The end of the road. Paula Deen talked to Us Weekly exclusively about being eliminated from Dancing With the Stars after six weeks on Monday, Oct. 19.
“They have been hard on me since the very start,” the celebrity chef, 68, told Us. ”I don’t know.”
Deen also revealed that she was surprised to have remained in the competition for as long as she did.
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“I figured two weeks and I’ve been here six!” joked Deen. “So four weeks is a bonus, a pure gift. And I’ve made wonderful friends here that’ll last forever and that’s worth its weight in gold, right there.”
The Food Network alum previously told Us exclusively about how much fun she had with her switch-up pro partner Mark Ballas, after a racy routine last week.
“Oh my gosh, I had so much fun with Mark,” Deen gushed to Us. “So much fun. But you know… I don’t know how to say this but I hate to deprive these fabulous, fabulous men that I’ve grown to love — I hate keeping them from high scores.”
Deen, who dropped 35 pounds back in March, also revealed that she hopes to serve as an inspiration for women to get out there and try something new.
“I hope everybody saw me over these six weeks and I hope it gives them hope and encouragement, Deen said. “I hope all the women out there got the message that I was trying to send to them. Get up and do it!”