It looked for a while this week like “Dancing With the Stars” contestant Tamar Braxton might face the fate of fellow reality star Kim Zolciak-Biermann, who got sick earlier this season and was disqualified from the show.
Braxton was hospitalized during rehearsals for what her pro dance partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, said was pneumonia. Had she not been able to perform, she would have been booted off.
But Braxton pulled it together and made the show Monday night, leading host Tom Bergeron to exclaim, “Wow. … Just wow.”
But that wasn’t the only drama on the show.
Actress Alexa PenaVega revealed her struggle with bulimia and body issues during rehearsals with her partner, Mark Ballas. Told by producers that she was fat as a child star, PenaVega said that “For the next six years, I had an eating disorder.”
Her story moved Ballas, who very emotionally said, “It was hard for me to see Alexa like that. I’m proud of her for getting that off her chest.”
But despite perfect scores for their performances, PenaVega and Ballas were eliminated after landing in the bottom two along with her husband, singer-actor Carlos PenaVega, and his partner, Witney Carson. Watching his wife being ousted from the show left Carlos PenaVega in tears.
Wildlife conservationist Bindi Irwin continued her streak of wowing the judges, earning two perfect scores with partner Derek Hough. She is still the favorite to win the mirror ball trophy.