‘Dancing With the Stars’: Ally Brooke Asks to Be Eliminated After James Van Der Beek Is Sent Home

Dancing with the Stars may have just had one of its most emotional eliminations yet. On the Nov. 18 Semi-Finals episode, Ally Brooke and James Van Der Beek (along with their respective partners, husband and wife pair Sasha Farber and Emma Slater) found themselves in the bottom two. And before Van Der Beek was ultimately sent home, Brooke made a selfless plea about her own fate in the competition.

Since Brooke and Van Der Beek were both in the bottom two, it was up to judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Len Goodman to decide who would be making it to the Nov. 25 finale. Inaba and Tonioli both revealed that they would be saving Brooke (Goodman later added that he would have also saved Brooke if it were up to him to decide), meaning that the former Dawson’s Creek star would be leaving the competition.

Upon hearing the news, Brooke made a last-minute plea to host Tom Bergeron, asking him, “Can I give it [her spot] to James, please?”

Bergeron could not oblige, telling her, “No, no. That’s lovely of you to say that.”

The former Fifth Harmony member and her partner then embraced Van Der Beek and Slater, with Brooke telling the actor that she tried to give up her spot for him. The whole situation provided for a truly heartbreaking moment on the series.

Earlier in the show, Van Der Beek recounted that it has been a hard week for him as he and his wife, Kimberly Brook, received news that she had suffered a miscarriage. Shortly after he revealed the unfortunate news on DWTS, the actor posted a message on Instagram in which he detailed the situation.

“Wrecked. Devastated. In shock. That’s how we’re feeling right now after the soul we thought were going to welcome into our family in April… has taken a short cut to whatever lies beyond this life,” he wrote, captioning a photo of his daughter and his wife in the hospital. He concluded his post with, “As many of you have said, “There are no words…” and it’s true. Which is why in a time like this it’s enough to know that you’re there. Grieving AND counting our blessings today.

Van Der Beek also took time to address his wife directly on DWTS, telling the camera, “Kimberly, I love you. Thank you. Thank you for pushing me on to the dance floor. Thank you for everything you do and I don’t know how you do it. Five kids. You’re amazing. Thank you.”