Mario Lopez: "I Don't Watch Dancing With the Stars"

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Don’t ask Mario Lopez about Sabrina Bryan’s shocking elimination from Dancing With the Stars or judge Carrie Ann Inaba’s many tiffs over lifts — he wouldn’t have any idea what you’re talking about.

“I never really saw it," the season 3 runner-up tells OK! at the National Kidney Foundation of Southern California Great Chefs event. “I still don’t see it so my mom fills me in.”

Claiming to have competed for his mother because it is her favorite show, Mario, who finished as a runner-up to Emmitt Smith, says he “had a really good time doing it.”

That’s for certain as he and partner Karina Smirnoff started dating soon afterwards. So what’s so great about his gal?

“She’s cool. She’s feisty, real sassy. She’s funny. She’s clever. She’s an amazing dancer. She’s an awesome person,” he says.

Still, the duo is in no rush to make their relationship official because right now, work comes first for the 34-year-old. “I’m pretty blessed to be so busy. I’m just letting that play itself out.”

By David Lasky