Sarah Jane Nader Reveals Sister Brooks Nader’s Advice Ahead of “Dancing with the Stars ”Debut“ ”(Exclusive) Yamillah HurtadoMon, September 14, 2026 at 8:36 PM UTC 0 Sarah Jane Nader for ‘Dancing with the Stars’Credit: Andrew Eccles/Disney Sarah Jane Nader will take the Dancing with the Stars ballroom for its 35th season The Love Thy Nader star is paired with firsttime pro Hailey Bills in the show’s second allfemale pairing Nader opens up about stepping into the ballroom and following in her sister Brooks Nader’s footsteps When Brooks Nader competed on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, Sarah...
Sarah Jane Nader Reveals Sister Brooks Nader’s Advice Ahead of “Dancing with the Stars ”Debut“ ”(Exclusive)
Yamillah HurtadoMon, September 14, 2026 at 8:36 PM UTC
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Sarah Jane Nader for ‘Dancing with the Stars’Credit: Andrew Eccles/Disney -
Sarah Jane Nader will take the Dancing with the Stars ballroom for its 35th season
The Love Thy Nader star is paired with first-time pro Hailey Bills in the show’s second all-female pairing
Nader opens up about stepping into the ballroom and following in her sister Brooks Nader’s footsteps
When Brooks Nader competed on season 33 of Dancing with the Stars, Sarah Jane Nader cheered her on from the sidelines. Now, the 24-year-old reality star is taking on the ballroom for season 35 and charting her own course.
Sarah Jane, who will compete alongside first-time pro Hailey Bills, tells PEOPLE about stepping onto the dance floor, following in her sister’s footsteps and being part of the show’s second all-female pairing.
The Love Thy Nader star said she was “immediately overwhelmed and excited by the idea” of joining the DWTS cast, especially after seeing Brooks on the show.
“Watching her go through the experience was such a cool thing,” Sarah Jane says. “She still to this day [says] it was one of the best experiences of her career.”
Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills for ‘Dancing with the Stars’Credit: Disney/Andrew Eccles
“The one thing I want to emulate from her is that she worked so hard during the season and really poured her all into it,” she adds. “She did not let fear control any of it, so I’m trying to really do that with this experience.”
To prepare for DWTS, Sarah Jane says Brooks offered two pieces of advice. One: “Soak up every moment and try to be present because it flies by.” And two: “Don’t hook up with your partner.” (Brooks dated her partner, Gleb Savchenko, on and off after their first meeting on DWTS before splitting in April 2025.)
Sarah Jane says that won’t be a problem because “Hailey and I are so focused on dance, and we’re having such a fun time — not a her-and-Gleb vibe.”
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Sarah Jane says she and Hailey want to use their same-sex partnership as a “superpower.” For her, being part of the show’s second all-female pairing is an “honor.” (JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson were partnered in 2021.)
“I’m so comfortable being around women, and I think that girlhood is such a powerful thing,” she said. “The fact that we’re two strong young women stepping on the dance floor together is just a representation of that and also of my queerness.”
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While Sarah Jane says she feels “a lot of pressure” to represent the LGBTQ+ community, she explains it is the kind of representation she wished she had growing up. “I literally never saw a queer person on my screen until I was probably 19,” she says. “I love being from Louisiana, but there was not a lot of queer representation, and it wasn’t something that was celebrated at all.”
As someone who grew up watching DWTS, Sarah Jane says seeing two girls dance on TV “would’ve changed my journey.”
“This is such a staple in so many American homes,” Sarah Jane says of the long-running ABC series. “So to put that on so many screens is such a beautiful opportunity, and I do not take it lightly, the responsibility.”
Mary Holland, Brooks, Grace Ann and Sarah Jane Nader at Hulu’s Get Real House in Los Angeles on April 22, 2026Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
Love Thy Nader fans saw Sarah Jane come out as bisexual in the first season of the Hulu reality series, in which she stars alongside her sisters Brooks, Mary Holland and Grace Ann.
“I was nervous going into Love Thy Nader season 1 of this show that we’re doing. [I was like], ‘I’m going to put everything out there, and the deepest parts of me I’m just going to share.’ But I think that doing that gave me such confidence,” she says.
The second season of the reality series, which premieres this winter, will follow Sarah Jane as she enters her DWTS journey, and she says she is looking forward to showing fans who she is outside of her sisters.
“Sisterhood is a huge part of my life, but we’re all so unique and so different,” she says. “I’m figuring out a lot about myself through this experience, and I hope that is shown throughout [DWTS] and through our show.”
Even so, Sarah Jane says her sisters will definitely be cheering her on inside the ballroom along with the rest of her family. “They’re all my tickets. Everyone’s like, ‘Oh, can I come to a show?’ I’m like, ‘My entire family’s planning on being there every week, so let me get back to you.’”
Dancing with the Stars returns with a two-night premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, on ABC and Disney+. Episodes will stream the following day on Hulu.
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Source: Entertainment
Published: September 14, 2026 at 11:45PM on Source: RED MAG
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