Ciara Miller is living her best life heading into Dancing With the Stars season 35 — but she’s still a “work in progress” following the Summer House scandal.
“This is my cherry on the top,” Miller, 30, exclusively told Us at the Dancing With the Stars post-cast reveal event on Wednesday, September 2, of being cast on the ABC reality dance competition series after starring in a Shaboozy music video, attending Cannes Film Festival and experiencing more career highs earlier this year.
Miller joked that people have “called me lazy for some years now” because she loves her “relationship with my bed,” but she’s hoping DWTS changes that perception.
“This is an opportunity for people to really see if I stand up to the term ‘lazy.’ And I love a challenge,” she teased. “There’s no better place to do it than DWTS.”
Miller’s affiliation with napping and lounging comes after she was dubbed a “bed bug” on Bravo’s Summer House alongside former castmates Paige DeSorbo and Amanda Batula.
While Miller’s work ethic has proven she’s not as “lazy” as some viewers might think, she teased to Us that her dance moves aren’t the only thing that has changed since last summer after Summer House alums Batula, 35, and West Wilson’s romance scandal affected everyone in the cast in early spring.
“Lord, last summer to this summer? You know, I’m still a work in progress,” Miller told Us of how she’s changed over the past year.
Miller hinted at the past drama with her ex-boyfriend Wilson, 31, and his new flame, Batula, adding, “We’re figuring it out. I don’t have all the answers all the time.”
Miller’s DWTS partner, Brandon Armstrong, chimed in, saying, “But she knows what time she will have all the answers.”
“And that’s why we’re partners, because he can complete my sentences,” Miller said with a laugh.
The model and nurse added that her world is still in flux after Wilson and Batula, who was once her close friend, blew up the Bravoverse with their relationship. (Wilson and Batula denied being romantically involved in late February — both to Miller and Batula’s estranged husband Kyle Cooke, from whom she split in January — before admitting they were together in late March.)
“I don’t even know. We’re still medicated, which is great,” Miller joked to Us about her current state of being. “We’re moving onwards and upwards.”
While reflecting on season 11 of Summer House, which just filmed without Wilson or Batula, Miller promised, “We’re going to be fine, guys.”
She also shared that in order to get through recent challenges, she’s leaned on her “friends” and loved ones.
“Keeping my friends close to me. Honestly, throw yourself into work,” Miller said of how she has managed in recent months. “I’ll therapize later. I’ve kinda pushed it off.”
With the Summer House scandal in the background, Miller told Us she’s ready to compete alongside Armstrong, 32, for the DWTS mirrorball trophy — but first, they need a team name.
“Some people are throwing around Team Miller Ball, just a little play on my last name,” Miller revealed. “I tried to name us earlier and I came up with Briara. I don’t feel like that’s as smooth.”
Armstrong cracked a smile, admitting, “It sounds like a cheese to me. I don’t know. It’s a nice Briara. Smoked Briara.”
“That’s something you put out at a party,” Miller joked before noting, “We’re still workshopping.”
Dancing With the Stars premieres on ABC and Disney+ with a two-night event beginning Tuesday, September 15, at 8 p.m. ET. New episodes will stream the next day on Hulu.
