DWTS Pro Doesn’t Want to ‘Mess it Up’ for Season 31 Partner

DWTS season 31 cast.

ABC A DWTS pro is hoping the season keeps going in the right direction.

A “Dancing With the Stars” pro is hoping that he is able take his season 31 partner to the finals — without screwing anything up.

In an interview with Us Weekly, Val Chmerkovskiy opened up about his mindset this season — and shared that he feels lucky to be paired with “Bachelorette” star Gabby Windey.

“Eastern Europeans, we are very superstitious people. Anytime we have anything good in our life, we knock on every piece of wood we see. It’s like we have to whisper our blessings just in case, you know?” he told the outlet.

“So I feel very lucky. I have a great partner. She’s wonderful to work with and she’s loved by a lot of people. She can dance, and I think I have every single tool I can ask for when it comes to a show like Dancing With the Stars. So I hope not to mess it up,” he added.

Here’s what you need to know:


Chmerkovskiy Knows That Being Paired With a ‘Bachelorette’ After 2 Previous ‘Bachelorette’ Stars Won the Mirrorball Is Serious

Chmerkovskiy knows that dancing with a “Bachelorette” brings some extra “expectations.” He expressed such in an interview with Parade.

“I want to say no [there isn’t added pressure] because there’s always expectations, but to be fair, yes there is,” he told the outlet. “Kaitlyn [Bristowe] and Hannah [Brown] won the show fairly recently, which is something that we’re going up against ultimately. That puts a lot of pressure on us, it potentially puts a lot of pressure on Gabby, but the truth is I think Gabby has created her own lane within Bachelor nation, if you will. She’s doing the same here on ‘Dancing with the Stars,'” he added.

“Gabby and I are a different partnership, we bring something different to the table,” he added. “Obviously, we want it to result in a Mirrorball Trophy, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to put on a great show and win some fans over.”


Chmerkovskiy’s Wife Jenna Johnson Thinks His Partnership With Windey Is ‘Perfect’

Windey, who used to be an NFL cheerleader, is handling the DWTS competition with relative ease. Each of the first three weeks of competition, Windey has been able to keep herself at the top of the leaderboard and has proven that she is a contender for the Mirrorball. Not only is she performing well and earning high scores, but fans have been voting to keep her safe, too, which is key.

And while Chmerkovskiy may be taking things week to week, his wife thinks his second Mirrorball could be on its way.

“I think that they are going to be perfect together on the show,” Johnson told Us Weekly before the season kicked off. “I love her personality. I love her work ethic and I think their banter is gonna be hysterical ‘cause he’s suave and she just like real so I think it’s gonna be hysterical. I just know from their little progress of rehearsing already before the premiere that they are ready and she’s in it to win it,” Johnson added.

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