Two former contestants say their dance partners could barely stand to be near each other back in 2015.
The Witney Carson Mark Ballas feud resurfaced on October 24, 2026, after Page Six reported that the two Dancing With the Stars professionals allegedly refused to share a room during Season 21 in 2015, according to former contestants Carlos and Alexa PenaVega.
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PenaVegas Describe Backstage Tension During Season 21
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Alexa and Carlos PenaVega competed against each other on Dancing With the Stars back in 2015, each paired with a different professional dancer. Alexa danced with Mark Ballas, while Carlos was partnered with Witney Carson. The married couple hoped to support each other throughout the season, but Alexa says something stood in the way.
Speaking on the October 22 episode of their podcast, LexLos, Alexa said the two pros were not on good terms. "At the time, Witney and Mark were not getting along at all, so they refused to be in the same room together," she said. She added that the couple expected to rehearse together but instead had to stay apart. "We thought we'd be rehearsing in the same room and now we have to be so separate. We have to dance around whatever's going on with them," Alexa explained.
The comments caught fans off guard, since neither Carson nor Ballas had spoken publicly about any conflict between them during that season or afterward. Entertainment outlets picked up the story quickly, framing it as a piece of previously unknown Dancing With the Stars history rather than a fresh dispute.
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Witney Carson Mark Ballas Feud Claim Lacks a Clear Cause
So far, nobody has explained what actually caused the alleged rift between Carson and Ballas. The PenaVegas did not describe a specific argument, disagreement, or incident tied to the tension. They simply recalled that the two dancers avoided each other during rehearsals and filming.
This leaves a lot of blank space in the story. There's no mention of whether the issue was personal, professional, or something else entirely. Carson and Ballas, who have both remained prominent names in the Dancing With the Stars world since Season 21, have not addressed the claim in any interview or statement referenced in current reporting.
Without comment from either dancer, the account rests entirely on Alexa's memory of that season. That doesn't mean it's untrue, but it does mean the full picture is still missing.
Season 21's Unique Setup Added Extra Pressure
Season 21 stood out because Carlos and Alexa PenaVega became the first married couple to compete against one another on the American version of the show. That setup already created an emotional balancing act, since both wanted to see the other succeed while also competing for the mirrorball trophy themselves.
Carlos has openly admitted the experience stirred up jealousy. "I was jealous of her and her partner," he said, referring to Alexa and Ballas. He also joked, "I beat my wife on Dancing with the Stars," while acknowledging that advancing further than his wife brought real consequences at home. "A lot of baggage, good and bad baggage," he said, describing how the season affected their marriage long after the finale aired.
If Carson and Ballas really were avoiding each other, it would have made an already complicated season even harder for the couple. Instead of training together as a foursome, the PenaVegas say they had to keep their rehearsal time separate, adjusting around whatever was happening between their partners.
Entertainment Outlets Pick Up the Story a Decade Later
The renewed attention around the Witney Carson Mark Ballas feud didn't come from a new argument or public spat. It came from the PenaVegas looking back on their Dancing With the Stars run during a podcast conversation more than ten years later. Outlets including Entertainment Weekly, TV Insider, and Cosmopolitan quickly followed Page Six's report, all repeating Alexa's same core claim about the pros refusing to share a room.
Coverage has stayed consistent across these outlets, with each one noting that Carson and Ballas have not responded. The story has become more about nostalgia and unanswered curiosity than active conflict, since none of the parties directly involved have pushed the conversation forward publicly since the podcast aired.
What Remains Unconfirmed About the Dancing With the Stars Drama
At this point, the Witney Carson Mark Ballas feud is an allegation, not a confirmed fact. It comes from two people who were not directly involved in whatever happened between the dancers, but who experienced the ripple effects during their own time on the show.
Until Carson or Ballas speaks publicly, fans are left with half the story. The PenaVegas have shared their side of how the tension affected their season, but the full explanation behind the original disagreement remains known only to the two professional dancers at the center of it.
