Chuck Wicks

This is the stuff sad country songs are made of.

Former Dancing with the Stars pro Julianne Hough and her boyfriend of over a year, country singer Chuck Wicks, have split. The couple remains good friends, however, Hough insists.

Julianne Hough has announced she won’t be returning to Dancing with the Stars…

Again.

Hough, 20, said the same thing before season eight, but she was lured back when producers cast her boyfriend Chuck Wicks, 29, for her to partner with.

Following their elimination on Tuesday, Julianne has announced she’s going to take at least one season off to focus on her music career.

This season is far and away the most uniformly talented and loveable cast ever to appear on Dancing with the Stars.

As the finals quickly approach, the competition becomes more fierce and the eliminations more painful.

Gilles and Cheryl are the first couple to perform their Lindy Hop. It was athletic and energetic, even though Gilles' attempts at Elvis swagger made him look more like Marcel Marceau. “Among the things the French are famous for: French toast, french kissing…and, after tonight, the Lindy Hop,” Len began. “Happy days are here again! You are a great dancer,” Bruno cheered. “This was a whole new side of Gilles, it was fantastic,” Carrie Ann agreed. They receive three nines for 27 points.

We’ve reached the point on Dancing with the Stars where the competition, once two-left-footed and gangly, has cocooned into little Fred and Gingers gliding across the floor.

The front runners are jockeying, the laggers are stepping their game up and the field is suddenly crowded with contenders.

Dancing with the Stars reached the halfway point last night and the couples were confronted with the Rumba and the Jive. That meant it was all about bringing it hot and fast.

This week on Dancing with the Stars, it was time to tackle the Paso Doble and the Viennese Waltz.

We’ve barely begun the fourth week of Dancing with the Stars Season 8, but Season 6 champ Kristi Yamaguchi has already picked her frontrunners, especially in light of all the Dancing injuries.

“The injuries aren’t surprising,” Yamaguchi said. “People don’t know how physical it gets. I think that’s one reason why athletes do well — they know how to listen to their bodies.”

Dancing with the Stars Recap: Week Three

Denise and Maks started the show with a Samba that was just sad. Denise looked graceless, confused and lost. Len felt they needed "more Latin kick." "That was so flat and full of holes" Bruno chided. "We're going backwards." "I'm gonna have to go with Bruno" Carrie Ann agreed. Two fives and a six give them 16 points.

Apparently ABC got sick of people spoiling their big cast reveal for Dancing with the Stars (sorry about that, ABC) and decided to start announcing their line up before it’s fully finalized.

The season eight cast was unveiled during commercial breaks in ABC’s Sunday night primetime lineup, starting with Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and continuing through Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters.