Mauricio Umansky Calls Emma Slater a ‘Great Confidant’ Amid Romance Rumors: ‘Going Through a Lot’

Mauricio Umansky opened up about his journey on Dancing With the Stars after he was sent home on Tuesday, October 31, and revealed that he was “going through a lot” in his personal life. Thankfully, he had partner Emma Slater to help him find the courage to keep dancing before their week 6 exit.

“Emma has been a great friend, a great coach, a great confidant, and emotionally, it's just been a great journey as well. So, on every aspect, it's been solid,” Mauricio, 53, told People at the live show. “Kyle [Richards] has been supportive. Despite the fact that she hasn't been here, she's had her own stuff going on and what have you, but everybody's been super supportive.”

Beyond the hardships, the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills husband left the show with a “tremendous” weight loss transformation.

“Since I started this journey, I had just gotten back from Italy, so I was eating a lot of pasta, [and] I was drinking a lot of wine,” he shared with the outlet. “I've been on a great diet; I've lost 20 pounds in six weeks. I'm [in] as good physical shape as I've ever been.”

Mauricio joined the DWTS cast in the midst of public marriage woes with his estranged wife, Kyle, 54. Reports claimed that the pair split after 27 years of marriage on July 3, but the ?duo quickly shot down the chatter.

“In regards to the news that came out about us today … Any claims regarding divorcing are untrue. However, yes, we have had a rough year,” Kyle and Mauricio wrote in a joint statement the following day. “The most challenging one of our marriage. But we both love and respect each other tremendously.”

That being said, the Buying Beverly Hills star cleared the air and admitted that he and Kyle were in fact “separated” on September 29.

“Kyle and I are human beings, OK? We have emotions, we have feelings, we’re going through a really hard time, OK?” he said in a TMZ video. “We are currently separated; we are not talking about divorce and we’re trying to deal with this stuff internally with ourselves privately.”

While his marriage was seemingly holding by on a thread, fans noticed Mauricio and DWTS partner Emma, ?34, were getting cozy outside of their sexy performances.

On October 22, Mauricio and Emma were seen holding hands after going to dinner together. Fans were shocked that a possible showmance was brewing, but the two debunked the chatter and claimed they “are really good friends.”

“[We] went to a restaurant to go get some sushi right after rehearsal,” Mauricio said in a video via Instagram Stories on October 26 alongside the professional dancer. “We’ve been dancing together now for six weeks, four hours a day, every single day.”

The day prior, Kyle admitted it was “very hard to see” the PDA photos of her estranged husband and another woman and also deleted recent posts of Mauricio off of her Instagram account.

“very hard to see. I just don’t think you hold hands like that [if you’re friends],” she told Andy Cohen during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live. “I don’t know if anything has happened yet, but obviously, there is something there.”