Sharna Burgess and Lindsay Arnold, two popular Dancing with the Stars pros have announced they will not be appearing on season 31 this fall.
While spoiler reports said Sharna Burgess would compete this season, the pro posted a message to social media to announce that actually, she made a difficult decision not to return to the show.
Sharna will not compete this season to spend time with her baby, she will stay involved in some capacity
“After long conversations and lots of thinking…I made the really hard decision to not do the season of Dancing with the Stars. She’s responding to the spoiler list that originated with reporter Kristyn Burtt, and wants to set the record straight. However, Sharna says, “I will be there in some capacity,” adding that she is “At 100 percent capacity with her body.” She feels “fit” and “strong” and ready to dance. As far as HOW she’ll participate this season, Sharna promises to discuss later.
However, although Sharna is feeling good, she is not ready to “spend 10 hours a day away from Zane.” She points out that she’s a “full time breastfeeding mama” and that right now she’s “so in love with being a mum.” Stressing that she loves everything about the upcoming season, still, Sharna’s priority is her newborn at home. If she competed on DWTS, she says, she risks missing moments that she may never get back.
The Australian ballroom dancer won season 27 with celebrity partner and former American Idol mentor, Bobby Bones. Sharna welcomed baby Zane in June 2022 with partner, actor Brian Austin Green. The two competed on Season 30, finishing in 13th place.
Part 2 of Sharna’s video. #DWTS ? pic.twitter.com/mYcBPUWVTH
— DWTS Report (@dwtsreport) August 31, 2022
Lindsay lives in Utah with her husband and is trying to expand her family
Lindsay was not on the spoiler list of pro dancers. Still, she confirms that she will not return to Dancing with the Stars this season. The So You Think You Can Dance alum is settled into wife and motherhood in Utah. The logistics of working in Los Angeles means leaving her husband behind for 10 weeks, therefore, she has decided to step back from pro dancing.
“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,” Lindsay writes on Instagram. “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!” Lindsay continues, “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.”
She tried to make it work, but at the “end of the day, none of the options “felt good in my heart…” She and her husband are also “trying to grow our family,” which complicates her decision making.
“It doesn’t mean the end of me on DWTS”
However, unless you thinks she’ll be settling into full time motherhood forever, Lindsay says, “…it also doesn’t mean 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.”
Lindsay competed on So You Think You Can Dance as an 18 year old in 2012. She debuted on DWTS in 2013, and participated 10 seasons as either a competitor or as a member of the troupe. She won season 25 with actor Jordan Fisher. On season 30, she danced with Bachelor alum Matt James. And, she partnered with the notorious Trump press secretary, Sean Spicer on season 28.
Lindsay married her high school sweetheart Samuel Cusick in a Mormon ceremony at the Salt Lake City temple in in June 2015. Their daughter Sage was born in November 2020.
View this post on Instagram
Krystin has since amended her list of pros:
Women:
- Britt Stewart
- Cheryl Burke
- Peta Murgatroyd
- Emma Slater
- Koko Iwasaki
- Daniella Karagach
- Witney Carson
Men:
- Val Chmerkovskiy
- Alan Bersten
- Artem Chigvintsev
- Gleb Savchenko
- Louis Van Amstel
- Brandon Armstrong
- Pasha Pashkov
Dancing with the Stars 31 Spoiled Pairs
- Charli D’Amelio (Tik Tok star) – TBD
- Heidi D’Amelio (Charli’s mom) – TBD
- Joseph Baena (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s son) – Daniella Karagach
- Wayne Brady (Masked Singer, Broadway, Host) – Witney Carson
- Daniel Durant (Actor) – Britt Stewart
- Jordin Sparks (American Idol 6 winner, Masked Dancer) – Brandon Armstrong
Dancing with the Stars 31 Troupe
- Alexis War (So You Think You Can Dance winner)
- Ezra Sosa
- Kateryna Klishyna
- Sasha Farber
Dancing with the Stars 2022 returns Monday September 19 on Disney+ only
Disney renewed Dancing with the Stars for two seasons with the caveat that both 31 and 32 will be streaming only on Disney+. It will continue to air live, and allow viewers to vote for the winner. Additionally, the show will air with no commercial interruptions, which could mean longer running times for each episode.
Tyra Banks will return to Dancing with the Stars as host and an executive producer of the show. However, she will be sharing hosting duties with former DWTS winner and America’s Funniest Home Videos host, Alfonso Ribeiro. Conrad Green, who executive produced DWTS in its early years will replace departing EP Andrew Llinares.
Judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough will resume their seats on the judges panel.
