The model and her dance partner, Val Chmerkovskiy, stopped by ET on Tuesday for their first interview since getting eliminated.
Sailor Brinkley-Cook is still trying to process her elimination from Dancing With the Stars.
During week six of the dance competition show on Monday, the 21-year-old model and her pro partner, Valentin Chmerkovskiy, shockingly found themselves in danger of elimination along with fellow competitors Ally Brooke and Sasha Farber. The judges ultimately saved #TeamTimeToShine, which meant Sailor and Val's journey had sadly come to an end.
On Tuesday morning, just hours after saying goodbye to the competition, Sailor and Val stopped by ET Live for their first interview since the elimination, where they discussed how they were feeling, what they'll miss most and what's next for #TeamSailaV.
"You know, I'm feeling OK. I'm feeling grateful for the experience, yeah, but today was a rough one," Sailor admitted. "I was so afraid to do this and it terrified me. The fact that I got to do it for six weeks and I got to get up there and face my fears week after week ... I'm just happy that I got to go through this."
"I danced the jive, which is my favorite dance. I loved last night's dance, to a Wham song!" she continued. "It was just all of these moments in my life that I never thought would have happened. I'm sitting here, I'm 21 years old, and I get to tell these stories and I met some incredible people, like everyone on that set. Val, my buddy, my Val pal. That's what's heartbreaking; that I can't just go and dance with my friends anymore. But I'm still going to!"
Val agreed with everything Sailor mentioned, telling ET, "I think we're feeling better [today]. Last night was tough because, you know, you’re in the moment. You just performed, I think, the best performance of the season. So you're on this awesome ride and then it just comes to an abrupt end. That feels tough."
"It feels like the end, and it's natural for it to do so, but this is just the beginning in the bigger scale [for Sailor] when you see the bigger picture. Just the inception of a career, perhaps, if she chooses to go this route," he said. "Or just an experience that builds confidence to go in a different route. It's a beautiful thing."
"From the beginning to the end, there are no regrets. You could have 10 weeks and a trophy but a miserable experience, or you can have six weeks of pure joy," he added. "If I got a chance to do it again, I would have done exactly the same thing. I wouldn't have changed anything. I wouldn't want to change anything. And I'm much more fulfilled with week six with Sailor than potentially a win with anybody else."
Sailor recalled the exact moment she learned she was in the bottom two. "I mean, the second that it got to Hannah, Ally and me, I was like, 'It's me.'"
"I look at everyone in this competition and every week I say to Val, 'I can't see anyone going home, so it's going to be me.' But this one I was extremely shocked," she admitted. "We got our first 9s, our last 9s."
"I felt like I was in Gladiator," Val joked. "And it was like, 'Judges, what do you think?' and it was like, 'Sailor' [thumbs down]. It was a tough feeling but at the same time, that's life. You get dealt good hands and we've gotten dealt six weeks of awesome hands. We got to perform really cool things and I'm grateful to the show as well. I'm appreciative that I got a chance to work with Sailor and in a weird kind of journey in itself. This season has been a really unique experience for everybody."
Fans who have been tuning in to season 28 know that Sailor stepped in last minute for her mom, Christie Brinkley, who had to withdraw from the competition before it even began due to an injury. Christie has been so supportive of the two as the weeks have gone by, especially last night. Speaking with ET, Sailor said she spoke with her mom just moments after learning her fate.
"She was just as heartbroken as I am," Sailor shared. "I don't think that any of my close family or friends, they didn't think that this would happen. So I was not only sad that this experience ended for me, but for them too. Because they loved watching, they loved tuning in. They were always my biggest support system."
"My mom was always so excited," she continued. "She was planning on coming back [to the ballroom] next week. Everyone sort of had this idea that they were going to have this show to root on."
In addition to Christie, Sailor and Val also received plenty of celeb support from stars like Rumer Willis and Hailey Bieber. She said having them as cheerleaders has been "amazing."
"I have such a great support system and doing this show has brought them out a lot," Sailor exclaimed. "I've realized how many people really support me and want me to do well. I'm excited for whatever I do next because I know I've got people on my side, which is a beautiful thing."
And although Sailor doesn't know exactly what's next for her just yet, she confirmed to ET that she will "for sure" still be dancing.
"I asked Val, I was like, 'Can we still learn the Quickstep? I'll meet you in the studio.' Because that was my next dance," she shared. "So, we might have a little Instagram drop of a Quickstep next week."
As for Val, he'll be gearing up for the Dancing With the Stars -- Live Tour 2020, which kicks off Jan. 9 in Richmond, Virginia. He teased that fans may see some other familiar faces on the road... including Sailor!
"There is a chance," he explained. "There is definitely a chance. And I think the cast would love to have her. I think that's a big deal. We as [pro] dancers, this is our sixth or seventh tour on the road. It's a 50-city tour, it's a beautiful experience. But that's our little thing, right? The TV show, that's celebrities. The tour is sort of our little thing, so it's important that the cast embraces a celebrity and Sailor, man, all the dancers, all the pros love Sailor and would love to tour with her."
"I love them," Sailor added. "I miss you guys!"
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. Hear more highlights from week six of the competition in the video below.
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