Spoilers ahead for anyone who hasn't yet watched Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro on ABC or with a Disney+ subscription.
It’s one thing to know that someone is going to be eliminated after a challenge in a reality competition series. It’s another thing entirely when an accidental mishap sends you home. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened in the third episode of DWTS: The Next Pro when pro dancer Britt Stewart came to guest judge.
To hold fans over until Dancing with the Stars Season 35 debuts on the 2026 TV schedule this fall, The Next Pro is putting up-and-coming dancers to the test with weekly challenges as they narrow 12 contestants down to one lucky winner. Week 3 saw the nine remaining dancers master a group routine that put their teamwork to the test. Then, a split-second moment during rehearsal took Natalie Jolley out of the challenge and sent her straight to the hospital.
Early in the rehearsal, Britt stressed the dancers needed to be aware of their space, but the first mishap happened when Adele Zaikman almost collided with a fellow contestant before nearly falling. Rehearsal continued until Stephani Sosa, who was in the DWTS Season 33 troupe, extended her right arm out and accidentally smacked Natalie in the face. It happened so fast that it was hard to grasp just how serious the incident was until we got a look at Natalie’s visibly swollen eye. Both women seemed visibly upset and shaken by the incident, and understandably so.
It was scary to see Natalie get taken out of a dance rehearsal on a stretcher and placed in an ambulance before being driven away, but the show must go on. When anything can happen and there is no real way to fully prepare for the insanity of being a DWTS pro, you have to be able to shake it off and keep going. Even the celebrities are affected by injury – Dylan Efron found himself in the ER and Elaine Hendrix injured herself in Season 34 – but push through it when possible.
With their timing noticeably off, three-time Mirrorball champion Mark Ballas and his mother, Queen of Latin Shirley Ballas, decided to have Tristen Sanders (Team Paso Doble) and Nina Mayster (Team Tango) prove themselves by stepping up as captains for the second portion of the group challenge. Early in the Team Tango performance, Allen Genkin tripped over his own feet and ended up on his butt on the floor, causing me to audibly gasp after Natalie’s injury and the growing number of mishaps during this episode. Thankfully, he immediately got up and kept going, resulting in that team being victorious this week.
Throughout the episode, we kept getting updates about Natalie, learning that she was under medical supervision. It wasn’t until after the final performance that we were told she was not medically cleared to compete and had therefore been eliminated, her departure saving Team Paso Doble’s bottom two, Tristen and Selena Hamilton, from going home. While it was heartbreaking to learn of Natalie’s fate in The Next Pro competition, it was great to see her come out to say goodbye to the judges and dancers.
As the series continues with new episodes on ABC on Mondays, the preview for Episode 4 teased guest judge Jenna Johnson leading a chemistry challenge that is sure to heat things up. When that lowest-scoring pair is eliminated, we’ll be another step closer to learning all of the celebrities officially confirmed for Dancing with the Stars Season 35.
