Returning for her third season as Dancing with the Stars’ youngest pro, Rylee Arnold entered the ballroom this year partnered with Grammy- and Emmy-winning Pentatonix musician Scott Hoying. It’s a milestone moment for the 19-year-old, who made it all the way to the Season 33 finale last fall with Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, finishing in fourth place before joining the Dancing with the Stars Live tour from December 2024 through April 2025.
Offstage, her star power continues to rise: She’s now a Free People Movement ambassador and recently launched a collaboration with the sugar-free beverage brand Swoon, stocked at major U.S. retailers.
But even with a schedule that rarely slows, Arnold says her greatest discipline is learning what to prioritize. “It’s definitely super tricky to juggle all the things that we do in a season, but I feel like prioritizing myself is important,” she shares. Living with type 1 diabetes means self-care isn’t optional; it’s non-negotiable. “I have a disease that needs to be taken care of every single day. I think just being able to prioritize that and prioritize my mental state always, and veering from the things that may upset me or make me feel stressed or overwhelmed.”
Dance, she says, is her built-in therapy. “One thing about dancing is it’s always been a release for me. I feel like when I’m at rehearsals and performing, it’s really such a release and makes me genuinely happy. It’s really convenient that I can do that every day for my career.”
When the cameras stop rolling, Arnold transitions into a nightly ritual that’s as much about grounding as it is glow. “I love to take long night showers after we wrap, and I have the longest self-care routine,” she laughs. “I do a full face mask, I’ll ice roll my face. I have a very extensive skin-care routine, and no matter what time of night it is, I will go through the whole thing because it really winds me down. It makes me feel so calm from the day, and it makes me just super happy.”
Her product lineup is equal parts accessible and insider-approved. “My holy-grail product is CeraVe Foaming Facial Cleanser. It’s so good, and I’ve used it for so long,” she says. “After that, my favorite product is the Epicutis Lipid Serum. It literally revives your skin. It keeps it super moisturized, but not so much that you get clogged pores or unexpected acne. It’s the most perfect serum ever.”
Show days, meanwhile, move at a full sprint. Arnold starts early with a shower and skin prep before heading to the studio for glam. “We’ll start with hair and makeup, and we’ll get that all ready. Then, we camera block the numbers that we’re doing in the live show first thing in the morning,” she explains. “We continue our glam, then we do a full dress rehearsal of the show. It’s top to bottom like it’s a live show, so we’re ready.” After a quick meal and an hour to reset, it’s straight into the live taping, then press, sometimes dinner, choreography prep and bed before doing it all again the next day.
As the year winds down, Arnold is looking forward to something far more low-key: home. “I’m very excited to spend time with family this holiday season,” she says. “I am going to be home in Utah with my family, and I’m looking forward to spending time with them because seeing them during the season is just so limited.”
Travel is on the horizon, too, along with new professional projects she’s not quite ready to tease—at least not fully. “This upcoming new year, I’m going to be doing some really exciting things that I’m very excited about,” she says. “I think it’s just going to be a really good end of the year, but also I’m very excited for 2026.”
