Competing on Dancing With The Stars can be a rough experience for many contestants. Olympic Rugby star Ilona Maher grew flustered in the middle of her routine on Hair Metal Night, resulting in tears while receiving judges’ critiques.
Fortunately, she had quite a strong support system to help put her back on her feet.
Ilona Maher Driven To Tears Over Her Jive This Week
For Hair Metal Night, Ilona and her partner Alan Bersten performed the Jive to Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize.” She missed several steps, prompting the judges to give them a 26/40.
She certainly isn’t the first DWTS contestant to forget part of a routine and she won’t be the last. But even so, the 28-year-old took it really hard. While speaking to Julianne Hough, she started to cry.
“This was a really tough dance for me. This whole week’s been really tough. You do it so well in dress rehearsal and then you come out and you mess it up,” Ilona admitted through tears during her sky box interview. “He knows I can do well, and then I just don’t.”
Alan stepped up to support his partner, offering her a huge hug.
Many other Dancing With The Stars competitors saw beauty in Ilona’s humanity right then. They empathized with her and spoke kindly of her in the post-episode interviews.
Other DWTS Season 33 Contestants Shower The Rugby Player With Love
Ilona’s fellow Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik had nothing but kind things to say about her.
“It’s really sad to see people sad. … Sometimes you let the emotions show. And she did tonight,” the gymnast shared with Us Weekly. “I was feeling very sympathetic. But she is also a boss.”
The Bachelorette star Jenn Tran readily agreed.
“She’s got so many layers to her, and I’ve enjoyed getting closer to her over these weeks. It was hard to see her break down like that,” Jenn added. “That just makes her even more vulnerable and even more real. And I’ve always said this, I love when people show their raw emotion instead of hiding it, and I am so proud of her.”
“We all know what it feels like to be on the ballroom floor and not feel like it’s your best, but that’s OK,” pro dancer Britt Stewart told Us Weekly. “That just means no journey is linear. I hope that she can just use it as inspiration to help her continue. I predict they’re going to have a long journey.”
What did you think about Ilona Maher’s display of vulnerability? Do you think she and Alan Bersten can improve? Add a comment below and share what’s on your mind.
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