Amanda Kloots came onto Dancing with the Stars with a touching story and gained a lot of fans along the way.
Last year, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Amanda lost her husband to the disease. He was only 41 and it left Amanda as a single mother to a baby boy.
Instead of just using Dancing with the Stars as an excursion to have some fun and win a Mirrorball trophy, Amanda almost used it as a therapeutic experience.
She now is crediting her pro partner Alan Bersten for helping her move forward.
Amanda talks Alan and Dancing with the Stars
Amanda Kloots came out in one of her early dances and she danced with Alan to the same song she danced to at her wedding.
Amanda was married to Broadway star Nick Cordero. He died in July 2020 after complications from COVID-19 and left her as a single mother.
In Week 2, Amanda and Alan danced to It Had to Be You by Ray Chew, the same song she danced with Nick to for her wedding song.
Things got even more emotional later in the season.
In the semi-finals, Amanda and Alan danced to the song Live Your Life, which was a song that Nick Cordero wrote. The couple scored a 40 from the contemporary dance.
Amanda spoke to Us Weekly and credited Alan with helping her move on from her loss.
“He’s become a lot more than a dancing partner to me. He’s become a best friend,” Amanda said.
She then revealed what she said to Alan.
“‘This experience … how wonderful you’ve been has really helped me like bridge that gap,'” Amanda said she told Alan. “‘It’s been so nice getting to know you and feeling comfortable with you and seeing you every day and trusting you and crying with you and going for goals with you.'”
“I said, ‘It’s really helped me move forward in my life and that I did not expect to happen.'”
Former contestant was traumatized by Alan’s coaching
This is a striking confession considering what Bachelor star Hannah Brown had to say about Alan.
Hannah and Alan won the Mirrorball title. However, she said when she saw Amanda and Alan arguing in practice, it triggered her memories.
“He wanted to push me as hard as I could be pushed physically, but emotionally, sometimes I couldn’t take it,” Hannah said.
“We have very different communication styles, and so that really caused a lot of friction, when you can’t really get on the same level of being able to communicate and he has so many other emotions involved because this is his life. This is his career.”
Dancing with the Stars is on hiatus. It will return in late 2022.