Witney Carson reminded everyone exactly why she is a two-time Mirrorball champion when she stepped onto the floor during Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro and demonstrated what she wanted from the contestants herself.
But there was something viewers didn’t know when the episode was filmed: Witney was already pregnant with her third child.
The reigning Dancing With the Stars champion appeared as the final guest coach on The Next Pro, where the remaining contestants faced one of the most important tests of the competition. Instead of simply proving they could dance, they had to demonstrate whether they could actually teach and lead a celebrity partner—one of the most difficult parts of being a professional on DWTS.
Witney knows that challenge better than almost anyone.
During the episode, she surprised the dancers by getting onto the floor herself and demonstrating the kind of performance and partnership she wanted to see. It was a brief moment, but her movement immediately showed the experience that comes from more than a decade of competing at the highest level of the show.
Only afterward did the performance take on an entirely different meaning.
On August 17, Witney publicly announced that she and husband Carson McAllister are expecting their third child, joining sons Leo and Jet. She also revealed that she intends to compete on Dancing With the Stars Season 35 while pregnant.
That means Witney was already expecting when The Next Pro was filmed.
She has since admitted that the pregnancy wasn’t always easy behind the scenes. Witney experienced significant nausea during her first trimester, making the physical demands of dancing considerably more challenging than viewers watching the finished episode would have realized.
Yet she continued dancing.
And now the challenge is about to become much bigger.
Witney has officially been paired with Guillermo Rodriguez, the longtime Jimmy Kimmel Live! personality, for Season 35. When she learned who her new celebrity partner would be, Witney said she was thrilled because Guillermo’s fun personality was exactly what she wanted at this point in her life.
Guillermo, 55, is certainly an unusual follow-up to her previous partner.
Witney enters Season 35 as the reigning champion, having won Season 34 alongside Robert Irwin. Their victory gave Witney her second Mirrorball Trophy, more than a decade after she won her first with Alfonso Ribeiro.
Now she’s going from defending champion to attempting something she has never experienced during a full season of the competition.
Witney expects to be approximately four months pregnant when Season 35 begins, and she has acknowledged that competing under those circumstances feels daunting. She has never previously been this far into a pregnancy while actively competing on DWTS.
She has also made clear that her health and her baby’s health come first. Her participation will depend on how she feels as the pregnancy progresses, and she has discussed the decision with her family and people involved with the show.
That could make her choreography with Guillermo particularly interesting.
Normally, Witney can design routines around what will make her celebrity partner look strongest. This season, she’ll also have to consider what movements are comfortable and appropriate for her changing body.
Guillermo has already pushed back against suggestions that Witney’s pregnancy means their partnership is destined for an early elimination. After some viewers questioned whether he had been placed at a disadvantage, he responded enthusiastically about their pairing and showed no indication that he views her pregnancy as a weakness.
Witney appears equally excited.
And there’s another reason her Next Pro appearance feels particularly appropriate now. She wasn’t simply judging technical ability. She was teaching aspiring professionals what it actually takes to guide someone through Dancing With the Stars—the exact responsibility she is preparing to take on again with Guillermo.
She also already knows who ultimately wins The Next Pro. Although she has refused to reveal the result before the finale, Witney said she was extremely impressed and believes the eventual winner “really deserved it.”
Meanwhile, she has her own competition to prepare for.
Season 35 begins September 15, with Witney and Guillermo currently the first officially revealed celebrity-pro partnership. The remaining cast and pairings are scheduled to be announced September 2.
So that brief demonstration on The Next Pro may now look very different to viewers who watch it again.
At the time, it appeared to be a reigning champion casually showing the contestants how it’s done.
In reality, Witney Carson was already dancing for two—and the performance may have offered the first small glimpse of how she plans to tackle one of the most unusual and personal seasons of her DWTS career
