Why Alexis Ren would 'never' do 'Dancing With the Stars' ever again

"Dancing With the Stars" exposed Sports Illustrated Swimsuit's 2018 Rookie of the Year Alexis Ren to a huge new mainstream audience at that point in her career and, while she doesn't regret signing on to do the show, she also would never do it again.

Ren, along with partner Alan Bersten, made it to the final four on "DWTS" but, as the model explained during a recent interview with In The Know's Gibson Johns in promotion of her new anniversary kit for Sonya Dakar, the physical turmoil it took to get there was overwhelming.

"I don't think the TV show actually shares how hard the work actually is. I was in the studio six hours a day every single day, not including show days. Show days are from 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM," Ren explained of the grueling schedule. "Then you have four days to learn a new genre every single week. And on top of it, your body doesn't have any time to heal from using different types of muscles."

"I ended up cracking a rib, and then the same week cracking a rib on [the other] side during, I think it was Halloween, and they didn't show that, which I was glad, because I was like, 'Oh, let's just not,'" she revealed.

Being an experienced dancer (Ren began her career as a performer by dancing), she knew that the training regimen wasn't natural or sustainable for her in the long run.

"It was so hard on my body itself that, actually, after, I had just joint problems, because it's not natural to go that deep into dance," she told ITK. "I know that because, being a ballerina, you spend eight years to 10 years getting ready for being on point, whereas they're throwing you into advanced dances in four days."

"So, it's just not that healthy for you. But it's an amazing experience," Ren added. "You spend all that time during the week stressing and crying and working and all these things just to get that two minutes on stage. The concept of that is crazy to me, and it is worth it. Those two minutes are worth it."

For Ren, despite her reservations about the process and the toll that it was taking on her body, knew that, because she had signed onto it and had committed to "DWTS," she had to put forth her full effort — and that came across during her performances, which frequently won her rave reviews from the judges and viewers alike.

"I knew that if I was going to do it, I had to go in 150% and truly just show up for the dance itself. So yeah, it was the most fun I've ever had and I'll never do it again," she laughed.

Shop Alexis Ren's collab with Sonya Dakar here, and listen to her full chat with In The Know below:

If you enjoyed this interview, check out In The Know's recent chat with the Kardashians' hairstylist, Andrew Fitzsimons, here.