Soap star, reality TV siren, and new Dancing With the Stars contestant Chrishell Stause is used to confronting rapists, cheating boyfriends, murderers, jealous rivals, and being slapped across the face by Susan Lucci – and she loved every minute of it! But the real thing she is fearful of? Dancing in front of an audience.
Chrishell is famous for her role in Netflix's reality TV series Selling Sunset. Although she used to be a successful soap actress, Chrishell now makes her mark on the small screen by selling Los Angeles's most expensive real estate. Through her time on the series, Chrishell has established herself as a star for a new generation. Whether it's fighting with the other women in the brokerage or breaking down onscreen about her recent divorce from Justin Hartley, Chrishell has no fear about sharing all the details of her life on camera.
But Chrishell's new venture as a contestant on Dancing With the Stars has brought up a few worries for this seemingly fearless TV personality. "I’m not a dancer. Never took a dance class,” she confides to Screen Rant in an exclusive interview with a laugh. “The thought of dancing in front of an audience terrifies me.” On this week’s 29th premiere of Dancing With the Stars, it showed. The 39-year-old Kentucky native ranked third-to-last after delivering a tango performance with surprise partner Gleb Savchenko. While some fans didn't think she deserved basement rankings by the judges, Stause was clearly a bit nervous, as many past winners have been on their debut night. Stause tweeted to her fans recently after the episode aired to hang in there. “Sweetest headlines to wake up to after a rough night in the ballroom. I really don’t want to let you guys down. Thank you so much for supporting!!! Gonna work SO hard for next week-thank youuuuuu.” Superfans of Stause know that after her critically-acclaimed turns on All My Children, Days of our Lives, The Young and the Restless, the Daytime-Emmy-nominated actor is a survivor and loves a challenge. “This isn’t going to be easy,” she concurs. “I only dance with my girlfriends when we’re out.” Check out the tweet below:
So why did Chrishell join the ABC reality-TV juggernaut during a pandemic? Along with an upcoming and highly-publicized divorce with husband Justin Hartley, whom she married in 2017, Stause lost a beloved and inspiring relative in July. “I had a really rough year [personally not professionally],” she shares. “I lost my mom in July. We knew she was really sick and we were there with her until the end. If she taught us anything is to live life to the fullest. I know life is short.” She continues, “So I agreed to do DWTS because it would honor her memory. My mother would have totally pushed me to do it! She loved music and dancing. She would’ve been my biggest supporter and probably will always still be. I knew in the back of heart, I had no choice but to say yes to DWTS.” The beauty reports, “It’s been about two weeks but I’m having the time of my life. Safety is everyone's priority here at DWTS. My partner and I stay in pods. We social distance and wear masks with everyone but ourselves when we dance. I may not know what I’m doing but I have no regrets!" So far, given her perfect body, Stause has not adjusted her diet or exercise. “I probably need to think that through and do something,” she laughs. “Right now, it’s so busy … it’s eat what you can … it’s a sprint now. I’m still selling, too … it’s been quite the balancing act.”
What can we expect in the future? Stause danced to Pink’s energetic "Raise Your Glass" on the first episode. When asked about what she wants to dance to next, Stause says, “Something classic like Whitney Houston’s ‘I Wanna Dance With Somebody.’ I love hearing songs that you can’t help but get up and dance to!” Regardless, don’t count out Stause just yet. With her super loyal, diehard soap and reality fans on her side, she might just be dancing for her mom on finale night.
Source: Chrishell Stause