| The NFL player and his professional dance partner Emma Slater, were named the winners of the Dancing With the Stars show on Tuesday |
The 32-year-old NFL player and his professional dance partner Emma Slater have been crowned the champion of this year’s competition on Tuesday (24.05.17), beating fellow contestants Normani Kordei and David Ross to take home the mirror ball trophy.
And Rashad felt “amazing” when his name was called out because he has “never danced” in his life.
Speaking to ‘Entertainment Tonight’, he said: “I feel amazing. I feel good, truly, to come on the show, never danced in my life, and just keep on grinding and learning how to dance.”
Rashad and Emma spent a staggering 362 hours in rehearsals trying to perfect his moves – but the pair were conscious they were not practicing enough.
Emma said:”And you know what? We were thinking, ‘We need to rehearse more!’. “We literally would bring it up our coordinator and say, ‘Hey, I don’t think this is fair, we need more hours [to practice].’ We said that every week!”
The dark-haired hunk has also taken to social media to share the news of his win, which saw him admit he was surprised he bagged the number one spot because he didn’t think he would progress so far in the competition.
Alongside a picture of him with the blonde-haired beauty clutching at the gong, which was shared on his Instagram account, he wrote: “I would never have dreamed I would be a star on @DancingABC much less win the Mirror Ball! @TheEmmaSlater I am SO your biggest fan! Proud to witness you win and to be your partner in it all!!!! #TeamShadSquad #DWTS.”
During the programme Rashad wowed judges with their routine, which was a mix between the cha cha cha and the tango, and saw them awarded 39 points from judges Len Goodman, Bruno Tonioli, Carrie Ann Inaba and Julianne Hough.
Bruno credited Rashad as a “pro’s dream”, whilst the ‘Safe Haven’ actress praised the duo for their “unbelieveable” performance.
Julianne said: “This is a great way to finish the season. Unbelievable.”
However, this won’t be the last time fans see Rashad and Emma dance together, as they will take to the floor as part of the ‘Dancing With the Stars Live!’ Hot Summer Nights tour, and Rashad plans on finding the perfect balance between football and dance training.
He said: “Everywhere [I go on the tour,] I’m going to be training every day, no matter where I’m at.”
“I’m going to be training harder.”