'DWTS' 's Chris Soules Didn't Know He Made Witney Carson Cry

Chris Soules talks about his tough week with Witney Carson and his painful injury

Photo: ABC

Chris Soules can certainly attest to how Dancing with the Stars can take a toll both physically and emotionally on the contestants – especially him.

For Monday’s episode, Soules was filmed losing his temper while rehearsing his quickstep routine with Witney Carson.

“It’s all new to me. I can’t do it all at once,” Soules, 33, says during the package.

“Yeah, but it’s not all new to you,” Carson, 21, responds.

“Don’t argue with me,” he says. “I’m telling you what it is and I can’t do any better. It’s not new to you. Clearly, you are a professional. I can’t do it your way. So stop it.”

Later, Carson is filmed crying while saying “for him to, like, to snap at me today made me feel not like a good coach.”

Soules and Carson ended up hugging it out and even got a surprise visit from Carson’s winning partner from last year, Alfonso Ribeiro. But Soules expressed to PEOPLE after Monday’s show how troubling it was to see Carson cry.

“It was tough to watch. It was tough to go through,” Soules told PEOPLE. “We are working really hard and both doing the best we can. But it’s not like working with Alfonso. I’m not a dancer. She can get frustrated with me.”

“It was a tough week,” Soules continued. “People don’t really understand how hard we work. We have a close relationship. But we were just both getting on each other’s nerves. I wasn’t getting it down, and she was getting frustrated with me. That happens in any partnerships in life. I don’t know any partnership where two people don’t have a little bit of a disagreement. It only made us stronger.”

But things only got worse for Soules: during rehearsal Sunday, he tore his calf muscle in his left leg. He re-injured it during Monday’s dress rehearsal.

“I was just thankful I was able to complete the dance,” Soules told PEOPLE. “I didn’t think I would be able to do 20 to 30 percent of the routine, but I was able to do every step. In the back of my mind, I felt like someone was stabbing my leg. But I tried to go for it.”

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