Heavy/Getty Tom Bergeron.
Tom Bergeron shared a memory from his days on “Dancing With the Stars.”
The veteran television host served as the emcee on the ABC celebrity ballroom competition from 2005 to 2020, and over his 28 seasons he interacted with hundreds of stars.
But one memorable DWTS contestant made headlines when she planted a kiss on Bergeron on live TV – and his wife was none too pleased by the move.
Here’s what you need to know:
Tom Bergeron Shared a Memory of Kirstie Alley Kissing Him in the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Ballroom
In September 2023, Bergeron posted to his Instagram story to recall a famous moment from his time on “Dancing With the Stars.” Bergeron shared a throwback photo of actress Kirstie Alley planting a kiss on him back in 2012. The original photo was captioned with, “Winning an Emmy certainly has its perks! Thanks, @KirstieAlley!”
But in Bergeron’s 2023 update, he wrote: “An unexpected Kirstie kiss….my wife wasn’t amused.” Bergeron has been married to his wife, Lois, since 1982, and they share daughters Jessica and Samantha, per Us Weekly.
In September 2012, Bergeron won his first Emmy Award for Outstanding Host for a Reality/Reality Comp Program, per Emmys.com, hence Alley’s congratulatory kiss.
Bergeron spoke out about the surprise smooch in a 2022 interview with KTLA. “That was the day after I won the Emmy for hosting the dancing show, and didn’t see that coming at all,” he said, before dishing on how his wife reacted to the kiss.
“My wife was in the audience but didn’t say anything,” Bergeron revealed. “ Two days later, sitting up in bed, she said, ‘What do you think about that kiss?’ I answered honestly, I said, “It was great TV!’”
Following Alley’s unexpected death in December 2022, Bergeron shared the kiss photo and captioned the pic with, “The night after winning an Emmy, on the season premiere of the Dancing show, I received an unexpected, live TV congratulatory kiss from @kirstiealley. Thanks for the memory, Kirstie #RIP.”
Kirstie Alley Explained Why She Kissed Tom Bergeron on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
GettyKirstie Alley
Alley was a contestant on the 12th season of DWTS in 2011, and she returned in 2012 to compete in the “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” season with pro partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
On the “All-Stars” premiere in 2012, Alley’s first dance – a foxtrot – was panned by the judges, who scored her with a mere 19 points out of 30. According to Today, it was then that she decided to plant a kiss on Bergeron, who had won his Emmy Award the night before.
Alley later explained why she decided to kiss Bergeron during the live “Dancing with the Stars” premiere.
“He deserved it,” the “Cheers” star told “Access Hollywood” in 2012. “He should have won many more Emmys before that. He was sort of the Ted Danson of, what do they call it? Spokespeople? TV Spokesmen? He’s the Ted Danson of that. Finally, he wins his Emmy and gets his just desserts.”
Bergeron has been nominated 11 times for an Emmy Award, but has only won the trophy one time.
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