While some fans might be lamenting Andy Richter’s exit from Dancing With the Stars, the television personality himself is relieved to give his body a much-needed break.

Richter, 59, shared with People on Monday, November 24, “My body is certainly pleased with the pause from dancing. I had reached a stage where I needed to ice my knees every hour after rehearsals.” He confessed, “We’d dance for a bit, then it was back to icing my knees. There was a lot of pain and even injections just to keep me going. Now, I’m in recovery mode.”

Discussing the rigorous demands of the show, he added, “It wasn’t simply a workout; it felt more like I was pushing myself to the brink. It’s more than rest now; it’s a healing process for my legs.”

Reflecting on his experience with dance partner Emma Slater, Richter noted the transformative impact the show had on his views about fitness, having pushed his physical limits during their weeks of intensive rehearsals.

Initially, when approached about joining Dancing With the Stars, Richter was less than enthusiastic. “Back in April, I received an email about participating. I was at home, and it was early in the morning,” the comedian, who is 58, recounted on SiriusXM’s “Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend” on Wednesday, September 24. “Honestly, I wasn’t thrilled at the outset, but it became quite the journey.”

“As much as I do feel like my body’s healing, I do kind of miss the physicality of it,” he shared. “Going to the gym and doing the elliptical is not the same thing as rehearsing a new dance with Emma. It’s just not.”

Richter noted that prior to his week nine elimination, he’d come to embrace the mental and physical toughness it took to compete on the ABC series.

“I really started to enjoy it and started to feel transformed by it and started to like the exercise,” he recalled. “There was just a lightness to me, I mean in attitude. I was able to sort of feel like, yeah, I’m going to do this.”

Not only does Dancing With the Stars help revive celebrities’ careers, but the hit ABC ballroom competition also reshapes their physiques if they stay in the game long enough. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy […]

Throughout the process, Richter found a strength inside him that was challenged by the physicality of the sport.

“It definitely was hard. It’s long hours. It’s four hours a day, seven days a week, minimum. I have bad knees and a bad hip, and so there’s just plain old pain involved for me in doing it,” he confessed. “But I really got into it and I really committed myself to it.”

Now that Richter is a spectator like the rest of the competitors who’ve been voted off, he admitted to feeling melancholy for the process: the good, the bad and the tough.

“There is a little bit of rehearsal withdrawal,” he teased. “I watched the [latest] show and it felt a little bit like seeing a video of your friends at a party that you weren’t invited to.”

Even though he got the hook during the November 11 episode, Richter is a new man.

“There’s a lot of stuff that I didn’t think I could do anymore,” Richter said. “It’s made what I think is physically possible, it’s expanded that completely. And honestly, it’s kind of made me younger. I’m younger now than when I started doing this.”

Emma Slater believes Dancing With the Stars judge Derek Hough is officially team Andy Richter. “It’s funny because secretly, Derek’s been coming up to me after the show going, ‘Wow, I really love you guys. I really love you guys,’” Slater, 36, exclusively shared with Us Weekly after the ballroom competition’s Halloween Night episode on […]

Richter has also physically transformed since he first stepped on the dance floor. He previously revealed that the daily practices paired with a GLP-1 helped him lose significant weight during DWTS.

“This show has also been a physical transformation for me because of the exercise, and I’ve lost weight,” Richter said on the November 12 episode of Julianne Hough’s “The Morning After (Show)” on YouTube.

He added, “Thank you, Zepbound. Zepbound helped a lot,” referring to the injectable prescription medication containing tirzepatide, which can help adults lose weight.

“I don’t have any qualms about using science to help me over something,” Richter explained, nothing that it’s “silly” to judge people for using medicine to overcome obesity.

Dancing With the Stars season 34 finale airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesday, November 25, at 8 p.m. ET.