Maura Higgins, a star from Love Island, has been confirmed as a contestant for Season 35 of Dancing With The Stars. She will be paired with professional dancer Mark Ballas for the upcoming series.
Sixteen celebrities join the Season 35 ballroom roster
The full cast for Dancing With The Stars Season 35 has been officially revealed, featuring sixteen celebrity-professional pairings. As reported by the source, the lineup includes notable names such as Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Tatyana Ali, and Giada De Laurentiis.
Maura Higgins, the 35-year-old Love Island star, will compete alongside professional dancer Mark Ballas. The duo is already familiar with one another, having appeared together on the American version of Celebrity Traitors earlier this year. Higgins shared the news on her Instagram page, posting a photo in a sparkly pink leotard alongside Ballas.
The announcement drew immediate support from Higgins's former Love Island colleagues, including Amber Davies and Tasha Ghouri, who flooded her social media comments.. Other contestants joining the fray include Tyler Cameron with Sharna Burgess, Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson, and Guillermo Rodriguez with Witney Carson.
The Gleb Savchenko controversy and the Brooks Nader connection
Maura Higgins has already sparked significant debate regarding her professional preferences before the season begins. She told E! News that she hopes to avoid being paired with Russian dancer Gleb Savchenko due to his past comments regarding women.
This stance is reportedly driven by Higgins's loyalty to her friend Brooks Nader,who had a "messy split" with Savchenko following their 2024 partnership on the show. Higgins emphasized to E! News that she wants to remain loyal to Nader and does not wish to work with someone like Savchenko.
Gleb Savchenko responded to these claims in the Daily Mail, stating he had never even heard of Higgins before the story broke. He suggested that her public comments were a calculated move to generate headlines before the competition starts, notng it was "odd" to attack someone he has never spoken to .
A Los Angeles night out with judge Bruno Tonioli
Maura Higgins was recently spotted in Los Angeles enjoying a night out with Dancing With The Stars judge Bruno Tonioli. the reality star, dressed in a black leather dress and knee-high boots,appeared comfortable with the judge as they headed to dinner.
This social outing follows Higgins's arrival at a Los Angeles dance studio for her first day of rehearsals. Fans gathered outside the studio to catch a glimpse of the Irish star as she prepared for the upcoming season.
Will Higgins's preference for Val Chmerkovskiy affect her performance?
Despite her pairing with Mark Ballas, Higgins has expressed a specific professional admiration for Val Chmerkovskiy. She previously danced with Chmerkovskiy for a promotional video and noted him as an ideal partner.
It remains unclear how the tension with Gleb Savchenko will influence the show's internal dynamics once filming intensifies.. additionally, the source does not confirm if Savchenko will be part of the Season 35 professional lineup, leaving the ultimate impact of Higgins's comments unverified.
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