Ilona Maher playfully teases DWTS partner Alan Bersten as she unveils her new partnership with popular sunscreen brand

American union rugby player Ilona Maher recently shared a sneak peek into her new partnership with renowned sunscreen brand Coppertone. This comes just a couple of days after her side, the Bristol Bears, faced a 36-20 defeat against Gloucester-Hartpury during the semifinals of the Premiership Women's Rugby.

Despite impressive performances from Lark Atkin-Davis, Maher, and Millie David, the Bristol Bears faced defeat. With this loss, Maher concluded her time at the PWR, and just a few days after the match, the 28-year-old was seen busy exploiting her off-field opportunities.

Maher took to her Instagram handle to share a video from the brand shoot. In the video, the 2024 Olympics bronze medalist was seen in blue shorts and a mini-top reciting her lines and spending fun moments with the dog present for the ad shoot. During the same, she also took a jibe at her Dancing With The Stars (DWTS) season 33 partner Alan Bersten by calling the dog the "cutest co-star" she has ever worked with.

She said in her video:

"Guess who the new coppertone girl is? it's me. Dream come true, for all of you. This is the cutest co-star I ever had (referring to the dog in the ad), sorry Allan."

"No big deal, just protecting my skin for an unbeatable performance under the sun. Just the beginning of an unbeatable partnership" she further added.

Bersten and Maher finished in second place at the DWTS 2024 finale with a flamboyant routine performed to “Femininomenon” by District 78 ft. Mona Ruesaid. Talking about her brand partnerships, Ilona Maher has been associated with several notable brands across her career, such as Tinder, L'Oreal Paris, etc.

Ilona Maher sheds light on the upcoming endeavors of her rugby career

Maher posing with her fans during the Bristol Bears' match against the Harlequins Women (Image via: Getty

Ilona Maher opened up about the future of her rugby career after concluding her stint in PWR with the Bristol Bears.

In an interview after the semifinal match, Maher expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to come and play in the PWR and said that she wants to see this league grow in the future. She also mentioned that she is looking forward to the Pan Pacific rugby tournament with the USA rugby-15's side. She said (via BBC):

"What I was hopefully able to do and learn in two and a half months was amazing but I hope that even if I'm not playing this league continues to grow and we can get these numbers out to games even when I'm not there. We start with the Pac Four with USA 15s and I hope I've proven myself in this space to vie for a roster spot in the USA team and I hope I'll be selected for that."

During her conversation, Ilona Maher also made a special mention for her Bristol Bears teammate and said that she wished they could play together on the same team during the Rugby World Cup.