Melanie C Reacts to Shocking ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Elimination

Dancing With the Stars‘ Grease Night ended with a shock as Melanie C and Gleb Savchenko were eliminated despite scoring a 36 out of 40 for their highly-praised quickstep set to the iconic tune “You’re the One That I Want.” Despite being celebrated for their dance, which earned all nines from the judges and head judge Len Goodman’s distinguishment of their best performance so far, the Spice Girls star and her pro partner ended up in the bottom alongside Olivia Jade and Val Chmerkovskiy in one of the most surprising moments of the season. 

With the daughter of Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli also scoring a 36 out of 40 with her foxtrot set to “Summer Nights,” Goodman ultimately cast the deciding vote to send Melanie C and Savchenko home. The pop star admitted in an interview with Entertainment Tonight Monday night she was “absolutely gutted” so go home so early. “Look, somebody’s got to go, you know? Everybody worked so hard and every week, everyone produces great dances,” she shared. “[But] I am absolutely gutted. I am gutted to go.”

She continued that while Dancing With the Stars has been “hard,” she wanted to be around longer than she actually made it. “But everything happens for a reason,” she added. “Let’s see what the future holds.” Savchenko added to ET that he never saw their elimination coming so soon, especially with their high scores and the feedback they had been receiving from both the judges and viewers.

“I was already thinking, ‘We’re going all the way to the end!’” he admitted to the outlet. “I’m dancing with Melanie C from Spice Girls, how much more could you want than to have a partner like that?” Despite not taking home the Mirrorball Trophy, Savchenko did say he felt he “made a friend for life” with his partner, although he noted they both wanted to stay in the competition with that friendship rather than being sent home.

The competition is heating up in the ballroom, with Monday’s episode also featuring JoJo Siwa and Jenna Johnson earning the season’s first perfect 40 out of 40 score from judges Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hough. The show’s first all-female dance duo delivered a high-energy foxtrot set to “Look at Me, I’m Sandra Dee (Reprise)” that left the judges stunned. Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.