Lindsay Arnold Commends Sister Rylee for Making ‘Toughest Decision’ to Leave ‘DWTS’ Tour After Injury (Exclusive)

Lindsay Arnold is proud of sister Rylee Arnold for prioritizing her health after an ankle injury prevented her from returning to the Dancing With the Stars tour.

“She’s doing so well. I’m really proud of her,” Lindsay, 31, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting her Mother’s Day partnership with Hallmark. “Because when you’re a dancer, you’re kind of trained with this mentality to just push through pain to just make it happen. The show must go on.”

Lindsay called Rylee’s choice not to come back and finish the tour dates the “toughest decision ever,” adding, “That was so hard. Like I said, as a dancer I don’t care if I’m hurt — we’ve got to perform. But I’m really proud of her for choosing her health.”

After allowing herself time to “heal,” Lindsay knows Rylee, 19, will come back stronger than ever.

“That just will drastically affect the rest of her career,” she noted. “You never know what could have happened. So I’m really proud of her for taking the time to heal. She’s feeling so much better — and I think it’s just such good timing that she has a little bit of time now to rest before next season.”

Rylee injured her ankle during a March show in Salt Lake City. She took a break before officially stepping away from the rest of the tour. Before Rylee’s health scare, she got a chance to perform in Utah alongside Lindsay, who previously competed as a pro on 10 seasons of DWTS.

“I was watching and I’m like, ‘Oh, I want to go do this right now. I want to go dance this right now.’ I’m a dancer at heart forever. That will never change,” Lindsay told Us. “So watching my friends be so passionate on the stage, it does take me back. I love it. I will always love it. I was like, ‘Oh, I want to get up there.’ But then I got to get up there and do the little hoedown so that was good for me.”

Lindsay was also thrilled that her and husband Sam Cusick‘s daughter Sage, 4, got to see her aunt on stage. (The couple share daughter June, 23 months, as well.)

“My girls are obsessed with their aunt Rylee. They love her so much. They look up to her so much — and they love dance and she’s so good at it. She’s definitely such an amazing example to them as far as investing in it,” she explained. “My mentality with my girls is just to support them with whatever they’re passionate about and just help them pursue whatever their passions are. Right now, they’re loving dance, but obviously going to just see what happens as they get older and make sure I just help steer them in whatever their passions push them into.”

Lindsay continued: “They’re pretty good [at dancing] and they love it so much, which honestly, that’s the most important thing to me. It is just about having something that they love. It is so good for self-confidence and I’m excited to see where their journeys take them.”

The professional dancer is also excited to celebrate with her daughters as Mother’s Day comes up next month. Lindsay partnered with Hallmark to honor the special moms in her life with unique themed cards.

“Since becoming a mom, Mother’s Day has quickly become my absolute favorite holiday. One because it’s nice to have a day to celebrate this beautiful phase of life. The best thing that’s ever happened to me is becoming a mom. So I love that I get to celebrate me being a mom. But even more importantly, since becoming a mom, I have so much more respect for my own mother and for my sisters who have children,” she told Us. “Just being able to celebrate and really just give credit to all the beautiful mothers in my life is why it’s my favorite. I love so much that I’m able to partner with Hallmark because they are truly the one-stop shop for all things that you want to give to somebody to help them feel special and to give them something that’s meaningful.”

Lindsay praised Hallmark for offering options for any mother figure in someone’s life.

“I’m the kind of person that I would rather receive a meaningful and thoughtful gift than just something. So I love that Hallmark is perfect for that with their different greeting cards and gift cards with their gifts. I already shopped for my sisters and my mom and got so many amazing Hallmark gifts,” she shared with Us. “It was so fun to really pick out personalized gift cards for each mom in my life and something that I knew would be meaningful to them. I’m so excited for Mother’s Day and I just love that I can celebrate the mothers in my life.”

Lindsay continued: “[When it comes to Sage and June], my husband will help them write out a little card. I always loved Mother’s Day but I don’t think I really recognized how special and important it is that we recognize even just the mother figures in our life. Because being a mom is — in my opinion — one of the most important roles that we can play. So I love it. I’m so excited for this Mother’s Day and see what my girls come up with.”