'Dancing with the Stars' pro Lindsay Arnold will not compete on season 31: 'One of the hardest decisions to make'
Arnold said she had "chosen what I feel is best for myself and my family."
"Dancing With the Stars" dance pro Lindsay Arnold has announced she will not be returning to the hit show for season 31.
Describing her decision to miss the upcoming season as "one of the hardest decisions to make," the dancer explained in a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday that she is focusing on her family during this time.
"Ultimately I have chosen what I feel is best for myself and my family," she wrote in her announcement. "DWTS has been a part of my life for over 10 years now and when I say I love the show with all of my heart I mean it!!"
"This show has changed my life forever and will always mean the world to me," she added.
She also explained more about her family situation and why she opted to leave the show.
"My family and I live in UT and in order to do DWTS I have to move myself and my daughter Sage out to LA and leave behind my husband Sam who works full time here in Utah," she shared. "Logistically there is SO much involved with making this happen and there is a lot of sacrifice that has to be made that unfortunately just did not feel right for us this time around."
Arnold and her husband Sam Cusick welcomed Sage in November 2020.
She described her family as "the most important thing" in her life and emphasized that "doing what is best" for Sage is her priority. She added that she and her husband are trying to grow their family and explored many different options to try to make things work but said that "at the end of the day none of the options felt good in my heart or felt like the right thing for our lives right now."
It's so important to me that you understand none of this has anything to do with my love for the show as that will NEVER change and it also doesn't mean that this is the end for me and DWTS.
Finishing her post, she expressed how much "Dancing" means to her.
"It's so important to me that you understand none of this has anything to do with my love for the show as that will NEVER change and it also doesn't mean that this is the end for me and DWTS," she wrote. "Although this decision has been so hard to make I feel so much peace about it and know that it is the right thing to do."
Members of the "DWTS" family took to the comments to share their support for Arnold and her family's decision.
"Love you @lindsarnold I’m going to miss you soooooo much!!!" fellow pro Emma Slater wrote.
Professional Witney Carson chimed in as well, writing, "Miss you so much already Linds!!! It won’t be the same without you, I love you!"
Season 31 co-host Alfonso Ribeiro also weighed in on the announcement. "We will miss you," he wrote. "Always hard to make the right decision for your entire family and not what’s best for you alone."
Arnold joined "Dancing With the Stars" during the show's 16th season, which aired in 2013. She won the coveted Mirror Ball trophy in season 25, while competing with actor and singer Jordan Fisher.
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