What Happened To Kaitlyn Bristowe Before Dancing With The Stars?

Kaitlyn Bristowe first stole fans' hearts when she appeared as a contestant on Season 19 of The Bachelor. After coming in third place on Chris Soules' season, she was later crowned the leading lady of the eleventh season of The Bachelorette. Needless to say, it seems Kaitlyn is pretty comfortable in front of the camera at this point. She's proving that level of comfort again and this time, instead of handing out roses, she's dancing her heart out. In September 2020, Kaitlyn joined ABC's Dancing with the Stars for its 29th season, a natural fit as she was a professional dancer prior to her time on reality TV, per People. 

Kaitlyn had some time to prepare for the gig after Bachelor host Chris Harrison broke the news that she would be joining reality dancing competition during an episode of The Bachelor: The Greatest Seasons — Ever! in June 2020, per E! News. Kaitlyn told the outlet that she was using her pre-show time to get in excellent physical shape in order to compete on the show. While all of those workouts might have paid off, Kaitlyn suffered an injury just before her live performance on Sept. 22, 2020. Here's what happened.

Right before her live performance on Dancing with the Stars on Sept. 22, 2020, Kaitlyn Bristowe suffered an ankle injury. Host Tyra Banks told the audience (via Entertainment Tonight): "The rest of our cast is ready to light up the ballroom with the exception of one. Just before we went live, Kaitlyn Bristowe was dealing with an ankle injury."

Banks continued, "So we got to ask, will she pull though? We'll find out later. We'll find out live." Kaitlyn's boyfriend, Jason Tartick, rallied fans on Twitter, writing, "It's been a hell of a grind for @kaitlynbristowe today — any and all votes help! Text 'Kaitlyn' to 21523 up to 10x."

Ultimately, Kaitlyn came through, with her dance partner, Artem Chigvintsev, announcing before their performance that she was going to dance. Kaitlyn confirmed this, too, telling Banks prior to her routine (via ET): "I tell myself all the time, 'I'm resilient, this is a dream, I'll dance through anything.' As long as I was cleared to do it, I was happy to do it."

Despite the injury, Kaitlyn absolutely slayed her Foxtrot set to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance," according to E! News. The judges were quite impressed. Carrie Ann Inaba said (via ET): "If that's how you dance with an injury, I would love to see it without one." Derek Hough chimed in, saying, "It was beautiful, graceful, and effortless. Well done. Really good." Way to pull through, Kaitlyn! That's some impressive determination!