Back on Season 6 of “Dancing with the Stars,” pro Derek Hough was partnered with “American Pie” star Shannon Elizabeth. As their season debuted in 2008, he admitted, “when I first met Shannon, I just thought she was gorgeous.” The duo did their best to make it to the finale, but they were eliminated in Week 7. The couple started dating, however, as they were still competing, but they tried to keep it somewhat under wraps.
At the time, the Chicago Tribune noted they’d been photographed sharing a kiss at one point. Another time, he was caught during a broadcast with lipstick on his face ostensibly from her kisses. After their “DWTS” elimination, they called in to “The Billy Bush Show” and as Bush noted, their romance was one of the worst-kept secrets out there. Despite their 12-year age difference — she was 34 and he was 22 at the time — the pair dated for some time after their dancing adventure.
During his chat, Bush mentioned there was talk of developing a reality television show focused on the duo. “You know what, it’s a possibility, with the high drama surrounding us, I think it’d be pretty interesting,” Derek admitted. At the same time, he held back on confirming a romance. He noted they were “spending time with each other” and would see what happened. They dated for about a year, but as People noted, in August 2009, they revealed on Twitter they’d split.