Tony Dovolani: "Dancing With the Stars: All-Stars" was the season to win
Tony Dovolani watched for 14 seasons as his fellow professional dancers walked away with mirrorball trophy after trophy, as they shepherded their celebrity partners to "Dancing With The Stars" victory.
But on Tuesday night, Dovolani, 39, had a chance to experience what it felt like to be crowned the winner, alongside his celebrity partner, reality star Melissa Rycroft.
And it seems like he wouldn't have had it any other way.
"If there was a season to win, I think the all-star season would be it," Dovalani told CBSNews.com mid-way through the all-star competition.
At the time, Dovalani, who admitted he has had his "challenges" in his "DWTS" career, said winning would "mean everything" to him. "I would be lying if I said I didn't want to win," he said.
On Monday, Dovolani and Rycroft, 29, beat out Shawn Johnson and multiple mirrorball winner Derek Hough, as well as third-place finishers Kelly Monaco and Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
This wasn't Dovolani and Rycroft's first dance, though. The latest "Dancing With the Stars" winners were first paired up in season eight. Dovolani's previous celebrity partners included Stacy Kiebler, Sara Evans, Kate Gosselin, Wendy Williams, Jane Seymour, Kathy Ireland and Susan Lucci. Throughout his time on the long-running ABC series, Dovolani and his star partners have had their fair share of ups and downs.
"I'll be honest," he said. "I love my journey...through the good times and the bad times. Anybody's who's followed the show knows I have had my challenges."