Jordan Chiles and partner Ezra Sosa were fully prepared to say goodbye to another Dancing With the Stars duo on Dedication Night.
Following the emotional performances on Tuesday, October 14, Chiles, 24, exclusively told Us Weekly that the no elimination twist was “the most devastating thing ever.”
“I think this was the first time I was like, ‘We’re in elimination and what is happening?’ Only because we rehearsed it. We rehearsed everything going on,” the Olympian explained.
According to Chiles, the vibe shifted in the ballroom after it was revealed that the entire cast was safe. “I think everybody — not even just us — but everybody’s moods were just like, ‘Are you serious right now?’” she told Us. “I was pissed, personally.”
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Sosa, also 24, agreed that the surprise didn’t feel fair. “You can’t play these mind games with us. That’s not right,” he teased. “It’s almost worse. You’re going to line us up? No, girl. No. Send someone home. Just do it. Come on.”
While Dedication Night has become a fan favorite among the DWTS themes, this year’s edition added an extra element of emotion. Along with dedicating their routines to someone special in their lives, the competitors were joined on the dance floor by the person they were honoring.
Chiles dedicated her effortless Viennese waltz to her father, Timothy, who looked dashing while dancing to “Daughters” by John Mayer. The judges — including former pro Kym Johnson-Herjavec — were unanimous with their scores, each giving out eights for a total score of 32.
For Chiles, it was a no-brainer to include her dad, who has supported her “through thick and thin,” in the thoughtful tribute.
“Ever since I was little, I was like, ‘One day, I’m going to have a daddy-daughter dance. That’s going to be out of this world.’ Now, for it to be on Dancing With the Stars, that’s even crazier,” she told Us. “I was joking in the back, I was like, ‘You know what? Whenever I get married, our daddy-daughter dance is going to be epic because we could do a waltz, if we wanted to.’”
While Sosa and the gymnast ended the night toward the top of the leaderboard, the scores didn’t feel as important this time.
“It was really about just the feelings that everybody was feeling inside of the ballroom — the judges [and] ourselves — because that’s what dedication is all about, right?” Chiles told Us. “You take that one person that you truly love and connect with and you make sure they have the most fun that you have at the same time, so it was really just about the love and joy that we all gave each other.”
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Chiles doesn’t just have her dad in her corner cheering her on; she also has Sosa, who publicly defended her from “mean girl” accusations earlier this month.
“You know, having an amazing partner is what it’s all about,” she said on Tuesday. “Our connection is crazy and I just really, really love it so much. I don’t think people understand, look what happens behind the doors is what happens behind doors. It’s the same person that you see on camera [and] off camera.”
She thanked Sosa for having her back, adding, “I’m really happy to have somebody like him that can stand up for me and it’s my story, it’s my chapter, it’s my journey that I get to explore. And having Ezra a part of that is really cool.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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