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Tony Dovolani Finally Wins Dancing With the Stars After 15 Seasons: "This Is Unbelievable!"
Tony Dovolani Finally Wins Dancing With the Stars After 15 Seasons:
November 28, 2012

Good things come to those who wait!

After 15 seasons -- and some truly infamous celebrity partners -- Dancing With the Stars pro Tony Dovolani finally earned his first Mirror Ball trophy when he and Melissa Rycroft** were declared the All-Stars season winners Nov. 27.

"This is unbelievable!" Dovolani, 39, told Us Weekly after the show. "I can't thank you enough for the support. I felt all your support. Today is an incredible day. It's my wife and my anniversary today -- 13 years! -- and it's the 100th anniversary of independence for Albanians today, so it's an incredible, incredible moment, and I thank you all. For me, for my family, for everyone. This is so great. It's unbelievable!"

When the dancing duo were named the new champs, beating Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough** and Kelly Monaco and Val Chmerkovskiy, "I went spastic," Dovolani admitted. "I lost it. I literally lost it! I don't know how to describe this."

Dovolani said he plans to give the trophy to his children, Luana, Adrian and Ariana. "I'm coming home as a champion and they deserve to see their daddy win," he told Us. "I worked hard all my life and this is a special moment for my kids."

Rycroft, meanwhile, plans to share her victory with the world. "Maybe I'll put it in my front yard or on top of my car," she said. "Anywhere where everyone can see it!"

The Bachelor alum (and mom to daughter Ava, 21 months, with husband Tye Strickland) was particularly surprised by the final results. "I can't even sum up what's happened to my life in the past four years. It is unbelievable," she told Us. "Everything has been unexpected and I've just kind of learned to go with the flow and take everything with a grain of salt. . . I've been blessed with a lot of really good things in my life and I want to take advantage of it and always know when to smile. Things are good right now! I have no complaints and I feel very blessed. I've gotten married, I've had a baby, and now this moment is third best in my life!"

To celebrate, Rycroft plans to return home to Dallas to spend time with her family and "just enjoy being a mom again."

For Dovolani -- who's had nightmare partners including Kate Gosselin** and Wendy Williams -- the win was a long time coming. "I've paid my dues, but it was worth 14 seasons to get someone like Melissa," he told Us of the ex-cheerleader, who first competed with Dovolani in season 8. "It was worth it for this moment, this unbelievable moment, this incredible ride. All the stars have to align sometimes and tonight they did! This moment I have to share with all of our fans. We thought we were going home week one!"

Added Rycroft, 29, "We just wanted to do our best and leave some kind of impression, but never thought that we'd be the champions, never thought we'd be the last ones standing. I wish we hadn't underestimated ourselves, but at the same time, it kind of makes us even more proud of what we've accomplished. Once this dies down, I'm going to look back and reflect on what we've done because it feels pretty incredible."

This article originally appeared on Usmagazine.com: Tony Dovolani Finally Wins Dancing With the Stars After 15 Seasons: "This Is Unbelievable!"


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Post Comment
YEA TONY CONGRADS TO A JOB WELL DONE HARD WORK IS VERY REWARDING
Posted by doug December 4, 2012, 4:56 am
No one deserved it more than Tony! Enjoy!
Posted by Meluvspete November 29, 2012, 6:10 am
Wow! It's wonderful! I was team Melissa and Tony from the begining! I am just so happy to have voted for them and they did! They deserve it!
Posted by odette November 29, 2012, 12:34 am
Way to go Tony and Melissa. You two deserve to win.
Posted by Fleur de Lis November 28, 2012, 5:42 pm
Congrats.
Posted by Coffee & Cigarettes November 28, 2012, 4:41 pm
Congrats to Tony and Dallas native Melissa.
Posted by COolCris November 28, 2012, 4:19 pm
@missdea...I so hope that you're not nor never will be a parent. When you say she's a loser of a reality show, I'll assume you mean the Bachelor. Melissa Rycroft was NOT the loser on that show. Jason was...she, in fact, dodged a bullet. What kind of insensitive b*tch are you anyway? Like Kate Gosselin, Pam Anderson, and Nancy Grace are stars? (Just to name a few...) She and Tony busted their butts this season, and they deserved that win. I was a fan of Derek and Shawn also, but they flat out said they were doing what they wanted and rules be damned. Tony and Melissa DESERVED everything they got. They danced like pros, and she improved every week! People like you who suck the life out of others really need to show some respect. I'm quite certain we won't ever be seeing you up there putting in 100%, taking care of a toddler and a husband, and managing to keep a smile on her face and keep pushing, even after a neck injury. Grow up. You obviously don't have a positive bone in your body. Since Ms. Rycroft isn't on here to defend herself against blood sucking a**hats like you, I'll happily do it for her. That said, MELISSA AND TONY, YOUR WIN WAS WELL DESERVED. BASK IN THE GLORY YOU HAVE EARNED AND LEAVE THE HATERS TO THEIR MISERABLE LIVES!!
Posted by Kmomma1 November 28, 2012, 4:12 pm
Whoopi! Time to! Celebrate. It is about time that he won.
Posted by Roadrunner won't goof up! November 28, 2012, 3:11 pm
The best thing to happen to Mellissa was losing the loser on the reality show. She found her dancing shoes living her dream!!
Posted by byob November 28, 2012, 2:42 pm
This show has been on for 15 seasons????? Whoa! Time flies!
Posted by LTC'sGirl November 28, 2012, 1:57 pm

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