TikTok star Kayleigh Trappe has told RTÉ Entertainment she is feeling all the emotions ahead of the final of Dancing with the Stars, remembering the funniest moments during the series - and treasuring how the experience has made her family closer.
Trappe and her professional dance partner Ervinas Merfeldas will compete against Olympic gold gymnast Rhys McClenaghan and his professional dance partner Laura Nolan, Mrs Brown's Boys star Danny O'Carroll and his professional dance partner Salome Chachua, and Taekwondo athlete Jack Woolley and his professional dance partner Alex Vladimirov in Sunday night's final on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player.
Kayleigh's pre-final message to her partner in crime Ervinas 🥹🪩#DWTSIRL pic.twitter.com/EGFC853ewM
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 13, 2025
Ahead of the big night, the Monaghan woman couldn't keep a straight face when asked about the moments that made her laugh the most during the series.
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"I have a couple!" she said.
"I remember when Ervinas started doing lifts with me, I was very hesitant and he was thinking, 'Are Kayleigh's insecurities coming out here?' He was like, 'What's holding you back? What's holding you back?' And I just turned to him and said, 'I don't want to fart when I'm up in the air!' We laughed and laughed and laughed!
"Thankfully, I didn't, but that's been a running joke of the series.
"Another thing is - you might not be aware - Jack [Woolley] and I are very close. We're actually going on holidays together next week! We've all been really close in the group, but for some weird reason, every time I go out to perform, Jack - from the celebrity box - always roars, 'Up Monaghan! Yup Monaghan!' It nearly makes me laugh before every routine! Any time I get through, you probably don't hear it on the mics, but he's always like, 'Yup Monaghan!'
"Last week, it was Seachtain na Gaeilge, and Alex [Vladimirov] his Australian [dance] partner was like, 'I know some Gaeilge!' And I was like, 'Really?!' And she goes, 'Yup Mon-a-hah!' It's become the running joke - even with Danny [O'Carroll] as well - of the series and it's just so nice because she hadn't a clue what it meant. That's been great, so every time either Jack or I get through we're always roaring 'Yup Monaghan!' at each other.
Thanks for being you Kayleigh - with love from Ervinas 💌#DWTSIRL pic.twitter.com/sir9XmTexr
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) March 13, 2025
"We used to do VTs every Monday, and Ervinas and I would have to do a recap of the weekend. There were three weeks in a row where we couldn't stop laughing. You won't know this, but whenever the camera is filming Ervinas [in the pre-recorded interviews], I'm facing him. But they had to not have my face in it - I had to sit with my eyes closed and not look at him because we couldn't stop laughing. That happened three weeks in a row. I remember - God love him - the guy who does the VTs, he's so lovely and we get on so well, but I remember there was one part where he was like, 'Lads, we can't do this anymore!'
"There's been some moments in dances where I've had to have a serious face, but during rehearsals Ervinas and I, because we're such good friends, just keep laughing. The choreographer who helps out sometimes will come in and be like, 'Ok, Kayleigh, now you hold his face and look into his eyes'. And I'm like, 'I actually can't do this! He's like my little brother!' We got there in the end!
"As far as other funny moments... Ervinas showed up to the farm in Monaghan in white runners once - we got a good laugh out of that. There's the culchie vs city boy of us! I remember being like, 'What are you at?!'
"Elaine [Crowley] used to always have the massage gun before we'd go on stage and Mickey Joe Harte would be singing We Got the World. You'd just be looking around the room and going, 'Is this, like, an alternate universe?! I'm about to go out and dance a Jive and you've Mickey Joe singing in the corner. You've Elaine Crowley with a massage gun. You've Danny being stretched out to the max, and Jack doing flips!' It's bonkers, but it was great fun.
"Something kind of comes over you when you go to do your actual routine where you're like, 'Ok, let's get in the room'. I suppose as acting is one of my favourite things to do, I always said to Ervinas, 'Whatever about the dancing, if I break character, I'll be so disappointed in myself!' I've always been able to get into the right headspace, but yeah, there's been plenty of laughs. If you could only watch the dry runs of the show at half two - that's when everyone does all the jokes and makes all the comments they can't say on telly!
"There are so many funny moments that I can't even think of right now. We have laughed and laughed and laughed and laughed. It's clichéd, but we couldn't have asked for a better group. Honestly, we've just been so close."
But there was also a serious side to taking part in Dancing with the Stars...
"I went into it thinking it was all going to be bells and whistles, ha ha, hee hee, entertainment, dance a bit, do a little bit of that. I didn't realise how it was going to change me as a person," said Trappe.
"I didn't realise how much it would help me. I knew I'd be vulnerable going into it, but I didn't realise how much the bad days nearly become the best days because you learn so much and you come out the other end. I did just think, 'It'll be a little bit of dancing, go out and show off, have the craic, and that's it'. It's definitely not - but in the best way possible.
"I was home yesterday (Wednesday) for a homecoming. My dad was telling me it's the best thing that ever happened to our family in this, obviously, way - in this work style. My brother James, who I've only seen once or twice since Christmas - I haven't been home - turned around to me and he just said, 'Kayleigh, the feeling around Monaghan over this show is just so lovely to see. There has been a right boost around here, and we are so proud of you as a family, and it's made us so much closer'.
"Just taking the showbiz element out of it, what it has done for me and my family in that way - it's incredible. There's no words to describe it. We have just become so close. We appreciate each other so much more. Your health is your wealth, you know? It's insane how much it has exceeded my expectations. I'm just delighted it has done, and I really take that with me forever."
Dancing with the Stars - The Final, Sunday, RTÉ One and RTÉ Player, 6:30pm
