Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Dewan have nothing but love for the time they spent on Dancing With the Stars despite their elimination.
“Every week is a shocker,” Chmerkovskiy, 40, told Extra after Grammy Night on Tuesday, November 10. “It’s very competitive. A lot of great couples out there. Wishing everybody the best, and I’m gonna be rooting from home.”
Chmerkovskiy noted that being sent home was “definitely a sad result,” but he also has no regrets. “I thought we had a great season,” he continued.
Dewan, 45, said she couldn’t be sure what exactly played into the pair’s elimination, adding, “I know this was a particularly tough week for a lot of the online noise … but I know that we went out there and had the best time of our life.”
The actress emphasized that “you can’t count anyone out” as the finale approaches. “I have the best hopes and wishes for all of them, I hope they have a beautiful rest of their journey. I’ll be cheering them all on,” she said. “Can’t wait to watch.”
Chmerkovskiy and Dewan were early front-runners on season 35, although her prior dance experience sparked some backlash among fans. During Tuesday’s Grammy Night, the duo leaned into Dewan’s roots with a jazz routine to Janet Jackson‘s “All for You.” (Before she starred in Step Up, Dewan began her career as a backup dancer in a handful of Jackson’s music videos and on tour.)
The performance impressed the judges — and Jackson, who sent in a special video message. Dewan and Chmerkovskiy earned 28 out of 30 points, plus two bonus points from winning their dance-off against Tatyana Ali and Jan Ravnik.
However, high scores weren’t enough to keep the pair safe ahead of the semifinals.
“❤️you @jennadewan … you’ve been exactly what I imagined,” Chmerkovskiy captioned an Instagram post following their elimination. “The absolute best! Thank you for the opportunity to be by your side through this entire process. I’ll never forget it.”
In the clip, the duo thanked fans for their support throughout the season. (Chmerkovskiy was briefly suspended weeks prior following a controversial comment he made toward Carrie Ann Inaba.)
“Thank you for a great season,” he said to the camera before reminding Dewan that they can still dance together any time. “We’ll dance anyway. We don’t need your votes. We can still dance.”
Chmerkovskiy continued, “I just want to say thank you to all the people that loved what we created, that loved what we put out and all the support and love that you guys reciprocated. … Till next time.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
