Kelly Monaco, 'DWTS,' 'Bruises All Over' In Rehearsals With Partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy

Soap opera star Kelly Monaco admitted that the new season of "Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars" is the hardest thing she has ever done, adding that her rehearsals with Valentin Chmerkovskiy leaves her in bruises and all kinds of aches and pains.  

On Monday night, Oct. 15, Monaco and Chmerkovskiy received raved reviews from the judges for their contemporary dance to a Coldplay tune. One judge said they had the most difficult dance to perform that night, especially because a contemporary routine has never been performed on "DWTS" before. She got pretty steamy with Chmerkovskiy on stage, performing to the likes of dance legends like Martha Graham (according to judge Bruno Tonioli), however, Monaco told the Chicago-Sun Times that the grueling rehearsals for the show are never pain-free. 

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"It is the most difficult thing I have ever done," she said about the rehearsal schedule before Monday's live show. "We did eight hours yesterday and I'm on my way to the studio for pretty much the same today. I have bruises all over my body and everything hurts. I can't breathe without feeling my ribs hurt. I've done triathlons and never hurt this much."

Dancers on the show chose the routines for their other competitors last week and Monaco's contemporary dance was chosen for her and Chmerkovskiy by Cheryl Burke and her partner Emmitt Smith. 

"I personally told her to (expletive) off for giving me (contemporary)," Monaco told The Clicker, about Burke's decision to give her a contemporary routine. "I'd never even heard of it! I don't watch 'So You Think You Can Dance.' ... I was like, 'This isn't the show I signed up for!' I didn't know I'd be doing this!" 

She told the Sun Times that she looked up contemporary dances on Youtube and thought they all looking like "a f---ing ballerina on heroin."

While the two of them refuse to admit to any romantic relationship ("no labels," Chmerkovskiy said), Monaco said on Monday night that her partner is "breaking down my walls." The two snuggled in each other's arms throughout the show and when Monaco got emotional talking about the "DWTS" experience before receiving her scores, she may have even brought her partner to tears: Chmerkovskiy clearly wiped his eyes after she finished talking. 

She said she felt during the routine "really raw and emotional and accurate and truthful. Val is helping me learn how to trust again."