Is Val Chmerkovskiy Exiting Dancing With the Stars? Jenna Johnson Says...

The future of Dancing with the Stars pro Val Chmerkovskiy remains up in the air ahead of the show's upcoming 31st season. See what his wife Jenna Johnson said about what to expect.

By Daniel Trainor Jun 29, 2022 12:30 AMTags
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Val Chmerkovskiy is not ready to put away his dancing shoes.

Months after he teased an exit, the Dancing with the Stars veteran is eager for the another run at the Mirrorball trophy in season 31, just ask his wife—and fellow DWTS pro—Jenna Johnson!

"Val is definitely excited to come back for another season and I think that he's in the best shape of his life right now," Jenna told Us Weekly June 27. "I'm not sure what happened to him [this year], but he is snatched."

Sounds like somebody is ready to rumba!

Whether or not he actually will return, however, remains unclear, as Jenna explained, "The funny thing is we actually don't know if we're coming back until right before the season [starts]."

Since first appearing as a pro alongside Elisabetta Canalis during season 13 in 2011, he has appeared on a total of 17 seasons of the dance competition, including 2021's season 30 with Olivia Jade. He has won the Mirrorball trophy twice, first in 2015's season 20 with Rumer Willis and again in 2016's season 23 with gymnast Laurie Hernandez.

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Meanwhile, Jenna most recently appeared on season 30 with partner JoJo Siwa, making history as the show's first same-sex duo. She won the Mirrorball trophy in 2018's season 26 with Olympian Adam Rippon.

If Val or Jenna—or both!—return to the ballroom, they'll be entering a ballroom that looks and feels much different than the one they left.

After all, on April 8, it was announced that seasons 31 and 32 of DWTS would be moving to Disney+.

John Parra/Getty Images for Sandals Resorts

While the pros and celebs have yet to be announced, longtime Dancing with the Stars judge Carrie Ann Inaba revealed she'll be back when the show makes its big move—and she told fans to be ready for change.

"It's a little bit different," Carrie Ann told E! News. "I think the difference is maybe live voting across the country. Maybe there's gonna be some things that will come along with the scripts that I think people are gonna love. People don't always like change, but I think they'll adapt."

One thing Carrie Ann doesn't want to see changed is host Tyra Banks, who took over for Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews at the start of season 29 in 2020.

"Of course, we want Tyra!" she said. "The thing about Dancing with the Stars is, once you're on our show, you're in the family. That's so precious. We truly are family. Not many shows are as close as we are."

We'll see if Val and Jenna get invited back to the party when season 31 of Dancing with the Stars premieres this fall on Disney+.

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