Getty Images Cameron Mathison didn't want to dance with Edyta Sliwinska.
Season 5 “Dancing With the Stars” alum Cameron Mathison recently admitted that his time on the show wasn’t easy for his wife. His comments came on the July 22 episode of “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.” Mathison said that his schedule at the time was absolutely crazy — plus his partner on the season was super good looking, which didn’t make things any easier for him at home.
The “All My Children” actor told podcast host Cheryl Burke that he requested not to be paired with Edyta Sliwinska.
“I don’t know if Edyta knows this. I actually called Dina Katz,” Mathison told Burke. Katz has been the head of casting for the show for many years. “I said, ‘listen, I’m so happy that you’ve offered me the show. I can’t wait. I’m in. Just do me a favor. I’ll take, please put me with anybody but Edyta,'” he added.
“Because I knew, my wife and I, you know, we were going through a little bit of a challenge at that time,” he explained.
Mathison ended up dancing with Sliwinska despite his request — likely because of their height match up. They ended up becoming very good friends. They finished the season in 5th place.
Cameron Mathison Had Fun With Edyta Sliwinska & Was ‘Bummed’ When They Got Eliminated
Despite having some reservations ahead of the season, things worked out well for Mathison and Sliwinska. Their ballroom chemistry was undeniable and fans really loved watching them dance together.
“I felt like we had a lot of really great support from all the fans. Clearly, that is why we stayed in as long as we did. I’m really bummed about leaving. I’m proud of everything that we’ve been able to accomplish but honestly I’m really bummed. I don’t want to go home,” Mathison told OK! Magazine after their elimination.
“I now know I can dive into something that I know nothing about and, with a lot of hard work, I can become pretty good at it. I think I can apply that to a lot of things in my life,” he added.
Cameron Mathison Called Edyta Sliwinska a ‘Hero’
Mathison credited Sliwinska with getting him through the tough schedule he faced while competing on “Dancing With the Stars” back in 2007. At the time, he was shooting “All My Children,” rehearsing for the dance competition show, and flying back and forth from New York City to Los Angeles.
“She was a hero and she put up with me. Yeah, so we, I was shooting six episodes of ‘All My Children’ in three days in New York. So they would jam me up for when I was in New York and Edyta was there waiting for me, rehearsing in between scenes, we would rehearse in New York and then we would take basically red eyes both way more or less. And it was a crazy, crazy schedule,” Mathison said on “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans.”
Elsewhere in the podcast, Mathison credited Sliwinska with being a trooper through the whole process.
“Edyta was like unflapped, man. Like, she was, I don’t know, maybe she wasn’t, but she sure seemed like it. Like she was just like, this is what we’re doing. You know, I don’t think she was happy about it. Never complained. She literally never complained,” he said.
Mathison said that Sliwinska “was like, you know, just kind of doing her thing, never seemed phased, always sort of focused, chill.” He also said that she was “very, very kind.”