A married pair's unusual season
Alexa and Carlos PenaVega entered Dancing With the Stars in 2015 as the first married couple to compete against one another on the program, a distinction the pair says remains unmatched. Speaking on their LexLos podcast, the two looked back at what Alexa described as behind-the-scenes drama involving the professional dancers assigned to each of them.[S1]
According to Alexa, the trouble centered on Witney Carson and Mark Ballas, who she said were not on good terms at all that season and would not occupy the same room. She characterized the situation as really hard for the couple, whose plan had been to go through the experience together as much as the format allowed.[S1][S2][S3][S4][S5][S6]
Separate rehearsals, shared frustration
The expectation, Alexa recalled, was that the two would rehearse side by side. Instead, she said, they had to keep their preparations apart and work around whatever was happening between their partners. The Spy Kids actress described the adjustment as a constant effort to dance around the tension rather than address it directly.[S1]
Carlos offered a different emphasis on his own partnership, saying he and Carson had a great deal of fun and that he arrived intending to win. He described Ballas, his wife's partner, as highly creative and eager to try ideas outside the usual approach, which he noted demanded considerable work. He also praised Carson's work ethic and acknowledged that she tolerated a lot during a difficult stretch.[S1]
Different learning curves and final placements
Alexa said she enjoyed working with Ballas and credited her husband with picking up choreography almost instantly, to the point that mistakes were hard to spot. She contrasted that with her own experience, describing how she would grasp a routine and then lose it an hour later.[S1]
The season ended with Alexa and Ballas in sixth place, while Carlos and Carson reached the finale and finished fourth. The winners were Bindi Irwin and Derek Hough. Page Six reported that it sought comment from representatives for Carson, Ballas and the show but had not received an immediate reply.[S1]
Both Carson and Ballas have kept competing as professional dancers on the program since that season, and the report states that each returned for Season 35.[S1]
