Meeting a legend is iconic, but getting advice from one is priceless! While Simone Biles is on her Gold Over America Tour, she still gave Stephen Nedoroscik some tips for his Dancing With The Stars appearance. Well, Biles definitely knows what she’s talking about—she competed on DWTS herself back in 2017. And her advice to Stephen? “Just have fun.” Now, Stephen was joined on the show by fellow Olympian Illona Maher, both fresh off their gold medal wins in Paris, marking their debut on September 17. It seems Maher is already having a blast hanging out with Biles before stepping onto the dance floor again!

Just a few days back, Maher shared a series of Instagram stories that had fans buzzing. In the first, she’s with Simone Biles in San Francisco, California, captioning the moment, “on the move again.” The height difference between the rugby player and Biles was hard to miss—Ilona stands tall at 5’10” while Simone is just 4’8″—but the pictures came out perfectly. The following ones definitely showed how much fun those two were having!

In the next story, they’re seen enjoying a seaside view together, laughing as they take it all in. Maher’s caption read, “iconic, brilliant, inspirational, stunning. Incredible, amazing, spectacular.” The last story captured a true fangirl moment, where the two gave their followers a fun glimpse of their day together.

At the same time, Ilona Maher has been taking her Dancing With The Stars training seriously. On Tuesday, Sept. 17, the Olympic gold medalist performed with her partner, Alan Bersten, during the season 33 premiere. The duo danced the Cha Cha to Shania Twain’s “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and earned a solid score of 18 out of 30. With Stephen Nedoroscik scoring higher on his debut, it looks like the competition is heating up, making it even more important for Maher to bring her A-game.

Lessons from Simone Biles’ DWTS experience

For the Dancing With The Stars premiere, our homegrown Olympians danced to songs that also represented their personal anthems. Stephen Nedoroscik chose Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” for his jive—a performance that earned him an impressive score of 21/30 from the judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough, and Bruno Tonioli, each giving him sevens. Throughout it all, Stephen might have kept Simone Biles’ advice in mind, as she had encouraged him to “just have fun” and enjoy the experience.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight during her Gold Over America Tour, Simone reflected on her own time on Dancing with the Stars and how challenging it was. She admitted, “It’s hard. Like dancing with the stars was so hard, it’s long hours. I feel like it’s almost harder than the gymnastics that we do. But we’re so out of our element.” Simone’s advice to Stephen was shaped by her time on the show in 2017, where she learned that embracing the fun of the competition was key to pushing through its demands.

Back then, Simone Biles, fresh off her incredible performance at the Rio Olympics, decided to take a break from gymnastics and try something new by joining Season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. After winning five medals in Rio, Biles wanted to show the world a different side of herself. She wanted to show the world her other side rather than seeing a gym. “People think I’m perfect, but no one is,” she shared.

Paired with pro dancer Sasha Farber, Simone wowed audiences with some amazing performances. Despite their talent, the duo finished in fourth place, a result that left both fans and judges stunned. It was a surprising end to her DWTS journey, especially given how strong her performances had been. But even though she didn’t take home the mirrorball trophy; and that’s exactly why she encourages athletes like Stephen Nedoroscik to have fun and enjoy the experience—because, in the end, it’s about embracing the challenge and finding joy on the road you’re traveling in!