‘Dancing with the Stars’ pro doesn’t regret leaving Hollywood for Utah at the height of her fame
It’s been nearly three years since Dancing with the Stars pro Lindsay Arnold called it quits, and she has no regrets.
In a new interview, the professional dancer, who starred on the dance competition series for ten seasons, opened up about her decision to leave the show at the height of her immense fame and success.
“A lot of my priorities and where I want to spend my time…have changed,” she tells People. “My mentality changed. When you have a child, time flies ten times faster, and I just know that this time is so precious and will never come back.”
‘Dancing with the Stars’ pro Lindsay Arnold announces she’s leaving show: ‘We’ve exhausted all options’
Lindsay Arnold said she had a “mindset shift” before quitting “DWTS.” (Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty Images)
“I do want to have a sense of accomplishment on the show because I know, ‘Okay, if we do have a baby and I don’t come back, do I feel like I accomplished what I hoped to do?’ Honestly, I do It felt like we were probably past the preparation stage of, “Okay, we really want this now,” and I’m glad we waited until that point because it felt so right.
Arnold, who has two daughters, Sage, 4, and June, almost 2, with husband Samuel Cusick, said the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles never appealed to her force.
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“To be honest, I never actually loved or embraced Hollywood because I wanted to live there,” she said. “Love what it’s offered me, what it’s done for my career, what I’ve been able to do there, but really I’ve been a pro, between seasons, [who] I would sneak back to Utah to be with my family. This has always been where I wanted to raise my family.
Lindsay Arnold appeared on the Dancing with the Stars Season 30 premiere, where she has been on the show for 10 years. (Eric McCandless/ABC)
“Growing up in Utah, city life was never for me,” she added. “But like I said, I know my life wouldn’t be what it is now without that time, so I’m very grateful.”
Today, Arnold continues to gain traction on social media, from her workout tutorials to her lifestyle vlogs.
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“When I decided to quit Dancing with the Stars, I didn’t have this grand plan of, ‘Okay, this is my career. This is where we’re going to go.'” I just knew I wanted to do something right. I say real things, but it’s really scary because you don’t know how people are going to take it,” she said of becoming an influencer.
“At the time, I had a following on social media who were just following me because of Dancing with the Stars. It was scary because I thought, if I were to say, ‘Sorry guys, I’m not going to be a mom anymore. “, maybe people are going to hate Mom? But it’s so cool because every step of the way, by really being myself and sharing what I’m doing, it’s organically grown my career, my involvement, in the most perfect way degrees and my community.
Lindsay Arnold and Jordan Fisher are Season 25 Mirror Ball Trophy winners. (JB Lacroix/WireImage)
While Arnold said she still misses the show, she doesn’t regret her decision to leave.
“I miss a lot of things about the show,” she said. “I miss all my friends on the show. The community, the family, it’s real. As soon as my sister came on the show, they treated her like a little sister because it was family.”
“What I don’t miss is that it’s a full-time job. If you want to do your job, if you want to do it well, it’s a 24/7 job,” she continued. “When you’re a mom, it’s a 24/7 job, so it’s a really difficult battle.”
“It was a very natural progression for me, and I’m grateful for that, because, of course, when I did opt out of the first season, there was always that moment of, ‘Am I going to regret this?'” she said. explain. “I’m really grateful to say that I haven’t. I haven’t regretted my decision one step at a time,” she added.
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