Olympian Meryl Davis and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy were crowned winners of season 18 of "Dancing with the Stars" and they took home the Mirrorball Trophy after earning perfect scores from the judges.
But bagging the trophy was no easy task, as the duo faced stiff competition from Amy Purdy and her partner Derek Hough, and Candace Cameron Bure and Mark Ballas.
This is Chmerkovskiy's first win in 14 seasons of the dancing reality show.
"It's just plastic, but it means so much," Chmerkovskiy said of the Mirrorball, according to Us Magazine. "And to [win] it with Meryl is a dream come true. There's a reason it didn't happen before. It's because I was meant to do it with her."
Chemerkovskiy and Davis' chemistry was instrumental in them being awarded the winners, and both of them have been vocal about them bringing out the best in each other.
"I feel that I can really be myself with Maks[…]he pushes me to stand up for myself, whether it's in real life or on the dance floor. It's cool," Davis told People, while Chmerkovskiy countered: "She lets me be creative[…] I've already done more on this season than I've done on Dancing with the Stars in 13 seasons[…]this is why I'm still here."
The two-hour finale was packed with performances from Ariana Grande, Iggy Azalea, Christina Perri, and Amber Riley, besides solo routines from other eliminated contestants.
Before the winner was announced, all the final three contestants took to their social networking sites to express sadness over the season's end.
Davis wrote on her Instagram account that there was so much to be grateful for and thanked her dancing partner as well as fans for their support.
"I have so very much to be grateful for. Hard to believe this journey is coming to an end. To have shared this experience with @maksimc has been a true privilege. Thank you all for the support!" she posted on Instagram.
Purdy wrote: "This journey has been more then I could ever describe or have ever anticipated. @derekhough will forever hold a chunk of my heart. Thank you for being my partner,my wall, mentor, coach and friend."
Meanwhile, Bure expressed disbelief that she made it to the top three.