Dancing With the Stars has had its ups and downs this year—and no, we’re not just talking about those elegant dips—but thankfully, the season has ended on a high note. After facing backlash from striking members of the WGA at the beginning of Season 32, casting Britney Spears’ maligned sister Jamie Lynn Spears, and allowing one contestant to fall upward week after week while sending better talents home, fans were worried this year’s winner wouldn’t be a good pick.
Guess again! Xochitl Gomez, an actress best known for playing America Chavez in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, was rewarded with the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy on Wednesday night. Gomez, along with pro-partner Val Chmerkovskiy, has been knocking it out of the park all season long—she was the first star to earn a perfect score of 40 this season, and has been earning praise on social media since this season began. The Mirrorball Trophy was hers to lose.
Naturally, it came as no surprise when Gomez and Chmerkovskiy won the show. They were followed by runner-ups Jason Mraz and Daniella Karagach, then Ariana Madix and Pasha Pashkov. Coming in fourth place was duo Charity Lawson and Chigvinsev, and fifth went to Alyson Hannigan and Sasha Farber.
After learning of her win, DWTS fans celebrated Gomez all over social media and shared their favorite dance routines from the star.
“Each week, we’ve had so much fun and every time that we’ve had a great dance, and we felt great about it, we had this great feeling,” Gomez said in a post-finale interview with Entertainment Tonight. “And that’s the same feeling that we're having here, you know? It’s just the same thing—but times, like, 10!”
With her win, Gomez became one of the youngest stars to ever take home the Mirrorball Trophy. Gymnasts Laurie Hernandez and Shawn Johnson previously won the show when they were 16 and 17, respectively, making Gomez the youngest actor to ever win the series.
On the other hand, this is Chmerkovskiy’s third win on DWTS. Before Gomez, the pro earned the Mirrorball while dancing with Hernandez, as well as singer Rumer Willis. The hat trick is complete—but will Chmerkovskiy be back for more? We’ll have to find out next season.
