‘Dancing With the Stars’: Emma Slater Reveals Painful Rehearsal Injury

Dancing With the Stars might look glamorous on television, but Emma Slater shared a new video to show the realities of just how grueling the process can be. The longtime pro revealed she’s dealing with an injury and gave some insight into how painful it’s been.

She prefaced the video with the note, “Don’t watch if you squirm easy!!!” Slater then went on to tell viewers, “For people who want to do Dancing With the Stars and they want to experience it, something you should know, if you do Dancing With the Stars, this could happen.”

After showing an object to the camera, she continued, “Do you know what this is? This is my toenail. It’s not a fake toenail. This is my actual toenail.”

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A post shared by Emma Slater (@theemmaslater)

Slater went into a bit of detail about what she had to endure to physically hold her toenail in her hand. “I had to peel that off just now because it was flip-flopping like a cat door,” she shared. “You can imagine what my toe looks like without this being on it. It’s not cute.”

Of course, the pros are used to the injuries that come with the sport they’ve dedicated their lives to, but the celebrities are also slowly learning what it takes to put so much time into dance. In fact, Season 35 contestant Giada De Laurentiis already experienced an injury of her own and had to dance during this week’s premiere with a broken toe.

Slater is partnered with Jackson Olson this season. They were the first couple to dance on premiere night and scored a 15/30 for their Week 1 cha-cha.

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In this week’s double elimination, Conner Leavitt and Sarah Jane Nader were sent home. The couples will return to the dance floor on September 22, and another contestant will be eliminated.

Dancing With the Stars, Season 35, Tuesdays, 8/7c, ABC