Taking a victory lap! Dancing With the Stars season 22 winner Nyle DiMarco sat down with Us Weekly on Wednesday, May 25, at 2 p.m. ET for a Facebook Live interview to discuss his inspiring win with pro partner Peta Murgatroyd.
The America’s Next Top Model cycle 22 champ, 27, and the choreographer brought judge Carrie Ann Inaba to tears with their final dance on Tuesday, May 24. “Thank you for showing us your beautiful heart when you dance,” she said in sign language.
Following the season finale, DiMarco told Us that he was dedicating his win to the entire deaf community.
“One thing that I can point out is that this is for the 70 million deaf people in this world,” he explained. “That’s the reason I’m here. They are the reason. And that’s why I did so well every week. They really gave me that inspiration every week, and I’m so thankful for them. It means that barriers can be broken. Even though there are barriers there, it doesn’t mean that they can’t be broken. You’ve just got to work twice as hard and set your goals and break those barriers. Opportunities are endless.”
The hunky model and Murgatroyd, 29 — who is expecting her first child with fiancé and former DWTS pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy — beat fellow finalists Ginger Zee and Paige VanZant and were presented with the coveted Mirrorball Trophy.
“I will take these memories with me forever,” the pregnant star gushed to Us about her second win on the ABC’s long-running dance competition. “I’ll never forget this partnership.” (Murgatroyd won her first trophy with partner Donald Driver in season 14.)
Like Us Weekly on Facebook and tune in to watch the Facebook Live session at 2 p.m. ET to see what else DiMarco has to say!