Dancing With The Stars contestant reveals ‘punishing’ reality of filming, her brutal bruises and the substances she took to get through the pain: ‘It was heartbreaking’

Nikki Osborne has revealed the reality of filming Dancing With The Stars after showing fans the painful bruises she sustained during rehearsals.

The 42-year-old comedian is teaming up with professional dancer Aric Yegudkin on the 2024 series of the show and hopes to complete the competition.

Nikki admitted in an exclusive interview with Ny Breaking Australia that the shoot was “more rigorous” than she expected, with rehearsal days often lasting 13 hours.

“It’s harder than you would expect and a lot tougher,” she admitted.

‘Towards the end, I [on] was painkillers and whiskey, hand in hand. That’s how I got to the end. You’re in so much pain, but it just becomes the new norm.

‘At the end I couldn’t even pick up my toothbrush from the floor when I dropped it. I just thought, ‘oh fuck it.’

Despite the problems, Nikki insisted she had no regrets and enjoyed every second of the show, saying she saw her painful bruises and injuries as a badge of honor.

I wear the [bruises] “I was proud that I could continue dancing despite all those injuries,” she said.

“My grandfather was a war veteran and he was the one who taught me to push through. Aric and I had a safe word and that was ‘go faster.'”

“It was hectic! That’s what competition does to people, I feel like I’m ready for the Olympics now,” she added.

Nikki isn’t the only one to get injured during the 2024 show.

Julie Goodwin had to postpone her debut after suffering a torn calf muscle.

The MasterChef Australia star’s future on the show appears uncertain due to her estimated six-week recovery time, but Nikki stressed the star is determined to get back on the dance floor.

Nikki said she and Julie didn’t tell producers about the severity of their injuries because they wanted to keep dancing and so they kept going despite the pain.

She said, “I’m pretty sure that [Julie]like me, she gritted her teeth and didn’t tell me how bad her injuries were because she was in tears backstage the first night she couldn’t perform.

She recently shared a photo of the painful bruises (pictured) she sustained from her difficult dance routines, and has now lifted the lid on the gruelling 13-hour rehearsal days

“It was heartbreaking for all of us, we all know we’re one misstep away from the same situation. I think she’s going to dance.”

Nikki said all the dancers and celebrities stayed together during filming, while doctors were on hand to treat physical injuries.

She then went on to discuss her dance partner Aric’s “tireless” coaching, confessing that they even clashed at times, but said she is ultimately grateful for his focus.

“He’s relentless, but I’m glad! You don’t want a soft coach because you’re not getting better,” she said.

‘If it had been up to me and Aric had listened to my many complaints, we would have stopped earlier and had much more free time, but he just wouldn’t let me go!

‘I’m happy about that, but I shouted at him and said, “Get out of my way, I want to go home,” and he said, “No, you can do it better, stop crying, get up and stretch your legs.”

“I don’t understand how they do it, how these professional dancers put up with us whining and crying and saying, ‘I’m hungry and I can’t do it,’” she added.

The actress hilariously admitted that she acted a bit like a ‘drama queen’ during some rehearsals and praised Aric for the way he handled her outbursts.

Nikki admitted in an exclusive interview with Ny Breaking Australia that filming was “harder” than she expected, but insisted she still enjoyed every second of the show.

She also admitted that they both broke the show’s rules and scheduled extra rehearsals late at night because they were so focused on winning.

“Aric is very competitive and he would keep an eye on all the other couples. When they had to do a difficult task, he would say, ‘Okay, we have to beat them,'” she said.

‘We also organised rehearsals late at night. That’s not really the intention, but we wanted to beat everyone.’

Of her competitive nature, she said, “My goal is to win, but I feel like winning is not my karma because I’m not the favorite.”

‘I’m always a little bit of the bad guy, I don’t think the network will even let me win, but my goal is [is] to see it through to the end and wear every dress and do every dance.’

Nikki said she enjoyed every second of the show, but found it difficult to watch the final edit after being pegged as a “flop” during promotion.

“You also don’t know what the edit is going to do, so it’s hard to say,” she explained.

“The promos, you don’t know who you’re going to be. Last week I was the one who was going to flop. So I don’t know how they’re going to promote me next week, but I guess I’ll just have to wait and see.”

Nikki became good friends with controversial AFL star Ben Cousins ​​on the show, despite her friends warning her to ‘stay away’ from him due to his troubled past

Despite the challenges, Nikki said her highlight was dancing on the show night. She spoke about how close she was with her fellow cast members.

‘I definitely had a connection with Shane Crawford, we got on really well, and also with Ant Middleton, we clicked. They said, “Do you want to go on SAS and I said, f**k off!”

‘Samantha Jade and I, we still text a lot. I got along with all of them really well, which I didn’t expect!’

She also said that she and Nova Peris drank alcohol during performances, despite it being against the rules.

“Nova and I would bring bubbles to every show because alcohol is not allowed, but Nova and I just thought, ‘Oh well, you have to get through this somehow,'” she said.

‘What a bunch of lousy rules, no one gets ahead if they stick to the rules, right?’

She also became good friends with controversial AFL star Ben Cousins, despite her friends warning her to ‘stay away from him’ due to his troubled past.

Ben’s casting on the Channel Seven show raised eyebrows among some viewers, following his 2020 conviction for stalking the mother of his children.

Of the connections that have been made behind the scenes, Nikki also addressed claims that host Dr. Chris Brown has become close and ‘flirted’ with contestant Lisa McCune on set

Nikki told Ny Breaking Australia about the controversy: “It’s funny because I didn’t know Ben before I started and my friends were like, ‘Oh, stay away from him’ and I was like, ‘Oh gosh, okay’.”

However, Nikki stressed that Ben is a “sweetheart” and that they have built a good bond and become good friends while on the show.

“When I first met him I thought, ‘Oh my God, he’s just a sweetheart.’ He’s a humble, sweetheart and we just got along really well,” she said.

“He even came to my show in Perth to support me there. So whatever people thought Ben Cousins ​​was, he’s not anymore.”

Speaking about the backstage connections, Nikki also addressed claims that host Dr. Chris Brown became close with contestant Lisa McCune and “flirted” with her on set.

Nikki responded to the rumors with a joke: “This gives me the creeps because I thought he had a crush on me. I’m furious!”