‘DWTS’: Xochitl Gomez & Val Chmerkovskiy on Winning the First Len Goodman Mirrorball
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All five Dancing With the Stars finalists received (mostly) perfect scores from the judges and loud cheers from the audience in last night’s three-hour finale for their redemption dances and freestyles, but only one couple could win the show’s coveted mirrorball trophy that’s now been renamed the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy in honor of the show’s late judge.
TV Insider talked to winning duo Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy on the confetti-strewn ballroom floor after the season finale wrapped.
“I’m very proud that we’re the ones holding the trophy,” Chmerkovskiy said. “It was a long season, and there were a lot of really great couples out there, [second place pair] Jason [Mraz] and Daniella [Karagach] included. I think it’s important to acknowledge the work Jason and Daniella and everyone did.”
Gomez was still absorbing the victory. “It felt…I don’t know,” she said, taking a beat. “It’s the same feeling I had that we made it to the finals — and that we were in the top two, which was also amazing. To be here is already a win. Each dance was a win. [Winning] was a similar feeling.”
That feeling will endure as Gomez is set to take part in the Dancing With the Stars tour next year. “I’m so excited about the journey continuing,” she said. What else is next? “School!” she replied. “I’m still in school. I had a mandatory day off, so I had one less day [to rehearse] than everyone else.”
The Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star gave a special shoutout to the supporters that voted all season for her and Chmerkovskiy. “Thank you for all the kind words and messages,” she shared. “I read them all. They gave us an extra boost. It wasn’t just for us — it was beautiful knowing people enjoyed watching us.”
This is Chmerkovskiy’s third mirrorball trophy, but it’s also, in a way, his first in that the award has been renamed the Len Goodman Mirrorball trophy. “Len was a champion for ballroom dance,” Chmerkovskiy said. “I feel really grateful that I got to further that education to this young woman and I do it in dedication to him.”
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Judge Derek Hough complimented Chmerkovskiy and Gomez for their genuine connection. “This is one of the few things in show business that you can’t totally fake,” Chmerkovskiy concurred. “People can see when there’s a [genuine] connection.”
Runner-up Mraz was ready to ditch his dancing shoes after the show ended, but he said from the ankles up, he’s filled with nothing but gratitude. “I feel overwhelmed with happiness,” he said. “The fact that they let me perform my own song [‘I Feel Like Dancing’] after this amazing competition was a win.”
Did Mraz and the other star finalists truly descend from the ceiling on top of giant mirrorballs in the finale opening, or was that a CGI effect? “We were up there,” Mraz confirmed. “We tested it [on Monday] to be sure everybody felt safe and happy. Then we pre-taped it around 3:30 [the day of the finale].”
Mraz said he’s going on tour next summer with his music and in the meantime, he plans on working with his foundation, which involves youth programs and dance. “I’m so excited to be a mentor and come in with some dance experience,” he said. Mraz also hopes to join the DWTS tour for a few dates in 2024.
For Karagach, her win came from partaking in the final with her husband Pasha Pashkov, who made it to the finals for the first time, coming in third place with Ariana Madix (Vanderpump Rules). “I will never stop being proud of my husband,” Karagach said. “He’s my winner out of everyone.”
Madix needed to leave the ballroom soon after the finale to catch a plane to commence her book tour. The reality TV star has authored Single AF Cocktails: Drinks for Bad B*tches. In the tome’s introduction, Madix cuts open a vein bigger than anything you’d see on DWTS’s Most Memorable Year night.
“I think that vulnerability is something that’s very difficult for me,” Madix said about sharing her personal life in her book. “When I’ve been able to express vulnerability, they’ve been the best moments for me. That’s my true self.”
Actor Matt Walsh (Veep), who was sent home on the first night of the competition back in September, was happy to be reunited with his fellow DWTS pals for the finale. The actor had been outspoken about supporting the Writers Guild of America scribes as the strike hadn’t been settled when he began rehearsing for the show.
“I got caught up in a media frenzy,” Walsh said. “I told Koko [Iwasaki, my pro partner] that I couldn’t be on the show. Five days later, the strike was settled. It was a joy to come back and dance with my partner tonight.”
Walsh can next be seen in the Apple TV+ drama titled Manhunt, which tells the story of the capture of John Wilkes Booth (played by Anthony Boyle), the man who assassinated President Abraham Lincoln. “I play Dr. [Samuel] Mudd, who fixed John Wilkes Booth’s ankle. It’s a beautiful show, and I’m excited.”
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Mira Sorvino was still sporting a brace on her right hand due to an injury she suffered on the show. “I’m hoping next week I can take this thing off,” she shared. Later this week, she can be seen in the finale of Shining Vale, which airs on Starz. “I play three different characters, and I have a dance scene [coming up].”
Barry Williams (The Brady Bunch) returned to perform in the finale, too, and go shirtless once more. “I feel like I never left because being on Dancing with the Stars is like acquiring a family,” he said. “We all support each other.”
Williams indulged reporters by answering a few Brady Bunch questions on post-show press lines. We couldn’t help but ask one more: Is it true that when you tattle on someone else you’re really tattling on yourself? “I think that when you tattle, you’re telling people more about who you are than what you’re telling them,” Williams graciously replied in his best Mike Brady.
Alyson Hannigan (How I Met Your Mother) never expected to make it all the way to the finals. “I’m just so incredibly grateful and I’m proud of myself and proud of [Sasha Farber],” she said.
The actress may visit the Dancing With the Stars tour and perform a few routines, but she’s got something far more important on her immediate “to do” list first: “I just want to pick up my kids from school!”
Judge Carrie Ann Inaba called their routine “amazing” and “wonderful,” but still, she gave Charity Lawson (The Bachelorette) and Artem Chigvintsev a “9” for their redemption tango, as she believed she may have seen a mistake in the routine. (The couple came in fourth, so an extra point likely wouldn’t have propelled them to mirrorball glory.) Inaba didn’t elaborate on what the mistake may have been, and Lawson and Chigvintsev were unaware of what the error was (or wasn’t).
Asked if she knew what Inaba was referring to in her dance, Lawson responded: “I don’t. I wish I did.”
“I’m not sure [either],” Chigvintsev added. “It might have looked a certain way, but the routine went how it was supposed to.”
“It truly did,” agreed Lawson.
Chigvintsev is extremely proud of Lawson and the challenges she hurdled in the competition — including her not skipping a beat when she lost not one but both of her earrings during their tango.
“I knew one of them [fell off],” Lawson said. “I felt that.”
“I felt those earrings in my shoes,” Chigvintsev revealed with a smile.
