Val Chmerkovskiy will not be dancing in the ballroom with Gabby Windey during the Dancing With the Stars Halloween episode, which airs on October 31. The DWTS pro revealed on October 28 in an Instagram video that he had tested positive for COVID-19.
“I’ve got some bad news, I unfortunately tested positive for COVID and will not be able to perform this Monday,” Val said. “It sucks majorly — for lack of a better, more profound word. But the good thing is that Gabby tested negative so we’re still in it.”
Val revealed that Alan Bersten, who was recently eliminated with Jessie James Decker, will be stepping in for him on Halloween Night. Val noted that he would “be back next week” if he and Gabby are not eliminated.
“This is a huge bummer, I’m very disappointed,” he continued. “I feel like I let some people down, and selfishly, was really looking forward to this week’s routine, being Halloween, being Argentine Tango. I really love this routine but the good thing is Gabby knows it, Gabby’s ready and Alan’s gonna do a great job and you guys are gonna vote us through, so I’ll be back next week.”
In the comments section, Val added that his wife, Jenna Johnson, is feeling fine. “Wifey is good too. She tested negative,” he wrote. Jenna is currently expecting the couple’s first child. Gabby also wrote, “We’ll miss you!! Just want Jenna to stay safe and you to feel better!”
Val and Gabby are frontrunners of season 31. They recently earned the first perfect score of the season for their fierce tango on Prom Night. “Everything about that was perfect,” judge Derek Hough said after their performance.
Val isn’t the first DWTS pro to test positive for COVID-19 this season. Daniella Karagach had to miss two weeks of the competition after testing positive. Thankfully, her partner Joseph Baena and husband Pasha Pashkov did not test positive at any point.