Despite what you may believe about Sharna Burgess and Bonner Bolton, the Dancing With the Stars duo want you to know that looks (and producers) can be deceiving.
After steaming up the ballroom with their dreamy Viennese waltz, the bull rider and his partner spoke with E! News about the romance rumors that have surrounded them since the competition began last week, and they're looking to set the record straight.
"It's all a part of playing the character, for sure," Bonner admitted, chalking up those sparks flying to good old fashioned faking. "You've got to practice your acting skills."
"Which we practiced a lot this week," Sharna added. "We talked a lot about breaking down characters and bringing across a tormented romance that was a little bit one-sided. It's all about acting at the same time as dancing. If people feel like maybe we were having a romantic relationship, then we did our job in our dance, right?"
And as for their supposed date night last week? Turns out it was all a part of their package for the show.
Sharna and Bonner first got tongues wagging after their debut performance during last week's season 24 premiere when Bonner put his arm around his partner's waist and appeared to rest his hand right on her crotch. Sharna quickly took to Twitter to chastise anyone assuming it was an intentional move on Bonner's part for being "straight up stupid." She was a bit more diplomatic with us.
"It was kind of an intense week," she said, reflecting on #Handgate. "On the bright side, our cha cha has over a million hits on YouTube, which is a record for us, I think, in the first week of Dancing With the Stars. And everybody got to know Bonner and now I'm sure everyone understands that he is a total Southern gentleman and something got blown way out of proportion."
"100 percent," Bonner agreed. "I have all the respect in the world for her, on and off the dance floor. She's a great instructor."
For more from the pair, including what Bonner's friends back home think about his time in the competition so far, be sure to check out the video above.
What do you think about Bonner and Sharma's chemistry? Is it the real deal or just some seriously good acting? Sound off in the comments below!
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.