Alix Earle gave fans a close-up look at how her body is adjusting to the hard-core schedule of Dancing With the Stars.
“Week 2 is not going as smoothly for big al hahaha,” the 24-year-old influencer captioned a TikTok video on Sunday, September 21, taking fans with her as she got “unready” from rehearsal.
Earle wore a bathrobe in the social media upload and ran herself a bath. “I have bruises on my collarbones,” she said. “My toenail came off during practice today.”
Pointing specifically to her knee, Earle added, “This is like one big, swollen bruise. … I don’t think I can walk.”
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While washing her face, Earle broke down how she’s been feeling after her first DWTS performance. Fans saw her and pro Val Chmerkovskiy deliver a fiery cha-cha to Britney Spears‘ hit “Circus” when season 34 premiered on September 16. The pair earned a 13 out of 20 from judges Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli. (Carrie Ann Inaba was not at the judges’ table due to illness but is expected to return this week.)
“I thought week one was hard,” Earle said in her TikTok on Sunday. “The stamina, the stuff we’re doing, I’m like, ‘I don’t even know.’ I’m signing myself up for stuff that, like, I have yet to do. Like, there’s some tricks and things that I just can’t do, but I’m like, ‘Oh, I’ll do it. I’m gonna work and get it by next Tuesday.’”
@alixearle Week 2 is not going as smoothly for big al hahaha
Though she’s been hard at work in the rehearsal studio, Earle admitted to feeling a little weary. “I’m starting to doubt myself a little bit,” she said. “But I’m gonna keep trying. … I think I’m breaking my knees.”
Earle added with a laugh, “I feel like someone put me in a drying machine and just bruised and beat up every part of my body.”
Injuries aside, Earle noted that she’s all-in when it comes to the competition. “I don’t know the last time in the past three years that I have dedicated this much time to something besides work. … This has just become my everything,” she said in the video. “I completely changed my entire life schedule. I’m going to bed early every night, I really have nothing else going on besides dancing every day. … Recovery, taking care of myself. I’ve changed what I’m eating. I wanna make sure I’m doing a really good skincare routine every night and taking care of my skin.”
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For One-Hit Wonders Night on Tuesday, September 23, Earle and Chmerkovskiy, 39, are performing a jive to Lou Bega‘s “Mambo No. 5.” Since there was no elimination during last week’s premiere, two couples will be going home on Tuesday.
“It’s just sad,” Earle exclusively told Us Weekly about the double elimination twist after her first dance. “Everyone is so good and talented and fun and sweet. I mean, I don’t want to be eliminated and I don’t want anyone else to be eliminated either.”
Chmerkovskiy, however, felt somewhat less sentimental. “It’s good, get them out,” he joked before explaining, “I’ve done this many times, so I’ve been through that process. That’s what makes it so special is that you never know when it’s your last performance.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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