Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater are setting the record straight on their romance rumors amid his separation from his wife Kyle Richards.
In an Instagram Story video shared on Thursday, Umanksy and Slater squashed speculation about their relationship after they were photographed leaving a sushi restaurant in Beverly Hills on Sunday.
Photos obtained by appeared to show the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star, 53, and the Dancing with the Stars pro, 34, smiling and laughing as they held hands after leaving the establishment.
Wanting to “address” the speculation, the DWTS partners appeared on video and claimed they were simply “really good friends” after bonding during their grueling rehearsal sessions for the show.
“We are not dating,” Umansky began. “We are really good friends. We’ve been dancing together now for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day.”
“It’s intense, like you really form a very, very special bond and I think we have similar personalities,” Slater agreed, noting how their relationship is “super supportive.”
“We’re definitely there for each other and it’s beautiful. That’s a great thing,” she added.
“You know, just to clarify, 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,” the real estate mogul continued.
Umansky explained that the duo had been preparing their routine for “Most Memorable Year” night which became “very intense” and “very emotional.”
“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 hands,” he said. “And she grabbed my hands and then we walked, you know, to the cars just recapping and summarizing.”
“The paparazzi caught, you know, that moment and it’s become a blown-out moment,” he added before concluding the video with hopes to “crush” the Argentine Tango this week.
The duo’s clarification comes hours after Richards appeared on Wednesday’s episode of Watch What Happens Live and addressed the photos of her husband holding hands with Slater, admitting she felt “taken aback.”
“That was very hard to see,” the reality star, 54, told host Andy Cohen.
“Yeah, that was, I mean, yes, that hurt my feelings,” Richards continued, after confirming to the Bravo mogul that she was upset. “I love him very much and we are amicable but that really did hurt me.”
In July, Umansky and Richards had separated after 27 years of marriage. The pair later issued a joint statement on Instagram addressing the news, sharing that they had faced “the most challenging” year of their near three-decade relationship.
“In regards to the news that came out about us today… Any claims regarding divorcing are untrue,” the statement said. “However, yes, we have had a rough year. The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously.”
“There has been no wrongdoing on anyone’s part. Although we are in the public eye, we ask to be able to work through our issues privately. While it may be entertaining to speculate, please do not create false stories to fit a further salacious narrative,” they continued, thanking people for their love and support.
