Dancing With The Stars has officially secured their Finale lineup for Season 34. Although The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives member Whitney Leavitt was nearly the top of the leaderboard for the entirety of the season, she will not be one of the dancers in the upcoming Finale.
Whitney Leavitt, Mark Ballas Saw Elimination Coming
Fans were shocked to see frontrunners Ballas and Leavitt eliminated after remaining near the top of the leaderboard during Tuesday night’s competition. In case you missed it, the pair performed a Cha-Cha and Viennese Waltz. On both dances they earned two 10’s and two 9’s.
“We knew it, we felt it,” Ballas said. “I think we just had a feeling.”
Leavitt continued, saying they “had a gut feeling it was us.”
The pair then at the end of the episode was announced as the couple not continuing on in the competition. Apparently, the pair had prepared themselves for inevitable elimination, yet Leavitt details the feeling as a “breakup.”
“You build long-lasting friendships here with production, crew—obviously with Mark,” Leavitt said. “You spend so much time with these people every single day, so it does feel like a breakup. It’s like I’m sad, but also I’m leaving with just a grateful heart, to have been able to experience it.”
The reality star also admitted that she’s thankful she gave her all in every dance. Ultimately, related to the elimination itself, Leavitt revealed “there’s just some things that are out of your control.”
The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives Drama May Have Lead to Their Elimination
On November 13, all ten of the new Secret Lives of Mormon Wives episodes premiered on Hulu as well as Disney+. Fans who binged the season were some of the first to hear about Leavitt leaving the reality show, only to return so she could audition for DWTS.
“After last season, I did decide to step away from the show, but I never quit MomTok. I was always in MomTok, still a part of that group,” she said in a confessional. “I just really needed a break, but then I heard from my team Dancing with the Stars was going to cast someone from The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and that’s a motivator. I’ll come back for that.”
This lead to an argument with fellow DWTS celebrity Jennifer Affleck, who was paired with Jan Ravnik. Affleck, who has since been eliminated from the competition show, has been open about not supporting Leavitt in the competition.
“It’s frustrating for me because since the day I met her, I told her I wanted to go on Dancing With the Stars, like that is literally one of my dreams,” Affleck said. “The minute she sees there’s an opportunity, she’s like, ‘Oh wait, I’ve always wanted it.'”
Words by:
Corey Cesare Corey Cesare is Talent Recap's Managing Editor and featured YouTube Host. She has a love of all things pop culture and an unhealthy obsession with celebrities. Corey earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Cinema/Screen Studies from the State University of New York at Oswego in 2021. She spends her spare time shooting astro, nature, and portrait photography, and coming up with movie ideas that she hopes to make into a film someday.
