DWTS' Rylee Arnold Confirms Relationship With USC Player Walker Lyons

Dancing With The Stars pro Rylee Arnold has a new boyfriend, and this time around, fans are far more approving than they were of her alleged "showmance."

On Sunday (October 27), Rylee shared a photograph with University Of Southern California freshman football player Walker Lyons on Instagram.

Rylee, now 19, was previously the subject of controversial "showmance" rumors involving Too Hot To Handle's Harry Jowsey during Season 32.

Those rumors resurfaced earlier this month, when Harry was spotted skulking around the DWTS set on October 1 — Dancing With The Stars was preempted on that date to accommodate the 2024 vice presidential debate, but an episode was filmed nevertheless.

Even though DWTS was not on the reality TV schedule that night, fans caught some on-set action via social media, spotted Harry, and went ballistic.

At the time, we explained why fans were peeved at seeing Harry on-set (and near Rylee):

"To make a long story short, Harry partnered with Dancing With The Stars: Juniors alumna Rylee Arnold in Season 32 — and as her previous credit suggests, she was just 18 at the time.

"Rylee was introduced to the audience as a teenager from Utah, whereas Harry appeared on Netflix's Too Hot To Handle, and he has a reputation for being ... a womanizer ...

" ... Throughout Season 32, Dancing With The Stars fans interpreted Harry and Rylee's chemistry as a sign they were an item, and 'dating rumors' were persistent."

Viewers retained the impression Harry toyed with Rylee's emotions, and felt protective over the young dance pro — but that doesn't mean they think she shouldn't date more appropriate guys, like Walker Lyons.

Rylee And Walker Are Now 'Instagram Official'

Rylee's Instagram post about Walker was captioned "Is this a hard launch?"

In modern dating parlance, a "hard launch" tends to refer to outright confirmation of a romantic relationship, whereas a "soft launch" is something more indirect or open to interpretation.

On Monday, US Magazine profiled Walker Lyons, noting that he shares Rylee's Mormon faith:

"While [Rylee] has been open about being a member of Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, [Walker] is a Mormon too.

"Lyons' USC bio reveals that he graduated high school in 2022 and served a mission in Norway before starting at the university."

It's not clear how long Rylee and Walker have been an item, but a couple of days after Harry was spied on-set, Rylee mentioned having gone on a recent date in a TikTok post.

Instagram comments were incredibly supportive, especially those from Rylee's DWTS castmates.

Her Season 33 partner Steven Nedoroscik (also known as "Pommel Horse Guy") remarked:

OHHHH SHOOT SHE DID IT GO RYLEE

Fellow pro Ezra Sosa also weighed in, saying: "You deserve the best, and he treats like the queen you are. So happy for you."