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Jenna Dewan’s Fiancé Steve Kazee Defends Her Against DWTS Criticism

Watch: Jenna Dewan’s Fiancé Steve Kazee Addresses “All the Noise” Amid DWTS Journey

Jenna Dewan’s troupe is fiercely cheering her on.

Amid criticism that the Step Up actress entered season 35 of Dancing With the Stars with an unfair advantage—thanks to her decades of prior dance experience—her fiancé Steve Kazee shared he “could not be more in awe of this incredible woman.”

“The amount of literal blood, sweat, and tears she has poured into this journey over the last month has been beyond amazing to witness,” he wrote on Instagram Sept. 30. “The hours, the bruises, the blisters, the exhaustion, the nerves, the constant push to get better. She has given herself completely to this experience, and somehow, through all of it, she is joy.”

That joy is even more impressive for Kazee as he’s watched Dewan, 45, foxtrot her way through adversity.

“I’ve also watched her take on all the noise that comes with putting yourself out there like this,” the Once actor continued. “The opinions, the chatter, and the criticism that, despite best attempts, feels almost inescapable in this age of the almighty algorithm.”

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Why DWTS‘ Jenna Dewan Thinks She’s Judged More Harshly Than Other Contestants

He added, “What has impressed me most is that she keeps showing up with an open heart. She listens, she works, she keeps learning, and she refuses to let any of it steal the joy she has found in doing this.”

Kazee—dad to kids Callum, 6, and Rhiannon, 2, with Dewan—also emphasized how everyone should want “the people we love most” to “fill their hearts with the things that make them feel most alive” and “remember parts of who they are that maybe got buried beneath work, parenthood, responsibility, and just the everyday business of life.”

Michael Kovac/Getty Images for Baby2Baby

As the 50-year-old put it, “Getting to watch her find that feeling every single week has been such a gift, not only for her, but for our whole family.”

While Kazee is thrilled that audiences get to watch Dewan—also mom to daughter Everly, 13, with ex Channing Tatum—during the live broadcast each week, he noted he gets a peek at “everything that happens in between,” which ranges from her determination to her doubts.

But no matter how Dewan and her pro dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy fare throughout the rest of the Dancing With the Stars season, Kazee is “so damn proud” and “honored to stand beside her through it all.”

Eric McCandless/Disney

“Keep dancing, baby,” he concluded. “Keep filling up that heart. I’ll be right here cheering louder than anyone.”

After Kazee’s heartfelt message to Dewan, she wrote in the comments section, “Omg my heart!! thank you baby.”

As for how the Rookie actress feels about bringing her prior dance experience to the show? She told E! News last month, “I own it,” but emphasized that “ballroom is a different language.”

“It’s actually very, very challenging for me, and I wanted that challenge,” she said. “That was one of the biggest reasons I wanted to come and do this: I haven’t trained this hard in so many years and to do it in a new, different way, in this way, it was the right timing.”

And after three weeks of competition, Dewan told E! following the Sept. 29 episode, “It’s the most fun I’ve had maybe in the last 30 years. This is just so fun.”

As Dewan continues to dance her way through season 35, keep reading to learn all the behind-the-scenes secrets of Dancing With the Stars.

ABC/Paula Lobo

How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.”That show pays OK,” the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick‘s podcast Trading Secrets. “Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it’s like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last.”Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, “I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show.”ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they’re on the show, the more money they can make.But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.”You’re guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks,” Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester‘s podcast The Morning After. “I think there’s different contracts though. I can’t speak for everybody.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?Apparently not.While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor‘s Joey Graziadei—says the pros don’t get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there’s still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).”If you make it all the way to the end, you’re getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale,” she explained on The Morning After. “If you win, it’s not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You’re just getting a cute trophy together.”

Instagram / Dancing With the Stars

Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?That doesn’t appear to be the case.On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut “more than in half” when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.

Eric McCandless/ABC via Getty Images

How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.”You get no say,” Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers‘ Hot Smart Rich podcast. “It’s very much just, ‘Here’s your partner. Make it work.'”In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.”They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live,” Jenna said on The Morning After. “They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we’re keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don’t even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner.”As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?”It’s based on height, build and personality and compatibility,” former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. “We don’t pair people who aren’t going to get on. It’s too intense. It’s not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn’t do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don’t want to see two people who don’t like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn’t get on so well.”

Disney/Eric McCandless

How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?Put simply, a lot.”Every day we have four-hour rehearsals,” Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. “It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m.”But the work doesn’t stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos.”Literally my whole life is devoted to it,” she continued, “but it’s my passion and it’s what I love. So, it makes me so happy.”Indeed, it’s a no-days-off kind of gig.”We have our show day on Tuesday and then it’s Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals,” Rylee added. “And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday’s show day again.”

Instagram / Emma Slater

Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?”Mostly yes,” Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, “though it’s a collaboration with producers.”

Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty Images

What’s the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department.”We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair],” costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. “Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise.”In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department “might use a pair of pants again for the boys,” he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.As Gschwendtner added, “We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting.”

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