Ilona Maher knew Dancing with the Stars would be tough—but she didn’t expect it to be this frustrating. The rugby powerhouse was used to charging through defenders, not gliding across a ballroom. Yet, from the moment she stepped onto the dance floor, she realized brute strength wouldn’t save her here. Footwork? Off. Rhythm? Struggle. Confidence? Shaken.

Ilina Maher’s week 1 performance was a wake-up call, landing her at the bottom of the leaderboard. The precision, the technique, the timing—it all felt impossible to master. But Maher isn’t one to back down from a fight. As the weeks went on, she channeled that frustration into fuel, inching her way up the scoreboard. Finale? Well, Ilona Maher and her partner, Alan Bersten, became the runner-up of DWTS season 33. So, what really pushed her to the brink? And how did she flip the script to deliver a jaw-dropping finale?

Under the bright lights of Dancing with the Stars, Ilona Maher wasn’t just battling tricky choreography—she was battling herself. The rugby star, known for her grit and athleticism, suddenly found her body refusing to sync with the music. “I knew I could do better,” she admitted, frustrated by her own perfectionism. But despite the struggles, she pushed through, proving that even the toughest competitors have their moments of doubt. The rugby sensation shared her thoughts on “House of Maher,” podcasts with her sister Olivia and Audrey Adrianna Maher.

When asked about the moments that didn’t make it into the pre-dance package? Were there more frustrations, tough corrections, or intense do-overs we didn’t see? Ilona candidly said, “No, I think, like, it was a lot of, I just got very silent at times ’cause I didn’t know what was going on and, like, or I, I just couldn’t, could not get it right. Like, it was so out of balance for me,” reflecting on the stark contrast between her athletic confidence and the disorienting struggle of dance.

Ilona Maher isn’t used to struggling with physical challenges. A dominant force on the rugby field, she’s the kind of athlete who picks up a new sport and masters it with ease. But Dancing with the Stars was a different beast entirely. But her Alan Bersten made it easy for him, as she put it, “He knew it as well. It was like something trying to learn how to get me out of that phone, ’cause I could not figure it.”

Unlike rugby, where instinct takes over, ballroom dancing demanded precision, synchronization, and a whole new level of body awareness. Alan Bersten, both her partner and coach, was relentless in his instruction, pushing her to perfect every movement. “He’d like to tell me to do one thing with my hand, and I couldn’t do it. And then I would try to do the thing he was telling me with my foot, and I could not. It would not link up for me.” The disconnect frustrated her—she wasn’t used to not getting things right.

But on the other hand, if you talk about sports, she is good at what she does. As Ilona said, it doesn’t matter what sport I pick up; I’m usually pretty good at it. And so here I am picking up a sport that I just cannot figure out and that I’ve never been good at.” She has been named the ‘Most Outstanding Player at the NIRA Championships’ in 2018, won bronze at the Paris Olympics, and is a synonymous name in rugby, right?

Despite the struggle, she found motivation in their dynamic. “Alan and I are a team, but also he’s the coach, and I’m the player.” That mentality kept her going, even when she felt like the weakest link. And though tensions flared at times, their bond remained strong. As she further talked about her bond with Alan, “But we had a, I mean a, a great relationship. We did get those moments where it was like, you know, we were both a little annoyed but then we would just be making a TikTok afterwards, which I think is almost like our brother-sister-like friend type, where, like, but then, like, whatever, you know, get over that.” Not to mention, their bond was so strong that fans even speculated a romantic relationship between them.

Silent battles that Ilona Maher fights behind the scenes

For Ilona Maher, the toughest opponent on Dancing with the Stars wasn’t the competition—it was self-doubt. Every rehearsal felt like a tug-of-war between frustration and determination. “We’d get annoyed,” she admitted, recalling moments when even the simplest steps felt impossible. But rather than let it break her, she and her partner found a way to shake it off—by making TikToks right after.

That routine of venting, laughing, and resetting became her lifeline, turning moments of near-defeat into fuel for the next round. But behind the fun videos and rehearsals, Maher was dealing with something far uglier. The internet had plenty to say about her—her body, her presence, her right to even be on the show. The body-shaming wasn’t new, but on DWTS, where the norm is lean, sculpted dancers, the comments hit harder. It wasn’t just about learning to move; it was about proving she belonged.

And she did. Week after week, Maher stepped onto that dance floor, not just fighting for scores but for the right to take up space—on the stage, in the sport, and in a world that too often tries to shrink women like her. By the finale, she wasn’t just dancing. She was making a statement. As of now, Maher is playing for the Bristol Bears for the Major League Rugby (MLR) 2025 season, and yet again her being in the team itself made a big difference. The organizers had to change the venue due to the heavy flow of people buying tickets. With so many trolls, the rugby sensation Ilona Maher is making headlines with each passing day.