Melissa Gisoni, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, Jill Vertes, and Kelly Hyland spoke virtually with ET about their time on the reality show.
Pyramids, fights, Cathy and more! The OG Dance Moms stars have all reunited to discuss their time on the hit Lifetime reality show with ET. Melissa Gisoni, Holly Hatcher-Frazier, Jill Vertes, and Kelly Hyland spoke virtually with ET about some of the series' most iconic moments.
"The emotions were real, the tears were real. The anger, all of it was real because really we were protecting our children," Jill tells ET's Jesse Goddard.
The ladies insist that despite what other reality shows have done, Dance Moms was never scripted.
"No one ever handed me a script," Melissa says.
"They created situations to get us all wound up," Jill explains.
One major instigator of drama was Cathy Nesbitt-Stein who brought her daughter, Vivi, on the show and served as an antagonist to the other moms.
"Cathy was the antagonist of the show. The producers loved Cathy and Vivi," Jill recalls. "This is my opinion, Vivi didn't even like to dance. Our kids were dancers. When the cameras were off, they were still there until midnight practicing because they wanted to be good. Vivi did it because her mom really wanted her to. But the producers loved Cathy and they wanted her in the show at any cost... Cathy was there for all the wrong reasons, just to be an idiot and drive all of us nuts. And it worked."
Turns out, Cathy's over-the-top antics were all an act for the cameras.
"She's a really nice woman in real life because we still keep in touch," Melissa insists.
Another less-than-genuine part of the show was the infamous pyramids. While everyone wanted to be on top, the moms say that they weren't an authentic tool used in the studio before the cameras showed up.
"I think in the beginning it might've bothered them," Kelly says of their daughters' reactions to the pyramid rankings. "But then I think towards the end of the show -- like after season 2 -- they were like, 'Oh, this pyramid's just for the show.'"
These days the moms are teaming up for a new project, their joint podcast, Because Mom Said So.
"I was thinking about all the ladies and I thought we should do something together. The moms, we've had such a great bond together and the girls still have a great bond together and so do we," Melissa explains of the origins of the podcast.
"Really no topics are off limits with us, as usual," Holly adds.
But will there be the same kind of onscreen drama fans know them for?
"Oh gosh, no, there's no fighting," Melissa says.
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