Katelyn Cummins Wins ‘Dancing with the Stars’ 2026

Katelyn Cummins and her professional dance partner, Leonardo Lini, were crowned the champions of Dancing with the Stars 2026 on Sunday, March 15, 2026. The pair captivated both the judges and the audience, securing the coveted Glitterball Trophy after consistently topping the leaderboard with perfect scores [RTE].

Emotional Finale Performance

The final dance of the season saw Cummins and Lini deliver an emotional freestyle performance to “Ordinary” by Alex Warren [RTE]. This performance earned them a third perfect score of the night, solidifying their position as frontrunners.

A Night of Competition

The grand finale featured performances from all four finalists: Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro, Tolü Makay and Maciej Zięba, and Paudie Moloney and Laura Nolan. Each couple performed two routines – a reprise of a judges’ choice dance and a freestyle showdance [RTE].

Finalist Performances

• Eric Roberts and Arianna Favaro: Reprized their Charleston to “Happy” by Derek Martin, earning a perfect 40. Their freestyle was set to “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore X Ryan Lewis, likewise scoring a perfect 40.
• Tolü Makay and Maciej Zięba: Performed an American Smooth to “Man I Demand” by Olivia Dean, receiving a perfect 40. Their freestyle, to “Kill the Lights” by Alex Newell, Jess Glynne, DJ Cassidy and Nile Rodgers, earned 37 points.
• Paudie Moloney and Laura Nolan: Danced a Quickstep to “Stop the World and Let Me Off” by Declan Nerney, scoring 28 points. Their showdance to Andy Williams’ “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” received 29 points.
• Katelyn Cummins and Leonardo Lini: Revived their American Smooth to “Whistle While You Work” by Rachel Zegler, earning a perfect 40. Their winning freestyle was to “Ordinary” by Alex Warren, also scoring a perfect 40.

Cummins’ Reaction to Victory

An emotional Katelyn Cummins expressed her disbelief and gratitude, stating, “This is just not real! What a past seven months I’ve had. Winning Rose of Tralee, this, two massive wins in a year, I could never have imagined this would be my life. I am just so happy I got to share it with Leonardo.” [RTE]

Season Highlights

The finale included an opening number to Vanessa Amorosi’s “Absolutely Everybody” and a group performance by eliminated contestants to Myles Smith’s “Stay (If You Wanna Dance)” [RTE]. The show was hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Laura Fox.

The full season of Dancing with the Stars is available to watch on the RTÉ Player [RTE].