Ilona Maher is being praised for being the ultimate ‘girl’s girl’ after revealing a creepy interaction with a man at a nail salon.
The Olympian, who is currently competing in season 33 on Dancing With The Stars (DWTS), shared the story on social media, retelling the uncomfortable interaction that took place when she got a pedicure.
The 28-year-old rugby star arrived at the salon about an hour and a half before it closed to get a pedicure, and was one of the last customers in there with the two women still working.
‘As I’m getting it done this guy walks in and asks for a pedicure as well, so they sit him down and we’re both getting worked on,’ she said in the clip, which was shared on her Instagram and TikTok accounts.
‘Mine gets done, but I got regular polish, I didn’t get gel this time, so it means it has to take time to dry.’
Maher said the man was still getting a pedicure while she was waiting for her polish to dry, but was told repeatedly by the women working at the salon to keep waiting, despite being ready to go.
‘So I wait and then I’m like, “Is it ready to go?”‘ she recalled.
‘[They reply] “no, just keep waiting, just keep waiting,”‘ she continued, adding they put her flip flops on but insisted she stay for a bit longer.
‘I wait there for no joke, probably an extra half hour, 25 minutes, from when it was all done.’
The Olympian finally closed her out when the man’s pedicure was over and he’d left.
When she was about to leave, they told her why it took so long.
‘And they said, “Sorry we kept you for so long, we just wanted you to be here with us while he was there,”‘ Maher said.
‘I totally understood why they did that. It’s a crazy world out there.’
Maher then shared her own terrifying interaction as she walked out of the salon.
‘This guy looks me in the eye and says “can I go home with you?”‘ she recounted in disbelief.
‘And I’m like “no.” He says “why not?” and I just keep walking.’
After declaring it’s ‘insane out there,’ the world-class athlete shared a sweet message about looking our for other women.
‘I want you to know you can keep me for as long as you want. You can keep me for an hour,’ she assured viewers.
‘I’ll cancel my plans if you want me there for safety or if you want somebody there. It’s dangerous out there.’
The rugby sevens player then quipped: ‘Since I did my vigilante stuff tonight I bought myself mozzarella sticks and I’m having a glass of wine.’
Fans flooded the comments with praise for the athlete.
‘THIS! Is the definition of a girl’s girl,’ a fan gushed.
‘I’m so glad you were able to be there for the ladies working. Ladies have to look out for each other,’ someone else wrote.
‘This is such an important lesson in not getting irate in a shop. You just don’t know what is going on,’ another user pointed out.
‘I am so glad they felt safe with you with them, and grateful you were out at that place at that time,’ a fourth said.
On DWTS recently, Maher and her pro-partner, Alan Bersten, performed a jazz routine to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Surface Pressure from the 2021 Disney film Encanto.
Maher – who has previously said that she wanted to ‘show pretty much everything’ – performed in a costume inspired by the powerful Encanto character, Luisa.
She blew the crowd away after ending the dance with an epic rendition of Luisa’s donkey lift from the animated film and earned their first 9 of the season.