Giada De Laurentiis Turned Down DWTS 10 Times: Here’s Who Finally Convinced Her

Giada De Laurentiis is finally trading in her kitchen for a ballroom floor.

As the Food Network star laces up her shoes to join pro Alan Bersten on Dancing With the Stars‘ upcoming season 35, she revealed that her 18-year-old daughter Jade inspired her to finally take the leap.

“Funny enough, Dancing With the Stars has come to me maybe 10 times over the years,” De Laurentiis exclusively told E! News in a joint interview with Bersten following the DWTS cast reveal at Disney HQ in New York City on Sept. 2. “And I was always like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no.'”  

With her sous chef starting her first semester in college, the 56-year-old knew season 35—which kicks off with a two-night premiere Sept. 15 and 16 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC—was her time to shine.

“This time, I thought, with my daughter pushing me and with my daughter out of my house,” she explained, “This is a really good time for me to go on a new adventure and push myself to do something I’ve never done.”