Everything Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy Have Said About Their 'Dancing with the Stars' Partnership tram

It's been over a decade since Zendaya and Val Chmerkovskiy joined forces on Dancing with the Stars, and the pair haven't forgotten about their memorable second-place finish.

Back in 2013, Zendaya, now 28, gave the ballroom dance competition series' 16th season a try at just 16 years old. She and Chmerkovskiy, now 38, paired up for the full 10 weeks of competition, but ended up finishing as runners up behind Kellie Pickler and her dance partner Derek Hough.

In the years since, Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy have spoken about each other and their time on the show together, with the Challengers star recently revealing that she's "still harboring a little animosity" about losing the title at a young age.

Here's a look back at what Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy have said about their time dancing together outside of the show and in the years since their competitive partnership.

I'm Going to Work As Hard as I Can

At 16 years old, Zendaya was the youngest participant to appear on Dancing with the Stars at the time of her appearance — before Willow Shields joined the show for season 20 at just 14.

During the second episode of season 16, in behind-the-scenes rehearsal footage, the actress could be seen meeting Chmerkovskiy for the first time, before she called the undertaking of appearing on the series "scary."

"I feel like I'm just going to go out there and work as hard as I can, and do my very best," she said, lter adding, "My biggest fear about being the youngest is proving to everyone that I could be just as good as them."

As they began to practice their initial routine — a contemporary dance set to One Republic's "Feel Again" — Chmerkovskiy said he didn't feel "any of it" had been "easy" for his partner, but that there was "just so much potential in what she could do."

"With Val, he's like the perfect balance between tough and nice," Zendaya added at the start of the series. "It's a good balance and that's what I like."

I'm Working with a Professional

Speaking with ExtraTV ahead of the season finale several weeks later, Chmerkovskiy praised his partner and said she defied any preconceived notions he had of working with a teenager.

"I thought I was going to be dealing with tantrums all season," he joked. "No offense. But I'm working with a professional, sincerely professional way beyond her years. And I was dealt a full house this season, obviously."

It's Just the Beginning
After weeks of grinding to get the May 2013 finale, Zendaya and Chmerkovskiy ended up finishing as runners up behind Pickler and Hough. At the time, Zendaya had already been a big name for Disney Channel viewers — largely thanks to her work in the hit series Shake It Up — and attributed Dancing with the Stars to opening her up to a new audience in a post-finale interview with ABC 7.

"I think this is an incredible platform, you know what I mean? It's just the beginning of a new start to some things I'm gonna be doing," Zendaya said. "I feel like, you never look at it as the end or something that's negative. It's just a platform for me to continue my music and everything else that I have set up, so I think it's a great start."

"Whatever it is in life you're going for, things happen for a reason and I truly believe that. This has been a way for me to inspire kids and a way for me to reach out to people I never would've been able to and that's the most important thing for me."

We Gave 150% Every Time
In a May 2013 interview with HuffPost Live, Zendaya reflected on her still-fresh partnership with Chmerkovskiy, explaining that they wanted to give the competition their all.

"I'm a perfectionist and Val, my partner, is also a perfectionist. So we really clicked in that kind of way. And we didn't want to just put on performances and we didn't ever want to give half of ourselves. We gave 150% every time. Even when I knocked him out and gave him stitches. He was still working hard and pushing himself. That's an amazing thing to see as a young lady — to see someone whose working so hard, he's a good role model."

At the time, Zendaya shared that she wanted a partner who wasn't going to be "nice all the time," something she found in Chmerkovskiy. As she joked, she specifically requested someone who was "tough" and "didn't like nice people."

"He definitely pushed me to be better. And he saw something in me. He wasn't going to let me just stop at 'OK,' which I think is awesome."

Superstar from the Get Go

After Zendaya scored her first Emmy win for Euphoria and became the youngest winner of the lead actress in a drama series category, her former DWTS partner shared some praise on X (formerly Twitter).

"Let’s go @Zendaya !!! Tooooooo proud," Chmerkovskiy wrote in September 2020. "Superstar from the get go. #Emmys."

Chmerkovskiy has also interacted with his former TV pal on a few other occasions since season 16 came to a close, including when Zendaya wrote that she was "ready" to see him dance alongside Normani in 2017. "Haha love it😂... thank you my love 🙌🏼🙌🏾," he responded.

I Have Not Watched Since
Over a decade after her stint on the competition series, Zendaya told Entertainment Weekly's Awardist podcast that she hasn't watched DWTS since her season.

"I have not watched Dancing With the Stars since I was on," she said with a laugh in October 2024. "I didn't really watch Dancing With the Stars before I was on Dancing With the Stars. I don't think I was the target demographic. My grandma loves Dancing with the Stars, that's her bag."

"I also think it was a very stressful experience. I was like, I don't think I'm gonna be watching this anymore," she added.

I Felt That Loss

Zendaya elaborated on her Dancing with the Stars thoughts in a January 2025 interview W Magazine, revealing that she was "still harboring a little animosity" about losing nearly 12 years later.

"I felt that loss. I was only 16 years old, and it was highly stressful," she said "Being on live television every week? It’s so scary."

She added that she wishes she "didn't" take the show as "seriously" as she did at the time.

"I wish I’d enjoyed it a little bit more and just was like, 'Eh, whatever.' You know what I mean? But I was stressing myself out. I really went through it on that."