Meryl Davis and Maksim Chmerkovskiy took home the “Dancing with the Stars” mirrorball on Tuesday night, and backstage after the show, the two were glowing.
“I think we’re equally as happy,” Meryl said, when Access Hollywood’s Liz Hernandez asked who was happier over the win. “I think we’ve gone through such an amazing journey, but it’s been a much longer journey for him.”
“It takes so much effort to get to this point that we’re both equally happy,” Maks chimed in. “For me, it’s a long time coming. There [are] a lot of people that wanted to see this happen and I’m very happy that they finally get that, ‘Yes! We did it,’ because they’re the ones who called. They’re the ones who voted.”
Meryl and Maks had fantastic chemistry in the ballroom and the new “DWTS” celebrity champ told Liz her friendship with the pro dancer will continue.
“We’ve developed a real life friendship and just because the show ends, doesn’t mean our relationship is gonna end,” Meryl said.
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On Tuesday night’s “DWTS,” Meryl was seen in footage telling Maks she was honored to perform his last freestyle with him, which had some wondering if Season 18 is Maks’ last. While interviewing the pair after their win, Liz asked Maks if he plans to leave “DWTS.”
“I have no idea, but, you know, maybe. … I can’t do this for 20 years,” he said. “There’s not been a show that has been on the air that long. I was talking to Cheryl [Burke] yesterday and, you know, she’s done it 18 times. It’s crazy to me. … [The] first thing I said to Derek [Hough] was, ‘I don’t know how you did five times, the sheer effort and energy that it takes,’” Maks explained, referencing Derek’s five “DWTS” wins. “I’m an emotional person. I may not seem that way, but I’m an emotional person. I take on a challenge of the person. I don’t just go show up for work for a couple of hours and check out. It’s three months. I haven’t had a haircut, I haven’t done anything, I wore the same pair of pants. It’s exhausting.”
— Jolie Lash
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