Whitney Leavitt’s Husband Conner Was the First Person Eliminated on This Season of Dancing with the Stars
by Chrissy Stockton · Thought CatalogUpdated 17 minutes ago, September 16, 2026
Conner Leavitt’s run on Dancing with the Stars ended almost as soon as it began. He and pro partner Adele Zaikman were the first pair eliminated in season 35, going home after a salsa that landed a 12 out of 30 from the judges.
The couple danced to Tag Team’s “Whoomp! (There It Is),” the top song of 1993 — the year Conner was born. It wasn’t enough to keep them in the competition.
His wife, Whitney Leavitt, quickly rallied behind him. Whitney, who competed last season with Mark Ballas and made it to within a week of the finale, went to Instagram to back her husband. “Conner, I am so proud of you,” she wrote. “You stepped so far outside of your comfort zone, worked your ass off, put yourself out there, and went for it. People can have their opinions, but I know you. They’ve only seen a fraction of what you’re capable of.”
She said the couple’s three kids, Sedona, Liam and Billy, were “so proud of their dad,” and signed off with “This is just the beginning, babe.”
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The judges liked Conner’s energy more than his footwork. Carrie Ann Inaba called the salsa “a bit chaotic” and told him that as a magician, “you’re used to sending your focus somewhere else to distract us.” Derek Hough called it “goofy” and “a whole lot of fun,” adding, “I got the shimmy, I got the shake, I just didn’t really get the salsa.”
Conner didn’t seem to mind the early exit. “This has been the most fun,” he told hosts Julianne Hough and Alfonso Ribeiro. “I have the greatest dance partner in the world in Adele.” Zaikman, making her pro debut after winning Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, called it “a dream come true no matter what.
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