Trevor Donovon is coming to former Dancing With the Stars partner Emma Slater’s defense.
The actor, 41, took to social media on Friday, October 27, to address rumors that Slater, 34, is dating her season 32 partner, Mauricio Umansky, amid his separation from wife Kyle Richards.
“Many don’t understand the intense pressures of #DWTS,” Donovan wrote via X (formerly known as Twitter) while reflecting back on his time on the show. “The exhaustive nature of the rehearsals, and the stress of the show night performance. Forming a deep bond and friendship with your partner is natural under such circumstances.”
Donovan — who also made headlines for his chemistry with Slater during their partnership — noted that he grew “very close” to the Australia native during his time on the ABC competition series and that the two are still “very close” today. “I guess some will always see drama where there’s none,” he said.
Romance rumors between Slater and Umansky, 53, began to swirl earlier this month after they were spotted holding hands in Beverly Hills. The duo addressed the speculation days later, insisting they are nothing more than “really good friends.”
“For full clarity we are not dating,” Umansky shared in an Instagram Story video on Thursday, October 26. “We’ve been dancing together now for six weeks, four hours a day every single day.” The real estate mogul explained that he and Slater went “to a restaurant to go get some sushi right after rehearsal” after a “very intense” and emotional week.
“We were talking about the week during the dinner and when we came out of dinner we were recapping, and I reached out to grab Emma’s hand,” he said. “She grabbed my hand and then we walked to the cars, just recapping.”
Slater — who filed for divorce from estranged husband and fellow DWTS pro Sasha Farber in February —then chimed in to call the show’s process “intense,” adding that a “very special bond” is formed between the celebrity and their professional dance partner, noting that she and Umansky share “similar personalities.”
Speculation the pair’s relationship is more than just professional comes amid Umansky’s separation from Richards, 54. Us Weekly confirmed in July the duo had separated after 27 years of marriage. At the time, the estranged couple shared a joint statement about their “tough year” but insisted that they had no plans to divorce. (Umansky and Richards share daughters Alexia, 27, Sophia, 23, and Portia, 15. Richards also shares daughter Farrah, 34, with first husband Guraish Aldjufrie.)
After the hand-holding photographs went viral, Richards deleted an Instagram post from September in support of Umansky and Slater’s DWTS partnership, later sharing that she was “hurt” by the images.
“I don’t know if anything’s happened yet, but obviously there’s something there,” the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star told host Andy Cohen during the Wednesday, October 25, episode of Watch What Happens Live. “Listen, I love him very much and we are amicable.” Richards added that she was “taken aback” by the snaps, which were “very hard” for her to see.
“That hurt my feelings. … I just don’t think you hold hands like that with somebody,” she said.
Slater isn’t a stranger to romance rumors regarding her DWTS partnerships. Her relationship with Donovan raised eyebrows during season 31 when people began to notice their chemistry on the ballroom floor.
“I gotta know — are those your acting skills or was that real?” cohost Alfonso Ribeiro asked the pair after they made waves for their sexy week 2 Rumba in September 2022, to which Donovan replied, “If you’re really doing a good job acting, it all comes from the truth so there’s something real in every performance.”
Slater later told reporters that people “expect that steam” and that partners are expected to “tell a story” with their dancing. “I honestly believe in Trevor. I believe in his dance ability,” she continued. “I know we have this great connection, this great chemistry.”
Weeks later, Donovan praised his “familiar and light” chemistry with Slater during an October 2022 episode. “We have a very familiar and light chemistry. It’s a fun thing. It can show up as passion on the dance floor, but we’re just having fun,” he said. “We have fun every day we rehearse even when she’s about to explode because I’m doing things wrong that I used to do right. But it’s the levity and the lightness of our friendship and stuff, I think, that really translates to the dance. So we’re just 100 percent comfortable with each other.”
