Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater are trying to tone down their very real ‘chemistry’ while out in public in a bid to keep their ‘budding romance’ under wraps – after his ex-wife Kyle Richards admitted she was ‘hurt’ by their recent public token of affection.
Both Mauricio, 53, and Emma, 34, are recently single, with the real estate mogul recently splitting from Kyle, 54, after 27 years, while Emma filed for divorce from husband Sasha Farber, 39.
So with the pair looking incredibly flirty, rumors of a romance quickly began to spread – with insiders now telling DailyMail.com that the speculation was right on the money, while insisting the ‘chemistry’ between them is anything but a spectacle’.
“Dancing with the Stars has a long history of factual arrangements and showmanship that have never been revealed – all of which help build ratings,” they told DailyMail.com exclusively.
“But with Emma and Mauricio, there is an attraction and chemistry between them that is real.
Mauricio Umansky’s ‘blooming romance’ with his Dancing with the Stars partner Emma Slater could be more than just a fake storyline to boost ratings
The couple put on an emotional performance during Tuesday night’s live show – with Mauricio showing off his bare chest and Emma finishing the dance on top of him
The duo were pictured heading out for dinner in Beverly Hills over the weekend
After eating their sushi dinner, Mauricio, 53, and Emma, 34, were seen holding hands
“Their recent hand holding was based on that attraction and now that they’ve been caught, they’re going to reduce the chances of being caught again.”
The pair were pictured holding hands after a three-hour dinner date at Beverly Hills sushi restaurant Matsuhisa on Sunday night, with Emma even appearing to put an arm around Mauricio at one point.
According to the source, Emma and Mauricio are still in the very early stages of their romance and are taking their time to find out if it will develop into a full-fledged relationship.
“It’s a budding romance between them that still needs to be worked out,” the insider added.
‘If it becomes more, fine. If they’re friends again at the end of the show, that’s great too.’
The dancing duo took steps to quell interest in their relationship when they addressed the photos Thursday night, insisting, “Just to be clear, we are not dating.”
Mauricio said in an Instagram story, “We are really good friends, and for the record, we went to a restaurant right after rehearsal to get sushi, we had our rehearsal clothes on. A lot of the stories are wrong, a lot of them.
‘Yes, it’s a very intense week, a very emotional week, we were talking about the week at dinner, and when we came out to dinner we were recapping and I reached out to take Emma’s hand and she took my hand, and as we walked to the cars, you know, just recapping and recapping, and then the paparazzi caught that moment and it became a blown-out moment.”
Emma joked: ‘And then suddenly we’re dating.’
Shortly after the photos were published, Kyle deleted a photo from her Instagram account that had been posted in support of Mauricio’s time on the show.
Emma even seemed to put an arm around Mauricio as she leaned against him
Mauricio and his estranged wife Kyle Richards split earlier this year after 27 years of marriage
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star admitted she was hurt after seeing photos of her estranged husband holding hands with his professional partner
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star later spoke about her “pain” over the images as she gave her first tell-all interview since she and Mauricio announced their divorce in July.
“I was surprised,” Kyle told Watch What Happens Live on Wednesday night. ‘That was very difficult to see. Yes, that hurt my feelings.
“I just don’t think you hold hands like that.”
Fellow guest Teddi Mellancamp, 34, added: “They’re in Beverly Hills. It’s not like they’re in a remote location. They are located in the middle of Beverly Hills. You know photographers are going to follow you.”
Kyle continued, “I don’t know if anything has happened yet, but clearly something has. Listen, I love him very much and we are friendly, but that really hurt me.’
She also said that they still live under the same roof, but in separate rooms.
Earlier this week, Mauricio and Emma performed an emotional barefoot contemporary dance on Dancing with the Stars. Mauricio, with his shirt open and his bare chest showing, turned Emma onto his shoulders, before they ended the song with Emma lies on top of him.
He dedicated the performance to the year 1996 – when he married Kyle – and told Emma: ‘We were married.’
He remembered how he had just been fired at the time and they were living in a two-bedroom apartment with two of their children.
Emma filed for divorce from Sasha Farber earlier this year; pictured 2016
Fans began to speculate that Kyle had started dating country singer Morgan Wade, 28, after her divorce
“I was a young man with two daughters and after I was laid off, my wife clipped coupons to make ends meet,” he continued. “It was just an extremely emotional moment in my life. I felt like an absolute failure of a human being.
“I walked into the house, I saw Kyle, I started crying, she grabbed me and said, ‘You’ve always wanted to work in real estate, let’s see it as an opportunity to change.’
“The truth is, it ended up being the best experience in the world.”
“Great,” Emma replied.
The estranged couple announced their split in a joint statement in July, telling fans they had had a “challenging” year.
“We both love and respect each other immensely,” the statement read. “Nothing was done wrong by anyone.”
Kyle has since been embroiled in romance rumors with country singer Morgan Wade, 28.
But she shut down any speculation during her interview on Wednesday night, claiming Morgan is simply “one of (her) best, best friends in the world” as she revealed they bonded during their early morning workouts.
“I met (Wade) through Instagram,” she said. “When I see these things (online) I think, if she didn’t have all those tattoos, people wouldn’t say that. I’m with my friends all the time. They don’t pay attention (to that).”