Days before the finale, Daniella Karagach is reflecting on her Dancing with the Stars journey with Jason Mraz.
Karagach, 30, and Mraz, 46, qualified for the season 32 finals after dancing the Viennese waltz to the musician’s own song “I Won’t Give Up” on Tuesday, November 28. The following day, Karagach penned an emotional tribute to her partner, whom she called “a huge inspiration.”
“I couldn’t have asked for a better person to be my partner this season,” the professional dancer wrote via Instagram alongside a photo of herself and Mraz in costume. “As you know, I was already a huge fan of your music. Now knowing you, it made me an even bigger one because of how dope of a soul you are.”
Karagach went on to tell Mraz that he is a “huge inspiration” to her. “I hope you know how special you’ve made this season for me,” she gushed. “This will forever go down as one of my favorites.”
She closed out the caption by thanking Mraz for the memories they shared throughout the season and noted that their friendship is “at it’s beginning.”
“Thank you for the laughs till my stomach hurts, the feels till we cry, and all the work you put into this process even though this s–t gets so freaking hard,” Karagach wrote. “Even though our journey is coming to an end, our friendship is just at it’s beginning. You’ll always have a friend in me Mraz. ✨🥑 Let’s show them a good time in that finale 🤝.”
Karagach joined DWTS in 2019 and previously won the coveted Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy in season 30 when she was paired with professional basketball player Iman Shumpert. The dancer and her husband, Pasha Pashkov — who is also a DWTS pro — welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Nikita, three months before her return to the series for season 32.
“I’m just so excited to be back,” Karagach exclusively told Us Weekly in September. “It was an amazing three months at home with her and now it’s just I got to get back on my feet so I can help her more.”
Being a fan of Mraz, Karagach also told Us that she and Pashkov, 37, “freaked out” when they learned that the “I’m Yours” singer was joining the show. “We used to listen to Jason’s music all the time on really long road trips,” she recalled. “We used to listen to albums and when I found out I freaked out, but Pasha freaked even more so that was great.”
