“So close,” the Dancing with the Stars runner up told TooFab after the finale, before sharing if she’ll continue to dance.
Ilona Maher really is a femininomenon.
While celebrating her second place achievement on Season 33 of Dancing with the Stars and coming “so close” to taking home the Mirrorball trophy, the Olympian shared how “proud” she is of herself and her partner, Alan Bersten.
“I’m very proud of myself. I’m proud of how far I’ve come. I’m proud of continually wanting to improve and knowing that I can do better in doing that,” Ilona told TooFab exclusively.
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“I’m super proud of Alan for being so patient with me and creating dances that really showcase me in such a positive light,” she added.
Alan chose Chappell Roan’s “Femininomenon” for Ilona’s Freestyle and final dance of the season, a perfect fit for the pro rugby player who is an inspiration to women around the world.
“It’s been so cool, they’re [her fans] the big reason that we got there to second place. And it’s been so cool. I think girls really resonated with seeing me out there. And also for Alan creating dances again that put me in such a beautiful light. Being a big girl, being a very strong girl, I still always felt beautiful, always felt like a ‘Femininomenon,'” Ilona told TooFab.
Their Freestyle dance pulled in a perfect score from the judges.
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The pair also performed the Jive earlier in the evening for their redemption round to “Shake a Tail Feather” by The Five Du-Tones
While the performance gave them a strong start, coming out with three 9s from the judges, it wasn’t enough to get them all the way.
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As for if Ilona will continue working on the craft of dance: “Yes….,” she said with hesitation before jokingly shaking her head.
“No, it’s been fun. I think there’s more room to improve. And I think maybe when it’s not like, ‘You got to do a show on Tuesday, learn two dances!’ Maybe when it’s more of a chill, I get to go to a studio maybe I’ll enjoy that,” she admitted.
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Ilona and Alan came in second place behind Season 33 winners, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson.
Despite not going home with the coveted Mirrorball trophy, Alan told TooFab that Joey and Jenna deserve it, too.
“Honestly, from day one, we’ve been best friends with them. We would go into the studios with them every week and do show and tells or talk or do TikToks. They’re great. Joey’s such a remarkable person. Jenna is incredible. They both deserve it as well,” he said.
Dancing with the Stars is streaming on Hulu.
