'That’s always going to be the case with social media'
RTE Dancing With The Stars winner Rhys McCleneghan has addressed some fan complaints after his show win.
The gold medallist and his professional dance partner Laura Nolan nabbed the coveted Glitterball trophy last month.
In a nailbiting final, Rhys and Laura took home the prize after beating out Danny O'Carroll, Kayleigh Trappe and Jack Woolley.
Although the final vote was determined by both judges' scores and the public vote, some viewers took to social media to express their disappointment that their favourites did not win.
And Rhys has finally spoken out about the disapproval of his DWTS win.
The Olympian told RSVP: "That’s always going to be the case with social media, isn’t it? It is incredible what those guys did, and everyone should be very proud of themselves. I know if I didn’t win the glitterball I would still be proud of myself.
"The standard was so high, it was an incredible season, everyone raised the bar. It could have been anyone who lifted the glitterball trophy."
The 25-year-old was frequently compared online to his fellow Olympian and series competitor, Jack Woolley; however, Rhys revealed there was no competition between the two.
He explained: "We had a mutual respect for each other because we understood the journey we were going on. I said congratulations to him, of course, and all of the other finalists."
Outside of gymnastics and being a star dancer, Rhys is in a long-term relationship with his high school sweetheart, Emilee.
The gold medal winner revealed that he and his girlfriend recently bought a house and are currently renovating it, adding: "We’ll be moving into it soon. It’s the first time we’ll be living together so it’s a really exciting time in both of our lives.
"I’m really looking forward to spending as much time with her as possible and starting a new chapter of our lives together."
Winning DWTS and being a gold medal Olympian comes with sacrifices, as Rhys works hard to achieve his goals.
His ability to dedicate time to his sport is made easier by his girlfriend, who is also a gymnastics coach, understanding the anti-social hours.
RHYS REIGNS
Rhys said: "I’ve got a strange schedule and she works during the evenings. The only time we would see each other is before we go to bed at night so it’s going to be really nice to go back to the same place together. We can’t wait."
Despite any critics' complaints, Rhys still felt his win was well deserved and declared his pride in his hard work paying off.
On the night of his win, he said: "I'm so proud that I took on this challenge, it was an amazing journey.
"I had never danced before. It has been amazing to learn that art and to fall in love with it.
His pro partner Laura added: "It's just all the hard work and choreography, every single week.
"Putting my whole years of dance into this moment, and it's really just everything I have done for the past five seasons put into one trophy."
