Ilona Maher Is Waiting for Guys to Slide into Her DMs — but for Now She'll Continue Being Funny Online (and IRL)

Mar. 15, 2025

Since returning from the City of Light, Maher has graced the cover ofSports Illustrated’sdigital swimsuit issue, madeTime’sTime100 Next list andwalked the red carpetat theEmmy Awards. She’s also learned an entirely new skill — ballroom dancing — as she advanced to Week 6 on this season ofDancing With the Stars.

Alhassan Toure dress. Pomellato earrings.Obidigbo Nzeribe

Obidigbo Nzeribe

Amid all of this, she still manages to consistently produce compelling content — ranging from clever skits to powerful messages about body image — for her massive social media following (a combined 6.9 million betweenTikTokandInstagram).

So how does a girl from Burlington, Vt., become a relatable icon and queen of social media? Here are Ilona’s rules for life:

Make It Smaller

Maher turned the crushing defeat into a life lesson. Going into Paris, Maher says, her priority was “trying to enjoy all the moments with my teammates, whether I was on the bus ride, in the locker room, at practice, or in the gym.”

Her solution? “Make it smaller.”

“It was important for me to know why I play and that I was playing there for my teammates,” Maher notes. “I wasn’t just playing for the now-millions of people that were watching me, but I was playing for my teammates. I was playing for my program, and that gave me something to really ground myself.”

Bibhu Mohapatra dress. Christian Louboutin shoes.Obidigbo Nzeribe

Do What Scares You

But Maher has never been one to take the easy way out. “I was like, ‘Okay, I want to do it, but I’m very scared to do it because I’m completely out of my comfort zone.'”

During the week of herPeopleshoot, Maher was recovering from a disappointing performance on the show. In a much-talked-about moment,Maher cried while the show’s judges ripped apartthe jive she performed withpartner Alan Berstenon Hair Metal Night, which left her in the bottom three.

“Even though it was on national television, it felt natural to cry after my jive,” says Maher. “I knew I could do it better, and we practiced it so many times where I did do it better.”The pressure was on for the duo in the rehearsal studio too, where Maher is aware she’s been testing Bersten’s patience during rehearsals. “I keep telling him it’s okay to be frustrated with me, seriously. I would be too if I can’t figure out what’s happening.”

Competing onDWTSis “extremely hard” — exactly as Maher anticipated. “The hardest part, though, for me has been performing in front of the audience and not letting that get in my head.”

Still, she’s certain she made the right choice in accepting theDWTSchallenge. “I think it’s making me a better person, and I’m really having the time of my life,” says Maher. “I’m so happy I did it.”

Own Your Insecurity

Opening the door to internet scrutiny, as she did with her nationally broadcast tears, is often a dangerous game of mental health roulette. Maher is both grateful about the opportunities social media has opened up to her and wary of the negative impact on her mind.

“It’s amazing how much love I get online, but then, of course, I always get the negatives,” she says.”I get people making assumptions about me, about my body, about who I am, sometimes just spreading blatant lies about me, and that’s hard.”

Her defense is to face it head-on.

Last month, Maher, wearing a bikini, shared a video onTikTokwith the caption, “Can I be vulnerable for a minute?” Speaking directly to her followers, Maher admitted, “You know I like to keep it real with you, so I just wanted to let you know I’m not feeling too body confident right now. I think I’m making this video more to help myself out.”

The video has 1.6 million views and the comment section is riddled with messages of appreciation. “It’s so nice to hear someone with your platform sharing this,” one user wrote.

But Maher says she “definitely wasn’t always outspoken” when it came to negative self-talk around her body, recalling “so many moments of me crying to my mom” because she was “a bigger girl.”

She’s come to realize that no one loves their bodyallthe time.

“I just think it’s so normal, because I’ve seen what I would consider the most beautiful, skinniest, six-pack people still have body image issues, and I’m like, ‘What the heck? You’re what we’re all going for.’ And that was a light bulb for me.”

Maher’s takeaway: “Own your insecurity because we’re all just a little bit that way.”

Build a Circle of Trust

As her star rises, so does the pressure Maher faces. In overwhelming moments, she turns to her family. “The first people I go to are definitely my sisters,” Maher says ofOlivia, 30, and Adrianna, 25.

Maher says she’s also “very close” with her parents, Michael and Mieneke Maher. Mieneke, 59, an emergency room nurse in the delivery unit, is the reason the Olympian pursued a nursing career at Quinnipiac University. “I think she just has a deep sense of wanting to care for people,” says Maher.

She’s also ready to rise to the occasion when called upon. On Oct. 27 Maher shared onTikTokthat during a trip to the nail salon in which she and a man were the only customers, two female workers delayed her departure long after her nails dried — for protection, she learned after he left.

“They said, ‘Sorry we kept you so long; we just wanted you to be here with us while he was there,’ ” Maher explained in a video. “And I was like, I totally understood then why they did that.”

Seek a Proud Partner

With plenty on her plate, Maher hasn’t had much time to explore any romantic relationships. “What dating life?” she says toPeoplewith a laugh. “Honestly, I haven’t been on a date in years.”

Her busy schedule doesn’t allow Maher to dwell much on the absence of a love life. But every now and then, she wonders what the future has in store for her romantically.

“I was heading home from rehearsal, and I saw these people going out to bars, and I was like, ‘I’m young, I should be going out meeting people, talking to hot people.’ ”

Then the feeling faded. “I was like, ‘I’ve got to get to my couch, I’m tired, I’m doing too much.’ ”

While she waits for any potential suitors to slide into her DMs — “It’s all very positive moms that are like, ‘I love what you’ve done for my daughter,’ and I’m like, ‘Where’s the NFL players? I thought there’d be more. No billionaires in here?’ ” she cracks — Maher isn’t opposed to trying dating apps at some point.

Above all, Maher is looking for a partner who’s secure enough to handle her dizzying success.

Prepare to Pivot

As her personal and professional goals evolve, Maher has learned to embrace change.

She enjoyed the quick pace of her nursing studies. “I love solving a problem,” says Maher. “They’ve come in with this and their blood pressure is this — it’s almost a fun riddle to solve.”

Embrace the Joy

With the world at her fingertips — once she wraps upDancing with the Stars,of course — America’s Sweetheart says she’s up for anything that comes next.

Maher says she hopes the future “is full of really fun moments and joy with my friends and family.”

“I hope it means I’m still in this space and I can travel, and I hope my sisters come along with me to do it. I hope there’s still sports in there and maybe some dance, but not too much dance,” she teases.

Maher also hopes there’s love in her future. “I love platonic love. I love the love I have with my teammates, with my friends, my sisters. Romantic love would be great too.”

For now, “I’m just riding this wave, I guess, and seeing where it takes me.”

CreditsPhotographerObidigbo NzeribeCinematographerEric LongdenHairMarissa MarinoMakeupJoanna SimkinStylistJason RembertAssistant StylistWilton WhiteSet DesignCarlos Anthony Lopez/Winston Studios

Credits

PhotographerObidigbo NzeribeCinematographerEric LongdenHairMarissa MarinoMakeupJoanna SimkinStylistJason RembertAssistant StylistWilton WhiteSet DesignCarlos Anthony Lopez/Winston Studios

PhotographerObidigbo Nzeribe

CinematographerEric Longden

HairMarissa Marino

MakeupJoanna Simkin

StylistJason Rembert

Assistant StylistWilton White

Set DesignCarlos Anthony Lopez/Winston Studios

source: people.com