Dancing with the Stars finalist Chandler Kinney has admitted she's feeling "relieved" now that the competition is over.

ADVERTISEMENT

The TV actress and her professional partner Brandon Armstrong were the first Black pair to ever make it to the Dancing with the Stars finale, and their jaw-dropping freestyle routine was a cultural celebration that paid homage to the famous Black dancers who had paved the way for them.

RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS)

"I'm relieved," Chandler, 24, told Us Weekly of having performed her difficult freestyle live on Dancing with the Stars' November 26 finale on ABC.

"Relieved because I did exactly what I wanted to do. It was a celebration of everyone [who's] come before us to allow us to be in this space, to have this conversation, to dance for people. And so that was much more than anything."

Chandler acknowledged how the meaning behind her freestyle "transcends the competition" for her.

Although Chandler and Brandon received two perfect scores for their jive Redemption dance followed by their freestyle -- and also topped the judges' two-week scoring leaderboard in first place -- they finished Dancing with the Stars' 33rd season in third place.

The Bachelor alum Joey Graziadei and pro partner Jenna Johnson won the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, while Olympic rugby player Ilona Maher and pro partner Alan Bersten placed second.

But Brandon told Us that it was still "a win" for him to be competing on finale night.

"I think our freestyle was more important than our placing," he shared with the magazine.

Chandler and Brandon are also apparently happy for Joey, whom they believe was very deserving of the win.

"Joey worked his booty off," noted the Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin alum.

"I know that because I was in the rehearsal studio every single day with him, and so I'm so grateful that he won."

Chandler, in fact, said that all five couples in the Dancing with the Stars finals were "so deserving" of victory -- including fourth-place finishers Stephen Nedoroscik and pro partner Rylee Arnold as well as fifth-place finishers Danny Amendola and pro partner Witney Carson.

"I'm just really grateful to be in the space, honestly," Chandler said.

"Those are Olympians, pro athletes, just people that have braved themselves and been so vulnerable and so to stand even next to that is, yeah, I'm very, very grateful."

Brandon agreed and added, "Joey is so deserving. He's amazing, so we're very, very proud of him."

When asked what she'd change about her time on Dancing with the Stars, Chandler admitted that her rehearsal footage never quite captured how difficult the journey was for her.

"I wish that the packages would've shown my struggle a little bit more because struggle I did," Chandler explained.

All season long, Chandler was portrayed as a natural dancer with effortless technique and onstage presence.

But Chandler revealed that she "cried in many rehearsals," and she elaborated, "It was really hard and I never wanted it to look easy. The goal is for it to look easy out here."

But beyond that, Chandler insisted she "wouldn't change anything" she did.

"I was true to myself," Chandler concluded.

On finale night, Chandler and Brandon first danced a Redemption jive that received a perfect score of 30 points from Dancing with the Stars judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli.

Derek said Chandler kept her energy up from start to finish and the difficulty level of that jive was "sensational."

And Bruno called the dance "a triumph" and said the performance was as good as it gets.

For their freestyle, Chandler and Brandon earned another perfect score of 30 points.

Carrie Ann said the dance was beyond impressive and was extremely important. She said representation matters and Chandler changed the future of Dancing with the Stars.

Derek also added how it was a sensational performance and Chandler was consistently excellent on the show.

RELATED LINK: 'DANCING WITH THE STARS' PROS AND THEIR SIGNIFICANT OTHERS: WHO'S DATING OR MARRIED TO WHOM!? (PHOTOS)

Interested in more The Bachelor news? Follow our Bachelor Nation News Page on Facebook or join our The Bachelor Facebook Group!




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON GOOGLE NEWS