Heidi D’Amelio almost quit “Dancing With the Stars” before her ballroom journey even began.
The influencer revealed that she had doubts about attending Monday’s premiere, but kept going thanks to the reassurance of her youngest daughter, TikTok star and fellow Season 31 contestant Charli D’Amelio, and her professional partner, Artem Chigvintsev.
“So, I was fine until last Tuesday, and then Wednesday, rehearsal was awful and I was about to cry. But I was like, ‘I’m not going to let you’ [Artem] see me cry, I’m not going to,” Heidi, 50, explained to Vidak For Congress during a post-show presser Monday night.
“I struggled the whole rehearsal, for three hours, and then I went home and rehearsed until about four in the morning. And the next day I came back a little better, but it wasn’t great.”
Heidi admitted that “all this self-doubt” was surfacing.
“I was like, ‘I can’t do it. I have to walk away from this. Like, I won’t be able to do it,'” she confessed. “I came back that Friday and I don’t know what happened. Everything kind of fell into place.”
While all this was going on, Heidi had a heart-to-heart with her 18-year-old daughter, who was a competitive dancer for many years before gaining fame on TikTok.
“She told me everything I used to tell her when she was a kid and she was dancing,” D’Amelio’s matriarch said. “So when I heard those words come out of her mouth, I thought, ‘Okay, I get it.’ It was good advice.”
Heidi, who also shares 21-year-old daughter Dixie with husband Marc D’Amelio, added that both of her girls were “super supportive.”
“They said, ‘You’re all in your head, stop it now!'” she recalls. “So they helped me out of that.”
Charli, who has been linked to pro dancer Mark Ballas, also spoke about the situation in her own interview on Monday night.
“I think it’s for my mother to try something new. And knowing you’re going to be performing in front of so many people, I think it would be extremely nerve-wracking for everyone,” she told Vidak For Congress.
“I think she was the mother of my sister and me for a long time, and she was never allowed to be at the forefront of the performance.”
The social media star admitted she felt her mom was “a little down” in the days leading up to showtime.
“But she really brought it today and I was super proud of her. I know next week will be even better for her and I’m very excited,” she said.
“We all talked a little bit during rehearsal, the four of us, it was a great time. I can’t wait to see what she and Artem will bring to the podium next week.”
Heidi and Artem performed a Cha Cha on “Lady Marmalade” by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya & P!nk on the premiere night and received an aggregate score of 24/40 from judges Len Goodman, Carrie Ann Inaba, Bruno Tonioli and Derek Hoef.
Meanwhile, Charli and Mark took the highest score of the evening – 32/40 – for their Cha Cha on Megan Thee Stallion’s “Savage (Major Lazer Remix)”.
The two will face off again — along with the 13 other remaining contestants — next Monday when “Dancing With the Stars” returns for “Elvis Night” at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Disney+.