spoke candidly about the devastating blow of being in the bottom two of once more, narrowly avoiding elimination.
The former star, 26, and professional partner , 29, first landed in the bottom against radio presenter .
She sent Nikita packing but landed in the bottom spot once again last week dancing off against comedian Eddie Kadi, 40, despite his Men In Black routine scoring a perfect 10 from judge Shirley Ballas just two weeks ago.
Zara and Graziano came out triumphant again with Eddie and partner Karen Hauer, 41, becoming , with the reality TV star taking to to share her emotions following yet another tense dance-off.
‘Being in the dance-off for the second time was definitely not the easiest moment of our Strictly journey so far,’ she wrote.
‘I think I let those nerves get the better of me during our performance, and I knew I could have done better.’
She heartbreakingly said she felt like she ‘let herself down’ as she walked off the dancefloor, and she believes she could have ‘pushed through those jelly legs’ to deliver more ‘both physically and mentally.’
‘But… the main thing is that we are so grateful to the judges for saving us,’ Zara continued.
‘I’m just not ready for this journey to be over, and the thought of leaving last night broke my heart.’
She said she had made a promise to herself and her dancing partner to ‘work on controlling those nerves’ so they don’t land in the bottom two again.
‘This week we will come back even stronger than before and I’m ready to be pushed out of my comfort zone to prove that I can take on that challenge, turn the negatives into positives, learn from the judges comments, and keep strong, even through the moments that feel the toughest,’ Zara reflected.
‘Dancing is my life at the moment, and I really don’t want that to change any time soon.’
Zara concluded her emotional post by saying it’s time for her to ‘work even harder and believe in herself that little bit more’ while also thanking Graziano for always believing in her, even when she doubts herself.
‘And on the plus side, we got to do the angel lift again, which is a win because we worked really hard on perfecting it,’ she added.
Moving into week seven of the competition, Zara and Graziano’s time on the show has been a whirlwind, with her.
She and Graziano have struck up a firm friendship while appearing on Strictly, something she opened up about to , on his radio show.
‘It’s really crazy like the bond and the relationship we’ve built, because you have to bypass all the awkward stage where you kind of like don’t know each other very well,’ she told Sam on his Hits UK show.
‘You have to dive straight in and take the time to get to know each other, learn about each other, learn about what works, how to explain yourself and express yourself to the other person.
‘It’s a really crazy relationship and bond that you build, that you literally become inseparable. And it’s the same for every other couple in the competition, everyone is with their partner, all the time. Because it’s like a safety blanket, they’re your teammate, they’re almost your comfort in this really overwhelming space.’
Sam has been supporting his partner, who he began dating in 2019, and praised Graziano for working ‘wonders’ teaching her the moves.
‘Zara has never danced a day in her life. If there’s ever been someone who lacks a little bit of rhythm, before she joined Strictly, it’s Zara McDermott. The fact that Graziano has worked the wonders he has with her already is stunning and obviously you’re both my favourite people on Planet Earth at the moment, Zara you always will be,’ he said.
