Andy Richter’s body was pushed to its limits.
The Dancing With the Stars fan favorite—who was eliminated during week nine of the competition—recalled the physical toll that dancing alongside partner Emma Slater put on his body.
“Certainly my body is enjoying not dancing, just because I was really getting to the point where I was always having to ice my knees every hour,” the 59-year-old told People in an interview published Nov. 24. “We'd dance a while and then I'd have to ice my knee, and there was a lot of pain and getting injections just to be able to keep going.”
“I'm healing,” he added. “It's not even just that I'm sort of resting, I feel like my legs are healing now. It wasn't just exercise, it was borderline abuse that I was doing to myself.”
Andy and Emma hit the ballroom floor for the final time during the show's milestone Nov. 11 episode, making them the eighth couple eliminated during season 34. For Andy, while his body is getting back to normal, he admits he's gotten used to the workout.
“As much as I do feel like my body's healing, I do kind of miss the physicality of it,” the Three Questions host said. “Going to the gym and doing the elliptical is not the same thing as rehearsing a new dance with Emma. It's just not.”
Indeed, working out became a pivotal part of his routine amid this time on the show.
“I really started to enjoy it and started to feel transformed by it and started to like the exercise,” he shared. “There was just a lightness to me, I mean in attitude. I was able to sort of feel like, yeah, I'm going to do this. And it definitely was hard.”
As he explained, “It's long hours. It's four hours a day, seven days a week, minimum. I have bad knees and a bad hip, and so there's just plain old pain involved for me in doing it. But I really got into it and I really committed myself to it.”
Despite not making it to the end, Andy admits that he has a newfound appreciation for moving his body off the dance floor.
“I've seen it with people in my life that as they get older,” he told the outlet, "they are these open people that are willing to try new things and do new things, and as they get older, that shuts down and they get more scared and they get more fearful and they stick to the tiny little island of what they know and what they feel comfortable with, I have for years seen that and gone, oh man, I don't want to do that.”
“I think I was on my way there without really even admitting it to myself,” he added, "and this ballroom dance competition has changed that for me.”
As for who will take home the Mirror Ball trophy? Find out Nov. 25, but until then, look back at all the stars who waltzed onto the dance floor for season 34.
Baron Davis
Partnered with Britt Stewart
Jennifer Affleck
Partnered with Jan Ravnik
Alix Earle
Partnered with Valentin Chmerkovski
Dylan Efron
Partnered with Daniella Karagach
Corey Feldman
Partnered with Jenna Johnson
Elaine Hendrix
Partnered with Alan Bersten
Robert Irwin
Partnered with Witney Carson
Jordan Chiles
Partnered with Ezra Sosa
Scott Hoying
Partnered with Rylee Arnold
Whitney Leavitt
Partnered with Mark Ballas
Hilaria Baldwin
Partnered with Gleb Savchenko
Andy Richter
Partnered with Emma Slater
Danielle Fishel
Partnered with Pasha Pashkov