Jenna Dewan Addresses Shocking ‘DWTS’ Exit, Partner Val Chmerkovskiy’s Brief Suspension

Actor Jenna Dewan just opened up in a recent interview about her elimination from “Dancing With the Stars,” after weeks dominating the reality competition show’s leaderboard.

Dewan, who exited the show after the latest Grammy Night-themed episode, spoke to Women’s Health about her run on the competition, the mid-season controversy involving her dance partner, pro Val Chmerkovskiy, and her departure. She told the outlet that she’s feeling “all kinds of things” but is “mostly proud.”

“I feel really proud of myself, and I feel proud of the last dance we gave on the ballroom floor, and I feel obviously sad that it’s over, that I don’t get to give any more dances out there and create any more special pieces,” Dewan told the outlet. “So I think it’s really both. I feel really proud of us, and I feel fulfilled, and I feel filled up, and I also feel sad that the journey of creating dances is over.”

Dewan called the journey an “enormous undertaking, and it’s physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually intense.”

“And so, when that’s just finished, it’s like a light switch goes off, and then you almost don’t even know where you are,” she said.

Dewan and Chmerkovskiy competed together on the show for nine weeks. Dewan, who has a dance background, proved to be a strong contender for the Mirrorball Trophy, often receiving high scores for routines that have ranged from jazz to quickstep.

However the pair’s run was interrupted when Chmerkovskiy was handed a one-week suspension, the show announced Oct. 17, due to a status he posted on TikTok that appeared to reference Will Smith’s notorious altercation with Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. The pro had been reacting to the harsh critique that judge Carrie Ann Inaba gave his wife, fellow pro Jenna Johnson who’s paired up with actor Harry Shum Jr.

As a result, Chmerkovskiy missed the show’s signature Dedication Night. And Dewan was instead paired up with pro Alan Bersten for that week.

Chmerkovskiy has since apologized for the incident.

“I made a poor decision to reference a meme to ‘keep my wife’s name’ out of the conversation, without stopping to think through what else that reference could imply, which was genuinely never my intention,” he wrote in his Instagram story, referencing Smith’s words to Rock amid the Oscars spat, “Keep my wife’s name out of your f—— mouth.”

Dewan told Women’s Health that she “did not foresee having as many challenges as I did that were thrown at me during my Dancing with the Stars journey.”

“However, the challenges of it gave me an opportunity to walk my talk, and I always think that when that happens, you can go back to your true north, to what’s your intention for doing something,” she told the outlet. “How do you want to show up as a human when you’re experiencing challenges? And I kept going back to my kids.”

She added that when the mid-season suspension went down, she chose to take the high road.

“I thought, ‘I have a real opportunity here. I can be annoyed and bitter and upset about this, or I can show up with grace and love and joy and focus on the moment,’” she told Women’s Health.

Dewan also said that she was intent on keeping her attention on her family. After all, that week’s Dedication Night dance was an ode to her mother.

“She was in town, thrilled to have this dance with me, and thrilled to experience this moment. And I thought that this is something she’s going to remember,” Dewan said. “We’re all going to remember my family forever. Let’s focus on that, and let’s not worry about all of this that’s going on.”

As the rest of the season shakes out, the actor shared a few more thoughts in an Instagram post Nov. 14. In it, she reflected on returning to dance, a craft that she’s long enjoyed.