'Dancing With the Stars' Season 22 Winner: When Did Nyle DiMarco Know He Might Become The Champion? [VIDEO]
Nyle DiMarco has revealed the moment he knew the Dancing With the Stars Mirrorball trophy was in reach.
DiMarco was crowned the winner of Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday alongside his pro partner Peta Murgatroyd, making him the first deaf winner in the show's history.
The young model spoke after the show about when he fully grasped that he could win: his performance in Week 8 when the music when silent, allowing viewers to experience what DiMarco goes through every day.
"That really hit me hard, and I felt like, 'I have the potential of winning this,' because I could feel the audience really connecting to me, and I thought that was the whole point of me being on Dancing with the Stars," he said. "It wasn't about the dancing itself, it was about me connecting to the audience."
DiMarco also spoke about one of the most difficult experiences he had on the show, which involved Murgatroyd giving him a particularly challenging dance to learn.
"I was a little bit upset that [Peta] gave me the hardest routine, and it was only week 3," he admitted. "But we got the first 9 of the season, and I understood the reason why Peta gave me that hard routine - because hard work pays off in the end."
Meanwhile, Murgatroyd has plenty more to celebrate as she is reportedly expecting her first child! The news came out Wednesday morning, but Murgatroyd apparently didn't want it to come out now. A new TMZ report says that Dancing With the Stars co-host Erin Andrews spilled the beans during Monday's rehearsals after being heard on a hot mic congratulating Murgatroyd and her fiancé, Maksim Chmerkovskiy.
Murgatroyd had apparently been planning a big announcement. It is unknown how far along she is, but this will almost definitely keep her from competing in the fall season of Dancing With the Stars.
Dancing With the Stars returns for season 23 this fall Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
