‘Dancing With the Stars’: Emma Slater Reacts to Boyfriend Alan & Giada’s Elimination

The kitchen closed for Giada De Laurentiis and her pro partner Alan Bersten when the two were eliminated from the September 22 episode of Dancing With the Stars. The pair danced a salsa to Becky G‘s song “Bella Ciao,” which translates, ironically, to “Goodbye, Beautiful.”

The key to lasting on DWTS is to improve one’s performance from the previous week. De Laurentiis and Bersten scored 16 points in the show’s premiere week, performing a tango to” Venus.” This week, the duo dropped four points, earning a score of 12 for their salsa.

Tatyana Ali (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), paired with Jan Ravnik, told TV Insider right after the live show on Tuesday that she and De Laurentiis had bonded during their short time together in the competition.

“She’s just as lovely as I imagined her to be,” Ali said, fondly. “I’ve been a fan of hers, especially last week, when our scores came in and they were both really low. She took the time to come over to me and just kick it with us on the balcony. She’s a really special lady and I’m going to miss her.”

Meanwhile, Bersten’s girlfriend, pro Emma Slater, said she’s “really sad” to see the pair go home. “I don’t want to see anybody go, but, of course, Alan, specifically, and Giada is such a beautiful person,” she admitted. “I voted for her tonight! I voted for her last week, too. I think she is wonderful, and I wish that her journey here on the show could continue.”

She added, “I know Alan feels really proud of her.” However, now Bersten can more freely offer his time and support in helping Slater’s quest for Mirrorball gold with her partner, Jackson Olson, of the Savannah Bananas.

“[Alan] will most likely come and help me,” a grateful Slater mused. “And I welcome his support because he’s got such a great eye for choreography.”

Olson and Slater have one of the more grueling travel and rehearsal schedules this season as he continues to perform with his fellow Savannah Bananas. This weekend, the Bananas are competing against the Texas Tailgaters in Arlington, Texas.

“We’ve basically given our lives to this,” Olson enthused. “Not just the dancing, not just the baseball, and not just the TikToks and content, but everything’s encapsulated into one. Both of our work ethics have shown that we [want] to win this thing. We’re going to have that work ethic every single day, not matter what the travel, the red-eyes, canceled flights, and delayed flights – all of it!”

While the travel and performance schedule is demanding, Olson and Slater, by staying in the front of baseball audiences, may be picking up a lot of votes. “The ‘Banana’ fans are so awesome, and they really have our backs with everything,” Olson gushed. “They want us to do well, and I think that they’re going to be an integral part of what we do.”

Olson already feels like a winner by being partnered with Slater. “When I walked in my first day and I saw Emma, I was immediately like, ‘Alright!'” he confirmed. “I had in my head all the ideas for the TikToks I wanted to make. I also know that Emma is a badass choreographer. I remember seeing last year how she turned Andy [Richter] into a dancer.”

Slater told Olson that he’s well on his way to becoming just that. “You are becoming a dancer,” Slater informed her celebrity partner during this interview. “Just with the one-week improvement, I really feel that you are becoming that.”

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