Shirley Ballas' son Mark was reportedly involved in a backstage feud with Witney Carson on Dancing With The Stars, according to married former contestants Alexa and Carlos PenaVega.
Alexa and Carlos PenaVega made history as the first and only married couple to compete against one another on the show in 2015. Speaking on her podcast LexLos, which she hosts with her husband, Spy Kids actress Alexa, 38, said: "At the time, Witney and Mark were not getting along at all. They refused to be in the same room together."
Feud Made Rehearsals Difficult
Opening up about how their alleged feud was "really hard" for herself and husband Carlos, 37, she said: "The whole point of doing the show was, 'We're going to go in, and we're going to do this together as much as possible.' And the second we go in, boom, Mark and Witney refused to be in a room together."
"We thought we were going to 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."
The Mirror has reached out to DWTS, Mark and Witney for comment.
Partners' Work Ethics
Speaking of his wife's then-dance partner Mark, Carlos said: "He's very creative, and he wants to do things outside the box, which require a lot of work. Listen, I had a great work ethic with Witney. She put up with a lot 'cause it was really hard, but we had a lot of fun."
Meanwhile Alexa said that her husband picked up dancing much quicker than she did. "When it comes to dance, you pick things up so easily. Like, Carlos, they would teach him something, and he would know it immediately," she said. "He would learn a dance, and it would be so good right away. And even if he messed up, you would never know he messed up."
Mark's Current Partnership
"Meanwhile, it took me forever. Mark would teach me something, and I'd be like, 'All right, got it.' I would have it, and then an hour later, I'd be like, 'I actually don't remember any of that.'"
Mark is currently paired up with Love Island star Maura Higgins, with the couple performing an Ireland-inspired paso doble to I'm Shipping Up to Boston by Dropkick Murphys.
"I recently found out that on my granddad's side, his mother was Irish as well, and [had] the last name was Higgins, which is wild," Ballas said on Tuesday. "I've been to Ireland many times. I've been around. I love the Irish people. I love the vibes. It was amazing to learn from a six-time world champion here. Learning to do the correct steps was so cool."
