When Dancing With The Stars celebrated its 500th episode, it brought back iconic dancers for an opening routine to celebrate its almost 20 years on air. Over 31 seasons, 50 professional dancers have partnered with celebrities and helped them win the mirrorball trophy.
There are many reasons pros quit Dancing With The Stars. From leaving for new career opportunities to not enjoying their time on the successful ABC dancing competition. Regardless of their reasoning, pros walking away from DWTS and not returning to the dancefloor is eye-opening considering the show’s popularity.
Professionals Who Left Dancing With The Stars Due To Bad Blood
Dancing With The Stars has had its fair share of feuds over the years on air. Although contestants and professionals arguing hit the headlines, numerous pros have quit due to disagreements with the ABC show.
Edyta Śliwińska was a mainstay of the show, appearing in the first 10 seasons. According to TMZ reports, at the time, she disagreed with producers and felt “The producers’ vision of what they wanted my career to be did not meet my expectations. They wanted my career to be the show. I can’t be a dancer my whole life.” According to Digital Spy, she later took to Twitter to say she was misquoted, and she left to concentrate on her studies.
Winning Dancing With The Stars Pros
Winning Pro | Winning Celebs |
Alec Mazo | Kelly Monaco |
Cheryl Burke | Drew Lachey, Emmitt Smith |
Julianne Hough | Apolo Anton Ohno, Helio Castroneves |
Mark Ballas | Kristin Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Charli D’Amelio |
Derek Hough | Brooke Burke, Nicole Scherzinger, Jennifer Grey, Kellie Pickler, Amber Riley , Bindi Irwin |
Kym Johnson | Donny Osmond, Hines Ward, |
Tony Dovolano | Melissa Rycroft |
Karina Smirnoff | J.R Martinez, |
Peta Murgatroyd | Donald Driver, Nyle DiMarco |
Maksim Chmerkovskiy | Meryl Davis, |
Witney Carson | Alfonso Ribeiro |
Val Chmerkovskiy | Rumer Willis, Laurie Hernandez, Xochitl Gomez |
Emma Slater | Rashad Jennings |
Lindsay Arnold | Jordan Fisher |
Jenna Johnson | Adam Rippon |
Sharna Burgess | Bobby Bones |
Alan Bersten | Hannah Brown |
Artem Chigvintsev | Kaitlyn Bristowe |
Daniella Karagach | Iman Shumpert |
On the Feb. 5, 2024, episode of the Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Edyta explained she and her husband, Alec Mazo, disliked the lack of control the show gave them and how the show forced them to miss out on other opportunities.
Tony Dovolani quit after 21 seasons because he didn’t want to “babysit” stars anymore. Closer reported that the pro had become tired of the behavior of celebrities.
Some of these celebrities, or reality celebrities, I should say, they sometimes… they have an idea of what they think they are and who they are, and they didn’t realize that I wasn’t there to deal with them.
The dancing pro continued, “I was there to teach them how to dance. So, when it becomes about other than teaching them how to dance, I want no part of it.”
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After appearing on Seasons 13 and 17 — along with the British version of the dance show —Tristan MacManus admitted that the format was a little too structured for him. “I’m grateful for the chances I have had on TV, but I didn’t enjoy doing those shows and that’s why I stepped away from them,” he told the Independent in 2017.
“I felt like I was the only one complaining so much and I didn’t like being that guy, so I decided to get out of it. You can get lost in the bubble of being in that show, but I didn’t want to be in that bubble.”
Dancers Who Quit Dancing With The Stars To Start Families
Lindsay Arnold and Sharna Burgess both called time on their Dancing With the Stars experience in 2022 to concentrate on motherhood, as reported by The Mirror. Although both presume they will return to the competition when they’re ready, they were not the only ones to quit the show to have children and settle down.
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Long-time favorite Peta Murgatroyd left the show after 10 years to concentrate on her family.
- She welcomed her third child in the summer of 2024 with her pro-dancing husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
While she normally returned to the dancefloor after welcoming her kids, she finally admitted she was not physically ready for the challenge. “Usually I go back eight weeks after giving birth, which in itself is crazy, right? Crazy. And it is hard, mentally, physically, everything… So yeah, I chose family over work this time because I don’t know how I would do it, timewise,” she said on an Instagram Live.
According to Heavy, Ashly DelGrosso quit the show to start a family with her producer husband Mike DeCosta. “I got married and I had two babies,” she told People in 2010 of her absence from the show. The couple now have five children together, and she mostly lives life out of the spotlight. While she still teaches, she doesn’t intend to go back.
Australian dancer Kym Johnson left the franchise in 2015 after meeting and later marrying partner Robert Herjavec, who she met on the reality show. She told People that she felt it right to walk away after welcoming twins in 2018. “It’s always hard to pivot and transition to different careers, but as a dancer, it takes a toll on your body, and I’ve always wanted to do other things,” she explained.
Dancing with the Stars professional dancer Anna Trebunskaya took time off the show after she and fellow pro Jonathan Roberts decided to end their nine-year marriage. She returned on and off before quitting in Season 17 after finding out she was pregnant, although she returned one last time in Season 21 to partner with Gary Busey.
Professional Dancers Left The World Of Entertainment All Together
The world of ballroom dancing competition may seem glamorous, but not everyone wants to stay in it. Showbusiness is not for everyone, and professionals from DWTS often leave our screens to go back to the grassroots of the industry.
Although these stars no longer appear on our televisions, they still have a passion for the industry, owning their own studios and taking a more backstage role in the world of dance competitions.
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Alec Mazo was an early professional on Dancing With The Stars, appearing on the first season and leaving after the ninth. He left showbusiness and went on to earn an MBA from Stanford University, moving behind the scenes, becoming CEO of the Genesis Dance Sports studio.
- Nick Kosovich, who only appeared in seasons two and three, left the dance show to become an event organizer, although he returned to the bathroom to consult for several dance organizations.
- Season 3’s Jesse DeSoto moved away from the show to work in real estate development and co-own a Fred Astaire Dance Studio.
- Season 6 pro, Fabian Sanchez co-owns Fred Astaire Dance Studio in Alabama.
Dancing Wih the Stars’ popularity has only increased over the years. With more and more popular celebrities willing to toss their hat in the ring, it’ll be fun for fans to see which pros return after stepping away.
Dancing with the Stars is a popular dancing competition reality TV show airing on ABC and Disney+. The series features various celebrities who pair with professional dancers to compete in front of a panel of judges. The US version of the UK TV show Strictly Come Dancing premiered in 2005 and was originally hosted by Tom Bergeron for its first 28 seasons.
- Release Date
- June 1, 2005
- Main Genre
- Reality
- Cast
- Carrie Ann Inaba , Bruno Tonioli , Len Goodman , Tom Bergeron , Cheryl Burke , Tony Dovolani , Derek Hough , Mark Ballas , Karina Smirnoff , Maksim Chmerkovskiy , Kym Johnson , Sasha Farber , Val Chmerkovskiy , Emma Slater , Sharna Burgess
