Heavy Melissa Rycroft butted heads with Gilles Marini.
A former winner of “Dancing with the Stars” recently opened up about some tensions she experienced with another contestant. Melissa Rycroft competed in both seasons 8 and the All-Stars season 15 of DWTS. She partnered with Tony Dovolani both times, and the duo beat a lot of tough competition to win the “All-Stars” battle.
Rycroft joined Cheryl Burke for her December 17 “Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans” podcast episode. During the podcast episode, the two ladies dished out a lot of fun details about their DWTS experiences over the years. At one point, Burke tossed out a question she clearly had been eager to ask Rycroft.
After Burke asked that particular question, Rycroft joked she felt she was being set up. Despite that, she still answered the question.
It turns out, the question related to some challenging experiences with fellow “Dancing with the Stars” competitor Gilles Marini, who partnered with Burke during season 8. It got so intense, Rycroft noted, that she ultimately felt as if she was viewed as his enemy in a sense.
Here’s what you need to know:
Melissa Rycroft Felt ‘Baited’ by Podcast Host Cheryl Burke
During her podcast appearance with Burke, Rycroft admitted that she and Dovolani didn’t always get along well when they first competed together on season 8 of “Dancing with the Stars.” When they returned for All-Stars a few years later, though, they had a blast.
At another point, Burke mentioned how close the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” season 32 had become.
“I believe that there’s some seasons where the cast have the great camaraderie happening between the people and the cast,” Burke noted. She continued, “And there’s some that… it doesn’t click as much. Who would you say that our season was the same?”
Rycroft chuckled and replied, “I feel like you are baiting me.” She then asked Burke to clarify whether she was referring to season 8 or season 15, although it just so happened the dynamics were similar during both experiences. Rycroft focused on what happened during season 8.
The “Dancing with the Stars” alum then replied, “Listen, I will say this, I love Shawn [Johnson]… up until the final had a great relationship.” Johnson competed in both seasons alongside Rycroft, as did Marini.
Then, Rycroft admitted, “Gilles and I maybe butted heads a little bit.” She pointed out that Burke was laughing as Rycroft admitted this and said, “This is why you’re baiting me.”
During season 8, Johnson won with her partner, Mark Ballas. Marini and Burke were in second place, with Rycroft and Dovolani in third, noted Entertainment Weekly.
All three celebrities returned for season 15, which was an All-Stars season. That time, shared TV Line, Rycroft took home the Mirrorball trophy.
Johnson and partner Derek Hough finished in second place, with Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy taking third. Marini and partner Peta Murgatroyd did not make the finals that time.
Rycroft Felt Gilles Marini Took the DWTS Competition too Seriously
Rycroft then explained what she perceived happened in season 8 with Marini in more detail. “Now my issue, personally… He started, in my mind, to take it so seriously and, like, he wasn’t even allowed to be friends with me anymore,” Rycroft shared.
She continued, “Before the finals, probably before, two weeks before the finals, like, we could talk in the hallway between practices and then he almost couldn’t talk to me anymore. I was the enemy.”
The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant also noted, “I would see it happen, I’m like, he’s taking this is like life or death to him and… I don’t know how to handle it.”
Burke admitted, “I didn’t know how to handle it either. But I definitely did pull him aside and just say, like, ‘It’s okay.'”
The retired “Dancing with the Stars” professional dancer revealed, “That’s when it started becoming a downhill slope” because the pair had been getting great scores throughout much of the season.
“He was in it to win it, 100%,” Rycroft recalled. She joked that as a result of the experience, she wouldn’t compete against friends of hers any longer.
When it came to season 15, Rycroft said, “To be honest, all-stars felt very similar with him.” She explained that she went into that particular season expecting to be eliminated sooner rather than later. She never expected to win, and she just had fun with it all.
As Rycroft noted, though, Marini’s approach in season 15 of “Dancing with the Stars” seemed different, and far more serious and competitive. She told Burke, “I don’t relate to personalities like that, because that’s just not how I am. So I tend to just be, like, back away. Got it, noted.”