It may take two to tango, but that doesn’t mean it should always become something more.
Dancing With the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy recently got candid on how he feels about show romances between the dancer and celebrity. And while the 38-year-old—who married fellow pro Jenna Johnson in 2019—admitted he’s “been guilty” of such relationships, he has since changed his tune.
“Long time ago, my first couple of seasons, I’ve been given partners that I did have romantic exchanges with—incredibly unprofessional to do so in my mind,” he told Lightweights Podcast host Joe Vulpis in the show’s Dec. 3 episode. “Because I’m here as their teacher and as their partner, and I’m probably, in some way or another, in a position of authority to them. Like, don’t s–t where you eat kind of thing comes into play.”
Val, who has been on the competition show since 2006, continued, “I’m very serious about my job and my craft. And so to have allowed myself to get involved during—now after this season, that’s different. We’re both adults, we’re not at work. But during the season, I feel like that was a bit irresponsible at times.”
In fact, while he acknowledged that for the audience, seeing an onscreen romance play out makes for “a really dope show,” he shared how he feels such romances were detrimental to his seasons.
“Behind closed doors,” he noted, “I undermined my own season by doing that.”
The dad—who shares son Rome, 23 months, with Jenna—also reflected on the ways he feels social media has impacted the series, which has viewers vote for their favorite couples, and the romances that might occur.
“When I was doing the show, social media wasn’t as vibrant as it is right now,” he explained. “It was only tabloids and stuff like that. But social media has now, like, really elevated the game.”
And indeed, this most recent season 33 of Dancing With the Stars saw a rumored romance between dancer Sasha Farber and Bachelorette aum Jenn Tran, as well as a turbulent romance between pro Gleb Savchenko and model Brooks Nader.
He added of show-mances, “If it’s genuine, it’s awesome. When it’s authentic and it’s two consenting adults enjoying their time together, I love that.”
Val takes exception, however, when he sees people playing up their chemistry for votes.
“But when it’s two adults putting on a show,” he noted, “because they know they can manipulate the algorithm to give them more likes and more views and more this—I just don’t like anything that’s inauthentic.”
“So if it’s authentic,” he concluded. “I love that.”
Val also spoke to the importance of chemistry between the pro and their celebrity partner—though with an important caveat.
“When they say chemistry, a lot of times that term chemistry has been hijacked by romance,” he reflected. “And chemistry doesn’t always have to have a sexual essence behind it. Chemistry is camaraderie. Chemistry is compatibility. Chemistry is friendship. When you trust somebody, you open up to somebody.”
And he thought the perfect example of that vulnerability between pairs could be seen this season in his wife Jenna’s partnership with Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei.
“I think Jenna and Joey had great chemistry because he was emotionally available and gave himself into the project,” he explained. “And she took that and also revealed herself in the process.”
It was a vulnerability that paid off, as Joey and Jenna would go on to win the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. And since Val won the previous season with partner Xochitl Gomez, he was able to hand off the trophy to his wife.
“It was amazing,” he said of the moment. “It was by far my favorite moment on Dancing With The Stars. You know, not even close.”