Julianne Hough isn't saving her adoration for another dance.

After Julia Stiles admitted she cried after earning a 16 out of 30 during the Viral Hits episode of Dancing With the Stars season 35 during an E! News interview on Sept. 22, the show's cohost shared some sweet words of encouragement with the contestant. 

Indeed, Hough—whose brother Derek Hough sits alongside Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli on the judging panel—commented under E!'s interview on Instagram with a red heart emoji, "You are divine."

Following the judges' comments—in which Inaba pointed to Stiles' stiffness and Tonioli noted that although some beats were "very, very good," there were "a few stumbles"—the 10 Things I Hate About You actress admitted that she was a little disappointed by the feedback.

"To be completely honest, I'm not feeling great because the crazy thing about this show, which I knew going into it," she told E! News backstage in a joint interview with pro Ezra Sosa, "is that you can have great run-throughs, you can have great rehearsals, but really, all that matters is what ends up on television."

"I do have the most fantastic partner because I had a big old cry fest in my trailer," Stiles—who chose Teddy Swims' "The Door" for her tango—continued, "and he was right there with me, so patiently and so sympathetically."

Still, the Save the Last Dance actress is taking the critiques in stride as she and Sosa prepare for their upcoming dance to a yacht rock song for week three.

"It's all a learning process," she added. "My goal now is really to just keep letting people in and not shut down."

Ahead of her performance, the 45-year-old shared insight into her decision to lace up her dance shoes for the ABC competition series, which bid farewell to Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten during the Sept. 22 episode.

"This performance represents finding my own strength," she explained at the top of the episode, "'cause being on Dancing With the Stars is a wonderful opportunity for me to stay open and vulnerable and not run away from it." 

For Sosa's part, he couldn't help but twist and shout his love for Stiles.

"She's doing absolutely incredible," he told E! earlier this month. "I will confidently say I've never worked with someone who's working so hard and who's so passionate about doing this, and it just makes me so excited to see their journey on the show." 

"One thing about Julia is how effortlessly beautiful she is," the pro continued. "She doesn't even try hard, and it's just the most stunning thing ever. I've never been around a movie star like this before, so just to be around that every single day, it's super inspiring."

As fans wait to see which celebs get closer to taking home the Mirrorball trophy, keep reading for some must-read Dancing With the Stars secrets.

How Much Do the Celebrities Get Paid to Be on Dancing With the Stars?

Citing multiple sources, Variety reported in 2019 that Dancing With the Stars contestants make $125,000 for the rehearsal period and first two weeks of the show. If they progress beyond that point, the outlet continued, they earn more money each week. At the time, sources told the publication stars could earn a maximum of $295,000.

However, Bobby Bones said he made more than this when he won season 27 with Sharna Burgess in 2018.

"That show pays OK," the radio personality said on a Sept. 2025 episode of Jason Tartick's podcast Trading Secrets. "Like, first episode, no money. Second episode, $10,000. I think it's like, $10,000, $10,000, $20,000, $20,000. It ends up being $50,000 an episode if you last."

Also receiving a base salary of around $110,000, Bones continued, "I ended up making close to $400,000 from that show."

ABC has not publicly confirmed any of these figures.

What Do the Pros Get Paid on Dancing With the Stars?

Similarly, little has been shared publicly about how much the pros get paid. But as with the contestants, it seems like the longer they're on the show, the more money they can make.

But even if a pro is eliminated in the first round, they're not leaving the ballroom empty-handed.

"You're guaranteed until a certain amount of weeks," Jenna Johnson said on a June 2025 episode of Kelly Stafford and Hank Winchester's podcast The Morning After. "I think there's different contracts though. I can't speak for everybody."

Do Pros Get Paid More If They Win Dancing With the Stars?

While Johnson—who won season 26 with Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon, as well as season 33 with The Bachelor's Joey Graziadei—says the pros don't get a larger paycheck if they take home what is now called the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, she noted there's still an incentive to make it to the finale (besides bragging rights, of course).

"If you make it all the way to the end, you're getting paid the whole season, which is amazing, and you get a bonus on top of that for making it to the finale," she explained on The Morning After. "If you win, it's not like you win a $1 million and split it with your partner. You're just getting a cute trophy together."

Do the Troupe Members Get Paid as Much as the Pros on Dancing With the Stars?

On a 2022 episode of Trading Secrets, Lindsay Arnold recalled how her salary was cut "more than in half" when she was demoted from pro to troupe member.

How Are Pros and Celebrities Paired Together on Dancing With the Stars?

The pros get little input when it comes to being matched with a celebrity.

"You get no say," Lindsay said on a May 2025 episode of Maggie Sellers' Hot Smart Rich podcast. "It's very much just, 'Here's your partner. Make it work.'"

In fact, Jenna said the pairing is often a secret until the last minute.

"They really want to keep it a secret until you meet them live," Jenna said on The Morning After. "They want that genuine reaction. So I think people always think we know who we have and we're keeping it a secret. Absolutely not. They do not tell us. They really don't even want us to know the cast. It gets leaked a lot, but they want it very hush-hush until you walk in and meet your partner."

As for what the Dancing With the Stars team looks for when making these matches?

"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," former showrunner Rob Wade told E! News in 2015. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."

How Often Do the Pros and Celebrities Practice on Dancing With the Stars?

Put simply, a lot."Every day we have four-hour rehearsals," Rylee Arnold, who was partnered with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik on season 33, shared on a September 2024 episode of the Lightweights Podcast With Joe Vulpis. "It’s either 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. or 5:00 p.m to 9:00 p.m."But the work doesn't stop once the rehearsal wraps. Rylee noted she might then meet with producers or the creative team, work on choreography or study dance videos."Literally my whole life is devoted to it," she continued, "but it's my passion and it's what I love. So, it makes me so happy."Indeed, it's a no-days-off kind of gig."We have our show day on Tuesday and then it's Wednesday to Sunday, straight rehearsals," Rylee added. "And then Monday we have camera blocking and then Tuesday's show day again."

Do the Pros Get to Pick the Songs Each Week for Their Dance With Their Celebrity Partner?

"Mostly yes," Emma Slater and Britt Stewart revealed in a September 2025 Instagram video, "though it's a collaboration with producers."

What's the Process Like for Making the Costumes for Dancing With the Stars?

If you thought the quickstep was fast, just wait until you hear about the pace of the costume department."We meet with the set and lighting designers, dancers and talent and create a story [for each pair]," costume designer Daniela Gschwendtner told TV Insider back in 2017. "Then we sketch out ideas. We have five days, max, to make all the outfits. That’s half a day per costume, not including all the rhinestones. The fitting and trimming we do later. We have about 20 people in our department and then we have a separate tailor shop. It’s a big enterprise."In fact, costume designer Steven Norman Lee said pairs usually try on their costumes for the first time just hours before showtime. And while the department "might use a pair of pants again for the boys," he continued, everything is generally made custom each week.As Gschwendtner added, "We do reuse things for group numbers or promo shoots, but not for the competition. We don’t reuse things unless there’s a specific reason to do so. We try to keep everybody fresh and new in something different every week, so it stays interesting."