Showmance or real deal?
That is the question when it comes to bull rider Bonner Bolton and professional dancer Sharna Burgess after the Dancing With the Stars premiere on Monday night, when "handgate" rocked the premiere.
A behind-the-stage moment went viral when Bonner put his arm around Sharna's waist and his arm ended up resting on her crotch. Oops. But still, it was more than just that headline-making moment that had viewers talking, as their chemistry was palpable during their debut performance.
Sharna admitted to E! News that she was rendered "a little bit speechless" and "blushed" for the first time ever on the show over the reaction to their chemistry. But was she really that surprised?
DWTS has been on for 24 seasons, and throughout its long run many pairings have caused are-they-or-aren't-they-hooking-up speculation…and most haven't seemed to mind playing it up for the camera, garnering more public interest—and potential votes—in the process.
"Obviously we have chemistry," Sharna told E! News of her partnership with Bonner. "We're not going to stand here and lie and say we don't, but everyone made such a big deal tonight that I didn't really know what to say to it."
It will be interesting to see how the pair, who are both single, handles their chemistry moving forward.
Romantic speculation surrounding Dancing With the Stars' pairs isn't all that surprising, seeing as how the show's producers prefer chemistry over clashes.
"It's based on height, build and personality and compatibility," showrunner Rob Wade previously told E! News of the pairing process the show goes through each season when it comes to the celebrities and their professional partners. "We don't pair people who aren't going to get on. It's too intense. It's not like The Bachelor or something, we couldn't do that. That would just be miserable experience for the celebrity, for us and the viewer. You don't want to see two people who don't like each other and, quite frankly, we have made that mistake pairing people up who didn't get on so well."
In the past, many celebrities have ended up dating their partner, including Sabrina Bryan and Mark Ballas, Shannon Elizabeth and Derek Hough, Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff, and most recently Robert Herjavec, who wed his season 20 partner Kym Johnson in July 2016. (Of those four pairings, none won the mirrorball trophy.)
But even more stars have played coy when it came to their relationship status while competing, choosing to let viewers and the media speculate about the nature.
Season 18 champion Meryl Davis and her partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, who is now engaged to fellow dancer Peta Murgatroyd, used the interest to their advantage. "We needed that," he told Wendy Williams of their chemistry at the time, with a source telling E! News, "The hype about it has been fun, but it's not real." (In fact, Maks once revealed on the "Allegedly with Theo Von and Matthew Cole Weiss" podcast the only partner he's ever dated is season three partner Willa Ford.)
And speaking of Peta, she played up her showmance with her season 18 partner James Maslow, with the duo claiming they went on several dates before he was cast on the show. While the duo denied they were dating, it didn't stop them from making out during a routine. She also dealt with speculation surrounding her season 17 partnership with actor Brant Daugherty. (She won neither season.)
Cheryl Burke and former football star Chad Ochocinco also played up their relationship in season 10, with Chad constantly flirting with her and buying her expensive gifts. Later, Cheryl denied they dated, but told Wendy Williams (low-key DWTS relationship truther, apparently), "We had a fling. A little flirty fling. Like, a little flirt, flirt. That's it."
In season 19, Val Chmerkovskiy also used the romantic speculation with partner Janel Parrish to fuel votes, once telling E! News, "Whatever feelings I may have for Janel, it just can't be phrased in a bite. I'm sorry, America. Stay tuned." The pair made it to the finals, but lost the mirrorball to Alfonso Ribeiro. Val also didn't seem to mind speculation surrounding his relationship with Rumer Willis, who he went on to win season 20 with, though they never actually dated. (Val would later go on to briefly date Amber Rose, his brother Maks' season 23 partner.)
Still, it's not that surprising to see how speculation and actual sparks could fly, given the long rehearsal hours and intensity of the overall DWTS process, between partners. But whether or not viewers become invested in the potential for romance or exhausted by the spectacle of the showmance is anyone's guess.
Dancing With the Stars airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on ABC.