The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives star Whitney Leavitt and her professional partner Mark Ballas were eliminated from Dancing with the Stars during the Season 34 semifinals on Tuesday night in a surprising upset that shocked both the studio audience and home viewers.
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"It's changed my life, and I will forever be so grateful for the friendships I've made. To have this experience, thank you so, so much!"
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Whitney and Mark's Dancing with the Stars elimination came despite strong performances from the couple throughout the competition.
During Prince Night, Whitney and Mark performed a Cha Cha to "1999" the judges described as "literal perfection," and a Viennese Waltz to "Slow Love."
Each performance earned Whitney and Mark a score of 29 out of 30 from Dancing with the Stars judges Derek Hough, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, leaving them tied for second place on the judges' leaderboard with a combined score of 58 points.
Afterward, Whitney and Mark suggested they had anticipated their elimination.
"Every week she's like, 'I don't think I'm gonna make it.' I'm like, 'You're gonna make it. You're gonna make it. It's gonna be okay," Mark told Good Morning America following the DWTS results.
"But I think today, we both had a -- I don't know. Sometimes you just get gut feelings, you know?”
"Yeah, we felt it," Whitney added.
However Mark remains proud of their performances on Season 34 of Dancing with the Stars.
"It sucks to fall at the last hurdle, but I've been super proud of the work," he told Good Morning America.
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"And um yeah, like I just think for Whitney especially, like this is just an amazing time and things will more things will come from this. There's things in the pipe that we can't say yet. It's coming."
Despite the unexpected exit, Whitney also reflected positively on her time on the show, expressing gratitude for the experience and noting that she didn't expect to make it as far as she did in the competition.
"It was definitely worth it, I would do it all again," Whitney told Entertainment Tonight after their surprising Dancing with the Stars elimination.
"It happened over time, experiencing this, because I didn't even think I was going to make it this far, every single week I would talk to Mark saying 'I don't know, tonight might be the night but I'm happy with what we've done so far.'"
"I'm so grateful to have made it so far. I don't know what that is, maybe it's the little kid in me that had all these dreams that felt unattainable but now they feel within reach."
Whitney also credited her husband, Conor, for his support throughout the competition.
"It brought us so much closer, I will forever be so grateful," she told Entertainment Tonight.
"I feel like he really picked up the -- I shouldn't say slack, but I wasn't at home. He was a stay-at-home dad, keeping the house clean, tending to the kids."
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Five couples advanced to Dancing with the Stars' Season 34 finale after Prince Night semifinals on November 18.
Robert Irwin and Witney Carson topped the leaderboard with a combined score of 59 points. Robert earned a perfect 30/30 for his Jive to "Baby I'm a Star," marking the first perfect score of the night.
Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy scored 58 points combined, tying with Whitney for second place. Alix performed an Argentine Tango to "Little Red Corvette" and a Viennese Waltz to "Purple Rain."
Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa scored 57 points combined, advancing to the finale despite the competitive field. The couple performed a Argentine Tango to "U Got the Look" that earned a perfect 30/30 score, and a Jive to "Raspberry Beret."
Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten also scored 57 points combined and earned a perfect 30/30 for Elaine's Paso Doble to "When Doves Cry," one of the standout performances of the night.
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Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach rounded out the final five with a combined score of 55 points. Despite placing at the bottom of the semifinals scoreboard, Dylan advanced to the finale.
The five finalists will compete for Dancing with the Stars' Season 34 title in the finale, which will air live on ABC on Tuesday, November 25 at 8PM ET/PT.
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