Ilona Maher has had 2024 that carried an equal amount of struggles and greatness! Yet despite it all, she continued to rise. Ilona started the year at the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the Games, she scored tries in all three group-stage matches. The team fell to New Zealand in the semifinals but managed to make a comeback during the bronze match. They went on to beat Australia and win the bronze. It was only the beginning of the hectic year to come!

Fast forward to the present; Ilona Maher has been on “Dancing with the Stars” for weeks! She even made it to the semi-final stage. Ilona, alongside her dance partner Alan Bersten, went on to do the paso doble and Viennese waltz. And boy-oh-boy, did they shine! The duo went on to get a score of 57/60. This also meant Ilona Maher was officially a finalist, while the glitz and glamour of DWTS is an undeniably charming one. It turns out that behind this journey, Ilona has been riddled with setbacks. One of them was, in fact, while the world watched!

Ilona Maher’s mother talks about the truth behind the national television debacle!

Ilona Maher, as a rugby player, no doubt exudes the aura of absolute strength. And when she got on the dance floor, flow and rhythm did not come easy to her. In fact, during week four of Dancing with the Stars, she had a moment of vulnerability that cut deep. Ilona and Alan that week went on to perform a jive to Quiet Riot’s “Cum On Feel the Noize.” Unfortunately, Ilona stumbled mid-performance!

This broke the flow of the performance. The judges followed up with some brutal honesty. While all the judges praised her passion, they could not overlook the missteps. “You are amazing,” judge Carrie Ann Inaba reassured. But those words were not enough to take away Bruno Tonioli’s saying, “I love wild and wonderful… But I’m sorry, my darling, you went wrong so many times.” The moment was heartbreaking, and the world felt it as they saw the smile from Ilona’s face vanish!

The performance was bad, but what made it worse was the fact that all of it came at a time when Ilona was facing the internet music. Trolls targeted her for looking ‘masculine’ and constantly judged her appearance. Many even claimed she couldn’t dance and have rhythmic movement with a muscular body. And backstage, the pressures of the performance that had just ended took over completely! Ilona Maher was in tears as she spoke during an interview with Julianne Hough. So why did it happen?

Recently, Ilona’s mother, Mieneke Maher, was on the Got It From My Momma Podcast, where she went on to spill the tea about the breakdown! Mieneke went on to say, “There were just so many things happening. Ilona started with three years of training for the Olympics. Then, it was about going to the Olympics.” And as her mom sees it, Ilona did it all while balancing “two full-time jobs.” One “being a professional athlete” and the other being a “social media content creator.” Here’s the thing: Ilona did not hit pause even after that.

In fact, after the Olympics, she stayed back in Paris to celebrate with her team. But also because Ilona had some contract commitments to fulfill. After that, Ilona was supposed to take a break. “She was supposed to come home on Monday, on her birthday, but that didn’t happen because she went to see Seth Meyers,” added Mieneke. One would assume that, at least now, Ilona would take a break! The answer is, however, a big no.

“From Seth Meyers, she went to do the Sports Illustrated swimsuit photoshoot. She finally made it home on Thursday. We had a big celebration at the airport, she had a day off on Friday,” revealed her mom. And guess what happens after that? Ilona Maher is off to Los Angeles and begins her journey of Dancing With The Stars.“Everything bubbled up—the thought of disappointing her fans, Alan, and us—and it all came out at that moment,” added Ilona’s mom. But soon, Ilona Maher’s mom flew to LA to be there for her.

Watching Ilona from a distance, unable to be by her side, only made it worse. “I can’t get to my child,” Mieneke said. Nevertheless, she flew in, and since then, Ilona has been at the top of her game. And her next performance is perhaps the most important one so far! And Mieneke had something to say about the same, too!

Ilona Maher’s mother defends her daughter before the “boss dancer” performance!

Finals are right around the corner, and there is no chance to slow down or slip up anymore. In fact, her mother, understanding the journey and trolls, went on to speak about why her daughter making it this far is truly a great thing. “Dancing is not her comfort zone,” Mieneke shared. “She wants to get it done, get it done right, and make everyone proud.” And what about Ilona? Is she looking forward to it?

Recently, Ilona Maher took to Instagram to pen an emotional post for her partner Alan Bersten. “This experience has been one I will remember for the rest of my life… Let’s give it our all this week one last time,” she wrote. The duo is set to perform a freestyle and a redemption dance. And while Ilona seems emotional, her partner is confident that she is going to kill it in the finals!

So much so that Bersten went on to say, “I want Ilona to just keep being Ilona.” Meanwhile, Ilona went on to say, “I want to really step into my final role as a dancer—the final boss dancer.” With everything on the line, Ilona Maher is ready to leave it all on the dance floor. The world is closely watching as the finals air on November 26th.