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Melbourne fashion designer Nadia Bartel looks back on her time on Dancing With the Stars fondly despite being the first contestant farewelled Sunday night.
Competing against AFL player Ben Cousins in a “nerve-wracking” elimination round, the 39-year-old mum of two learned to be “a lot more comfortable” on the dancefloor as the show progressed.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Nadia Bartel talks about her elimination from Dancing With the Stars.
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While she was disappointed not to showcase the other dances she had prepared, Bartel has shared her pride in juggling her duties on the show with raising her two sons and working for her booming fashion brand Henne.
Along with the stress of performing, Bartel took on a major rehearsal schedule in Melbourne to train for DWTS, calling it “a tough few months”.
“It got shot quite a while ago now, but it was just a juggle,” she tells 7NEWS.com.au.
“A lot of it was in Melbourne, which was handy for me, the training and the filming.
“So that was good because I would do (school) drop off, train, pick up the boys, go back and get them to bed, and then train again.”
Bartel shares two sons Ashton and Henley with her ex-husband, former AFL player Jimmy Bartel.
“It was just a massive juggle.”
However, the fashion star says it was “fun moving my body every day and doing something different”.
“A lot of my time is spent behind the desk in an office so it was a nice change-up.”
The show marks Bartel’s first reality TV stint, having previously turned down other invitations including SAS Australia.
“I’ve always watched Dancing With the Stars, and I just thought, you know, be so fun to do that,” she says.
Throughout the process, the biggest challenge was tackling stage fright ahead of the performances.
“It was just that last moment of getting out onto the stage and seeing all the cameras and the audience and the audience and that kind of silence,” she says.
“The more you do something, the more you get more comfortable doing it,” Bartel adds, explaining she was most comfortable during her elimination dance despite her position in the competition on the line.
Along with the show and being a mum, Bartel juggled her fashion brand Henne, which she founded in 2019 alongside Michelle Ring and Laura Broque.
The brand recently expanded into Sydney, its second-largest market behind Melbourne.
“It’s been so amazing launching into Sydney … we’ve been, obviously, planning that for quite a while and trying to find the right space and then get the build happening.”
Bartel says founding Henne taught her resilience, a skill she was able to bring to the Dancing With the Stars ballroom.
“I kind of didn’t take it too seriously and didn’t get too upset when I had feedback from the judges and that kind of thing.
“You know, that’s just the way life is sometimes.”
How to vote for DWTS at the Logies
Nominated for: Best Entertainment Program
Voting is now open and runs until Saturday, August 17, at 7pm AEST for the best categories and until Sunday, August 18, at 7.30pm for the most popular categories.
The Logies will be broadcast on Channel 7 on August 18.
You can vote now for your favourites from the shortlisted nominees at www.tvweeklogies.com.au.