Marilu Henner Recalls Struggling with Derek Hough's Coaching Style onDWTS: He 'Constantly Changed' the Dances

Mar. 15, 2025

Marilu Henneris looking back on her time onDancing with the Stars.

The 72-year-old actress — who appeared on season 23 of the hit ABC dance competition in 2016 — recalled on the latest episode ofCheryl Burke’sSex, Lies and Spray Tanspodcast that she struggled with her dance partnerDerek Hough’s teaching style.

“Derek constantly changed things,” she recalled. “So I’d do a step and he’d say, what’s that? And I go, that’s the step from Tuesday, the first day we work on it. All of that was in my head.”

Henner, who opened up abouthaving Highly Superior Autobiographical Memoryin 2013, added: “It’s like the only time I thought, maybe my memory is a is a little bit of a curse is that I know that because if you if you change things constantly, they’ve gone in there the first way so I have to take the time to extract them.”

From left: Marilu Henner and Derek Hough on ‘DWTS’.Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Later in the podcast, she explained how Hough’s frequent changes made learning the choreography a challenge.

“It had much more to do with the way he teaches someone how to dance and someone like me who’s used to a different method and really wants to get it in my body with the repetition and the muscle memory because then I can add all my stuff,” she explained.

PEOPLE has reached out to Hough’s rep for comment.

When asked if she ever doubted if she would be able to get the steps down, she responded, “Every day, every time was different. Every single dance was different.”

Paul Archuleta/Filmmagic

Henner — who starred as Elaine O’Connor Nardo onTaxi, which ran for five seasons from 1978 to 1983 — also recalled Hough, 39, not enjoying choreographing dances to her sitcom’s music. “He did not like theTaximusic, and I love that music and he hated that music," she said.

Despite their differences, Henner made it through most of the competition and was eliminated one week before the semifinals during season 23.

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When asked what she learned about herself from the experience, Henner shared, “I can continue to trust myself about certain things because in the long run, it’s very obvious that with all the experience and the memory that I have, there are certain things that work and certain things that don’t.”

“I can get an A or I can get a B. You know what I mean? And because I’m like a little Catholic school girl, a student, I always wanna aim for that A,” she added.

source: people.com