Can There Be 'Dancing With the Stars' Without a 'DWTS' Showmance?

Showmances have been a part of Dancing With the Stars for as long as we can remember — but could the show continue on without them? The answer to that question is sort of complicated. The simple answer to that question is “yes.” Since DWTS is a show meant to teach celebrities and athletes how to ballroom dance, the romance element doesn’t really lend itself to the overall theme. But, it definitely happens. A lot.

Some showmances have gotten couples pretty far in the competition, and there have been a handful of dance floor love affairs that carried teams to the very end, helping them take home the coveted Mirrorball Trophy. The one that comes to mind is Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Meryl Davis on season 18, which marks Chmerkovskiy’s only DWTS showmance and his only Mirrorball win.

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There was something undeniable between Chmerkovskiy and Davis, but the two played things off and didn’t reveal whether or not they were hooking up behind the scenes. Instead, they kept everyone guessing until the very end (and longer). Neither Chmerkovskiy nor Davis ever confirmed or denied if they were more than just dance partners, though a source did tell E! News that what fans witnessed was nothing more than a good, old-fashioned showmance.

“When you’re on the dance floor… you want to create that story, you want to create something where people believe that what you demonstrated was real. And they were able to do that,” longtime DWTS OG pro Karina Smirnoff told Us Weekly in 2014, calling it “great acting.”

Keep in mind, there is a big difference between a showmance and a real romance, and both have happened plenty of times over the course of 32 seasons.

People who have really fallen in love on the dance floor — such as Kym and Robert Herjavec, Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Garcia, and Britt Stewart and Daniel Durant — have only made it about mid-way through the competition. It seems showmances could be given the edge here, however, as couples who have played into the rumors have made it a bit further. For example, Alexis Ren and Alan Bersten finished in fourth place on season 27. The feelings they seemed to develop for one another on the show didn’t really last in the outside world, however.

“I haven’t spoken to her in a while. I’m not gonna lie. I’m gonna be honest,” Bersten told Us Weekly in 2019. “No more showmances for me. I’m done,” he added.

Taking a look at season 32, we’ve already lost one showmantic relationship. Emma Slater, who was previously married to pro Sasha Farber, and Mauricio Umansky, who is separated from his wife, Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards, were spotted holding hands per photos supplied by TMZ, which sent the internet into a spiral. The two were quick to debunk that anything romantic was going on and were promptly eliminated the very next week. Had the two let the romance rumors simmer, it’s possible that they would have gotten the votes to keep them in the competition for at least another week.

They were, of course, going up against another showmance between the newest (and youngest) DWTS pro Rylee Arnold and her partner, Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey. These two haven’t denied that they are romantically involved but have really leaned into the rumors instead — and it seems to be helping them; despite being on the bottom of the leaderboard every week, fans have consistently voted to keep them in the competition.

The flip side of this whole thing is that Dancing With the Stars won’t ever be without showmances, regardless if it can survive without them or not. In order for a couple to make it to the semifinals (and beyond), they absolutely must have chemistry. Whether that’s in the form of a close friendship or something more, there has been some kind of connection between the couples who take the dance floor each week. The art of dance brings out emotion and there hasn’t been one Mirrorball winning team that didn’t exemplify exactly that.

Part of dancing with a partner is fostering a relationship that is both stable and vulnerable at the same time. It’s this very line that takes someone to the finish line on “Dancing With the Stars.”

And, if there happens to be some romance along the way? It certainly doesn’t hurt. People love love.

Before you go, click here to see more co-star couples we’ll always wonder about. 

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