The ‘Summer House’ star said she wanted to “leave everything on the floor” after a difficult year that included ex West Wilson’s relationship with Amanda Batula
NEED TO KNOW
- Summer House star Ciara Miller performed her first Dancing with the Stars routine on Wednesday, Sept. 16
- Judge Carrie Ann Inaba cried afterward and explained why she was emotional
- Miller admitted she went through one “hell of a year”
Ciara Miller is telling her story in a new way on Dancing with the Stars.
The Summer House star, 30, took the ballroom floor for the first time during the second night of the season 35 premiere on Wednesday, Sept. 16, performing a foxtrot with partner Brandon Armstrong that left judge Carrie Ann Inaba emotional.
Ahead of the performance, Miller reflected on the difficult year she experienced after her ex West Wilson and former close friend Amanda Batula confirmed their relationship in March.
“I’ve had a hell of a year,” Miller admitted in her rehearsal package.
After footage recapped the drama surrounding Batula and Wilson’s relationship, Miller explained that joining Dancing with the Stars offered her an opportunity to express a side of herself that she didn’t feel audiences had fully heard.
Credit: dancing with the stars/instagram
“A lot of my life has, like, played out so publicly, but I don’t feel like I’ve gotten the chance to say my part on everything,” she said. “But I want to say it in a different way.”
“This is, like, a perfect creative outlet to express myself with less words and more feeling,” she added.
Miller also revealed that she grew up dancing, including ballet, hip-hop and jazz, but hadn’t danced in 15 years. Despite her previous experience, rehearsing the foxtrot presented new challenges, including controlling her arms and legs — and battling motion sickness.
“I don’t even get on carnival rides. I get so motion sick,” she said. “I’ve got to really work that out of my head because I don’t want to throw up on stage.”
She also had a message for anyone familiar with her penchant for lounging on Summer House.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I feel like people are gonna be a little shocked at my work ethic,” Miller said. “Word on the street is that I love to lay down — and I do — but this is a completely different environment.”
“So, for everyone that said I was lazy, stay tuned,” she added.
Miller and Armstrong then performed their foxtrot to Whitney Houston’s “Exhale (Shoop Shoop),” earning thunderous applause from the ballroom audience. Her Summer House costars Lindsay Hubbard and Mia Calabrese could be seen looking emotional from the audience as Miller finished the routine.
Inaba was visibly moved as she began her critique. “You made me cry,” she told Miller. “Because I can see the pain that you have. I can feel it.”
The judge said that was “the beautiful thing about dance,” explaining that it gave Miller “a place to express that.”
“I think that you are a stunning dancer,” Inaba, 58, continued, praising how Miller appeared to grow more comfortable as the performance went on. “I want you to continue this journey. I want you to believe in yourself.”
Derek Hough similarly encouraged Miller to get out of her head, telling her there were moments when she appeared to let go and dance freely. “I want you to go back to rehearsal and dance like you know that you’re good, because you are,” he said.
Bruno Tonioli praised the “sophisticated” and “elegant” qualities Miller brought to the foxtrot, while encouraging her to work on maintaining control and a continuous flow throughout her routines.
While speaking to host Julianne Hough afterward, Miller got a bit choked up as she reflected on what the performance represented for her.
“I feel like this dance is, like, it’s a lot of buildup for a big moment,” she said. “But I’m, like, I feel like it’s the start of, like, a new chapter, and, like, I want to have fun moving forward.”
“But I just wanted to leave everything on the floor tonight,” she continued, dedicating the moment to “my friends that, like, held me up over the past year and my community.”
Credit: Clifton Prescod/Bravo
Miller received three 5’s from Inaba, Hough and Tonioli for a total score of 15 out of 30.
The emotional performance comes months after Batula, 34, and Wilson, 31, confirmed their relationship on March 31 after weeks of speculation. Wilson and Miller dated during his first season of Summer House in 2023 before splitting that December, while Batula announced her separation from husband Kyle Cooke in January after four years of marriage.
Miller later addressed the situation in an April interview with Glamour, saying that experiencing hurt publicly added another difficult layer.
“It’s one thing to experience hurt behind closed doors,” she said. “To experience it so publicly is like another layer, and then to have to see what you thought was your life still play out in season 10. It’s a major mind-f—.”
She also explained why she wanted to address the situation more intentionally rather than through social media or a podcast.
“Just know when something’s weird in your gut, there’s a reason,” Miller said. “What’s done in the dark always comes to light. And sometimes you really don’t even have to do anything except sit back and let the universe handle it all.”
New episodes of Dancing with the Stars air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+, and stream the next day on Hulu.
Read the full article here
