The 39-year-old 'The Talk' co-host is competing on this season of the show.
Amanda Kloots knows that she'll have to relive some of the hardest moments of her life on this season of Dancing With Stars. The 39-year-old fitness instructor and former performer's husband, Broadway star Nick Cordero, died in July 2020 after a 95-day battle with COVID-19.
But far from avoiding the difficult year she's had, Kloots plans to highlight her love for Cordero in her dances.
"It's gonna be hard. I know it'll be emotional but I honestly -- it's gonna sound weird to say -- I'm looking forward to it," The Talk co-host shares with ET's Lauren Zima. "I do think that there will be some very therapeutic and cathartic moments on this show."
Kloots has a special idea in mind for honoring her late husband.
"I wanna dance to Nick's song," she shares, referencing Cordero's song, "Live Your Life," which she encouraged friends and fans to play as an anthem every day throughout his health battle. "I want that moment. I know he'll be with me on the dance floor every single time... I know it'll be tough, but in a weird way, I kind of really look forward to that moment where I get to dance to his music."
Kloots thinks Cordero would be rooting for her journey on the show, knowing how much she's always loved DWTS.
"He'd be like, 'Yeah baby!' He'd be so happy," she says. "He knows how much I love this show. I've watched this show since season one... I know he would be so excited for me."
There will be a familiar face on the judges' panel -- Kloots' former Talk co-host, Carrie Ann Inaba.
"I love her so much, and I told her, I said, 'You better be hard on me,' and she said, 'Don't you know I will?'" Kloots said of Inaba, who left The Talk earlier this year after three seasons.
The judge, who is known for her tough critiques, has already given Kloots some advice.
"She's like, 'Find your primal energy.' I love that. That's going to be my theme," she shares.
Similarly, Inaba knows what Kloots' main struggle will be on the dance floor.
"I've never partnered because I'm so tall," she says of always dancing solo. "So to allow somebody else to lead, to follow and to hold my ground still, that's gonna be a challenge for me. It already has been, but [Inaba] is right."
Though she has a background as a dancer, Kloots makes it clear that she won't have an advantage over the show's other contestants.
"If you could see these rehearsals, you'd know that I have no advantage," she says. "I'm telling you, it's like a new language. It's like you know English, but now you're learning French. It's starting from scratch."
Dancing With the Stars season 30 premieres Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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