Chrishell Stause Reveals How Her Late Mom Inspired Her To Do ‘DWTS’: ‘Life Is Short’

ABC

Chrishell Stause knows that her mom would have been the ‘first person’ to tell her to do ‘DWTS’ if she were still living. Chrishell opened up about how she knew ‘DWTS’ was the ‘right thing to do.’

Chrishell Stause, 39, will be making her Dancing With the Stars debut during the season 29 premiere on Sept. 14. The reality star and actress hasn’t had the easiest year. She revealed in July 2020 that her mother had passed away after a battle with lung cancer. Chrishell admitted to HollywoodLife and other reporters that she definitely hesitated when DWTS first came her way, but she knew her mother would have pushed her to go for it.

“There was definitely that moment when something so unexpected comes to your desk where you have that moment of pause,” Chrishell said. “But if I’ve learned anything this year after losing my mom, it’s that life is short. We don’t know how long we’re here for, and you really have to make the most of it. I know that she would’ve been the very first person telling me, ‘Get out there and give it your best shot. You’re going to be great.’ Knowing that that would have been her reaction, it basically made me know it was the right thing to do.”

The Selling Sunset star has definitely never done anything like Dancing With the Stars before. She revealed that she feels like she’s “training my body to do things I didn’t know it was capable of, and I feel like the stamina, hopefully, is coming. Right now, after we get done with the dance, I’m still definitely out of breath, but I feel like it’s the ultimate training for your body.”

She also thinks fans will be surprised at her dancing skills. “I’ve got a feeling you’re going to be underwhelmed at my progress,” she told reporters, including HollywoodLife. “I have had no dance training or experience before this, so I had my work cut out for me. However, I will say just in the last two days, I feel like it clicked a little bit, where my brain is now communicating with my extremities, and I feel like we’re getting somewhere. So, that’s great. I’m having fun now with it. So that’s good before it was just you watching me have an anxiety attack in front of you. It wasn’t that great.”

The cast and crew will be following strict health and safety protocols while competing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. HollywoodLife learned EXCLUSIVELY from pro Cheryl Burke that the pros and celebrity contestants are tested daily.

Chrishell admitted that her partner is the “only person” she can actually take her mask off in front of while practicing. “It was actually a really nice feeling to walk into a room and be able to hug someone and to be able to not wear a mask with them in close quarters,” she said. “I liked that aspect of it just because it feels like a little pocket of normal.” Dancing With the Stars season 29 will air Mondays on ABC.