It’s superstar husband versus celebrity wife during this season’s Dancing with the Stars.
And here’s another first: Instead of celeb hoofers hooking up with their pro partners during the season (ala Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth, Mark Ballas and Sabrina Bryan, etc.), this season producers allowed a real life couple to heat up the ballroom. DWTS champ-turned-country-singer Julianne Hough will compete with her boyfriend, country singer Chuck Wicks. Producers say they are interested in seeing if the lovebirds will stay together after being forced to be around each other nearly 24/7. Another potential deal breaker: Julianne will be bossing around her hunky boy toy… we’ll see how his ego handles that one.
The celebrity couple I referred to earlier is none other than singer Jewel and her rodeo star husband, Ty Murray. Jewel will be dancing with first-time DWTS pro Dmitry Chaplin, while Murray has been paired with the other DWTS virgin, Chelsie Hightower.
Real-life pro couple Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Karina Smirnoff, who plan to become husband and wife later this year, will compete against each other with their respective celebrity partners. Chmerkovskiy will be dancing with actress Denise Richards, while Smirnoff will hit the dance floor with Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak.
Rounding out the celebrity lineup will be the youngest contestant ever on the show, 17-year-old Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson (she’s paired with season six champ Mark Ballas), pop star Belinda Carlisle (paired with Jonathan Roberts), former NFL star Lawrence Taylor (his pro partner is Edyta Sliwinska), rapper Lil’ Kim (she’ll be dancing with season seven champ Derek Hough), Jackass star Steve-O (he’ll be hitting it with Lacey Schwimmer), actors David Alan Grier (his pro partner is Kym Johnson), actor Gilles Marini (paired with two-time DWTS champ Cheryl Burke), and Access Hollywood co-host Nancy O’Dell (dancing with Tony Dovolani).
Dancing’s eighth season premieres March 9th on ABC.