Getty Pro dancer and mirrorball champ Lindsay Arnold will not be a part of the "Dancing With the Stars" season 29 cast.
Dancing With the Stars season 29 premieres on September 13, and while many familiar faces are returning to the ballroom, fans of DWTS may be surprised to see that professional dancer Lindsay Arnold is not partnered up with a celebrity for the competition this year. Not to worry, Arnold neither quit nor was fired – she’s not a part of this season because she is currently pregnant with her first child!
In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Arnold confirmed that she would be sitting out for season 29 of DWTS: “I will not be dancing this season, but I am hoping to be a part of the show in other ways that I can be. I’ll have our baby in November, which gives me about 10 months to have time with the little babe, and then get back into shape and get back into dancing to hopefully be back around for the next fall season.” Continuing, she added, “That’s sort of the plan, and that’s what I intend to do. I have every intention of coming back. I mean, I love that show, I can’t see me not wanting to be a part of it in some way for the rest of my life as long as they will have me.”
Arnold joined the DWTS professional cast back in season 16 and won the season 25 mirrorball trophy with her celebrity partner Jordan Fisher.
Arnold & Her Husband Are Expecting a Baby Girl in November 2020
In May 2020, Arnold and her husband Sam Cusick shared the exciting news that they were going to be parents for the first time, posing with the ultrasound photos of their baby in a sweet Instagram pic. Their due-date is mid-November, making it likely that Arnold will give birth while the Dancing With the Stars season 29 competition is still underway.
Arnold has been updating her followers throughout the pregnancy with bump photos and details about how she’s feeling and taking care of herself as a first-time mom-to-be. The couple even shared photos and video from their gender reveal party, announcing, “IT’S A GIRL!!!!! We could not feel more blessed or excited for our sweet little girl to come into this world! We already love her so much.”
Arnold told ET that she found out she was pregnant while she was on tour with the DWTS cast, and had to keep the news a secret from Cusick for a week until she was able to see him in person. She said, “I found out I was pregnant on tour in a hotel room by myself. I had a day off, and I think I was in Kansas City. I just remember waking up that morning and being like, ‘I think I am pregnant, I think I am.’ So I went to CVS by myself, I got a test and took it. Sam and I saw each other about a week after. I kind of debated if I would tell him over the phone, and I was like, ‘No, I absolutely have to tell him in person.’ So I kept the secret to myself for about a week and it was very hard, if you know me.”
There Are 2 New Female Pros Joining the DWTS Cast This Season
Lindsay Arnold is not the only expectant Dancing With the Stars pro sitting out this season – her DWTS castmate and friend Witney Carson is also pregnant with her first child. Carson is expecting a baby boy in January 2021. With Carson and Arnold absent from the competing cast this year, DWTS is introducing two new professional dance partners this season: Britt Stewart and Daniella Karagach.
Stewart is the show’s first Black female professional dance partner, and Karagach is the wife of DWTS pro Pasha Pashkov.
The other pros competing this season with celebrity partners are Sharna Burgess, Peta Murgatroyd, Val Chmerkovskiy, Cheryl Burke, Keo Motsepe, Jenna Johnson, Alan Bersten, Brandon Armstrong, Sasha Farber, Pasha Pashkov, Emma Slater, and Gleb Savchenko. Pashkov and Karagach are one of 3 married couples in the DWTS pro cast this season; Johnson and Chmerkovskiy and Farber and Slater are also married.
Dancing With the Stars season 29 airs on Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.
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