Brooke Burke revealed that she wanted more out of her partnership with Derek Hough on Dancing with the Stars than winning the Mirrorball Trophy. Brooke, 52, appeared on Cheryl Burke‘s podcast on October 8 and admitted she wanted to have “a love affair” with Derek, 38, when they were partners on season 7 of the ABC competition show in 2008. The TV host, who was in a relationship with David Charvet at the time, recalled how she started “crushing” on Derek after producers had them enter couples therapy because they weren’t “gelling.”
“Had I not been married, I would have actually hoped we would have had a love affair,” Brooke shared. “You are intertwined with someone’s body when you’re a dancer. There is no way that I have ever been so connected—besides with a lover or a husband—than I was with Derek.” She added, “So for three months, you are in someone’s arms. Why do you think people fall in love?”
Brooke and Derek were the winners of DWTS season 7, so clearly their connection paid off. Looking back on the experience, Brooke explained on the podcast how she formed such an “intimate” bond with Derek when they were partners.
“It can be more intimate than making love in a bedroom — you’re making love on a dance floor, you feel more connected,” she said. “If you have energy, you’re doing this dance and you’re in the rhythm, and then there’s trust, then you’re sharing fear, you’re doing something you’ve never done. How many times do you go through an experience with someone where they’re all you’ve got?”
However, Brooke did note that Derek was a “really tough” dance teacher, but she didn’t mind it. “He did not love me through routines and support me, and tell me that it was amazing,” she recalled. “He was brutally honest.”
After winning DWTS, Brooke married David, 51, with whom she shares two of her four children. The former lovebirds split in 2018 and finalized their divorce in 2020. Brooke is currently engaged to real estate developer Scott Rigsby. Meanwhile, Derek got married to fellow dancer Hayley Erbert in Monterey County, California over the summer. Derek has yet to react to Brooke’s confession about their time as dance partners.