Carrie Ann Inaba, one of the judges on Dancing With the Stars, was quite taken with one of this season’s final contestants. She spoke about him on the night before the finale.

“I am a fan of the way he moves,” she said of finalist Alek Skarlatos. “I know it’s not the most stylized and it’s not exotic, but it’s clear and concise, and it’s powerful and it has integrity.He’s in the finals. I love that he took it seriously. And I love that he and Lindsay, their partnership is really something spectacular.”

When @carrieanninaba says u might win the Mirror Ball @alekskarlatos + @lindsayarnold! https://t.co/L8ozt80mxs #DWTS pic.twitter.com/ArmQ5WyEFj

— Whipclip (@whipclip) November 24, 2015

“I didn’t know he’s such a dude. Like he’s such a dude from home,” Carrie Ann Inaba added. “I felt like I was in college at a frat party, or something. It was refreshing to see and it made me appreciate him that much more because he really has made an incredible journey to be where he is today. He’s in the finals.”

Just three months ago, Alek Skarlatos helped stop a terrorist attack aboard a Paris-bound train.

Carrie Ann Inaba was no doubt disappointed when this handsome hunk didn’t win this season of Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday evening. She even offered pointers to Alek and his pro partner Lindsay Arnold before the finale.

Carrie Ann is surely thrilled for Bindi Irwin, however, who won the coveted mirror ball trophy along with pro partner Derek Hough.

Do you suppose Carrie Ann Inaba got in some after-party fun with Alek Skarlatos following the DWTS finale last night?

.@CarrieAnnInaba’s final advice for the #DWTS Final Four! https://t.co/tNfizL4o9f @BindiIrwin @nickcarter @alekskarlatos & @TheCarlosPena

— Parade Magazine (@ParadeMagazine) November 18, 2015

Perhaps she’s just incredibly impressed with the young man’s valor–and the fact that he was such a huge success on the dance floor, too.

Are you surprised to learn how taken Carrie Ann Inaba is with Alek Skarlatos?