Conner Leavitt Reveals Why He's "Embarrassed" About DWTS Elimination

Originally appeared on E! Online

Conner Leavitt isn’t keeping his feelings about his Dancing With the Stars elimination a secret.

After the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives starand his pro partner Adele Zaikmanwere the first pair sent home on the show’s premiere Sept. 15, he detailed his short-lived experience on DWTS.

“Obviously, going home first was not how I wanted to end my Dancing With the Stars experience,” Conner—whose wife Whitney Leavitt made it to the semi-finals last season—shared in a Sept. 17 TikTok video. “But I can genuinely say I had an incredible time. I loved being out there. I loved learning something completely new.”

“I’m really proud of what we did,” he said of his “incredible” partner. “We worked hard. We put ourselves out there, and we left it all on the ballroom floor.”

But following the elimination, Conner shared he “felt something I haven’t really felt in a long time. I felt a little embarrassed.”

And while Conner and Adele—who joined season 35 after winning the DWTS spinoff The Next Pro—were voted off following their salsa dance to “Whoomp! There It Is,” he admitted that his unpleasant feelings weren’t related to their low scores or “criticisms” of their performance.

“I was embarrassed because I felt like people were throwing my past mistakes in my face,” Conner shared. “I felt like they used this opportunity to poke fun and make fun of my past.”

But he emphasized, “I don’t live there anymore. My eyes are forward.”

Conner didn’t share specifics about his past mistakes, but he has previously opened up about some hurdles he’s had to overcome. In fact, when the 32-year-old and Whitney first appeared on screen during the The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives series premiere in 2024, the couple—who share kids Sedona, 6, Liam, 4, and Billy, 22 months—discussed Conner’s struggles with porn addiction along with using Tinder during their marriage.

Although Whitney previously told E! that it was “the most traumatic thing” they faced in their marriage, they were ultimately able to come out “stronger in the end.”

Now, after two years, multiple seasons of Mormon Wives and a third baby later, the 33-year-old was cheering her husband on as he stepped out of his comfort zone to compete on Dancing With the Stars.

“Conner, I am so proud of you,” Whitney wrote in a sweet Instagram tribute Sept 16. “I hope you never let this ending take away from what you just did. You stepped so far outside of your comfort zone, worked your ass off, put yourself out there, and went for it.”

And after Conner and Adele—along with Sarah Jane Nader and her pro partner Hailey Bills—were eliminated on the two-night premiere of Dancing With the Stars, keep reading to see who else is still in the competition…