Ilona Maher poses in red dress for Magazine shoot as she feels 'pretty' after runner's up finish at Dancing With the Stars

Ilona Maher donned a vermillion dress and paired it with subtle makeup for a People magazine shoot. Maher was fresh off finishing runners-up at the Dancing With the Stars.

Maher traveled to the Olympics for the second time in 2024, winning the coveted bronze with her US women's rugby sevens team. Besides her stellar Olympic run, the 28-year-old also gained fame as an advocate for body positivity, embracing feminity despite playing masculine sports and increasing awareness of women's sports.

Maher became the most-followed rugby player in history, boasting around eight million followers across major social media platforms. Following the Games, Ilona Maher shifted her focus to Dancing With the Stars season 33, having partnered with professional dancer Alan Bersten. The duo turned heads with their performances on Dedication Night, Disney Night, and others to advance to the finale alongside four other celebrity contestants.

On the finale night, Maher and Bertsen danced a fiery freestyle to 'Femininomenon' and won second place behind winners, Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson with 114 out of 120, narrowly missing out on the Mirrorball trophy. Days after her DWTS success, Maher shared a photo in a vermillion dress, posing with her tresses falling on the shoulders and subtle make-up.

"Like a pretty princess," her caption read.

After her DWTS stint, Maher featured her in a comical act on Instagram, expressing how she missed the show and her dancing partner Alan Bertsen. In the video, she sat in a coffee shop looking gloomy with the in-video caption reading:

"When it's Tuesday and there's no Dancing With the Stars"

Her post caption asserted that she and Bertsen keep themselves updated about each other every day.

"@alanbersten how are you? How’d you sleep? What did you eat today? (We literally message everyday)."

Ilona Maher is set to debut at the Premiership Women's Rugby with the Bristol Bears

Ilona Maher in between her game at the Olympic Games Paris 2024: (Source: Getty)

Shortly after weaving success at the Paris Olympics and DWTS, Ilona Maher returned to her territory and signed a three-month contract with the UK-based professional rugby union club, Bristol Bears, to play in the Premiership Women's Rugby league in the upcoming season, starting January 2025.

Speaking in an interview with the Bristol Bears, Maher said that she was happy to be back to her roots but also nervous since she didn't play rugby for four months after Paris.

"Really excited to be getting back into rugby now. I’m excited, but I’m also nervous. I’ve taken some time off—it’s been, I think, four months or so since l’ve gotten hit. All I’ve been doing is dancing, which is a little different than rugby, but I am excited to get back to where my roots are, how this all started, and what’s gotten me to this point,” Maher shared. (0:23)

Ilona Maher also traveled to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics as part of the national team but didn't secure a podium finish.