Kim Zolciak-Biermann exits 'Dancing with the Stars' following mini-stroke

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Kim Zolciak-Biermann Forced to Leave 'DWTS'
Kim Zolciak-Biermann Forced to Leave 'DWTS'

By VARIETY STAFF

"Real Housewives of Atlanta" star Kim Zolciak-Biermann was forced to leave "Dancing With the Stars" Monday night after suffering a mini-stroke following her flight home from Los Angeles to Atlanta last week.

"I had a blood clot which caused a mini-stroke... and then I ended up being in hospital for three days, so I've not had time to even think about dancing," Zolciak-Biermann told dancing partner Tony Dovolani when he visited her in Atlanta during a video clip shown on Monday's episode. "If I can dance and get the clean bill of health, I absolutely will."

Unfortunately, Zolciak-Biermann's condition, and the associated health risks presented by flying, kept her grounded in Atlanta. She appeared via satellite after Dovolani danced with a stand-in, Jenna Johnson, and insisted that she felt "really great... I rehearsed on Saturday, I learned that whole dance that Jenna just did, and then my doctor told me yesterday that it's just too soon to fly, that I could go next week but I just couldn't go today, so I'm really sad."

Then "DWTS" host Tom Bergeron broke the news that the "Real Housewives" star would not be able to continue in the competition due to the show's rules.

"The rules state – and these are rules that we've had since 2005 when we started the show, and I'm quoting from them – in the instance of illness or other health-related matters affecting a participant's ability to participate in the game, they must withdraw," Bergeron told Zolciak-Biermann and Dovolani, much to their disappointment.

Will you miss Zolciak on "DWTS"?

Even though fans were sad to see Kim out of the competition, they still got to see some pretty stunning moves ... check them out below!

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