Ilona Maher has, over the course of Dancing With The Stars, managed to grow a loyal fandom. In the six weeks that Ilona has spent on DWTS, she has shown different sides of herself. The world saw her do the cha-cha first and then move into dedication night. And then, the world even saw her do Jazz to “Surface Pressure” from Encanto. For netizens who are used to seeing her on the rugby pitch, this was a revelation of sorts. But the revelations and Maher don’t stop there!

Ilona has yet again revealed another side of herself that the world did not see coming. Ilona recently took it to TikTok and posted a video. In the video, she talks about an encounter she had at a nail salon, and the staff kept her waiting. On the mentioned day, Ilona arrived at the nail salon right before the closing moments. This means that there were a few employees at the salon. While Ilona patiently waited, a latecomer entered.

A man arrived at the salon before closing, and the staff, feeling wary, quietly asked Ilona Maher to stay until he left. But why? The salon folks went on to explain that they did not want to be in there alone with the anonymous man. An emotion that Ilona completely empathizes with. But here’s where things get worse. As a fan rightly points out, “Wow, scary, and he approached her after she left as well!”

Once the anonymous man had finished his nail treatments, Maher left the shop. However, as soon as she did, she met the man again. Ilona goes on to explain how the man waited outside and asked her if he could go home with her. When Ilona replied with “no,” he went on to question why. Ilona, without responding, continued walking. While the incidents end there, Ilona’s reflections and the fandom’s reactions are not done just yet. While what Ilona did is being loved and appreciated, it is serendipitously changing her vote for DWTS as well.

Fandom is changing votes for Ilona Maher before week 7!

As one fan rightly puts it, “Ilona babes, you dropped this 👑.” The fandom has gone bonkers over Ilona’s reaction to the situation. She did not panic, nor did she react instead, like, she channeled her rugby focus and decided to put the safety of the women around her first. Even if these women weren’t her teammates. But that’s not all Ilona had to say; in the TikTok post, she had something more to say.

Ilona went on to say, “It’s insane out there, and I want you to know you can keep me for as long as you want. You can keep me for another hour. I’ll cancel my plans if you want me for safety or you want somebody there; just be a presence. It’s dangerous out there.” The netizens love that Ilona is a girl’s girl. And that she understands the struggles of women who aren’t in the spotlight and the ones whose voices are often muffled.

The story, of course, has had netizens melting. While some are looking at the range of her personality and her as a human being, others have been influenced to change their votes going into week seven of DWTS. One fan even went on to write, “Cannot agree more; Ilona is the sweetest, and I will definitely vote for her.” This is a huge change in reactions from previous weeks. And reactions that could potentially affect the eliminations in the upcoming week.

It was not long ago that the fandom called Ilona Maher and her dancer partner Alan Bersten out. So, week five was Disney Night on the DWTS dance floor. And Ilona and Alan performed “Surface Pressure” from Encanto. This was a huge moment for Ilona because it was the moment that the realities of her life came together with a performance. While the scores were high, the fandom and judges were quick to say that the performance lacked dance. The storytelling remained great, but DWTS is a dance show!

Some netizens are changing votes, while the counterargument remains strong. “Great person, but when it comes to this show, I vote for great dancing…not for cool personalities,” commented a fan. There has been an ongoing battle between Ilona and Stephen Nedoroscik. Both of them have managed to make it to week seven. But both stand on precarious grounds. The interesting factor is they both have one very important point that might just decide their fate.

Derek Hough, on week 5, went on to say that Ilona’s performance needed to “balance storytelling and dance.” Meanwhile, Carrie Ann Inaba and Bruno Tonioli, despite being all praises, mentioned the same point that Derek did. Coming to Stephen, things aren’t much different. He has also had a tough time transitioning from gymnastics to dance. However, his issue is with timing. In the last few performances, judges have pointed out that Stephen is not getting the timing of the moves right. Week seven is going to be a nail-biting kind of episode. While there are those who cannot get past her dance, there are others who are idolizing her.

The niche section of the fandom went on to write, “She’s a real-life superwoman.” It is not a far-fetched statement when it is about Ilona Maher. Over the last few weeks, she has shown the world that she rules not just the rugby pitches but also the dance floor. As Ilona Maher continues to peel the layers of her personality, the world eagerly awaits her week seven persona!