Social media personality Harry Jowsey and first-year pro dancer Rylee Arnold took Season 32 of Dancing with the Stars by storm. Many fans were relieved to watch them eliminated on Tuesday, Nov. 21 during Taylor Swift Week, but the buzz surrounding these two continues to swirl. The couple was criticized for weeks prior as they stayed in the competition while stars with better dancing skills and higher judge scores were sent home. So how was this couple able to stay in the competition for so long?
From week one, the internet saw the chemistry between the pair and speculated a potential relationship between them. This stirred up controversy as Arnold just recently turned 18 in June, while Jowsey is 26 years old. Both Arnold and Jowsey leaned into this narrative, constantly posting on social media platforms together and attending social events together outside of Dancing with the Stars. This ruse kept fans invested in their journey and, despite having the lowest scores almost every week, the couple managed to make it all the way to week nine of the competition because of fan votes.
After their elimination, fan speculation increased as Jowsey and Arnold were continuously spotted together in public (for example, Jowsey spent Thanksgiving with the Arnold family). Jowsey even gifted Arnold a gold and diamond Van Cleef and Arpels Vintage Alhambra bracelet worth nearly $15K that she showcases in her “Get Ready with Me” videos on TikTok and is often spotted wearing in public appearances.
However, Arnold debunked the dating rumors on the Lightweights podcast saying, “My family always goes all out for Thanksgiving. All the games. So, I was like, ‘Harry’s got to join. He’s got to have a Thanksgiving this year.’ So, he came along.” However, the pictures of the couple from the holiday and Instagram stories of him playing with her nieces and nephews were giving serious more-than-just-friends vibes.
The couple recently appeared on JoJo Siwa’s podcast, JoJo Siwa Now, where they addressed the dating rumors and finally debunked their mid-dance “kiss” during their final performance on the show. While receiving live judge critiques, Jowsey was asked if he kissed Arnold during the dance, to which he responded, “Yeah, a little bit.” However, on Siwa’s podcast, when asked again if the pair shared a mid-dance smooch, Jowsey was quick to respond by saying, “If we were going to kiss in the dance, why would it be in the middle?” Arnold followed his statement with a very sarcastic, “Yeah guys, we kissed in the dance,” which was accompanied by a more serious, “No, we didn’t. I literally just got close to his face.”
Fans, however, didn’t find their explanation convincing enough and grew even more suspicious of their relationship when Jowsey posted a TikTok captioned “A day in the life as a loser on Dancing With The Stars.” Jowsey took viewers along with his day, which ended in attending the live Dancing with the Stars show with Arnold. In the video, he shows them both arriving at the show and some solo clips of Arnold where he said in the video voiceover, “Look how incredible Rylee looks. Like if fireworks were a person, they would be Rylee Arnold. She looks so gorgeous.” Although in the video he continued to compliment several of his other castmates, fans were stuck on the admiration he displayed towards Arnold specifically.
With their continued public appearances and social media posts together, fans refuse to believe Jowsey and Arnold’s chemistry was just a ruse for the show. Why would they keep it up after they had already been eliminated? Although we don’t know for sure, it’s important to remember that both individuals do social media work for a living, and they know how to generate numbers. If their connection was convincing enough to save them from elimination on the show, who knows if they’re just continuing the act to increase their popularity and followings on other platforms?
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