Michael Waltrip and pro partner Emma Slater got the boot on last night’s “Dancing with the Stars,” and the racecar driver was saddened by the pair’s elimination.
“I just hate that the experience is over,” Michael told Access Hollywood after the show on Monday night. “It’s way more than a dancing show. Dancing isn’t just a physical skill – there’s a lot of emotion that goes into dancing.
“I don’t think I’ve been all that emotional the last few years, and to get to know Emma and how she works every day with such passion and such desire to make her partner better than he is – it was a wonderful experience,” he added.
Michael said he’s sad that his morning routine will be changing.
“I used to get up every day and look forward to driving to the dance studio to find my girl, and continue to be friends and to learn to dance,” he said. “That’s getting ready to be different.”
The former Daytona 500 winner said he’s learned many things beyond just dancing from Emma.
“I’ve grown a lot, and that feels good to say and good to feel,” he told Access.
And he fully intends to keep dancing!
“[Emma] has opened up a whole world to me and I’ll hopefully continue to experiment and understand more and more about it and come back and sweep her off her feet and take her dancing one day,” he said.
— Erin O’Sullivan
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