"Before they finished asking me": Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec recalls getting an offer to participate in DWTS

Shark Tank mentor Robert Herjavec appeared on Lewis Howes's podcast episode on February 5, 2025. While in discussion with the host, they covered numerous topics. It included Robert's thoughts on the "role of faith" in life, overcoming arrogance, the three truths of life, cultivating unique talents, and more.

In one of the segments, the Shark Tank mentor recalled how he got an offer to participate in DWTS and all those moments that led up to that offer. Herjavec recalled his mother and how she wanted him to be on the dance reality show.

For the unversed, Herjavec's mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and passed away. While speaking about the offer, he said:

"Fast forward 10 years later, I'm sitting in a room they throw that question at me. First thing that comes to my mind. Fast forward another 10 years, I'm going through this horrible time. I come out of it. Fix myself. Finally begin to think, I have value in life again."

Shark Tank mentor added:

"Three days later, the producers of DWTS ask me to be on the show. Like, before they finished asking me, I say, yes. I walk in, meet the woman I'm going to marry and today I have this unbelievable life."

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Shark Tank's Robert Herjavec recalls his mother's cancer diagnosis and how DWTS was her favorite show

Robert Herjavec, on Lewis Howes's podcast, recalled how sometimes "dots connect" until you look back. He mentioned that he and Kevin O'Leary were the first to join Shark Tank in Canada. Referring to the first meeting, he recalled:

"The very first day they put me in a room. Just to see how you'd react on TV like this...and they threw these fire questions like, tell me what EBITDA is, but they were random questions. And one of the questions was why do you want to be famous. Just to see what you'd say. What I said is: So I can get on Dancing With the Stars. And everybody....I did 100%. Everybody laughed and thought that was funny."

Sharing more about that, Robert stated that what everyone didn't see was that 10 years before that meeting, his mother's favorite show was DWTS.

Recalling the memory of his late mother, Shark Tank mentor stated:

"So imagine little Estern-European immigrant woman, horrible life, watching this beautiful show, with beautiful dancers. Like if you called my house on a Monday when the show was on, my mom would like answer the phone and go, like, why you call, you know, I watch show."

Further in the podcast, Herjavec mentioned how his mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She stayed in the hospital for almost a year. During that time, he used to visit her every Monday.

He stated that while visiting his mother, he would meet other women who also had ovarian cancer. They all would watch DWTS. One day, his mother asked him:

"Robbie you're so beautiful. Why not you be on show."

Listening to that, as the Shark Tank mentor stated, he didn't even think. He replied that if he were to get an offer from the dance reality show, he would do it for her. 10 years after his mother's passing, he was asked the question when he recalled that he wanted to be famous to participate in DWTS.

The next 10 years passed, and Robert went through a difficult time. He then received a call from DWTS producers, to which he said yes.

From the entire journey of how his mother watched the show to how Robert faced the question about fame and ending up on DWTS, he stated he didn't create "those dots."

The Shark Tank investor confessed that he believed that life or a "greater force" or God created everything. However, it was up to him to connect "those dots." He told the viewers that anybody can do it with "enough faith" to believe.

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New episodes of Shark Tank Season 16 are streaming every Friday on ABC Network.