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Tony Dovolani Talks Kim Zolciak’s DWTS Elimination: “Bring Us Back!”

Kim Zoliak's dance partner Tony Dovolani talks her DWTS elimination
Kim Zoliak's dance partner Tony Dovolani talks her DWTS elimination

Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani is devastated that his partner Kim Zolciak has been eliminated from the show's 21st season.

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Talking after the shock announcement that Zolciak's out of the show after failing to dance on Monday, Sept. 28, following a mini stroke, the dance pro told Us Weekly he'd spent much of last week by her side in the hospital.

"We took the red eye home [to Atlanta] and we parted ways," Dovolani told Us of the moments that lead up to the Don't Be Tardy star's ill health. "I went to get my rental car and she headed home. And just as I was checking into my hotel, I got a text saying, 'I'm checking myself into the hospital,'" he said.

Related: PHOTOS: DWTS' hottest hookups

"I went to the hospital and I stayed by her side for around nine hours, her husband showed up right away. And I was at the hospital with her for three days, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and then she got discharged on Friday and we danced on Saturday. We did the whole dance and I have video to prove it!" he added, explaining the doctors were happy to clear her to dance, but not to fly back to Los Angeles.

In fact, Dovolani only found out last night that her inability to perform on Monday meant the end of the road for the Real Housewives of Atlanta star.

"I think the producers were fighting until the last minute to keep us in the competition," Dovolani explained, adding it was the lawyers who made the final call. "I want to continue so bad it's not even funny. That's why I put a tweet out there saying, 'Bring us back!' The producers want us back, I want to be back, Kim wants to be back — so the only people they needed to convince was the lawyers," he said.

But while the dance pro admits he's frustrated by the outcome, he's 100 percent behind his partner’s decision not to get onboard a plane.

"She did the right thing," he said. "It's her health and she's got six kids and her husband to think about. I'm really happy for her that she's taking care of herself, but I'm sad to be out of the competition," he admitted, before adding, "She was showing signs of improvement!"

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