Perfect Match star Dom Gabriel is setting the record straight about recent online rumors about his friend Harry Jowsey and Rylee Arnold.
Jowsey, 27, attended the taping of Dancing With the Stars’ Soul Train night episode — which will air on October 8 — on Tuesday, October 1. Shortly after, social media was flooded with rumors that Jowsey tried and failed to talk with Arnold, 19, after the show.
According to online speculation, Arnold avoided Jowsey before being pulled away by her friend and fellow DWTS season 33 pro Ezra Sosa. However, Gabriel is claiming that the rumors are simply false.
“This literally never happened 😂,” Gabriel — who starred alongside Jowsey on season 3 of Netflix’s Perfect Match — commented on a Wednesday, October 2, TikTok video about the alleged drama.
Neither Jowsey nor Arnold have publicly addressed the rumors. Us Weekly has reached out to the pair’s reps for comment.
Arnold was partnered with the Too Hot to Handle alum for her debut DWTS season last year. Throughout season 32, the pair sparked romance rumors for their underdog attitude and strong chemistry on and off the ballroom floor.
“We just enjoy hanging out and we love each other, so it’s been great,” Jowsey told Entertainment Tonight in October 2023, noting that they wanted to “keep the mystery” of their relationship status.
Jowsey further gushed about Arnold in an exclusive interview with Us Weekly that same month, sharing, “She’s never in a bad mood and she’s always bubbly and brings me up when I’m feeling a little bit flat, or in my head about things, and knows when to sit me down and talk me out of whatever hump I’m in. I feel like everyone needs that in a person in their life. She’s everything you could ever dream of.”
The dancing duo were eliminated from the competition in November 2023, coming in sixth place overall. They performed together again on select dates of the DWTS 2024 live tour.
Jowsey surprised fans in May by revealing he had a secret girlfriend, who was not Arnold, during his time on the ABC competition series. “I’m sorry if this answer breaks some hearts, but I’m here to confirm once and for all, Rylee and I have never been [in] any type of relationship,” he shared on his “Boyfriend Material” podcast. “We never leaned into it. We never were putting on an act or anything like that. It was just organic. … What you saw is kind of how it was. That was just amazing love and amazing friendship, and just an amazing bond that we had together.”
He went on to find love with Jessica Vestal on Perfect Match season 2, which premiered in June, but their romance didn’t survive post-show. During a July episode of “The Viall Files” podcast, Vestal, 30, shared that Jowsey began filming DWTS “right away” after they got back from Perfect Match.
Vestal also revealed that they broke up one day after Jowsey was spotted holding hands with Arnold at an October 2023 Tate McRae concert. “I was so mad, I was sad, but I was like, ‘Whatever,’” she said. “And [their] TikToks [together] bothered me because I just made a TikTok.”
Vestal said she understood the idea of Jowsey and Arnold potentially playing up romance rumors for viewership. However, “If you want to do that, it’s not respectful to me,” she stated. “Even if no one else besides you and I know we’re together.”
Vestal wrapped the discussion by noting that none of the drama should be placed on Arnold. “She might not have even known if she was in a relationship [and] she was doing her job,” the Love Is Blind alum said. “It was an incredible first season for both of them.”
Dancing With the Stars returns on ABC and Disney+ with back-to-back episodes on Tuesday, October 8, and Wednesday, October 9 at 8 p.m. ET.
