Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater's time together in the ballroom may have come to an end, but their friendship will live on forever.
Following their Oct. 31 elimination from Dancing With the Stars, Emma revealed insight into their close bond and plans to stay in each other's lives following season 32 of the ABC competition series.
"I told him, I was like, 'Call me in a week!'" the pro exclusively told E! News backstage. "It's really hard to just drop off from seeing each other for four hours a day to then just not. It's not superficial, we didn't become friends just because we were dancing together."
Rather, they'll be cha-chaing together forever. "I think he's an amazing guy, such a stellar person, a phenomenal human being," she continued. "He's been a really good friend for me and a good support for me." (For more exclusive DWTS interviews, watch E! News tonight, Nov. 1, at 11 p.m.)
And The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star feels the same.
"It's been an incredible experience and I am leaving a dancer," he gushed to E!. "I'm so thrilled, it was an absolutely amazing experience. I wouldn't trade it for anything."
The 53-year-old's kind words weren't lost on Emma, who reacted with, "That makes me happy, because sometimes as a pro, when the journey comes to an end, it's all special and unique. It makes me concerned like, 'How is my celebrity, my friend gonna feel?' But I think that we both understand that we just kind of ride this out as long as it goes and understand the special part of this season is the friendship as well as the memories dancing."
And don't get it twisted: It's just a friendship. After all, just last week they shot down romance rumors.
"We do want to address this story, this whole thing that's going out and about, about whether Emma and I are dating," Mauricio—who is currently separated from wife Kyle Richards—said in an Oct. 26 Instagram Story. "About whether we went out on a date. For full clarity, we are not dating."
Emma echoed with, "We're not dating. We are really good friends. We've been dancing together for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day."
Dancing With the Stars airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on ABC. Keep reading to see Mauricio and more celebrities' incredible DWTS body transformations.
Mauricio Umansky
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star revealed to E! News in October 2023 he dropped 14 pounds in one month after joining season 32 of the competition. And, yes, he proudly showed off his fitter bod on the dancefloor.
During her time on Dancing With the Stars, the former Fifth Harmony songstress shed 10 pounds from her petite frame. As she described to Woman's Day, "I'm small so that 10 pounds really shows and I feel so much more confident in myself, I feel so much stronger, so much healthier, and it really has changed my confidence in myself all around."
Get it, girl! The country music sensation and American Idol alum revealed she lost 25 pounds thanks to the grueling rehearsals that come with competing on DWTS.
"I'd been training in Muay Thai three days a week for about six months (for the next project I'm writing) when I hit pause to dance six hours a day. Now I can rhumba," the actor shared on Instagram alongside a before-and-after photo of his DWTS transformation.
During week two of the competition, the Pretty Little Liars star revealed her 15-pound weight loss. "Now, I'm seeing results," the actress said. "I think most importantly, I'm feeling like me again."
In just a matter of weeks, the HGTV star noticed a change in his body. "I haven't been this trim in probably 15-20 years and I feel great," he told People. "Who knew dancing was such an amazing workout!"
Need a weight loss kickstarter? Dancing With the Stars may be able to help. "I feel like I'm getting super toned," the proud mom dished on her Loveline With Amber Rose podcast on Play.it. "I feel like I've lost probably 10 pounds, maybe 8 pounds already. It's serious."
The television personality dropped 42 pounds in 2009 while competing on the show. "Louis van Amstel and Dancing With the Stars changed my life, and as cheesy and cliché as that sounds, America had the hugest part in that," she told Access Hollywood.
The entertainer impressively lost over 30 pounds on season five of the show, kickstarting her diet which led to a gig as a spokesperson for Nutrisystem.
The famous politician's daughter delighted the audience on DWTS and also shimmied her way into a brand new body!
The brunette beauty shed a considerable amount of weight during season two, having just given birth before she joined the competition.
The comedian experienced a total body transformation from dancing. "I can see it in my face. I can feel it in my whole body. I have lost a lot of weight," she told People in 2010.
"I feel like I look so much better than I used to!" the television star and former Girls Next Door star told Life & Style of her slimmed-down body after placing sixth on the show.
The former talk show host lost inches all over her body and dropped around 20 pounds thanks to grueling dance rehearsals with partner Derek Hough during season 13.
"I did Pilates three days a week and cardio twice. I hated it, but it helped. Once I started dancing, things changed faster than when I was just working out," she told said of her significant weight loss coming off the show in 2007.
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