Former Miss Universe Ireland Grainne Gallanagh has spoken about stress and homesickness that she has had to combat as she takes part on Dancing With the Stars.
The model has made it through to the semi-finals of the talent show – but things could have been different if she had succumbed to nerves.
Even though Gallanagh and her pro partner pro partner Kai Widdrington have progressed to the semi-finals of the show, she wasn’t convinced she had been ‘good enough’.
The Donegal star told the Irish Mirror: “I didn’t expect it.
“The dance was really tough this week and I struggled a bit with it and I just thought towards the end there that I might be in the dance-off, so it was nerve-wracking.
“It is a horrible feeling standing up there, I was shaking, and I could feel Kai’s heartbeat, but I am so over the moon now.”
Gallanagh admitted to getting emotional during the live show, and at times she was holding back tears.
She said: “I did get emotional, but do you know what, it is just getting to the stage now where we are so close, and I just want to get to the final so badly.
“I want to get to the semi-final so badly and I struggled with this dance I was just emotional all this week.”
She also revealed that her practice schedule – which is already a gruelling 8am-11pm – had been disrupted due to Widdrington missing a day with illness.
She said: “It has just been one of those weeks. I don’t think there was one thing to pinpoint, I just struggled with the dance, I missed my family, we were exhausted, we were in the morning until night rehearsing and then Kai got sick.”
Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling