Dancing With The Stars returned on September 15, 2026 and although the premiere crashed into chaos when the online voting system failed, there were also positives, such as the return of professional dancer Sharna Burgess.
Sharna was promoted from the troupe to the professional team in 2013, but left the ABC show in 2021 after dancing alongside her real-life partner Brian Austin Green.
Now the pair are engaged, and Brian tells HELLO! that the opportunity to dance alongside Sharna changed their relationship because “I better understood her passion and who she was.”
“Dance is one of those things where, unless you do it, you don’t understand it,” the actor shared, speaking at the 2026 Daytime Beauty Awards.
“I used to go with her to conventions, and she’d be herself and all the kids would be out of their minds because she is the highest bar for being a professional dancer, ut she makes it look so easy that I had no concept of how much work goes into it.
“Then I did the show and now I know all the detail and attention that goes into it, and I respect it on a completely different level.”
“Seeing her bak on the show is amazing because she has really missed dance,” Brian continued. “And the thing that this show brings to dancers is a chance to dance for a living and to make really good money doing it and do it on a platform where people see it and get to celebrate it.”
© Disney via Getty ImagesSharna has been partnered with Tyler Cameron, a former Bachelorette hopeful turned TV personality, and Brian has been friends with Tyler for years.
“We did Special Forces together years ago. He’s unbelievable, and his fiance is unbelievable,” said Brian, a father to five. “He is a fantastic student; every chance he gets, he wants to watch videos and work on what he’s doing and be better at it. So you couldn’t ask for a better student.”
© Disney via Getty ImagesThe voting system crash came after Sharna and Tyler’s dance with host Julianne Hough informing the audience and urging them to vote via text.
“A quick update for everyone who is voting at home,” she shared. “This is coming through live right now: Voting on ABC is currently down live…make sure that you guys are texting for everyone. We will keep you posted as the night goes on.”
© Disney via Getty ImagesCo-host Alfonso Ribeiro later updated the audience, confirming that no online votes would count for the first night of the season.
“For tonight, and tonight only, we are throwing out online votes,” he explained.
“Did we break it with the voting? This is kind of rad!” Julianne chimed in as her co-host added: “We’re breaking stuff around here.”
© Getty ImagesSharna and Tyler danced a tango to Lenny Kravitz’s 1993 hit “Are You Gonna Go My Way?” and received a score of 17 from the judges.
Carrie Ann Inaba said she was “beyond impressed” with Tyler’s “commanding performance,” while Derek Hough criticized his frame and posture but praised his “Patrick Swayze-aura.”
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