Dancing With the Stars pros Emma Slater and Sasha Farber may have just said “I do” a month ago, but they’re already ready to battle it out in the ballroom during the new, all-athlete season of the reality dance competition.
The couple will take to the floor Monday, April 30, for the show’s Season 26 premiere, but opened up to Us Weekly about married life and competing against one another the day prior.
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Farber, 33, who is returning to the competition this season after taking a yearlong hiatus, is excited to be back. “I love this show! [We’re] all like one big happy family,” he said. “I got engaged on this show and it’s just such a special place for me to be here,” he added of his 2016 on-air proposal to Slater.
And this season is extra special for the pro, who says his partner, former Olympic figure skater Tonya Harding, is “such a legend.”
Slater also gushed over having her husband back on the show, but isn’t letting their love for one another get in the way of their competitive spirit when it comes to bringing home the Mirrorball Trophy with her partner, MLB legend Johnny Damon.
“I’m so thrilled [that Sasha is back],” the dancer told the publication. “I think Sasha is one of the most talented — and by far the most unique character that Dancing With the Stars has ever seen … he’s absolutely fantastic, he always does amazing with his partners.”
When asked if the stakes have been raised now that they are a married couple, Slater replied, “Totally … I already told Johnny, ‘We need to beat my husband because he needs to know how this is going to go for the rest of life!’”
Farber, meanwhile, joked, “If I want this marriage to work, I need to win.”
But despite intense practice schedules, the two have been loving every moment of being married over the past month, with Slater calling their newlywed lives “phenomenal.”
The couple tied the knot on March 25 at Bella Blanca in Los Angeles. At the time, Slater told Us Weekly. “It was the most amazing day. It was absolutely amazing. Nothing went wrong. It was brilliant. It was incredible.”
The Dancing With the Stars: Athletes premiere airs Monday, April 30, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
Photo credit: Instagram/Emma Slater
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