The man once known as "The Hammer" is a "really nice guy." And fun. Really.
"Dancing With the Stars" two-time champ Cheryl Burke recently admitted that "was a little scared that I was going to get a grumpy old man" with partner Tom DeLay.
Then she started practicing with him and found out "he's just like a normal guy who was in politics," she told E! Online.
Of course, dancing with the former Republican House Majority Leader is "different" than dancing with someone like Gilles Marini, Burke's previous partner, according to Burke.
"With someone like Gilles, you need to make him the best you can because he's so damn talented...With Tom, it's different. I can have fun with him and not feel like, 'Did I add enough tricks or did I add enough of this or that?' I work with what he can give me," the two-time DTWS star said.
Uh-huh.
Burke didn't say what exactly DeLay was giving her in the dance department -- and we're not sure we want to know -- but her comment on how they're going for "the classy, elegant look" kind-of says it all.
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But just in case you weren't clear on what that means, Burke spells it out: "We are not going to bring sex to the dance floor, that's for sure!"
Totally, Burke. We couldn't imagine the former House Majority Whip pulling any Patrick Swayze in "Dirty Dancing" moves either.
Unfortunately, Burke is a little worried they'll bring silence to the stage. "It's going to be interesting to see how people respond to him," she says. "I'm just scared that when they announce the names and we walk down the stairs, no one is going to clap. I just hope they give him a chance, because, honestly, he's a really nice guy."
We don't know any really nice guys who've also won dancing contests, but as FamousDC notes, DeLay might have a chance on the show, "so long as he leaves those really awesome sweat pants he rehearses in at home."
