Tony Dovolani: Audrina Was My Favorite “Dancing” Partner

Tony Dovolani took his partner to second place on the "Dancing with the Stars" leaderboard earlier in the week, so when he and Audrina Patridge were eliminated from the reality competition show on Tuesday night, it didn't sink in immediately.

"I'm still in shock," Tony told Access Hollywood's Shaun Robinson following the show. "This is a moment where – there really [are] no words that can explain how you feel inside. There is a moment of disbelief and I'm still, I think, in disbelief as we speak."

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Tony, who has danced with a host of memorable partners, including Kate Gosselin, Marissa Jaret Winokur, Susan Lucci and Melissa Rycroft (with whom he got to the finals during Season 8), said dancing with the former "Hills" beauty was a very memorable experience.

"The only downer is that we're not going to continue this fun journey that was, for us, I mean I'll tell you the 10 weeks that we shared together, we had really… a blast," Tony told Shaun. "It's probably the best time I've had on 'Dancing with the Stars.'"

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Tony, who was noticeably disappointed by their elimination, said he leaves the competition, knowing the two were top performers.

"I guess what I'm going to do is I'm going to cherish the moments that I did share with Audrina — the fact that I transformed her into a dancer and the fact that she was a contender," he said. "We're leaving by being at the top still."

Earlier this season, Audrina and Tony were the first pair to outseat original Season 11 frontrunners Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough on the leaderboard. They stormed to the No. 1 slot on October 4 after performing a memorable waltz about a ghostly soldier who comes back to his love for one last dance.

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Having been voted out, especially when they knew they were good, did ruffle Audrina somewhat.

"It was frustrating just 'cause I know how much work that I did put into it, but it's meant to be you know," Audrina told Shaun. "You just have to keep walking and I'm never going to forget any of this, it's an experience that will live in my heart forever."

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Related Content from AccessHollywood.com:

PLAY IT NOW: Inside Bristol, Audrina & Rick Fox's 'Dancing With The Stars' Rehearsals (October 25, 2010)
PLAY IT NOW: Audrina Patridge Tops The 'Dancing' Scoreboard (October 4, 2010)

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