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Suni Lee Gives Health Update on ‘DWTS,’ Shares How Social Media Hate Affects Her

Suni Lee Gives Health Update on DWTS After Getting Sick
Suni Lee ABC/Maarten de Boer

On the mend! Suni Lee returned to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom on Monday, November 8, and was thrilled to share she’s feeling much better.

Related: 23 ‘DWTS’ Contestants Who Defended Their Prior Dance Experience

Last week was rough,” Lee, 18, said during her package before her samba to Janet Jackson‘s “All for You” with partner Sasha Farber. “I literally ran off the stage on live TV. … When I was backstage, I was more embarrassed than anything but I was not about to throw up on national TV.”

She noted that she also receives a lot of negative comments on social media about not being able to dance or looking unhappy. “I let them get to me,” she admitted, adding that if she didn’t, she’d probably feel better.

It seemed that the difficult week just made her stronger. She and Farber, 37, received a perfect score on Monday night and the judges commended her newfound confidence.

Suni Lee Gives Health Update on DWTS After Getting Sick 3 Sasha Farber
Sasha Farber and Suni Lee ABC/Eric McCandless

After the pair’s first dance during the Monday, November 1, episode, the Olympian ran off the stage holding her stomach.

“I think it was probably the hardest week I’ve ever had on Dancing With the Stars,” the Russia native told Us Weekly and other reporters on Monday night, noting she began feeling sick the Tuesday before and didn’t even rehearse the relay dance before performing it live.

Related: 'DWTS' Partners Who Stayed Close Friends

“Right before the dance started … we were standing in the tunnel, and she just kinda, like, 10 seconds in, vomited in her mouth and tears started to come out and she started walking away, saying, like, ‘No, I can’t do it.’ I was like, ‘Suni, you’ve got this. Come on. This is game time,’” Farber shared about the first dance of the night. “And she turned around and she was, like, holding it in, and she held it in for a minute 35 and then the second the dance was over, she ran to a trashcan.”

The athlete didn’t think she’d be able to dance the relay, but the pro dancer and the rest of the cast encouraged her.

Related: Stars Who've Battled Mental Health Issues

“I’m like, ‘Let’s just chill. We got this. You don’t have to rehearse. I’m going to go extra slow. I’ve got you. I want all your worries, like, let me worry. You just hold on and hold your breath. Don’t throw up on me, and we got this,'” he recalled.

Suni Lee Gives Health Update on DWTS After Getting Sick 2 Sasha Farber
Suni Lee and Sasha Farber ABC/Eric McCandless

Days after the episode aired, Lee let her fans in on how she was feeling during an Instagram Q&A.

“Could def be better,” the Minnesota native replied on Thursday, November 4, when a follower asked how her mental health is holding up. “But it’s just a lot on my plate all at one time & a lot of things ppl don’t know about.”

Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.

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