Sharna Burgess danced around identifying Jesse Metcalfe as her most “difficult” Dancing With the Stars partner — but his response held nothing back.
A rep for Metcalfe, 44, addressed Burgess’ recent comments in a statement to TVLine, claiming, “If she is referring to a time where our client Jesse Metcalfe worked with Ms. Burgess four years ago, the only recollection was that they didn’t get along. Vague insinuations are not only reckless but also irrelevant.”
Burgess, 38, opened up about her “rocky” DWTS journey during the Monday, September 11, episode of her “Oldish” podcast. She made her first appearance as a pro on season 16 in 2013 with celebrity partner Andy Dick, going on to compete in 13 more seasons through the years. In 2019, she won the mirrorball trophy with season 27 partner Bobby Bones despite having lower scores than the other finalists.
“I got caught up in this whirlwind of hate for that win, which was really yucky,” Burgess recalled on the podcast, calling her victory “the most explosive and controversial of Dancing With the Stars history.”
Burgess wasn’t asked back for the following season but returned for season 29, for which she was paired with Metcalfe. Without mentioning his name, Burgess said her first partner after Bones, 43, “was really difficult.”
“I wasn’t able to be in the room alone with him after the first couple of weeks because of things that happened,” she alleged. “That was rocky and we were eliminated very quickly.”
Burgess and Metcalfe were the fourth couple to be eliminated that season, which aired in 2020. Before their exit, Burgess exclusively told Us Weekly that she and Metcalfe started rehearsing “a whole week later than some people, if not more than that,” which caused some tension.
“Once you get put in that stressful situation and you have to come together quickly, you go through all of those emotions — that triumph and adversity, that getting to know each other, you just got to push it in. There is no time to take it slow,” she told Us. “So we got to know each other! We didn’t necessarily argue. We had moments of understanding.”
Metcalfe chimed in, adding, “We had some deep chats, some minor disagreements. You know, we went through the whole gamut. I feel like, which brought us closer really.”
In 2021, Burgess took on the competition with boyfriend Brian Austin Green. Their DWTS tenure lasted only three weeks.
Sharna and Green, 50, began dating in 2020 and welcomed their first baby together, son Zane, in 2022. He also shares three children with ex-wife Megan Fox.
