“DWTS: Next Pro” Contestant Hits Another in Face During Rehearsal Accident, Sending One Home in Abrupt Exit
“DWTS: Next Pro” Contestant Hits Another in Face During Rehearsal Accident, Sending One Home in Abrupt Exit
Yamillah HurtadoTue, July 28, 2026 at 2:38 AM UTC
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Natalie Jolley.Credit: ABC
Warning: This article contains spoilers for ABC’s Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, which streams the next day on Hulu.
In the July 24 episode of Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro, Stephani Sosa accidentally hit Natalie Jolley in the face during rehearsals
After Jolley missed rehearsal and the final dance due to her injury, judge Shirley Ballas announced that Jolley would be leaving the show
Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro airs Mondays on ABC
One contestant on Dancing with the Stars: The Next Prowas abruptly eliminated for unexpected reasons.
On the Monday, July 27 episode of the Dancing with the Starsspinoff, the remaining 10 dancers were challenged to do a group routine choreographed by guest judge Britt Stewart.
As Britt coached the dancers in rehearsal, Stephani Sosa accidentally hit Natalie Jolley in the face when she swung her arm around while performing the choreography.
Jolley, 20, stepped back, covered her face and sobbed in pain, as the rest of the dancers watched in shock. Stewart, 36, walked over to check on her, and Jolley explained that she felt dizzy. When the ballroom dancer removed her hands from her face, her eye was swollen shut.
“It’s like a black eye,” Adele Zaikman told the group.
Stephani Sosa’s teary confessional.Credit: ABC
In her confessional, Sosa, 26, said, “I don’t know what happened. The dance was moving so quickly, and Natalie got hit in the face. I just hate being the one that caused that. Like, I just feel horrible. I know she’s worked really hard to be here, and I hope she’s okay.”
Tearing up, Sosa added, “Sorry, I just care.”
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Production pulled Jolley out of rehearsals and had the medical team check on her. She told them “it hurts really bad” and that she couldn’t breathe through her nose. Shortly after, an ambulance came. One of the production staff members said to Natalie, “They’re going to give you some pain relief, okay? Just try to slow your breathing down.”
As clips showed Jolley being carried into the ambulance, Stewart said, “I’m really feeling for Natalie. She’s part of this group challenge. This incident really showcases why dancing as a unit, being aware of your space, is so important when you’re doing group dance work.”
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Natalie Jolley and Erik Linder on ‘Dancing With the Stars.’Credit: Disney/Vince Valitutti
The next day, all the dancers except Jolley went to rehearsal, where Stewart had a surprise for them. The dancers were told that they would have to perform the routine in front of judges Mark and Shirley Ballas right then and there.
Nervous, the group delivered a far-from-perfect routine, and the judges told the group that Tristen Sanders and Nina Mayster were the weakest dancers. As they teared up, Stewart reassured them that they weren’t on the chopping block yet. Instead, Sanders, 28, and Mayster, 28, were made the team captains for this week’s showcase.
On Sanders’ team were Sosa, Selena Hamilton and Erik Linder, while Mayster’s team had Zaikman, Allen Genkin and AJ Pritchard.
After Sanders’ team performed a paso routine, and Mayster’s a tango, the judges revealed the two dancers in jeopardy of elimination were Hamilton, 21, and Sanders. As the time came for the judges to send someone home, Shirley revealed unexpected news.
“Tonight was the last dance for … neither of you,” the Latin dancer said, shocking the group. “Following Natalie’s injury, she was not medically cleared to compete, and so she has been eliminated.” The dancers, then, all gasped.
“This means you will all live to dance another day,” she added.
The cast of ‘DWTS: The Next Pro’ learns about the shocking elimination.Credit: abc
Host Robert Irwin asked Hamilton how she was feeling, and she said, “Group dance is what I do, so it was hard being in bottom two.” Irwin turned to Sanders to ask how he was feeling about Jolley, and the ballroom dancer said, “I feel so bad that she can’t continue, that was obviously an accident.”
Zaikman, 24, then whispered under her breath, “That’s really harsh though.”
Irwin welcomed Jolley to the stage, where she bid her fellow dancers and the judges farewell.
“I’m really sad and disappointed that I won’t be able to continue in this competition, but the most important thing is just to take care of my body so that I can dance again,” she said. “I love all of you so, so, so much and I’m going to miss you all. Thank you so much.”
Dancing with the Stars: The Next Pro airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams on Hulu.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
