Dancing with the Stars pro Sharna Burgess has opened up about how she's in "shock" and very saddened not to have been asked back for the ABC reality dancing competition's 32nd season.
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Good Morning America announced the cast of celebrities and their professional partners who will be participating in Dancing with the Stars' upcoming season, and Sharna -- who has competed on a total of 14 seasons and won one mirrorball trophy -- was noticeably left off the list.
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The 38-year-old pro dancer and choreographer admitted she's stunned and disappointed to have been left out of the cast.
"I wasn't asked back to do Dancing with the Stars this year, which was definitely a huge shock to me," Sharna told her co-host and boyfriend, Brian Austin Green, on the first episode of their new "Oldish" podcast.
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Sharna chose to sit out of Season 31, which aired in Fall 2022, after welcoming her son Zane Green with her boyfriend. But it apparently wasn't her choice to miss out on yet another season.
"Last season I was supposed to come back but Zane was only eight-weeks-old... It just felt like I needed to sit in motherhood with Zane. It was my first baby. The experience, it was a lot, but it was beautiful... It was an experience I'd never get back with Zane," Sharna explained.
"I wanted to share that time with him. And [with Dancing with the Stars producers] it was always, 'I want to come back next year,' and they were like, 'Of course, we love you, we'll always have you.'"
But when other Dancing with the Stars pros began receiving phone calls from production, Sharna's phone never rang.
"It got to the week of everyone getting their phone calls. I know when everyone gets their phone calls because we're all talking. They say, 'Don't tell anyone,' but everyone tells each other in the cast," Sharna confessed.
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"I realized when all those spots were filled, I was like, 'Oh my god, I didn't get the call.' I didn't get ANY phone call at this point. I didn't get confirmed if I were on or off; I just knew because of other people. And that was really hard."
Sharna said she actually told Brian that she "just had this feeling" she wouldn't be invited back.
"He was like, 'Babe, you're crazy!' And anyone I shared that thought with, which I thought was just an insecurity... was like, 'No, you're insane. They would never NOT have you back if you wanted to be back. I'm sure they're so excited to have you,'" Sharna shared.
"So because it was such a shock and because I wasn't expecting it, it was tough."
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But this isn't the first time Dancing with the Stars has chosen to pass on the Australian beauty.
After Sharna won Season 27 with Bobby Bones, Dancing with the Stars decided not to bring her back.
"My last five years on the show have been rocky -- not because of the show. I love the show deeply, but we had a new executive producer come in, I think five years ago now. I had just won with Bobby Bones and he decided to not bring me back. There's a lot of speculation as to why," Sharna said.
Sharna pointed out how her win with Bobby was probably "the most explosive end" and the "most controversial" victory in Dancing with the Stars history.
"I got caught up in this whirlwind of hate for that win, which was really yucky. And so I went into this space of self-blame when I wasn't asked back. I thought, 'This was my fault. What did I do?' But I worked through that, and that was good. And they had me back the following season," Sharna noted.
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When she returned for Season 29, Sharna said she had a "really difficult" partner in actor Jesse Metcalfe. The pro dancer then didn't like how her romance with Brian was portrayed on Season 30.
And then Zane was born in June 2022, ahead of Season 31, which resulted in Sharna turning down a chance to compete.
"And now we're here! In five years, I feel like I haven't had the opportunity to truly do what I do. I'm still that girl who created for [major celebrities]... epic, memorable and unbelievable pieces. I'm still that girl who loves to create a story and dance her ass off, but I haven't had that moment to shine," Sharna lamented on the September 11 episode of her new podcast.
But Sharna said she intends to place "no shame on the show" because "sh-t happens."
She continued, "They say it's not personal, but it's really hard for it to not feel personal... [Dancing with the Stars is] one of the greatest shows on television."
Sharna insisted she still loves the show and is happy and "excited" for everyone who gets to compete. But at the same time, she admitted, "I can also be really sad and heartbroken that I don't get to do that this season."
Sharna added with sadness in her voice, "I don't know if that means I'll ever get to do it again. [I hate] to be feeling that uncertainty of, 'Wow, is this part of my journey over now? Where does it go from here?'"
Sharna, however, pointed out how she's "excited to have the space" to take on other projects and how the universe probably handed her these cards "for a reason."
"But it feels really sad. It's an ego thing of, 'They didn't want me,' but it's also that letdown of, 'I thought I was going to have that moment to express and be me -- me before baby, me before kids, me before Bri. It was the 'me' that loved immersing myself in someone else's story and creating for them and getting to share that with millions of people," Sharna explained.
"I think I'm really sad that I don't get to feel that part of me. Because I think many moms will say, 'After baby, you start to look for those remnants of who you were before,' and [DWTS] was such a big part of that for me. So I'm definitely sad to not have that to go back to."
Dancing with the Stars is set to premiere with a live two-hour episode on Tuesday, September 26 at 8PM ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.
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The pro partners competing on Season 32 of DWTS are Brandon Armstrong, Rylee Arnold, Alan Bersten, Artem Chigvintsev, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Koko Iwasaki, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko, Emma Slater, and Britt Stewart.
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Dancing with the Stars will hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro and co-hosted by Julianne Hough.
The judging panel will be comprised of Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.
"I think we've got one of the hottest, most epic seasons ever," Alfonso teased on Wednesday's episode of Good Morning America.