DWTSâ Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy Brush Off Rumors They Donât Get Along: âItâs All Loveâ (Exclusive)

Not all Dancing With the Stars partnerships are a match made in ballroom heaven, but thereâs no bad blood between Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy on season 34.
The duo aced their jazz routine to âWhat Is This Feeling?â by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo during Wicked Night on Tuesday, October 21, earning 35 points out of a possible 40. When asked after their performance whether the song choice was a nod to the rumored tension between them, Earle, 24, brushed off the speculation.
âYou know, online, people say a bunch of stuff, but I can say, behind the scenes, itâs all love,â the influencer exclusively told Us Weekly. âI feel like thereâs a lot of fans online this season, which I know is newer and just it keeps growing as the show grows. But Iâm so happy we got the song we did, and it was really fun for us to kind of tap into that.â
Chmerkovskiy, 39, added that there are âbangers throughoutâ the entire Wicked soundtrack, so there were no bad options.
After the competition kicked off in September, rumors swirled online that Earle and Chmerkovskiy werenât on the best terms as they rehearsed. Earle previously shut down the chatter in a âGet Ready With Meâ video last month.
âItâs so funny, because I feel like weâre becoming besties,â she said at the time. âI think we both just have sarcastic personalities and maybe we need to chill that out, because it does make us look like we hate each other.â
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Earle and Chmerkovskiy have successfully put the drama behind them on their path to the mirrorball trophy. Their scores have improved each week, but when it comes to the judgesâ commentary, Earle isnât always able to process the feedback in real time.
âAfter doing a dance, itâs such an adrenaline rush. I black out every time,â she joked to Us on Tuesday. âIâm like, âI donât even remember until I watched the dance back what I did.â But [the] judgesâ comments are so great and so nice, and itâs just encouraging to keep pushing myself and keep pushing us in this dance journey.â
As the competition heats up, Earle is even throwing in her own ideas for choreography. While some fans thought there was a slip-up at the end of their jazz routine â Chmerkovskiy appeared to drop Earle after a big lift â the pair reassured Us it was intentional.
âI was like, âWell, it would be really fun,â because the actual âWhat Is This Feelingâ song ends with a scream and Elphaba thunder ⊠so I was like, âYou should drop me, and then I should, like, come back in front of you and pose,ââ Earle explained. âSo that was something we added a few days ago.â
Chmerkovskiy joked Earle is fully in charge during the rehearsal process, adding, âShe is calling the shots. Sheâs the muse for a lot of our creative juice.â
With Halloween Week on the horizon, Earle is ready to keep challenging herself and working for those perfect 10s.
Dancing With the Stars airs on ABC and Disney+ Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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