Ilona Maher made flipping her Dancing With the Stars partner, Alan Bersten, upside down look effortless, but the duo made plenty of gaffes before getting to that point.
“We went through a lot of lifts before we settled on these. So, there’s going to be a lot of blooper reels that we got,” Bersten, 30, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, September 24, shortly after he and Maher, 28, performed their memorable Dirty Dancing-inspired salsa to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life.”
Although the DWTS pro said he “felt very safe” during the routine, Bersten did acquire some injuries during rehearsals.
“He hurt his knee, he hurt his gluteus maximus, he hurt everything,” Maher admitted to Us.
Maher demonstrated both graceful elegance and athletic strength in Tuesday’s performance, prompting judge Carrie Ann Inaba to praise her for “leading this conversation on what femininity is.” The Olympic rugby player told Us that she hopes little girls watching at home will see that it’s possible to be “strong and feminine” at the same time.
“Though I lifted [Alan] twice, it didn’t take away from the femininity of the dance, the playfulness we were having with each other,” she said. “Having a partner who can still make me feel that way on the dance floor is really important. And even though I was hulking him around, I still felt very feminine and beautiful.”
While the routine’s bold lifts earned it a place in DWTS history, Maher still isn’t completely satisfied with the performance, which earned a 21 out of 30 from the judges.
“It was a tough one for me. I made a couple mistakes, and I think after the second lift, people got so loud, and I got a little frazzled,” the athlete explained. “But I tried to stay with it. I guess it’s good, because I’m hoping for perfection every time, but I just have to also have grace with myself because that’s probably not how it’s going to be.”
When Maher isn’t feeling her most confident, she has ways to hype herself up.
“I love to first go work out, put on a sports bra and see what my body’s gonna do,” she said. “I recently saw a video of my back during pull-ups.”
Bersten chimed in to say that his partner’s pull-up abilities are “incredible,” prompting Maher to joke, “It’s probably from lifting Alan all week.”
Just a few weeks into their partnership, Maher and Bersten have already developed a playful relationship.
“She roasts me, but she makes it very clear she’s not flirting,” Bersten said. Maher noted that her habit of teasing Bersten is similar to the dynamic she has with her rugby teammates.
“I’m constantly roasting them. I literally love to make fun of them, and we make fun of each other,” she said. “That’s how I connect. And I think that’s just how [Alan and I are] connected.”
“That’s our love language,” Bersten added. “Roasting each other.”
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream episodes on Disney+ the next day. There will be no new episode on Tuesday, October 1.
With reporting by Carly Konsker
