Dancing with the Stars is officially underway once again following the big premiere of Season 26 on April 30 – and so are the dating rumors surrounding the professionals and the celebrities. Professional dancer Sharna Burgess is now opening up to Entertainment Tonight about the swirling rumors she and her partner Josh Norman could be dating, joking that she’s being hit with the romance speculation because she’s the only single one left in the group.
After seeing DWTS fans take to social media to will the twosome together, Sharna told the site that there’s definitely nothing romantic going on between herself and the football player who she’s dancing with on the currently airing athletes-only season.
“I am the only single woman on the show,” Burgess joked to the outlet this week when asked about all the romance rumors surrounding herself and Norman. “So naturally if there is anyone that people are gonna think there is a showmance for, I am your girl, apparently.”
Sharna – who has seen a whole lot of DWTS success over the years dancing with her celebrity partners including Backstreet Boys singer Nick Carter and professional race car driver James Hinchcliffe, who both came in second place – then made it very clear that she and her latest partner most definitely aren’t a couple.
“What would our shipping name even be?” Sharna mused during the ET interview before hitting back that they could be called “#TeamNoWeAreNotDating!” because they’re not together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcIwzHvPpVg
But while they may not be a couple, Burgess hasn’t been shy about her admiration for the athlete, who’s a cornerback for the Washington Redskins – and his body – across social media.
Talking about their first dance – the Cha Cha – on the show, the DWTS pro teased that she was pretty happy to see her partner’s abs.
“We got some tricks in it, some wow moments all within the rules and obviously abs,” Burgess joked before the duo officially took to the ballroom together for the first time. “I mean, what do you want more from Cha Cha, Bruno Mars, fantastic!”
Following their first dance together during the April 30 premiere of Dancing with the Stars , Sharna took to Instagram to share two photos of herself and her dance partner. She shared the snaps with the caption, “The pride is so real, oh my god @jno24 you exceeded any expectations of mine.”
“I’m so excited we are headed to the next round and ain’t nobody ready for what’s coming,” Burgess then adding a kissing emoji to her caption with a strong arm and a 100 emoji before adding their DWTS team hashtag #teambackthatpassup.
Burgess also gushed over her partner in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly , where she admitted that she knows Norman has a soft side despite his bad boy persona on the field.
“[Josh] has this reputation on the field of being a bad boy, but off the field, he really has a soft side. He really has something different to him, a sweetness, a humbleness,” Sharna said of the football player.
The DWTS pro then added of Josh in the interview, “The main reason he’s doing this is because he has a nonprofit and he’s trying to raise money to create a rec center in his hometown because kids no longer have one.”
Dancing with the Stars Season 26 – the athletes-only season – airs on ABC on Monday nights.