DWTS’ Jen Affleck Defends Partner Jan Ravnik From “Slander”

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Jen Affleck is giving low scores to loud critics.

Following criticism from former Dancing With the Stars professionals Maks Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd about her being cast on season 34, Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Jan Ravnik addressed what she called false and damaging statements made about her and her dance partner online.

In a TikTok video posted on October 27th, Jen appeared upset while typing on her phone. Sitting beside her, Jan, age 30, shook his head as audio played saying, “Take it down, we need it gone. It doesn’t represent me or our goals.”

Jen clearly showed her irritation, stopping her typing and rolling her eyes. She captioned the video, “Me when people criticize Jan.”

The 26-year-old, who shares three children – Nora, 3, Luca, 2, and 3-month-old Penelope – with her husband Zac, playfully stated in a post that they don’t allow anyone to speak negatively about Jan in their home.

People flooded the comments with supportive messages, including one from Dancing With the Stars professional Ezra Sosa, who playfully offered to defend him, writing, “I’ll ride at dawn for this man.”

Maks, a professional dancer on the ABC competition series for 18 seasons (2006-2017), and his wife Peta, who was on season 32 in 2023, recently shared their opinions on Jan’s first season. Jan had previously been a backup dancer on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour.

Okay, seriously, I was livid listening to Maks on Peta’s podcast! He totally laid it all out there – Jan just shouldn’t be on Dancing with the Stars! He was saying she has zero technique, no understanding of how to actually dance with a partner, and it’s just… frustrating! He even admitted he was getting emotional about it! It’s like, everyone’s pretending everything is fine, but it’s so obvious she doesn’t belong there, and no one is willing to say it! It’s honestly driving me crazy!

Commenting on Jen and Jan’s performance on the October 21st episode, he said the judge clearly didn’t understand the foxtrot. He questioned how someone could teach a dance they don’t understand, especially since it’s so different from standard ballroom style. He’d raised this concern weeks prior, wondering if anyone would explain it to the judge.

Peta, 39, sympathized with Jen, explaining she worries Jen isn’t learning fundamental skills she needs.

She explained he was hired because he’s a professional dancer for Taylor Swift. Beyond that, she added, he’s a genuinely nice person and a very talented performer who has a great stage presence.

She strongly objected to the idea of hiring someone who doesn’t specialize in ballroom dance to teach a celebrity, calling it completely unreasonable.

TopMob News has reached out to ABC and Jan for comment and has yet to hear back.

Read on to learn some behind-the-scenes details about Dancing With the Stars. 

In 2019, Variety reported that contestants on Dancing With the Stars initially earn $125,000 for rehearsals and the first two weeks of the show, with earnings increasing weekly if they continue. Sources indicated a potential maximum payout of $295,000.

However, Bobby Bones, winner of season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018, claimed he earned significantly more.

On Jason Tartick’s Trading Secrets podcast in September 2025, Bones revealed the payment structure: no money for the first episode, $10,000 for the second, and increasing amounts – $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000 – potentially reaching $50,000 per episode for those who last. Combined with a base salary of around $110,000, Bones said he ultimately earned close to $400,000 from the show.

ABC has not officially confirmed these figures.

Details about professional dancers’ earnings aren’t widely available, but like the contestants, they generally earn more the further they advance in the competition. Even if a pro is eliminated early, they still receive payment. Jenna Johnson explained on the June 2025 episode of The Morning After podcast that dancers are guaranteed pay for a certain number of weeks, though contracts vary. She noted she can’t speak for all the pros.

It seems professional dancers on Dancing with the Stars don’t earn extra money for winning the show, despite what many might think. While winning the coveted Mirrorball Trophy (now named after the late Len Goodman) is a great accomplishment, the real financial benefit comes from making it to the finale. As pro dancer Cheryl Johnson explained on the The Morning After podcast, reaching the end of the season guarantees full pay for the entire time, plus a bonus. Winning doesn’t come with a large cash prize to split with their celebrity partner – it’s more about the trophy and bragging rights.

That’s not what happened, according to dancer Lindsay Arnold. On the podcast Trading Secrets in 2022, she explained that her pay was reduced by more than half when she moved from being a professional dancer to a troupe member.

Professional dancers have very little say in who they’re paired with on shows like Dancing With the Stars. Lindsay explained on the Hot Smart Rich podcast that pairings are simply assigned – “Here’s your partner. Make it work.” Jenna added on The Morning After that the pairings are kept secret until the very last minute to capture a genuine reaction. The show aims to surprise the dancers with their partners, and they aren’t even told who’s on the cast to avoid leaks. According to former showrunner Rob Wade, pairings are based on physical factors like height and build, but also on personality and compatibility. The goal is to avoid creating a miserable experience for anyone involved – the celebrity, the show’s team, or the viewers – as they’ve learned from past mistakes when pairing people who didn’t get along.

Dancing with the Stars requires a huge time commitment. Rylee Arnold, who danced with Stephen Nedoroscik in season 33, explained on the Lightweights Podcast with Joe Vulpis that rehearsals are four hours long, typically from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. But the work doesn’t end there – she often spends additional time meeting with producers, working on choreography, or studying dance routines. Rylee says her entire life revolves around the show, but she loves it and that makes her happy. It’s a demanding schedule with rehearsals happening Tuesday through Sunday, camera blocking on Monday, and then back to showtime on Tuesday.

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart confirmed in a September 2025 Instagram video 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 – sometimes only half a day per costume, before even adding rhinestones – to create everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus an external tailor shop, to manage the workload.

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’ll reuse items for group performances or promotional photos, but never for the actual competition. The goal is to keep everything fresh and new each week to maintain visual interest for the audience.

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2025-10-28 06:17