Mauricio Umansky said he wasn’t holding hands with Emma Slater in a paparazzi photo that was taken when he was a contestant on “Dancing With the Stars.”
The Agency founder was partnered with the pro dancer for DWTS season 32 just a few months after confirming his separation from “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” star Kyle Richards.
In October 2023, TMZ posted a photo in which it appeared that Umansky, 53, and Slater, 35 were holding hands. A source with “direct knowledge” told the outlet that the two were coming from a dinner together where they engaged in a “deep conversation” about Umansky’s emotional Most Memorable Year dance.
Months later, Umansky is still being asked about the hand-holding. Speaking with USA Today on March 22, 2204, he said he has no regrets—because it never happened!
“If you look at the photos, we’re actually not holding hands, which is quite funny,” Umansky said. “They try to make it look like we are, but we’re actually not. We were dancing together for 12 weeks. She’s become a very close friend of mine, and that’s it. We danced together through a period that was difficult, and we had a great time.”
Mauricio Umansky Previously Stated That He Did Hold Emma Slater’s Hand
Heavy/ABCMauricio Umansky and Emma Slater.
Umansky’s story is slightly different than what he said at the time the photo first surfaced. Days after the photo was posted online, Umansky and Slater spoke out in an Instagram story and denied that they had a romantic relationship.
According to Page Six, Umansky first clarified that he and Slater were not dating. He then explained that the two went out for sushi after rehearsal. During the dinner, they discussed the “emotional” Most Memorable Year dance.
“When we came out of dinner, we were recapping and I reached out to grab Emma’s hand, and she grabbed my hand, and we, you know, walked to the cars just recapping and summarizing and then the paparazzi caught that moment,” Umansky said. “It’s become a blown-out moment,”
Umansky’s estranged wife was not happy about the photo. During an appearance on “Watch What Happens Live” Richards admitted she was “taken aback” by the photo of her husband and Slater holding hands. “The thing is this, I don’t know if anything’s happened yet. But obviously, there’s something there,” she said last fall.
Richards addressed the situation again during the “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” season 13 reunion. The Bravo star said it did “not feel good” to see the photo of her husband of 27 years seemingly holding hands with Slater off of the dance floor. While Richards noted she and Umansky are separated and “allowed to do what we want, each of us,” she added, “It’s weird because we live together in the same house. So it’s sort of like ‘What are you doing?’”
She also said Umansky’s steamy dance routine with Slater was “very hard” for her to watch.
Mauricio Umansky Said There Was No Infidelity in His Marriage
GettyMauricio Umansky and Kyle Richards.
There have been a lot of rumors about infidelity in Richard and Umansky’s marriage, including gossip that Richards, 55, had an affair with singer Morgan Wade, 29.
On the second season of his Netflix reality show “Buying Beverly Hills, “ Umansky even jokes that he’s “happy” that the rumors are about Richards having an affair and not him. “I’m happy about that too. Better me than you again,” Richards claps back.
In a confessional Umansky later says, “There’s a lot of rumors that Kyle is sleeping around with Morgan. I don’t believe she’s got anything going on with Morgan. Maybe I’m the only dumb [expletive] that doesn’t. I don’t believe it.”
Speaking with USA Today, Umansky said that “there was no infidelity” in the marriage, despite Richards’ comment during the RHOBH reunion that she lost “trust.”
“That was not what caused any of that stuff,” Umansky said. “Everybody knows she’s a jealous person. Neither of us did anything that makes us hate each other.”
He also said he’s still “navigating” his separation. “I have not been running around dating,” Umansky said. “I am not interested in being a playboy. One of these days I’m going to start dating, I can tell you that for sure.”
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