BacheloretteAlum Joe Amabile Recalls 'Insane' Moment He 'Almost Killed'Dancing with the StarsPartner Jenna Johnson

Mar. 15, 2025

Jenna Johnson and Joe Amabile at the semi-finals of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 27.Photo:Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

Joe Amabilehadan impressive run onDancing with the Stars, but making it to the semifinals is not exactly the most memorable part of his experience.

On the Dec. 17 episode of theBachelor Happy Hourpodcast, Amabile, 38, andhis wife Serena Pitt, welcomed reigning champsJenna JohnsonandJoey Graziadei, but before they could dive into the pair’s incredible season, Amabile asked Johnson about her near-death experience when they were paired together on season 27.

“Jenna, remember when I almost snapped your neck?” Amabile asked his former partner, who he competed with but waseliminated in the semifinals.

“Halloween episode, I’ll never forget,” Johnson said.

Amabile admitted he “almost killed” his partner, when the ending of their tango didn’t go as planned. “I swear on my life, she almost died.  It was insane.”

Jenna Johnson and Joe Amabile on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 27.Craig Sjodin/ABC

The irony of the accident was that Johnson said the performance was Amabile’s “best dance” from the show.

“It was the ending move. We had, like, one lift. It was the ending move,” she remembered. “He put his arm in the wrong spot. And I was, like, gonna do a backflip.”

The backflip didn’t happen, of course, as Amabile accidentally had his arms in “the only position I couldn’t lift her.” He said that making the mistake that he made was the one thing Johnson had warned him about. “Like, just don’t do this. And it was what I did.”

“But we survived. I didn’t snap my neck,” Johnson said, clearly not holding any grudge.

The story reminded Amabile that he could never really recall a routine following each week’s performance.

“Jenna would walk off stage when we would get done dancing, and she’d look at me and she’d go, ‘What happened? And I would look at her and say …  I would just black out every time.”

Jenna Johnson and Joe Amabile perform on the Semi-Finals of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ season 27.Eric McCandless/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty

After Amabile was announced as part of the season 27DWTScast, he told PEOPLE it was a “good opportunity,” though he admitted, “I don’t know how to dance.”

He also wasn’t exactly up to date on the show. “I don’t remember the last season I saw but it was probably a couple years ago. If I watch now, I’ll psych myself out. It will be really bad. I’ll probably be throwing up,” he said.

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“I’m so embarrassed because I just fan-girled so hard, and he doesn’t even know who I am,” she then admitted.

Amabile also said he wanted to drop his Bachelor nickname for something new: “Dancing Joe.”

source: people.com