Alexa PenaVega has spoken out about her experience competing on Dancing with the Stars alongside her husband, Carlos.
On Monday, November 4 Alexa appeared on Cheryl Burke’s Sex, Lies, and Spraytans podcast where the Spy Kids alum discussed appearing on season 21 of the show with her husband competing against her. She candidly admitted that the reality show, which pairs a pro dancer with a celebrity, sparked jealousy between her and Carlos because of how close they needed to be to their dance partners.
“It was early in our marriage, and we literally said [to each other that] we don’t know how spouses do this show without doing it the way we did,” she told Burke, who was a pro-dancer on Dancing with the Stars for several seasons. “So we fully understood the dynamics of the show.
“Like, if Carlos was doing this and I was watching this girl dance with him all close and the rehearsals or whatever, it would be so hard,” she explained. “And for Carlos, at that season of his life, he was such a jealous man that even though he understood the dynamic, it was still hard for him. And you know how it is: It is incredibly flirty.”
In an attempt to avoid causing any jealousy, she said the two of them “set boundaries” with their partners, Mark Ballas and Witney Carson, which included telling them when they thought they were being flirty.
“So, I love Mark. We got along great. But, like, if it was ever flirty, I’d just be, like, ‘I don’t do that,’” Alexa continued. “I was a little mean, but it was only to set good boundaries.
“But I know it was really kind of rocky for everybody because when we went on the show, we literally said, ‘Look, we’re a married couple. You guys are our partners, and we are so excited to team up with you, but that doesn’t mean we ditch our marriage and this becomes our number one. Our marriage is still first.’”
Alexa clarified that she loved the concept of the show. “It’s just the behind-the-scenes can be tough, but it was as difficult as it was fun because there were really, really high highs,” she said.
Alexa ended up getting eliminated during week nine of the season while Carlos was eliminated during week 11.
Dancing with the Stars is currently airing its 33rd season with the show celebrating its 500th episode on Tuesday, November 12.
The show received criticism over the latest eliminated contestant, former Bachelorette star Jenn Tran. Although her Halloween-themed vampire dance earned her a 28 out of 30 and she won the salsa dance-off against Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, she was still eliminated alongside her partner, Sasha Farber.
Dancing with the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC.
