‘DWTS’ Pro Brandon Armstong’s Wife Details How Pros Get Chosen to Return, How Show Picks Partners

The wife of Dancing With the Stars pro Brandon Armstrong is shedding insight into the show’s chaotic casting process. 

Brylee Armstrong posted an explanatory TikTok on Wednesday, September 3, hours after Good Morning America revealed the roster of celebrities and professional dancers set to appear in season 34. Brandon, 31, was announced in a pairing with Fifth Harmony alum Lauren Jauregui. 

“I woke up this morning to my phone absolutely blowing up from people so worried that Brandon didn’t have a partner,” Brylee, 27, said Wednesday. “Because GMA released all the cast photos, all the partnerships, and Brandon and Lauren don’t have [a photo].”

Brylee added, “I should say they don’t have one yet.”

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She called the ABC dance competition “Brandon’s main gig,” and said that he learned he was coming back to the show “at the end of July.” 

“There have been years where he’s gotten the call earlier, and there have been years where he’s gotten the call a lot later,” Brylee explained, adding, “You might wonder why they take so long to call the pros and offer them a job. And it is a very nerve-wracking thing because, like I said, nobody’s promised a spot on the show.”

She continued, “They have to get a group of celebrities that are gonna be available for a big chunk of the year. It’s like three to four months, so it just has to work out in their schedule. There’s a lot that goes into the pairings for the actual partnership. A big one is height, personality.”

Initially, the show withholds stars’ identities from their dance partners.

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“So when the pros get the call, that typically means, ‘Hey, we have a partner for you,’” Brylee said. “But even when they get the call, they’re not told who their celebrity is. Because like I mentioned before, it is truly showbiz. Like, anything can change.”

She said that “for Brandon and I think, most celebrities, they don’t care who they get as long as they have a partner they want to be around. It truly is like a family, a team. Obviously they would love a partner that could get them to the finale — because who doesn’t want to win a Mirrorball?”

Brylee is very pleased with Brandon’s new DWTS companion, Jauregui, 29, whom she calls “amazing.” The multiplatinum Cuban American singer-songwriter began her career as a member of the pop group Fifth Harmony before going solo with a new album in the works for 2026. 

Jauregui said Wednesday that she “learned that I was going to be on the show two days ago. So I haven’t unfortunately gotten to get in [the studio] with Brandon yet, but we’re gonna get there.”

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Brandon and Jauregui join a star-studded lineup that includes Hilaria Baldwin (with dancer Gleb Savchenko), Alix Earle (with Val Chmerkovskiy), Corey Feldman (with Jenna Johnson) and Danielle Fishel (with Pasha Pashkov).

Dancing With the Stars‘ 34th season premieres Tuesday, September 16, on ABC.