'DWTS' Pro Val Chmerkovskiy on the Added Pressure of Being Partnered with a 'Bachelorette'

Val and Gabby *want* that Mirrorball trophy!

After a disappointing finish last year on Dancing with the Stars, there was talk that Val Chmerkovskiy wouldn’t be returning for season 31, but back he is and feeling “splendid” after finishing last week in a three-way tie for first place.

Val, who’s partnered with Bachelorette Gabby Windey, told Parade.com in this exclusive interview, “Gabby and I are working hard. There’s a very, very competitive cast this season. To be considered one of the couples on top is a huge compliment to us and all the work we’ve been doing.”

Of course, there’s the added pressure for the pro dancer and his partner of a very successful track record set in the ballroom by previous Bachelorettes Kaitlyn Bristowe, Hannah Brown, and Melissa Rycroft, who all won the Mirrorball Trophy.

“I want to say no [there isn’t added pressure] because there’s always expectations, but to be fair, yes there is,” Val admitted. “Kaitlyn and Hannah won the show fairly recently, which is something that we’re going up against ultimately. That puts a lot of pressure on us, it potentially puts a lot of pressure on Gabby, but the truth is I think Gabby has created her own lane within Bachelor nation, if you will. She’s doing the same here on Dancing with the Stars.”

That said, all three of the previous Bachelorette winners danced with different partners: Kaitlyn danced with Artem Chigvintsev, Hannah with Alan Bersten, and Melissa with Tony Dovolani.

“Gabby and I are a different partnership, we bring something different to the table,” Val pointed out. “Obviously, we want it to result in a Mirrorball Trophy, but that’s not our goal. Our goal is to put on a great show and win some fans over.”

Related: Gabby Windey Shares Silly Behind-the-Scenes Look at DWTS Rehearsals in New TikTok

When Dancing with the Stars returns to the ballroom tonight, it will be celebrating “60 Years of James Bond” and Val and Gabby will be dancing the Cha Cha to the title song from Die Another Day by Madonna.

“We're going to get creative with the tuxedo,” Val said. “We're doing the Cha Cha, which I'm excited for. With 007, we're hitting all my lanes, you know what I mean? I don’t have to go far as far as my character. I'm excited to show a different side of Gabby as well. The Cha Cha is a little bit sexier, a little bit more fierce. We’ve showed the beautiful side, the romantic side. Now we can get into the competition.”

Also, during our conversation, Val shared that he hadn’t really wanted to leave at the end of season 30 and why the rumor got started; what the return of the co-host and the skybox means to him; and his pending fatherhood with wife Jenna Johnson, who is sitting out this season while expecting the birth of their son.

You’ve actually won DWTS twice now. What is your approach each season? How much is decided by who your partner is?

It does vary on the partner that I have. I’ve tried to find my own lane. My niche on the show is to really take my partner on an educational journey, not just an emotional one. I really want to teach dance, not just perform an entertaining number for the cameras. That has always been my approach, especially when I’m working with capable talent, talent that is able to absorb the information and is able to pick it up. Gabby being one of those talents.

The joy that you see us experience on Mondays is just the tip of the iceberg and is a result of a lot of hard work and grind and potentially a lack of joy throughout the week because we’re trying to reach that point of dance connection and excellence that will result in a successful product and a tie for first place.

How big a role does choreography play? Last week judge Len Goodman gave somebody an extra point because he actually recognized the steps of their dance. Also, when you have a less experienced dancer can you use choreography to disguise their weaknesses?

Oh, yeah. Choreographers are like fashion designers with choreography being like an outfit. Just like when an outfit fits well to your body type, it doesn’t matter what the body type is because you’re going to look stunning. We try to customize the choreography to perfectly suit our partners. We’ve gotten so good at it on the show as choreographers and teachers that I think sometimes we forget that we’re supposed to not hide their flaws but to afford them to change those things and improve on those flaws.

I think Len is right when he says we’ve gotten so good at hiding the shortcomings or the challenges that some celebrities may have on our show in particular dance styles. We as dancers and pros have gotten so good at choreographing around that that someone like Len looks at a routine and he sees none of the difficult content that’s supposed to exist in the routine because it’s all been camouflaged with fun, entertaining movements.

Related: Dance Partners for Life! Inside Dancing with the Stars Pro Jenna Johnson's Steamy Relationship With Val Chmerkovskiy

Jenna made history last year with dancing with JoJo Siwa. This season Gleb Savchenko is partnered with Shangela. What is your take on the same sex partners? Do you think it’s a good addition to the show?

I think it’s a great addition to the show. I grew up in the ballroom dance space where, ultimately, we could talk about our world being inclusive, exclusive, etc. My experience growing up in the dance world shaped my personality a lot of ways. But it’s always been very inclusive, it’s always been a place that welcomed everybody. Whether everybody showed up is a different thing.

Same sex competitions have been around for a really long time. The fact that we’re seeing that representation on TV is new to our audience, but it’s not new, at least to me. I’ve seen it before, and it was never controversial to me. To me, it was just part of dance. It was just another part of what makes dance so special. It brings people, no matter what the people are, together.

I think it’s a beautiful thing for the ballroom, I think it’s great for society to be openminded and welcoming. I think that’s why the arts are such a beautiful place because they push boundaries and they’re not confined by social norms. I’m proud that the arts, and dance in particular, is always at the forefront of that.

There was talk at the end of last season that you were thinking of leaving. Why did you want to leave? And why have you decided to return this season?

I don’t think I ever wanted to leave. I said that it potentially could be my last season because it was a cocktail of different emotions. One emotion was, obviously, disappointment. That interview came right after I was eliminated last season. But mostly it came from just emotionally being exhausted. I generally put my heart and soul into this project, I care about it immensely. I care about dance. Broadly speaking I care about being a good teacher and being a good ambassador of dance. But, also, I care about the show.

I love Dancing with the Stars. It’s changed my life; it’s changed my family’s life. Obviously, everybody knows my brother Max and his journey on Dancing with the Stars before I joined the show. It’s been part of my life for close to 15 years, 16 years now. It was hard. It’s hard to walk away from something that you love so much, and you know that you’re still capable of doing at a high level.

Last season they gave you a very controversial partner in Olivia Jade. There were so many negative comments on social media. I wouldn’t say that your early exit was a reflection on you.

Thank you. Everything has seasons. I’ve had some really, really great seasons on the show. I’ve had the privilege of dancing with 16 incredible partners. Some of the ones that people celebrate to this day, Zendaya, Laurie Hernandez, and Rumer Willis, these are young women that gave me a chance to create some of my best work on the show. When you have that, it’s just such a gift. When you don’t, it can be a real challenge. When you don’t have that on the show you try to navigate through it gracefully.

Me, being who I am, that really refined me as a person, the last four years. I think I made the finale like five or six seasons in a row, two of which I won. I had a really good run for a long time. That was followed up by not such a good run. It’s been four years since I made the finals.

Maybe as a result of your track record, they gave you some challenging partners because they knew you could handle it.

I’ll take the challenge. I have never walked into a season thinking that I wasn’t going to win or go far. Now, again, don’t get me wrong, I’m not thinking win, win, win. But I believe in my partner no matter who they are. Every single person I’ve met and got a chance to do this show with, I’ve always had faith in. I’ve always had faith in myself blindly. And maybe potentially sometimes it’s delusional optimism. But I have that. Like you said, last season, yes, it had its challenges. But I want those challenges.

Like I also said, it’s been a while since I got a chance to make the finals. It’s been a humbling time for me, and I have grown outside of the show, as well. It’s given me perspective and appreciation and gratitude so that when a season like this one comes around, I try not to get too high and just really not take advantage of it.

I’ve also gotten older. Also, partially answering your previous question, can I dance at a high level still? Absolutely. I’m not going to compare myself to other dancers on the show, but do I think I’ve still got it generally speaking? Absolutely. Because this is my life. I stay in shape; I dance all of the offseason. I don’t wait for Dancing with the Stars to come around for me to work on my craft. I do so all year round. But you get older, and you realize that this isn’t forever. Or at least Dancing with the Stars isn’t.

Related: Jenna Johnson-Chmerkovskiy on Making Dancing with the Stars History and Getting One of the First Injuries of the Season

Being asked back on the show, feeling like I’m wanted on the show, a show that is incredibly competitive for a dancer to be hired on, I am really, really grateful. I’m grateful to Dancing with the Stars for trusting me. I’m grateful to the universe for keeping me healthy enough to produce at a high level.

Now, again, I’m grateful that for whatever reason they decided to give me a partner that is not just a really strong talent when it comes to dance and performance, but also is a wonderful person to work with. Then the triple threat is that she’s an absolute riot on camera. She’s hilarious, she’s funny, she’s charming, she’s great. I have it all. Hopefully, this season proves to be another successful season for me.

Are you enjoying the return of the sky box and having a co-host? Is it more like the old days?

Yes, yes, yes, yes, a million yesses. The show feels very much … I don’t want to use the word nostalgic, but there is a feeling of revival in some ways. I think Alfonso Ribeiro is absolutely smashing it. I give him an A+++ for what he’s doing and what he’s contributing to the show, the energy, the feel. But it’s more than that.

In the back end, I want to tip my hat off to Conrad Green, who’s a returning executive producer for the show, after being away for close to six or seven years now. He helped launch this show into the stratosphere that it enjoyed in its heyday.

I think he’s now bringing some of that back into the ecosystem of Dancing with the Stars. I think it all trickles down from the top. Everybody plays a role and even the things that are behind camera, I think, really translate in front of it.

There is a new feeling on set. I think there is a new warmth on set. Everybody’s contributing to that. The numbers are making us feel a little bit more familiar. Surely having the band back in the room, the audience, and the judges are killing it. I’m not plugging Disney+, but I don’t know if you’ve noticed the level of production and the level of promotion.

This season has been on a different level. Being part of it, and I’m not a big part of the promo this year but I just love seeing Dancing with the Stars on billboards for the first time in a long time. We are an incredible show, we have beautiful talent. Why not show us off a little more?

Related: DWTS Pro Jenna Johnson Surprises Val Chmerkovskiy With Baby News in the Sweetest Way Possible

Jenna’s sitting this season out and it couldn’t be for a better reason. Congratulations, you’re having a boy. What are you looking forward to about fatherhood? And do you expect him to be a dancer?

What am I looking forward to the most in fatherhood? I’m looking forward to those same things that I enjoy right now about teaching. I’m looking forward to help guide somebody into their best self and give my child an opportunity to enjoy life. I guess within that process, I’m looking forward to just cheering him on and basking in the pride and joy of seeing something that my wife and I made, literally.

Are you going to be there for diaper duty?

For sure. Also, watching Jessie James Decker last week sitting there with her son dressed as Elvis stealing the show, I’m looking forward to creating our own little village. I’m very family oriented. I’m very close to my brother and my parents and my friends and my family. I’m looking forward to discovering all of that together with Jen. She’s an amazing partner, not just in dance but in life. In parenthood, I know that’s where she’ll shine the most. I’m excited for all those things, honestly. I’m ready for those things. I think it’s an important part of my life that I can’t wait to experience.

Dancing with the Stars streams Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Disney+.

Next, Everything You Know About Dancing with the Stars Season 31