Throughout season 32 of “Dancing with the Stars,” fans speculated that contestant Harry Jowsey and his partner Rylee Arnold were romantically involved. The two typically played coy about whether there was anything more than friendship developing.
Now, in the first episode of his new podcast, “Boyfriend Material,” Jowsey came clean on what transpired with Arnold. He teased, “I know what you’re thinking, Harry, are you and Rylee dating? Are we together? Am I leading her on? Are we hooking up?”
Eventually, Jowsey explained he and Arnold “got close.” However, the DWTS alum insisted, “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.”
Here’s what you need to know:
Harry Jowsey Said He Set Boundaries With Rylee Arnold ‘From the Start’
On April 30, Jowsey released the first episode of “Boyfriend Material.” As he began his podcast, he told listeners, “I need help with my dating life.”
Jowsey admitted he made a lot of mistakes previously in his dating life. “I also want to show you what a red flag looks like. It would be sitting right here. But today, I’m changed with this new show.”
Later in the podcast, Jowsey revealed the truth about his relationship with Arnold. He told listeners he actually had a “secret relationship at the start of ‘Dancing with the Stars.’”
The “Too Hot to Handle” alum admitted that the speculation about his relationship with Arnold eventually caused trouble in his “secret relationship.”
Jowsey shared his initial impressions upon meeting Arnold, whom he described as “sweet” with a “beaming, beautiful smile on her face.”
He added, “But remember, guys, I had a secret girlfriend at the time, so I wasn’t even thinking about that. I was on my good boy behavior.”
The “Dancing with the Stars” alum admitted he and Arnold got quite close as they spent hours and hours together practicing. “Rylee and I set boundaries from the start. I told her, I am not the right guy for you.”
Jowsey says he told Arnold, “I love and care about you enough to tell you that I am not the right guy.” He noted his “very colorful past” and added she was “so fresh to this scene.”
“It would feel like I would be robbing her of her 20s and I would just be trying to take the best parts of her and bring her into all this drama” if they dated.
DWTS Fans Blasted Jowsey
Jowsey explained he knew Arnold dating him would be “bad for her brand” and “bad for her mental health.” He shared, “I just wanted to protect her from that, and we had that conversation from the start. So, Rylee’s too good, and I’m still working on myself.”
He also noted the age difference between them as an issue. Jowsey is 26, and Arnold is 18.
The “Dancing with the Stars” alum noted, “I want what’s best for her. And I know, I think we all know, that’s not me.”
Jowsey insisted, “We never leaned into it. We never were putting on an act or anything like that. It was just organic.”
“Dancing with the Stars” fans reacted strongly to Jowsey’s podcast episode.
“Make it make sense Harry, he’s more f’ed up than I thought. I would LOVE to hear Rylee’s honest opinion on all of this. Poor girl dragged into that train wreck,” one fan wrote in the “Rylee and Harry” subreddit.
“I think Harry showing his colours like this is the best case scenario for Rylee [to be honest]. Yeah it might hurt…but now she can move on from being associated with him,” added another Redditor.
“Everything we saw from Rylee was genuine. Everything we saw from Harry was his typical clout chasing behavior,” someone else wrote.
“He definitely lead her on. He may not think so but he did,” suggested another Redditor.
“Friends or more you don’t use someone for clout when you truly care for them,” commented a show fan on the “Boyfriend Material” Instagram page.
Another Instagram comment read, “Rylee deserves an apology…I like Harry, thought he did change…until this!”
“This was tasteless Harry, even for you. You had so many chances to set the record straight,” someone else blasted.
