Injuries happen on “Dancing with the Stars,” but hopefully they lead to quick recoveries. Maura Higgins said she struggled emotionally in rehearsals in week 2 after judges gave her glowing reviews in the premiere.
The “Love Island” alum also quickly mentioned that she chipped Mark Ballas’ tooth. She gave the full story after the episode.
Maura Higgins Elbowed Mark Ballas in the Face in ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Rehearsals
Higgins, 35, danced the cha-cha to “September” by Earth, Wind & Fire. “I definitely let the pressure get to me. I really, really struggled this week. I even chipped his tooth,” Higgins told Julianne Hough during the episode. She joked that she’ll go into boxing after the competition. The reality star told Entertainment Weekly why she broke down in tears during rehearsal.
“Basically, this week, I couldn’t do a spin,” she said. “Last week, did a beautiful spin in my foxtrot. This week, we must’ve spent how many hours trying to do one spin? I could not do it. I was getting so annoyed at myself.”
She accidentally cracked the ballroom dancer’s tooth doing the spin. “It actually hurt my elbow,” the former “After Sun” host said.
“She was like, ‘My elbow!’ I was like, ‘My tooth!’” Ballas revealed. He wasn’t worried about it, but his eyes were “streaming” when it happened. “It’s fine, I got more [teeth]. It’s okay.”
Luckily, the tears and cracked tooth were worth it. Higgins impressed the judges again, and Carrie Ann Inaba told her, “Don’t put too much pressure on yourself.” The judge said she could tell that “The Traitors” runner-up was focused on technique.
Other ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Contestants Had Teeth Injuries
DWTSThis isn’t the first time that this happened, and might not be the last. Noah Galloway competed on the show with Sharna Burgess in 2015. The Iraq War veteran lost a tooth during rehearsal after taking one of her kicks to the face. He said it was “No Big Deal” in a video, according to TMZ.
Burgess also partnered with Bobby Bones, and he suffered a similar injury. “I had to fill out a lot of paperwork, because I got hit really hard,” the radio personality told PEOPLE. “There was blood and a tooth. I still don’t know what I’m doing. She was doing her spin thing, and she was doing what she was supposed to do, and my face was not doing what it was supposed to do.”
Season 35 viewers also noticed Jackson Olson’s perfect smile. They asked if the Savannah Bananas baseball player’s teeth were real, and he revealed that he had to get surgery after getting a broken jaw.
Higgins and Ballas first met on “The Traitors US.” She admittedly wasn’t motivated to win the show despite going far. But she made it clear to Ballas that she wants to learn how to dance and has the work ethic. Monet X Change, Eric Nam, and Tara Lipinski from the same season of “The Traitors” were in the audience supporting her.
