‘DWTS: The Next Pro’s Natalie Jolley Proves Injury Wasn’t ‘Staged’

Alyssa NorwinWed, July 29, 2026 at 2:56 PM UTC

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Natalie Jolley - Disney/Maarten De Boer

Natalie Jolley’s journey on Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro was cut short after an injury sidelined her during Episode 3. After some fans questioned just how bad the injury was, Natalie took to TikTok to share photos of her bruised face. She also confirmed that she was diagnosed with a concussion after being whacked in the eye.

“Never thought I would need to prove to the internet that I did indeed get smacked hard enough to get a black eye and concussion (first and last photo shows how much I could open my eye for a couple hours after the incident) and for those saying it didn’t look bad from the show, they covered it up with makeup!” Natalie captioned her post. “Please be kind and respectful, especially when you don’t know the full story behind the scenes…”

The injury happened during rehearsals for a group number. Fellow contestant Stephani Sosa accidentally hit Natalie in the face. Natalie immediately burst into tears and began having symptoms of dizziness. She was taken to the hospital, and it was later revealed that she was not medically cleared to move forward in the competition.

Natalie Jolley/TikTok

The show went on for the rest of the contestants, though. They were split into two groups of four and tasked with choreographing team dances. At the end of the night, Shirley Ballas, Mark Ballas, and guest judge Britt Stewart determined that the weaker team was the one with Stephani, Tristen Sanders, Erik Linder, and Selena Hamilton.

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Natalie Jolley/TikTok

From there, the judges selected Tristen and Selena as the dancers in jeopardy, but they were spared from elimination due to Natalie’s unexpected exit.

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Val Chmerkovskiy Criticizes 'DWTS: The Next Pro' Contestant for Being Arrogant

Although Natalie didn’t get a spot on Dancing With the Stars Season 35 like she hoped, she did find love on The Next Pro, leaving the show in a relationship with fellow contestant Jake Monreal, who was sent home in Episode 1. Briar Nolet, who is dating Erik, confirmed news of the pair’s romance in a recent podcast interview.

Dancing With the Stars: The Next Pro, Mondays, 8/7c, ABC

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”