Why Did Lindsay Arnold Leave ‘Dancing With the Stars’?

Lindsay Arnold was recently confirmed to be part of the first-annual Dancing With the Stars Fan Convention event later this year. Although Arnold is no longer a pro on the show, she’s still a beloved member of the DWTS family and will be partaking in the August 2026 event with several other famous faces from the show.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been five years since Arnold last competed on DWTS. She made her debut on the show during Season 16 in 2013, then served as a troupe member from Seasons 17 to 20. From Seasons 21 to 28, Arnold regularly appeared as a DWTS pro. She took Season 29 off while pregnant with her first child, and then came back one last time for Season 30 and was partnered with Matt James.

Since then, Arnold has stepped away from Hollywood and is building a life with her family in Utah. Scroll down for everything we know about her DWTS exit and what she’s up to now.

Why did Lindsay Arnold leave Dancing With the Stars?

Arnold left Dancing With the Stars to focus on her family in Utah. She ultimately made the decision after returning to the show following the birth of her first child, Sage, in November 2020, which made her realize how difficult it was for her to balance the show and being a mother.

“It was just a very, very, very different experience for me,” Arnold said on The Squeeze podcast. “The show, as a pro, is a 24/7 job.” She added, “Everything just felt different. Like, it was hard. It was really, really hard.”

By the end of that season, Arnold “knew” her time on the show was over. “My energy is in a different place,” Arnold admitted. “I want to be in this new phase of life.” She and husband Sam Cusick went on to welcome another baby girl, June, in May 2023, and are expecting their first son in 2026.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Lindsay Arnold Cusick (@lindsarnold)

Arnold also explained to People that her decision to leave DWTS came because her “priorities” were in a different place. “My mindset shifted,” she added. “Time goes 10 times faster when you have kids, and I just know that this time is so precious and something that you don’t get back.”

She added, “What I don’t miss is it is a full-on time commitment. If you want to be good at your job, if you want to do well, it’s a 24/7 job. And when you’re a mom, that’s a 24/7 job, so that battle is really difficult. You’re not just working when you’re at rehearsal. You’re home, studying, choreographing, watching your video a million times, perfecting things, going the extra mile to be really good at your job.”

How many times did Lindsay Arnold win Dancing With the Stars?

Arnold won Dancing With the Stars one time. Her winning season was Season 25 with Jordan Fisher.

Her other finale appearances were during Seasons 21, 23, and 24. She came in third place with Alek Skarlatos and Calvin Johnson Jr., then second place with David Ross.

With Victor Ortiz in Season 16, Arnold finished in eighth place. She and Wanya Morris ended up in fourth place during Season 22. Then, she placed eighth with Kareem Abdul-Jabaar in Season 26, seventh with DeMarcus Ware in Season 27, sixth with Sean Spicer in Season 28, and 12th with James during her final season.

Would Lindsay Arnold return to Dancing With the Stars?

Although Arnold has no plans to come back to the show right now (and she’ll be newly postpartum during Season 35 in fall 2026), she mentioned in the past that she’s not officially “retired.”

“It’s really just a mindset,” she said in her People interview. “It’s a feeling like me, and my [kids], and my husband, we’re all in a place where the sacrifices that it takes to do the show, uprooting our family, moving to a different state, feel worth it to us. There isn’t a checklist that I’m waiting for. It’s just honestly just an intuition thing of feeling like, ‘Oh, OK. I feel like we could make this work right now in our phase of life.’”

Related

Will Hayley Erbert Return to 'Dancing With the Stars'?

However, Arnold has made several returns to the ballroom since her exit, mostly to support her younger sister, Rylee Arnold, who made her pro debut in 2023.

What is Lindsay Arnold doing now?

In addition to raising her family in Utah, Arnold is still keeping busy with professional ventures. She is a full-time content creator, mostly sharing posts about family, fashion, beauty, and fitness on her Instagram and TikTok pages.

Arnold also created a workout program called the Movement Club. “I started it during my first pregnancy because I really just felt like there was a missing space for a program that is literally for everyone,” she explained to People. “No matter what stage of life you’re in, whether you’re in the best shape of your life, you’ve never worked out before, you’re pregnant, you’re postpartum, I just wanted a program that was inviting to all, because that’s what I felt like I was needing at the time.”