Jowsey previously shared that he doesn't keep in touch with his 'DWTS' season 32 castmates, saying, "Everyone was really lovely, and then they weren't"
NEED TO KNOW
- Danielle Fishel reacted to Harry Jowsey’s recent admission on her podcast that he has not remained friends with his Dancing with the Stars castmates
- Jowsey, who competed on season 32 of the hit ABC show, previously said of his castmates, “Everyone was really lovely, and then they weren’t”
- Fishel told PEOPLE exclusively that she forged “lifelong” friendships while competing on season 34 of the reality dance show
Danielle Fishel is reflecting on her own Dancing with the Stars experience, days after previous contestant Harry Jowsey admitted to her that he hasn't remained friends with his season's castmates.
Jowsey, 28, appeared on the March 11 episode of the Boy Meets World alum's Teen Beat with Danielle Fishel podcast and shocked fans when he revealed that he hasn't stayed in touch with any of the cast from season 32. After saying he had "the best time" on the show, the Too Hot to Handle star told Fishel — who competed on season 34 of DWTS last year alongside pro partner Pasha Pashkov — that "everyone was really lovely, and then they weren't."
Credit: Disney/Eric McCandless
"The next season came around of the show, and I realized that a lot of the people would not text me back or unfollowed me," Jowsey added. "And actually, the biggest thing that upset me the most is when my dad passed [in December 2024], no one texted me, and I was really close to them. No one had texted me apart from Sasha [Farber], and I was like, okay."
Speaking about her own time on the show in an exclusive PEOPLE in 10 interview, Fishel, 44, shared that she had a very different experience on DWTS than Jowsey, predicting that the friendships she forged with her castmates will be "lifelong."
"Pasha and [his wife] Danny [Daniella Karagach] are truly like members of my family. Their daughter, Kiki — I love her like a daughter," said the actress, who is partnering with Lysol to promote the brand's Lavender & Cotton Blossom scented cleaning products.
Credit: ABC
"Doing the tour made me grow closer with all of them," Fishel continued of her DWTS castmates. "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]."
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Fishel went on to tell PEOPLE that her children — sons Adler, 6, and Keaton, 4 — also had an opportunity to bond with some of the kids in the DWTS family. "When my kids got to come and visit and spend time with us, having [Chmerkovskiy and Johnson's son] Rome and Kiki and my two boys play together, and seeing them have the time of their lives, was really rewarding," she said.
Fishel also shared how her DWTS run has given her the dancing bug.
"When the season ended and the tour ended, I think I was most surprised that I just want dance to be a forever part of my life," she told PEOPLE.
Credit: Eric McCandless/Disney via Getty
"I went into Dancing with the Stars having zero dance experience. I had never even taken a dance class," she continued. "So the fact that I walked away from it thinking, 'Well now, how do I incorporate dance every single day,' was really shocking to me."
Fishel previously told PEOPLE in September 2025 that she decided to compete on the ABC reality show after undergoing treatment for breast cancer and realizing that she was missing "joy" in her life. The actress revealed in August 2024 that she had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).
”The minute I was done with my cancer treatment, I thought to myself, ‘If this has shown me anything, it has shown me that I am not experiencing enough joy in my life,' " she explained. "I'm going through every day, performing tasks and being there for my family and being there for work. Where's the fun?”
Fishel added: “When they asked me to do this, I was like, ‘This is the perfect way to cap it off.' "
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