“DWTS” pro Witney Carson says she grew up idolizing Julianne Hough: ‘I wanted to be her’
“DWTS” pro Witney Carson says she grew up idolizing Julianne Hough: ‘I wanted to be her’
Raechal ShewfeltTue, September 29, 2026 at 11:02 PM UTC
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Julianne Hough and Witney Carson on ‘Dancing With the Stars’Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney via GettyCarson knew both Julianne and Derek Hough while growing up in Utah.Key Points -
Dancing With the Stars pro Witney Carson explains her relationship with co-host Julianne Hough in a new interview.
Carson noted that she and the Houghs — Julianne and her brother Derek, who’s a DWTS judge — grew up in Utah’s dance community.
Carson noted Hough was her “idol.”
Witney Carson would give Julianne Hough a perfect score.
The Dancing With the Starspro was asked on The Running Interview Show whether she had known Julianne Hough and her older brother, Derek Hough, while growing up in Utah.
Carson answered enthusiastically that she had.
“Oh, yes. Julianne was like my idol. That was who I looked up to, like I wanted to be her so badly,” Carson said. “And I think it looked just so attainable, because she was coached by the same people as we were, and we were just watching her career like little girls, just like dreaming of being her. So, yes, I definitely knew them.”
“We’re all just a really close family now,” Carson said of the cast of the reality competition. “I’m very fortunate to have people I grew up with now in this industry ‘cause it keeps you grounded, keeps you making sure that you are focusing on what’s important.”
Carson joined the show in 2014, when she partnered up with Cody Simpson. Since then, her partners have included future host Alfonso Ribeiro and Robert Irwin, both of whom went on to win what’s now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
Julianne Hough debuted on the show as a professional dancer in 2007, and she’s now the cohost, working alongside the former Fresh Prince of Bel-Air star Ribeiro. The elder Hough joined the show the same year, and he’s now worked his way to the judges’ table.
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Earlier this month, Julianne was one of the DWTS costars that congratulated Carson when she announced that the third child that she and husband Carson McAllister are expecting will be a boy. They’re already the parents of two sons: 5-year-old Leo and Jet, who’s 3.
“I am just in pure survival mode right now,” Carson shared at the time. “I am constantly trying to eat to keep the nausea at bay. I’m trying to rest as much as I can. I think with two toddlers, it’s very difficult to rest, but my husband has been an absolute champ and he has allowed me to rest, and he’s very much taking care of all of us.”
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Still, she planned to dance as long as possible.
“I love both,” Carson noted. “And so if I can do both, then that’s what I want to do.”
Her partner this season is Jimmy Kimmel Live star Guillermo Rodriguez.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
on Entertainment Weekly
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
