“It Pushed Me to the Edge”: Val Chmerkovskiy Gets Real About His Struggles on Got to Get OutPlay VideoClose Player

"Dancing With the Stars” pro Val Chmerkovskiy admits he had to make a bit of an adjustment on the reality show “Got to Get Out.” The dancer is used to being on camera, but not to this extent. With cameras on the contestants 24/7, he had to switch up his usual sleep attire and wear pajamas to bed.

Val Chmerkovskiy Says He Isn’t One to Wear PJs

On Hulu’s competition show “Got to Get Out,” Chmerkovskiy and 19 other TV personalities live together for 10 days, working to get out of the house and win $1 million.

Chmerkovskiy is no stranger to competing or being on camera, but the Hulu series has cameras on the contestants at all times, in all places.

In an April 2025 interview with People, the dancer explained, “Even when we went to sleep, we had a mic on us, and we had cameras in the room.”

He continued, “On ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ we are mic’d up, but again, we come into work, we do our thing, and we leave work — there is no coming in or out [on ‘Got to Get Out’].”

Chmerkovskiy also revealed that the camera coverage forced him to make a change to his typical routine. “I don’t sleep in PJs, so that took adjusting,” he shared.

The Pro Dancer Found Some of the Game ‘Uncomfortable’

Chmerkovskiy was up for the challenge but said people were playing to win. “The game was 24/7, which puts so much pressure on everybody there,” he explained. “People lie to each other. You could be talking to somebody and really going deep into the conversation, and you find out that that person is just trying to distract you.”

The dance pro continued, “I knew that it wasn’t going to be forever, so I was just kind of like, ‘YOLO. Let me really enjoy all of it, even this really uncomfortable situation.'”

He said that there’s quite a difference between what he does on “DWTS” and this kind of competition show. “I quickly realized that I’m not a reality star,” he admitted. “I am a person who is really good at their craft. I’m a master of my craft, and I love what I do, and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ just is a format that captures my process and broadcasts it to the world.”

Chmerkovskiy added, “I’m not at the dinner table turning it on. I mean, the first dinner we had, the Housewives are on a different level. They’re just different, and I couldn’t tell where reality stopped and started.”

Val Chmerkovskiy Says He Isn’t One to Wear PJs

On Hulu’s competition show “Got to Get Out,” Chmerkovskiy and 19 other TV personalities live together for 10 days, working to get out of the house and win $1 million.

Chmerkovskiy is no stranger to competing or being on camera, but the Hulu series has cameras on the contestants at all times, in all places.

In an April 2025 interview with People, the dancer explained, “Even when we went to sleep, we had a mic on us, and we had cameras in the room.”

He continued, “On ‘Dancing With the Stars,’ we are mic’d up, but again, we come into work, we do our thing, and we leave work — there is no coming in or out [on ‘Got to Get Out’].”

Chmerkovskiy also revealed that the camera coverage forced him to make a change to his typical routine. “I don’t sleep in PJs, so that took adjusting,” he shared.

The Pro Dancer Found Some of the Game ‘Uncomfortable’

Chmerkovskiy was up for the challenge but said people were playing to win. “The game was 24/7, which puts so much pressure on everybody there,” he explained. “People lie to each other. You could be talking to somebody and really going deep into the conversation, and you find out that that person is just trying to distract you.”

The dance pro continued, “I knew that it wasn’t going to be forever, so I was just kind of like, ‘YOLO. Let me really enjoy all of it, even this really uncomfortable situation.'”

He said that there’s quite a difference between what he does on “DWTS” and this kind of competition show. “I quickly realized that I’m not a reality star,” he admitted. “I am a person who is really good at their craft. I’m a master of my craft, and I love what I do, and ‘Dancing with the Stars’ just is a format that captures my process and broadcasts it to the world.”

Chmerkovskiy added, “I’m not at the dinner table turning it on. I mean, the first dinner we had, the Housewives are on a different level. They’re just different, and I couldn’t tell where reality stopped and started.”