Witney Carson is heading back to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom for Season 35, and she already has her celebrity partner. The reigning champion revealed on Good Morning America that she will compete alongside Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality Guillermo Rodriguez.
The announcement came Monday, August 17, ahead of the full Season 35 cast reveal scheduled for September 2. Carson is the first professional dancer to have her celebrity pairing officially confirmed.
Witney Carson Teams Up With Guillermo Rodriguez
Carson said she was thrilled when she learned Rodriguez would be her partner, describing him as someone who is sweet, fun and personable.
“Dude, I was so stoked,” she said during her GMA appearance. Carson explained that she wanted someone with an upbeat personality during this stage of her life and joked that their partnership might have to find alternatives to tequila shots because she does not drink.
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“But we can connect other ways,” she added, saying she was “really excited” about the pairing.
Rodriguez is the fourth celebrity contestant announced for Season 35. He joins Summer House star Ciara Miller, The Traitors runner-up Maura Higgins and Savannah Bananas player Jackson Olson.
His participation was first revealed during a June episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!.
Carson Returns After Her Season 34 Victory
Carson enters Season 35 as the reigning champion after winning Season 34 alongside Robert Irwin.
The victory marked her second Mirrorball Trophy. Her first came during Season 19, when she partnered with Alfonso Ribeiro.
Her return to the ballroom will also come under very different circumstances this time.
Witney Carson Is Expecting Her Third Child
During the same GMA appearance, Carson announced that she and her husband, Carson McAllister, are expecting their third child.
The couple already has two sons, Leo, 5, and Jet, 3. Carson said she was “very excited,” while acknowledging that returning to the competition while pregnant feels daunting.
Speaking to Michael Strahan, she said she had never expected to compete on Dancing with the Stars while four months pregnant, but described the experience as something beautiful and said she wanted to feel empowered by what her body could accomplish.
Carson also expressed hope that Rodriguez would support her throughout the demanding competition and that the two would work together as a team.
For Carson, motherhood remains at the center of the experience. She described being a mother as the greatest blessing she could ask for.
Carson Has No Plans To Hide Her Pregnancy
Carson also made it clear that she does not intend to disguise her pregnancy through her costumes.
After someone suggested using “fringe and rhinestones” to cover her stomach, Carson said she would rather embrace the changes happening to her body.
She explained that she is proud to be a woman, to be creating life and growing another human, while also having the opportunity to compete on the show.
With Guillermo Rodriguez as her partner and a pregnancy journey unfolding alongside the competition, Carson’s Season 35 return is shaping up to be unlike any of her previous DWTS seasons.
Source: Compiled from various sources
