Sasha Farber is getting real about something many people know all too well: the strange, quiet emptiness that follows a breakup, when the world expects you to be fine and all you want is a few uninterrupted breaths. At the Minky Couture Takes NYC VIP Red Carpet Celebration, held Friday, October 23 in partnership with Page Six’s Virtual Reali-Tea, the former Dancing with the Stars professional opened up exclusively about navigating life without Janel Parrish by his side. “I wouldn’t say I’m enjoying [it], but I’m single, and I just need a second,” said Farber, 42. “I just need a second to have some time to myself before I could even go on any dates or do anything. I think we all need time, and that’s all I got.” The words are simple, but they carry the weight of someone who hasn’t fully caught his breath. He isn’t claiming to be okay. He isn’t pretending that being single is a grand adventure. Instead, he is honoring the slow, unglamorous work of moving forward. In a culture that treats heartbreak as a plot point to get through quickly, Farber’s confession feels tenderly human. It’s easy to imagine him at home, walking his dogs, letting the silence settle in, not forcing himself to be ready for connection. And that, perhaps, is exactly what anyone needs after a relationship ends: permission to not be okay yet. His honesty also speaks to a larger truth about modern dating—that even a short romance can leave a real imprint, and that rushing to appear happy is often a way of avoiding the very feelings that need attention. Farber is not doing that. He is leaning into the pause, letting the absence of a relationship teach him something about himself. It might not make for the flashiest headline, but it is one of the most authentic things a public figure can say.
Farber and Parrish, 37, met years ago when she appeared on season 19 of Dancing with the Stars. At the time, it was professional. They were in different places, with their own lives and relationships, and nothing clicked romantically. Then life did its unpredictable thing. Both endured divorces—Farber from Emma Slater, and Parrish from Chris Long. Both spent years growing, healing, and figuring out what they truly wanted. When they reconnected this summer, the timing felt right. They dated for three months, and for a while, it seemed like a real second chance at love. In June, they made their red carpet debut together at the Race to Erase MS Gala, and Parrish was glowing. “You never know where life is going to take you. Reconnecting with Sasha has shown me a new kind of love and happiness that I didn’t know existed,” she told Us at the time. “I think that those are some of the most beautiful and exciting things in life, and sometimes it’s the most unexpected things that can be the most beautiful things.” She also called Farber “the most brightest light to everybody that he meets,” adding that he has “the kindest heart to everyone, to his friends, his family or if he just met you walking his dogs. He just has the biggest heart and is so caring and loving.” Those are not empty compliments. They are the words of someone who saw him clearly. And that is what makes the breakup all the more complicated: sometimes you fall for someone wonderful and still find yourself standing apart from them. There is no villain in a story like that, only two people who realized that affection alone isn’t always enough. Still, Parrish’s praise lingers. It humanizes Farber beyond his role as a performer and reminds us that he is someone’s friend, someone’s family member, someone who shares his heart generously with everyone he meets. That generosity is perhaps why he now needs time to replenish his own emotional reserves before pouring himself into another connection.
Neither and Farber nor Parrish has spoken publicly about what went wrong. There have been no dramatic statements, no inside stories of betrayal or bad blood. The silence is a choice—and maybe a healthy one. By keeping the details private, they are preserving the respect they clearly have for each other. They are also protecting the memory of something that mattered, even if it didn’t last. Farber, in particular, appears to be letting his work speak for itself. He last appeared as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars during season 33, but made a brief cameo in the season 35 premiere last month—a quiet reminder of a career that has outlasted many of the romances that play out in the tabloids. There is a beautiful irony in the fact that he can command a ballroom floor with total confidence, and yet be completely flummoxed by his own heart. But that’s what makes him human. A dancer’s body may learn to trust, to lean, to let go, but the mind and heart don’t always follow the same choreography. After a breakup, especially one that followed so much personal history, the idea of starting over with someone new can feel exhausting. Farber seems to understand that. He doesn’t need to find a date to prove he’s fine. He needs to find his own rhythm again, to remember the sound of his own footsteps without wondering who else might be hearing them. It is a process that cannot be rushed, and he is not trying to rush it. In a world that constantly tells people to get back out there, to keep looking, to optimize their romantic lives like a spreadsheet, Farber is choosing the opposite. He is choosing stillness. And that stillness is not emptiness; it is a valuable space for rediscovery, where the only expectation is the one he places on himself.
One of the most touching parts of the interview was the way Farber spoke about the fans who have supported him throughout his Dancing with the Stars journey. “It is so nice to hear so much positive stuff from the fans from Dancing with the Stars. It really is a dream come true. I’m very, very lucky,” he gushed on Friday. In the midst of all the uncertainty, their support has become a kind of anchor. He went on: “It’s so funny, sometimes, most of the time, I speak to the fans and I don’t even know them, but you end up telling them things because there’s just so much support. You end up sharing life stories with them, but you don’t even know them. The support that you get is phenomenal.” There is something profound about that admission. We live in an era where strangers on the internet can be cruel, yet Farber has found something different: a community that meets him with warmth. To a person who is hurting, such kindness can be a lifeline. It reminds him that he belongs to something bigger than any one relationship. It gives him a reason to keep moving, keep dancing, keep believing in connection even if romantic connection has slipped away for now. It is also a reminder that love exists in many forms, and that the support of a devoted fanbase can be just as real and comforting as a partner’s embrace. When he says that fans end up knowing his life stories, he is not exaggerating. There is a vulnerability in that too—a willingness to be seen, to let people in, to trust that the affection he gives will come back to him. In that way, the red carpet becomes more than a photo opportunity. It becomes an exchange of care between someone who has performed for a living and people who have received joy from his art.
Looking ahead, Farber is hopeful about the future—especially when it comes to the show that made him a household name. “I got my phone ready to go. If they call, I’m there,” he teased. It is a short sentence, but it speaks volumes. It reveals not only his gratitude to Dancing with the Stars, but also his ongoing belief that the best opportunities of his life may still lie ahead. That is not a given after a difficult year. It takes a certain kind of optimism to stay ready, to leave your dance shoes in the hall and your phone charged, waiting for the call that could bring you back to the stage. For Farber, that readiness represents something larger than a career move. It is a way of saying to himself—and to the world—that he isn’t finished. He isn’t broken. He is a dancer first, and dancers learn to expect the unexpected. They learn that the music can change at any moment, that a partner might pull away, that a routine might have to be remade from scratch. The phrase “If they call, I’m there” is also about opening himself up to life’s invitations. He is not closing doors. He is not protecting himself so tightly that no one can get in. He is simply waiting with a full heart, ready for whatever comes next. That same readiness, interestingly, could one day extend to love. When someone is willing to say yes to opportunity, they are also saying yes to possibility. It just doesn’t have to happen overnight. Farber is proving that you can be open-minded about the future without forcing a deadline on your own healing.
Ultimately, Sasha Farber’s current chapter is a lesson in the quiet power of patience. Breakups do not come with timetables. Some people need a week; some need a year; some need a series of small moments alone before they even feel ready to talk to someone new. Farber is not rushing to define a timeline. Instead, he is leaning into the wisdom of his own body and heart. He is allowing himself the grace to wake up alone, to walk his dogs in peace, to feel the sun on his face without feeling like he has to share it with anyone. That may not sound like a headline, but in a way, it is. It is the far less spectacular, far more honest version of a celebrity story—a story that cries less about broken love and more about slowly rebuilding from the inside out. There is also something wonderful about Parrish’s earlier words, which still ring true even after the romance has faded: the most beautiful things in life are often the most unexpected. And maybe that includes this period of stillness. Maybe the unexpected gift of heartbreak is a moment to remember yourself—not as part of a couple, not as someone performing happiness, but as a person who deserves the time to simply be. As he takes that time, the world around him remains full of love, from the fans who wait for him at red carpets to the friends and family who know his biggest heart. “You never know where life is going to take you,” Parrish said that night in June. Sasha Farber doesn’t know either. And for now, that’s okay. He has his dogs, his dance, his memories, and a slowly growing faith that when love and life are ready, he will be ready too.
