DWTS’ Giada De Laurentiis Reveals Ugly Toe Injury Ahead of Premiere

The Food Network star captioned the post, “You know what they say… no pain, no gain.”

While DWTS rehearsals are certainly no walk in the park, De Laurentiis previously revealed she finally got the courage to make the transition from the kitchen to the ballroom thanks to her 18-year-old daughter Jade, whom she shares with ex Todd Thompson.

“Funny enough, Dancing With the Stars has come to me maybe 10 times over the years,” she exclusively told E! News last week. “And I was always like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.'”  

But with her forever sous chef starting college this fall, De Laurentiis—the granddaughter of famed Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis—finally decided to take a leap (or pirouette?) of faith.

“This time, I thought, with my daughter pushing me and with my daughter out of my house,” she explained to E!. “This is a really good time for me to go on a new adventure and push myself to do something I’ve never done.”

Unfortunately, aches and pains are just a natural part of the process.

“I already learned a lot and I already have a lot of sore muscles, muscles I didn’t even know I did,” she jokingly added. “I’m trying to tell myself even at this stage, you can do something new. You can conquer something new.”

As De Laurentiis and Bersten warm up for Dancing With the Stars season 35, keep reading to see all the celebrity pairs vying for the Mirrorball Trophy before the Sept. 15 premiere on ABC.