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How Whitney Leavitt Helped Prepare Husband Conner Leavitt for DWTS
Whitney Leavitt and Conner Leavitt are keeping DWTS in the family.
Just one year after the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives alum competed on Dancing With the Stars, her husband is officially lacing up his ballroom shoes for season 35, and he detailed some words from the wiser.
“Honestly, she said this to me so many times, ‘This experience goes by fast. In the blink of an eye it’s going to be over,’” Conner told E! News in an exclusive interview alongside pro partner Adele Zaikman following the cast unveiling. “‘Be present. Have fun. Build relationships with the people around you. You’re just going to learn so much so just soaking it all in.’”
But while Whitney made it to the semi-finals alongside her pro partner Mark Ballas last year, her husband isn’t counting on besting her legacy.
“Listen, if I go further than Whitney, she will never live it down,” he explained. “I will be like, ‘Check it.’”
Of course, the 32-year-old—dad to Sedona, 6, Liam, 4 and Billy Gene, 22 months with the Chicago alum—knows his chances are slim.
“Whitney is a phenomenal dancer,” Conner mused. “She loved her season. She had so much fun. So much she took away from it. I do feel like there’s a little bit of pressure though. There’s big shoes to fill.”
But that’s also why she wants her husband to make this season his own.
“I told her, ‘Can I show you the routine?’” Conner recalled. “And she said, ‘No, I don’t want to see it. I want to be surprised week one. I just want to go in, eyes wide open. Fresh start. I just want to be there as a spectator.’”
Rest assured, the Just In Time actress isn’t leaving the aspiring magician high and dry, either.
Disney/Andrew Eccles
“She’s given me plenty of tips,” Conner emphasized. “She’s helped me out with a lot of awesome pointers and it’s just wonderful to have Whitney by my side.”
And mostly, the reality star is looking forward to putting on yet another show for the couple’s three young kids.
“They were so excited,” he revealed of their reaction to his casting. “Especially my daughter. She was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we get to see more Dancing With the Stars.’”
As he put it, “She loves dance so she’s so excited to see me go out there.”
Indeed, no matter the outcome, Conner is just hoping he makes MomTok—and DadTok—proud.
“I feel pressure to represent the cast of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives as a whole,” he said. “They had so many people they could’ve chose from and they chose me and I feel so honored about that.”
And if America doesn’t vote in his favor? “We’re just hoping we can make a solid run here,” Conner noted. “Make everyone proud at home and I’ll be back to supporting Whitney.”
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