"I just want to keep going for it": Dancing with the Stars' Elaine Hendrix on staying in the competition after the injury

Dancing with the Stars season 34 star Elaine Hendrix opened up to PEOPLE on her health and rib injury after missing her performance on the October 28, 2025 episode during Halloween Night.

The 54 year-old actor was rushed to the hospital in the morning of the episode while she was doing the rehearsals for the performance. She was begging to not go to the hospital that day because she did not want to miss her dance routine, saying she was 1000% determined.

In her exclusive PEOPLE interview, she further opened up about the pain due to injury, the fear of getting eliminated from Dancing with the Stars and her refusal to quit, while reflecting on dealing with the injuries in future performances. Hendrix said:

"We'll get the pain managed, and I just want to keep going for it."

Elaine Hendrix was in immense pain before she was taken to the hospital 

Elaine Hendrix did not want to miss her Dancing with the Stars performance on Tuesday, October 28, 2025, but she was glad that she was taken to the hospital because the pain was intense.

Reflecting on the morning of the incident and the severity of the rib injury she says that she had bruised her rib a week earlier as well but this time the pain was unbearable, that took her breath away. Recalling the experience, she describes:

"In that moment, I thought something very, very serious had happened, and I could barely breathe. I almost passed out. I couldn't move without just a searing pain going through me. It was so sweet because everyone — apparently, I was really out of it — really rallied around me."

Despite the excrutiating pain, her first instinct was to think of her performance as she was wondering about how to get up and be normal because she has a dance to perform. However, she had to be taken to the hospital as she says:

"And they're like, ‘Oh no, honey, you got to go to the hospital.’ And I'm like, ‘No, no, no, no, no, no,’ and I'm begging them not to take me to the hospital, but it’s good they did."

Her bestie and The Parent Trap co-star Lisa Ann Walter and her pro partner Alan Berstan immediately went to meet her at the hospital, worrying about her well-being.

He later returned to the Dancing with the Star studio for the live show as their performance was judged based on the rehearsal videos. It was a real boost for Hendrix which made her feel really good. 

As their full rehearsal was played in the live show, an outpouring of love was received from the judges, cast and fans.

Expressing her emotions on that, she says, that was probably the best gift she could have gotten from that situation, adding:

"That made me feel the best of all because I was like, ‘Oh, then I've really been doing my job. I've really been doing what I wanted to do,’ which was perform everything to the fullest."

After the performance, it was the results that dreaded her because she did not want to get eliminated from the show on thus note that made her and Walter both anxious all night on the hospital bed waiting for the results. 

She explained that she got really emotional because she was really scared of going home.

When she found out that she and her partner had made it through, they both began sobbing and laughing and crying, describing it as a real moment which she felt deeply grateful for.

Afterward, Hendrix shared that doctors had cleared her to return, reassuring her that nothing’s fractured, nothing’s broken, nothing’s punctured, though they suspected a strain or muscle tear.

Following two days of rest, she returned to rehearsals on Friday, October 31, 2025 delighted to be back preparing for the next live show.

Hendrix said she was ready to push forward, explaining PEOPLE that she knows the most excrutiating level now and focuses on never reaching that point again, adding: 

"And so I started the next day — I've gone in, I've been doing all the tests and I'm doing physical therapy and I'm on a very involved protocol and I am 1000% determined. I was determined before. Now it's just through the roof."

Elaine Hendrix expressed that her determination had reached new heights, adding that, one way or another, she knew she was going to fight through the challenge.

She also shared her hopes to go all the way, to continue in the competition, proving what she could do.

She explained that she while she was managing her injuries carefully, she made it clear to Alan Bersten that unless something was absolutely impossible for her to do, they wouldn’t be holding back. 

Stay tuned for more updates.