Dancing with the Stars Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy bask in the glow of their win
Another Dancing with the Stars finale is in the books, and after three hours of dances and more, Xochitl Gomez and Val Chmerkovskiy were named the newest DWTS champions! (Read our Recap)
“Each week, we’ve had so much fun and every time that we’ve had a great dance, and we felt great about it, we had this great feeling,” Xochitl shared with Entertainment Tonight right after their win on Tuesday (Nov 5). “And that’s the same feeling that we’re having here, you know? It’s just the same thing — but times, like, 10!”
The pair had a spectacular run, performing six routines that earned perfect scores, including their last four dances in a row on the finale.
Val Chmerkovskiy three time winner
Val has won Dancing With the Star three times. But this season is the first time since the Mirrorball Trophy was renamed to honor the late Len Goodman. The longtime DWTS head judged died in April. For Val, it makes the win even more special.
“It’s a huge honor,” Chmerkovskiy shared. “Len was a champion of ballroom dance…. he was very much pushing ballroom dance to the forefront of the show and therefore into millions of households.”
“And so, for me to hold this trophy in his honor, this season in particular, I was very much motivated by the idea of passing my ballroom education and torch to this young, incredible talent,” he added, nodding to Gomez. “And I think that Len would have been proud of that.”
Xochitl on the importance of honoring her Mexican-American heritage
In the past, the cast would fly out to New York City right after the finale to be up bright and early for the Good Morning America “After Party.” This year, the hosts only interviewed the winners, Xochitl and Val, via remote in Los Angeles.
On GMA the 17-year old Marvel star shares that it still hasn’t sunk in that she won the show. Val added that “It’s been an amazing responsibility to take care of this young woman and teach her how to dance. That’s my gift and the fact that I had a chance to pass it forward to this young lady was a huge honor for me.”
Honoring her Mexican-American heritage in her dances was important to Xochitl. “Representation is really huge for me, she said, “Mainly, in Latin ballroom dances I want to really focus on the Latino portion of it and making it as accurate as I can.”
Xochitl and Val will dance again on the Dancing with the Stars live tour, which starts in January. Both are excited to dance live in front of their fans. “We never get to say thank you,” said Val, calling DWTS fans “unsung heroes.”
