Dancing With the Stars season 33 finalist Chandler Kinney is “relieved” the show is finally over.
The Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin alum, 24, and her pro dance partner Brandon Armstrong jived and freestyled their way to a third-place finish during the Tuesday, November 26, finale after receiving perfect scores from the judges for both their dances. (Bachelor Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson won the season, while Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten placed second.)
“I’m relieved,” Kinney told Us Weekly of her showstopping freestyle routine after Tuesday’s live broadcast on ABC. “Relieved because I did exactly what I wanted to do. It was a celebration of everyone [who’s] come before us to allow us to be in this space, to have this conversation, to dance for people. And so that was much more than anything. It transcends the competition for me.”
Armstrong added, “It’s a win for me to be here. I think our freestyle was more important than our placing.”
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Kinney and Armstrong were hot favorites to win the season, but they were full of praise for eventual winner, Joey Graziadei, regardless.
“Joey worked his booty off. I know that because I was in the rehearsal studio every single day with him, and so I’m so grateful that he won,” the actress told Us. “Every single couple here is so deserving. I’m just really grateful to be in the space. Honestly. Those are Olympians, pro athletes, just people that have braved themselves and been so vulnerable and so to stand even next to that is, yeah, I’m very, very grateful.”
Armstrong agreed, “Joey is so deserving. He’s amazing, so we’re very, very proud of him.”
Asked what she would change about her DWTS journey, Kinney shared that the video packages of her training sessions often made her ballroom skills look more effortless than they were.
“I wish that the packages would’ve shown my struggle a little bit more because struggle I did,” she shared. “I cried in many rehearsals because it was really hard and I never wanted it to look easy. The goal is for it to look easy out here, but beyond that, I wouldn’t change anything I did. I was true to myself.”
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Elsewhere during Tuesday’s finale, Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and pro partner Rylee Arnold came fourth in the competition and NFL wide receiver Danny Amendola and his partner, Witney Carson, placed fifth.
With reporting by Mariel Turner
