Kayleigh Trappe: ‘Fair Play To The Mná Of Ireland Because It’s Tough Out There’

Kayleigh Trappe made a name for herself lipsyncing on social media – and now there’s no stopping her.

She smashed Dancing with the Stars, making it to the final, and now she’s got her big break in radio with SportsTalk.

We caught up with Kayleigh on the red carpet of this year’s Platinum VIP Style Awards…

Hi Kayleigh! You were on Dancing with the Stars this year and you started your radio bits, how has this year been for you?

It’s been full on, but I’m absolutely loving every bit of it. I kind of went into this blind, but it’s worked out so well. Obviously being a teacher, I didn’t know what to expect in this world but, when you don’t have an expectation for yourself when you get these opportunities it’s amazing. To be honest, when I got Dancing with the Stars, I was just so happy, and it was just one of the best experiences of my life and long may it last.

We’ve had social media personalities on DWTS before and they haven’t always done well. You really connected with the audience. Did that surprise you?

They said to me, sometimes the content creators might not do as well because they’re not as known in some of the audience’s lives. So, for me, I was just like, ‘Go in and just show who you are’, and it obviously worked out okay because I got to the final. That’s kind of nice! I had this thing this year, I wanted to separate social media from certain things like I wanted to show a bit of a personality outside of the videos and the craic. I hope I did that in the show as well and the response has been so lovely. The people of Ireland are so sound.

You’ve also started Mnásplaining with SportsTalk! Congrats!

When they approached me first, I was like, ‘Are you sure you want me?’ like I wouldn’t know all the ins and outs of sport. They were like, ‘That’s what we want, we want someone to learn as they go’. In my latter years, not that I’m very old, but since I was about 23 or so, I’ve grown to love sport.

I was a late bloomer, but I think that makes sense to see it from the perspective of somebody who might not know everything about it. I’m loving the girls’ stories and I’m finding out so much. Fair play to the Mná of Ireland because it’s tough and we just got rights on the shorts thank God! It’s been such a lovely journey, we just wrapped season one. There’s one more episode to go out of it and then we’ll move on to season two.

It is tough, especially for young girls and women to stay in sports. You can see why so many fall out of sports as teenagers.

Absolutely, I kind of fell into the bracket when I was younger and it’s kind of one of the reasons I like to talk about it a lot. Because of the way I looked, I thought ‘I can’t play that’. In fairness, I did try a few things out and I felt like I didn’t fit in so that’s why I probably threw the towel in very early growing up. I always regretted it and when I first kicked a ball for the very first time at 23 it was bittersweet because I loved it so much but I was like, ‘Why did I wait until now?’

Now I just want to advocate for girls and boys alike no matter what your shape, size, whatever it is, if you have any needs, anything at all, there’s something for everybody. Honestly, it’s like going back to dancing. I thought I had two left feet. I ended up not being too bad. It’s mind over matter and you’re your own worst enemy and not to worry about what everybody else thinks. I’m loving trying different sports now. I’m hoping to do a Hyrox soon and if you had told 20-year-old Kayleigh that I’d be doing what I’m doing, she would’ve laughed at me honestly, so it just goes to show, persevere and keep her lit.

Obviously you’re flying with Mnásplaining but would you ever want to move into live radio?

Absolutely, like I said earlier, I’m such an open book and my gut is generally right. If things come around, I know when it’s right for me, and when it’s not right for me. So, I’d absolutely love to dabble more in TV and radio. I’ve got a good hunger for it now, I’ve got a taste for it and I just want to keep saying yes and hope for the best.

What are your summer plans?

Oh, lots of summer plans, I’ve a few more TV bits coming up, lots of lovely work coming up. I’m literally just off a flight from Florida filming there. So, it’s such a nice feeling to know that it’s not just going to stop, it’s going to keep going and there’s plenty more to come.

Check out all our winners at this year’s Platinum VIP Style Awards here. Take a look at the red carpet style here.