Dancing With the Stars pro Daniella Karagach revealed what it was really like to compete against her husband, Pasha Pashkov, during season 35’s dance-off.
“We were given a rumba. We practiced our rumba separately, and then when we got together, it was the best time,” Karagach, 33, exclusively told Us about competing against Pashkov, 40, in the dance-off on Grammy Night on Tuesday, November 10. “It was just the best energy, best time.”
During the latest episode, Karagach and her partner, Ezra Frech, competed against Pashkov and his partner, Amber Glenn, in a dance-off rumba to “The Boy Is Mine” by Brandy and Monica as part of the show’s Grammy Night. While both pairs impressed the judges, Pashkov and Glenn, 27, ultimately won the round and earned two bonus points that were added to their final score.
The dance concluded with the pros switching partners, and Frech, 21, dipped Pashkov.
“It felt more like a team dance than anything else. … We came together, and we had the best time sharing the dance floor, and we couldn’t also not end swapping partners because I’ve always wanted to dance with Amber, and Ezra and Pasha secretly wanted to dance with each other,” Karagach said. “So, that was fun.”
Frech added that he “never thought I would get to dip Pasha” when he was cast on the show.
After Karagach joked that the Paralympian “got to dip the sexiest man,” Frech reiterated that he got to “dip the sexiest man.”
“What a privilege,” he told Us while reflecting on the memorable ending to the dance.
In addition to the dance-off, Karagach and Frech performed an Argentine tango to Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love (Remix).” They scored 27 out of 30 points and secured their spot in the semifinals.
While speaking to Us, Frech admitted it was “the hardest dance” he had performed so far.
“There’s always so many challenges week to week, and they differ in many ways,” he said. “Obviously, we had lots of lifts and lots of really exciting moments. I got to kick my prosthetic up in the air a bunch of times. Like, I had a blast with this dance, and I think there was something so fun about really challenging ourselves every week.”
Frech added that he and Karagach are “not trying to play it safe” or “take it easy.”
“We’re going all in every single week, trying to push the boundaries of what we even thought was possible when we started, and that’s really exciting,” he said.
While Frech and Karagach had a lot to celebrate, the night did not have a happy ending for frontrunners Jenna Dewan and pro Val Chmerkovskiy, who were sent home.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
