Jenna Dewan opened up about the mental toll of competing Dancing with the Stars.
“I keep saying I knew it was going to be difficult. I knew it was going to be a physically demanding situation. I also didn’t realize how emotionally and mentally challenging the whole process was,” Dewan, 45, said. We after her Mariah Carey Night performance on Tuesday, October 6. “But it’s quite challenging.”
Dewan liked how the experience “challenged” her, adding: “That’s why you feel so alive doing it. Those are all good things, but with that comes all the colors. All the tones.”
rookie player competes with professionals Val Chmerkovskiy Since season 35 began in September. The duo quickly became a topic of conversation due to Dewan’s past dancing experience, despite having no training in ballroom styles.
Despite the off-screen comments, Dewan remained focused on advancing in the competition.
“We work hard here and literally give our all to this competition,” he said. We. “And with that comes grounding the different aspects of yourself and your emotions and realizing that the best thing comes from just being honest, real, open and vulnerable.”
After receiving some harsh criticism from the judges in the previous weeks, Dewan was thrilled with the reaction to her and Chmerkovskiy’s rumba. Mariah CareyThe group’s song “My All” earned them 24 points out of 30.
“I think the dance, the song, and that moment were just there for us to show that. It was emotional and amazing,” he said. “It was an incredible moment. We worked hard and I think our goal was to really rise to the moment, show our emotions, be vulnerable, slow down, be softer and show our different side as a couple.”
Chmerkovskiy, 40, is proud to see how much Dewan has improved.
“I saw his confidence diminish week by week. He was already humble,” he shared. “It’s part of the game. I think it’s important to do some ego clearing and fight a little bit.”
He continued: “That makes moments like tonight that much more triumphant and makes me even more proud of us. Because without that challenge, you’ll never be able to enjoy the true nectar of the fruits of your labor. We’ve really put in the work over the last month and a half, and tonight was the culmination of that.”
Chmerkovskiy also spoke We About channeling positive or negative feedback from fans.
“People are people. I get a lot of love and that’s why I don’t block out the noise,” she told Us. “Listen, I’m a human. Some brave people have to write things or make videos of things now, I can’t even tell if you’re a real person [artificial intelligence]. We live in an environment where these networks bring us all together, but they also strengthen many systems of participation. [the] It’s a rage bait economy, and you know, we’re all evolving to find tools to deal with that kind of noise.
He continued, “I don’t think our generation was raised equipped for this. We were equipped for this in the real world. We’re learning how to equip ourselves in the social media world, but at the end of the day, I’m not naive to all the love we’ve received on social media and all the sanity I’ve experienced.”
Dancing with the Stars Airs Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC and Disney+.