Former DWTS Host Announces Devastating Health News: ‘I Will Fight’ (2024)

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<p>Professional dancers have come and gone on <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> since the show first premiered in June 2005. While we’re still missing some of our favorite pros, some of them are hosting other dance competitions, have their own dance studios, or are expanding their families. Read on to <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/dancing-with-the-stars-winners-ranked-pros/" target="_blank">find out where the <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> pros are now</a>.</p><p><a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/gallery/who-went-home-dancing-with-the-stars-2023/" target="_blank"><em>Dancing With the Stars</em></a> is a reality TV dance competition series based on the United Kingdom’s <em>Strictly Come Dancing</em>. The series pairs celebrities with professional dancers. The couples then compete against each other for judges’ points and audience votes. The pair with the lowest combined judges’ points and audience votes are eliminated each week until only one champion remains. That couple is declared the winner and receives the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.</p><p>Over the show’s 32 seasons, many professional dancers have left the series to move on to other projects or to be with their families. For example, alum Cheryl Burke even has a podcast where she interviews current and past pros and contestants from <em>DWTS</em>. Below, see what the <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> pros who left the show have been up since their ballroom days.</p>

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2/13

<p>Cheryl Burke was a professional dancer on <em>Dancing with the Stars</em> on and off from Seasons 2 to 31, appearing in 26 seasons total. She announced her retirement at the end of Season 31 in November 2022. After leaving the show, Burke called the move her “worst divorce” in an interview with <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/cheryl-burke-says-dancing-with-the-stars-exit-is-her-worst-divorce/" target="_blank"><em>Us Weekly</em></a>. “This has been the worst divorce because … though it was my choice, it doesn’t matter. This was a part of my life [for] almost half of my life,” Burke explained.</p><p>Since leaving the show, Burke is the host her own iHeartRadio podcast, <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-sex-lies-and-spray-tans-123223031/" target="_blank"><em>Sex, Lies, & Spray Tans</em></a>. In the podcast, Burke talks about arguments, romances, and more drama throughout her several seasons on the show. Recent podcast guests include Shangela, Sharna Burgess, Nick Viall, Lacey Schwimmer, and more.</p>

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3/13

<p>Mark Ballas was a professional dancer on <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> from seasons 5 to 22, and seasons 25 and 31. After 20 seasons, Ballas announced he was leaving at the live tour’s final date for Season 31 at the Palm Casino Resort’s Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas, Nevada. “I started this journey when I was 21, 22. Honestly, being able to dance and perform for you fans, you guys are the best fans. Thank you.”</p><p>After leaving <em>DWTS</em>, Ballas became a first-time father when his son, Banksi Wylde Ballas, was born on Nov. 5, 2023. “Welcome to Earth my son,” he wrote on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C0fPa-ZPcGw/" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. Recently, the former <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C17uN6qv5qM/" target="_blank">pro also announced</a> that he was involved in a film project with director and animator John Musker (<em>Little Mermaid, Moana, Hercules, Aladdin</em>, and more) on the shortlist for an Oscar. Ballas even tapped his former co-dancer, <em>DWTS</em> pro Daniella Karagach, to be his partner for the opportunity.</p>

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4/13

<p>Maksim Chmerkovskiy first appeared on <em>Dancing With the Stars</em>in Season 2 and competed in 17 seasons. While his wife Peta was on the last season of <em>DWTS</em>, Maksim said his time in the dance competition was over. “For me, my time as a pro is definitely over, my time as a participant on the project probably, too, but it doesn’t mean that I’m not a fan of the network and this product,” he told <a href="https://parade.com/tv/dancing-with-the-stars-peta-murgatroyd-maksim-chmerkovskiy-season-32" target="_blank"><em>Parade</em></a> in September 2023. “I’m definitely going to be in the ballroom, though, just not on camera.”</p><p>Chmerkovskiy is currently hosting another popular dance show, <em>So You Think You Can Dance</em>. Fox announced in December that the Ukrainian-American dancer will be on the judging panel for the upcoming season airing on March 4, 2024. The father of two is also expecting <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/716420/maks-chmerkovskiy-peta-murgatroyd-family/" target="_blank">his third child</a> with Murgatroyd.</p>

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5/13

<p>Karina Smirnoff was a professional dancer on <em>Dancing With the Stars </em>for 16 seasons. In February 2015, she announced that she wouldn’t be returning to the 20th season of the competition. “Many of you have been asking if I will be back for season 20 of<em> DWTS</em> and I wanted all of my incredible family to hear it directly from me,” she wrote in the caption, according to <a href="https://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/karina-smirnoff-leaving-dwts-after-16-seasons-2015102/" target="_blank"><em>Us Weekly</em></a>. “After a lot of thought and prayer, I’ve decided to focus my energies on some other exciting endeavors including adding author to my resume.”</p><p>Smirnoff is now a dance coach and is the mother to Theo Gabriel. In January 2024, she <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/C10qW2nLcw7/?hl=en" target="_blank">shared a video</a> teaching at an LA dance camp. The former pro returned for the show’s Len Goodman tribute in October 2024.</p>

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6/13

<p>Sharna Burgess was formerly a pro dancer on <em>DWTS</em>. She joined ABC’s celebrity dance show in Season 13 as a troupe member and competed in 14 seasons. The Australian native took a temporary leave of absence last year after she had a baby with now-fiancé Brian Austin Green. However, Burgess was surprisingly not invited back to participate in the most recent season.</p><p>“Last season I was supposed to come back but Zane was only eight weeks old… It just felt like I needed to sit in motherhood with Zane,” she explained to her co-host and husband, Brian, on their iHeartRadio podcast. “It was always, ‘I want to come back next year,’ and ‘Of course, we love you, we’ll always have you.’”</p><p>Burgess added that she wasn’t expecting to get the boot from <em>DWTS</em> but acknowledged that the last five years have been “rocky.” Since last season, Burgess and her husband have co-hosted a podcast called <a href="https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-oldish-122807211/" target="_blank"><em>Oldish</em></a>.</p>

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7/13

<p>Lindsay Arnold is a former <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> pro and the older sister of Rylee Arnold, a pro in Season 32. The mother-of-two stepped away from the show in 2020 when she was expecting her first daughter, Sage, and in Season 31, when she was trying to conceive her second baby. Arnold explained in a TikTok video that her family’s lifestyle contributed to her decision not to return. She lives in Utah with her husband Sam Cusick and their two daughters, while the show films in California. Arnold welcomed her daughter June in May and explained that it was a big “sacrifice” to leave home for weeks.</p><p>Arnold shares regular get-ready-with-me <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@lindsarnold?lang=en" target="_blank">videos on TikTok</a> to update fans about her life. In one of those videos, the Utah native revealed that she’s not done with the ballroom. “Last season when I kind of announced that I wasn’t doing [the show], it wasn’t like I retired or like I said, ‘I’m done forever. I’ll never ever consider doing the show again,’ because I will…,” Arnold said.</p>

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8/13

<p>Witney Carson revealed last fall that she was not returning to Season 32 of <em>DWTS</em> because of her family life. Carson and her husband, Carson McAllister, have a two-year-old son named Leo and a baby boy named Jet, who the couple welcomed last May. “You guys know that family is the most important thing to me, and we just really felt that moving our entire family across the country right now was not for us,” Carson, who joined the <em>DWTS</em> cast in Season 18, explained in a <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@witneycarsonofficial/video/7272102483609062687?_r=1&_t=8fCVBfAJCSE" target="_blank">TikTok video</a> on August 27, 2023.</p><p>Since opting out of last season, Carson has also posted regular updates about her life and kids on her <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@witneycarsonofficial?lang=en" target="_blank">TikTok page</a>, from preschool carpool talks to organizing her fridge.</p>

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9/13

<p><em>DWTS</em> former pro Tony Dovolani exited the celebrity competition after 21 seasons of the show in 2018. The dancer revealed the real reason for his exit on <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tony-dovolani-of-dwts-proposed-on-the-first-date-interveiw/id956568149?i=1000401321854&mt=2" target="_blank"><em>HollywoodLife.com’s</em></a> podcast. “When I decided to quit nothing major happened, it was just a build-up of things where I just said, ‘I didn’t sign up for this,'”Dovolani said. “For babysitting, maybe, a little bit. Some of these celebrities, or reality celebrities, I should say, they sometimes… they have an idea of what they think they are and who they are, and they didn’t realize that I wasn’t there to deal with them.</p><p>Dovolani is now the International Dance Director of Fred Astaire Dance Studios. He has a daughter named Luana and twins Adrian and Ariana with his wife, Lina Dovolani.</p>

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10/13

<p>Kym Johnson announced that she was leaving<em>Dancing With the Stars</em> after marrying <em>Shark Tank</em> star Robert Herjavec, her partner for Season 20. “I love the show and I love to still be part of it but, you know, I still want to hang up my dance shoes, and what a way to end,” Johnson told <a href="https://www.etonline.com/tv/196275_kym_johnson_says_she_done_with_dancing_with_the_stars_after_marrying_robert_herjavec" target="_blank"><em>Entertainment Tonight</em></a>in August 2016. “It’s like, ‘Thank you, <em>Dancing With the Stars</em>.'”</p><p>After her time on the show, she created her own workout series, including a 5678 Fitness DVD and diet book. “I wanted to create this workout so people can do the dances you see on <em>Dancing with the Stars</em> in a cardio way,” she told <a href="https://people.com/who-is-kym-johnson-herjavec-robert-herjavec-wife-8391337" target="_blank"><em>People</em></a>. Johnson also opened a fitness studio in the Richard Simmons’ Slimmons Studio space. The former pro and her husband share twins, Haven Mae and Hudson Robert Herjavic.</p>

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11/13

<p>Edyta Sliwinska was one of the original dance pros, appearing in the first season of <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> until her exit in Season 11. “I decided it’s time to move on with my life, pursue other projects and finish school,” Sliwinska wrote via her <a href="https://twitter.com/edyta_sliwinska" target="_blank">Twitter account</a> in 2010. “I’m grateful to the show but my life can’t be limited to <em>DWTS</em>.”</p><p>The mother of two is now a founder of Dancing Pros, per her Instagram bio. Sliwinska also teaches kids and adult dance classes. She has two programs: The Dance Sport (kids) and Dance Fusion (adults), which focuses “on having fun dancing while learning variety of dance styles: Ballroom, Hip-Hop, Jazz, Contemporary, Salsa, Swing and more,” according to her <a href="https://edytasliwinska.com/about" target="_blank">website</a>.</p>

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12/13

<p>Louis Van Amstel joined<em>Dancing With the Stars</em> in 2005 and has appeared in 11 seasons over 18 years, including the All-Stars edition. Although Van Amstel was missing from Season 22, his ballroom days might not be over. In August 2023, the pro dancer told a fan that he wasn’t participating in Season 22. “I am not doing this coming season. Hopefully again in 2024,” he said.</p><p>Outside of the show, Amstel created a fitness program called LaBlast Fitness. According to its <a href="https://lablastfitness.com/the-program/" target="_blank">website</a>, LaBlast is a partner-free dance fitness that explores a variety of dance styles, from Jive to Foxtrot and Viennese Waltz to Lindy Hop. Van Amstel and his husband Josh also have two adopted sons together.</p>

Image: Lacey Schwimmer

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<p>Lacey Schwimmer left <em>Dancing With the Stars</em> after six seasons in 2011. The former pro revealed the reason for her departure to our sister site, <a href="https://www.sheknows.com/entertainment/articles/952039/exclusive-lacey-schwimmer-explains-dancing-with-the-stars-departure/" target="_blank"><em>She Knows</em></a>. “There are a lot of things going on in my life that I kind of need [to] step back and focus,” Lacey said in 2012. “I’m trying to partition my time.”</p><p>Like her fellow pros who have left the show, Schwimmer owns and co-directs The Dance Center, a competitive dance studio in Redlands, CA, alongside her family. She also started <a href="https://theballroomproject.com/" target="_blank">The Ballroom Project</a>, the first ballroom-only convention.</p>