Emma Slater’s Divorce Is the Least Shocking Thing in 2024

Look, I’m gonna say what we’re all thinking: nobody had “Emma Slater and Sasha Farber split” on their 2024 bingo card, mostly because we forgot they were even married. But here we are, folks. Another Dancing with the Stars romance has cha-cha’d its way straight into the divorce lawyer’s office. Shocking? Not even a little. Sad? Sure, in that “oh no, anyway” kind of way. For those of you who don’t obsessively track the love lives of professional ballroom dancers—which should be all of you, honestly—Emma Slater is a British dancer who’s been a pro on DWTS since 2012. She won the mirrorball with Bobby Bones in 2018, which tells you everything you need to know about the show’s voting audience. She married fellow pro Sasha Farber in 2018, after he proposed on live TV in 2016. Very romantic. Very public. Very much the kind of thing that statistically ends in a joint statement about “remaining friends.” And guess what? It did. In April 2024, Slater filed for divorce after six years of marriage. The internet, as always, responded with the emotional depth of a puddle: “Wait, they were married?” and “Who?” and “Is this the one who dated John Cena’s ex?” (No, that’s Nikki Bella, who was engaged to Artem Chigvintsev, who also got arrested this year. DWTS is basically a reality TV cursed object at this point.) But here’s the thing: Emma Slater isn’t just a divorce headline. She’s a two-time mirrorball finalist, a Broadway alum, and a woman who has spent over a decade teaching D-list celebrities how to fake a paso doble while maintaining a smile. That takes grit. It also takes a certain tolerance for chaos, which explains why she married a co-worker in the first place. Never marry a co-worker, kids. Especially not one who proposes on live television. That’s not romance, that’s a hostage situation with sequins. The timing is also peak 2024. She filed right around the time the show was gearing up for another season, because nothing says “moving on” like watching your ex dance a rumba with a Real Housewife while you pretend to be thrilled for them. Honestly, the whole thing is less a love story and more a workplace HR seminar waiting to happen. And can we talk about the fans? The ones who flooded her Instagram with “You deserve better” and “Sasha always seemed toxic” based on absolutely zero evidence? Yeah, those people are the same ones who voted for Bobby Bones to win. Their judgment is not to be trusted. Emma didn’t ask for your armchair therapy. She asked for a divorce. Let her have it. The real takeaway here is simple: DWTS romances are like gas station sushi. They look convenient, they’re always a bad idea, and someone’s gonna end up regretting it. Emma Slater will be fine. She’s got a career, a fanbase, and the kind of British stoicism that makes Americans look like toddlers throwing tantrums. If anything, this is just content for her future memoir: “I Danced with the Stars and All I Got Was This Lousy Divorce.” So no, this isn’t shocking. It’s Tuesday. But if you’re gonna write a hot take, at least spell her name right. It’s Slater. Not Slater-Smith. Not Mrs. Farber. Just Emma. And she’s doing just fine without your pity or your podcast. **Closing opinion:** We treat celebrity divorces like national tragedies while ignoring the fact that most marriages end. Emma Slater’s split is not a scandal—it’s a statistic. The only difference is she had to do it in front of a nation that still thinks Bobby Bones deserved that mirrorball.