Ilona Maher is opening up about a recent visit to the nail salon where she unknowingly served as a safety aid.
Amy Sussman / Getty Images
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.
Joe Scarnici / Getty Images for USOPC)
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.
Michael Steele / Getty Images
“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.
Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
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.
Disney/Eric McCandless / Getty Images
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.
Disney/Eric McCandless / Getty Images
“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.'”
Disney/Eric McCandless / Getty Images
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.
Disney/Eric McCandless / Getty Images
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.
Disney/Eric McCandless / Getty Images
While that was the end of the encounter, Maher continued her TikTok and reflected on the experience.
Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images
“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.
Hollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images
She later concluded, “Seriously stay safe ladies. Travel together. Do your thing.”
ZZHollywood To You/Star Max/GC Images