Mark Ballas has heard the rumors and is ready to give some answers.
Fans of the Dancing With the Stars pro have been calling for his return to the ballroom for another season, but this time opposite his Traitors season four castmate, Top Chef host Kristen Kish.
As with many reality shows in 2026, crossover from one franchise to another is to be expected. Fans have pleaded their cases for who from their favorite series they want to see land in the DWTS ballroom or The Traitors mansion next, even making TikTok petitions to gain momentum.
When Ballas, 39, sat down with The Independent to chat about his return to Broadway in Chicago, and reflect on The Traitors, he confirmed that he had seen the fan theories about himself and Kish — but quickly dashed any hopes of a future pairing.
“Unfortunately, she’s too tall for me,” he said with a laugh. “She’s tall and she’s long. It would be funny,” he said, alluding to the height difference between himself and the 5ft 9in Kish. Ballas is 5ft 6in.
“I adore her,” he added of Kish. “But she’s a hair too tall for me. But she should do the show! We have guys who are the appropriate height.”
Ballas said he and Kish, 42, had an instant connection while filming The Traitors, where 23 personalities (divided into groups labeled Faithful and Traitors) compete in a series of challenges in order to win a cash prize of up to $250,000.
“We connected on day one in the castle,” he said while describing the “chaos” of the show.
“I think Kristen and I are kind of cut from the same cloth,” he explained. “For us, on our shows, our thing is what talks. Like her cooking, my dancing. The thing is what does the talking. So we connected on that real quick.”
Ballas added that, especially during the first few episodes of the season, he and Kish would often check in on one another.
“We would like always look for each other in the room. We'd be like, how you doing? How's your social battery?” he said before adding, “I adore her. She’s great.”
While Ballas and Kish aren’t likely to partner up in the ballroom any time soon, he did offer another Traitors castmate he thinks would do well on DWTS.
“I love Maura [Higgins] so much. She is hilarious. She’d be great on Dancing With the Stars,” he said of the Irish TV personality. Days after Ballas spoke to The Independent, Higgins was announced as one of the first cast members of the celebrated ballroom competition’s season 35.
Beyond the ballroom, Ballas is currently starring as Billy Flynn in Chicago opposite his most recent DWTS partner, Whitney Leavitt of Secret Lives of Mormon Wives fame. The two continue in their joint Broadway run through May 3.
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