Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom DeLay knows he's long been a polarizing political figure. But when the 62-year-old teamed up with Cheryl Burke for Dancing With the Stars this season, viewers connected with his determination and entertaining approach to the ballroom. Suffering from stress fractures in both of his size 9 feet, DeLay reluctantly bowed out of the competition Tuesday night. PEOPLE caught up with him the next day to talk about his sidelining injuries, his plans to return to the ballroom floor and cruising back to Texas with a new set of (liberal) friends. --Monica Rizzo
You've had love you and you've had not love you. That's my entire life. Love me or hate me.
But loved you on Dancing. It's been a whole new type of celebrity for you, hasn't it?Yes! I can't go anywhere without recognizing me and it's kind of a kick. It's kind of fun.
What surprised you most about this experience?The thing that surprised me the most were the on the show ... I didn't know what to expect coming to this show and Los Angeles and being amongst the more creative . I found that even as liberal as some are, they were very open and very warm. The professional dancers were just amazing. The kind of they are, their work ethic, how smart they are, how talented they are -- I was blown away. I made some very good friends.
How difficult was it to make the decision to withdraw?It really was difficult. I was looking forward to seeing how far I could go. I knew I wouldn't win, but it was kind of a challenge to live week by week and see how I could improve. But you know when your feet give out -- even if they are two left feet -- there's not much dancing you can do. I didn't want to go through another week like we did last week.
Rehearsals were very painful?My feet were hurting. I broke my left foot Thursday and then I couldn't practice on Saturday but a couple hours. And then Sunday, I only got 30 minutes in. You can't play this show if you can't practice. If you can't practice you can't really stick around. Frankly, it's not fair to the rest of the cast.
You pulled through on Monday.I did want to dance Monday night because we worked so hard on that dance.
You were very concerned with impacting Cheryl's experience this season.Oh definitely. Cheryl's got a great track record on this show and I really hated to soil her record like that. She carries the worst dancers a long ways. But she understands. In fact, she didn't want me to dance Monday night. She's taking it like a trooper. She's a precious young lady.
You exposed your personality on the show. Any regrets about that?Oh, that didn't bother me a bit. That was a second thought. I wanted the challenge, I wanted the competition, I wanted the excitement of learning to dance. All the rest of it flows from there. I got a taste of if and I enjoyed it. They were so good to me. They said they will send Cheryl to Texas to teach me the Texas two-step so I can dance it on the finale. I'm really looking forward to that.
Will you be healed by then?Oh sure. The doctor this morning told me my feet will probably be all well in three or four weeks.
What kind of treatment are you getting?I have one foot (left) in a soft cast, and both feet are in orthopedic shoes. I have to keep my feet as immobile as possible. And then I have this bone stimulator machine you put on your feet and sleep with and it stops the bone from deteriorating and starts rebuilding it, so the recovery time is a lot shorter.
Are you headed back to Texas now?Yeah. I drove out in my RV and in a few days after I wrap up around here I'm going to get my two bichon frise dogs (Taylor and Bailey), and my wife and we're going to take a slow trip back to Texas.
And your wife will do the driving?Oh no, she won't drive this. I have a forty-foot diesel pusher. She won't drive it. I can do it. I don't need feet -- I've got cruise control.
ABC
Your Reaction
