Nyle DiMarco crowned winner of Dancing with the Stars after emotional final performance
Last night (May 24) was an emotional one for deaf model Nyle DiMarco as he was crowned the winner of this years Dancing With The Stars along with his pro-dancer Peta Murgatroyd.
DiMarco and Peta did a tango routine to Calvin Harris’ Summer and it earned them a perfect score on the show.
Peta was seen crying during rehearsals, thanking DiMarco and telling him that he “lit up” her life in the last few months.
The pair’s final dance was followed by an emotional exchange with judge Carrie Ann Inaba interacted with Nyle in sign language.
“That was a beautiful way to end the season,” she said. “But Nyle, I just want to say something to you. because you’ve spoken to us so eloquently in our language of dance, I want to say this to you and I hope I get it right.”
She then stood up and said, ‘Thank you for sharing what’s in your heart’ in sign language – leaving an already emotional DiMarco in tears.
Bruno Tonioli said that the 27-year-old America’s Next Top Model winner – who also took part in the show’s first-ever same-sex dance routine two weeks ago – had “exceeded expectations every time.”
And when the pair where given a perfect score of 30, Len Goodman said: “You don’t get no sympathy vote from me. I just judge what I see… and you deserve to be in this final.”
After being announced the winner, DiMarco took to social media to celebrate saying “I can’t believe it! We won the mirror ball!” Exclaiming that the win was for the “70 million deaf people in the world” and thanked his dance partner saying, “Peta, I love you.”
I CANT BELIEVE IT! WE WON THE MIRROR BALL!
This is for 70 MILLION Deaf ppl in the world.
PETA, I LOVE YOU.#DWTS pic.twitter.com/cTTO7AX78t— Nyle DiMarco (@NyleDiMarco) May 25, 2016
The “sexually fluid” star also thanked Peta on Instagram, uploading a photo of the pair and writing: “Peta Jane Murgatroyd, thank you is an understatement. There are many things I want to express gratitude, but thank you for embracing the journey with me.
“Thank you for helping me tell my story through dancing: What it really means to be deaf. Thank you for inspiring millions of [Death] lives with me. last but not least… thank you for believing in me.”
Speaking to Entertainment Online, DiMarco said Inaba’s words touched him.
“That’s what really touched me because that’s my goal every week”, DiMarco explained.
“I really want to connect with the audience and teach them what it really means to be deaf.”
DiMarco also opened up about his relationship with pro-dancer, Peta.
“The first week we worked together, she was already starting to learn my language and my culture. She was very curious. She did the right thing right out of the chute.”
A photo posted by Nyle DiMarco (@nyledimarco) on
“It really was about learning about each other’s worlds and I think that message was really strong,” he adds.
You can read Entertainment Online’s full interview with DiMarco on their website.
You can watch a video of the performance below:
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