TV

Dancing With the Stars pro Lindsay Arnold announces departure from the series: 'One of the hardest decisions'

The professional dancer is sashaying away after more than 10 years on the show.

By

Published on September 1, 2022 12:22PM EDT

Lindsay Arnold is saying bye-bye to the ballroom—at least, for now.

Dancing With the Stars pro Lindsay Arnold announced that she will not be returning for season 31 of the show when it hits Disney+ later this month.

Arnold, who has performed on the show for more than 10 years, announced that she will not be returning for season 31 of the competitive ballroom dancing show when it hits Disney+ later this month.

"This has been one of the hardest decisions to make but ultimately I have chosen what I feel is best for myself and my family," Arnold shared in a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday. "This show has changed my life forever and will always mean the world to me."

The dancer, who is mom to two-year-old daughter Sage, explained that she is sashaying away from the show to put her family first. "As many of you know my family and I live in [Utah] and in order to do DWTS I have to move myself and my daughter Sage out to L.A. and leave behind my husband Sam who works full time here in Utah," Arnold wrote. "Logistically there is SO much involved with making this happen and there is a lot of sacrifice that has to be made that unfortunately just did not feel right for us this time around."

DANCING WITH THE STARS - ABC's "Dancing with the Stars" stars Lindsay Arnold. — 'Dancing With the Star's pro Lindsay Arnold is leaving the series. Maarten de Boer/ABC via Getty

"We exhausted every option we could think of to make it work but at the end of the day none of the options felt good in my heart or felt like the right thing for our lives right now," she continued. "We are also trying to grow our family and that in itself is a complicated logistical thing as I'm sure many of you understand."

However, the performer remained steadfast in her support for the show. "It's so important to me that you understand none of this has anything to do with my love for the show as that will NEVER change and it also doesn't mean that this is the end for me and DWTS," Arnold shared. "Although this decision has been so hard to make I feel so much peace about it and know that it is the right thing to do."

Arnold noted that she's ready to cheer on her pals from the sidelines too, adding, "I can't wait to watch this next season of DWTS and see all of my friends dance, I'm going to be the biggest fan girl!"

Following her announcement, Arnold's DWTS cast mates — including the show's new co-host Alfonso Ribeiro — shared their support in her decision. "We will miss you," Ribeiro, who won season 19 of the show, wrote in the comments. "Always hard to make the right decision for your entire family and not what's best for you alone."

While fellow pro Witney Carson added, "Miss you so much already Linds!!! It won't be the same without you, I love you!"

And, just because she's putting away her dancing shoes for now, that doesn't mean Arnold is ruling out a return to the ballroom in the future. "This is also not the end," she said in a TikTok. "This is not to say this is the end of me on Dancing With the Stars. I think there are so many fun ways that I can still be involved."

Dancing With the Stars premieres on Sept. 19 and will stream on Disney+.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content: