Val Chmerkovskiy originally thought his dancing partner Olivia Jade Giannulli would be "terrible" on Dancing With The Stars. Val has been dancing in the ballroom since season 13 of the show. Although he has had many talented partners over the years, Val has only taken home one Mirror Ball Trophy. He and his former partner Rumer Willis won season 20.
Olivia is amongst the star-studded season 30 cast. Prior to the cast reveal, Olivia had sparked rumors of her being on the milestone season after she was spotted headed to the DWTS rehearsal studios. Olivia grew up in the spotlight thanks to her famous mom, Lori Loughlin. Lori was a star of the hit sitcom Full House. As Olivia grew older, she started a career for herself on social media and YouTube as an influencer. The family was recently under fire for their involvement in the 2019 college admissions scandal.
Although Olivia and Val had a good start to their season of competing together, Val originally thought he was in for a rude awakening being partnered with the Youtube star. In fact, the professional dancer had originally feared that Olivia would be "terrible" on the show. Val posted an Instagram Reel on Wednesday of himself and Olivia rehearsing for week two in the ballroom. A comment on the post read, "I honestly was expecting her to be terrible." Val responded to the user, writing, "Me too." Olivia has received much backlash since being casted on the show. Needless to say, she has been the most controversial contestant this season.
The short video teased the duo's upcoming dance for Monday night's live episode. Val explained in the caption, "Been really cool connecting with this young lady and getting to choreograph and dance with her." He then shared his excitement for viewers to see this dance next week. Olivia also commented on the post, writing, "I’m excited for this one." Based off of the lyrics of the song paired with their dance, fans are preparing for an emotional performance from Val and Olivia next week. They are also quite impressed with Olivia's dancing skills. Prior to the start of the season, Val admitted that Olivia deserves this new chapter of her life by competing on the show.
From the looks of the video, Val and Olivia have been working extremely hard in the studio preparing for their second dance of the season. Val and Olivia, along with the rest of the dancing duos, will return to the ballroom Monday night with their second performance. Following all of the performances, Monday's episode will consist of the season's first elimination.
Dancing With The Stars airs Mondays at 8pm EST on ABC.
Source: Val Chmerkovskiy/ Instagram