General Hospital star Cameron Mathison begged not to be with DWTS partner amid marriage 'challenge'

Cameron Mathison had some qualms in the beginning with joining Dancing With the Stars .

In a July 22 episode of Cheryl Burke's podcast Sex, Lies and Spray Tans, the General Hospital actor talked about his time on the dancing competition show. Cameron starred on DWTS during their fifth season in 2007. He revealed that he was asked to join the ABC show but had one condition and it involved pro dancer Edyta Śliwińska.

"I watched the show, so I knew Edyta. She’s a very beautiful woman, and I don't even know if Edyta knows this," he said. "I actually called Dina Katz, who's my dear friend now, who at the time was casting director, I called her and I said, 'Listen, I'm so happy that you've offered me the show. I can't wait. I'm in. Just do me a favor. Put me with anybody but Edyta.'"

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"Because I knew my wife and I, we were going through a little bit of a challenge at that time, and Edyta didn't wear a lot of clothes," Cameron added, joking at the end.

Despite his concerns, he was still paired up with the Polish dancer. The soap star told Cheryl, who used to be on the show until 2022 as a professional dancer, how he appreciated his wife especially knowing how it wasn't easy for her as he had to build this connection with his partner but also get physically close since they were dancing.

"Vanessa was a trooper," he noted. "We'd recently gone through a bunch of stuff, and it wasn't great timing and I was off in LA spending time with this beautiful woman, dressed up, against her, sweating with her 5 hours a day rehearsing, and then doing all the press and touring stuff together, and it was really hard."

"I tried. I did everything in my power to make that as easy for [Vanessa] as possible," The 54-year-old continued. "But it just is what it is. I mean, you can be married and do the show, obviously, but it can be, depending on the circumstances — I think if you all lived in LA or whatever, but being on a plane and traveling and hotels and the whole thing, I think it's just really hard."

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For Cameron, balancing his work schedule as he went back and forth filming All My Children in New York and DWTS in Los Angeles at the time was hard. He shared how Edyta was very supportive as she waited for him to finish filming the soap. He said she "never complained" about his "crazy" schedule as they would have to rehearse in New York and take red eye flights. But it was through spending so much time with the Edyta everyday that made him wonder, "Why is it so intimate?" He also stressed the "pressure" of being on the show and having the "whole country watching you" which was another thing him and the now 43-year-old pro dancer connected on.

"You become really close, and it works for the show, and it works for the people that are watching the show, but it doesn't work for the family at home," he confessed.

The two ended up finishing at fifth place and they became friends through the process. The podcast conversation came days before their joint divorce announcement between Cameron and wife Vanessa Mathison, 57, on July 31. The two met in 1998, dated the following year and married in July 27, 2002. They have two children together, Lucas, 21, and Leila, 18.

Their joint statement on Instagram read: "After 22 years of marriage, we have made the difficult decision to part ways. We enter this new chapter with deep love, kindness, and respect for each other. We hold gratitude in our hearts for the wonderful years we shared together."

The statement concluded: "Our children have been and will continue to be our highest priority, and we will forever share in our devotion and love for them. We remain friends, and both wish the best for one another. We sincerely appreciate your respect for our family’s privacy during this transition."