The sourced 2025 roundup behind this topic lists 16 entries, not 17—and some are rumors rather than confirmed romances. The stories also differ: several couples met as celebrity contestants and professional partners, while others were both pros or had a connection to Dancing with the Stars outside the ballroom. Here is what the reporting says about how each relationship began and what happened next.
Contestant and pro partnerships that became confirmed relationships
Robert Herjavec and Kym Johnson
Herjavec and professional dancer Johnson were partnered on Season 20. They married in 2016 and later welcomed twins, according to Life & Style’s April 7, 2025 roundup.
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Artem Chigvintsev and Nikki Bella
Bella and pro dancer Chigvintsev were partners on Season 25 and later began dating. They married in 2022; Bella filed for divorce in 2024. Life & Style reported that criminal charges against Chigvintsev were dismissed. That legal update is distinct from the relationship timeline: the couple’s marriage ended in divorce proceedings.
Britt Stewart and Daniel Durant
Pro dancer Stewart and actor Durant were paired in Season 31 and later went public as a couple. A September 2026 feature from TV Insider reports they married before Season 34, making theirs one of the newer marriages among the show’s contestant-pro couples.
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Derek Hough and Shannon Elizabeth
Actor Elizabeth and pro dancer Hough competed together in Season 6. Life & Style says they dated for more than a year after the show, then announced their split jointly.
Alan Bersten and Alexis Ren
Model Ren and pro dancer Bersten were partners in Season 27 and briefly dated afterward. Their relationship ended; the 2025 roundup quotes Bersten saying, “So we’re not dating, for anyone asking.”
Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff
Lopez and pro dancer Smirnoff were partnered in Season 3 and dated for nearly two years before breaking up, according to Life & Style.
Professional dancers who became a couple
Maksim Chmerkovskiy and Peta Murgatroyd
Both are professional dancers associated with the show. They married in 2017. Life & Style also notes that each had other show-related romantic histories before they became a couple.
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Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson
Chmerkovskiy and Johnson are both DWTS pros. They married in 2019. A September 2026 TV Insider feature reports on their family life and continuing work on the show.
Emma Slater and Sasha Farber
Pro dancers Slater and Farber dated for five years, married in 2018, and separated in 2022, Life & Style reports.
Emma Slater and Alan Bersten
Slater and Bersten are both pros, and their relationship was reported after they were seen holding hands in 2024. TV Insider later said the two revealed their romance during the Season 33 tour. That makes this a reported relationship between colleagues, not a celebrity-pro partnership.
Show-connected relationships that did not begin as contestant-pro romances
Matthew Lawrence and Cheryl Burke
Actor Lawrence was not a contestant. Life & Style says he met pro dancer Burke through his brother Joey’s participation in the show. They dated in 2007, reunited in 2017, married in 2019, and split in 2022.
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Brian Austin Green and Sharna Burgess
Green and pro dancer Burgess were romantically linked before he joined Season 30 as her celebrity partner, so the ballroom did not start their relationship. A September 2026 TV Insider feature describes them as engaged and sharing a son.
Derek Hough and Hayley Erbert
Hough and dancer Erbert began dating in 2015; Erbert joined the DWTS troupe the following season. Their relationship therefore predated her show role. The cited coverage reports that they became engaged and married.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Pairings described as rumors or not a relationship
Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber
Tran and pro dancer Farber were paired in Season 33. Life & Style describes dating speculation around their closeness and social-media posts, but the account does not establish a confirmed relationship. They belong in a roundup of rumored pairings, not a list presented as confirmed romances.
Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater
Umansky and Slater were partners in Season 32. Their hand-holding prompted romance rumors, and Slater spoke about their connection and mutual support. The cited account does not establish a lasting confirmed relationship, so the reports should remain framed as speculation.
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Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko
Model Nader and pro dancer Savchenko were Season 33 partners. Coverage described flirtation and reported kissing, but in September 2024 Nader told E! News, “We’re not in a relationship. I have so many mixed feelings about it. I’m newly single, so we’re having a really nice time.” Life & Style reported another split in spring 2025. Those reports do not support calling them a confirmed, ongoing couple.
Why dance chemistry is not proof of a romance
Close choreography and convincing chemistry are part of a performance, not evidence by themselves that partners are dating. In a TIME interview, pro Val Chmerkovskiy explained: “You have to translate that chemistry on the dance floor and make their personalities shine.” That context matters when reading social-media speculation about contestants and pros.
Why the headline says 17 but the list has 16
The 2025 Life & Style article enumerates 16 entries. The cited coverage does not establish a reliable seventeenth couple, so adding another name would risk turning an unverified rumor into fact. The 16 entries above preserve the distinction between confirmed relationships and speculation rather than treating every dance partnership as a romance.
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