Ilona Maher is opening up about a recent visit to the nail salon where she unknowingly served as a safety aid.
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On Sunday, the Olympian, who is currently competing on "Dancing with the Stars," posted a storytime video to TikTok recounting the trip that turned out to be much more than a simple pedicure.
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As Maher explains in the video, she went to the salon just before closing, meaning few other customers were there and some employees had even left for the day.
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"But as I'm getting [my pedicure] done, this guy walks in and asks for a pedicure as well, so they sit him down," she said in the video, noting that her treatment finished before his.
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However, she stuck around for her nail polish to dry. "So I wait and then I'm like, 'Is it ready to go?' and they're like, 'No, just keep waiting,'" she said of the staff.
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Maher said she waited around at the staff's direction for about half an hour but wasn't sure at that point why she was being held there for so long. It's only after the man's appointment concluded and he left the salon that Ilona says she learned why the staff kept her.
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"Finally, they're like, 'OK, we'll close you out now.' I was like, alright, here were go," she said. "And then they said, 'Sorry we kept you so long. We just wanted you to be here with us while he was there.'"
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This revelation didn't take Maher aback. "I totally understood then why they did that," she said. However, the interaction with the man didn't end there.
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After leaving the business, Maher said she walked out to see a man standing there. She did not specify if it was the same man who was in the salon. "This guy looks me in the eye and says, 'Can I go home with you?' I'm like, 'No,' and he says, 'Why not?' I just keep walking," she said.
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While that was the end of the encounter, Maher continued her TikTok and reflected on the experience.
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"It's insane out there, and I want you to know you can keep me for as long as you want. You can keep me for another hour. I'll cancel my plans if you want me for safety, or you want somebody there [to] just be a presence. It's dangerous out there," she said.
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She later concluded, "Seriously stay safe ladies. Travel together. Do your thing."
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