Heavy/ABC DWTS
The “Dancing With the Stars” producers work hard to pair up their professional dancers with celebrities who will have chemistry with one another and be a good match in the ballroom, but some pairs still don’t get along with one another.
Some celebrities have openly spoken about not enjoying their time on the show, like Melissa Joan Hart and Frankie Muniz. Others, like actress Mischa Barton, have said that they simply did not get along with their partners.
Of course, on the other hand, some partners get along so well that they go on to have deeper relationships outside of the ballroom. Partners Britt Stewart and Daniel Durant from season 31, for instance, announced that they’re in a romantic relationship after their time on “Dancing With the Stars” together.
Cheryl Burke & Season 4 Celebrity Ian Ziering Clashed on Set
Now former-“Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer Cheryl Burke has been open about not getting along with one of her first celebrity partners, Ian Ziering.
On an episode of “Pretty Messed Up,” a listener wanted to know if Burke’s least favorite partner really was Ziering, and she said that she would not answer the question. The rumor started years ago when she told someone on the podcast “Allegedly,” according to TMZ, that dancing with Ziering made her want to “slit [her] wrist.”
Burke has now apologized on her podcast, “Pretty Messed Up.”
Season 22 Celebrity Mischa Barton & Artem Chigvintsev Did Not Get Along
Maks Chmerkovskiy & the Late Kirstie Alley Famously Feuded After Their Season
Maks Chmerkovskiy and the late Kirstie Alley got along on set, but that changed after their season on the show.
According to an interview on “Watch What Happens Live,” Chmerkovskiy said he and Alley no longer got along, according to ABC News. He believed that it might be because of Alley’s connections with Scientology.
“I think the world of her,” he said at the time. “I’m not judging people by their religion. I’m Jewish. I don’t really believe in science fiction, whatever.”
Alley wrote on Twitter the next day, “Dear sir, after you have a a** r**** me, there is really no reason to include ‘I wish you the best’.. it’s rhetorical.”
After Alley’s death in 2022, Chmerkovskiy said he had a true friendship with her.
“My dearest Kirstie,” he wrote. “We haven’t spoken lately and I’ll tell you everything when I finally see you, but for now I want to say that I love you very much and I wish you the most peaceful rest. You were one of the most unique people I have ever met and easily one of the brightest moments of my personal and professional life.”
“Some of our relationship is heavily documented. Most of it is known to select few. All of it was like a wild rollercoaster,” he continued.
Maks Chmerkovskiy Did Not Get Along With Some of His Other Partners
Chmerkovskiy has had other partners say they did not get along with him.
Professional soccer player and season 13 “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Hope Solo reportedly said that she did not have a good time with Chmerkovskiy, according to ET, and Vanessa Lachey also apparently had the same feeling, according to a source in touch with Us Weekly in 2017.
Chmerkovskiy later said on the “Allegedly” podcast that Solo is a “s****y person” and “There’s No Excuse for that.”
Later on “The Real,” he said, “We didn’t have a good time on the show and it’s been highly documented. I don’t like her and that’s the end of it.”
Other partners who have had arguments, though they did not have an awful time on the show include Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough, according to People, Kym Johnson and David Hasselhoff, according to Us Weekly, and Peta Murgatroyd and Nyle DiMarko, according to Time.
“Dancing With the Stars” is set to return in the fall of 2023 on Disney+.