Amanda Kloots is quickstepping back her comments about Dancing With the Stars pro Alan Bersten.
Kloots and Bersten partnered in season 30 of the hit ABC competition show, where they finished fourth. Kloots, 42, previously said her partner was “very mean” to her in training, but that there was no actual bad blood between the two.
“We became best of friends during DWTS and we still are today,” Amanda wrote via her Instagram Story on Tuesday, November 19. “We joked then and now about how tough he was on me but believe me I grew up in the ballet world knowing really tough teachers. We also laughed a lot, cried and built an incredible partnership in that time!”
The Talk cohost added that Bersten was there to help her start dancing again following her husband’s unexpected death in 2020 due to COVID-19.
“Alan helped me tremendously with healing and grief and finding my love for dance again,” she continued. “I’m grateful to him. If you followed us then and now you know the bond we created!”
Kloots has spoken about the topic before. While her season was airing, she gushed to Us Weekly about the trust she had built with Bersten.
“I told him the other day, I said, ‘You know, this experience … how wonderful you’ve been has really helped me, like, bridge that gap,” she exclusively told Us. “It’s been so nice getting to know you and feeling comfortable with you and seeing you every day and trusting you and crying with you and going for goals with you.’ … I said, ‘It’s really helped me move forward in my life and that I did not expect to happen.’”
That doesn’t mean Kloots and Bersten never butted heads. The two fought on camera during rehearsals on their season as Bersten pushed Kloots, who accused her partner of being rude to her.
She later reinforced that the two have “amazing partnership.”
“Well, Alan’s hard on me. I like tough love though,” she said. “Like, it really does make me work harder, especially when I come in after a full day of work and I’m exhausted. I need him to push me.”
Bersten then lauded Kloots’ hard work and said the bumps in their relationship had only helped solidify their bond.
“These hardships only make us stronger,” he said. “No one said it was ever going to be easy — and Amanda shows [that] every week when she goes out there and her blood, sweat and tears are left on the floor.”
