You never know what to expect on the first night of a new season of “Dancing With the Stars,” but muttering “poor Ryan Lochte” was likely not at the top of anyone’s list.

Yet that’s what happened during Monday’s Season 23 premiere as two men rushed the ballroom floor stage.

“It felt like someone reached inside and ripped my heart out and stepped on it.”

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Their target was the disgraced Olympian, who had just finished a mediocre Foxtrot with pro dancer Cheryl Burke and is on the show to try rehab his image after letting down the country by lying about his gas station antics in Rio.

Sam Sododeh, 48, and Barzeen Soroudi, 40, both of Los Angeles, walked briskly onto the dance floor after Lochte’s performance, heading straight for the swimmer.

Security quickly tackled the men to the ground before they could touch anyone, according to multiple reports.

The men had been sitting in the audience, but at some point changed into anti-Lochte T-shirts to disrupt the broadcast. Four or five women chanting “Liar!” were also escorted out of the audience, the network said. The men were arrested for criminal trespassing.

It wasn’t clear what had happened to East Coast viewers watching the live broadcast.

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Judge Carrie Ann Inaba was attempting to start her critique but became distracted by some sort of commotion, which was never shown on-camera. The ever-cool Tom Bergeron cut to commercial break, but fellow Olympic swimmer Ed Moses caught some of it on video.

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Pro dancer Lindsay Arnold was backstage and “couldn’t  believe it was happening,” she told People. “I think it’s a shame that people would feel the need to do that. Ryan is just a guy who is coming here to entertain and get a fresh start, and it’s sad that such a happy night of dance was disrupted like that.”

Singer Jana Kramer, who is also competing on the show, told People, “Ryan was backstage and close to tears. Everyone makes mistakes and I really hope America gets to see the guy we are all getting to know, which is a really, really nice guy.”

After the incident, Lochte — who apologized for “over-exaggerating” his story in Rio — told E! that it felt like “someone reached inside and ripped my heart out and stepped on it.” (Seems his rehabbing for “over-exaggeration” is not yet complete.)

On the show, cameras cut back to a shaken Lochte, who said, “So many feelings are going through my head right now.” He added that he felt “a little hurt. I came out here and I wanted to do something I was completely uncomfortable with, and I did.”

With a score of 24, Lochte did better than former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who is at the bottom of the pack with a low score of 20 for the night. It makes him a likely candidate for the first elimination next week.

Perry, a good sport about it, attacked his Cha Cha with pro dancer Emma Slater, but was pretty stiff.

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“People are probably watching this going, “What a dumba***!” he said, with a smile.