Competing on "Dancing with the Stars" isn't for the faint of heart, neither is going head-to-head in a showdown with your spouse, an experience Carlos and Alexa PenaVega said put significant strain on their relationship.
The couple reflected on the experience during an Oct. 22 episode of their podcast "LexLos," sharing that Carlos' competitiveness and jealous tendencies drove a wedge between them.
The former child actors made history when they became the first married couple to compete on ABC's reality dance competition seriesin 2015.
Their goal was to make it to the Final 2 with their respective partners, professional dancers Mark Ballas and Witney Carson. Carlos and his partner took home 4th place, while Alexa and Ballas faced elimination in Week
9.
"I beat my wife on 'Dancing with the Stars.' I got further than her. And it came with a lot of baggage, good and bad baggage," the Big Time Rush singer said.
The “Spy Kids” actor felt similarly, revealing her experience on the show "was as good as it was bad."
"And because we are in such a great place in our relationship now I can say this. I would have had so much more fun on the show if it were not for Carlos," Alexa said. "And that's the truth. Carlos was really competitive and very jealous, and he was doing the show with me."
Carlos acknowledged that he "couldn't imagine" sending his new wife off every day to dance and "do Rumba with these guys," while he stayed behind. "Thank God that we did it together, because I would not have been able to handle it," he said.
"You couldn’t handle it and we did do it together," Alexa shot back.
Alexa PenaVega admits she didn't make for a great dance partner
Looking back a decade later, Alexa PenaVega can admit that prioritizing Carlos and his feelings didn't make her a great partner to Ballas.
"Poor Mark and Witney. This is where I look back and I'm like, 'I'm so sorry,'" Alexa said. "Like, even watching our elimination, it made me sad for Mark because I was so worried about catering to you and to your feelings and to everything, I left Mark in the dust over and over and over again."
Instead of comforting Ballas after their elimination, Alexa rushed to her husband's side.
Alexa added: "... Mark is standing there by himself and Witney's there trying to console us but there isn't a 'Hey, we're all in this together.' It was kind of like a, 'I was never in this with you. I was only in this with Carlos.'"
Earlier in the conversation, Alexa explained that the couple's intention was to "shine a light on marriage," while competing against each other on the program.
"... So many people see marriage as this ball and chain and they don’t see the beauty in it so we wanna go in and shine a light on marriage," Alexa explained. "Love you Mark, but [Carlos] is my real partner."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Carlos, Alexa PenaVega say 'DWTS' caused 'a lot' of baggage in marriage
