Ilona Maher takes second place, fans react

Ilona Maher is the winner of “Dancing with the Stars” – at least in the hearts of her fans.

The rugby player, a social media star who had many passionate supporters during the competition show’s 33rd season, and her partner Alan Bersten came second in Tuesday’s final, while Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson won the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy .

Maher’s fans lamented her loss, while others were simply grateful that she placed so high and celebrated her work throughout the season.

“Ilona Maher was the true embodiment of this season in my opinion,” said one X user. “She constantly improved, showed vulnerability and gained so much confidence. She gave strength to so many young girls and captured the hearts of so many. I wish she would have won, but she deserves all the flowers.”

“Dancing with the Stars” winners:Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson take home the mirror ball

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“Seeing a woman on TV who keeps saying she’s proud of herself. Ilona, thank you,” another X post says.

Given Maher’s online support, someone wondered, “If this is based on popularity, HOW did Joey Ilona win???”

For others, second place was still an outstanding achievement worth celebrating.

“Ilona’s second place is great!” wrote one fan on Reddit. “She’s a true representation of what this show is about: taking a celebrity who doesn’t know anything about dancing and showing them how to progress.”

Who is Ilona Maher?What you should know about the DWTS contestant, Olympian and social media star

Some felt that Chandler Kinney and Brandon Armstrong, who placed third, deserved second place instead.

“I’m an Ilona girl, but I fully supported Chandler’s win and voted for it,” read one Reddit comment, to which another user replied, “It kind of made me regret voting for Ilona.” to have (even though I still love it). her) because Chandler is by far the better dancer.

“Joey definitely doesn’t deserve to win against Chandler or ILONA,” one fan argued

But Maher’s fans rejected this.

“Saying Ilona shouldn’t come second: Ilona was great, always improved, took the judges’ criticism and did better the next time… and had ZERO dancing experience… SHE is what the show is about should!”!!” one X post said. “She deserves second place.”

The athlete has millions of followers online thanks to her hilarious social media posts, and one fan called her the “Queen of Memes” all season long.

When judge Carrie Ann Inaba asked Maher in one episode if she was OK when she got emotional, she replied, “It’s been better, Carrie Ann.” Fans also grabbed a clip of Maher in Tuesday’s finale jokingly pretended to faint after the show went to commercial break just as the winners were about to be announced.

At the end of the day, could not winning the Mirrorball Trophy actually be Maher’s best outcome? “The fact that Ilona doesn’t win is a blessing for her,” argued one Reddit user. “She would get a lot of criticism from both the pro-Joey and pro-Chandler fans! I really don’t think it would be worth it.”

As for Maher, she told Extra after the show that what she took away from the season was that there was always room for improvement. “I had some really difficult episodes this season, but I always felt like I came back stronger and honestly I’m really proud of myself,” she said.

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Ilona Maher takes second place, fans react

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