Whitney Leavitt and Mark Ballas put their best foot forward.
Yet, despite consistently earning among the highest scores on Dancing With the Stars week after week, the pair were eliminated during the series’ Nov. 18 semifinals, becoming the last couple to be voted off ahead of the season’s finale—a fate the pair had expected.
As Mark told E! News’ Will Marfuggi after filming, “We knew, we felt it. I think we just had a feeling.”
To which Whitney affirmed, “We had a gut feeling it was us.”
But even though she and Mark had prepared themselves, the Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star nevertheless was mourning her spot in the competition.
“It’s sad, it does feel like a breakup because you build long-lasting friendships here with production, crew—obviously with Mark,” she said. “You spend so much time with these people every single day, so it does feel like a breakup. It’s like I’m sad, but also I’m leaving with just a grateful heart, to have been able to experience it.”
Plus, the 32-year-old wouldn’t change a thing about her experience.
“I wanted to give it my all every single dance,” she said. “There’s just some things that are out of your control, but I’m gonna leave just knowing that I gave it my all.”
And indeed, after their elimination was announced during the episode—confirming couples Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa, Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten as well as Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy would be proceeding to the finals—Whitney expressed her gratitude for her time on the competition series.
"I already feel like a winner," she said onstage. "This show has meant the absolute world for me. It's changed my life and I'll forever be so grateful to have this experience."
To which Mark—for whom season 34 marked a return to the ballroom after a few years away—added, “I had the best time. I love this show."
And Whitney isn’t the only eliminated contestant who said their time on the series changed them: Andy Richter, who had been eliminated with partner Emma Slater one week earlier, also spoke to the impact Dancing With the Stars had left on him.
"It's changed my life,” Andy said following his elimination, adding of Emma, "I'm a different person because of this show and because of this woman right here. None of this would have happened without her. She knew how to use me."
For a look back at the many stars who tried to tango their way to the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy this season, read on.
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