Putting family first. Pregnant Lindsay Arnold isn’t on season 31 of Dancing With the Stars — and her growing brood is one of the reasons she decided to sit this one out.
“That was definitely a big factor,” the ballroom pro, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly on Thursday, October 27, while promoting her workout program, The Movement Club. “We’ve been trying to actively get pregnant, and that’s very hard to do when you and your husband cannot live in the same state. So, that was a big part of it.”
The Disney+ competition series films in Los Angeles, but the choreographer and her husband, Sam Cusick, live in Utah. The duo, who tied the knot in 2015, announced on Monday, October 24, that they’re expecting their second child after welcoming daughter Sage, now 23 months, in November 2020.
“Baby #2 coming May 2023,” Arnold wrote via Instagram. “We are beyond grateful and feel so blessed to be adding a new addition to our family and Sage cannot wait to be a big sister.”
The So You Think You Can Dance alum went on to say that her toddler was another reason she decided not to compete on DWTS this time around. “It’s a big sacrifice to separate our family and break up our family for that period of time, and where Sage is at in her life and her growth and what she’s learning, I just feel like she’s so rapidly changing,” Arnold told Us. “I just believe that she needs Mom and Dad together. She needs that family, and that’s just what felt right.”
The dancer actually didn’t know she was pregnant when she decided not to sign on for season 31, adding that she’s “very grateful” everything worked out the way it did. “That was a very, like, reassuring moment for me that, ‘OK, this is what we were supposed to do,’” she explained.
While she’s not competing this season, Arnold has still been tuning in to watch the contestants’ progress. “I’m sitting on my couch, eating my dinner, just a total fan,” she told Us. “So many good people this season. I have to say I am so extremely impressed by Charli [D’Amelio].”
The reality star had “high expectations” for the TikTok influencer, 18, because of her dance background, and so far she’s living up to the hype. “Every single week she has exceeded what I thought she could do,” Arnold said. “Her last week’s performance — their foxtrot — I don’t know if I’ve seen pros do foxtrot that good on the show. Like, it was incredible. The finesse, the details. I just feel like I’m really proud of her because she’s really going the extra mile.”
Though Arnold isn’t in the ballroom right now, she’s still finding ways to exercise on her own time with The Movement Club, the workout program she created last year. She first thought of the idea while she was pregnant with Sage and unable to go to the gym because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I felt that there weren’t any programs out there that really were representing and giving me what I felt I needed at the time,” she told Us. “That is where I had the idea to create a program that truly can be for everyone no matter what stage of life you’re in — trying to get pregnant, pregnant, postpartum, not pregnant at all, not even thinking about it. Whether you’re in, like, tip-top of your shape in your fitness level or you’re maybe just starting out, I want there to be something for you.”
The club’s workouts incorporate elements of yoga and Pilates as well as, of course, dance. “Dance is my favorite way to move my body,” Arnold told Us. “So, of course I’m gonna incorporate that into the program!”
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
