Lindsay Arnold isn’t competing in the Dancing With the Stars ballroom this season, but she’s been there to see some of sister Rylee Arnold‘s biggest moments.
Lindsay, 30, attended the live taping of the Halloween Nightmares episode on Tuesday, October 29, with her daughter Sage, 3, joking via TikTok that the toddler would likely “be terrified” by the contestants’ elaborate makeup and costumes.
Lindsay noted that she was “really excited” to see Rylee, 19, and her partner, Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, take on their contemporary routine. The dynamic duo danced to the song “I Ran (So Far Away)” by Hidden Citizens and drew inspiration from Nedoroscik’s fear of the dark.
The judges were blown away by the performance, with Carrie Ann Inaba even referring to the routine as the “best dance of the night.” Inaba, 56, gave Rylee and the athlete their first 10 of the season — and Rylee’s first 10 as a DWTS pro. (Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli each gave the couple nines, leaving them with an overall score of 28 out of 30.)
In a separate TikTok video shared Wednesday, October 30, Lindsay gave fans a glimpse of her reaction to seeing Rylee’s milestone. She filmed one of the monitors in the ABC ballroom, writing, “POV: witnessing your baby sis get her first 10 on Dancing With the Stars 😍.”
@lindsarnold I think we all feel that “what the freak” at the end after last nights episode 😂😂😂 im so proud of you @Rylee Arnold and @Stephen Nedoroscik 🇺🇸 #dwts #dancingwiththestars
♬ original sound – Lindsay Arnold Cusick
When Inaba lifted up her score paddle in the clip, Lindsay screamed as the rest of the audience erupted into applause. She playfully groaned in disappointment when the two remaining judges revealed their scores.
“I think we all feel that ‘what the freak’ at the end after last nights episode 😂😂😂 im so proud of you @Rylee Arnold and @Stephen Nedoroscik 🇺🇸 #dwts #dancingwiththestars,” Lindsay captioned the video.
Rylee and Nedoroscik survived Tuesday’s elimination, with Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber being sent home. Following the episode — which also included individual dance-offs between the couples — Rylee and her partner opened up to Us Weekly exclusively about the positive response to their performance.
“I mean, that 10 meant so much to both of us,” she gushed. “And so much to me, that was my first 10 as a pro. [I’m] just so glad that I got to do that with Stephen and so proud of him that he did that.”
Rylee made her DWTS debut as a pro last year during season 32 with reality star Harry Jowsey. Lindsay, meanwhile, has competed on 10 seasons of DWTS and won her first mirrorball with actor Jordan Fisher in 2017.
Lindsay last appeared on DWTS in 2021. Despite confirming in August that she wasn’t putting on her dancing shoes for season 33, Lindsay has remained involved in the competition through her sister. Earlier this month, she shared a hot take about the “confusing” scores being given out this season.
“At this point in the competition … I do feel like there needs to be some direct comparison,” she said in a TikTok video. “And when we’re seeing eights given out to one couple and eights given out to another, in my mind, a lot of times I’m like, ‘OK, but those weren’t equal dances.’”
Lindsay also expressed her surprise that there had yet to be any 10s, predicting that the judges were holding back for the right moment. The tides changed on Tuesday night, however, with nearly every couple earning the coveted score from at least one judge. (Ilona Maher and pro Alan Bersten received three eights.)
Dancing With the Stars airs simultaneously on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET. You can stream episodes on Disney+ the next day.
