Julianne Hough, Derek Hough’s Mom Makes Rare Outing at DWTS Finale

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The Dancing With the Stars finale was a family affair for Julianne Hough and Derek Hough.

Marriann Hough, who co-hosts and is the mother of a judge, was in the audience cheering on her children and watching the finalists – Alix Earle, Dylan Efron, Elaine Hendrix, Robert Irwin, and Jordan Chiles – compete for the Mirrorball Trophy.

The three of them even took a family photo during a break in filming, with Julianne and Derek—whose father is Bruce Hough—hugging their mother.

I’ve always admired how openly Julianne and her brother adore their mom, Marriann. It’s so touching! I remember when Julianne bought her a house five years ago – she even shared it on Instagram in 2020, writing something beautiful about how their mom had always given so much and now it was her turn to be spoiled. It really showed how much they appreciate everything she’s done for them.

And Marriann isn’t the only new face in the ballroom this time around. 

Derek believes Dancing with the Stars is now appealing to a younger audience, noting he’s observed more young people becoming fans this season.

For years, people would joke that their grandmothers were fans of the show. Now, it’s completely flipped around,” the 40-year-old recently shared with TopMob News. “Now, parents are telling me their kids need to watch it! It’s become a show that families enjoy together, and it’s amazing to see multiple generations watching it at the same time.”

Derek has been involved with the ABC dance competition, on and off, since 2007, giving him a unique perspective on how it has changed over the years.

Calling the show’s 20-year success “amazing,” the six-time champion believes Dancing with the Stars is attracting a younger audience because this generation still enjoys watching regular TV.

He explained that people prefer to watch events live on TV rather than recording them and watching later.

For a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to make DWTS, keep reading…

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE how much the Dancing With the Stars pros and celebs make! I was reading in Variety back in 2019, and they said everyone gets a cool $125,000 just for rehearsals and the first couple of weeks! But get this – if they actually stay on the show, they earn even MORE every week! Apparently, the highest anyone could make back then was around $295,000! Can you even imagine?! It’s amazing!

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 earned nothing for the first episode, then $10,000 for the second. Payments then increased to around $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, and $20,000 per episode, ultimately reaching $50,000 an episode for those who continued with the show.

In addition to a salary of about $110,000, Bones revealed he earned nearly $400,000 from the show.

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

Details about professional dancers’ earnings haven’t been widely released either. However, like the contestants, it appears they earn more 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.

I was really listening to the Morning After podcast with Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester back in June 2025, and Jenna Johnson was talking about how long dancers are guaranteed to be on the show. She explained that it’s usually for a set number of weeks, but she also made it clear that contracts can vary, and she doesn’t know the specifics of everyone else’s deal.

Apparently not.

Professional dancers like Johnson, who have won Dancing with the Stars twice – once with Olympic skater Adam Rippon (season 26) and again with Joey Graziadei from The Bachelor (season 33) – don’t earn extra money for winning the show’s coveted Mirrorball Trophy, now named after the late Len Goodman. However, she points out there’s still a good reason to compete until the very end – beyond just the prestige of winning.

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 with your teammate.

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 50% when 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 participants had no choice in who they were paired with. She said it was simply, ‘Here’s your partner. Make it work.’

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

Jenna explained on The Morning After that the show’s producers deliberately keep the cast a secret until the live reveal. People often assume the hosts know who’s participating, but that’s not true – the producers don’t even tell them! They want to capture the genuine, unfiltered reaction of the contestants when they first meet their partners, so they work hard to prevent leaks and maintain complete secrecy until the big moment.

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 they considered height, body type, personality, and how well people would get along. They avoided matching people they thought wouldn’t connect, as the experience was already stressful enough. Unlike shows like The Bachelor, forcing incompatible pairings would create a negative experience for everyone involved – the celebrity, the production team, and the audience. He admitted they’d made that mistake in the past, pairing people who simply didn’t click.

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 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. But the work doesn’t end there; she often has meetings with producers or the creative team, works on choreography, or studies dance videos. Rylee says her life is completely focused on the show, but she loves it and that makes her happy. It’s a demanding job with rehearsals happening six days a week: Tuesday is show day, then Wednesday through Sunday are dedicated to rehearsals. Mondays are for camera blocking before starting the cycle again on Tuesday.

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in an Instagram video in September 2025 that they were mostly on board with something, 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 only five days – sometimes just half a day per costume, before even adding rhinestones – to make everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus an external tailor shop, to manage this huge undertaking.

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 re-use pants for male dancers, most costumes are made from scratch each week.

Gschwendtner added that they do re-use items for group performances or promotional shoots, 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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2025-11-26 06:47