Most Disastrous ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Partners Ever!

Credit: ABC/KELSEY MCNEAL

Most Disastrous 'Dancing With the Stars' Partners Ever!

Problems in the ballroom — and backstage! Dancing With the Stars has featured some incredible partners over the years, but the ABC competition series is also no stranger to fumbles over mismatched pairings.

Kim Kardashian competed on the dance series’ 7th season in 2008 alongside her pro partner, Mark Ballas. While the businesswoman has succeeded in many areas in life, she ultimately ended her DWTS run in 11th place — making her the third eliminated star.

A decade later, fellow alum Milo Manaheim recalled a conversation he had with Kardashian about her experience on the show and the advice she gave him. “So, she doesn’t like dancing as much as I do, and I was like, ‘I’m about to do Dancing With the Stars, tell me, how was your experience?’ And she was like, ‘Milo, it’s the worst! Like you get injured, you feel like an idiot,’” the Disney alum told Entertainment Tonight of the 2018 chat. “And I was like, ‘OK…’ So that was kinda my advice from her.”

Maksim Chmerkovskiy had a rough turn when paired with Hope Solo for season 13. The former partners did not get along and they were often shown fighting during their dance rehearsals.

During a 2015 appearance on the “Allegedly With Theo Von & Matthew Cole Weiss” podcast, Chmerkovskiy played a game of “F--k, Marry, Kill” and said he “would definitely” choose to “kill” the former soccer player.

[jwplayer jjLy4CEZ-l3ahXupL]

“She’s just a s---ty person,” he explained at the time. “People can be bad or good or whatever. You can have a s---ty life growing up. You can have a tough upbringing. You can have a history. You can have whatever. But, if you are just a bad person, you know what I mean? There’s no excuse for that.”

Hope accused Chmerkovskiy in her 2012 book, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, of slapping her during one of their rehearsals but he denied the accusation.

Cheryl Burke, for her part, shared why her “least favorite partner” to date has been Ian Ziering. “The fact that his name is not EE-AN and its EYE-AN makes me want to throw up,” she said on the “Allegedly” podcast in 2016.

The Dance Moms alum claimed that working with the BH90210 alum “made me want to slit my wrists,” adding: “I was like crying to executives. I was like is there any way to please to just eliminate us?”

Burke later said that she was “out of line” for seemingly making light of suicide in her jab about Ziering. "There's no excuse. No matter if it was a joke or not, I know it hurt him and I know it hurt his family. It was a big deal," she said on her podcast "Pretty Messed Up" in April 2021.

Scroll down to see some of the worst Dancing With the Stars pairings over the years.

Credit: Eric McCandless/ABC

Hannah Brown and Alan Bersten

In 2021, the former Bachelorette opened up about the tough time she had with Bersten during season 28.

“Alan kept saying, ‘You have to trust me if we’re going to do this.’ But trust was the last thing I was prepared to give a man I’d just met,” she wrote in her book, God Bless This Mess. “As a dance partner, standing strong, I came to trust Alan more and more every week. I think that showed in our performances. Our chemistry on the stage led to the press speculating that we had something more going on between us, but we didn’t. Off the dance floor, we were not compatible people.”

She continued, "It’s intense work between partners who’ve only just met. But Alan and I had the most volatile relationship of the season, by far. It was either we acted like best friends and true partners, or we couldn’t stand each other. He’d push me too far in rehearsals, and I’d say, 'Get out of my face. I’m not doing this,' and he’d say, 'You’re lazy! You’re not trying!'"

Credit: ABC/Eric McCandless

Sean Spicer and Lindsay Arnold

While competing on the show’s 28th season, the former White House press secretary drew criticism from viewers and the judges for his inability to dance. Despite this, the controversial contestant still ended the season in 6th place.

Spicer even praised Arnold for whipping him into shape. “If you saw where I started, and what this woman has done to get me to where I am today, it's nothing short of a miracle,” he told Entertainment Tonight in 2019. “This whole thing was about getting out of my comfort zone.”

Credit: ABC/KELSEY MCNEAL

Kim Kardashian and Mark Ballas

Oh, the possible Kimojis! The Selfish author could not keep a beat during season 7 in 2008. She'd later joke about her awful dancing skills during an episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. In 2015, Ballas opened up about the partnership in an interview with the Orlando Sentinel. "[She] wasn't the best dancing partner. I love her, she's awesome, we became good friends," he said. "Dancing was not her thing, but she's a great girl."

Credit: ABC/ADAM LARKEY

Kate Gosselin and Tony Dovolani

Goodbye, Gosselin! The reality star's whining got so out of hand during season 10 in 2010 that Dovolani threatened to quit. "You're not taking into consideration how I learn!" she said during a rehearsal in one episode. He took off his mic pack and replied: "I'm done, I'm done today. I quit!"

Credit: Bbc America/Abc-Tv/Kobal/Shutterstock

Ian Ziering and Cheryl Burke

9021 … oh, no! The pro dancer admitted in April 2016 that the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum was her least favorite partner. After expressing how she wanted to “slit” her wrists after working with him, she apologized for her insensitive remark. I’ve always lived by the rule that if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Recently and regrettably, I broke that rule,” she wrote via Twitter. “In the heat of an interview conversation, I used a phrase that seemingly makes light of suicide and I deeply regret it.”

Ziering never directly addressed the comment.

Credit: Chris Pizzello/AP/Shutterstock

David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson

Diva behavior? The Baywatch alum "was a mess," during season 11 in 2010, a show insider exclusively revealed to Us. "His people would call staffers 20 times a day, changing rehearsal times, canceling shoots and even suggesting things like camera angles and poses," the source said. "At first, Kym thought getting Hoff as a partner was quite a coup, but then quickly realized it was a mistake. She is so disappointed!"

Credit: ABC/Adam Taylor

Hope Solo and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

Yikes! The soccer pro and Chmerkovskiy had perhaps the most volatile partnership in DWTS history when they were teamed together in 2011's season 13. One year later, Solo would claim in her book, Solo: A Memoir of Hope, that the Ukrainian hunk slapped her on the face and stomach during a rehearsal. He denied the allegations.

Credit: Shutterstock

Nancy Grace and Tristan MacManus

Not exactly graceful. The veteran journalist often struggled through her dance numbers in season 13 in 2011. At one point, she appeared to have a nip slip on live TV but denied the wardrobe malfunction. "We have taken every precaution known to man in this dress right here. I'm talking industrial-size precaution," she told Us Weekly. "There may have been, as Tristan said, a little bit of jiggling."

Credit: ABC/Craig Sjodin

Mischa Barton and Artem Chigvintsev

The O.C. alum often complained and snapped at Chigvintsev during season 22 in 2016. "I was relying on you to make it a positive experience," she said during one argument. "I can't do another week of this," she added to the cameras. "He just is not getting it, and it's horrible for me."

Credit: Kelsey McNeal/ABC via Getty Images

Jaleel White and Kym Johnson

Urkel is not having it. Us exclusively revealed in April 2012 that the Family Matters alum yelled at Johnson during a season 14 rehearsal. The former child star chastised her after he accidentally stepped on her foot. He "got in her face" and called her an idiot, a source told Us. Fellow pro Mark Ballas intervened, and White said: "You remind me of that annoying sitcom neighbor who gets into everyone's business!"

Credit: Adam Taylor/ABC via Getty Images

Sean Avery and Karina Smirnoff

Did he get the boot? The former New York Rangers hockey player claimed that he was forced off season 18 in 2014, after he told a producer that he was unhappy about an unflattering video package that the show aired of him. "If you have a disagreement with the producers, then generally that seals your fate quite early," he said during Good Morning America.

Credit: BDG/Shutterstock

Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower

Bolton vs. Bruno! The singer received very low scores in 2010's season 11. It got even worse, however, when judge Bruno Tonioli called his jive performance "the worst" he'd ever seen. "I think he should apologize publicly, and he should be reprimanded for it," Bolton told Good Morning America afterward. "I was disappointed with Bruno — to me, he let everybody down."

Credit: Mediapunch/Shutterstock

Geraldo Rivera and Edyta Sliwinska

Wait, is he serious? The veteran journalist often made the audience cringe with his awkward dance moves during season 22 in 2016. During one week, fans were particularly taken aback when he rocked an orange tan to parody Donald Trump, his former Celebrity Apprentice boss.

Credit: ABC/Adam Taylor

Kirstie Alley and Maksim Chmerkovskiy

From friends to enemies! The pair had a falling out after performing together during season 12 in 2011. Chmerkovskiy opened up about their relationship status when a fan asked during Watch What Happens Live if she tried to convert him to Scientology. "She stopped getting along with me. I think the world of her. I'm not judging people by their religion. I'm Jewish. I don't really believe in science fiction, whatever," he said in July 2014. "I thought we had a great relationship."

Credit: BDG/Shutterstock

Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and Karina Smirnoff

No fist pumps here. The Jersey Shore alum made a scene after receiving low scores for his tango performance during season 11 in 2010. "I was upset. I actually stormed off upset because I tried so hard. I really did. I changed my haircut, I don't know," he told Us at the time. "Once I landed all those lifts and the judges were trashing me? I'll be honest with you, it was in one ear and out the other."