Getty Pro dancer and mirrorball champ Witney Carson 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 Witney Carson is not partnered up with a celebrity for the competition this year. Not to worry, Carson 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, Carson explained that she contemplated dancing in season 29 before deciding it was better for her and her pregnancy if she sat this one out: “We had quite a few conversations about that, and I just don’t think it’s ultimately safe for me to participate. So I will not be joining this season. It’s just so hard with COVID-19, we don’t really know what’s happening there. And I’d be pretty big. I’d be about 24 weeks, which is, like, I’d have a belly.” While she admitted she’s going to have “some serious FOMO” not being a part of this season’s competition, Carson added, “I’ve never done that before, so I’m really excited to cheer on all my castmates and my friends and just see how the show is. It’s gonna be great.”
Carson won the celebrity dance competition’s mirrorball trophy in season 19 with her partner Alfonso Ribiero, securing her first win on the show within her first two seasons as a pro partner.
Carson & Her Husband Are Expecting A Baby Boy in January 2021
In July Carson shared the exciting news that she and her husband Carson McAllister were expecting with her Instagram followers, sharing a series post of their ultrasound photos and a positive pregnancy test. In the caption, she wrote, “Baby McAllister coming Jan 2021!!!!! We can’t even contain our excitement and joy right now. We found out together with @clearblue, which was so surreal and special! Getting our results in words made this whole thing that much more real! We love this little bean so much already and we can’t wait to start this beautiful chapter in our lives!” The two later shared photos and video from their gender reveal party, letting fans know that they are expecting a baby boy.
As news spread of her pregnancy, Carson admitted to Entertainment Tonight, “It came as a shock because we were not expecting it; we both kind of looked at each other and were very surprised. So, it’s kind of taken some time to digest this news, but ultimately, we are just so excited. And it’s just kind of crazy to be growing a human inside me. Like, it’s bizarre! I don’t even think it’s hit him yet at all.”
Carson’s Friend & Fellow DWTS Pro Lindsay Arnold Is Also Pregnant With Her First Child
Carson is not the only DWTS sitting out this season; Lindsay Arnold is also pregnant with her first child, a baby girl. Carson’s close friendship with Dancing With the Stars pro Arnold is well known, and she told ET that people speculated that the two women planned to be pregnant at the same time. She explained, “So Lindsay’s due in November, and then I’m due in January. Everybody thought that we planned it, but it’s so funny because we really didn’t. Lindsay told me she was pregnant when she was, like, 11 or 12 weeks. I was already pregnant, I just didn’t know it. It was so crazy.” Continuing, she added, “I actually found out I was pregnant the week after she told me. It is so special. I mean, honestly, she has been so great through this process. We were talking yesterday, and I’m like, ‘So you’re kind of the guinea pig.’ She’s like, ‘I’m fine, I’ll try it out first and let you know how it goes.’ But it’s been so fun. We’ve obviously known each other since we were about nine years old, so to do literally everything together has just been so special and I cannot wait to be mothers together.”
In Carson and Arnold’s places, DWTS has introduced two new professional dance partners this season: Britt Stewart and Daniella Karagach.
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.
Dancing With the Stars season 29 airs on Monday nights at 8/7c on ABC.
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