Heavy/Pixabay Mauricio Umansky denies dating Emma Slater.
Season 32 of “Dancing With the Stars” is already producing romance rumors. One of the couple stirring up dating chatter is Emma Slater and Mauricio Umansky.
According to photos uploaded by TMZ, the two were spotted holding hands after they left a restaurant in Beverly Hills. Moreover, Page Six reported that waitstaff actually saw the two kissing at the bar inside. However, both Slater and Umansky have denied that they are an item.
“We do want to address this story,” Umansky said in a video posted on Instagram Stories on October 26, 2023. “About whether or not Emma and I are dating. Whether we went out on a date. For full clarity, we are not dating. We are really good friends. We’ve been dancing together now for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day,” he added.
Heavy has previously reached out to reps for Slater and Umansky for comment.
Here’s what you need to know:
Mauricio Umansky Said He & Emma Slater Were Recapping Their Week When They Held Hands
Umansky seemed to have an explanation for why he and Slater were holding hands after having dinner together.
“We went to a restaurant to go get some sushi, right after rehearsal. We were in our rehearsal clothes. Lots of the stories are wrong,” Umansky said. Slater was sitting next to him in the video and agreed with everything he was saying.
“It’s a very intense week. A very emotional week. We were talking about the week during dinner and when we came out of dinner, we were recapping and I reached out to grab Emma’s hand and she grabbed my hand and then we walked to the cars, just recapping and summarizing. And then the paparazzi caught that moment. And it’s become a blown out moment,” he added.
Indeed, Umansky and Slater had an emotional dance on the October 24, 2023, episode of DWTS. They danced a contemporary number to “Rise Up” by Andra Day. Their performance earned them their highest scores of the competition to date.
Mauricio Umansky’s Wife Was ‘Hurt’ After Seeing the Photos
Umansky rose to fame on “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” alongside his wife, Kyle Richards. He’s a real estate mogul who has agencies all over the country, including New York and Beverly Hills.
In July 2023, People magazine reported that Umansky and Richards had separated after more than two decades together. The couple was quick to deny the report, admitting they had a tough year but that they weren’t considering divorce.
After the photos of Umansky and Slater holding hands, Richards made an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” and said she was “taken aback” by them. She also admitted that seeing that really “hurt.”
“I mean, holding hands like that? I mean Andy, I really don’t… why are you doing this to me,” Richards told WWHL host Andy Cohen. “The thing is this, I don’t know if anything’s happened yet, but obviously there’s something there,” she continued.
“Listen, I love him very much and we are amicable but that really did hurt me,” she added.
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