‘Dancing With the Stars’ Rejected a Hallmark Channel Star: ‘Your Loss’

Nikki DeLoach believes Dancing With the Stars missed its chance to cast a standout contestant. The Hallmark star revealed that she auditioned for the competition series but did not make the cut.

DeLoach, 47, shared the news during an interview with Us Weekly at the Dance Party to End ALZ event on Sept. 13. The event, held at the Avalon in Hollywood, benefited the Alzheimer’s Association.

“I sent in an audition tape. The best audition tape you have ever seen,” DeLoach said. “I’m not joking. I don’t talk about myself like this. It was phenomenal.”

The actress admitted she was surprised by the rejection, adding, “I have never been more surprised at not getting a job in my life, ever in my life. So you know what, Dancing With the Stars, your loss.”

Her close friend and fellow Hallmark star Ashley Williams, 47, agreed that the show made the wrong call. Williams even predicted that producers might reconsider in the future.

“You know what? This isn’t over. This isn’t Dancing with the Stars’ only season,” Williams joked. “Y’all are gonna come crawling back, and we’re gonna enjoy every second of it. And the answer will be yes.”

DeLoach remained confident that she would have done well on the dance floor. “I would have crushed. You could have gotten all of it,” she said.

Although the friends were joking about the casting decision, their appearance at the charity event had a more meaningful purpose. The annual gathering brings Hallmark stars and supporters together for a dance party that raises money for Alzheimer’s research.

Williams explained that her sister, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, founded the event in 2016. A few years later, she asked Williams to take over organizing it.

“She said, ‘Well, you don’t have to do it alone.’ And immediately, I called Nikki, and halfway through asking, she said, ‘Yes! I’m in,’” Williams recalled.

The partnership reflects the close bond between the actresses, who have supported each other through life’s challenges.

“Family is blood. They have to be your family. You choose friends, and then for me, my friends are my family,” DeLoach explained. “They are the ones that I call when I’m sad, when I’m upset.”

She added, “I would not be standing on my two feet without my girlfriends, and especially this one.”