Ex DWTS Pros Expose the Cringiest Comments From Their Celebrity Partners

DWTS pros comparing notes on the weirdest stuff celebs have said in rehearsal? That podcast episode finally exists, and it is... a lot. On Monday, April 13, Artem Chigvintsev, Peta Murgatroyd, and Sharna Burgess sat down on Peta's pod, 'The Penthouse With Peta,' and swapped stories that range from cringey to full-on gross, plus some genuinely useful context about why this happens so often on that show.

What they heard in the rehearsal room

• Artem (43) said one celeb straight-up told him during a dance: 'I want you to look at me like you want to f*** me.' He was stunned into silence. Peta (39) joked that the TV-friendly response would be, 'yeah baby, I’m going to give it to you,' but Artem made it clear he is not that guy. If he said something like that, he joked, he would mean it, and he does not play that game.
• Peta had a foxtrot moment where she was setting frame — 'bring up your arms, and you’re going to go with me' — and her partner replied, 'Oh, so it’s kind of like I’m f***ing you from behind.' She brushed it off, told him to stop being silly and lift his arms, then went to the bathroom later to laugh it off and reset.
• Sharna (40) got a text during rehearsal from her celeb — sent from the bathroom — saying he was horny and needed help with it. Yes, during the workday. Yes, in the middle of a ballroom session.
• Peta, again: another partner once told her, 'I just want to lick it ... I don’t want to f*** you I just want to lick it.' No, she did not take him up on the poetry.

Why this keeps happening on DWTS

Artem laid out the less-funny, very behind-the-scenes part: for the celebs, the show quickly becomes their entire life. It’s long days, close contact, and this weird little production bubble that feels separate from real life. For the pros, it’s a job. For the celebs, it can feel like a romantic movie they accidentally walked into.

He said learning ballroom is an intimate experience by design — there’s touch, trust, and adrenaline — and that can scramble people’s feelings. He has seen celebs develop crushes, get messy about it, and even start having fights at home because of what they think they’re feeling in the studio. In his words, it’s not rare for someone to pull him aside and say they’re thinking about leaving their partner after the show ends. He’s had to set boundaries more than once, including right after an elimination when one celeb floated upending their relationship in real life.

'Do you understand that this experience ends here? It doesn’t go past this point.'

Artem said he also tries to get them to think it through: What exactly did this reveal about your relationship outside the show? Are you making a life decision based on a TV bubble?

Maks got it too

Peta added that her husband, Maksim Chmerkovskiy, had celebs who pushed the fantasy past the finish line as well. A couple of his former partners were, as she put it, very much in the 'we’re doing this after the show' zone.

Bottom line: they can laugh about it now, but those rehearsal rooms are a pressure cooker. Lines get crossed, and the pros end up doing as much emotional traffic control as they do choreography.