It’s exhausting to consider Dancing With the Stars is celebrating its twentieth anniversary this yr. The inaugural season premiered on June 1, 2005, and adjusted the TV sport. The primary season got here right down to Basic Hospital‘s Kelly Monaco and Seinfeld‘s John O’Hurley, with Monaco rising because the first-ever champion.
Wanting again on the primary season, O’Hurley informed Leisure Weekly it was a “shock” to lose to Monaco, who was paired with Alec Mazo. “She bought three 10s and he or she fell a number of instances throughout the closing piece. I used to be scratching my head as to how this all occurred. So, clearly there have been some points. I’ll go away it at that,” he added.
The present’s host on the time, Tom Bergeron, stated that he believed “John took it just a little too critically.” Decide Carrie Ann Inaba admitted that she’s “typically shocked” by the DWTS outcomes, and that was the case for the Monaco vs. O’Hurley ballroom showdown.
When the outcomes have been introduced, a shocked Monaco muttered just a few phrases to Bergeron that didn’t make it to air. “They bleeped it, however [when they said I won], I checked out Tom Bergeron and I stated, ‘Are you f**king kidding me?’ It was mind-blowing. It was top-of-the-line emotions on the planet,” she revealed.
In a transfer that has by no means been repeated during the last 33 seasons, Dancing With the Stars held a particular rematch dance-off episode between Monaco and O’Hurley. The rematch aired on September 20, 2005, and O’Hurley was declared the winner.
“[When I won the dance-off], all was proper with the world,” he stated. “It’s very humorous that nice moments in your life are at all times quiet issues. After I gained that, unexpectedly it simply turned very private and really quiet. It wasn’t one thing you may run round and soar within the air. I simply went, ‘Wow.’ And I keep in mind saying that to Tom. I stated, ‘You already know me as by no means being shy for phrases. It’s a quiet second proper now.’”
As for Monaco, she doesn’t put a lot inventory into the rematch particular. “It was someday, and it was a unique scenario. The dance-off occurred and it went down the way it went down. I don’t suppose anybody actually remembers that,” she admitted.
Dancing With the Stars, Season 34, Fall 2025, ABC