Dancing with the Stars’ Meryl on Her Toughest Routine, Chemistry with Maks and What’s Next

Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Meryl Davis

Dancing with the StarschampMeryl Davisknows the importance of chemistry. In fact, she thinks the romantic energy between her and partnerMaks Chmerkovskiywas certainly a key to her claiming the Mirrorball trophy.

"We definitely have chemistry on the dance floor and that plays a really big part," Davis tells TVGuide.com. "As an ice dancer, I'm a performer of a different kind and I certainly understand how important it is. I think the friendship we have and the relationship we built through the course of the show definitely helped us establish it on the dance floor as well."

Photos: The sexiest costumes from Season 18 of Dancing with the Stars

When Davis wasn't being hounded about her love life, she was working to step outside of her comfort zone, unlearn techniques she mastered on the ice and prove that just because she's an Olympic gold medalist she didn't have the competition in the bag. Find out which dances gave her trouble, what surprised her most about the show, her first stop when she gets back home to Michigan and more!

As you got closer to the end, did you put extra pressure on yourself to win it for Maks since he had never won before? Meryl Davis:Absolutely. I definitely wanted that for him. In terms of the dancing ability, that was all on me. I wanted to try to contribute [with] my capabilities and so I was nervous for that reason.

Was there a week when you realized, "We have this in the bag"? Davis:I certainly knew it was anyone's game from the beginning, but I think from week to week I realized more that was the case. People would be going home that we weren't expecting, whether it wasDanicaandValorCharlieandSharna. So, you think if this couple isn't going to win, they'll at least be around up until a certain point, but with the combination of the audience and judges' vote there was no predicting.

Is there any side to you or Maks you think viewers didn't get to see? Davis:No. We were having a very real experience, and I think that's part of why this show is so appealing. You're following people on a real journey and having real challenges and forming real friendships and people were seeing what we were going through.

Why I fell head over heels forDancing with the Stars

Why do you think people are so crazy about finding out what's going on with you and Maks?Davis:Were people crazy about it? I mean, we've definitely been asked it a lot.

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Dancing with the Stars' Meryl on Her Toughest Routine, Chemistry with Maks and What's Next