Maura Higgins Reveals Her Surprising Prep for Dancing With the Stars

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Maura Higgins isn’t dusting off her dance shoes just yet.

Following the announcement that she’ll be a contestant on season 35 of Dancing With the Stars, the former Traitors star shared a surprising detail about how she’s getting ready for the reality competition.

Maura recently told TopMob News at the Time 100 Gala that she’s deliberately avoiding dance practice. She explained that some believe it’s better to start as a ‘blank canvas’ when learning a new skill. She worries that if she tries to learn dance moves beforehand, she might develop bad habits that her instructors would then have to correct. She feels it’s better to let the professionals build her skills from scratch.

Though the host of Love Island USA: Aftersun prefers a simple approach to getting ready, she really put effort into landing her role on Dancing with the Stars.

Maura explained that she creates a new vision board each year. This year, she spent New Year’s Eve at home alone for the first time. She treated herself to pasta and wine while working on her board. Dancing With the Stars was already a goal from the previous year, and she added it five more times as a reminder to really focus on it.

And the universe took care of the rest.

The 35-year-old explained that if you really want something, keep trying – around five or six times – and eventually you’ll succeed.

Although Maura had hoped to compete for the Mirrorball Trophy, she was still surprised to learn she’d be on the new season, joining stars like Ciara Miller from Summer House.

I surprised myself by getting emotional – I’m not usually one to tear up. I don’t often get really excited about things unless I’ve wanted them for a long time, but I’ve been dreaming of being on Dancing With the Stars for ages. I really made it happen.

Maura doesn’t mind hearing that Rob Rausch, her costar from Traitors—who won $220,800 on season four by betraying her in the final round—might be her partner on season 35 of the show.

“I just love Rob,” she gushed. “I know it would be so fun, but I also would like to beat him.”

As fans eagerly await the full list of contestants on Dancing with the Stars, here’s a sneak peek behind the scenes, revealing the secrets behind the spray tans, sparkling costumes, and exciting drama of the ballroom.

Even though she wanted to compete on Dancing with the Stars, Maura was surprised to learn she’d be joining Ciara Miller from Summer House and other celebrities on the new season.

You know, I’m not usually one to get overly emotional, but I actually teared up! It’s just that Dancing With the Stars has been a real dream of mine for so long. I’ve wanted this for ages, and honestly, I feel like I put it out into the universe and it finally came true. It feels amazing!

Maura doesn’t mind hearing that Rob Rausch, her fellow actor from Traitors—who won $220,800 on season four by betraying her in the final round—might be her partner on season 35 of the show.

“I just love Rob,” she gushed. “I know it would be so fun, but I also would like to beat him.”

As fans eagerly await the full list of contestants on Dancing with the Stars, here’s a peek behind the scenes at the spray tans, dazzling outfits, and exciting drama that happen on the show.

As a lifestyle expert, I often get asked about what celebrities earn for their time on shows like Dancing With the Stars. Back in 2019, Variety reported that contestants typically start with around $125,000 just for rehearsing and the first couple of weeks of the competition. But here’s the exciting part: if they make it further, they earn even more each week! Sources said the top stars could potentially bring home up to $295,000 for the entire season.

However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.

The radio host revealed on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets, in September 2025 that the show’s pay structure is unusual. They explained that they weren’t paid for the first episode, but earned $10,000 for the second. The pay then increased, roughly to $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, and $20,000 per episode, ultimately reaching $50,000 an episode for those who stay with the show.

Let me tell you, beyond my regular salary of about $110,000, that show really boosted my income! I actually ended up earning nearly $400,000 total from it – it was a fantastic opportunity.

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

Details about professional dancers’ earnings haven’t been widely released either. However, similar to the contestants, it appears their pay increases the further they advance in the competition.

But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they’re not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.

Jenna Johnson explained on the June 2025 episode of the The Morning After podcast, hosted by Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester, that dancers are typically guaranteed work for a specific number of weeks. However, she added that contracts vary and she couldn’t comment on the terms for all dancers.

Apparently not.

As a longtime fan, I’ve always been curious about what the Dancing with the Stars pros actually get when they win! Apparently, according to Cheryl Johnson – who’s had amazing wins with both Adam Rippon and Joey Graziadei – they don’t get a bigger paycheck just for taking home the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy. But she did say there’s still a good reason to fight to the end – beyond just the prestige, of course! Making it to the finale definitely has its perks.

She explained on The Morning After that reaching the finale means you receive full-season pay plus a bonus. However, winning isn’t about a large cash prize; it’s just a shared trophy for the winning couple.

That doesn’t appear to be the case.

In a 2022 appearance on Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold shared that her pay was reduced by more than half after she moved from being a professional dancer to a troupe member.

The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.

On the May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers’ podcast, Hot Smart Rich, Lindsay explained that people in these situations have no input. She described it as simply being told, ‘Here’s your partner, now you need to make the relationship work.’

In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.

Jenna explained on The Morning After that the show aims to keep the cast a complete surprise until the reveal. Many assume the hosts know beforehand, but that’s not true – the producers deliberately don’t tell them who’s participating. They want genuine reactions, so they keep the cast list secret, even though it sometimes leaks. The goal is for the contestants to meet their partners for the first time on stage.

As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?

According to former showrunner Rob Wade, the show’s pairings weren’t random. In a 2015 interview with TopMob News, he explained that they considered height, body type, personality, and how well people would get along. They intentionally avoided pairing people who were likely to clash, as the experience is too demanding for that. Unlike shows like The Bachelor, they couldn’t put together people who didn’t like each other – it would be unpleasant for everyone involved, including the celebrity, the production team, and the viewers. They admitted to making that mistake in the past and learned from it.

Dancing with the Stars requires a huge time commitment. Rylee Arnold, who partnered with Stephen Nedoroscik in season 33, explained on the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis that rehearsals typically last four hours, either from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. The work doesn’t end there, though; she often meets with producers, works on choreography, or studies dance videos afterward. Rylee says her entire life revolves around the show, but she loves it and is passionate about what she does. It’s a demanding schedule with rehearsals happening Tuesday through Sunday, plus camera blocking on Mondays, leading right back into show day on Tuesdays.

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in an Instagram video in September 2025 that they were mostly on board, but it involved working with the show’s producers.

If you think the quickstep dance is fast-paced, you should see how quickly the costume department works! Costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner explained to TV Insider that they collaborate with set, lighting, and dance teams to create a unique story for each dancer’s outfit. Then, they have just five days – often only half a day per costume, before adding rhinestones – to create everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus a separate tailoring team, making it a large operation.

Steven Norman Lee, another costume designer, revealed that dancers often don’t try on their costumes until just hours before the show. While they might occasionally reuse pants for the male dancers, most costumes are made from scratch each week.

As Gschwendtner added, they do reuse items for group performances or promotional shoots, but never for the competition itself. The goal is to keep everything fresh and new each week to maintain visual interest for the audience.

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2026-04-24 20:48