'Dancing With the Stars' Real-Life Partners

March 20, 2012— -- intro: Now that the stars have taken their initial turns on the dance floor during last night's season premiere of "Dancing With the Stars," the audience will be watching to see who's cheering them from the sidelines.

They may see some well-known exes and some not-so-well-known real-life partners. Both Jack Wagner and Melissa Gilbert went through well-publicized breakups last year, while NFL star Donald Driver renewed his vows with wife Betina Driver on their 10th anniversary in 2010.

Betina and the couple's three children, Cristian, Christina and Charity, have accompanied Driver to Hollywood for what they hope will be a long stay.

"I think the nation will discover that he is a pretty good dancer," Betina told Green Bay, Wis., ABC affiliate WBAY. "Yes, they know about his smile, his wit, but they're going to find out pretty quick that he's pretty good and dedicated."

That dedication took Driver from homelessness and drug dealing as a teenager in his hometown of Houston to the 2011 Super Bowl, where he helped the Green Bay Packers clinch a victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers as their all-time leading receiver.

College sweethearts, the Drivers met in the weight room at Alcorn State in Mississippi, where Donald offered Bettina training tips. "He was really into me," she told ESPN.com. "And he would always let me know how much he enjoyed being with me and what he saw for our future. He was just really, really sweet."

They've come a long way since those first dates when Donald Driver had so little money that a date would be a trip to McDonald's, where they'd share an order of fries. In 2001, the couple started the Donald Driver Foundation, to help the homeless find places to live and to give them tools and resources for improving their lives. His children also inspired him to write three children's books based on the character "Quickie," his childhood nickname.

As for the real-life Quickie, Driver is learning to slow down on the dance floor, unlike on the football field.

"In certain things Quickie has quick feet, so Quickie thought the quick step would be good, but sometimes you've got to go slow in the quick step," he told WBAY. "But I'm having a lot of fun doing it."

Click through to see other real-life partners, as well as exes, of the "Dancing With the Stars" contestants.

quicklist: 1category: title: Jaleel White and Bridget Hardyurl: text: Jaleel White, who played the iconic Urkel in ABC sitcom "Family Matters," has had his own real-life family matters. In 2010, the 34-year-old actor was embroiled in a custody dispute with Bridget Hardy, the mother of his younger daughter. She filed a police report, claiming he assaulted her while they were driving with the baby in the car. His rep told TMZ at the time, "There was absolutely no battery ... no abuse ... and the incident never happened. This is just a ploy in an ongoing custody battle over their young daughter to tarnish his name."media: 15956150

quicklist: 2category: title: Gladys Knight and William McDowellurl: text: Soul singer Gladys Knight's marriage to William McDowell is a proof that an older-woman, younger-man union can work. The couple knew each other for 14 years before they began dating. Whenever she went to La Costa Resort and Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., she enjoyed talking to McDowell, who was the spa's director. But Knight never thought McDowell, who is 15 years younger, was interested in more than just friendship until her third marriage ended and they began a long-distance courtship, mostly by phone. "It warmed my heart that he would be interested in me," Knight told Ebony magazine in 2003. The two waited until their wedding day on April 12, 2001, to share their first kiss.media: 15956172

quicklist: 3category: title: Jack Wagner and Heather Locklearurl: text: Jack Wagner went through a difficult breakup with his former "Melrose Place" co-star, Heather Locklear, last November. A source told ABC News that Locklear, who has been married twice before, decided she didn't want to walk down the aisle again. But Wagner did, which caused big disagreements between the couple until Locklear called off their three-month engagement. Though he lost his fiance, he gained a daughter -- one he never knew he had. Kerry, who has not publicly released her last name, is expected to be cheering on her father from the audience. The 23-year-old Florida dance instructor was given up for adoption at birth and recently tracked down Wagner. Speaking to People during a break in "Dancing" rehearsals, he said, "She's the new light in my life, as well as my sons, and I'm really grateful to her for having the courage to find me."media: 15956193

quicklist: 4category: title: Katherine Jenkins and Gethin Jonesurl: text: Newly single Welsh opera singer Katherine Jenkins can commiserate with Wagner. She and former fiance Gethin Jones broke off their engagement just two months ago. They met four years ago on another dance show, the BBC's "Strictly Come Dancing," where he is a host. "I'm not yet ready [to date]," she told People. "It's all too soon. But I think it's great to have a new physical challenge, something to throw myself into." Jenkins dismissed rumors that she and dance partner Mark Ballas are already an item. "It's insane," she told People. "I cannot believe how quickly those rumors started." media: 15956182

quicklist: 5category: title: Maria Menounos and Kevin Undergarourl: text: "Extra" co-host Maria Menounos has managed to keep her longtime boyfriend Kevin Undergaro under wraps but that could change during her stint on "Dancing With the Stars." An independent filmmaker, Undergaro is also Menounos' business partner, and together they have produced and directed "In the Land of Merry Misfits" and "Longtime Listener." They also created the charity Take Action Hollywood. media: 15956274

quicklist: 6category: title: Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigovaurl: text: Since 2009, tennis great Martina Navratilova has been linked to Julia Lemigova, a one-time beauty queen, model and entrepreneur from Russia. Navratilova has referred to Lemigova as her "drop dead beautiful" girlfriend. Lemigova, who speaks Italian, English, Russian and French, has lived in Paris since the 1990s, owns cosmetics firm White Russia and founded the Joiya spa in Paris.media: 15956313

quicklist: 6category: title: Melissa Gilbert and Bruce Boxleitnerurl: text: Melissa Gilbert, who famously played Laura Ingalls on that quaint family drama "Little House on the Prairie," dealt with her own real-life family drama last year, when she filed for divorce from Bruce Boxleitner, moving to end their 16-year marriage five months after they announced their separation. In addition to their 15-year-old son, Michael, Boxleitner and Gilbert have another son, Dakota, from her previous marriage to actor Bo Brinkman, and two other sons, Sam and Lee, from Boxleitner's first marriage to actress Kathryn Ogilvy. media: 15956127

quicklist: 7category: title: Sherri Shepherd and Lamar Sallyurl: text: While Gilbert was ending her marriage, Sherri Shepherd was saying "I do" to television writer Lamar Sally. The couple tied the knot in August 2011 after dating for more than a year. It's the second marriage for "The View" co-host who divorced Jeff Tarpley, with whom she has a seven-year-old son, Jeffrey, in 2009. "This man not only loves me, but he adores my son," Shepherd said about Sally on "The View" in January. "And my son adores him."media: 15956232

quicklist: 8category: title: William Levy and Elizabeth Gutierrezurl: text: Known as the Latin Brad Pitt, Cuban-born model and actor William Levy has been on/off with longtime partner Elizabeth Gutierrez, a Mexican-born actress and the mother of their two children. Last May, she sent a press release to the Hispanic press, saying she was leaving Levy for good because she had "too much respect for herself and her children" amid rumors of Levy's infidelity. But last week during a break in "Dancing" rehearsals, Levy and Gutierrez were spotted at a restaurant holding hands. So perhaps, they are on again.