The Dancing with the Stars finale was full of surprises — and the contestants were just as shocked as viewers by how things turned out.
Running back Rashad Jennings and his dance partner Emma Slater took home the top prize, with former baseball catcher David Ross and Lindsay Arnold in second place. Meanwhile, Fifth Harmony singer Normani Kordei and her dance partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, placed third.
"You're never really guaranteed," Kordei told Entertainment Tonight of her loss. "It was quite a shocker for me as well, but I've gained so much from this experience. I'm so happy, and I can't even begin to express you know the gratitude that I carry and the blessing, especially because I have a lifelong friend now [in partner Val Chmerkovskiy]."
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Still, Kordei praised Jennings, telling ET that he's like a "big brother" to her. "He's worked his butt off," the singer said of the footballer. "I think that any one of us would have been deserving, so kudos to him."
The finale was far from the only results upset on DWTS this season. Last week, fans were livid when Olympian Simone Biles was eliminated from the show after earning a perfect score. Biles was just as gracious as Kordei about the loss, though. The gymnast told reporters after the episode that she planned to "take time off, go on vacations, spend family time, friend time," now that her stint on the show was over.
On the plus side, Kordei might have more time to go on that date with Bonner Bolton, ET points out. The bull rider, who was eliminated earlier in the season, asked her out in an ET video, and the singer said yes. The season may be over, but we might just have a new DWTS couple on our hands.
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