Giada De Laurentiis Had a 'Really Rough' Start to 'Dancing With the Stars': 'I Was Going Through a Few Emotions'

Giada De Laurentiis dished on the emotional demands of joining Dancing With the Stars, admitting her first few days of rehearsals with partner Alan Bersten were difficult.

"I have fed him quite a bit, in the hopes that he would go easy on me. Not so much," De Laurentiis told Entertainment Weekly in an interview published Wednesday, September 2. "But, I think that we've had a few breakthroughs. I think I had a couple of days that were really, really rough, which I'm sure people will see in the package."

The former Food Network star was also dealing with a family milestone at the same time, having dropped her 18-year-old daughter, Jade, off at college.

De Laurentiis said the timing made the beginning of her DWTS experience even more complicated.

"I think I was going through a few emotions," she told EW.

The New York Times bestselling author said her daughter was actually one of the biggest reasons she agreed to join the competition in the first place.

"She really wanted me to do the show, so she pushed and pushed and pushed," said the chef. "She knows, sadly, what buttons to push to get me to do what she wants."

She said Jade has formed a bond with Bersten.

"She loves Alan. She's already met him several times," De Laurentiis said of the Season 28 winner. "We cooked together with Alan, so they're thick as thieves."

Cooking may have helped the pair connect, but Bersten's approach to dancing has given De Laurentiis little room to coast.

"I realized, 'Oh, I can't just dance when I'm with Alan. I actually have to take this home, and I have to actually dance on my own,'" she said.

Bersten also suggested that De Laurentiis write down her dance steps so she could study them between rehearsals.

"It's like a recipe but in a different language," Bersten told EW. "It has really helped to learn the steps and just go over it, over and over and over."

"Honestly, it's so encouraging to see that she went home on a day off and practiced for hours," he said. "Because she cares. And, to me, that's all you can ask for in a partnership: is somebody who wants to be there, who wants to get better."

De Laurentiis has been able to bring something familiar into her partnership with Bersten: food.

She has cooked sheet pan lasagna and chicken alfredo for him and even taught him how to make bagels from scratch.

"Literally, my favorite food is bagel and cream cheese and she taught me how to make it," the dancer told EW.

The culinary lessons, however, have not persuaded him to ease up on the ballroom training.

With the season premiere approaching, De Laurentiis is thinking about the three judges she will need to impress: Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough.

"I'm the most nervous about Bruno because he's so vocal and loud," De Laurentiis said.

She then wondered whether Inaba might be the toughest judge, prompting Bersten to explain how each judge evaluates a performance.

"Carrie Ann wants the emotion and Derek has the technique and Bruno has everything," he said. "Bruno's Bruno. But honestly, it's, like, you got to cater to all three of them, plus the fans."

Season 35 of Dancing With the Stars premieres September 15 and 16 on ABC and Disney+.