'DWTS' alum, Danielle Fishel, in a recent interview opened up about how her experience on the show was widely different from ex-contestant, Harry Jowsey who is no longer friends with his castmates.
Danielle Fishel is a well-known American actress and director. While her acting career began in community theatre, she soon made her screen debut in guest roles on a handful of '90s shows like Full House and Harry and the Hendersons. Well, since making her breakthrough with the ABC sitcom, Boy Meets World, Danielle has continued to make leaps in her career. Most recently, in 2025, Danielle was seen competing on season 34 of Dancing With the Stars. Now, she is reflecting on her experience on the show, just days after former contestant, Harry Jowsey, opened up to Danielle that he is no longer friends with his season's castmates.
Harry Jowsey made an appearance on Danielle Fishel's podcast, Teen Beat with Danielle Fishel, on March 11, 2026. On the podcast, the 28-year-old shocked listeners when he revealed that he was no longer in touch with any of the cast members from season 32 of Dancing With The Stars, in which he previously appeared. This was even more surprising as he had said he had “the best time” on the dance reality show.
He told Danielle that initially, “everyone was really lovely, and then they weren't.” Harry said that by the time the next season of DWTS came around, he realised most of the cast had either unfollowed him on social media or just simply wouldn't text him back. He confessed that the biggest thing which upset him was the fact that back in December 2024, when his father passed away, nobody texted him and offered him a word of consolation apart from Sasha Faber, even though he was really close to everyone.
Now, in a recent interview with People, Danielle Fishel spoke out about her own time on the show. For the unversed, while Harry participated on season 32 of DWTS, Danielle competed on season 34 of the show, which aired last year, in 2025, alongside pro partner, Pasha Pashkov. Danielle claimed that she had a very different experience on DWTS from Harry, predicting that her friendships with her fellow castmates would last “lifelong.” Citing the example of Pasha Pashkov and his wife, Daniella Karagach, the 44-year-old noted that they are like members of her family. Even when it comes to their daughter, Kiki, Danielle said that she loves her like her own child. She added:
"Doing the tour made me grow closer with all of them. Because, you know, when you're on the show, you really only get to spend a significant amount of time with your partner. [On the tour], I got to really bond and connect with Ezra [Sosa], Val [Chmerkovskiy] and Jenna [Johnson]."
Danielle further said that her two kids, Adler, 6, and Keaton, 4, also had the opportunity to bond with other kids in the Dancing With The Stars family. She said that when her children came to visit her while she was on the show, they would often play with Chmerkovskiy and Johnson's son, Rome, and Pasha's daughter, Kiki. She claimed that watching all four of them play together and seeing them have the time of their lives was really rewarding for her.
In the same interview with People, Danielle said that when her DWTS season and tour ended, she was left pretty surprised by how she now wants dance to be a permanent part of her life. Danielle confessed that before going on the show, she had zero dance experience and had never even taken a dance class. She continued:
“So the fact that I walked away thinking, ‘Well now, how do I incorporate dance every single day,’ was really shocking to me.”
What are your thoughts on Danielle Fishel and Harry Jowsey having widely different experiences on Dancing With The Stars? Let us know.
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