Kelly Monaco is competing for the mirror ball trophy on this season's ABC series "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars," and she admitted that along the way, she has developed a close relationship with her dancing partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy.

The "General Hospital' actress, and "DWTS" season one winner, told People about the connection with her partner, "It's unexplainable, I don't know. I think each week, we get a little closer."

Monaco held on to her partner tightly as she said, "I've put up a lot of walls and I don't let many people in. He's slowly allowing me to believe in friendships and relationships and trust and all of that."

Chmerkovskiy shared Monaco's sentiments, telling the publication, "Obviously with every week, it gets more and more personal. I was raised with loyalty, honesty, camaraderie. Those are the things that I value the most. She's the person I care about most right now."

Last week they performed a contemporary routine and Monaco, 36, said, "I wish [the dance] had gone on forever."

The dance was chosen for them by fellow competitors Cheryl Burke and Emmitt Smith, in a twist where the other dancers chose the routines for their competitors.

"I personally told her to (expletive) off for giving me (contemporary)," Monaco told The Clicker, about Burke's decision to give her a contemporary routine. "I'd never even heard of it! I don't watch 'So You Think You Can Dance.' ... I was like, 'This isn't the show I signed up for!' I didn't know I'd be doing this!"

She later said that rehearsals for the routine was "the most difficult thing I have ever done." However, dancing to a Coldplay tune with Chmerkovskiy got her high scores from all the judges.

"DWTS" airs on Mondays and Tuesdays on ABC. The last celebrity to be sent home was Bristol Palin.

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Dwts, Kelly monaco