The Food Network star is partnered with pro Alan Bersten on season 35 of the ABC reality competition hit.

Giada De Laurentiis shows off injury ahead of DWTS debut: ‘Part of the game’

The Food Network star is partnered with pro Alan Bersten on season 35 of the ABC reality competition hit.

September 9, 2026 1:53 p.m. ET

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Giada De Laurentiis and Alan Bersten for ‘Dancing With the Stars’. Credit:

Disney/Andrew Eccles

- Giada De Laurentiis “busted” her toe while rehearsing for *Dancing With the Stars*.

- The Food Network star will debut on the ABC reality competition series’ 35th season next week.

- De Laurentiis is paired up with pro Alan Bersten.

Giada De Laurentiis is a good sport about the dancer’s injury she’s currently sporting.

The Food Network star revealed a recent injury she sustained this past weekend, while gearing up for her *Dancing With the Stars* debut next week, during the two-night season 35 premiere on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16.

“I had a great day at rehearsals today, but sadly, I busted my toe,” De Laurentiis said in a Sept. 6 video on her Instagram, adding a mock-whimper.

She pivoted the camera to her foot, “Take a look. There’s my toe. As you can see, it’s quite purple and it wraps all the way around. I’m for sure gonna lose my toenail, I think.”

The *Giada at Home 2.0* star and producer added that the injury “hurts, but, we’ll figure it out tomorrow.”

“Part of the game,” she said. “Part of the game!”

Captioning the clip, De Laurentiis added, “You know what they say... no pain, no gain,” concluding with emojis of a red heel and disco ball.

Giada De Laurentiis in 2023.

VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty

*DWTS* judge Carrie Ann Inaba commented that the injury signified a turning point in De Laurentiis’ training.

“You are officially a dancer now!” Inaba wrote, adding a smiling emoticon.

Dancer Victoria Mahdion, who previously appeared on *Dance Moms*, deemed it a “rite of passage to lose a toenail” as a dancer.

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“Blisters, blood, bruising - you’ll just become numb to it eventually,” Mahdion wrote. “Just like your first burn in a kitchen - part of the game! You got this, Giada!”

Two days later, on Sept. 8, De Laurentiis shared a clip in which her dancing partner, pro Alan Bersten, asks her daughter, Jade, what he most needs to know about the famed chef.

“My mom will always say she can’t do something, but you just have to keep reminding her that she can. She just likes to have this mindset that she can’t do something for certain reasons, but she can!” Jade said, as De Laurentiis shook her head across the room.

“Needed this reminder today...” she captioned the post. “Yes I can!!!”

The *Dancing With the Stars* two-night premiere airs Tuesday, Sept. 15, and Wednesday, Sept. 16, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and Disney+.

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Source: “EW Dancing”