Dancing With the Stars has added family members of two of its most iconic competitors to the season 35 cast.
Us has learned that Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt’s husband, Conner Leavitt, and model Brooks Nader’s sister Sarah Jane Nader both will join the dancing competition this fall.
Us has reached out to ABC for comment.
Conner, 32, has big shoes to fill on the dance floor, as his wife, Whitney, 33, and her professional partner, Mark Ballas, made it all the way to the semifinals in season 34 last year. Whitney has parlayed her success on Dancing With the Stars into a record-breaking debut in Broadway’s Chicago and, soon, a leading role as Sandra Dee in Just in Time, starting in December.
Brooks, 29, and her now ex-boyfriend, professional dancer Gleb Savchenko, competed on Dancing With the Stars season 33 in 2024, where they finished in ninth place. She has since landed a role on Fox’s upcoming reboot of Baywatch.
In April, Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins were unveiled as the first two celebrities to join the cast of DWTS season 35. The reality stars were followed by ABC confirming that Savannah Bananas second baseman Jackson Olson and Jimmy Kimmel Live! sidekick Guillermo Rodriguez had signed on.
Us exclusively reported earlier this week that Bachelor Nation star Tyler Cameron and Step Up actress Jenna Dewan will be joining DWTS this year as well. The full Dancing With the Stars cast — including pros and celebrities — will be revealed on ABC’s Good Morning America on September 2.
ABC has already confirmed that Rodriguez, 55, will be paired with reigning pro winner Witney Carson, who recently announced that she is expecting her third baby with husband Carson McAllister. (Carson, 32, won %MCEPASTEBIN%DWTS season 34 with celebrity partner Robert Irwin.)
“I would be lying if I said it wasn’t very daunting. I’ve never been this far along pregnant and competing on Dancing With the Stars, ever,” she admitted on GMA on Monday, August 17. “I don’t know if it’s ever been done.”
The pro dancer added, “I’m so proud to be a woman, to be creating life and growing this human, and to be able to do the show and compete … is such a huge blessing.”
Ahead of the season 35 kickoff, Savannah Bananas player Olson, 28, exclusively opened up to Us about what will make him most nervous about stepping onto the dance floor.
“I’m definitely nervous. I feel like my dad used to always say to me, ‘If you’re nervous, it’s a good thing. If you’re scared, it is not a good thing,’” Olson told Us on August 6. “There’s a big difference there. I feel like the nerves are there, but it’s more excitement.”
Admitting that he’ll be feeling nerves “10 seconds before” before his music kicks in on DWTS, Olson added, “That’s when I’m most nervous for Bananas games, when we’re about to get called out for starting lineups.”
“It’s like, ‘All right, that first 10 seconds,’ but then right when you’re out there, you’re like, ‘Oh, this is what I’ve been practicing for,’ and so I feel like baseball has taught me so much how to have [a] good practice before you actually go out there,” he pointed out.
Dancing With the Stars season 35 airs a two-night premiere on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, September 15, and Wednesday, September 16, at 8 p.m. ET.
