Emma Slater and Alan Bersten confirmed their romance in April of last year when they shared a kiss on stage after wrapping up DWTS: Live! 2025. Now, the two are back in the ballroom competing against one another on season 35 of “Dancing With the Stars.”
After premiere week, both Bersten and Slater were saved by judges’ scores and fan votes to move on to Week 2. Bersten is paired with celebrity chef Giada De Laurentiis and Slater with Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson.
With the somewhat new couple competing against each other on DWTS, fans may be wondering what their relationship looks like when they go head-to-head in the ballroom.
Emma Slater Gets Honest About Dating Alan Bersten While Both Compete on DWTS
GettyAfter Emma Slater and Savannah Bananas star Jackson Olson showcased their dance moves on the ballroom floor during night one of the “Dancing With the Stars” premiere, Slater opened up to E! News about how she navigates her relationship with pro Alan Bersten while competing against each other this season.
Slater told the outlet that she and Bersten would actually help each other improve their dances by offering honest feedback instead of letting their competition get in the way.
“We’ll watch each other’s videos; we’ll help each other choreograph; we’ll ask each other’s opinion, and we always come from, like, an honest, like, let me help you place. And it’s actually really helpful because you have a support and you have a team member who knows how to go through this because this is a crazy world,” she said.
Slater and Bersten also supported one another during last season of DWTS, when Slater was partnered with Andy Ritcher and Bersten with Elaine Hendrix. Slater and Ritcher ultimately placed seventh while Bersten and Hendrix finished in fifth.
That year, Slater told People about her and Bersten’s dynamic going into DWTS, “Alan came into our dance rehearsal and helped out with some things. I came into their dance rehearsal, helped out. It’s great to be supportive like that.”
DWTS Real-Life Couples
GettySlater and Bersten aren’t the only pros who have fallen in love while working together. According to People, Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy first met when she was a troupe member for DWTS in 2014. Four years later, the couple got engaged and married in 2019. Johnson and Chmerkovskiy welcomed a son named Rome in 2023.
Like Slater and Bersten, the married couple doesn’t view working together on the show as a head-to-head competition and instead take pride in seeing each other succeed, including when Johnson won the Mirrorball trophy with “Bachelor” star Joey Graziadei in season 33.
“If it’s his win, it’s my win, essentially. You know, the trophy’s coming home to our home. But no, I love being able to have this partner in crime on the show. He’s my biggest cheerleader. I feel like I’m his biggest cheerleader,” she told HollywoodLife.com.
Daniella Karagach and Pasha Pashkov are also a real-life couple on DWTS that fans adore. However, this couple were long married before they joined the show, having wed in 2014, per Us Weekly.
Karagach and Pashkov have also leaned on one another for support while dancing on DWTS. During day one of premiere night, Karagach called her husband her “teammate.”
“We’re not competing against each other, literally he’s my teammate. He’s my partner. He’s my rock,” she told E! News, adding, “It’s just never a competition. He’s either helping me or I’m helping him.”
