‘Dancing With The Stars’ Cast Shake-Ups Continue With Second Pro Dancer Likely Sitting Out Season 29

Fans might still be suffering from whiplash with all the news that has broken about cast shake-ups for the upcoming season of “Dancing With the Stars,” but another one has likely just been made, as pro Witney Carson has announced she is expecting her first child with her husband, Carson McAllister.

Carson, 26, took to Instagram on Thursday to announce the news, revealing in the caption of her post that their baby will be born in January 2021. Her fellow pros and cast members, as well as several of her former partners on the show, all expressed excitement in the comments on the post.

“Now I can finally talk about it. Lol. Congrats,” her Season 19 partner Alfonso Ribeiro (whom she won a Mirrorball Trophy with), wrote.

“WOOOOOO!!!!!” her Season 27 partner Milo Manheim added.

“Wow!!!! So Awesome!!! Congratulations to you both!!!! Such a blessing!!!!” her most recent partner, Kel Mitchell, said.

Witney is the second pro to announce baby news ahead of Season 29, as Lindsay Arnold also took to social media to confirm she and her husband, Samuel Cusick, were expecting their first child together, a daughter, in May. Arnold also confirmed she was going to give birth to her little girl in November, which meant she was officially going to be sitting out the new season if it was, in fact, filming this Fall.

While Witney hasn’t said anything about whether or not she was sitting out the season, she would also likely be doing so, as she will also be in her third trimester at the end of the season if it filmed and aired during its usual September-November timeline, or firmly within that trimester if it went later.

If she is also sitting the season out, then the show is officially down two female pros going into the new season, which is not only going to face new challenges due to COVID-19 restrictions but is also seeing the end of Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews’ own runs as co-hosts. News broke earlier this month that the pair had been let go from ABC and BBC Studios, and they were being replaced by former “America’s Next Top Model” host Tyra Banks, who was also taking on an Executive Producer gig.

With all of the changes, it is unclear if the show will air with fewer celebrities competing overall (which could allow them to let both Lindsay and Witney sit out without worrying about replacements), or if they will be having a normal season in terms of cast size.

The current pro lineup besides Lindsay and Witney consists of Brandon Armstrong, Alan Bersten, Cheryl Burke, Val Chmerkovskiy, Sasha Farber, Jenna Johnson, Daniella Karagach, Keo Motsepe, Peta Murgatroyd, Pasha Pashkov, Gleb Savchenko and Emma Slater. If the show does follow a standard format of 12 celebrities competing, they would need two female pros to fill their spots. While Daniella, who was a rotating pro along with Keo last season, could be promoted, it's unclear who would fill the second spot, following Sharna Burgess being fired due to her salary after Season 27.

“Dancing With the Stars” is expected to air this Fall on ABC, but no premiere date has yet been announced.