EXCLUSIVE: Mia Fevola spills on the show’s intense training schedule.

Dancing With The Stars’ Sonia Kruger / Mia Fevola and Gustavo Viglio.

Dancing With The Stars’ Mia Fevola spills on the show’s intense training schedule. Photos: Channel 7

From the intense choreography and elaborate outfits to the judges’ critiques and potential stage fright, Dancing With The Stars is often much harder than contestants anticipate when joining the competition. This was the case for Mia Fevola, who grew up watching both of her parents, Brendan and Alex, take part in the Channel 7 series.

While the 25-year-old brand influencer was one of the highest-scoring contestants this season and repeatedly received praise for her improvement, viewers were shocked to see her sent home in Monday night’s semi-final. She tells Yahoo Lifestyle she was “heartbroken” being eliminated right before the grand finale, especially because she didn’t get to perform her final routine with her partner, Gustavo Viglio.

“I’m gutted that we weren’t able to show that one, because it was really, really special,” she details. “It was a Billie Eilish song, which I absolutely loved, and it was sort of a representation of my growth throughout the show and the journey of building the confidence and how I started off really shy and quite vulnerable, and then grew and blossomed and really opened up.

“It was a really beautiful dance that I wish we were able to show, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”

Dancing With The Stars’ Mia Fevola and Gustavo Viglio.

Mia was eliminated in Monday night’s semi-final. Photo: Channel 7

Following her elimination, Mia posted a video on her Instagram Stories of herself and Gustavo in rehearsals as she struggled to learn her foxtrot, writing: “It was by our fourth dance that I started combining the steps of two dances together by accident.”

She explains to Yahoo Lifestyle that this year’s cast was given a much shorter training period than previous seasons, which made it especially hard when learning multiple routines.

“So the first week we did the cha cha, then the second week we did Viennese waltz, and then you try and refresh your memory with the cha cha, and you’d throw in the third one. So then I’d refresh my memory of the Viennese and the cha cha in the third week, but I’m still learning a completely new dance,” she shares.

“By the time you’ve just started learning the actual steps and the routine, you’re probably three or four days in, and then you’ve got really only a couple of days left to nail the actual technique of it, and it’s onto the next dance. You feel like you’re so strapped for time, but somehow you just pull it together. And when you’re under pressure, you make it work.”

Six celebrities are set to go head-to-head in next week’s grand finale, with Brittany Hockley, Felicity Ward, Kyle Shilling, Michael Usher, Shaun Micallef and Trent Cotchin all vying for the mirrorball trophy. As for who Mia thinks will win the competition, she believes each of the remaining contestants has a fair chance.

“I really don’t know if I could pick a winner,” she says. “There’s so much talent in that group, and the competition is so strong. I just think everyone has such a unique strength. Everyone brings something different to the table, and I’m just really excited to see who will take it out.”

The Dancing With The Stars grand finale airs Monday, August 4, at 7:30pm on Channel 7 and 7plus