Rylee Arnold is celebrating the birthday of her Dancing With The Stars partner, Harry Jowsey.
Following their elimination from the show on Tuesday night, the professional dancer, 18, complimented the reality celebrity for taking a chance on the competition and persevering each week in the face of nasty social media comments.
"He's never done something like this before, and he's never danced before," Arnold tells PEOPLE. "He's never danced in front of a live crowd, [and] ultimately, he gets judged every single week."
"There's hate comments, and I feel like he really just learned how to push past that and just go for it and still be vulnerable and just try his best," she said. "He was super resilient the whole entire season."
Arnold said Jowsey, who finished his stint on the competition with a rumba to Taylor Swift's "August," earning him a judge's score of 30, "worked hard" each week and she had "fun" dancing with him and watching him grow this season.
"He's a truly unique individual." "I love that people are seeing a side of him that he hasn't shown before," Arnold says. "He's so special and kind and genuine and just the best."
“I think the biggest takeaway for me is don't be scared to be vulnerable, even if it's scary and even if people hate you,” Jowsey, 26, says. “Just do it because there's so much growth that happens in that.”
"I learned so much about myself and the person I want to become," he said. "I couldn't be more grateful for this entire experience because it has exceeded my expectations." I assumed I'd dance for two weeks and then leave, but the fact that we made it this far... I'm just really grateful."
The Too Hot To Handle star also expressed gratitude to his partner for "putting up with me, especially when I'm hungry," as well as for inspiring him to challenge himself each week. He goes on to say that the Dancing with the Stars cast is "incredible." "Everyone is amazing. It's an incredible team and experience to be a part of."