"I WAS CRYING SO HARD" — Dancing with the Stars fans praise Ilona's dedication to her rugby team

In Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Episode 5, titled, Dedication Night, the celebrity contestants and their professional dancing partners put on performances dedicated to significant people in their lives. One such contestant was Ilona Maher, an American Rugby Union player.

During her latest performance, Ilona and her partner Alan Bersten danced to My Way by Yseult and dedicated it to Ilona's seven teammates. She called them her sisters and "rocks" and her performance earned her a 32 out of 40.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars Season 33 praised the athlete's performance online. One person wrote on X:

"@ilona_maher YOU DID IT !!!!!!!!!!!! YOU FREAKING DID IT !!!!!! OMG THIS WAS YOUR BEST DANCE !!!! I WAS CRYING SO HARD. THAT WAS AMAZING !!!! WHAT A BREAKTHROUGH !!!! @ilona_maher @Dance10Alan SO PROUD OF YOUB BOTH !!!!!"

"#Ilona Danced Beautifully! Her grace and style on the dance floor were simply stunning@ Every move was mesmerizing, Let's review her forum screen and her dance partner," a fan commented.

"ILONA DESERVED A 9 TONIGHT MAYBE EVEN A 10 SORRY NOT SORRY," a tweet read.

Dancing with the Stars Season 33 fans said Ilona's performance made them cry:

"Crying all over again watching Ilona Maher cry because she messed up a dance last week! America protect Ilona Maher at all cost! Vote to keep this bada** real women!" a person wrote.

"EXCUSE ME MISS ILONA I AM IN TEARS BEAUTIFUL," a fan commented.

"I love them your honor. Ilona Maher has my heart, FOREVER! Nearly broke me seeing she and Alan crying with one another in that rehearsal package," a tweet read.

Fans of Dancing with the Stars Season 33 further said:

"ilona’s teammate crying is so real bc i also cry when im just so proud of someone i love," a person wrote.

"ALAN AND ILONA CRYING WHEN THEYRE THE COMEDY DUO I WILL FIGHT WHOEVER HURT YOU," a fan commented.

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Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten's performance in Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Episode 5 explored

In Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Episode 5, titled, Dedication Night, Rugby player, Ilona Maher and her professional dancing partner Alan Bersten performed the Rumba to My Way by Yseult.

Ahead of her performance, fans were shown clips of her rehearsal during which the DWTS Season 33 contestant opened up feeling discouraged by her last week's scores.

"I felt like, I guess, a failure in a way for disappointing you," she told Alan.

The professional dancer told the Dancing with the Stars Season 33 celebrity contestant that she was putting too much pressure on herself. She also opened up about her upcoming performance and said she wanted to dedicate it to her teammates. She explained they were her "sisters" and her "rocks."

Her performance earned her praises from the judges. Carrie Ann told the athlete it was her "most delicate" performance yet while Derek said that she had commendable control. Guest judge Mark Ballas asked her to use her arms more while Bruno termed her performance a redemption.

Her performance earned her 8s across the board and brought her total up to 32 out of 40. They were amongst the five pairs who received 32 from the judges. Others were Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko, Phaedra Parks and Val Chmerkovskiy, and Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber.

Danny Amendola and Witney Carson, as well as Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson topped the leaderboard in Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Episode 5 with a judges score of 36. Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold scored 33 while Dwight Howard and Daniella Karagach received the lowest scores with their Rumba as they scored 29 out of 40.

Fans of the reality show complimented Ilona's performance online and stated her performance brought tears of their eyes.

Tune in next week on Tuesday, October 22, 2024, to watch Dancing with the Stars Season 33 Episode 6 on ABC.