As “Dancing With the Stars” viewers and fans, we’ve all heard the stories of partners who couldn’t stand each other, or celebrities who turned out to be divas. Getting paired with a celebrity the dancer meshes with obviously makes the whole experience so much more enjoyable.
For many dancers, there is always that elusive “dream” partner. While interviewing Kristen Bell and Adam Brody for Extra, Derek Hough admitted to a shocked Bell that she was his.
Jason Mendez/Getty Images for SiriusXMShocked Kristen Bell Responds to Derek Hough’s DWTS Partner Proposal
“You know, when people have always asked me in the past, they’ll be like, ‘Who would be your dream partner on ‘Dancing With the Stars?'” Hough began. “I’m going to be honest with you — Kristen.”
The “Nobody Wants This” star looked shocked. “What?!” She said, eyes and mouth wide.
“Kristen, you’ve been, like, my number one for a while,” Hough added.
“Derek, do you know I tip over all the time, even just walking?” Bell said in response.
Bell jokes that he could probably move her around “Like a mannequin,” telling him that she’s “super malleable.”
“Are we doing this? Is this happening?” Hough asked her incredulously.
“I mean, maybe we could do it,” Bell replied, telling him that she would need “a lot of rehearsal.”
“That’s fine, we’ll put in the work. I’ll turn you from a tipper to a dipper,” he said.
“I’m in!” Bell said enthusiastically.
‘Frozen’ Crossover? Derek Hough-Kristen Bell DWTS Pairing Sparks Fan Frenzy
In Hough’s comments, many fans were excited about the pairing of Hough and Bell. “omg the crossover I didn’t know I needed,” commented one fan. Some also noted that she voices Anna in Disney’s “Frozen” franchise.
“And for Disney week, you guys have to do Anna and Hans,” wrote one person. “I mean I can see you two crushing the waltz or something wildly formal to her singing ‘Do you want to build a snowman?” wrote another.
The biggest obstacle to Hough’s idea seems to be that he’s now a judge on DWTS rather than a dancer. But someone figured out a solution to that, as well.
“You come out of retirement,” suggested a fan. “Swap with [Mark Ballas] as a judge for the season. I support this idea.”
Ethan Miller/Getty ImagesFrom Janet Jackson to Trisha Paytas: DWTS Pros’ Wish Lists
Other dancers have been honest about who they’d like to be paired with on the show, as well. In July 2025, Maks Chmerkovskiy admitted that his dream partner is Janet Jackson. “I’m old school,” he told Extra TV. “I can’t believe I’m saying that.”
“Some don’t got it anymore, and some do,” he added. “She does.”
After appearing on her podcast in July, many DWTS fans began to wonder whether social media personality Trisha Paytas would be on the show. He told Paytas that he’d been campaigning to get her on the show. He also had a song picked out if they were partners, along with a sketch of the dance they’d do in his head.
