Undoubtedly a show that has managed to become a television staple since it first debuted, Dancing with the Stars is such a big deal that it has managed to remain on the air for 27 seasons. Focused on a slew of celebrities learning to dance and strutting their stuff in front of the world, even on a conceptual level it sounds pretty great.

In addition to the appeal of seeing stars trying to dance with the best of them, and sometimes failing, this popular series has another thing going for it: all of the drama.

After all, competing on the show involves working long hours, which is a pressure cooker that can either cause people to come together or lose their patience with each other. With that in mind, it is time to take a look at this list of seven feuds and 13 romances created among people associated with Dancing with the Stars.

In order for a relationship to be considered for this list, it first and foremost needs to involve at least two people who are associated with Dancing with the Stars. On top of that, the people in question either need to have greatly disliked one another or gotten romantically involved. For the purposes of this list, it should be noted that we were not interested in looking at relationships that were the subject of rumors alone.

20 Romance: Cheryl Burke and Chad Ochocinco

Paired together during the 10th season of Dancing with the Stars, right from the start it seemed very clear that Cheryl Burke and Chad Ochocinco had chemistry with each another. Good enough as a pair on the dance floor that they made it to the semi-finals, once they were eliminated it wasn’t the end of their association.

Speaking about their short-lived relationship in the book Dancing Lessons, Burke said, “We didn’t date. I wouldn’t call that dating.” However, she was open enough to say the pair “maybe had a little bit of a fling. I wouldn’t take it to [the] word dating.”

19 Romance: Peta Murgatroyd and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

The first of several entries on this list that relate to Maksim Chmerkovskiy, it is safe to say that he has found a lot of romance potential during his time performing on Dancing with the Stars.

In this case, we are going to look at his relationship with his fellow professional dancer and recurring DWTS performer Peta Murgatroyd. Together off and on since 2012, this pair wound up getting engaged in 2015 when he proposed to her while both of them were performing for a crowd on stage.

After that, Murgatroyd and Chmerkovskiy were wed in 2017 during a gorgeous ceremony that happened to take place in front of an actual rainbow.

18 Romance: Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas

When it comes to Dancing with the Stars veteran performer Mark Ballas, he found romance very early in the show. This is the case because he had a relationship with his very first celebrity partner on the show, Sabrina Bryan.

Famous for her singing and acting career in which she was a member of the girl group The Cheetah Girls, Bryan competed in the 5th season of DWTS. Unfortunately for Bryan and Ballas, they only remained a couple for a few months. That said, it certainly seemed like they had an electric relationship over that time.

17 Feud: Amber Rose and Julianne Hough

Never a shrinking violet, throughout her time in the public eye Amber Rose has been admirably forthright when she has an issue with someone in her life. This is a trait that remained intact when she competed in the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars and she took issue with what Julianne Hough had to say about her efforts.

When Hough said she was uncomfortable with one of Rose’s dance moves during a salsa number, the latter said Hough had body-shamed her. Fortunately, in this instance the drama didn't last long as the following week Rose told Hough, “If I misunderstood, then I apologize.” Opting to accept that statement, Hough said she was simply there to judge Rose’s dancing and nothing else.

16 Romance: Karina Smirnoff and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Another example of someone related to Dancing with the Stars that Maksim Chmerkovskiy was romantically linked to, this time around we are looking at his relationship with Karina Smirnoff.

Also a professional dancer and consistent presence on DWTS for years, Smirnoff last appeared on the show during its 22nd season. Smirnoff and Chmerkovskiy wound up getting engaged back in 2009. However, nine months later they called off their relationship among reports of disagreements over starting a family.

Fortunately, their split was amicable enough that the pair were able to both continue competing on DWTS for several years after their time together came to an end.

15 Romance: Emma Slater and Sasha Farber

Another example of a pair of Dancing with the Stars professional dancers who found themselves in each other’s arms, Emma Slater and Sasha Farber have made a marvelous pair so far.

In fact, after the duo dated for five years, they decided to get engaged which led to their March 2018 wedding. Posting about the proposal on social media, Farber shared an image of a pink sapphire engagement ring and wrote: “Babe, I wanted to do this for such a long, long time.”

A very likable duo, Farber and Slater’s DWTS co-stars and many fans were overjoyed to see their union become a forever relationship.

14 Feud: Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Yet another example of a Dancing with the Stars relationship that Maksim Chmerkovskiy got involved in, this time around we are looking at his feud with one of his celebrity partners.

Put together during the 13th season of DWTS, Chmerkovskiy and soccer star Hope Solo did well enough to make it to the semi-finals round. Despite their dance-floor success, the pair didn’t see eye to eye off stage. In fact, Solo called Chmerkovskiy “harshly critical” and said that he had been mean to her during their rehearsals. Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy denied her statements and said, “I don’t like her, and that’s the end of it.”

13 Romance: Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke

A bit of an interesting entry on this list, only one of the people involved in this relationship has competed on Dancing with the Stars. However, we are still counting it because Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke clearly met because of the show as his brother Joey was a part of its 3rd season.

First introduced in 2006, Lawrence and Burke entered into a relationship in 2007 but broke up the following year. However, they reunited in 2017 and after all that time apart they found enough happiness together that they got engaged in May of 2018.

12 Romance: Amber Rose and Valentin Chmerkovskiy

As we touched on earlier in this list, Maksim Chmerkovskiy found his wife and a one-time girlfriend because of his involvement in Dancing with the Stars. Funnily enough, his brother Val is also a professional dancer who has competed on the show and found love because of it!

During the 23rd season of Dancing with the Stars, Val’s brother Maksim was paired with model and actor Amber Rose. Evidently, this led to Rose and Val spending time together and sparks flew between them. Together as a couple during 2017, the duo even became IG official during their short time together.

11 Feud: Michael Bolton and Bruno Tonioli

Despite the fact that Michael Bolton has made a career out of crooning about love, in reality he is just as prone to being upset as the rest of us.

When he joined the cast of Dancing with the Star’s 11th season and one of his performances was taken down by series judge Bruno Tonioli, Bolton managed to stay remarkably under control. Tonioli went so far as to say that Bolton and his partner Chelsie Hightower’s performance was “the worst jive of all 11 seasons” and that he really disliked what they’d done.

Obviously, Tonioli is paid to judge dancing, but in this case he became really insulting and personal which led to Bolton demanding an apology after he was eliminated. He never got it.

10 Romance: Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten

Alexis Ren first rose to fame online. In fact, she became so popular online that she has since managed to land some of the most coveted modeling gigs in the world. On top of that, she was given the opportunity to compete in Dancing with the Stars’ 27th season where she and her partner came fourth.

More importantly than that, Ren revealed during an episode of DWTS that she was falling for her partner Alan Bersten. The week following that revelation, Bersten told Ren, “I do have feelings for you. And I really feel like I am falling for you.”

9 Feud: Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Maksim Chmerkovskiy strikes again. Clearly the man is a divisive individual when it comes to the people he interacts with on this show! Yet another celebrity that Chmerkovskiy doesn’t get along with, his relationship with Kirstie Alley appeared to be healthy and they had positive things to say about each other. Sadly, that didn't last.

Things have gone seriously downhill between them. In fact, Chmerkovskiy revealed that he got a message from her that said she would no longer be associating with him. In response to that public revelation, Kirstie wrote something so profane on Twitter that it has ruined the hope of any reconciliation between these two.

8 Romance: Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff

Definitely the saddest entry on this list, for a while there it really seemed like Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff were going to make it. Paired together during Dancing with the Stars’ 3rd season, right from the start it seemed pretty obvious that they were interested in more than dancing in front of the world together.

Eventually able to come in 2nd place during their season, they then took their chemistry offscreen. Unfortunately, their relationship then came to a very sad end when Lopez confirmed he’d stepped out on Smirnoff. Speaking about the resulting emotional turmoil, Smirnoff told People, “It felt like the world came to an end for a second. I hit the ground, and I couldn’t get up.”

7 Romance: Jenna Johnson and Valentin Chmerkovskiy

One of the most recent major events in the world of Dancing with the Stars, in 2019 Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy got married in front of several people who’ve performed on the show.

A pair of professional dancers who’ve both competed on the show several times over the years, they’ve been involved off and on since 2015. Engaged since June 2018, the pair have revealed that they look forward to having kids together somewhere down the line and they seem very happy together.

Judging by how things are going so far, it certainly seems like this couple was made to last, which we couldn’t be happier about.

6 Romance: Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough

First made famous when she starred in movies like the American Pie series, Scary Movie, and several others, Shannon Elizabeth was no stranger to the spotlight when she joined the cast of DWTS.

A competitor in its 6th season, Elizabeth and her partner Derek Hough did okay but they weren’t able to make it to the final stages of the competition. However, they went on to date for quite a while and even after they broke up they remained friends.

In fact, Elizabeth was asked about Hough years after their breakup and said, “We just went to dinner – he’s amazing,” as Access Online reports.

5 Feud: David Alan Grier and Carrie Ann Inaba

Long before David Alan Grier joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars’ 8th season and Carrie Ann Inaba judged his efforts, both of them were a part of the show In Living Color.

Despite their shared history, when they interacted on DWTS things took an extremely bad turn. In fact, when one of Grier’s performances was harshly criticized he let loose during an interview with Access Hollywood. Going so far as to say that judges could kiss him where the sun doesn’t shine and Inaba should be first in line, Grier clearly was out of line.

Admitting that she was surprised by Grier’s rant, Inaba said he set a poor example for people and that he eventually sent her an apology email.

4 Romance: Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson

As is the case with all of the stars of Shark Tank, Robert Herjavec is a highly successful businessman whose expertise in that area has allowed him to become a celebrity. As a result, we can only imagine how badly he wanted to win when he joined the 20th season of Dancing with the Stars.

Only able to come in 6th place overall, it could still be argued that he was the real winner of the season since he met and fell for his dance partner Kym Johnson. Now a married couple who have twin boys together, in addition to Herjavec’s children from a previous marriage, clearly things worked out for the pair.

3 Feud: Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani

Ever since Kate Gosselin first became famous, it has been pretty safe to say that she has been a controversial figure. Known because she is a mother of eight children, over the years Gosselin has appeared in many “reality” shows and Dancing with the Stars.

After Gosselin decided to take part in DWTS’ 10th season she was teamed with Tony Dovolani and the pair mixed like oil and water, which soon became pretty obvious on the show. Actually, things between the pair were so tense that Dovolani got so frustrated that he told Gosselin he was quitting and stormed out of a rehearsal. Eventually he came back, but later Dovolani spoke about Gosselin on HollywoodLife’s podcast and said she “had done the show for the wrong reasons” and “I hadn’t signed up for that.”

2 Romance: Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev

Definitely no stranger to expressing herself with her body before she joined the cast of Dancing with the Stars, Nikki Bella first became famous as a WWE professional wrestler. Even though she was involved with another WWE performer when she appeared on the show, it was hard to ignore how much chemistry Bella had with her dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev.

In the years since then, however, she broke up with her longtime partner and after being a single woman for some time, she reconnected with and started dating Chigvintsev. In fact, the pair has been seen on her “reality” show Total Bellas and were caught pecking on camera in Los Angeles.

1 Feud: Cheryl Burke and Ian Ziering

Paired with Ian Ziering during Dancing with the Stars’ 4th season, at the time Cheryl Burke was coming off two straight wins so it is safe to say that she was at the top of her game.

However, Burke and Ziering failed to even make the finals and we have to say it seems possible that their personal relationship may have played a part in their underwhelming performance.

After all, Burke went on to say that being around Ziering made her want to harm herself. Later, seeing the error of making a statement like that, Burke apologized for her insensitive remarks while also making it clear that she stood by her severe dislike of Ziering.

Sources: People, E! News, Hollywood Life, Access Online

Next 10 Photos That Will Inspire You To Upgrade Your Beachwear Game
About The Author