For years, Conner Leavitt was the guy on the sidelines — cheering from the audience in themed T-shirts, filming reaction TikToks, and playing the role fans nicknamed the “professional Instagram husband.” Now he’s stepped onto the floor himself. Conner Leavitt has officially joined the cast of Dancing With the Stars Season 35, trading his seat in the crowd for a spot in the competition his wife Whitney Leavitt made famous just one season earlier.
Here’s everything to know about who he is, how he got here, and what to expect this season.
Who Is Conner Leavitt?
Conner Leavitt is best known as the husband of Whitney Leavitt, the breakout star of Hulu’s The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 2018 with a degree in economics and spent the early part of his career working as a technical analyst at a hedge fund — a world away from reality TV and ballroom dancing.
That changed once Secret Lives of Mormon Wives became a hit. Conner appeared alongside Whitney from the show’s first season, reportedly becoming the first husband on the series to be featured in his own confessional interview. He’s since built a following of his own, posting “DadTok” content with fellow reality-show husbands Jacob Neeley and Zac Affleck, and has stepped into performing more broadly — including an off-Broadway stage debut in 11 to Midnight, where he says his wife’s example pushed him to try theater.
How Whitney and Conner Leavitt Met
Their story started years before they actually became a couple. While serving a Mormon mission in Georgia, Whitney (then Whitney Ellis) grew close to Conner’s family without having met him yet. The two didn’t officially cross paths until 2015, on a double date where they were each supposed to be wingmen for other people. When those friends bailed, Whitney and Conner ended up spending the night talking — and the rest followed quickly. They married on August 19, 2016, at the Provo Utah Rock Canyon Temple, and now live in St. George, Utah, with their three children: Sedona, Liam, and Billy Gene.
From Superfan to Season 35 Contestant
Conner’s path onto DWTS is unusual. Most contestants arrive as outside celebrities; Conner arrived as arguably the show’s most visible spouse. During Whitney’s run on Season 34, he became a fixture at tapings, coordinated themed outfits to match her routines, and even joined her and her pro partner Mark Ballas for a guest trio performance.
That front-row experience is part of why his own casting has generated so much attention. Speaking to the press after the Season 35 cast reveal, Conner Leavitt admitted the switch from spectator to competitor comes with a specific kind of pressure. He’s reportedly the only contestant this season who’s publicly booed the judges from the audience in a past life, joking he hopes they don’t remember.
He’ll be paired with Adele Zaikman, a newly promoted pro who earned her spot by winning the first season of the spinoff competition Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro. It’s Zaikman’s first-ever celebrity partnership, and both have spoken about the rehearsal-room dynamic — Conner has described her as fair but not one to let mistakes slide, while keeping the mood light between takes.
What’s Next for Conner Leavitt
Dancing With the Stars Season 35 premieres September 15 on ABC and Disney+, airing over two nights alongside the rest of the newly revealed cast, which includes Jenna Dewan, Julia Stiles, Harry Shum Jr., and Taylor Hanson. Whitney has already voiced her support publicly, posting that his run on the show marks the longest the couple has been apart in ten years of marriage.
Whether Conner Leavitt becomes this season’s breakout underdog or the ballroom’s favorite good-humored husband, one thing seems certain: after a full season of watching from the sidelines, he already understands exactly what he signed up for.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ques 1) How old is Conner Leavitt?
Ans) Conner Leavitt is 32 years old.
Ques 2) What does Conner Leavitt do for work?
Ans) He graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in economics and worked as a technical analyst at a hedge fund before moving into content creation, reality TV, and performing.
Ques 3) Who is Conner Leavitt married to?
Ans) He has been married to Whitney Leavitt, star of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, since August 2016. They have three children together.
Ques 4) Who is Conner Leavitt’s DWTS partner?
Ans) He is paired with Adele Zaikman, a newly promoted professional dancer and winner of Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro.
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