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Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe Achieves Lifelong Dream After Years Of Setbacks, Shows Power Of Perseverance
Former Bachelorette Kailtyn Bristowe
(Photo by Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic for iHeartMedia)
Celebrities

Former Bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe Achieves Lifelong Dream After Years Of Setbacks, Shows Power Of Perseverance

While there’s no doubt that this season of ABC's Dancing with the Stars was unlike any other – filmed in the midst of a global pandemic – it ended up working out and former bachelorette Kaitlyn Bristowe and her partner Artem Chigvintsev were the last couple standing.

It was a tumultuous season with many ups and downs – and such could also be said about the road that got Bristowe to win after years of trying to snag a spot on the show.


A lifelong dream come true

Bristowe rose to fame by starring on ABC's dating show The Bachelorette in 2015. As a former dance teacher, she longed to join Dancing with the Stars afterward but it didn't work out.

2020 surprised her with the opportunity to finally compete on the show. However, things didn't kick off smoothly. Bristowe had a pretty severe ankle injury mid-way through the season that almost forced her to drop out.

She also faced a lot of doubt along the way, from fans and even from the competition's judges. But rather than give up, she and Chigvintsev (who, previously to this season, had never even made it to the finals!) just continued to work harder.

At the end, the judges acknowledged they held her to a high standard because they knew she could meet and exceed it. "We held you to a high standard," Derek Hough, a judge and professional dancer himself said. "You met it."

The big win came after the pair received two perfect scores

for their tango to Britney Spears' "Toxic" and also  "Sparkling Diamonds" from Moulin

Rouge.

Banned from the cast?

Bristowe has faced her fair share of online hate and bullying. In 2017 there were even allegations she was banned from joining the DWTS cast by Bachelorette creator Mike Fleiss. ABC said that wasn’t true, and several other bachelors and bachelorettes had appeared over the years, but whatever the truth was, joining the cast wasn't on the table for Bristowe back then.

Personal struggles

Off the dance floor, life hasn't been very easy for Bristowe in the past couple of years. The Bachelorette was engaged to her final pick Shawn Booth until a very public and painful breakup in 2018.

Going through everything in the public eye was not easy, but she found love again with another contestant from the Bachelor franchise -- Jason Tartick, who she is now engaged to. He was at her side supporting her for her big win.

Celebrating a long-awaited (and uncertain) win

For Bristowe, it was time to relish a long-awaited moment that, at times, looked like it wasn't going to happen. "I'm just so on a high right now!" she shared on Instagram after the finale.

Chigvintsev turned to her before the final dance and told her this was her chance to finally tell all the people who told her she'd never be able to be a dancer that she did it. And that’s exactly what happened. She not only danced, and danced greatly, but also won.

It was emotional for him as well. “I was not a part of last season, how I felt that [my] old dancing dreams were done and dusted,” he told Entertainment Tonight.

But it turns out those dreams were not dashed at all. "And then just standing with Kaitlyn in the finale and being called as the champion of the season? I mean, it was such a surreal moment that I never thought it would be in the reality of this world."

Sometimes the road to our dreams feels impossible to navigate. But the times when it looks like things won't work out are the ones that matter the most. Sometimes all it takes is getting up once again or holding the faith in the eleventh hour to be able to finally reach a lifelong goal.

She may be a former reality TV star, but Bristowe's determination to achieve her professional dreams ever since her humble beginnings as a dance teacher paid off in the face of many moments of doubt. Let her journey inspire you to keep believing in yourself and your desires.

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