“Dancing with the Stars” Winner Xochitl Gomez on Securing the Mirrorball Trophy: ‘I Didn’t See It Coming’

"I'm really proud of us," the actress told PEOPLE of her and partner Val Chmerkovskiy's triumph

Xochitl Gomez can hardly believe she's taking the Dancing with the Stars trophy home.

Alongside her pro partner Val Chmerkovskiy, the duo were crowned the winners of season 32 of the ABC series and awarded the Len Goodman Mirrorball Trophy, which was officially renamed in September following the death of longtime head judge Len Goodman.

“It's unbelievable,” the actress, 17, told PEOPLE following Tuesday’s finale. “I didn't see it coming. I went into this whole competition thing thinking, you know, if I make it to week five, that’d be awesome, and so to be here and to have this trophy is just crazy. I'm really proud of us.”

“It felt really good,” shared Chmerkovskiy, 37. “It's a little weird, you know, because you put so much work into something and then it's like here’s a trophy and then it's over.”

“The feeling is, obviously pride and joy for ourselves, but also a little bit of sadness that it's over.”

Related: Dancing with the Stars: Semifinals Brings Tears, a Dance Len Goodman Would've Loved and 1 Shocking Twist

Chmerkovskiy added that it’s “really important” that the other finalists “get the recognition that they deserve.”

Gomez and Chmerkovskiy beat runner-up, singer Jason Mraz, as well as Vanderpump Rules star Ariana Madix, actress Alyson Hannigan, and Bachelorette star Charity Lawson.

As for where they’re each going to keep the coveted trophy, the Marvel star revealed, “I have a little tiny room because I ended up moving places, so I have this little tiny room and I have this stray cat that I sleep with every night, and I have one drawer that lives literally direct center of my bed, so I’m going to put it right there so I can look at it every night with my cat.”

Related: Val Chmerkovskiy Says Xochitl Gomez Helped Him Embrace the 'Fun' of DWTS: 'I'm Really Savoring the Moment' (Exclusive)

Meanwhile, Chmerkovskiy, who won his first Mirrorball Trophy in 2015 with Rumer Willis, followed by a second in 2016 with Laurie Hernandez, explained, “One of them I have in my guest bathroom and the other one is in my brother's storage somewhere. And so this one's gonna go on my wife's cabinet just because, you know, I wouldn't have been able to have this without her.”

“We have a newborn, and she really held it down for the entire season,” Chmerkovskiy continued of his wife, fellow DWTS pro Jenna Johnson, with whom he welcomed son Rome in January. The 29-year-old was partnered with supermodel Tyson Beckford in season 32, but the duo were the third couple to be eliminated.

He and Gomez then went on to open up about how Johnson was crucial in helping them get so far in the competition.

“She's a part of every creative, every step, every piece of choreography that we performed this season, she was a part of it,” added Chmerkovskiy.

“And she’s been so encouraging to me sometimes,” said Gomez, who revealed Johnson helped her when she was “scared and nervous” with the freestyle part of her performances.

“Jenna really helped me and said really wonderful encouraging words,” the teenager continued. “I'm just really lucky to have had a partner whose wife is so nice. She was so supportive of me and it takes a person to allow me to be so close with, you know, their family and she's really allowed me to be close with her family, and I really appreciate that and hopefully, I can continue to be part of their little circle.”

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Following their triumph, Johnson took to Instagram to share a series of snaps of her husband and Gomez with their trophies, which were presented to them by season 31 winner Charli D'Amelio.

“YOUR SEASON 32 WINNERS!!!!!!! 🪩🏆🌟🤩♥️🙌🏻🕺🏻💃🏻,” she captioned the post, which also featured a funny photo of Johnson wrapping her legs around Chmerkovskiy and kissing him as Gomez pulled a shocked face.

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