Ready to roll? Chrishell Stause wasn’t one hundred percent sure she should compete on season 29 of Dancing With the Stars.
The Selling Sunset star, 39, explained that before she signed on for the dancing competition, she took time to reflect on whether it was the correct path for her.
“There was definitely that moment where something so unexpected — where you have that moment of pause,” Stause told Us Weekly and other reporters on Wednesday, September 9. “But if I’ve learned anything this year in losing my mom, is that life [is] short. We don’t know how long we’re here for and you have to make the most of it.”
The Days of Our Lives actress attributes her mother’s passing, which happened shortly after her father died, to her reasoning for eventually saying “yes” to the show.
“She would have been the first person to tell me to get out there and give it your best shot,” she explained. “It made me know this was the right thing to do.”
When it comes to what the actress hopes to gain from being on the ABC series, Stause is again looking to her own life experiences and hardships.
“I would hope that the story — where I come from and that kind of thing can be used as a source of inspiration if they’re in a bad situation,” the Kentucky native, who split from husband Justin Hartley in November, revealed. “I want to use the platform to show that. Hopefully, it can be a source of inspiration. If she made it there, maybe I can, too.”
Stause thinks Olympic figure skater Johnny Weir is “the one to beat” this season since he’s “so graceful [and] he knows how to connect with music.”
The real estate agent, however, has a headbanger ready to kick off her time on the dance floor. Stause revealed that she’s dancing to Pink’s “Raise Your Glass” on night one.
“I think it’s such a great anthem song,” she said. “I love everything she stands for.”
After being named as part of this season’s lineup, the All My Children alum opened up about why she chose to put herself out there once again, following her divorce drama, which played out on Selling Sunset this summer.
“Listen, I’ve already fallen flat on my face in front of America already, so I really got that out of the way,” Stause told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month. “I don’t have anything else to lose, so it’s only going up from here!”
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC Monday, September 14, at 8 p.m. ET.
