Lisa Rinna Has Perfect Pitch for Maura Higgins to Be The Bachelorette

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Lisa Rinna is giving Maura Higgins her flowers—or should we say roses?

After it was announced that Lisa will be hosting the aftershow for Dancing With the Stars season 35, she shared that she’s hoping her fellow castmate from The Traitors season four gets cast as the host of a different reality show on ABC.

Lisa told TopMob News’ Erin Lim Rhodes at a soccer event in Los Angeles that she believes this woman would be perfect as the Bachelorette. She thinks she’s naturally engaging on camera and capable of handling everything the show throws at her.

Okay, so everyone’s buzzing about whether Maura might be the next Bachelorette, but honestly, I’m way more excited about Dancing with the Stars! She’s 35 and totally dedicated to rehearsals, working incredibly hard to win that Mirrorball Trophy later this year. Forget finding a guy, she’s focused on the dance floor, and I can’t wait to see her shine!

And Lisa will definitely be cheering Maura on from the sidelines.

Competing on the show was a truly transformative experience for me,” the former Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star shared with TopMob. “I believe it will be for her too. I was so happy for her—I really love her and think it’s wonderful to see these young people shine.”

Ciara Miller is joining the competition on the dance floor, following the drama surrounding Maura’s love triangle with Amanda Batula and West Wilson from Summer House.

Lisa has publicly chosen sides in the drama surrounding the Bravo cast, declaring her support for Ciara.

“I love the moment that she’s having,” the actress added. “Great, fabulous. Get it while you can!”

Lisa isn’t the only former Traitors contestant excited about Maura’s new job. Rob Rausch, who won season four, is also showing his support.

He predicted she would win easily during the CELSIUS match, telling TopMob, “She’s going to do great and is almost certain to win.”

Before the full list of celebrities for season 35 of Dancing with the Stars is announced, here’s a peek behind the scenes of the show.

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. According to sources, their earnings increase weekly if they continue competing, potentially reaching a maximum of $295,000.

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

The radio personality revealed on Jason Tartick’s podcast, Trading Secrets, in September 2025 that the show’s pay structure is unusual. They explained they weren’t paid for the first episode, but earned $10,000 for the second. The pay then increased, fluctuating between $10,000 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 progress 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 set number of weeks. However, she added that contracts vary and she couldn’t comment on everyone’s specific agreement.

Apparently not.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE what I just read! Apparently, even though our queen Cheryl Johnson has twice snatched the Mirrorball – first with the incredible Adam Rippon and then with the dreamy Joey Graziadei – she says the pros don’t actually get paid more for winning! Can you even imagine?! But she did say there’s still a reason to fight to the end, besides just being able to brag about it, which, let’s be real, is a HUGE perk, especially now that the trophy is named after the amazing Len Goodman. It’s just… everything about this show is perfect!

She explained on The Morning After that reaching the finale means you receive full season pay plus a bonus. However, winning doesn’t come with 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 the Trading Secrets podcast, Lindsay Arnold shared that her pay was reduced by more than 50% 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 participants had no input into their pairings. She described it as simply being told, ‘Here’s your partner. Now try 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’s producers are committed to keeping the cast a surprise until the live reveal. People often assume the hosts know who the contestants are beforehand, but that’s not the case – the producers don’t even tell them! They prefer to keep the cast list completely secret to capture genuine reactions when the partners meet for the first time, even though leaks sometimes happen.

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 putting incompatible people together because the experience was already so challenging for the celebrities, the production team, and the audience. Creating a miserable experience for anyone involved – or showing two people who disliked each other on screen – was something they actively tried to prevent, and they admitted to making that mistake in the past.

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 spends additional time with producers, working on choreography, or studying dance routines. Rylee says it takes over her whole life, but she loves it and finds it incredibly fulfilling. It’s a demanding schedule with rehearsals happening Tuesday through Sunday, camera blocking on Monday, and then back to showtime on Tuesday – there are no days off!

Emma Slater and Britt Stewart shared in a September 2025 Instagram video 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 story for each dancer’s outfit. Then, they have only five days – just half a day per costume, before even adding rhinestones – to make everything. The department employs around 20 people, plus an external tailor shop, 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 reuse pants for 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. They prioritize creating fresh, new looks every week to keep things exciting for the audience.

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2026-04-23 23:17