Although the relationship rumors between Dancing With the Stars contestants Danny Amendola and Ilona Maher have seemingly come and gone, Ilona is not entirely out of luck in the love department. In fact, the former New England Patriots player — who recently revealed that he is as happy as can be #SingleAF — is ready to help Ilona in her romantic endeavors, eager to set her up with some of his “NFL buddies.” How exciting is that?
On Oct. 24, Ilona attended a Los Angeles Rams game, where she seemingly tried to shoot her shot with some of the players. “Just seeing if these millionaire athletes want to be with someone whose main form of flirting is roasting,” she captioned a TikTok video, but it looks like there is a much easier way for Ilona to get the attention of professional football players.
This is where her friend and fellow Dancing With the Stars contestant, Danny, comes into play.
When speaking to Access Hollywood shortly after “Halloween Nightmares Night” came to a close, the interviewer exposed Ilona for shooting her shot with some of the Los Angeles Rams players via TikTok just a few days prior. Shyly approaching the microphone, the Olympic rugby player joked, “My video only got like 10 million views. Like 6 million views, so they probably didn’t see that. Probably, they don’t have Instagram. Probably, their phones are broken. They’re in season… They’re busy right now.”
The plot thickened once the interviewer got involved, telling Ilona that she had talked to Danny earlier in the evening, “and he said he’s down to set [her] up with one of his NFL buddies.”
Naturally, Ilona was all ears, eager to take Danny up on his oh-so generous offer. While chuckling alongside her professional dance partner, Alan Bersten, the Dancing With the Stars contestant gushed, “Maybe I’ll take him up on that. Why didn’t he set me up earlier?”
Nevertheless, with this endeavor aside, both Danny and Ilona — and their professional dance partners, Witney Carson and Alan — are in the top six on Dancing With the Stars, eager to take home the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy come finale night. According to their scores so far (which are detailed below) it looks like the former New England Patriots player has a better chance at bringing home the bacon, however, it is unclear how things will shake out when the votes from Dancing With the Stars fans come into play. After all, we all remember what happened to Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber… right?
| Danny Amendola and Witney Carson | Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten | |
| DWTS Premiere | Tango to “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” by Shaboozey & David Guetta (20/30) | Cha Cha to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain (18/30) |
| “Oscars Night” | Jive to “Danger Zone” from Top Gun (21/30) | Salsa to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing (21/30) |
| “Soul Train Night” | Foxtrot to “Dancing Machine” by The Jackson 5 (30/40) | Foxtrot to “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle (30/40) |
| “Hair Metal Night” | Paso Doble to “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi (30/40) | Jive to “Cum On Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot (26/40) |
| “Dedications Night” | Contemporary to “Unsteady (Erich Lee Gravity Remix)” by X Ambassadors (36/40) | Rumba to “My Way” by Yseult (32/40) |
| “Disney Night” | Jazz to “Bye Bye Bye” from Deadpool & Wolverine (27/30) | Jazz to “Surface Pressure” from Encanto (25/30) |
| “Halloween Nightmares Night” | Argentine Tango to “Poison” by RAVN (28/30) | Tango to “Psycho Killer” by Miley Cyrus (24/30) |
To see if either Danny or Ilona take home the Mirrorball Trophy, you can tune into brand-new episodes of Dancing With the Stars each and every Tuesday via ABC or Disney Plus, resuming next week (Nov. 12) due to Election Day.
Similarly, to see if Ilona ends up entering her WAG era, you can keep up with the Olympic rugby player via Instagram @ilonamaher or TikTok @ilonamaher for any further updates on her love life. While we would love to see her and one of Danny’s “NFL buddies” hit it off, we are still holding out hope for a slow-burn relationship between Ilona and Alan to flourish!