Sarah Jane Nader is officially trading reality television for the ballroom. The Love Thy Nader star has joined the celebrity cast of Dancing with the Stars Season 35, where she will compete alongside new professional dancer Hailey Bills.
The full cast was unveiled on September 2, 2026, putting an end to weeks of speculation about who would compete for the next Mirrorball Trophy. Sarah Jane enters the season with an unusual combination of family history, competitive ambition and a partnership that already stands out from the rest of the lineup.
The 24-year-old is following her older sister Brooks Nader onto the show, but Sarah Jane has made it clear that she wants to create her own experience—and preferably finish higher than Brooks did.
Sarah Jane Joins DWTS
Sarah Jane is best known as one of the four sisters featured on Hulu’s Love Thy Nader. The reality series follows Brooks, Sarah Jane, Grace Ann and Mary Holland Nader as they navigate their careers, relationships and family life.
Season 35 now gives Sarah Jane a chance to appear before viewers without her sisters constantly beside her.
She acknowledged that competing independently feels both exciting and intimidating. Sarah Jane told E! News that she is looking forward to audiences getting to know her as an individual rather than simply identifying her as one of the Nader sisters.
It is a significant change from the family-focused environment that helped increase her public profile.
Meet Hailey Bills
Sarah Jane’s professional partner is Hailey Bills, a familiar face to dedicated Dancing with the Stars viewers even though this is her first season as an official pro.
Bills, 20, appeared in the Season 34 troupe before receiving her promotion for Season 35. She will now move from supporting performances to teaching routines and competing directly for scores and viewer votes.
The dancer also has a major family connection to the show. She is the niece of longtime professional Jenna Johnson. Johnson is competing again this season and has been paired with Glee and Crazy Rich Asians actor Harry Shum Jr.
That means Bills will make her professional debut while competing on the same season as her aunt.
Historic Pairing
The Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills partnership carries significance beyond the competition itself.
Sarah Jane is bisexual and wanted to dance with a woman. The resulting Nader-Bills team continues the show’s relatively short history of same-sex celebrity and professional partnerships.
They become the third same-sex partnership in DWTS history and the second consisting of two women.
JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson became the first same-sex couple to compete on the American edition during Season 30. They had a successful run and eventually finished second.
Season 31 subsequently featured Shangela and Gleb Savchenko.
Sarah Jane and Hailey now continue that history several seasons later. Their pairing is also the first same-sex partnership on the competition since Season 31.
Brooks’ Advice
Sarah Jane already has somebody close to her who understands exactly what competing on DWTS involves.
Brooks Nader appeared during Season 33 with professional dancer Gleb Savchenko. The pair generated attention both for their ballroom performances and the romance that developed around their partnership.
So what advice did Brooks give her younger sister?
Sarah Jane revealed that Brooks warned her not to become distracted. Behind the joke was more practical guidance: Brooks encouraged her sister to stay present and appreciate the experience because of how quickly the competition passes.
The advice inevitably attracted attention because Brooks and Gleb’s own relationship became one of the biggest off-camera stories surrounding her season.
For Sarah Jane, however, the immediate challenge is learning to dance.
Sibling Rivalry
Support from Brooks does not mean there is no competition between the sisters.
Brooks finished ninth during Season 33, giving Sarah Jane an obvious family target.
Sarah Jane has already joked that she intends to beat her older sister’s result. Describing herself as competitive, she made it clear she wants to improve on Brooks’ performance rather than simply follow the same path.
That creates an entertaining subplot for viewers familiar with the Nader family.
Reaching eighth place would technically give Sarah Jane bragging rights, but her ambitions could become considerably bigger if she and Hailey establish themselves as serious contenders.
Tough Competition
Doing that will not be easy.
Season 35 features 16 celebrity contestants drawn from television, movies, sports, food, social media and reality entertainment.
Sarah Jane and Hailey will face actress Julia Stiles with Ezra Sosa, Harry Shum Jr. with Jenna Johnson and Jenna Dewan with Val Chmerkovskiy.
Other competitors include Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn with Pasha Pashkov, Paralympic athlete Ezra Frech with Daniella Karagach, Tatyana Ali with Jan Ravnik and Tyler Cameron with returning professional Sharna Burgess.
The cast also features Taylor Hanson, Giada De Laurentiis, Connor Wood, Conner Leavitt, Jackson Olson, Guillermo Rodriguez, Ciara Miller and Maura Higgins.
The wide-ranging lineup means Sarah Jane will face contestants with very different performance backgrounds.
New Challenge
Sarah Jane may be comfortable with cameras, but ballroom competition presents a completely different test.
Contestants must learn new routines under tight deadlines while handling live performances, judges’ critiques and public voting. Her success will therefore depend heavily on how quickly she and Hailey establish an effective working rhythm.
There is also pressure on Hailey.
Her promotion from the troupe means Season 35 will provide the first real test of her ability to guide a celebrity through an entire competition rather than contribute primarily to ensemble performances.
Their shared status as newcomers to their respective roles could make their progress one of the season’s more interesting stories.
When DWTS Returns
Dancing with the Stars Season 35 is scheduled to begin in September 2026, with Sarah Jane Nader and Hailey Bills joining the 16-pair field competing for the Mirrorball Trophy.
For Sarah Jane, the opportunity is about more than matching what Brooks accomplished two seasons earlier. She has said she wants viewers to see who she is outside the Nader family dynamic.
For Hailey, it is the chance to establish herself as a full-time professional after working in the troupe.
Their historic pairing guarantees attention at the beginning of the season. Staying in the ballroom will require something more: convincing performances, strong chemistry and enough audience support to survive elimination.
And if Sarah Jane can make it beyond ninth place, she will have at least one victory waiting for her at home—family bragging rights over Brooks.
