He may not have made the Grand Finale of Dancing With The Stars , but local favourite Ben Cousins won plenty of hearts at Varsity Bar in Innaloo on Sunday night as he celebrated his time on the series with dance partner Siobhan Power. Mix94.5’s Pete & Kymba hosted an intimate Ben Cousins Dancing with the Stars Finals Party for 150 radio listeners, with fans sadly witnessing the end of the road for the former footy star as they watched his semifinal performance.
Bowing out with a score of 17 out of 40 for his Argentine tango — well below fellow WA favourite Samantha Jade’s 39 — the proud contestant and his partner treated attendees to a live performance of the Cha Cha Cha as they bid farewell to the competition. A fan favourite from the get-go, Cousins posed for photos with attendees as he lapped up the local support. Reflecting on his time on the show, he revealed he wished he was introduced to the art form sooner.
“If I knew what I know now, I would have started dancing in my childhood!” Cousins said. “I would still be playing footy, but I would be dancing as well — one hundred per cent!” Power lauded the ex-Eagle’s work ethic and never-say-die attitude. “Ben just put in the work, he just wanted to nail it,” she said.
“If something wasn’t working at the start, he would say, ‘We’re not leaving until I get this!’’’ Asked by host Pete Curulli if he felt his experience had launched the next phase of his life, Cousins suggested he was in a healthy headspace. “In many ways, it feels like I’ve got my life back, I feel happier about everything and I look forward to each day,” he admitted. “People have been really good to me and I consider myself very fortunate to feel people’s support and love, particularly at times when I don’t think I have deserved it.
“Things are in a good space now. Life is good!” Tight-lipped on his tip for the Mirror Ball Trophy winner, he uttered the names of competition frontrunners as ones to watch. “Sam and Lisa from the start have been so consistent — but James and Nikki Osborne are also dancing so well right now!” The winner of Dancing With The Stars 2024 will be announced on Monday night’s Grand Finale from 7.
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