Most Disastrous ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Partners Ever!

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Dancing With the Stars has featured some incredible partners over the years, but not all teams were perfectly matched.

Kim Kardashian competed on the dance series’ 7th season in 2008 alongside her pro partner, Mark Ballas. While the reality TV star has succeeded in many arenas, she ended her DWTS run in 11th place.

A decade later, fellow alum Milo Manheim recalled a conversation he had with Kardashian about her DWTS stint. “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,’” he told Entertainment Tonight in October 2018. “And I was like, ‘OK…’ So that was kinda my advice from her.”

Cheryl Burke, for her part, named Ian Ziering as her “least favorite partner.” Burke claimed on the “Allegedly” podcast in 2016 that the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum “made [her] want to slit [her] wrists,” and she frequently cried to the show executives.

Burke later said that she was “out of line” for seemingly making light of suicide. “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,” she said on her “Pretty Messed Up” podcast in April 2021.

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

Burgess claimed in September 2023 that her season 29 partnership was “really difficult.”

“I wasn’t able to be in the room alone with him after the first couple of weeks because of things that happened,” she alleged on her “Oldish” podcast, without mentioning the actor by name. “That was rocky and we were eliminated very quickly.”

A rep for Metcalfe then slammed the allegations. “If she is referring to a time where our client Jesse Metcalfe worked with Ms. Burgess four years ago, the only recollection was that they didn’t get along,” the spokesperson told TVLine. “Vague insinuations are not only reckless but also irrelevant.”

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!'”

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.”

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.”

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!”

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.

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!”

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.

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.”

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.”

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!”

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”