Yee-haw! Dancing With the Stars pro Alan Bersten finally kissed his partner, Alexis Ren, on the country-themed episode on Monday, November 5.
“I’m in a place where we worked so hard for this amazing journey together, and I’m afraid I will mess that up in some way. But I’ve never had an experience like this,” the choreographer, 24, told the model, 21, in the video package that played before their dance. “It’s so easy to just hang out with you and have fun and not worry about everything else.”
Bersten continued, “I do have feelings for you. And I really feel like I am falling for you.”
The video ended with the new couple sharing a sweet kiss and gazing into each other’s eyes on a ranch.
A week earlier, Ren admitted that she was starting to develop feelings for her pro partner.
“I didn’t see this one coming,” she said at the time. “It happened really quickly, though, so I think I’m still trying to process it.”
During rehearsals that week, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2018 Rookie of the Year addressed the “elephant in the room.” She told Bersten, “We have chemistry, and so I just needed to point that out.”
A source later told Us Weekly exclusively, “Alexis’ feelings for Alan are real! She adores him. … He thinks she’s super sweet and beautiful.”
The pair’s competitors have shown nothing but support for their budding romance. “We have two hot, single people together,” Cheryl Burke told Us and other reporters on Monday. “I mean, the show should be a dating show!”
Bersten and Ren showed affection off camera, too. “Alexis and Alan practiced together backstage and they were very lovey-dovey,” an eyewitness told Us on Monday. “He had his hand around her in a very flirtatious way, and they were constantly touching each other. They were very smiley and giggly.”
A source confirms to Us that Ren has broken two ribs during her time on the show so far. She powered through Monday night’s live show despite her injuries.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC Mondays at 8 p.m. ET.
Reporting by Emily Marcus
