Jesse Metcalfe Reveals Why He Initially Turned Down Competing on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ (Exclusive)

The third time’s a charm! Desperate Housewives star Jesse Metcalfe recently competed on Dancing with the Stars during Season 29 but admitted he turned it down two other times before finally saying yes. In an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com, Metcalfe says he had his reasons for saying no so many times and it’s pretty simple: he didn’t want to “make a fool” out of himself. Although let’s be honest — fans would have supported Metcalfe on the dance floor either way!

“Well, that was the third time I’ve been asked,” Metcalfe confessed in our series, PopCulture @Home after being asked what his initial thought was when he was presented with the idea. The 42-year-old noted he had “zero dance experience” and wasn’t sure about competing with professionals. “So, I guess third time’s a charm!” he said before detailing why he turned the show down so many times. “I didn’t wanna make a fool out of myself,” he confessed. Metcalfe said because things were “slower for us in the entertainment industry,” he figured he’d give it a try.

Fans were sad to see Metcalfe go when he was eliminated from the hit ABC series after competing during ’80s Night with his partner Sharna Burgess. However, he did say he felt he would have performed at a higher level had he not been battling with a few injuries going into the competition. “So hard, it was incredibly difficult learning how to dance,” he responded when asked how his experience was.

“I had zero dance experience [and] you know, dance is very physically demanding. I was actually — and have been — nursing a couple of injuries. So I kind of had to power through these. I feel like I gave a respectable showing on Dancing with the Stars.” Metcalfe says he feels he would have “run a bit longer” on the show had it not been for his injuries but he’s thankful to have made some “great friends” and gushed over the “incredible experience.”

The actor has been incredibly busy with work, in fact, he’s been filming more content for the Hallmark channel, but in the meantime, he’s partnered with Cheez-It for their limited edition loaded popcorn. Popcorn naturally pairs well with watching movies — Metcalfe admits he’s a sucker for romantic comedies — so he felt it was a perfect fit. “It’s really about enjoying this cheesy popcorn while you’re enjoying cheesy rom-coms.” Since so many aren’t going to the movie theaters anymore due to the pandemic, the company thought it would be perfect to bring the “quintessential” snack to everyone’s home, and who more perfect to talk about movies and rom-coms than the star of John Tucker Must Die?