'Dancing With the Stars' Laurie Hernandez: Olympian's Grandmother Dies, Not Told For Two Days [VIDEO]
Laurie Hernandez's grandmother died last week, but the news was kept from her for a few days.
Hernandez's grandmother, Brunilda Hernandez, died Wednesday after battling Alzheimer's disease. Laurie's Dancing With the Stars partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, found out the same day but he and the producers chose not to tell her until Friday.
"I just want to protect and guide her through it, but I'm not going to shelter her from a situation that is hers," Chmerkovskiy told People. "It's hers to face and hers to grow from and hers to understand as well. She needs to take time and understand it."
As Laurie grieved over the loss of her grandmother she also had to rehearse two dances for Monday night's show. After her individual dance with Chmerkovskiy, she broke down in tears.
"It was kind of a tough week," Laurie admitted to People after the show. Chmerkovskiy covered his partner's ears during the clip package on Monday, which showed her getting the news about her grandmother.
"He actually covered my ears while the package was playing. I still cried a little bit, but without him I would have probably not been able to dance as well as I did today - or even dance at all," she said.
Chmerkovskiy noted Laurie's grandmother was proud of her, especially through her incredible showing at the Rio Olympics.
"I think the most peace you get is by seeing what you leave behind and the legacy you leave behind and to see your granddaughter represent her country and her family and herself with so much dignity and pride and strength is an absolutely incredible feeling for her grandma," Chmerkovskiy said.
Now, Laurie is one of four finalists left in the competition, her three competitors being IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe, NFL star Calvin Johnson Jr. and singer Jana Kramer.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.
