Season three was when it really hit big. I'll never forget. The finale was over 30 million people. What Hollywood circles were you running with? Was it mostly... Like Paris. Like every... Like that circle, like back in the early 2000s. Paris, Shana Mokler, Kelly Monaco, but also like Jenny McCarthy. I mean, we did Oprah back in the day. Like it was... That was crazy. What does that mean exactly? You have to take an exam to be able to judge a dance competition.

She was the best of the night, right?

By far, like, it was the first time when I was really watching it, I was like, oh, my God, this dance is amazing and her form's amazing.

But why did they break cold?

Yeah. break cold.

What was it like for you to step back into the ballroom after three years off?

Did you originally think that you were never coming back?

I mean, you can never say never, right?

But I didn't think that it was going to be so soon. But three years is a long time, but we're family. Like I've been so connected to the show still, I mean, without them knowing because I'm a fan, right? And so like, I don't know, the umbilical cord still stuck there. I think it's going to be like that forever. was your first reaction when you got behind the judges table? Because that's your first time there now. They're sitting there, yes. Right. Yes. It was really, so leading up to this, so I knew a while ago, obviously, that I was doing this, but I was so nervous because I didn't know how people were going to react. I did a podcast that may have ruffled some feathers, But I just, you know, they're my family,

but it's also like, I haven't talked to some of them for so long. And, you know, you hear rumblings

and I'm like, I don't want to make people feel uncomfortable, you know, but I'm also like,

but I believe I should be here. I've been here for 20 years. You know, I have so many mixed

emotions. I was feeling all the feels. I should be here. I've been here for 20 years. I had so many mixed emotions. I was

feeling all the feels. I definitely played worst case scenarios in my head and turned out beautiful.

It felt so right. I felt so calm by the time we went live that I think that I just, you know,

as I do, I worry. Were you incredibly comfortable just judging right from the start?

I think so. I mean, I was not until I stuttered my very first when they're like, what are you going to be looking for? And I was like, oh, stutter's coming. It's coming. Let's just get it out of the system. But then as soon as that happened, I was like, I felt so calm. It was weird. I felt too calm. Because that's your first time

ever, even just interacting with like that live broadcast behind the judge's panel now.

I mean, I also hadn't seen any of judges until live, until we were live, because we're all like,

or I was upstairs and they have their trailers, you know, so I hadn't seen even some of the dancers.

Did you have any relationships with them prior to this? So, you know, there's different generations of Dancing with the Stars, right? So I started season two, 2006. And, you know, I would say there's probably five different generations now that have come on the show. So, like, I was closest to Max, right? Because that's my generation of pros. Val, I've known Val since he was like a

teenager. So like, and then for example, like Sasha was like all that next crew. I would say like the

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