When you’re Jordan Chiles, perfection is a piece of cake. Season 34 of Dancing With the Stars marked the American gymnast’s debut on the iconic show, where she teamed up with pro Ezra Sosa. Disappointingly, even though she didn’t win, would you have ever believed this wasn’t supposed to be her first appearance on the show?

Jordan Chiles was previously offered multiple opportunities to join the series. Courtesy of a small clip shared by Deadline on X, this surprising revelation was made after Tuesday’s finale, which ended with the American gymnast finishing in third place with her partner. What could be her takeaway from DWTS that would apply to her gymnastics endeavor?

“Just being able to understand that life can go either ways, you can have an amazing experience, or I can be flipping in a whole different world. So I’m just happy I said yes, finally, for the fourth time after getting asked. And I had such an amazing time, especially with my partner, and we just had a lot of fun,” she said.

We’d like to focus on the part where she rejected Dancing With the Stars not once, not twice, but three times? Boy, how keen the show producers were to have her on the legendary show. Fourth time’s the charm, we guess.

In contrast, Jordan Chiles had a rather heartwarming response for those who, in the future, would get a chance to be a part of the show.

“Definitely do it. I would say 100% do it. Obviously, go at the time you feel comfortable going at, and just be you. That’s the biggest thing about this show. If you show who you are, they’re going to love it,” added the 24-year-old.

Judging by her answer, that’s exactly why she snubbed the first three offers before finally saying yes when she felt comfortable. For many, making a deep run in their debut show would be a dream come true. But for Jordan, throughout her DWTS journey, she made it seem effortless. Her finale performance was perfection personified.

Jordan Chiles may have lost, but she won the hearts of many!

For the first time, contestants faced a three-round finale that included an instant dance with no rehearsal time, raising the pressure significantly. They narrowly missed perfection in the Judges’ Choice round with a 29/30, while scoring 30/30 in both the Instant Dance Challenge and their Freestyle. Even with Normani’s support and a standout routine to “Motivation,” Jordan Chiles and Ezra Sosa finished third out of the final five. 

Their freestyle, in particular, drew major attention, including praise from judge Carrie Ann.

“You are a powerful woman of color and came here to represent, and you show them how it’s done. That’s the best Freestyle I’ve seen in 20 seasons, hands down,” she shared as the crowd exploded in celebration. The comment left Chiles and Sosa grinning from ear to ear.

Speaking of the other contestants, Jordan Chiles still finished ahead of Dylan Efron and Daniella Karagach, who posted perfect scores in both the Instant Dance Challenge and Freestyle but slipped to a 28 in the Judges’ Choice. Behind them in fifth were Elaine Hendrix and Alan Bersten, who nailed the Judges’ Choice and Freestyle with 30s but dropped three points in the Instant Dance round.

Above Chiles and Ezra Sosa, Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy claimed second place after earning 30/30 in every round. And at the top were Robert Irwin and Witney Carson, who lost just a single point in Judges’ Choice but scored perfect marks in the Instant Dance and Freestyle to take home the Mirrorball trophy.

What made the outcome even more intriguing is that the DWTS community didn’t realize these results had essentially been predicted beforehand, through interesting fan theories and prediction platforms.