Mark Ballas Wife BC Jean: Inside Their Marriage, Son Banksi and Musical Partnership
Mark Ballas is back in the Dancing with the Stars ballroom, but the professional dancer is not the only talented performer in his family. His wife, BC Jean Ballas, has spent years building a career as a singer, songwriter and musician, including writing one of Beyoncé’s best-known songs.
Mark and BC Jean have been married since November 2016 after first meeting at a musical gathering several years earlier. Their relationship eventually became both romantic and creative, leading them to form the musical duo Alexander Jean. In November 2023, they added another chapter when they welcomed their son, Banksi Wylde Ballas.
Their relationship has remained closely connected to music. That was especially clear in September 2026 when BC Jean unexpectedly joined Mark on the Dancing with the Stars stage, performing live during his first routine with Season 35 celebrity partner Maura Higgins.
Who Is Mark Ballas’ Wife BC Jean?
BC Jean, whose full name is Brittany Jean Carlson, is an American singer-songwriter who had already established herself in the music industry before meeting Mark.
Music was part of her life from an early age. She grew up in a musical family, with grandparents who had connections to performers including Perry Como and Fred Waring, while her father played trumpet.
BC Jean initially became interested in poetry when she was young. By her early teenage years, she had begun turning those ideas into complete songs. Singing lessons and piano followed, eventually leading her toward a professional songwriting career.
Her biggest early songwriting success came through “If I Were a Boy,” which became a major hit for Beyoncé.
BC Jean originally wrote the track from deeply personal experiences following the end of a relationship. She had planned to record it herself, but Beyoncé eventually heard the song and wanted to include it on her 2008 album I Am… Sasha Fierce.
The song became an international hit and helped bring wider attention to BC Jean’s songwriting abilities. She has continued working as a singer and songwriter while developing music alongside Mark.
How Did Mark Ballas and BC Jean Meet?
Their relationship started with music rather than dancing.
Mark and BC Jean met in 2012 at a gathering hosted by a mutual friend. The night included musicians and singers taking turns performing for everyone in attendance.
Mark arrived while BC Jean was singing.
He later remembered being struck by her voice before he had even properly seen her. BC Jean’s strong, slightly raspy vocal style immediately caught his attention, and he compared what he heard to the feeling of listening to Janis Joplin.
After the gathering, Mark and BC Jean exchanged phone numbers.
Their connection developed quickly, and they soon discovered that the chemistry worked just as well when they were making music together.
They began dating in 2012.
That shared creative connection would eventually become an important part of their marriage rather than simply something that brought them together.
Their Musical Partnership Became Alexander Jean
Mark may be best known for ballroom dancing, but he is also a musician, guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer.
That made working with BC Jean feel natural.
The couple formed Alexander Jean in 2015. The group’s name comes from their middle names, Alexander and Jean.
Their debut material included “Roses and Violets,” a song that became particularly meaningful because it was later connected to Mark’s proposal.
Alexander Jean has continued releasing music throughout their relationship. Their work mixes acoustic pop, rock and singer-songwriter influences, often highlighting BC Jean’s powerful vocals alongside Mark’s guitar playing and harmonies.
Their music has also built an audience beyond Dancing with the Stars fans. ABC’s current biography for Mark says Alexander Jean has generated more than 200 million streams, while several of their songs have found new audiences through social media.
In September 2025, the couple released the single “I Don’t Dance,” continuing a collaboration that had already lasted for a decade.
Mark Ballas Proposed in a Very Personal Way
Mark proposed to BC Jean on November 25, 2015.
Instead of organizing a huge public proposal, he built the moment around things that meant something to her.
Their song “Roses and Violets” helped inspire the idea.
Mark decorated the driveway of their Los Angeles home with roses and violets before filling the house with personal touches, including posters connected to some of BC Jean’s favorite musicians.
Family and friends were secretly waiting upstairs.
When BC Jean arrived, Mark proposed on one knee. She said yes, and their relatives and friends were able to celebrate immediately afterward.
Although the engagement happened in November 2015, the pair waited until January 2016 before publicly sharing the news.
Mark and BC Jean Married in 2016
Exactly one year after getting engaged, Mark and BC Jean married on November 25, 2016.
Their wedding was more than a one-day celebration.
The festivities stretched across three days and included Thanksgiving with family, a rehearsal dinner and the wedding itself.
The couple chose a timeless bohemian theme.
BC Jean wore a wedding gown inspired by 1920s fashion and made a memorable entrance to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody,” which fit perfectly for two people whose relationship had been shaped so strongly by music.
Mark’s longtime friend Derek Hough served as best man.
Dance naturally became part of the celebration too. Mark choreographed an Argentine tango for his first dance with BC Jean, bringing together his professional world and their personal relationship.
They Welcomed Son Banksi After a Difficult Loss
Mark and BC Jean became parents to son Banksi Wylde Ballas on November 5, 2023.
The couple initially kept his arrival private and announced his birth one month later.
Their road to becoming parents had included heartbreak.
BC Jean experienced a pregnancy loss in 2022 while Mark was competing on Season 31 of Dancing with the Stars. Mark later explained that it was one of the hardest periods of his life, even as he continued performing with Charli D’Amelio and eventually won the Mirrorball Trophy.
The couple announced another pregnancy in June 2023, revealing the news through a playful video about what they had been doing together before finally sharing that they were also “making” a tiny human.
Banksi arrived that November.
Parenthood has since changed some of the small details of Mark and BC Jean’s relationship. In early 2026, they spoke about how their love languages had evolved since becoming parents. BC Jean joked that acts of service, including something as simple as taking out the trash, had become much more meaningful since becoming a mom.
BC Jean Joined Mark on Dancing With the Stars
Mark returned as a professional dancer for Season 35 of Dancing with the Stars in 2026, where he was paired with reality star and model Maura Higgins.
Their first performance brought BC Jean into the ballroom too.
Mark and Maura were preparing a foxtrot to “Black Velvet.” Their original live vocalist became unavailable because of another television commitment, leaving the team needing a replacement on very short notice.
BC Jean stepped in.
She reportedly had only about a day to prepare the song before performing it live during Mark and Maura’s September 16 routine.
For viewers who knew Mark mainly as a dancer, it offered a glimpse at the musical talent he has lived and worked alongside for years. It also showed how naturally the couple’s professional worlds continue to overlap nearly 14 years after they first met.
Mark and BC Jean Still Create Together
Their partnership has lasted because their lives do not appear to be divided neatly between work and marriage.
They write music together, perform together, raise their son and support each other’s individual projects.
Mark returned to Broadway in 2026 as Billy Flynn in Chicago before heading back to Dancing with the Stars. He has even spoken about wanting BC Jean to someday join him in the Broadway production, imagining her bringing a rock-and-roll edge to Roxie Hart.
BC Jean, meanwhile, continues making music while balancing motherhood and her work with Alexander Jean.
For people searching for Mark Ballas’ wife, BC Jean is far more than the spouse of a Dancing with the Stars professional.
She is an accomplished songwriter, the woman behind a major Beyoncé hit, Mark’s musical partner and the mother of their son, Banksi. Their relationship began because Mark heard her singing across a room in 2012. More than a decade later, music is still one of the things keeping their lives closely connected.
