There have been a few Mormon Wives on Dancing with the Stars; however, I didn’t realize the street could go both ways. The key word there is could, though, because at this point, it hasn’t happened. However, it was an option at one point, because a pro dancer from the reality competition admitted she was once approached to do Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
As we approach the premiere of DWTS Season 35 on the 2026 TV schedule, pro Witney Carson spoke about how she was also approached to be part of a different reality show. This comes one season after SLOMW’s Whitney Leavitt and Jen Affleck competed on the dance competition. So, it was kind of wild to hear Carson speak about her connection to their show, as she told People:
Well, it’s not quite that community that you see on TV. We’re not all swingers, OK? I actually know a lot of those women. I actually was approached to do The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and I really don’t have anything against them. I think everyone has their own opinion of the church and how they like to live it. I wouldn’t say that those girls represent the chruch as a whole. I think that they have their own experiences with it. I am a very big fan. I watch it. I have binged everything. And so it’s been very entertaining to watch.
Carson and her family are Mormon, and both she and her husband are from Utah. So, she fits the general bill for Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. In fact, quite a few Dancing with the Stars pros are from Utah and come from Mormon backgrounds, including Lindsay and Rylee Arnold, Jenna Johnson, and Julianne and Derek Hough.
So, there are many folks who are part of DWTS who have a similar upbringing to the women who lead the reality series that you can watch with a Hulu subscription.
In fact, Carson grew up knowing Whitney Leavitt. Explaining that they used to compete against each other at dance competitions, the longtime pro said:
Whitney and I actually grew up dancing competitively against each other. So, I knew her in the jazz competition world well before she got on Dancing with the Stars. And it was actually very strange that we met up back together in kind of the same dance world, but in a very different way.
Well, last season of DWTS really was a crossover event that, I guess, could have happened earlier if Carson had said yes to Secret Lives of Mormon Wives.
Now, I am curious to know if she was asked again for SLOMW’s spinoff series, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives: Orange County. Carson does spend a lot of time in Southern California because of Dancing with the Stars, so it’s not like it’d be a stretch. However, it sounds like she’s going to stick to the ballroom.
Speaking of the ballroom, Witney Carson is set to return to it for Season 35, and she’ll be competing with Jimmy Kimmel’s beloved sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez. This is all happening on the heels of the pro winning Season 34 with Robert Irwin. And notably, that season was the one that featured Leavitt and Affleck from Mormon Wives; meanwhile, the upcoming season will see Leavitt’s husband, Conner, competing for the mirrorball trophy.
So, Carson did get to work with some of the Mormon Wives, and will get to work with another Leavitt. Now I’d love to see her make a cameo on the reality show. However, for now, I’m just excited to see her back in the ballroom, and I’ll be tuned in to the DWTS Season 35 premiere on Steptember 15 (you can watch it on ABC or with a Disney+ subscription). Meanwhile, you can stream the newest season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives on Hulu.
