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Dancing With the Stars <\/span><\/i><\/a>pair Mauricio Umansky<\/strong><\/a> and Emma Slater<\/strong><\/a> shut down ongoing dating rumors after they were spotted holding hands<\/a> outside a Beverly Hills restaurant.<\/span><\/p>\n Mauricio, 53, and Emma, 34, were practicing their upcoming Argentine Tango routine from a dance studio in New York City when they took to his Instagram Story to address the rumors on Thursday, October 26. \u201cWe do want to address, you know, this story and this whole thing that\u2019s going out about, you know, whether or not Emma and I are dating, whether we went out on a date,\u201d Mau began.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFor full clarity, we are not dating. We are really good friends. We\u2019ve been dancing together now for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day,\u201d he continued, before the U.K. native added, \u201cIt\u2019s intense. You really form a very, very special bond and I think we have similar personalities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite a 19-year age difference, the dance partners seemingly went on a dinner date in Los Angeles on October 22 as they were photographed holding hands as they exited Matsuhisa. However, the real estate broker clarified that they simply \u201cwent to a restaurant to go get some sushi right after rehearsal.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLots of the stories are wrong,\u201d Mauricio \u2013 who is estranged from wife Kyle Richards<\/strong><\/a> \u2013 added. \u201cWe had a very intense week, 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\u2019s hand and she grabbed my hand and then we walked, you know, to the cars just recapping and summarizing. And then, you know, the paparazzi caught that moment and it\u2019s become a blown out moment.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n After photos from their night out surfaced online, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills<\/em> <\/a>star, 54, opened up to Andy Cohen on the Wednesday, October 25, episode of Watch What Happens Live<\/em>, saying it was \u201cvery hard to see\u201d the photos.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat hurt my feelings<\/a>,\u201d Kyle added. \u201cI just don\u2019t think you hold hands like that [if you\u2019re friends]. I don\u2019t know if anything has happened yet, but obviously, there is something there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Despite their separation<\/a>, Mauricio dedicated his dance<\/a> from the Tuesday, October 24, episode of Dancing With the Stars<\/em> to his estranged wife.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cTonight\u2019s Dance on @dancingwiththestars is about life and how it\u2019s not always perfect and when you think it\u2019s impossible to move mountains and you\u2019re at your lowest moment and you think all doors are closed you need to rise up and rise unafraid and move mountains,\u201d the <\/span>Buying Beverly Hills <\/span><\/i>star captioned a series of photos via Instagram earlier that day. \u201cMy time was 1996<\/a> when Kyle and I got married and Alexia was born. We had Farrah and Alexia. I was 26 when I was fired from my job and was broke. Kyle was my rock and together we rose up and we rose up 1000 x and we moved mountains a lot of them. It\u2019s been an incredible journey. Tonight\u2019s dance is dedicated to Kyle and my family.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n