Fans may obsess over the chemistry between Dancing With the Stars couples, but the pros themselves are often the last to know who they’ll be twirling across the ballroom.
From last-minute phone calls to specific requests from celebrity contestants, scroll below to read more about how DWTS matchmaking actually works:
The Pairings Can Change Up Until the Cast Announcement
Cohost Alfonso Ribeiro pulled back the curtain on how fluid the casting process really is, telling Us exclusively in September 2025 that partnerships were still being reshuffled right before the cast reveal.
“Typically, once we have a list of the pros that are gonna be on, we then, at some point, we’ll get the opportunity to hear who’s gonna be [on the show]. But it’s never final, right?” Ribeiro explained to Us. “It’s ever-changing, and there were some pairings that were different three weeks ago.”
He added, “Things continue to evolve as new people come in, and you realize, ‘Oh, actually, this is a better pairing than that pairing.’ And they work on it right up until the final day until [the stars and pros] meet each other.”
Ribeiro further credited show executives Deena Katz, Conrad Green and Rob Mills with pulling it off every time.
“They figure it out. I don’t know how they do it, but they always figure out how to put the right people together,” he stated. “They’re magical.”
When Do Pro Dancers Meet Their Partners?
Two-time mirrorball champion Jenna Johnson confirmed on a June 2025 episode of the “Morning After” podcast that pros are kept almost entirely in the dark until the season starts.
“I think people always think we know who we have and we’re keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us,” Johnson shared. “They really don’t even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush, hush, until you walk in and you meet your partner.”
Her costar Pasha Pashkov echoed that sentiment, telling Us in June 2025, “Sometimes people think that we know [the cast in advance] and we don’t. We find out when everybody else finds out. A few days before you meet your celeb, that’s when you know if you are on a season.”
Sasha Farber, for his part, found out that he’d be dancing with former Bachelorette Jenn Tran on season 33 less than one hour before catching a flight to New York City for the Good Morning America announcement.
“I got a call, it was early in the morning, saying, ‘You need to get on a flight in 45 minutes.’ And I was flying down to get to the airport. I didn’t have a ticket,” Farber told Us in September 2024. “I didn’t even meet her. I see her running to security. I was like, ‘That must Jenn, good, I need to be where she’s going.’”
Specific Requests
While the DWTS production usually creates partnerships based on personality compatibility or height, the stars themselves sometimes have a say. Going into season 35, Maura Higgins and Taylor Hanson expressed interest in performing with Mark Ballas and Britt Stewart, respectively.
“I specifically asked the show. I said, ‘If you’re gonna pair me with anyone, I would like to be paired with Britt because she represents the spirit of why this show is great and why it is 35 seasons in,’” Hanson said on an October 2025 episode of the show’s companion podcast, noting his famous family approved of the pairing. “[They’re] like, ‘That’s your girl.’”
Same-Sex Partnerships
While DWTS couples are typically made up of one male and one female, there have been three same-sex pairings in the show’s history. (Jenna Johnson danced with Dance Moms alum JoJo Siwa in season 30, followed by Gleb Savchenko and Shangela in season 31. Hailey Bills later made her pro debut in season 35 with model Sarah Jane Nader, who requested to be on an all-female team.)
As for whether another all-male partnership could happen, executive producer Ryan O’Dowd told Deadline in May 2025 that producers haven’t ruled it out.
“I would say we are constantly looking at the ways by which we can push the envelope and produce a show that reflects and represents society as a whole,” O’Dowd said. “I wouldn’t rule it out. It’s something that we’re continuing to discuss.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
