'Dancing With The Stars' winner Alan Bersten 'cried like a baby' after winning mirrorball trophy with 'Bachelorette' alum Hannah Brown
Bachelorette Hannah Brown and choreographer Alan Bersten were crowned as the winners of season 28 of 'Dancing With The Stars,' with the latter walking away with a deserved first mirrorball trophy.
The 25-year-old, unsurprisingly, could hardly contain his emotions at the momentous occasion and told Us Weekly that he "cried like a baby" when he found out about his win.
"I can’t even put into words how I feel," he said after the live finale. "It’s my first win! I cried like a baby. It was the best feeling in the world and I’m so proud of Hannah. I can’t believe this journey ended like this and I’m just happy."
The duo didn't wait around on the west coast either, immediately grabbing a flight to New York after the episode aired so they could celebrate their success after enduring a grueling schedule for almost three months.
"We’re going to celebrate in New York and just take some time and enjoy this," Bersten said. "It’s been 11 weeks of nonstop work and fun and I’m just, I can’t even put into words the feeling that I got."
He also revealed why he had chosen Alicia Keys' 'Girl on Fire' and Gwen Stefani's 'Hollaback Girl' for Brown's freestyle number, explaining that the songs "showed Hannah's best light" and that the Bachelorette alum was "so empowering and I wanted to show that."
The emotions were flowing over well before the results were announced too, with Cohost Erin Andrews sharing that Bersten was in "full tears" before the live show. The choreographer paid tribute to his partner after they performed a Viennese Waltz for their first routine, telling Andrews, "This has been the most exceptional that I’ve ever experienced and I’m so grateful for such an amazing partner and someone who believed in me. I’m so honored that I could take you on this journey."
That feeling appeared to be mutual for Brown as well, who gushed about the impact Bersten has had on her.
"This experience came at a time in my life where I wasn’t ready and didn’t feel like I could trust people, but working with you has allowed me to trust somebody again, and that is just as rewarding as getting the steps right and getting great scores," she told him. "[It’s] something that is going to help me so much beyond this competition."