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Fans React to SI Swim Cover Models Brooks Nader, Ilona Maher Joining ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 33 Cast

The franchise stars will compete for the Mirrorball Trophy as the series begins on Sept. 17 on ABC and Disney+.

Ananya Panchal

Brooks Nader and Ilona Maher
Brooks Nader and Ilona Maher / Yu Tsai/Sports Illustrated and Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Dancing With the Stars is returning for its 33rd season, and fans couldn’t be more excited. And, this year features a super stacked cast, including two very special women who are brand stalwarts over here at SI Swimsuit.

Brooks Nader, 2023 cover girl, and this month’s digital issue cover model, Ilona Maher, will join the reality competition series in hopes of earning the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.

Nader, 27, who has posed for the franchise each year since her debut in 2019, is partnered with Russian dancer and choreographer Gleb Savchenko, who has also appeared on the UK, Australian, and Russian versions of the show. Olympic rugby player Maher, who led Team USA to a bronze medal at the Paris games this summer, is partnered with professional ballroom dancer Alan Bersten.

DWTS announced the news early this morning in a joint Instagram post with Good Morning America, and fans went wild. The cast also includes Bachelor franchise stars Joey Graziadei and Jenn Tran, as well as basketball player Dwight Howard, American Olympic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik and others.

“OMGGGG @brooksnader,” SI Swimsuit’s June digital issue cover star Alix Earle commented on the post.

“Go @brooksnader go!!!!” fellow brand model Katie Austin added.

“IM SO EXCITED😍😍😍😍,” Daniella Karagach Pashkova chimed.

“Ilona looks like a Greek goddess 😨,” one fan chimed.

“@ilonamaher this was not on my bingo card but I’m obsessed,” another wrote.

“AAHHHHHHH ILONA AND STEPHEN YESSSSSS OLMYPICS BUDDIES ABSOLUTE FAVVVVVSSSS!!!!!!,” someone else gushed. Like Maher, Nedoroscik also went viral on social media during this year’s Olympic games.

Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars premieres on Tuesday, Sept. 17, on ABC and Disney+.

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Ananya Panchal
ANANYA PANCHAL

Ananya Panchal is a writer on the Lifestyle and Trending News team for SI Swimsuit, where she covers fashion, beauty, pop culture and the internet’s favorite personalities and trends. She joined the brand in 2022 after roles at Bustle, the San Francisco Chronicle and the TODAY Show. Panchal loves to write about fashion in all its forms—from standout runway moments and evolving street style to the best accessories to elevate each season’s wardrobe (she rarely goes anywhere without a stack of jewelry and a coffee in hand). A self-proclaimed beauty fanatic, she’s always on the hunt for must-have products and loves breaking down viral trends. Her favorite series at the moment is spotlighting female founders and the stories behind the brands they’ve built—especially those shaping the future of fashion, wellness and tech. She is based between New York City and San Francisco and, when she’s not writing, can be found rewatching One Tree Hill, playing sudoku, trying new restaurants or ranking her favorite Disney Channel Original Movies. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and journalism with a minor in criminal justice from Boston University.

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