Eight Stars: Julia Stiles and Ezra Sosa Ink Their Final Bond
Following their elimination, the former partners revealed matching wrist tattoos to mark the number of routines they performed on the show.
By Yuki Melnyk ·
Eight stars. That is the specific count of small ink marks now resting on the wrists of Julia Stiles and her former partner, Ezra Sosa. The number represents every routine the pair performed during their time on "Dancing With the Stars." They are no longer in the competition, but the physical proof of their eight weeks together remains on their skin.
The pair was eliminated after the most recent episode, which featured a Disney theme. Their final performance was a paso doble set to "Satisfied" from the musical "Hamilton." Before leaving the stage for the last time, they had already planned a way to mark the end of their journey.
Sosa shared a photo of the matching designs on Instagram on Nov. 5. He explained that each star corresponds to one of their eight dances. The placement on the wrists serves as a constant reminder of the time they spent in the studio. The ink is small and simple, avoiding large designs in favor of a subtle count.
The celebration extended beyond the wrists. Sosa received a tattoo of a chair on his ribs. This design references a specific audition scene from Stiles' 2001 film, "Save the Last Dance." In return, Stiles had the words "diva check" tattooed on her own ribs. Sosa explained in a comment that this was the phrase he used to ask how she was doing every day during the season.
Stiles addressed the end of her run in her own social media post. She wrote that she performed the final dances for the "little girl in me that stopped dancing." She addressed Sosa directly, stating, "We won in so many ways. love you forever" The comment section of the post filled with reactions from fans who felt the partnership mattered more than the final score.
Sosa also posted a video after the elimination episode. In it, he recited a poem to Stiles modeled after a monologue from the movie "10 Things I Hate About You." He read the lines, "I hate the way you held my hand when things would fall apart," and "I hate that somewhere in this season you became a piece of my heart." The performance moved Stiles to tears.
The two have now left the competition floor. The eight stars on their wrists serve as the final tally of their time together. The chair on Sosa's ribs and the words on Stiles' ribs complete the set of permanent mementos. The ink is dry, and the season is over.
