Cheryl Burke

Talk about peaking at the right time.

Rob Kardashian and Cheryl Burke have been improving for weeks and have built up a nice Dancing With the Stars following, but Monday night - the final night of performances this season - marked the first time they finished atop the leaderboard.

Rob's waltz earned him a 9 out of 10 from each judge. His second routine, the freestyle, earned him all 10s and sole possession of the lead. Will that be enough to win him the prestigious Mirror Ball, or will J.R. Martinez or Ricki Lake overtake him?

Watch Rob's final two performances and vote in our poll below:

Rob Kardashian on Dancing With the Stars (Finals - Waltz)

Last week's elimination on Dancing with the Stars was shocking for Cheryl Burke, who says she knows she and Rob Kardashian have to work that much harder now.

"It should not have happened," she said of Kristin Cavallari being sent packing.

"I believed Kristin and Mark were going to last for the long haul, so it's really scary because it doesn't matter what score you get - you could be the one eliminated."

Cheryl says she's proud of her partner and that his best days lie ahead.

"I think that Rob really came out of his shell [last] week, and he stands out because people didn't have high expectations for him," Burke told People.

"Every week he's showing that he cares about this competition and he's improving. He's super competitive and wants to do well. I think he's turning his reputation around, and people are really starting to like him and root for him."

The attitude adjustment is more key than you think. In a season where fan support and charisma may mean more than ever, it could carry him far.

DWTS returns tonight. Who do you think will win this season?

Tom Bergeron won't be the only one refusing to give Chris Brown a standing ovation tonight.

The Dancing with the Stars host has already voiced his displeasure over that controversial star appearing on this week's results show, and now Cheryl Burke has spoken out against the performance, as well.

"As a victim of domestic violence, I don't agree with him coming on the show, but it's out of my control," she told Extra.

Earlier this year, Burke opened up about her past and admitted she was molested as a child.

It should be an interesting evening on ABC, that's for sure. Do you think Brown should be welcome on such a national stage?

Simply put, Carrie Ann Inaba said last night: "I'm loving me some Chris Jericho right now."

The Dancing with the Stars judge was reacting to the WWE wrestler's version of the Quickstep, as Jericho and Cheryl Burke were one of three pairings to garner 23 points on week two.

With a total of 42 after two routines, there's a very good chance Chris and Cheryl will return to shake, grind and move some more next Monday. Think they deserve to do so? Check out their performance below:

Chris Jericho and Cheryl Burke - Quickstep

Dancing With the Stars pro Cheryl Burke recently cracked us up with a Tweet about being fingered by a TSA agent. But this story is no laughing matter.

Burke is breaking her silence on being molested by a family friend when she was five years old - a horror she says she relives daily, especially lately.

Her tormentor is now out of prison and roaming the streets, adding to her anxiety. "It was lots of touching," Burke recalls of her molester.

The guy was a retired mailman who would often pick Cheryl up from school and do odd jobs around her family's house in Atherton, Calif.

"He would pull my pants down in his van or touch me in the living room while [her caregiver] Ima was in the kitchen cooking," she says.

The man was eventually arrested after trying to sexually assault Burke's stepsister and her friend. Burke, then 6, testified in court.

Dancing with the Stars pro Cheryl Burke is used to getting up close and personal with strangers (Chad Ochocinco, Rick Fox, Tom DeLay), but nothing like this.

Burke just Tweeted (and later deleted) a description of her run-in with a TSA agent at the airport. This is a viral shout-out worthy of Tweet of the Week status.

We've all been there, right ladies? Guys? Anyone?

Dancing with the Stars fosters romance rumors like nothing else, in large part because its many attractive cast members dance suggestively by design.

But when it comes to Cheryl Burke and Chad Ochocinco, it could be more than just rumors, as the two certainly don't hide their devotion to each other.

Their sizzling sexual chemistry has made them fan favorites on Dancing With the Stars, while off the set, the dance partners have been spotted kissing.

Oh, and Chad gave Cheryl a $22,000, 8.5-carat sparkler. A sign that Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke are engaged? Not necessarily, says the NFL star.

"It's a gift for putting up with me," he says.

Chad and Cheryl can barely keep their hands off each other.

Just the same, “She is perfect, man, she is perfect,” he gushes.

"It was a bit of a shocker," Cheryl said of the ring, which she's proudly displayed ever since. "He’s full of surprises. We’re spending every single day together, so it’s kind of hard not to feel that attraction. Chad and I get along great."

Cheryl added that she was instantly drawn to Chad’s competitive spirit as well as his good looks: "He has a great sense of humor and he works really hard.”

But is it love? Only time will tell. Can they make a run at the coveted DWTS Mirror Ball? We'll have to wait and see on that, too. Who are you rooting for?

Are Dancing with the Stars tandem Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke dating? Even engaged? That's the rumor after the NFL star put a ring on it.

No, seriously, he did. The significance behind the sparkler he gave Cheryl, which she was rocking on Monday night's episode, is unclear, however.

Chad, who has also been seen kissing Cheryl on the lips in recent days, downplayed the bling, saying, "It's a thank you. It's a gift. A friendly gift."

"In my world, we tend to give those that we care about gifts. Why is it such a 'wow'?" The blushing pro dancer did admitted, "I fainted a little. A little concussion. [He] gave it to me in the trailer on one knee. And it's on my ring finger."

Chad Ochocinco and Cheryl Burke on Dancing with the Stars.

Following Buzz Aldrin's elimination last night, Cheryl and Chad are through to the next round after three straight respectable dancers,jelling more each week.

Does the twinkle in her eye hint at an engagement? Or at least love? Burke demured "You never know." The footballer said, for now, the dance floor "will be our aisle."

Like Erin Andrews and Maksim Chmerkovskiy, also the subject of dating speculation themselves, these two have good chemistry, and enjoy feeding the rumors.

While not confirming or denying any romance, the Cincinnati Bengals player, who changed his name from Chad Johnson in honor of his uniform number, 85, said:

"She's certainly made me smile for seven weeks now."

What a charmer. Propose already, will you 85?

A two-time champion on the dance floor, Cheryl Burke has finally succeeded at love.

The Dancing with the Stars professional gushed about her new boyfriend to People this week. She referred to Maxwell Zagorski (pictured) as a "great influence in [my] life."

"He loves to go to the gym and he motivates me, so it's a good relationship we have!" Burke said at  Ivy Bethune Tri-Union Diversity Awards in Los Angeles, where she was an honoree. "He's a model and so he needs to keep his body in shape, as well."

How do they spend most of their time?

"We're just homebodies," Burke said. "We like to watch movies. I like to stay at home. He loves to cook. And we just watch movies and we eat at home.

The on-screen chemistry between this season's top couples on Dancing with the Stars is evident.

But what about when the (moving) camera stops?

In this week's TV Guide Magazine, the publication takes fans behind the scenes with four of the show's most popular season eight stars: Cheryl Burke, Gilles Marini, Tony Dovolani and Melissa Rycroft.

Regarding her partner's energy, Burke said:

“When the music comes on in rehearsal, he brings it up 50 percent. But then in the live show, the audience feeds him even more energy and I change the way I dance. His adrenaline is off the charts.”

Meanwhile, Tony and Melissa had a trust issue to settle, following Rycroft's public heartbreak at the hands of Jason Mesnick.

“We didn’t talk about The Bachelor until after that first rehearsal,” Rycroft said. “But the trust was established very early on - and with dances like the Lindy Hop. Do you know how many times I fell, and he would have me by a pinky toe? I was nowhere near touching the ground.”

Who do you think will be crowned Dancing with the Stars champion next week?