Julianne Hough says she will not be back on “Dancing With the Stars” for season nine.
“I’m not doing next season,” Hough told Access Hollywood after she and her partner, country singer Chuck Wicks, were eliminated from the competition show on Tuesday night.
This isn’t the first time Hough has pledged not to return to the show for the next season. In November 2008, she hit her blog and said she wouldn’t be appearing in season eight. But she changed her mind when she was given the opportunity to dance with her real-life love, Wicks.
Instead, it will be next season that viewers feel her absence.
“I’m gonna take one off,” she said.
Though sad to go, the blond dancer-turned-country singer said she was pleased with how far along Wicks made it in the competition this season.
“We definitely went further than anticipated. I think he could have made it a little bit further,” she said. “But you know what? It’s the name of the game and it’s about fan base and hopefully our country fans will follow us into music.”
Melissa Rycroft was spared from elimination last night, despite being judged on her “Dancing” rehearsal with partner Tony Dovolani on Monday’s show. She was unable to compete during the live competition portion of the program due to an injury to her ribs, and she revealed to Access, she is trying a new type of remedy for the pain.
“We’ve been trying different treatments,” she said. “It’s a pain management issue at this point. What can we do to stop the pain? It wasn’t working the way we had hoped (on Monday) and we waited till the last minute before we said, ‘It’s just not gonna be possible (to perform on the show).’”
Rycroft said she is pleased she gets to dance another week, but she’ll miss Wicks’ presence in the competition.
“He’s an awesome guy,” she said. “He’s probably one of the (most fun) people I’ve ever met.”