Dancing with the Stars contestant Mauricio Umansky has raised some eyebrows over his flirty behavior with his DWTS dance partner, Emma Slater. There were reports that the duo was holding hands while leaving a Beverly Hills restaurant. Was it friendly hand-holding? Or romantic hand-holding?
During the Most Memorable Year episode of DWTS, Mauricio dedicated his dance to his estranged wife, Kyle Richards. The couple is currently separated. But the dance was rather suggestive, especially the final pose. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star wasn’t present in the ballroom.
But DWTS contestant Lele Pons defended Mauricio and Emma’s relationship. The Messenger has the details.
Lele says nothing is going on between DWTS pro Emma and contestant Mauricio
“Clearly there’s nothing in there,” Lele stated. “Like, at all. Trust me. Have you seen my face? You would notice in my face if there were something,” the YouTube star added.
Lele acknowledged that the dance partners do develop a bond. “That’s the thing. [Brandon] has a wife, yes; and I have a husband, but if we didn’t, we’d still want to hang out,” Lele explained.
Lele’s partner, Brandon Armstrong, also weighed in on Mauricio and Emma’s relationship.
“I think it’s 2023 and I think people love social media and they love to focus on stories that have nothing to do with them because it gives them something to do. It’s like a sitcom nowadays, you know, on social media,” Brandon said. “So I think people can be entertained with whatever they want. But as for us, we’re just here to dance and try to get better.”
Before their steamy contemporary routine, Mauricio posted on Instagram about why he chose 1996 as his most memorable year.
“My time was 1996 when Kyle and I got married and Alexia was born. We had Farrah [Aldjufrie] and Alexia [Umansky],” Mauricio wrote. “I was 26 when I was fired from my job and was broke. Kyle was my rock and together we rose up and we rose up 1000 x and we moved mountains, a lot of them.”
He continued, “It’s been an incredible journey. Tonight’s dance is dedicated to Kyle and my family.” It’s too bad that Kyle was MIA and Mauricio’s daughters looked anything but happy.
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC and Disney+.
TELL US – DO YOU THINK THAT MAURICIO AND EMMA ARE DATING AS WELL AS PERFORMING ON DWTS? WOULD LELE AND BRANDON COVER FOR THEM?
