Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten React to Nearly Winning ‘Dancing With the Stars’ With Sentimental Message

The pair took second place on season 33 of the hit television show.

Alan Bersten and Ilona Maher / Disney/Getty Images

Last night, the five remaining Dancing With the Stars couples competed in the Season 33 finale. Each pair was looking to secure the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy—the annual prize awarded to the season’s champions.

In the course of the episode, each of the five couples performed two different dances: a redemption dance (a re-do of one of the styles that they had performed earlier in the season) and a freestyle dance. At the end of the night, a combination of judge scores and viewer votes crowned Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson as winners.

But Ilona Maher and her partner Alan Bersten weren’t far off. The pro rugby player and her professional dance partner finished in second place behind the winners—and the remaining three pairs fell in line behind them.

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If you ask the pair, they would attribute their finish to fan votes. In a joint Instagram post after the fact, Maher and Bersten thanked the viewers for their dedication all season long. “Thank you for everything, guys. You voting are the reason we got to 2nd place,” they wrote in the caption of the post. “Of course, it’s no first but honestly we won in many other ways. So lucky to have been partnered together and shared this amazing journey. We will remember this forever.”

Their heartfelt sentiments spoke to the close friendship that they have formed over the course of the past two-and-a-half months. And though their Jive (a re-do from Hair Metal Night) and freestyle dances didn’t earn them the trophy, their second place finish was a testament to their improvement over the course of the season.

Maher and Bersten’s time on Dancing With the Stars Season 33 may be coming to an end, but we don’t think we’ve seen the last of the pair. In recent weeks, the 28-year-old has spoken of their friendship as a lasting one—we’re sure they’ll reunite before too long.

But even if they don’t get the chance to link up soon, we know one night when they are guaranteed to do so: April 5. Last night, Maher announced that she would be joining the Dancing With the Stars live tour cast for that one night and hopefully reuniting with Bersten for a dance or two.

In any case, the pair made fans proud with their improvement this season—and we can’t wait to see what they each tackle next.

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