson McAllister. (The couple, who wed in 2016, share sons Leo and Jet.)
“I’m very excited, but I would be lying if I said it wasn’t very daunting,” she told GMA‘s Michael Strahan. “I’ve never been this far along pregnant and competing on Dancing With the Stars before, ever. I don’t know if it’s ever been done. So, you guys will definitely see a big bump.”
Emma Slater and Andy Richter on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 34 (Disney/Eric McCandless)
Rather than hide her baby bump with rhinestones and fringe, Carson said she is excited to proudly flaunt it on the show. “I am so proud to be a woman, to be creating life and growing this human. And to be able to do the show and compete and be able to grow this life is such a huge blessing,” she stated. “And I’m so proud of it, and I’m gonna kick butt while doing it.”
Heading into Season 35, Carson said she has no idea what to expect. “It wasn’t on my bingo card to compete on Dancing With the Stars and be four months pregnant. But I think that it’s a beautiful thing, and I think that I am really excited,” she said. “I want to feel empowered. I want to see what my body can do. And, hopefully, Guillermo will be right there beside me and we can work as a team. And being a mother is the greatest blessing that I could ever ask for, so I’m very blessed.”
Dancing With the Stars, Season 35 Premiere, Tuesday, September 15, 8/7c, ABC
– Additional reporting by Alyssa Norwin