November 16, 2021 • 21 mins
No one is more shocked than Cheryl that they made it to the finals.
It’s very bittersweet because Suni and Melora were eliminated.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
I'm pretty Hey, guys, welcome back to Pretty Messed Up
Dancing with Myself, Holy Finale, Semifinals, getting into the finale. Honestly,
(00:28):
this has been such a crazy night full of emotionals
like drops me included dropping onto the walkway on the
stage that you saw tonight. I honestly thought we were
going home and we are making it to the final
four you guys, and I have to say thank you
so much for anybody and everyone who has voted, because
(00:52):
obviously this is the only reason why we're on the show.
It's not the high scores, because the scores haven't been
that high. We were again tonight on the bottom of
the leaderboard, Cody and I, and we were already saying
our goodbyes, like actually we were in this trailer and
after our dance, you know, there was a few club
ups that he never actually messed up during dress rehearsal,
but he was a little upset about it. And I said,
(01:14):
you know what, we did what we could do. We
have to let go and let God. That's our saying
before we dance, we say that to each other, and
it's true. It's like there's nothing that we could do.
And I thought for sure, Like I'm like, there's no
way for staying. So I was already ready for a
tier just to be like okay, bye, you know basically
and um cut too. They called our name and I
(01:34):
actually thought we were the first couple going home. So
I was like, and we did this during dress rehearsal,
so like when you get called to go home, you
have to exit stage right, So I was like, wait
a second, was that a mistake? Like in my head,
I dropped to the floor. I swore, which I shouldn't
have because right before that happened, during the commercial break,
(01:55):
the producer came up to me was like, Cheryl, don't swear, Sheryl.
I'm like, why would I swear anyway? Like we're going home?
Like I didn't even think of another option, so I said,
what the I fell and fainted. I didn't faint for real,
but I'm not like Marie Osmond faint when she fainted
on Dancing the Stars. But I definitely did not see
that coming at all, like at all. Cody's hands were
(02:19):
all clammy. I was just like, great, we're gonna have
to say their goodbyes. It's been real, it's been fun.
Season thirty has been emotional, but holy shit, you guys,
I am so excited. Season thirty has been a whirlwind
of emotions. As you guys know, we've been through a
heck of a journey so far, from COVID two teaching
(02:42):
somebody how to dance via zoom and just like the
after effects of fatigue and just trying to get it
together and trying to get a breakthrough dance, you know,
with Cody, and I believe that he still has so
much more to offer, and you know, this is the
last week, and like Tyra said tonight, like the last
final I made was back in season seventeen when I
(03:03):
dance with Jack Osborne. I cannot believe it's been that long.
But we're in season thirty at the moment, and honestly,
this already has been such a memorable season that will
go down in history for me at least, and I'm
grateful for this opportunity. I mean, I feel really bad though,
I must admit that Malaura and Sunny they're both amazing dancers.
(03:24):
I mean, I've always said this. I thought Malaura was
the best dancer as far as technique goes, and Sunny
is an Olympian, like you know, at the end of
the day. I don't know if she knows this, but
she's like pushed us, like she pushed all of us,
Like we know that she her work ethic is just
not comparable to most of us, right, Like she knows
what it takes. And then you know, this is this
(03:46):
whole show is not just a dance competition. And I've
said this before, like it's just about truly being able
to connect to the audience and just having human experiences.
And I think that's something that Cody and I have
at and we didn't force it. None of this was written,
none of this is fake. What you see is what
you get. And wow. Yeah, but these two dances tonight,
(04:08):
like for Cody, was for me one of my favorite dances,
Like I love Argentine tango and I love salsa, and
I really choreographed two challenging routines and I for sure
took that risk of Okay, maybe he's not going to
get at all, and maybe we're gonna miss a connection
or two, but it was worth it. It was worth
for me to push to push him because then if we,
(04:29):
let's say, never made the final I can actually go
to sleep in peace and know that we did everything
that we could do. But now I want to approach
this differently because I always stress out every week. It
doesn't even matter if it's week one or just the
training period, or it's the week the finale week, Like,
no matter what, I always my expectations to think of
myself are too high or just not realistic. So I
(04:52):
really want the both of us, for Cody and I
just to get out of our heads and just to
enjoy this moment, because this is such a special moment.
We are part of a finale of a show that's
been going on for thirty seasons and that I've been
a part of the twenty four out of the thirty,
and sometimes you tend to take advantage of it, and
you tend to stress about stuff that you're not going
to remember at the end of the day. All I
(05:14):
remember from my last final was I wish I enjoyed
it more, and I wish I enjoyed Jack's company more.
I wish I wasn't so stressed out because for what
Like at the end of the day, I know this
sounds so cliche, but we've already won. We've been in
the bottom of the leader board. I feel like almost
every week, and so look, there has been so much
growth as far as our joining goes, from growing into
(05:35):
becoming really good friends, to going through ups and downs
like any other partnership goes through. And then with that,
you know, being able to take the punches and being
able to throw back, and you know, hopefully be able
to inspire and motivate and whatever it is. You know,
we just take this whole process from one step at
(05:56):
a time. And I just want our freestyle next week
to repent Cody, and I want to showcase him and
what he does best. And yeah, anyway, you guys, I'm
so grateful, and I'm so sorry to the eliminated couple.
I think I even hugged them and I was like,
I'm so sorry, you should have been us. But you know,
they seem very genuinely happy for everybody, and I think
(06:18):
we all are became such a close family, even with
COVID right, Like, I do believe that if the pandemic
wasn't here, we would all still, you know, we would
all be hanging out. And this is a cast, a
special cast, you know, that has really bonded throughout this
process of the last ten weeks. So the fact that
this is the last week. Everybody goes home next week.
(06:38):
It's sad, you know, it's bittersweet, like our bodies are
definitely tired and worn out. But you know, I think
we've all grown to really love and respect each other.
So um, anyway, that's my little summary of the semifinals.
You guys, thank you so much from the bottom of
my heart. And I also know Cody's for keeping us
in like we would not be here if it wasn't
(06:59):
for you, So keep it up. Maybe I can get
another Mirrorball because of the mirrors on my other two
from season one or season two and three or are
slowly falling off, if not have all fallen off, so
it'd be nice to get another one. But in the meantime,
we're taking this one step at a time. And um yeah, alright, guys,
let's take a break and when you come back, I'm
going to give you all the behind the scenes juicy
(07:21):
gossip from Blood, Sweat and Tears. Come in your way
very soon. See you later. Hey, guys, welcome back. All right,
so let's just dive right into it. I want to
(07:41):
tell you all the juicy gossip details that you guys
never see on the show, you know, so let's just
get into it. So right after basically right after the results, right,
I mean, I was literally in shock the whole time
that this was happening and yes, sad at the same time.
And you just don't know how to react because you're like,
you're happy you made it, but then you're also sad
(08:03):
that you have two of the best answers I think
of the show quite frankly leaving and then you feel
guilt and shame like I did. I mean, I went
up to them right after the show. I hugged art
Um and I was like, I'm so sorry, like you
guys should still be here. He's like, oh my god,
please don't be sorry. You deserve to be here. And
then same with Sasha. It's just like it's you know,
(08:24):
for me, I go to the pros first because obviously
we go way back, and the work that we do
on this show is quite a lot, and I just
understand that like Sasha, for instance, you know, we had
him on the show, he hasn't one yet, and I
know that this is something that he really wants, and
I almost want that for him, you know, obviously, and
I want everyone to have their chance and their their
(08:45):
lights and their time holding that mirror ball trophy. But
it's like it really you feel all these different feelings
and it's an emotional roller coaster. And I know Molaura
was in tears and I hugged her and she came
up to me and she said, thank you so much,
and she said, you know, she commented on like how
beautiful the dancing was, and um, you know I could
(09:06):
tell that my Laura. Really, as hard as this show is,
there is this like, oh, I wish I would have
made it to the end, no matter how hard the
show is, because you've already gone this far, you know.
And then with Suony, it's like I want to just
be I feel like I would need to mother her
because she reminds me a lot of myself when I
was younger. Um you know, maybe similar trauma or whatever,
(09:28):
but also living in this spotlight and like a very
contained world of like gymnastics versus the same thing with
me in the ballroom world, and having to grow up fast,
having to just already be judged at such a young age,
and then going through real life young women, you know,
like that when we go through young just being a
young woman in her I guess in her time, eighteen
(09:52):
years old in the spotlight cannot be easy. And I
just I don't know. I just wanted to make sure
she knew from me that she is beautiful, and to
listen to these horrible trolls on social media, and then
also just to know that, you know, like I'm all,
I'm always around and I know that she's shy and
I can see that and that's who I was as well.
(10:12):
But it's not easy, you know, like she has she's
been shoved into the spotlight in a way. We went
straight from the Olympics to Dancing with the Stars and
then what like not everyone loves her dancing or she's
getting really hurt by that and those comments and I
and I get it, you know, and I just want
I just wanted to hold her, but I understand that
it was just like she was just really sad. It's
(10:33):
just it's sad and then you're happy. It's just like
it's exhausting. I always say I've lost like five six
years of my life every season when I do this show,
So I don't have that much long longer to live.
I guess since I've done twenty four of them, just kidding, UM.
So you know, I saw the interview that Molaura did
on k T L A UM, and I saw that
she was holding back tears and how emotional she was,
(10:55):
because you know, this is what this show is. And
I think that, Look, I always jokingly say that this
show is like Survivor, right, but that's not what I mean.
And I don't mean it in a negative way. I
mean it more like, it's about how mentally strong and
physically strong you are as a partnership, and it's not
(11:16):
just as an individual. It's like, can you take a note?
Can you also take critique and criticism but constructively? And
can you also not let your ego get in the way?
And then can you also be real and vulnerable so
that the audience at home can connect to you. There's
so many factors that play um when it comes to
just being successful on a show like this, and it's
(11:37):
not just a dance competition. If it was, it would
be really easy, the formula would be. That is what
it is, you know. But this is the reason why
we have voting. And I think what is so emotional
is you create this bond with your partner, whether you
guys are best friends or not. It's irrelevant, right, but
you are being vulnerable, Like these celebrities are coming on
(11:58):
the show, they've never ballroom dance before, and we're like, hey,
nice to meet you. Let's dry hume, like literally, that's
what we're doing. And it's like we as professional dancers,
are so used to talking with our body language, like
that's what we do. We touch we're very touchy feely people,
especially as a ballroom dancer. And it's a partnership. So
it's like that doesn't make us, I guess feel oh weird,
(12:21):
like oh my god, that so and so's in love
with me because they did a rumba. Now like we're like, okay,
we leave it in the studio, goodbye or for the
most part, right, and then we'll see you again later.
But we're very like you basically hate say hey, nice
to meet you. Let's do this, and you're either going
to do it as a team and you're going to
create a beautiful bond or maybe you're not, or you're
going to create a great working relationship. And I feel
(12:42):
like that's what Melora and Artem had. But also you
start to then go back in time and you're like, god,
I wish I would have enjoyed my time here more
because for these celebrities, they're never coming back again. Like
I've done twenty four seasons as pros were great. You know,
it's we're blessed to be able to say, Okay, we
can come back at these celebs as much as they
want to say how hard it is they are Also,
(13:05):
I think I have seen a pattern of these celebrities
completely change and evolve into stronger, resilient human beings who
actually end up loving dance. And yes, is it annoying
that I bark up my partner every single day or
does he find it annoying? Totally? Do we bicker every
single day? Totally? But like it teaches you just such
(13:27):
a life lesson. But then there's a point in this
show too where you have to let go. You just
have to let go because it's out of your control.
Like all you can do is focus on what you
do in the dance studio and go out there and
do the best performance you can, and then it's not
in your control. It's like it's a weird thing, it
really is. It's a weird emotional roller coaster and you're
constantly going up and down. You're constantly in fight or flight,
(13:49):
because like that is it's the adrenaline spiking down and up,
up and down. Then you hit that like low like
depressed state, like every season after the show, after the finale,
I go for this depression for about two weeks, Like honestly,
I don't want to get out of bed, I don't
want to eat, Like I honestly could barely put two
words together because I'm just so run down from the
(14:10):
up and up and down, up and down constantly. So
this show is such an experience of its own. I
can't compare it to anything that I've ever done. So um,
but you do develop such a beautiful relationship, not only
with your partners and the other people involved in the show,
but also with yourself. You learned so much, and I
think that's why the emotion is just so raw and
(14:31):
real on this show. I'm not sure if you guys
actually like it when the judges saved the couples, but
I do believe that. I think it's good, and I
think it's but it's only good to a certain point.
I think in the competition, like when it comes to
semifinals and finals, maybe that's when the judges should like
come in and like if something like this happened, Like
let's say you don't think Cody's a great dancer, and
(14:53):
we get say versus someone who I think is one
of the best answers on the show, me Laura. You know,
maybe it's like one of those instead of like every
every week having it be a judge's pick. I don't know,
but at the end of the day, you know, I
think as far as Cody and I go, as far
as our scores go, it's pretty clear that the judges
kind of like now it's like eight nine, they're low scores,
(15:13):
Like you want to try and aim for all tens
honestly to be able to be somewhat like to compare
to the other couples, because people are throwing out tens
right now. It's semifinals, And we got an eight from
Derek and Ursulsa, which I do not believe Cody deserved
an eight. That was a really hard and fast dance,
and he honestly accept one little slip up like a
(15:34):
missing hand connection. He just kept going though, regardless, so
I think in eight was kind of harsh um. And
then Bruno came into our rehearsals this week and he
wanted to see more connection and he wanted to see
more hip action. And we still have yet to get
a ten from Bruno and Derek. But I just feel
like the judges all want to see something different. Yeah,
(15:54):
you've got Lenn and Derek who are ballroom judges, but
you've also got like carry Anne who like to see chemistry,
and you've got Bruno who wants to see hip action
in every dance, you know, And so it's like that
is the mix that we are dealing with. But then
we also have people at home, like when you score
a couple too low, Like I kind of think maybe
that's what happened with Cody. You're gonna get his Peloton
(16:16):
fans angry and they're going to vote for him. Like
that's the thing. It's like reverse psychology in a weird way.
But I also think he's got tons of fans. And
I'm just grateful into the Peloton community because honestly, if
we were ever in that bottom two and then it
was up to the judges, they would have sent us
home week three. So the fact that we've never been
in the bottom two, we stay cleared from the bottom
(16:38):
two because of you guys. Honestly, we're here only because
of you, So thank you. Okay. So I was like
after I dropped on stage when they called our names,
Cody was just laughing, like giggling like a little girl,
because he was just he knew that I thought we
were done. He kind of thought so too. His hands
were real clammy, as I mentioned before up on stage age.
(17:00):
So I was like, Okay, we're just waiting for that
to happen, and then he's just laughing because he also
said to me, look, I know there's a lot of
haters out there. I know there are haters out there
that don't want us here or that don't think I'm
good enough to be here in the finale, But I'm
just laughing because, look, this is totally out of our control.
We're not like pressuring anyone to vote for us. But
this community like when you piss like a group of
(17:21):
Peloton people, like when you piss them off, and it's
like you're pissing them off because like Cody is their
best friend or was especially during the pandemic, right, Like
that's like a good family friend to these hundreds and
thousands of women that are probably watching this show and
feel like they owe a vote or two to Cody
after getting them through the pandemic, let's say, and then
(17:44):
you get these trolls and haters saying, oh, he should
have been gone along time ago, or Cody's this Cody
is that I think it affects Cody and it affects
any human being like it affects me. But I choose
just not to maybe look at Instagram as much. But
then I know that it may ruin his day, let's say,
or the next few hours. And then when he actually
can get through the competition because of his fans, that's
(18:06):
he's laughing in a way because he's laughing at the
fact that these haters are probably so angry that we're
in this competition. But um, he's so you know, he's
so grateful because he also knows that this has not
been easy, and there's been times when he's just felt
discouraged or felt like he wanted to give up, but
never like give up, but just that feeling of like
(18:28):
I'm not improving or I'm not doing this right, or
I'm not getting the scores that I think I deserve.
And look, this has been something where I've learned so
much as well, Like when one is down, you have
to pull the other up. And the one thing that
Cody and I believe you know, that we truly have
is communication. Like whenever we piss each other off, we
(18:48):
just say it right there. We don't hold grudges and
we just call each other out and honestly, whether that
you whether we think it's going to hurt the other
person's feelings is irrelevant. Like we have to let it out,
and that is something that I realized I definitely need
to do because if I don't let it out at
that moment, I'm going to hold onto it and resent
the person. So anyway, it's like any partnership, you know,
(19:11):
Dancing with the Stars is more like an arranged marriage
in a way because you can't really pick your partner,
but whoever it is, you have to fact like quickly
create a bond in chemistry and look, I think for
the freestyle around, it's important that you know, for the
finale when we do two dances, so we've got fusion,
We've got chach up and passo to the same song.
(19:33):
That's what fusion is. So it's like two dances that
you can do to the tempo of the song in
a minute. And a half and then we have our freestyle,
which is you know, I'm sure you guys have heard
of this. It's like this is where you go bigger, better, amazing,
and like you throw out all the stops. But the
challenges COVID at the moment still like there's so much
I want to do, but we can't have extra dancers
(19:54):
close to us. It's a whole thing at the end
of the day, I need to figure out and I
had think I had of a way to create a
freestyle that's never been done in thirty seasons, and that's
something that Cody can finally just show his side, Like
he doesn't have to try and be this macho guy,
or he doesn't have to be guest on, he doesn't
have to be a possible dancer. He could just be
(20:15):
Cody Riggsby. And I think that's what people really wanted
him to see. I would love to be able to
see Cody just do his thing and not have any
technique or rules behind it all. But just put it
this way. We've got three songs were mixing together in
a minute and forty five seconds, and they're all songs
that you've heard of, so and something that Cody Loves,
so get ready. All right, as you see here I'm
(20:36):
taking out or I'm not see but here my pins
are coming out of my head slowly, which means it's
my time to go and start stressing out about next week.
But I just want to thank you guys once again
for tuning in and listening to you know, all the
behind the scenes juicy gossip of you know, Dancing with
the Stars and um yeah, make sure you vote and
(20:57):
I'll see you on the dance floor. It's finale time,
holy crap. Send us positive vibes because we're definitely gonna
need them, and um yeah, I'll be back right here,
win or lose next week. See you then bye. Follow
Pretty Messed Up on I Heart Radio, or subscribe wherever
you listen to podcasts.
I'm pretty Hey, guys, welcome back to Pretty Messed Up
Dancing with Myself, Holy Finale, Semifinals, getting into the finale. Honestly,
(00:28):
this has been such a crazy night full of emotionals
like drops me included dropping onto the walkway on the
stage that you saw tonight. I honestly thought we were
going home and we are making it to the final
four you guys, and I have to say thank you
so much for anybody and everyone who has voted, because
(00:52):
obviously this is the only reason why we're on the show.
It's not the high scores, because the scores haven't been
that high. We were again tonight on the bottom of
the leaderboard, Cody and I, and we were already saying
our goodbyes, like actually we were in this trailer and
after our dance, you know, there was a few club
ups that he never actually messed up during dress rehearsal,
but he was a little upset about it. And I said,
(01:14):
you know what, we did what we could do. We
have to let go and let God. That's our saying
before we dance, we say that to each other, and
it's true. It's like there's nothing that we could do.
And I thought for sure, Like I'm like, there's no
way for staying. So I was already ready for a
tier just to be like okay, bye, you know basically
and um cut too. They called our name and I
(01:34):
actually thought we were the first couple going home. So
I was like, and we did this during dress rehearsal,
so like when you get called to go home, you
have to exit stage right, So I was like, wait
a second, was that a mistake? Like in my head,
I dropped to the floor. I swore, which I shouldn't
have because right before that happened, during the commercial break,
(01:55):
the producer came up to me was like, Cheryl, don't swear, Sheryl.
I'm like, why would I swear anyway? Like we're going home?
Like I didn't even think of another option, so I said,
what the I fell and fainted. I didn't faint for real,
but I'm not like Marie Osmond faint when she fainted
on Dancing the Stars. But I definitely did not see
that coming at all, like at all. Cody's hands were
(02:19):
all clammy. I was just like, great, we're gonna have
to say their goodbyes. It's been real, it's been fun.
Season thirty has been emotional, but holy shit, you guys,
I am so excited. Season thirty has been a whirlwind
of emotions. As you guys know, we've been through a
heck of a journey so far, from COVID two teaching
(02:42):
somebody how to dance via zoom and just like the
after effects of fatigue and just trying to get it
together and trying to get a breakthrough dance, you know,
with Cody, and I believe that he still has so
much more to offer, and you know, this is the
last week, and like Tyra said tonight, like the last
final I made was back in season seventeen when I
(03:03):
dance with Jack Osborne. I cannot believe it's been that long.
But we're in season thirty at the moment, and honestly,
this already has been such a memorable season that will
go down in history for me at least, and I'm
grateful for this opportunity. I mean, I feel really bad though,
I must admit that Malaura and Sunny they're both amazing dancers.
(03:24):
I mean, I've always said this. I thought Malaura was
the best dancer as far as technique goes, and Sunny
is an Olympian, like you know, at the end of
the day. I don't know if she knows this, but
she's like pushed us, like she pushed all of us,
Like we know that she her work ethic is just
not comparable to most of us, right, Like she knows
what it takes. And then you know, this is this
(03:46):
whole show is not just a dance competition. And I've
said this before, like it's just about truly being able
to connect to the audience and just having human experiences.
And I think that's something that Cody and I have
at and we didn't force it. None of this was written,
none of this is fake. What you see is what
you get. And wow. Yeah, but these two dances tonight,
(04:08):
like for Cody, was for me one of my favorite dances,
Like I love Argentine tango and I love salsa, and
I really choreographed two challenging routines and I for sure
took that risk of Okay, maybe he's not going to
get at all, and maybe we're gonna miss a connection
or two, but it was worth it. It was worth
for me to push to push him because then if we,
(04:29):
let's say, never made the final I can actually go
to sleep in peace and know that we did everything
that we could do. But now I want to approach
this differently because I always stress out every week. It
doesn't even matter if it's week one or just the
training period, or it's the week the finale week, Like,
no matter what, I always my expectations to think of
myself are too high or just not realistic. So I
(04:52):
really want the both of us, for Cody and I
just to get out of our heads and just to
enjoy this moment, because this is such a special moment.
We are part of a finale of a show that's
been going on for thirty seasons and that I've been
a part of the twenty four out of the thirty,
and sometimes you tend to take advantage of it, and
you tend to stress about stuff that you're not going
to remember at the end of the day. All I
(05:14):
remember from my last final was I wish I enjoyed
it more, and I wish I enjoyed Jack's company more.
I wish I wasn't so stressed out because for what
Like at the end of the day, I know this
sounds so cliche, but we've already won. We've been in
the bottom of the leader board. I feel like almost
every week, and so look, there has been so much
growth as far as our joining goes, from growing into
(05:35):
becoming really good friends, to going through ups and downs
like any other partnership goes through. And then with that,
you know, being able to take the punches and being
able to throw back, and you know, hopefully be able
to inspire and motivate and whatever it is. You know,
we just take this whole process from one step at
(05:56):
a time. And I just want our freestyle next week
to repent Cody, and I want to showcase him and
what he does best. And yeah, anyway, you guys, I'm
so grateful, and I'm so sorry to the eliminated couple.
I think I even hugged them and I was like,
I'm so sorry, you should have been us. But you know,
they seem very genuinely happy for everybody, and I think
(06:18):
we all are became such a close family, even with
COVID right, Like, I do believe that if the pandemic
wasn't here, we would all still, you know, we would
all be hanging out. And this is a cast, a
special cast, you know, that has really bonded throughout this
process of the last ten weeks. So the fact that
this is the last week. Everybody goes home next week.
(06:38):
It's sad, you know, it's bittersweet, like our bodies are
definitely tired and worn out. But you know, I think
we've all grown to really love and respect each other.
So um, anyway, that's my little summary of the semifinals.
You guys, thank you so much from the bottom of
my heart. And I also know Cody's for keeping us
in like we would not be here if it wasn't
(06:59):
for you, So keep it up. Maybe I can get
another Mirrorball because of the mirrors on my other two
from season one or season two and three or are
slowly falling off, if not have all fallen off, so
it'd be nice to get another one. But in the meantime,
we're taking this one step at a time. And um yeah, alright, guys,
let's take a break and when you come back, I'm
going to give you all the behind the scenes juicy
(07:21):
gossip from Blood, Sweat and Tears. Come in your way
very soon. See you later. Hey, guys, welcome back. All right,
so let's just dive right into it. I want to
(07:41):
tell you all the juicy gossip details that you guys
never see on the show, you know, so let's just
get into it. So right after basically right after the results, right,
I mean, I was literally in shock the whole time
that this was happening and yes, sad at the same time.
And you just don't know how to react because you're like,
you're happy you made it, but then you're also sad
(08:03):
that you have two of the best answers I think
of the show quite frankly leaving and then you feel
guilt and shame like I did. I mean, I went
up to them right after the show. I hugged art
Um and I was like, I'm so sorry, like you
guys should still be here. He's like, oh my god,
please don't be sorry. You deserve to be here. And
then same with Sasha. It's just like it's you know,
(08:24):
for me, I go to the pros first because obviously
we go way back, and the work that we do
on this show is quite a lot, and I just
understand that like Sasha, for instance, you know, we had
him on the show, he hasn't one yet, and I
know that this is something that he really wants, and
I almost want that for him, you know, obviously, and
I want everyone to have their chance and their their
(08:45):
lights and their time holding that mirror ball trophy. But
it's like it really you feel all these different feelings
and it's an emotional roller coaster. And I know Molaura
was in tears and I hugged her and she came
up to me and she said, thank you so much,
and she said, you know, she commented on like how
beautiful the dancing was, and um, you know I could
(09:06):
tell that my Laura. Really, as hard as this show is,
there is this like, oh, I wish I would have
made it to the end, no matter how hard the
show is, because you've already gone this far, you know.
And then with Suony, it's like I want to just
be I feel like I would need to mother her
because she reminds me a lot of myself when I
was younger. Um you know, maybe similar trauma or whatever,
(09:28):
but also living in this spotlight and like a very
contained world of like gymnastics versus the same thing with
me in the ballroom world, and having to grow up fast,
having to just already be judged at such a young age,
and then going through real life young women, you know,
like that when we go through young just being a
young woman in her I guess in her time, eighteen
(09:52):
years old in the spotlight cannot be easy. And I
just I don't know. I just wanted to make sure
she knew from me that she is beautiful, and to
listen to these horrible trolls on social media, and then
also just to know that, you know, like I'm all,
I'm always around and I know that she's shy and
I can see that and that's who I was as well.
(10:12):
But it's not easy, you know, like she has she's
been shoved into the spotlight in a way. We went
straight from the Olympics to Dancing with the Stars and
then what like not everyone loves her dancing or she's
getting really hurt by that and those comments and I
and I get it, you know, and I just want
I just wanted to hold her, but I understand that
it was just like she was just really sad. It's
(10:33):
just it's sad and then you're happy. It's just like
it's exhausting. I always say I've lost like five six
years of my life every season when I do this show,
So I don't have that much long longer to live.
I guess since I've done twenty four of them, just kidding, UM.
So you know, I saw the interview that Molaura did
on k T L A UM, and I saw that
she was holding back tears and how emotional she was,
(10:55):
because you know, this is what this show is. And
I think that, Look, I always jokingly say that this
show is like Survivor, right, but that's not what I mean.
And I don't mean it in a negative way. I
mean it more like, it's about how mentally strong and
physically strong you are as a partnership, and it's not
(11:16):
just as an individual. It's like, can you take a note?
Can you also take critique and criticism but constructively? And
can you also not let your ego get in the way?
And then can you also be real and vulnerable so
that the audience at home can connect to you. There's
so many factors that play um when it comes to
just being successful on a show like this, and it's
(11:37):
not just a dance competition. If it was, it would
be really easy, the formula would be. That is what
it is, you know. But this is the reason why
we have voting. And I think what is so emotional
is you create this bond with your partner, whether you
guys are best friends or not. It's irrelevant, right, but
you are being vulnerable, Like these celebrities are coming on
(11:58):
the show, they've never ballroom dance before, and we're like, hey,
nice to meet you. Let's dry hume, like literally, that's
what we're doing. And it's like we as professional dancers,
are so used to talking with our body language, like
that's what we do. We touch we're very touchy feely people,
especially as a ballroom dancer. And it's a partnership. So
it's like that doesn't make us, I guess feel oh weird,
(12:21):
like oh my god, that so and so's in love
with me because they did a rumba. Now like we're like, okay,
we leave it in the studio, goodbye or for the
most part, right, and then we'll see you again later.
But we're very like you basically hate say hey, nice
to meet you. Let's do this, and you're either going
to do it as a team and you're going to
create a beautiful bond or maybe you're not, or you're
going to create a great working relationship. And I feel
(12:42):
like that's what Melora and Artem had. But also you
start to then go back in time and you're like, god,
I wish I would have enjoyed my time here more
because for these celebrities, they're never coming back again. Like
I've done twenty four seasons as pros were great. You know,
it's we're blessed to be able to say, Okay, we
can come back at these celebs as much as they
want to say how hard it is they are Also,
(13:05):
I think I have seen a pattern of these celebrities
completely change and evolve into stronger, resilient human beings who
actually end up loving dance. And yes, is it annoying
that I bark up my partner every single day or
does he find it annoying? Totally? Do we bicker every
single day? Totally? But like it teaches you just such
(13:27):
a life lesson. But then there's a point in this
show too where you have to let go. You just
have to let go because it's out of your control.
Like all you can do is focus on what you
do in the dance studio and go out there and
do the best performance you can, and then it's not
in your control. It's like it's a weird thing, it
really is. It's a weird emotional roller coaster and you're
constantly going up and down. You're constantly in fight or flight,
(13:49):
because like that is it's the adrenaline spiking down and up,
up and down. Then you hit that like low like
depressed state, like every season after the show, after the finale,
I go for this depression for about two weeks, Like honestly,
I don't want to get out of bed, I don't
want to eat, Like I honestly could barely put two
words together because I'm just so run down from the
(14:10):
up and up and down, up and down constantly. So
this show is such an experience of its own. I
can't compare it to anything that I've ever done. So um,
but you do develop such a beautiful relationship, not only
with your partners and the other people involved in the show,
but also with yourself. You learned so much, and I
think that's why the emotion is just so raw and
(14:31):
real on this show. I'm not sure if you guys
actually like it when the judges saved the couples, but
I do believe that. I think it's good, and I
think it's but it's only good to a certain point.
I think in the competition, like when it comes to
semifinals and finals, maybe that's when the judges should like
come in and like if something like this happened, Like
let's say you don't think Cody's a great dancer, and
(14:53):
we get say versus someone who I think is one
of the best answers on the show, me Laura. You know,
maybe it's like one of those instead of like every
every week having it be a judge's pick. I don't know,
but at the end of the day, you know, I
think as far as Cody and I go, as far
as our scores go, it's pretty clear that the judges
kind of like now it's like eight nine, they're low scores,
(15:13):
Like you want to try and aim for all tens
honestly to be able to be somewhat like to compare
to the other couples, because people are throwing out tens
right now. It's semifinals, And we got an eight from
Derek and Ursulsa, which I do not believe Cody deserved
an eight. That was a really hard and fast dance,
and he honestly accept one little slip up like a
(15:34):
missing hand connection. He just kept going though, regardless, so
I think in eight was kind of harsh um. And
then Bruno came into our rehearsals this week and he
wanted to see more connection and he wanted to see
more hip action. And we still have yet to get
a ten from Bruno and Derek. But I just feel
like the judges all want to see something different. Yeah,
(15:54):
you've got Lenn and Derek who are ballroom judges, but
you've also got like carry Anne who like to see chemistry,
and you've got Bruno who wants to see hip action
in every dance, you know, And so it's like that
is the mix that we are dealing with. But then
we also have people at home, like when you score
a couple too low, Like I kind of think maybe
that's what happened with Cody. You're gonna get his Peloton
(16:16):
fans angry and they're going to vote for him. Like
that's the thing. It's like reverse psychology in a weird way.
But I also think he's got tons of fans. And
I'm just grateful into the Peloton community because honestly, if
we were ever in that bottom two and then it
was up to the judges, they would have sent us
home week three. So the fact that we've never been
in the bottom two, we stay cleared from the bottom
(16:38):
two because of you guys. Honestly, we're here only because
of you, So thank you. Okay. So I was like
after I dropped on stage when they called our names,
Cody was just laughing, like giggling like a little girl,
because he was just he knew that I thought we
were done. He kind of thought so too. His hands
were real clammy, as I mentioned before up on stage age.
(17:00):
So I was like, Okay, we're just waiting for that
to happen, and then he's just laughing because he also
said to me, look, I know there's a lot of
haters out there. I know there are haters out there
that don't want us here or that don't think I'm
good enough to be here in the finale, But I'm
just laughing because, look, this is totally out of our control.
We're not like pressuring anyone to vote for us. But
this community like when you piss like a group of
(17:21):
Peloton people, like when you piss them off, and it's
like you're pissing them off because like Cody is their
best friend or was especially during the pandemic, right, Like
that's like a good family friend to these hundreds and
thousands of women that are probably watching this show and
feel like they owe a vote or two to Cody
after getting them through the pandemic, let's say, and then
(17:44):
you get these trolls and haters saying, oh, he should
have been gone along time ago, or Cody's this Cody
is that I think it affects Cody and it affects
any human being like it affects me. But I choose
just not to maybe look at Instagram as much. But
then I know that it may ruin his day, let's say,
or the next few hours. And then when he actually
can get through the competition because of his fans, that's
(18:06):
he's laughing in a way because he's laughing at the
fact that these haters are probably so angry that we're
in this competition. But um, he's so you know, he's
so grateful because he also knows that this has not
been easy, and there's been times when he's just felt
discouraged or felt like he wanted to give up, but
never like give up, but just that feeling of like
(18:28):
I'm not improving or I'm not doing this right, or
I'm not getting the scores that I think I deserve.
And look, this has been something where I've learned so
much as well, Like when one is down, you have
to pull the other up. And the one thing that
Cody and I believe you know, that we truly have
is communication. Like whenever we piss each other off, we
(18:48):
just say it right there. We don't hold grudges and
we just call each other out and honestly, whether that
you whether we think it's going to hurt the other
person's feelings is irrelevant. Like we have to let it out,
and that is something that I realized I definitely need
to do because if I don't let it out at
that moment, I'm going to hold onto it and resent
the person. So anyway, it's like any partnership, you know,
(19:11):
Dancing with the Stars is more like an arranged marriage
in a way because you can't really pick your partner,
but whoever it is, you have to fact like quickly
create a bond in chemistry and look, I think for
the freestyle around, it's important that you know, for the
finale when we do two dances, so we've got fusion,
We've got chach up and passo to the same song.
(19:33):
That's what fusion is. So it's like two dances that
you can do to the tempo of the song in
a minute. And a half and then we have our freestyle,
which is you know, I'm sure you guys have heard
of this. It's like this is where you go bigger, better, amazing,
and like you throw out all the stops. But the
challenges COVID at the moment still like there's so much
I want to do, but we can't have extra dancers
(19:54):
close to us. It's a whole thing at the end
of the day, I need to figure out and I
had think I had of a way to create a
freestyle that's never been done in thirty seasons, and that's
something that Cody can finally just show his side, Like
he doesn't have to try and be this macho guy,
or he doesn't have to be guest on, he doesn't
have to be a possible dancer. He could just be
(20:15):
Cody Riggsby. And I think that's what people really wanted
him to see. I would love to be able to
see Cody just do his thing and not have any
technique or rules behind it all. But just put it
this way. We've got three songs were mixing together in
a minute and forty five seconds, and they're all songs
that you've heard of, so and something that Cody Loves,
so get ready. All right, as you see here I'm
(20:36):
taking out or I'm not see but here my pins
are coming out of my head slowly, which means it's
my time to go and start stressing out about next week.
But I just want to thank you guys once again
for tuning in and listening to you know, all the
behind the scenes juicy gossip of you know, Dancing with
the Stars and um yeah, make sure you vote and
(20:57):
I'll see you on the dance floor. It's finale time,
holy crap. Send us positive vibes because we're definitely gonna
need them, and um yeah, I'll be back right here,
win or lose next week. See you then bye. Follow
Pretty Messed Up on I Heart Radio, or subscribe wherever
you listen to podcasts.
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