“I am honestly shocked that I even made it this far,” Olivia told reporters after the show. “It’s been such a journey. It’s something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life, and I think that I’ve said it before, but it gave me this newfound confidence. I don’t even know if I could really put that into words to explain to people.” Olivia said that she is so grateful she did the show, especially getting Val for her professional partner, and that there isn’t a single thing that she would change about the experience. And, in addition to her newfound confidence, she is also taking away a renewed spirit. “I really found a drive and a work ethic that I think I’ve had since I was young, but maybe I haven’t been able to execute in the last few years, so it’s been really nice to find that again,” she said. “I think hard work really does pay off, so that’s something I’ll carry forever.” One of the reasons that Olivia joined the show was to show America her authentic self after the fallout from the college cheating scandal, where it was revealed that her parents Lori Loughlin and Mossimo Giannulli paid bribe money to get her into the University of Southern California (USC). “I hope so,” she responded. “I think that it’s hard with the packages because they’re so short, but hopefully the time people did see, they enjoyed. I’m just really, really, really happy I did this show. I can’t even really explain it.” Val volunteered that he was happy he was of service to Olivia, by helping to show her in a different light through her hard work. “It meant a lot for me to be in a position to help somebody, but also somebody that could use it,” he said. “I am grateful that it worked. We did win some folks over. We did get a chance to shed a different light on her and then also showed that she earned it, that she wasn’t just given it. She earned her stay here and for eight weeks it’s been a blast. I got a lot of love for this young lady.” So, too, do her parents who texted her when the show was over and she was eliminated. “They’re so proud of me for doing this show,” Olivia said. “They both were just like, ‘Hey you did it. You tried your best. We’re proud of you for putting yourself out there and we love you.’ They’re great. They’re obviously very supportive, and I think that they’re just like, ‘OK, she’s probably going to be very sad, so I’m going to text her some really nice stuff right now.’” Olivia isn’t sure what’s next, but she did add, “I will continue to work my absolute hardest at anything that’s thrown at me in the next few years. When you really give something your all that joy that you genuinely feel from doing so, there’s nothing really like it. It’s so rewarding. " Dancing with the Stars airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Next, A Janet Jackson Dance-Off! Who Went Home on Dancing With the Stars Tonight?
