Who Is Nyle DiMarco Of ‘Dancing With The Stars’ Season 22?

Nyle DiMarco will have people talking this spring on Dancing With the Stars. Season 22 will feature Nyle along with a bevy of buzzworthy contestants and this is shaping up to be a very competitive group. What do DWTS fans need to know about this new contestant?

Fans of America’s Next Top Model are already familiar with Nyle DiMarco, as he competed on cycle 22 last year and won, notes People. DiMarco is deaf, which will make him the second deaf Dancing With the Stars contestant the show has had. Many will remember that actress Marlee Matlin competed on season 6 with pro Fabian Sanchez. Nyle is partnered with pro Peta Murgatroyd for his spin around the dance floor.

After winning America’s Next Top Model, DiMarco said that he hoped his win would inspire others in the deaf community to pursue the careers they desired, and he indicated that he hoped to further pursue modeling and other entertainment industry gigs after the show. He has appeared in several episodes of the ABC Family show Switched at Birth, and has expressed an interest in tackling other television gigs as well.

The Queens, New York-native comes from a multi-generational deaf family, his website details. Nyle attended Gallaudet University, a liberal arts university in Washington, D.C. for deaf students. In addition to his modeling and acting, DiMarco has done a great deal of advocacy work related to literacy, bullying, and in connection to the deaf community.

As Entertainment Tonight shared, Nyle was just the second male winner of America’s Next Top Model across 22 seasons, and he was ultimately the final winner for the show, as that was the last cycle put together. After his win, he said he was intent on breaking more barriers and America’s Next Top Model star Tyra Banks said that DiMarco was beautiful both on the outside and on the inside.

Some Dancing With the Stars fans will surely wonder if Nyle is single or involved with someone. After his win was revealed in December, DiMarco said he was single and focused on his career. Nyle has described his sexuality as “fluid,” and though he had been in a long-term relationship on-and-off for a decade, DiMarco recently indicated that right now he doesn’t feel that he can give a relationship what it needs to succeed.

Nyle has a twin brother named Nico, Bustle notes, and this new Dancing With the Stars contestant says that he has an interest in someday getting a master’s degree and turning to teaching. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and he worked with a developer to create the ASL App that helps teach American Sign Language.

What about DiMarco’s partner on Dancing With the Stars? Peta Murgatroyd had to sit out season 21 due to ankle surgery, but she was a pro in seasons 13 through 20 before that. She won with Donald Driver in her second outing with the show, and came in fourth with James Maslow on his season. Additional partners have included Bachelor Sean Lowe, Tommy Chong, Michael Sam, Brant Daugherty, Metta World Peace, and Gilles Marini. DWTS fans also know that she is now engaged to former pro Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Val’s brother.

Could Nyles and Peta score the season 22 mirror-ball trophy this spring? It will be a tough competition this time around, as other contestants include football great Doug Flutie, Fuller House star Jodie Sweetin, Good Morning America star Ginger Zee, and a host of others. However, fans of Nyle DiMarco are ready to vote and cannot wait to see how he does with Peta Murgatroyd this spring on Dancing With the Stars.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mEkwIxgINIc

[Photo by Joshua Blanchard/Getty Images]