Witney Carson Announces Baby No. 3 While Preparing for a Historic ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Return
Witney Carson is entering a new chapter both on and off the ballroom floor. The long-time professional dancer has announced that she and her husband, Carson McAllister, are expecting their third child, while she also prepares to return to Dancing With the Stars for its upcoming 35th season.
Carson, 32, shared the family news on Aug. 17, revealing that she and McAllister are preparing to welcome another addition to their family. The couple are already parents to two sons, Leo, 5, and Jet, 3. Carson’s announcement came alongside news that she intends to continue competing on Dancing With the Stars during the new season.
The pregnancy announcement was made during a busy day for Carson, who appeared on Good Morning America to discuss her return to the ballroom and introduce her celebrity partner for Season 35. She is set to dance with Guillermo Rodriguez, best known as the long-time sidekick on Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Carson has described the pregnancy as both exciting and challenging. She said she has been dealing with significant nausea and has had to focus on getting enough food and rest while caring for two young children. She also credited McAllister with helping shoulder more of the family responsibilities during the early part of the pregnancy.
The dancer’s decision to compete while pregnant could make the upcoming season particularly significant for the long-running ABC competition. Carson is expected to become the first professional dancer on Dancing With the Stars to begin a season while pregnant, provided her health and the baby’s health allow her to continue competing.
Carson has been careful to emphasise that her health will come first. Her plan is to continue with the competition as long as she and the baby are doing well. That approach is especially important given the demanding schedule associated with the show, where professional dancers spend extensive hours rehearsing choreography and preparing for weekly live performances.
The upcoming season will also mark a return to the ballroom for Carson after another memorable year on the series. During Season 34, she partnered with wildlife conservationist Robert Irwin and ultimately won the Mirrorball Trophy. The victory added another championship to Carson’s Dancing With the Stars career and helped make her one of the show’s most recognisable professional dancers.
Now, instead of simply preparing to defend her title, Carson is balancing the demands of professional dancing with another major personal milestone.
She has spoken openly about how important motherhood is to her, making her decision to remain involved with the show especially meaningful. Carson has previously stepped away from Dancing With the Stars at points in her career to focus on her family, including after becoming a mother.
This time, however, she hopes to find a way to continue doing both.
Carson and McAllister have been together for many years. The couple were high school sweethearts and married in 2015. Their first son, Leo, was born in 2021, while their second son, Jet, arrived in 2023. Their family will soon grow from four members to five.
Carson’s pregnancy also comes at an interesting point in her professional career. She has already established herself as a two-time Dancing With the Stars champion, winning Season 19 with Alfonso Ribeiro and later taking the title with Irwin in Season 34. Her return for Season 35 therefore carries expectations even before the pregnancy announcement.
Her partnership with Rodriguez will add another layer to the season. Rodriguez is a familiar television personality through his long-running role on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, but Dancing With the Stars will place him in a very different environment. Instead of assisting from the sidelines, he will be learning ballroom and Latin dance routines under the guidance of a professional champion.
The first Season 35 pairing was announced on Good Morning America on Aug. 17. The remaining cast and professional pairings are expected to be revealed later, with the complete celebrity lineup scheduled to be announced on Sept. 2.
Season 35 is scheduled to begin with a two-night premiere on Sept. 15 and 16. The competition will air on ABC and Disney+, with episodes available on Hulu the following day.
For Carson, the timing creates a rare combination of professional ambition and personal change. She will be learning and performing new routines while also experiencing a pregnancy that will naturally affect her energy, physical abilities and rehearsal schedule.
She acknowledged that competing while pregnant is unfamiliar territory for her. Rather than presenting the experience as effortless, Carson has described it as daunting while also expressing excitement about discovering what she can accomplish.
That distinction is important because professional ballroom dancing requires considerable physical strength, stamina, flexibility and coordination. Weekly rehearsals can involve several hours of demanding practice, followed by additional work on choreography, costumes and production details.
Carson’s situation therefore represents something different from simply announcing a pregnancy. She is choosing to remain active in a highly physical television competition while navigating the realities of becoming a mother for the third time.
Her family appears to be embracing the change as well. In the announcement shared online, Carson, McAllister and their two sons posed together with a sonogram, turning the pregnancy reveal into a family moment rather than a solo announcement.
For viewers who have followed Carson’s career, the upcoming season could offer a different perspective on the dancer. Audiences have watched her compete, win Mirrorball trophies and develop partnerships with a wide range of celebrities. This time, viewers will also see her navigate one of the biggest personal changes of her life while remaining in the spotlight.
There is still plenty that remains unknown. Carson has not publicly revealed the baby’s sex or an exact due date, and her ability to continue throughout the competition will depend on how her pregnancy progresses. Her priority, as she has made clear, is the health of herself and her baby.
For now, though, the plan is straightforward: Carson wants to dance.
With a third child on the way, a new celebrity partner by her side and another Dancing With the Stars season ahead, the professional dancer is preparing for what could become one of the most unusual chapters of her television career.
Rather than choosing between motherhood and the ballroom, Carson is hoping she can make room for both.