French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis suffers 'nightmare' wardrobe malfunction during Winter Olympics

Gabriella Papadakis had a wardrobe malfunction during her short program with partner Guillaume Cizeron (Reuters)

Even a glittering emerald costume couldn’t distract viewers from an unfortunate wardrobe malfunction during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

French ice dancer Gabriella Papadakis suffered a “nightmare” wardrobe issue Monday during her short dance figure skating routine with partner Guillaume Cizeron when a clasp on her costume became unhooked.

Her left breast was exposed on live television as she continued with the dance number to Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” At one point Papadakis leaned back in Cizeron’s arms, causing her breast to slip above where her emerald costume covered.

"It was pretty distracting, kind of my worst nightmare happening at the Olympics," Papadakis told reporters after leaving the ice rink. "I told myself, 'I don't have a choice. I have to keep going,' and that's what we did. I think we can be proud of ourselves being able to deliver a great performance with that happening."

Gabriella Papadakis's left breast became exposed after a clasp came undone. (Reuters)

Papadakis said she felt the clasp come undone “right away” and “prayed” throughout the routine.

"That's about what I could do,” she added.

The French duo stayed relatively calm throughout the program and ended up with an 81.93 score that landed them in second behind Canadian stars Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who scored 83.67. It’s unclear if the score included a one-point deduction for the costume issue. Papadakis was on the verge of tears as she left the ice.

"It's a little bit frustrating to know that it's not because of something that we did," Cizeron said. "It's just a costume issue, something as stupid as that, so it's a little bit disappointing."

Gabriella Papadakis said the wardrobe malfunction was a her "worst nightmare" but knew she had to push through it. (Reuters)

NBC said in a statement to The Associated Press that it used wider camera shots immediately after it noticed the wardrobe malfunction.

"We have edited the video for all television encores and online replays,” the statement read.

This is the second wardrobe malfunction in the Olympic ice skating competitions. American-born ice dancer Yura Min, competing for South Korea, had the back of her costume come unclasped during her short program with partner Alex Gamelin in the team competition. She altered the routine to prevent the costume from completely slipping off.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.