Kristi Yamaguchi talks about decision to do Dancing With the Stars
The time commitment involved with competing on Dancing With the Stars (DWTS) is daunting for most, but for Kristi Yamaguchi, 36, the decision to appear on the hit television show presented a logistical nightmare. Mom to 4 ½-year-old Keara Kiyomi and 2-year-old Emma Yoshiko with husband Bret Hedican, a professional hockey player for the Carolina Hurricanes, Kristi normally lives with her family in Raleigh, NC. She made the difficult decision to relocate to Southern California while DWtS tapes, however, because the chance to appear on the show was too good to pass up. The Olympic gold medal-winning figure skater writes in a new blog entry for OK! magazine,
My girlfriends and I watch it and we do our little DWtS pool and a couple of them are like, ‘Oh my gosh, if you ever get asked, you have to do it!’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, right! That’s crazy. I have two small kids here in Raleigh. There’s no way I could ever do that show.’
But when they did ask, it took me a couple weeks to say yes because I do have two young children and it would be a huge undertaking…a lot of logistics had to be worked out.
For the rest of Kristi’s blog, click continue reading.
At the moment, Kristi is flying solo as Bret finishes what’s left of the NHL’s regular season. While she’s alone right now, she won’t be for long: The girls will join their mother in California soon, Kristi says.
My kids aren’t even here yet for that matter! They stayed in Raleigh so my older one could go to a few more days of preschool. They’ll come join me next week here in California. Obviously it’s a different world here in L.A. than in Raleigh. I have to get used to driving in traffic again! But I think it will be fine. I grew up in California so it’s kind of nice to be back.
Source: OK!
- Posted on Mar 18, 08 at 11:57AM
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- 9 Comments
March 18th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
I love her…I remember watching her in the Olympics years ago…I hope she makes it to the end so I will be watching DWTS…
March 18th, 2008 at 2:24 pm
I’m so excited to see her dance tonight! Mark Ballas is my favorite pro, so I’m glad she got him.
Mario, Jason Taylor, and Christian were my favorites last night.
March 18th, 2008 at 3:33 pm
Kristi and her husband are good friends of my sister and brother-in-law. I’ve met her a few times and she is really nice. Good Luck, Kristi!!
March 18th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Nice picture and nice article. Who is watching her kids while her husband is doing hockey? Look forward to more pictures of them. Great family.
Sarah’s note: Her mom is “holding down the fort” she said.
March 18th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
LOVE Kristi!! I used to have a HUGE crush on her hubby when he was with the Florida Panthers! I am excited to see her dance tonight! Jason Taylor is my favorite so far!
March 18th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
She danced good tonight, and her girls are cute.
March 20th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I used to nanny for the Hedican’s and they were so great (I was so sad to leave them when I moved). I am definitely hoping Kristi wins, and I can’t wait to see the girls on t.v. They are growing so quick. Hurricanes hockey is pretty fun to watch. What a busy family!
March 21st, 2008 at 4:55 pm
awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww i love them they are sooooooooooooooooo cute all of them go kristi and mark!!!!
May 21st, 2008 at 9:22 am
I think Kristi is an absolute baby doll. I am 74 yrs old. I have been watching her career from the beginning. She is a perfect example for the young people growing up now. The last 3 couples of the show were really good. All 3 deserve Kudo’s. I think they should have her as a guest skating on one of the shows. They could maybe tape her and then put it on a big screen for all to see. I love watching that show.
Florence Young