Maura Higgins has been paired with Mark Ballas for the new season of Dancing with the Stars US.
The pair will be reunited on the dancing competition series after appearing on The Traitors US together earlier this year.
Higgins and the professional dancer formed a close friendship whilst on The Traitors, and reports have confirmed that they bonded over a shared love of dancing when off-screen.
Speaking to Elle earlier this year, Higgins said: "Me and Mark were dancing all the time. Even my whole friendship with Mark, none of it was aired. I still am so close with Mark."
Ballas has enjoyed an impressive run on the American dance competition show. The professional dancer has won the series three times and has also served as a judge on the spin-off, Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro.
The Longford television personality is set to compete alongside Julia Stiles, Jenna Dewan, Harry Shum Jr, Tatyana Ali, chef Giada De Laurentiis and Olympic figure skater Amber Glenn.
Higgins has managed to already ruffle some of her co-stars feathers as she was seen on a night out with the one of the shows judges Bruno Tonioli.
The Sun stated that a source said to them that Higgins has been "rubbing everyone up the wrong way, even before their first spray tans have dried."
"She was desperate to be partnered with Mark, who’s hugely popular, and was dead against Gleb, who’s now out of a job. It’s as if what Maura says goes," their source continued.
According to the Daily Mail, Higgins was quite vocal about who she didn't want to be paired with.
Higgins stated that she did not want to be paired with the Russian professional dancer Gleb Savchenko because of the "way he speaks to women" and to remain loyal to her friend, Brooks Nader, who dated Savchenko.
In a statement to the Daily Mail Savchenko said: "Until I was asked to comment on this story, I'd genuinely never heard of this girl, Maura, so I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep over the opinions of someone I've never met. It's odd to publicly attack someone you've never even met, but if that's how she wants to make headlines before the show starts, that's her choice. I'll stay focused and leave the unnecessary drama to everyone else."
In an interview speaking about who she wanted to be paired with, Higgins told E! News that she would be "happy with anyone but Gleb."
"I don't really like the way he speaks about women. I don't really want to spend all my time with someone like that. I'm like, no thank you," Higgins added.
