Brooke Burke will 'always have a crush' on 'Dancing with the Stars' dance partner Derek Hough

Brooke Burke revealed that being partnered with Derek Hough on "Dancing with the Stars" 15 years ago started off rocky but ended with a lasting crush on the pro dancer.

"I was crushing on Derek, for sure," she told fellow "DWTS" alum Cheryl Burke in Sunday's episode of Cheryl's podcast, "Sex, Lies and Spray Tans." (And no, the Burkes are not related.) Brooke, the celebrity dancer, was paired with a then-23-year-old Hough in Season 7 of the show in 2008.

"If I had not been married, I would've actually hoped we would've had a love affair," Brooke said.

At the time, she was dating actor David Charvet. The couple married in 2011, and she filed for divorce in 2018.

Brooke Burke describes being 'so connected' with Derek Hough on 'DWTS'

Brooke explained, "You are intertwined with someone's body; when you are not a dancer, there is no way I have ever been so connected besides with a lover or a husband than I was with Derek, and it's every single day."

"For three months, you are in someone's arms. Why do you think people fall in love? You smell them. You feel them. You're breathing with them," she said. "It can be more intimate than making love in the bedroom. You're, like, making love on the dancefloor when you're really connected."

Cheryl was shocked by Brooke's admission and insisted that Hough would "freak out ... in a good way."

"He kept telling me how hot you were on your season," Cheryl said.

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Brooke concluded that competing with Hough on "DWTS" was "life-changing," and added, "I will always have a crush on Derek."

She is currently engaged to fiancé Scott Rigsby, who works in real estate, while Hough and fellow former "DWTS" pro dancer Hayley Erbert were married in August.

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Brooke Burke, Derek Hough were 'having issues off-camera' on 'DWTS'

On the podcast, Brooke opened up about the journey that led to her and Hough winning Season 7 of "Dancing with the Stars."

The fitness guru and TV personality, who went on to co-host several seasons of the competition show, confessed that, at first, she and Hough "just weren't connected."

"We weren't jelling. We were having issues off-camera and in rehearsals," she said.

But after consulting with a life coach, "something magical happened and we found faith in each other — at least I did — and we just decided to win." Though Hough was "brutally honest," "it made me better," Burke said.

After putting in nine years as a pro dancer on "DWTS," Hough joined the judges' panel in 2020. Brooke Burke co-hosted the show from season 10-17 before announcing she wouldn't be returning right before Season 18 premiered.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brooke Burke crushed on 'Dancing with the Stars' partner Derek Hough