Pro dancers Witney Carson and Mark Ballas allegedly didn’t get along during Season 21 of “Dancing With the Stars,” according to married former contestants Alexa and Carlos PenaVega.
The couple, who made history as the first — and thus far only — married pair to compete against one another on the show in 2015, recently dished on the “drama behind the scenes” involving their respective pro partners.
“At the time, Witney and Mark were not getting along at all. They refused to be in the same room together,” Alexa, 38, revealed during Thursday’s episode of her and her husband’s “LexLos” podcast.
The “Spy Kids” actress went on to explain that Carson and Ballas’ alleged feud was “really hard” for her and Carlos, 37.
“The whole point of doing the show was, ‘We’re going to go in, and we’re going to do this together as much as possible.’ And the second we go in, boom, Mark and Witney refused to be in a room together,” she recalled.
Alexa added, “We thought we were going to be rehearsing in the same room, and now we have to be so separate. We have to dance around whatever’s going on with them.”
Page Six has reached out to representatives for Carson, Ballas and “DWTS” for comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Carlos, for his part, said he and Carson, 33, “had so much fun” during the competition, adding that he was “there to win” — but so was Ballas, 40.
“He’s very creative, and he wants to do things outside the box, which require a lot of work,” the Big Time Rush singer said of his wife’s partner. “Listen, I had a great work ethic with Witney. She put up with a lot ’cause it was really hard, but we had a lot of fun.”
Alexa, who also said she “had so much fun” with Ballas, noted that Carlos learned the dances more quickly than she did.
“When it comes to dance, you pick things up so easily. Like, Carlos, they would teach him something, and he would know it immediately,” Alexa said. “He would learn a dance, and it would be so good right away. And even if he messed up, you would never know he messed up.”
“Meanwhile, it took me forever,” she continued. “Mark would teach me something, and I’d be like, ‘All right, got it.’ I would have it, and then an hour later, I’d be like, ‘I actually don’t remember any of that.’”
Alexa and Ballas finished in 6th place, while Carlos and Carson made it to the finale, ultimately placing 4th behind winners Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough.
Ballas and Carson have continued competing as pro dancers since Season 21, with both returning for Season 35.
Carson, who won Season 34 with Robert Irwin, was eliminated during “Super Bowl Night” this season alongside her partner, Guillermo Rodriguez, while Ballas and his partner, Maura Higgins, are still in the running for the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy.
