Mauricio Umansky and Emma Slater are finally addressing those seemingly loved-up photos.
The Dancing With the Stars partners took to Umansky's Instagram Stories on Thursday, October 26, to clarify the nature of their relationship after rumors swirled that the real estate broker and Slater were more than friends.
"We do want to address this story, this whole thing that's going out and about, about whether Emma and I are dating," explained Umansky, who is currently separated from wife Kyle Richards. "About whether we went out on a date. For full clarity, we are not dating."
"We're not dating," emphasized the professional dancer, who was seen holding hands and seemingly packing on the PDA with the Buying Beverly Hills star at dinner earlier this week.
"We are really good friends. We've been dancing together for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day," Umansky continued.
"Guys you don't understand, it's intense. Like you really form a very, very special bond. And I think we're similar personalities, so we've got a super supportive relationship. We're definitely there for each other. And it's beautiful, that's a great thing," Slater added.
The Bravo star then took a moment to specify what was happening in the photos in question. "We went to a restaurant to go get some sushi right after rehearsal, we were in our rehearsal clothes," he alleged.
"Lots of the stories are wrong. And yes, it's a very emotional week, 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 hand, and she grabbed my hand," Umansky continued.
"And then we walked to the cars," he added of the moment the cameras started snapping away. "Just recapping and then the paparazzi caught that moment and it's become a blown-out moment."
As OK! previously reported, after the infamous photos made the rounds, Richards admitted she was "taken aback" by her estranged spouse looking like he was falling for someone else.
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"That was very hard to see. It hurt my feelings. I don't know if anything has happened yet, but obviously there's something there, and listen, I love him very much — and we are amicable — but that really did hurt me," she admitted to Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Earlier this year, Richards and Umansky — who share daughters Alexia Umansky, 27, Sophia Umansky, 23, and Portia Umansky, 15 — officially separated after 27 years of marriage.
