Dancing with the Stars has earned both accolades and criticism over its many seasons. Fans cheered for Selma Blair as she competed despite her medical diagnosis, and many stars have used the show as a platform to rehab their images. But not everything has been good PR for the reality competition.
In fact, fans noticed an interesting trend with DWTS contestants, and their most recent case study involved JoJo Siwa and the drama that she experienced while competing.
Dancing With The Stars Is The Most Challenging Reality Series
Sure, shows like Survivor take the cake when it comes to physically grueling challenges. But Dancing with the Stars has its own challenging elements.
Though most of the celebrity participants are familiar with stunt work and physicality, there's also a big difference between dancing for a film and competitive dancing for real.
That's why no one blinked an eye when Selma Blair dropped out of DWTS; given her health challenges after her multiple sclerosis diagnosis, Selma achieved so much already.
Injuries are also common on set; Jodie Sweetin injured her ankle, Daniella Karagach sustained an injury, Christie Brinkley broke her arm in rehearsal, and plenty of other contestants and dancers have gotten hurt, too.
Their bodies aren't the only things at stake during DWTS, either.
Fans Blame JoJo Siwa's Breakup On DWTS Jealousy
It's already clear that not every celebrity relationship survives Dancing with the Stars. Relationships don't always last, and the dedication it takes to appear on DWTS and train for it might mean little time is left for budding relationships.
And viewers acknowledge that for someone who's not familiar with dancing, watching a partner perform with their dance partner can be unsettling.
That's why fans think JoJo Siwa's breakup from her first public girlfriend, Kylie Prew, came out of nowhere. The pair had already split once, but when they got back together, they seemed happier than ever.
But in the middle of DWTS, the two split, with JoJo later admitting that her dance partner, Jenna Johnson helped talk her down while she was going through big emotions.
At the time, viewers weren't sure what she was talking about, but it later became clear that she had been dealing with a breakup. Though fans were happy JoJo had that support, they also suggested that the breakup had more to do with DWTS than JoJo has ever let on.
Some fans on Reddit suggested that Kylie might have been jealous because of JoJo's closeness with Jenna; numerous commenters were quick to point out that no one can suggest that anything untoward happened between the dance partners. They emphasized that Kylie simply might have felt put out, especially due to the demanding practice and film schedule.
One fan pointed out that during DWTS filming, Kylie had been in the audience each week — up until their breakup. Looking back at the dates, it seemed clear that JoJo and Kylie split during filming, although there was never any specific confirmation from JoJo on what happened.
What fans do know is that JoJo did move on, and has been dating a fellow influencer who grew to fame on TikTok.
Relationship Drama Is Always Center Stage On DWTS
Sometimes there's relationship drama because one-half of a couple competes on DWTS and meets someone new... On a few occasions, it's been dance partners that run off together.
As of season 30, five couples had emerged from DWTS, one of them being Nikki Bella and Artem Chigvintsev. Everyone remembers the drama of Nikki's split from John Cena. Now, she and Artem have a baby together.
As a fan pointed out, "Fans in bachelor nation [sic] used to call going on DWTS a curse for couples because many have ended up breaking up right after it or almost breaking up." It seems like there might be some truth to the relationship issues, especially for Bachelor contestants in relatively new relationships.
Another agreed, "I think a lot of the stars struggle with the show and balancing their relationships." They emphasize the fact that even mature relationships have fallen apart when presented with Dancing with the Stars, so for JoJo and Kylie, who were barely 18 at the time, it made even more sense.