A sad goodbye. Jeannie Mai broke her silence on Monday, November 2, after announcing that she had to leave Dancing With the Stars following a scary health concern.
“I would never imagine ever having to write this, but I made it safely out of my emergency surgery,” the Real cohost, 41, said. “I will be forever grateful to Dr. Nasseri who identified my potentially life-threatening condition. What simply started as a sore throat had unbeknownst to me become a dangerous infection that already closed at least 60% of my airway and resulted in a throat abscess that spread in a matter of 3 days.”
Mai shared a photo of herself in the hospital on social media, and revealed how heartbreaking it was for her to step back from DWTS.
“Although I am grateful to be recovering safely, I can’t lie… I am devastated by the fact that my journey with #DWTS will end this way 🥺,😞,” she wrote via Instagram. “Dancing on this show has been the most exhilarating adventure. I’ve gained both beautiful friendships and loving supporters.”
She then gave a shout-out to her partner, Brandon Armstrong, writing, “I’m sorry you don’t get to make fun of my moves anymore while I share my life gems on how to be a grown up🤭🤪 Love u so much lil bro, and will ALWAYS cherish the memories we made!!!”
Earlier in the day, Mai announced that she had to withdraw from the competition after finding out about a serious health condition that “requires immediate attention and surgery.”
The Holey Moley star explained in a statement to Us Weekly that she is “heartbroken” her journey ending so early.
“I have pushed myself to new limits physically and mentally, and I am so proud of how far we’ve come,” she said. “I can’t thank my partner, Brandon Armstrong, enough for being so supportive and believing in me. I also want to thank MAI fans who voted every week, and I wish everyone else in the competition the best of luck.”
ABC announced during Good Morning America that Mai had been diagnosed with epiglottitis, a condition that causes swelling in the throat and could block airflow to the lungs.
Armstrong, 26, reacted to the news via Instagram after her announcement.
“I’m so sorry this happened to you! You don’t deserve it! Your journey on this show was so special so unique and so inspiring! I loved EVERY SINGLE WEEK that we got to go through this together,” he wrote at the time. “I hope I helped give you an experience that you’ll remember forever! We share a lot of good times, tough times and all the times in between but mainly, a lot of laughs! Mainly you laughing at me but hey I’ll take it! Thank you for giving me such an amazing season! We will all be praying for a speedy recovery! #teamdreamofjeannie always.”
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
