Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold considered themselves underdogs on Dancing With The Stars. “I’m a dude who was barely known a year ago who never danced,” the gymnast who had recently risen to stardom was skeptical of his dancing skills. But, his pro partner was a 19-year-old prodigy in her second DWTS season, who spearheaded them straight to the finals.

Eventually, they may have fallen short of clinching the mirrorball trophy. But that hardly discounts their incredible journey or the fact that one of their finale routines absolutely stole the show! Perhaps this is why, despite the loss, Rylee Arnold is feeling all the love, thanks to her fans and Nedoroscik who are hailing her for putting together a beautiful performance.

Stephen Nedoroscik reassures an emotional Rylee Arnold

Taking to TikTok, Rylee Arnold added a video of her wiping her tears with a note that read, “POV: scrolling on tik tok and seeing all of the love and support you are receiving on your freestyle is making you sob on the plane.” She even captioned the post with, “You guys thank you from the bottom of my heart this love and support is truly making this feel like an I did it moment for me.”

To this, Stephen Nedoroscik replied with a comment, “You deserve all the attention for the hard work you put into creating it”. As each finalist on the show performed a freestyle segment for their last dance on the show, so did Nedoroscik and Arnold. And the two passed with flying colors! On Coldplay’s ‘Viva La Vida’, they performed a freestyle that brought elements of gymnastics into the ballroom and bagged their first perfect 30 of the season.

Turns out, it wasn’t an easy routine at all. With multiple pommel horse moves and intricate sections, Stephen Nedoroscik remarked, “I’m doing a whole lot for two minutes straight, and it is tough- even as hard as my Olympic pommel horse routine,” per USA Today. However, their fans couldn’t be prouder of the blood and sweat they poured into the second dance. In fact, overpowering the fact that they lost, the freestyle bit seems to have captured hearts!

But, despite this perfect 30, Nedoroscik couldn’t match up with his quickstep redemption dance, where his timing and musicality weren’t exactly finale-worthy. Thus, with a combined total score of 112, they missed the title, finishing in the fourth spot. However, it wasn’t the end till Stephen Nedoroscik penned a note of gratitude for his dance partner, Rylee Arnold.

Nedoroscik calls Rylee the reason behind his success

Taking to his Instagram, the 2x Olympic medalist shared an image of him and his DWTS season partner Rylee with a caption that tugged many heartstrings. Stephen Nedoroscik accepted that as a Pommel Horse specialist, he hadn’t ever danced, let alone performed with emotion or being delicate in his ways. But, this journey truly transformed him.

And more than the journey, he credited Arnold for the change. Nedoroscik wrote, “Rylee, I feel so lucky to have had you by my side. Your positivity, kindness, and determination made every second of this experience worthwhile. Looking back on our first rehearsals, when I was timid, to now ending the show with a perfect score, it is unbelievable what you have taught me.”

Even previously, Nedoroscik had accepted that Arnold helped him pierce through the limitation that he couldn’t dance, even on casual occasions like a party. But today, he has so much confidence in him. And well, with the 30 score, it’s truly showing. Had it not been for Rylee Arnold, he would have been a stiff electrical engineer gymnast, but she’s now turned him into a dancer too, something he is incredibly thankful for.

But floodgates seemed to have opened after their loss. On one hand, Rylee was shedding tears of gratitude for all the love she got after the finals, while Gabby Thomas had Stephen’s loss to blame for the emotional outburst. What do you think of the whole story? Let us know below!