Tony Dovolani stayed at Kim Zolciak's side when she was in the hospital and now he's taking her side.

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The Dancing with the Stars pro insists Zolciak's mini-stroke was real as she faces criticism of having allegedly faked the transient ischemic attack for sympathy votes after talk show host Wendy Williams made the suggestion on Monday.

"I don't really know what happened between them -- but I can tell you this: I was at the hospital," Dovolani, 42, told People. "I know what happened. It was definitely not fake."

While the onset of the mini-stroke felt sudden to Zolciak when half of her body went numb and she lost her speech, Dovolani says there were signs something was wrong as they rehearsed together for last Tuesday night's show.

Zolciak "was not herself," according to Dovolani, who said she "had a headache" and "was dizzy."

"You could see her veins on her left arm," the pro dancer continued. "On Tuesday night, when were dancing, I was like, 'Babe, you're not yourself. Get your head in the game.' By the time we got to Atlanta, we parted with each other, I went to the hotel and she went home -- I could tell she wasn't her chipper self."

Zolciak, 37, suffered the TIA shortly after getting home and was hospitalized on Wednesday. She was discharged on Friday night, which was later than she had originally anticipated.

On Monday's broadcast of The Wendy Williams Show, the host used the word "allegedly" when discussing how Zolciak had suffered a stroke and then flat out said she hopes Zolciak was "not fibbing." 

Williams, 51, tried to relate to Zolciak's story by saying she also "wanted to get off" Dancing with the Stars when she competed with Dovolani back in 2011, according to People.

"Kim, at 37 years old, if you did have a mini stroke, I'm sorry to hear about that. If, however, you just wanted to get off Dancing with the Stars, all you had to do was just stub your toe," Williams reportedly added.

Those comments didn't sit well with Zolciak, as she took to Instagram to rant afterwards about how Williams' assumption was "disgusting" and "appalling."

Zolciak and Dovolani were forced to withdraw from Dancing with the Stars' 21st season because she missed Monday night's performance show. Although Zolciak was prepared to dance, doctors didn't permit her to fly on an airplane. Zolciak is currently campaigning for the show to make a rule exception.

"This is such an unfortunate thing," Dovolani told People yesterday. "We were prepared to dance, just that they hadn't cleared her to fly yet. That's the reason why she's not here."


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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