Maurizio Benenato has broken his silence on his shock departure from RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars.
The professional dancer, who was partnered with Eurovision star Brooke Scullion, had to quit the popular show and return home to Italy over the weekend due to a “private problem”.
In a new interview with The Irish Sun, the 31-year-old said: “I want people to know it’s really painful. This has been the worst time of my life.”
Pic : Kyran O’Brien/kobpix
“I don’t deserve this problem, I don’t deserve to be dealing with it. It is a terrible thing to have to leave the show like this.”
“I was trying and trying to find a solution to a problem I had in Italy and I had to leave,” he explained. “When you have such a big private problem at home you have to go back.”
Speaking about his former partner Brooke, Maurizio said: “It’s not nice for her. When I got the news from Italy, the production took care of me getting flights and I’m sure they are taking care of Brooke as well.”
“I know she is devastated as well, I am so grateful to the people on the show. Myself and Brooke were doing so well. But the last thing I am thinking about now is the show.”
Robert Rowinski, who was a pro on the show from 2018 to 2020, has since stepped in for Maurizio.
On Sunday night’s show, Brooke and Robert topped the leaderboard, and Derry Girls star Leah O’Rourke became the first celebrity to be voted off the show.
Dancing with the Stars continues on Sunday at 6:30pm on RTÉ One.
