ABC/Craig SjodinLeah Remini may have been safe on this week's episode of Dancing With the Stars, but the actress says there are plenty of people hoping to see her fail.
Over the past few months, the 43-year-old mother has been making headlines after reports surfaced that Remini had left the Church of Scientology. And now, in the second week of Dancing With the Stars, the former King of Queens star is opening up about the personal challenges she has been facing since she severed those ties.
We caught up with Remini backstage at DWTS tonight and she revealed that she is grateful to have the cast's support and how her partner Tony Dovolani has been a "Godsend" to her.
During the practices for this week's sexy samba, Remini revealed to America that she is ready to put her troubles in the past and look forward to a more positive future. "I'm going through a personal and big change for me and my family," Remini explains to her partner. "The church is looking for me to fail to they can say to their parishioners, you see what happens when you leave the church? They're waiting for me to fail."
When we caught up with the contestants backstage after tonight's performances, Remini exclusively told us that how happy she is to be a part of Dancing With the Star's 17th season. "The show has been a Godsend, and Tony has been a Godsend," she smiled. "The cast and everybody has rallied around me. I have so many supporters I didn't know I had and really the show has given me so much."
Remini, who recently recently spoke with Ellen DeGeneres about her defection from the religion, admitted that her fellow contestants are helping to fill a void in her life. "I don't feel like I lost friends, I actually lost friends." Remini explained. "It sucks but at the same time it is what it is and we have to move on, but I feel like I have a lot of really good friends, a lot of new friends."
Dressed in a flirty fuchsia outfit, Remini and her partner wowed the judges this week earning a solid 24 points, bringing their cumulative total up to 45 points and earning them a spot in the safe zone.
Meanwhile, leading the pack with a combined total of 51 points is Glee's Amber Riley and her recent Emmy-winning partner Derek Hough. The Dancing pro exclusively told us backstage that following his big win Sunday night, Hough and his fellow winners from the cast of Breaking Bad danced the night away at the AMC afterparty.
Unfortunately one star had to be eliminated first and this season it was Keyshawn Johnson along with his partner Charna Burgess. With only 35 point at the end of their second performance Johnson revealed that his show time on the ABC hit was an "amazing" experience.