Daniella Karagach officially made it to the Dancing with the Stars finals with her partner, Nelly. She’s been with Pasha Pashkov, another pro dancer on the current DWTS season, since her teen years.
Daniella Karagach is a pro dancer on the 29th season of Dancing with the Stars. Before appearing on the current season, she had an extensive and impressive history in dance. She started her career in competitive dance and later performed on touring shows, including Dancing Pros and Dance Legends. Karagach joined Dancing with the Stars in season 28, but didn’t have a partner, as she only appeared in group numbers. In this year’s season, Daniella was partnered with rap star Nelly. Together, Daniella and Nelly have been steadily improving every episode of the competition. In the first episode, they received a score of 16 for a Salsa dance to Nelly’s song Ride wit Me. By the 9th episode, they earned a score of 24 for their Jazz performance to California Love by Tupac. Unfortunately, Pasha Pashkov and Carole Baskin didn’t make it to the semi-finals. They were eliminated in the third episode after their Samba routine to Circle of Life from The Lion King. With Nelly and Daniella in the finals, fans are curious about the pro dancer’s dating life.
When Daniella was younger, she was diagnosed with ADHD. Her mother refused to put her on medication that was prescribed by a doctor. Instead, she put Daniella in ballroom dance classes to help her exert and focus her energy in a positive way. Karagach did well in the classes and was paired with 23 year old Pasha in 2009 when she was 15 years of age. “My coaches warned me that because I was so young and he was a top dancer in the finals already, people might not respect us as a compatible pair,” Daniella recalled, as reported by Heavy. During their competitive dance years, they won the United States 10-Dance Champions and Latin Champions seven times. Daniella and Pasha ended up being a very successful dance duo, considering their age and skill gap when they started. Somewhere along the line, they discovered that they were compatible as a couple, too. “It is funny, because my mom, just before [we tried out together], was asking: ‘What if you start liking him. What if you start having feelings for him?’ And I was like, ‘No way, he is so old! It’s never going to happen,’” Karagach said. In 2014, they got married and are still together to this day. In July, the couple celebrated their 6 year anniversary.
After the Disney-themed episode in season 29, Daniella and Pasha joined ET Live for an interview. They mentioned that they often practice their dance moves in the comfort of their home, as shown in Karagach’s Instagram video above. Near the end of the interview, they were asked about the possibility of having children. “If we could, we would’ve had a baby, what like, five years ago? We really want kids,” Pasha said. “We want to focus on this, this is something that we’ve been wanting for a really long time. Dancing with the Stars, not a baby!” Daniella joked, but then added, “Now that we have it, we want to put our heart and soul in it… whatever happens happens. I want a baby so bad, so bad! But for now our bodies are tools. This is our priority.”
Daniella and Pasha’s relationship is a dance fairytale. They’ve shared so many trials and tribulations together, including being on Dancing with the Stars. It’s clear that they have baby fever, but are holding off on taking the next step in their marriage. Good luck Daniella and Nelly in the finals!
Source: Heavy, ET Live, Daniella Karagach