Mirai Nagasu 'Grateful' for Time on 'Dancing With the Stars' Despite Unexpected Elimination (Exclusive)

"You know, sometimes life throws you lemons."

Mirai Nagasu spoke exclusively to ET following her shocking Dancing With the Stars: Athletes elimination on Monday night. 

"I am so grateful for this opportunity and, yes, I'm very disappointed," the Olympic figure skater told ET's Cameron Mathison. "You know, sometimes life throws you lemons and you make lemonade with it and next week I'll be back as team support."

Clearly Nagasu is leaving the show with good vibes.

"I think that I really learned how to perform and I really truly enjoyed it. I hope I get more opportunities like this because I loved every second of it," the 25-year-old athlete said. "Whether it was a difficult moment and we had to fight to get past it, it wasn't easy for me to learn the dance steps and I think that I had so much fun. I'd been waiting for this for a long time and I really truly can't wait to see what's in the future for me. I hope more opportunities like this come up, because I think I've really grown as a person and as a performer."

Despite being disappointed in the outcome, Nagasu's pro partner, Alan Bersten, only had positive things to say about the Olympian.

"Well usually we like surprises, but that wasn't a good surprise," he said. " I just want to say Mirai did such a good job this whole season and every week she really grew. She didn't just learn the steps, she learned how to dance. And it was a lot of fun and I'm gonna miss it."

Nagasu also hinted that she's likely to support her friend, Adam Rippon, who is still in the running to win the coveted mirrorball trophy.

Rippon will be going up against football player Josh Norman and former ice skater Tonya Harding on the DWTS finale, airing May 21. Here's a look back at Nagasu's time on the show:

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