ABC(NEW YORK) — Robert Herjavec expected to get in better physical shape by participating in Dancing with the Stars, but he didn’t anticipate it would benefit him mentally, too.
“I got separated almost a year now and you go through different highs and different lows and it’s difficult,” the Shark Tank star told ABC News. “Relationships are hard and you second-guess yourself but I couldn’t imagine something better because it is so far outside of my comfort zone that it kind of gave me a renewed hope and belief in the future.”
Herjavec was married to Diane Plese for more than two decades when they split. The former couple has three children, whom the tech entrepreneur calls “amazing.” Dancing with the Stars has also helped Herjavec deal with the fact that they’re growing up.
“Being a dad is the most important thing in the world to me. Not only is the separation hard but my kids are at an age where they were leaving anyway,” he said. “When your kids hit their teens and twenties, they’re in their own world, and I took it very hard. I love my kids and I miss them so much, but I also miss a time that doesn’t exist anymore, like every parent does.”
Herjavec practices his moves with his partner, Kym Johnson, for hours a day. His new schedule, which he says helps him sleep better at night, has forced him to be even more productive during the day. It’s also become such an integral part of his life that Herjavec, 51, said he hopes to continue dancing no matter what happens on the show.
“At my age, when you can do something like this, it kind of really reignites your excitement for life again and I’m pretty excited about life to begin with,” he said. “I keep telling Kym, at the end of this process I will be a dancer. I may be bankrupt and my business may go bankrupt, but I’ll be dancer!”
The two-hour season 20 premiere of Dancing with the Stars kicks off Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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