A DWTS Pro May Be Retiring

ABC

Season 30 may have been the last time fans have seen one “Dancing With the Stars” professional dancer in the “Dancing With the Stars” ballroom. Read on to find out why we think Lindsay Arnold might be done for good.

‘Good Morning America’ Referred to Lindsay Arnold as a ‘Former “Dancing With the Stars” Pro’

In an article that Arnold posted to her Instagram stories, “Good Morning America” referred to the pro dancer as a “former ‘Dancing With the Stars’ pro.” In fact, the article did it twice — once in the headline and once in the body of the article.

It was part of the morning show’s “Friday Favorites” series. “Good Morning America” has covered “Dancing With the Stars” extensively since its premiere in 2005 because they both aired on ABC, but even after “Dancing With the Stars” moved to Disney Plus, “Good Morning America” was still part of the season, hosting the cast reveal and interviewing the eliminated couples after they were done on the show.

The fact that “Good Morning America,” which is definitely an authority on “Dancing With the Stars,” referred to Arnold as a “former” pro and then Arnold posted the article to social media leads us to believe that season 30 was Arnold’s last.

Arnold became a pro partner on “Dancing With the Stars” in season 16, then wasn’t asked back for a while. She returned in season 21 and danced in every season through season 30 except season 29, which was when she was pregnant with her daughter, Sage.

Arnold sat out of season 31, but she said it was not because she is again pregnant; she is due in May 2023 with baby girl No. 2.

At the time that she told fans she was not participating in season 31, she called it “one of the hardest decisions” she has ever had to make.

Arnold wrote:

I wanted to let you all know that I have decided not to be a part of Dancing With the Stars this season. This has been one of the hardest decisions to make but ultimately I have chosen what I feel is best for myself and my family. DWTS has been a part of my life for over 10 years now and when I say I love the show with all of my heart I mean it!! This show has changed my life forever and will always mean the world to me.

You all know that family is the most important thing to me and doing what is best for my daughter is always going to be at the top of my list! As many of you know my family and I live in UT and in order to do DWTS I have to move myself and my daughter Sage out to LA and leave behind my husband Sam who works full time here in Utah. Logistically there is SO much involved with making this happen and there is a lot of sacrifice that has to be made that unfortunately just did not feel right for us this time around.

We exhausted every option we could think of to make it work but at the end of the day none of the options felt good in my heart or felt like the right thing for our lives right now. We are also trying to grow our family and that in itself is a complicated logistical thing as I’m sure many of you understand.

All this being said it’s so important to me that you understand none of this has anything to do with my love for the show as that will NEVER change and it also doesn’t mean that this is the end for me and DWTS. Although this decision has been so hard to make I feel so much peace about it and know that it is the right thing to do.

But the pro dancer did not reveal she was pregnant until nearly two months later and said in an Instagram Q&A that she didn’t know she was pregnant when she decided not to do season 31. She did say, however, that the fact that she and her husband Sam Cusick were trying to get pregnant definitely factored in to her decision.

“I got pregnant a little less than a month after that decision. Trying to get pregnant played a huge role in the decision along with all the other things I shared about it,” said Arnold in her Instagram stories. “Very grateful that we are blessed with another baby on the way.”

Lindsay Arnold Previously Told E! News That The ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Door Will Never Be Closed’

In an interview with E! News after she announced that she was pregnant, Arnold was asked if she was done with “Dancing With the Stars” to focus on her family and her new business venture, The Movement Club. Arnold said no at the time, but now we aren’t so sure.

“I’ll never say never to ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ it is part of who I am. It’s part of what kind of made me and I love it. That door will never be closed. There’s always going to be family to me and we’ll see what happens in the future,” Arnold told E! News.

But in her recent interview with “Good Morning America,” she talked about having “less time for yourself” since becoming a mom and also how she balances work and home life.

“I think the biggest thing that my routine has changed is just really being able to focus on having that work and home life balance,” said Arnold, adding, “Juggling work life and mom life can be very tough. And I would say most days, I definitely don’t nail it. But I feel like the biggest thing for me and the biggest tidbit of advice that I can give is making sure that when you’re working, you give it your all, and when you come home, let yourself be home.”

“Dancing With the Stars” returns for its 32nd season in the fall of 2023 on Disney Plus.