Guillermo Rodriguez is putting in the work ahead of Dancing With the Stars week three — even when partner Witney Carson needs a rest.
“Anytime I sit down he keeps rehearsing,” Carson, 32, wrote over a Saturday, September 26, TikTok video.
In the clip, Rodriguez, 55, practiced his footwork in the rehearsal studio before blowing a kiss to the camera and continuing with his moves.
“Truly working so hard!” she wrote in the caption. “I’m so proud and I am so blessed to have the kindest partner ever.”
Carson and Rodriguez, who rose to fame as late night host Jimmy Kimmel’s sidekick, were saved from elimination during DWTS’ Viral Hits Night despite receiving low scores for their paso doble to Rihanna’s “Where Have You Been.”
“I feel like we’re slowly winning them over,” Carson exclusively told Us of judges Carrie Ann Inaba, Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli after the Tuesday, September 22, live show.
“Yeah, little by little,” Rodriguez replied. “We didn’t hear [any] bad comments, nothing.”
Rodriguez, for his part, shared that he felt more confident performing on Tuesday than he did during the show’s premiere earlier this month.
“I feel way better. Last week, I was nervous a lot. This week I was nervous a little bit … but it was a great music [choice]. Witney chose it,” Rodriguez said, while Carson added, “Rihanna makes him feel confident. So I was like, ‘We’re going with Rihanna this week,’ absolutely. [He] had so much confidence this week.”
Rodriguez continued, “The most challenging part is to learn the steps. … I gotta memorize the step[s] and everything. I never danced before, but listen, I’m enjoying [it]. I’m learning, having a good time.”
Carson, who is expecting her third baby with husband Carson McAllister, told Us ahead of the season that Rodriguez was feeling “really nervous” that they were partnered — but they’ve since formed a friendship.
“I told him I was pregnant, and he was like, ‘That’s actually really relieving because you’ll just take a lot of breaks for food then.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, OK.’ So he’s feeling a little bit more comfortable, I think, around me,” she said.
And Carson, who won season 34 with partner Robert Irwin, is looking toward obtaining her second consecutive mirrorball trophy with Rodriguez.
“I always want to win, so I told Guillermo, ‘I want to win again. I just got the taste of it and now I want to do it again,’” she recalled to Us. “And he was like, ‘Let’s not be greedy, Witney.’ He’s like, ‘OK, you need to settle down, let’s just have some fun.’ I mean, he obviously wants to do well too.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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