Dancing with the Stars viewers were taken aback after a professional dancer was forced to withdraw from the show.
Maurizio Benenato was competing alongside Eurovision entrant Brooke Scullion. However, the dancer bowed out of the limelight just three weeks in for personal reasons.
The Italian native took to Instagram to share that he was departing the RTE series. He thanked all the dancers and back stage crew for their help but said he would come back stronger "as soon as possible."
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He explained to his followers: "Unfortunately things happen in life- it's a really sad situation, you can't imagine how I feel. I want to say thank you to all the Irish people, you will always have a special place in my heart and it's been an amazing time in Dublin."
The 31-year-old confirmed he had flown back to Italy to deal with the personal issue. He apologised to Brooke for the inconvenience and wished her well in the remainder of the competition.
Brooke has now been partnered with professional dancer Robert Rowinski. The duo performed a sizzling rumba to the song '2002' by Anne Marie, topped the leaderboard, and were voted through to next weekend's show.
People took to the comments section to sympathise with Maurizio and wish him the best going forward. One user wrote: "I'm so sorry to see you have to bow out-you are an amazing dancer and for sure you'll be back stronger than ever."
Another person said: "Sorry you are having this issue, wishing you the best for a speedy resolution to whatever is going. Hope all your family are well." Dancing with the Stars airs live on RTE One each Sunday at 6:30pm.
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