TV Brooke Burke explains why she 'would have had an affair' with Derek Hough during DWTS run The duo won Dancing with the Stars together in 2008. By Lauren Huff Lauren Huff Lauren Huff is a writer at Entertainment Weekly with over a decade of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry. After graduating with honors from the University of Texas at Austin (Hook 'em, Horns!), Lauren wrote about film, television, awards season, music, and more for the likes of The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline Hollywood, Us Weekly, Awards Circuit, and others before landing at EW in May 2019. EW's editorial guidelines Published on October 10, 2023 07:24PM EDT Brooke Burke has some steamy admissions about her winning season of Dancing With the Stars. During an appearance on Monday's episode of Cheryl Burke's Sex, Lies, and Spray Tans podcast, Brooke revealed that she had a crush on her dance partner, Derek Hough, when she competed in the 2008 season. Brooke was married to actor David Charvet at the time, though the two would later split in 2018. The TV host admitted that had it not been for her marriage she "would have actually hoped we would have had a love affair," meaning with Hough, who was not married at the time. (He married fellow former DWTS pro Hayley Erbert in August.) "I would have had an affair with him," Brooke admitted. "But listen, let me tell you why: You are intertwined with someone's body when you're not a dancer. There is no way that I have ever been so connected — besides with a lover or a husband — than I was with Derek. And it's every single day." Derek Hough and Brooke Burke. Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty; Paul Drinkwater/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty She continued, "So for three months, you are in someone's arms. Why do you think people fall in love? You smell them, you feel them, you're breathing with them. It can be more intimate than making love in a bedroom — you're making love on a dance floor, you feel more connected. If you have energy, you're doing this dance and you're in the rhythm, and then there's trust, then you're sharing fear, you're doing something you've never done. How many times do you go through an experience with someone where they're all you've got?" However, her crush on Hough was something that built over time, because things between the two actually started a little rocky on the show, because he was a proponent of "tough love," according to Brooke. "He was really tough, he was really hard on me. I'm OK with tough love. He did not love me through routines and support me and tell me that it was amazing. He was brutally honest," she said, although she admits in the end it made her "better." Things obviously worked out, albeit platonically, for the two. Brooke and Hough danced away with the Mirror Ball trophy in season 7. Hough won the dancing comp six times over the years before becoming one of the judges in 2020. Brooke, meanwhile, hosted the series for seven seasons from 2010–2013. Dancing with the Stars season 32 is currently airing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+. Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more. Related content: Dancing With the Stars pro Alan Bersten on partner Jamie Lynn Spears and her early exit from show Derek Hough convinces Jamie Lynn Spears she's a hot softball mom on Dancing With the Stars Dancing With the Stars pro Peta Murgatroyd swears at low score after Barry Williams' birthday dance