The new season of Dancing with the Stars is set to arrive on ABC on September 26, with a lineup of celebs that includes a Brady Bunch sibling, a Buffy vet, a former Bachelorette, and more. But when the long-running competition series arrives on its new night (Tuesdays), it will once again be missing the familiar face and dance moves of pro Sharna Burgess. But while some fans may have assumed she was taking another year off, or had quit the show altogether, that’s not the case at all, as the Season 27 co-champ made it clear that she wasn’t asked back. Following that admission, her S.O. and former show partner Brian Austin Green offered an update on how she’s doing, so let’s dive into what he shared, as well as how Burgess discovered the disappointing news in the first place.
How Sharna Burgess Found Out She Wouldn't Be In DWTS' New Season
Fans will be pumped to know that Sharna Burgess and Brian Austin Green now have a side gig that will offer a deeper look into their lives: the new podcast Oldish. The audio project unveiled its debut episode on September 12, with the couple being joined by life coach Randy Spelling, who’s famously the brother of Green’s former TV flame Tori Spelling, and the son of the late mega-producer Aaron Spelling. That initial ep started off with a general look at their respective private lives, such as Green’s previous marriage and current kinship with co-parent Megan Fox, and then cha-cha’d up to the subject of DWTS, with Burgess sharing the following:
It’s known now — the cast has been leaked — but I wasn’t asked back to do Dancing with the Stars this year, which was definitely a huge shock to me. Last season, I was supposed to come back, but Zane was only 8 weeks old. And I was speaking to them about it, but it felt like I just needed to sit in motherhood with Zane. It was my first baby, first experience. It was a lot, but beautiful, and I just wanted to not feel like I walked away from that experience, and something I would never get back with Zane. So I wanted to share that time with him. And it was always like, you know, I want to come back next year, and it was like, ‘Of course, we love you, and we’ll always have you.’ And I did drop in and let them know it goes without saying that I would love to be back next season, this season. ‘Hopefully I’ll get to come hang out with you guys,’ or whatever my message said.
The talented dancer understandably took Season 31 off, as it was set to begin only a couple of months after she'd given birth to her and Green's first child together, and she wasn't super enthused about missing time out with her infant for work. That said, she was optimistic about the idea of returning during a later cycle, and clearly thought that others involved behind the scenes were in agreement on that issue. But that didn't play out as expected. She continued:
Then it got to the week of everyone getting their phone calls, and I know when everyone’s got their phone calls because we’re all talking. They say don’t tell anyone, but everyone tells each other in the cast who got the call. And I realized when those spots were all filled, and I was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t get the call.’ I didn’t get any phone call at this point; I didn’t get confirmed on or off, I just knew because of other people. And that was really hard.
Sharna Burgess shared that in the weeks leading up to the Season 32 cast being settled ahead of the announcement, she had a sneaking feeling that her return wasn't meant to be, which she shared with Green and others who all thought she was wildly off-base for thinking it. Still, even if it was a fear in the back of her mind, that didn't exactly make it any less disappointing for it to be true.
Brian Austin Green Shares Update On Sharna Burgess
Brian Austin Green will be returning to the world of reality TV very soon opposite JoJo Siwa and Savannah Chrisley for Fox’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, which will kick off its second season on September 25. Speaking with ET about the grueling New Zealand-set season, the 90210 vet also addressed the mental challenges that Burgess is dealing with after not being asked back for Dancing with the Stars Season 32. In his words:
She’s doing great. Sharna's awesome. But it's a difficult situation. There’s obviously just sort of ego challenges and things not working out the way you would like them to and all of that, but she’s a strong person. I feel like the universe puts challenges in front of you to force you to have to deal with things that maybe you haven’t dealt with on your own, and then you’re kind of put in a situation here, it’s like — whether you want to or not — you have to deal with these things.
With the upcoming cast already set in silver-sequined stone, Burgess obviously doesn't have many options at this point beyond just dealing with her disappointment privately. That said, here's hoping her and Green speaking about the situation publicly reminds the Dancing with the Stars producers that she's willing and able to bring her skills back to the dance floor for Season 33 and beyond.
Dancing with the Stars Season 32 will premiere on ABC on Tuesday, September 26, at 8:00 p.m. ET, with episodes available to stream at the same time with a Disney+ subscription.
