Carson Kressley Nearly Paired with Male Partner on  

Dancing With the Stars contestant Carson Kressley, who is gay, was nearly paired with a male dancer for the upcoming season of ABC's popular dance competition program, according toAccess Hollywood.

Kressley will dance with Anna Trebunskaya, but Conrad Green, the show's executive producer, reveals that he thought about having the former Queer Eye for the Straight Guy personality dance with a male partner.

"We try to follow what happens in real ballroom competitions," Green says. "That was the original intention of the show. And while we are aware that there are same-sex couples, the competitions are usually mixed-gendered. It's a performance, like actors, so we don't think it's odd pairing up dancers with incompatible sexual preferences, but based off abilities."

Season 13 is already a landmark for the series, with transgender activist Chaz Bono also named a cast member.

DWTS will have its season premiere on ABC September 19.