Another duo is mmm-bopping their way out of the ballroom.
Dancing With the Stars contestant Taylor Hanson and his ballroom pro partner Britt Stewartwere eliminated from the season 35 competition after the pair were ranked among the lowest during the third week of performances.
“This has been everything, this has been incredible,” Hanson said following the elimination, before highlighting his appreciation for his partner. “She’s shown me things I didn’t think was possible and I’m so grateful for this time.”
For her part, Stewart was in-step with her partner, adding, “Taylor, I am so grateful that I now have you in my life. Thank you so much for everything.”
During the Sept. 29 episode—a.k.a. Yacht Rock Night—Hanson and Stewart danced the foxtrot to “What a Fool Believes” by The Doobie Brothers and ranked among the bottom three with a total score of 18, despite judge Derek Hough praising the performance.
“Taylor, that was your best dance. It really was,” he said. “I see you taking on the notes. I see you holding that frame up. I see you gliding across the floor to really create that smoothness.”
As for how the rest of the DWTScast fared on Yacht Rock Night? Jenna Dewan and Val Chmerkovskiy earned praise for their Samba to “Africa” by Toto, and Ezra Frech and pro Daniella Karagach performed an epic foxtrot to “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers and Grover Washington Jr.
photos
Dancing With the Stars Season 35 Cast
Hanson is the fourth celebrity the ABC series has sent packing. In the show’s first week, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives‘ Connor Leavitt—whose wife Whitney Leavittwas a semi-finalist in season 34—parted ways with his pro partner Adele Zaikman.Plus, Love Thy Nader star Sarah Jane Naderand her partner Hailey Bills were sent home the following episode, while Giada De Laurentiis was knocked out alongside Alan Berstenin week two.
And while De Laurentiis admitted that being sent home wasn’t a good feeling, she also explained why the turn of events was bittersweet.
“I tried my best, and it wasn’t best enough,” the chef said on stage during the Sept. 22 episode, “but I did try my best.”
And Leavitt echoed that sentiment one day after his own elimation, noting that he “loved learning something new.”
“Obviously, going home first was not how I wanted to end my Dancing With the Stars experience,” he shared in a TikTokSept. 17. “But I can genuinely say I had an incredible time. I loved being out there.”
Nader—whose sister Brooks Nader placed ninth on Dancing With the Stars alongside partner Gleb Savchenkoin 2024—also felt that her short time with Bills on the reality show left an impression.
“Our partnership was so special,” she told Good Morning America of their first-ever same-sex pairing on Sept. 18. “Not only because we became best friends, but because we represent a whole community.”
Some of your faves may be gone, but the DWTS competition is still ongoing. Keep reading to see all of the stars still waltzing towards the finish line…
ABC/Paula Lobo
However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.
“That show pays OK,” the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick’s podcast Trading Secrets. “Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it’s like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last.”
Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, “I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show.”
ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.
But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.
“You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks,” Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester’s podcast The Morning After. “I think there’s different contracts though. I can’t speak for everybody.”
While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor’s Joey Graziadei—says the pros don’t get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there’s still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).
“If you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale,” she explained on The Morning After. “If you win, it’s not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”
On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut “more than in half” when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.
“You get no say,” Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers’ Hot Smart Rich podcast. “It’s very much just, ‘Here’s your partner. Make it work.'”
In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.
“They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live,” Jenna said on The Morning After. “They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we’re keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. 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 meet your partner.”
As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?
“It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. “We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”
