Witney Carson Names Guillermo Rodriguez as DWTS Partner, Reveals Baby No. 3

Q: What unprecedented safety protocols will DWTS implement now that Witney Carson is the first pro to compete while expecting?

No unprecedented safety protocols have been publicly announced by *Dancing With the Stars*. What has been confirmed is that Carson, her husband and casting director Deena Katz discussed her return with one clear condition: her health and the baby’s health come first. Carson said she will compete only “if [she] feel[s] good enough,” indicating that participation will be guided by how her pregnancy progresses rather than by any newly disclosed show-wide rulebook. Based on the reporting available, the likely approach will be individualized medical caution rather than a formally announced new protocol. That would reasonably mean adjusting choreography, costumes, rehearsal intensity and lifts as needed, especially since Carson said this is the farthest along in pregnancy she has ever been while dancing professionally and that she will enter her second trimester during the season. So the factual answer is that ABC and *DWTS* have not detailed any special or unprecedented safety measures yet. The only clear safeguard on record is a case-by-case plan centered on Carson’s condition, with her ability to continue depending on whether she remains well enough to perform safely.

3 articles · Updated · Yahoo! Voices · Aug 17

Good Morning America on Aug. 17 brought two announcements from Witney Carson: she will dance with Guillermo Rodriguez on Dancing With the Stars Season 35 and is expecting her third child.
Season 35 premieres Sept. 15, while the full celebrity cast will be unveiled Sept. 2; Rodriguez is among four confirmed contestants so far, alongside Ciara Miller, Maura Higgins and Jackson Olson.
Carson said competing while four months pregnant feels daunting because she has never gone this far into a DWTS season while expecting, and she suggested it may be a first for the show.
She cast Rodriguez as a potential fan favorite in the mold of Andy Richter, whose Season 34 run reached Week 9 on viewer support despite lower judges' scores.