I am very discouraged that the two women left for the "finale" are under 200 pounds. Yet, Ruben is over 200. I will root for Ruben all the way!!

To think that one of the ladies remaining is a Size 8?? That's crazy!

That is NOT the point of this show. I would much prefer to see a Size 28 girl go to a Size 18 and win it all and be over 200.

The remaining women have bodies most women (including me) would love to have. Shalya....Pinky...come on...they are not even the least bit "big" and never were. They are curvy women with amazing bodies.

I am sorry but to put the least heavy women in the finals is not remarkable at all. This show would be more interesting if a 300 pound woman lost 60 pounds and could still dance her a** off at 240 pounds.

It is confusing.

I am in total agreement. I was almost in tears watching how unfairly they scored Shayla. Ruben and Pinky was the top picks from the beginning. On the episode where Pinky didn't perform well, they decided not to eliminate anyone. Pinky should have went home then. I will not watch this rigged up program anymore, because it just bring the ugly out of me. I hope that Shayla get a really good contract in the future. The judges should be ashame of themselves. How can they sleep at night! Ruben is a nice guy , but not a fabulous dancer. I truly hope that the show ratings plunge.

I agree as well. Rueben was set to win when he made John and his cancer and medical bills an issue. He didn't deserve all the 10's he received.

Both my husband and I started off really liking the show, but as time progressed we began to see how unfair the judges were and how they had favorites . It really put a damper on the show. Shayla was difinately the best dancer. I have no intentions of watching the show anymore. the unfairness is so blatant! I hope that the show ratings plunge. I will get sick if I watch it again.

Amen to that!!!!!!

Ruben only won because of his sob story- plain and simple. I still say it was totally rigged,

Besides, males ans females should NOT have been in this competition.
Everyone knows men lose more weight than women, way faster than most women can dream of- They lose it a lot quicker, therefore, its unfair to pose a woman against a man, when the man will always win.

Men shouldn't have been in this- its a woman's network, and most men could care less about their bodies, women do- they are way better for this than guys are.

And from now on, people shouldn't be allowed to tell their sob stories- that only gains sympathy points.

I can't believe all of the people busting on rigging the show. It wasn't just the dance scores! The total scores also included weight loss and the amount of weight each had lost. If you wanna talk about playing on sympathy... look at Pinky in the finale! I'm not taking anything away from the final contestants, as I feel they were all good dancers. I didn't agree with some of the scores given to Shayla and I have to admit, I was taken back a little with some of the 10 scores received by Ruben earlier in the competition.

Also remember, that the information regarding Ruben's friend didn't come out until family week! That was 6 weeks into the competition. So those of you stating that he was chosen from the beginning due to his friend is totally out in left field. And as I remember, each contestant felt they should win and were at times dissapointed at the scores they received, and as every contestant should, they showed it in their face. So if you want to be fair, be fair, objective, and honest and don't blow facts out of proportion.

I agree on the hostest, I thought it was just me that thought she was getting bigger while the contestants were loosing weight. LOL. But I do agree that the host needs to be caring about the people who end up loosing. Some more compassion could be shown by her without upsetting the balance between the contestants.

As far as the judges go, Mayte at times was over critical on judging, and that was seen by the scores received from the other judges who disagreed with her on several occassions.

I wish Ruben, Shayla, Pinky and Alisa all the best and hope they continue to loose the weight they desire. And I really hope that Shayla looks into professional dancing, as well as Pinky. Ruben will no doubt have many offers coming his way for winning the competition and I think he should be commended for the amount of weight he lost. I think that's quite an achievement. And as far as men against women and that no woman can loose more than a man, how many men were in this competition? How many men made it to the finals? How many women made it to the finals. Again, misleading facts...

In closing, I believe that this show actually did what it said it would and I can't wait till next season. It showed that a contestants ability to stay on and progress was not solely based on their dance scores, but more importantly the amount of weight they were able to loose week to week. I also like the fact that everybody started with a clean slate as far as weight loss went from week to week.

Remember this is a reality show. So there's gonna be drama, ups and downs, twists and turns, etc. That's the only way to make money and keep people watching the show.

JohnM I agree totally with what you said.. and for those who can do nothing but complain and whine about rigged shows..

WOW, And here I thought the show was about LOSING WEIGHT, not dance scores.

It was about taking control of your life an making healthy choices about what you do to your body, the dancing part was something to add entertainment to get ppl to watch..

Hmmmmm guess Im wrong.. but then again.. WHO lost the most weight on the show????

Thanks Pooter. I believe, if I'm not mistaken that Ruben lost the most weight out of the 3 finalists. I believe Pinky lost < 30lbs, Shayla < 50 lbs and Ruben over 60 lbs. But i'd have to watch the finale again to be positive

I agree with the above. Truth is people would complain regardless of the outcome. Reality is Ruben was extremely consistent with his weight loss and dancing - and for those who say it's easier for guys --- that consistently each week? I don't think so. I also don't believe the sick partner thing played a part ---- for those who didn't notice tonite Pinky came VERY close to winning and she was a bit of a long shot because of her lack of weight loss. Shayla may have taken it had she done a proper Rhumba. I would have loved to see Shayla win but frankly her two dances were pretty similar. Her dress ---- SMOKIN
BTW, maybe it's just because I'm a texan but I loved Ruben's C&W -- they did a very good two step, polka and line dance. I thought it was bold and showed some range ... and he didn't get higher scores on that one because the judges don't acknowledge C&W as real dancing

What seems to amaze me is the dance for Shayla that was received so negatively was one the judges CHOSE for her to dance and then during the judging one of them even flat out stated he disliked the style of dance and found it totally boring. WHY would you chose a dance for someone that no one likes if you already had it in mind not to let that person win? It seems a bit unfair to me. I also thought that Ruben's final performance was good, however I think all of the other dances I have seen him dance were unimpressive and just a tad sloppy. I was continuously impressed with Shayla as well as Pinky that they fought though pain and still were able to dance better injured than Ruben had without being hurt!

I am happy that Ruben was able to loose as much weight as he did, I am happy that he was able to change his life around. However I can not personally believe that the scoring was 100% about the weight loss and dance and had nothing to do with Ruben's personal story.

This makes me sad because that means that everyone else was treated unfairly no matter the hard work they put in.

I don't understand how people are stating that Ruben's personal story had anything to do with him winning tonight? 3 weeks ago was family week and that's when everybody found out about him and his partner. So that was week 8 of the 10 week competition. That's also the week that the judges didn't send anybody home! And if they had, Pinky would have been the one to go. Instead the following week, Alisa was the one sent home.

I grew tired of Shayla's dancing because each week she did the same moves. She'd drop between her partners legs while doing a split, he'd pull her infront of him
and they'd dance, then she'd do a split in front of her partner.

And this finale showed just how BIG a part loosing the weight plays. Both Ruben and Pinky were tied and Ruben lost more weight and a greater percentage of his total body fat and that's why he won and that's why this show is about weight loss.

It's too bad that Pinky got hurt on the last week of the competition. But she still managed to loose over 4 lbs of weight and almost won it.

Below is a classic Rhumba. They wanted her to do the Rhumba. How much of the dance in this you tube vid did you see in her dance. I think they wanted more of this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=imrpmkdrmuM...feature=related

The dances they asked Ruben and Pinky to do were pretty right on. You guys can blame the judges but on this one I think they were spot on when saying they didn't see enough Rhumba.

Your spot on Austin! The Rhumba is nothing close to what Shayla did and I personally blame that on her dance partner as he's the one who instructs and teaches the dance and the way they will dance it. I feel he let her down BIG time.

I also agree with you. I thought Ruben was not all that! I was so tired of hearing him talk about his partner and the cancer. Other contestants may not have had the same experience but they all have a good reason for wanting to win. I really believe Shayla should have won!!!!

Agreed Austin! I'm also in Texas and I'm glad he did this dance and had a lot of fun with it and his dance partner. I cracked up when she got on his back... Perfect timing for the wording in the song too.

Yea it was cute. I was surprised C&W wasn't one of the dances required during the contest --- I think most would have found it challenging. A good two step and polka aren't as easy as they look. Loved that Ruben took that on - I loved the face Danny made

Hi JohnM,

This is Shayla from DYAO, I just wanted to thank you for taking an active interest in the show. However I wanted to let you know that Mario my dance partner actually did NOT choreograph or teach me the rumba routine or the waltz routine. We were instructed by Nick Kosovitch who is a world ballroom champion. So Mario and I did what we were told to do. Now weather it was up to par, thats up for debate lol . Mario is an amazing dancer and I would hate for you to think that he let me down because he sacraficed so much to be there for me. Sometimes what you see is not always what it appeares to be. Mario has never let me down he always goes above and beyond for me. That was most likely the most stressed out I have ever been and it was the same for Mario so please dont think that Mario let me down if anything I did the best that I could and I feel that I have let him down because my best was not good enough. Despite popular opinion I am not a trained ballroom dancer nor am I trained in jazz. I am an ex athlete so I am used to mimicing physical things that I see. For instance I grew up playing hockey, so if you know anything about it, its all about watching the play they want you to do then doing it. So I think thats where being able to pick up dance moves comes from. Anyway I dont mean to talk your ear off I just wanted to respond because I would hate for you to think anything but the truth about my partner. Thanks again for watching!

Much Love,
Shayla

Hello, I so agree, God forgive me but it wasn't about his story behind the show --it's the performance on the show!! UNFAIR!!

IF you are the real girl on the show, Kudos to you. IF you are a fake personality trying to grasp a hold of some sort of fame --Shame on you!!

Hi, Shayla!!!!!

Just wanted to say that I also thought you should have won. In fact, I was pretty sure that you would all along and was sooooo disappointed with the way it went down in the end. I really don't understand it.

I was so thrilled by the show by sorely disappointed by the results, watching all the way from the Bahamas. Firstly, Pinky should not have made it into the finals and secondly, how could someone in the group of 9 eliminated win $5000 and Shayla and Pinky get nothing? Thirdly, the popular vote was always Shayla, so why doesn't the popular vote count?

It is a biological fact that men lose weight far more quickly than women. Come on...10 lbs a week for Reubin? Does everyone know how difficult it is for a woman to lose 2 lbs? Our muscles develop much slower than men and thus metabolism is not boosted to the same levels as theirs when we exercise. Because of this, I think other factors should have been considered because an extremely overweight person (Reubin) may lose a lot of weight but not build as much muscle as a less heavy person and therefore the scale would reflect a higher weight loss for him. Therefore, muscle gained should have beem taken into count as well because that makes the weight loss seem like less as you get closer to your goal. Is is clear that Shayla began to build solid lean muscle evidence by the tightening and toning of her body while everyone else still had fat flying around.

I didn't have a problem with Shayla and Pinky being under 200lbs because when you are a 5'2" woman, weigning 185lbs, that is just as bad a a 6' man weighing 300lbs, even worse!

Also, the judges picked the slowest dance genre for Shayla's finale, which requires a longer time to draw in and audience as opposed to an upbeat routine. Then, they scored her low for an amazing routine! I think Shayla came closest to the goal of the show than anyone on the show and the amazing body she revealed at the end in that gown tells it all.

On another note, the man's role in the dance routine was always less demanding. They don't have to be tossed into the air, fall into splits, lift their legs over their heads, bend over backwards and bend their bodies in ways that the female competitors had to in order to make their routines interesting. The female professional dancers did the work for the men while they basically just had to ensure they were the leader on the floor and held the right posture. Reuben did nothing that made his routines memorable to me and was scored far too high throughout the entire show.

I may watch again next season but not as enthused as I was before...the host definitely needs work as well.

Ruben is a wannabe dancer. He thinks he knows how to dance, but you look at his posture, his style -- even his technique, there is very little "dancer" to him. He didn't even know how to give face.

But, honestly, once Brandon was eliminated, I didn't really invest.

I love you, Brandon!

I cannot begin to tell you what an avid fan of this show I was although I cursed out loud when Ruben got all his ill-deserved "10's". I really tried to keep an open mind to see what the judges saw in his dance routines; but for the life of me, could not. I definitely agree with some of the other posts that the women on the show fared much better and had a harder role to play and didn't get the just rewards that they deserved. Then for Pinky to lose by 1/2 a lb after she struggled with her injury on the dance floor and all week was a major disappointment. I don't understand what I missed. I hope the show takes all the posts here and uses them in the show for next season. In my opinion they made some major "faux pas's" in this one.