EXCLUSIVE: Jessica Raffa spills on her exciting post-show plans.

Dancing With The Stars 2025 cast at the grand final.

Kyle Shilling and his dance partner Lily Cornish won this year’s season of Dancing With The Stars. Photo: Channel 7

Dancing With The Stars officially came to an end on Monday night, with Kyle Shilling crowned this year’s champion. The Home and Away actor raised money for his chosen charity, Indigenous Literacy Foundation, and took home the coveted mirrorball trophy alongside his dance partner, Lily Cornish.

While hosts Sonia Kruger and Dr Chris Brown handed the pair just one trophy at the end of the episode, it turns out Lily also walked away from the competition with a prize of her own. Jessica Raffa, who competed in the grand finale with AFL star Trent Cotchin, tells Yahoo Lifestyle that the professional dancers are also given an identical mirrorball trophy if they win.

“A lot of people don’t know that, but we do,” she reveals. “We’re a team, and you work together, and I think you both deserve that, something that you can keep and look at. Because people do the show for years and years and years and never win. I’ve met some pros that have never won, so I’m very blessed to have something to show for all the years of hard work.”

Jessica has appeared on nine seasons of Dancing With The Stars since making her debut in 2009, and took home the trophy alongside illusionist Cosentino in 2013. She admits it’s definitely a “challenge” appearing on the show each year, but that’s why she keeps coming back.

“I love that it’s not easy. It’s really, really hard, and creating routines for people who have never danced before, and then having to perform them and get judged on national television is hard. But you have to be a special kind of person,” she shares.

“You could be the best ballroom dancer, but you probably won’t make it on the show. You have to be that psychiatrist; you have to wear about 10 different hats to be on that show. I just love it, and I hope there’s another one. I’m not ready to hang up my shoes yet!”

Dancing With The Stars' Trent Cotchin and Jessica Raffa.

Jessica Raffa competed on this year’s season alongside AFL star Trent Cotchin. Photos: Instagram/jessraffa.dancefit

With this year’s season done and dusted, Jessica is now focusing her attention on an upcoming charity event in Sydney and Melbourne. She has teamed up with Trueheart for Let’s Dance: Swifties Club, the ultimate party for Taylor Swift fans, which proudly supports Share The Dignity.

The event is for both children and adults, and Jessica will teach guests three different dances to have an “epic dance party” featuring exclusive Taylor Swift mashups. There’s also an opportunity to make and trade friendship bracelets, snap shots in the photo booth, get airbrush glitter tattoos, and collect trading cards.

“We’re calling all Swifties!” Jessica tells Yahoo Lifestyle. “There’s a family event at 12pm, so you can bring your kids and mums and dads and everyone, and then there’s an over 18s event, which starts at 5pm, and then you can kick on and have cocktails and drinks with your girlfriends.

“I’ll be teaching three different dances, really simple, nothing hard, and then we’re going to have an epic dance party at the end. There’ll be photo booths, there’ll be food and drinks, and it’s an amazing, fun event that just connects people.”

Let’s Dance: Swifties Club will take place on Sunday, August 31, at The Emerson in Melbourne, and Sunday, October 19, at Liberty Hall in Sydney. You can buy tickets to the event here.