Charity Lawson, âBacheloretteâ with Alabama ties, to compete on âDancing with the Starsâ
On the heels of her final rose ceremony — and the announcement of her engagement to Dotun Olubeko — “Bachelorette” star Charity Lawson was revealed as a contestant on Season 32 of “Dancing with the Stars.”
Lawson, 27, a graduate of Auburn University, had a big night on ABC on Monday, with the broadcast of her finale episode on “The Bachelorette,” and the confirmation of her new TV role on the live “After the Final Rose” program.
Olubeko — a resident of Brooklyn, New York who owns a fitness company — won Lawson’s heart this season on “The Bachelorette” and proposed to her on Monday’s finale. He also revealed that she’d be on DWTS during “After the Rose,” as the two sat down with host Jesse Palmer to discuss their journeys on “The Bachelorette.”
“All right, baby, so I know you like to cut up. You like to dance, and you like to get down,” Olubeko, 31, said to Lawson on “After the Rose.” “You know that we’ve talked about this, about how amazing this opportunity would be. And I am so happy to be the one to tell you that you’re gonna be on ‘Dancing with the Stars’!”
“I’m looking like the Mirrorball right now,” Lawson said, pointing to her glittering dress, which evoked the DWTS winners’ trophy. “This is a foreshadowing.”
She’s the second celebrity announced for “Dancing With the Stars” in Season 32, along with Ariana Madix of “Vanderpump Rules.” The full cast of celebrity dancers and pro partners for the ABC reality series is set to be announced Sept. 13 on “Good Morning America.”
Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough will host the new season of “Dancing with the Stars,” which returns to ABC in the fall after a year of streaming exclusively on Disney+. Judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli will be in the ballroom, as well.
As a “Dancing with the Stars” contestant, Lawson will follow in the footsteps of former “Bachelorette” stars Hannah Brown and Kaitlyn Bristowe, both of whom won the Mirrorball trophy during their seasons. Brown, a Tuscaloosa native and former Miss Alabama USA, took the title in 2019 with partner Alan Bersten.
READ: Victory! Hannah Brown wins Mirrorball trophy on ‘Dancing with the Stars’
Lawson, a native of Columbus, Georgia, is a child and family therapist who holds bachelor and master’s degrees from Auburn. She currently lives in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lawson was named as the Bachelorette after appearing as a contestant on Season 27 of ”The Bachelor.”
Lawson provided the first Auburn connection to the Bachelor franchise since Madison Prewett, a foster parent recruiter and AU graduate (and oldest daughter of Auburn’s director of basketball operations, Chad Prewett), appeared during Season 24 with Bachelor Peter Weber.
Lawson also was the first Alabama-connected lead in the franchise since Brown starred in Season 15 of “The Bachelorette.” One of the the suitors during Lawson’s season, Kaleb Kim of Norcross, Georgia, played offensive line for the Auburn Tigers 2016-2019. He was eliminated during the second episode.
In other news for Bachelor Nation, Joey Graziadei, Lawson’s runner-up on “The Bachelorette,” was announced on Monday as the new Bachelor lead for next season. Graziadei, 28, is a tennis pro from Pennsylvania who lives in Hawaii.
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