Although fans thought Christie Brinkley‘s daughter, Sailor Brinkley-Cook, was going to go all the way during her ride on season 28 of Dancing With the Stars, viewers were forced to say goodbye to the beloved 21-year-old after she and partner Val Chmerkovskiy were sent home during the latest episode of the reality TV dancing competition. Following the devastating loss, Sailor opened up about her otherwise incredible experience.

“Last night was heartbreaking. I was so not ready for this experience to finish so soon, but wow am I grateful for every minute of it,” Sailor emotionally wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Tuesday, October 22. “I loved every sweaty moment in the rehearsal studio pushing myself past so many inhibitions and insecurities, and laughing my way through it all with my buddies @michdibs and @valentin.”

As fans of the ABC hit show know, Sailor and Val, 33, were sent home during the Monday, October 21, episode of DWTS. As the judges were forced to eliminate a team from the talented group of stars, Sailor and Val were chosen alongside Ally Brooke and professional partner Sasha Farber in the bottom two, before being booted off.

“And then doing something every Monday that I never in a million years thought I could be capable of,” Sailor, who received three 9s for her performance that sent her home, continued in her Instagram caption. “It was such a gift, no matter how nervous I was getting up on that stage, I’d always look around and think, ‘What is my life!? How blessed am I?!’ This experience changed my whole outlook on life.”

Even though Sailor is no longer in the running for the famed mirrorball trophy, the blonde beauty couldn’t help but count her blessings because of this incredible journey. “All my life I let my fears hold me back from anything I wasn’t comfortable with,” she admitted. “This experience made me feel unstoppable. Each day on this rollercoaster ride was a massive learning lesson, a journey in 24 hours.”

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Sailor’s elimination from the beloved TV show comes just weeks after she took her mom’s place after Christie, 65, suffered a shoulder and arm injury during rehearsals. Although the up-and-coming model confessed to her stage fright, she decided to fill in for her mom anyways. In her emotional post, Sailor thanked her fans for having her back.

“Thank you to everyone for showing me so much love and to all my close friends and family for always believing in me and supporting me. Thank you to the whole crew on DWTS for showing unconditional kindness always,” Sailor gushed. “To my castmates who quickly became such good friends, thank you for taking me in and being so kind and supportive … I’ll miss you guys! But I’m so excited to see y’all light up that stage on Monday!”

We are going to miss watching Sailor bust a move every Monday night, but we can’t wait to see what fun projects she works on in the future!