Artem Chigvintsev Sends Farewell Message to Honey Boo Boo After ‘DWTS: Juniors’ Elimination

Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson may have bid her hopes of winning the Dancing With the Stars: Juniors Mirrorball Trophy farewell after being eliminated in Sunday’s episode of the ABC dance competition, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t leave her mark on the competition.

Thompson and junior pro Tristan Ianiero were eliminated after earning a 21/30 score from the judges for their jazz dance to Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters,” but earned major praise from mentor and Dancing With the Stars pro Artem Chigvintsev.

The pro dancer shared a goodbye message to his junior team on Instagram Stories after their elimination, writing a sweet message over photos of the duo’s dances from the Halloween night competition.

“Want to Thank Alana & Tristan, you guys did such an awesome job for me,” he wrote, tagging the two young people. “It’s sad to see you leave the competition, you brought everything you could to each dance for me and we had a lot of fun as Team Artem. not gonna lie, i’m gonna miss you guys.”

He added on another photo of the duo dressed as Ghostbusters, “They busted some moves and some ghosts [ghost emojis] [dancer emojis] last night on [Dancing With the Stars: Juniors]. Great job guys! I’m so proud to have been your mentor.”

Honey Boo Boo and Ianiero definitely gave their pro mentor a tough go of things at times, but everything appeared to be in fun.

That doesn’t mean the WE tv star wasn’t pushing herself to her limits. Prior to the season premiere, the Here Comes Honey Boo Boo star told PEOPLE she had reached a “breaking point” during the competition.

“I did hit a breaking point at one time. Mackenzie Ziegler is on the show and I was like, ‘I’m never going to be better than her,’” Thompson said at the time. “But I kind of got past it because you don’t have to be the best dancer to win. It’s not just about being the best dancer. It’s about having fun, too.”

She even gave credit to Chigvintsev and Ianiero in the tough times.

“Everyone around me was so supportive,” she added. “Some days I would get super nervous and frustrated, but Artem and Tristan were supportive and told me I was going to be great. If you’re questioning your abilities — I mean, I thought dancing was going to be the hardest thing ever to learn and to do, but it wasn’t as hard as I thought once we got the hang of it. If you’re going to do something, don’t be afraid to do it and just do it!”

Dancing With the Stars: Juniors airs Sundays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo credit: ABC