DWTS' Rylee Arnold Debuts Romance With USC Football Player Walker Lyons

Dancing With the Stars pro Rylee Arnold hard launched her new relationship with University of Southern California tight-end Walker Lyons on Instagram Oct. 27.

By Gibson Johns Oct 28, 2024 12:43 PMTags
Watch: ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Season 33 Cast Revealed! (Exclusive)

Dancing with the player.

Rylee Arnold shared her new romance with the world, going Instagram official with Walker Lyons, a player on the University of Southern California football team.

The Dancing With the Stars pro posted some photos on Instagram Oct. 27 with the USC Trojans' tight-end, jokingly asking her followers, "Is this a hard launch??" alongside flame, heart and giggling emojis.

In the adorable snaps, the 19-year-old dancer posed with her USC freshman boyfriend on the field after his team's win against Rutgers Oct. 25. In the first photo, Rylee placed her hand on Walker's chest and looked lovingly up at him. In another snap, he wraps her in his arms for a post-game hug.

The carousel post also featured photos with her sister Brynley Arnold McGinnis and her husband Donny McGinnis

Rylee's Dancing With the Stars family was quick to show their love for her burgeoning new romance in the comments section.

In fact, her current DWTS partner, Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik wrote, "OHHHH SHOOT SHE DID IT GO RYLEE," while fellow pro Alan Bersten commented, "It's not a soft launch!!! That's for sure."

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Instagram/Rylee Arnold

Rylee's pal and fellow pro Ezra Sosa also chimed in, writing, "You deserve the best, and he treats [you] like the queen you are. So happy for you."

Among the other notable personalities showing their support in the comments were DWTS pro Emma SlaterTaylor Lautner and Rylee's sisters Brynley and Lindsay Arnold Cusick, who also used to be a pro on the ABC dance competition show.

Lindsay wrote, "IT'S HAPPENING PEOPLE STAY CALM!!!!!!!!"

Rylee also showed her new man some love on TikTok, sharing a compilation clip from his game that she cheekily captioned, "Really into football these days," before tagging Walker's account.

In the hours after her "hard launch" Instagram grid post, the Provo, Utah native shared another round of sweet snaps with Walker, this time from a nighttime trip to Disneyland. 

The couple went with Rylee's sister, Lindsay, and her daughter, Sage, 3, and they went on rides together, ate churros and posed in front of the Sleeping Beauty Castle.

Instagram/Rylee Arnold

Rylee debuting her relationship with Walker on social media came a few weeks after she detailed an exciting date in an Oct. 4 TikTok.

"Okay friends, get ready with me for rehearsal while I debrief the date I went on a couple nights ago," she said in the clip. "Fun fact, we actually hung out last night as well. It was a little more spontaneous than the first one, but we've hung out two nights in a row now."

As she detailed their date in Santa Monica, Rylee couldn't contain her excitement about the mystery man and gushed about all of the qualities she likes about him.

Disney/Andrew Eccles

"He was so easy to talk to," she shared. "We have so many similarities which was so fun to talk about. He is so sweet and humble and just all the amazing qualities. So I’m really curious to see how this all pans out."

"What's super nice about him, too, is that he has a really busy schedule just like me," Rylee continued. "But, luckily, our schedules kind of work out together and we're both busy and free at the same time of the week, so it makes things kind of nice."

Rylee previously sparked dating rumors with Harry Jowsey, her partner on season 32 of DWTS last fall, but both have denied the romance.

Keep reading for all of the Dancing With the Stars pairings this season.

Anna Delvey 

The inspriation behind Inventing Anna traded her ankle bracelet for dancing shoes alongside partner Ezra Sosa. However, the fake heiress was eliminated during the season's Sept. 24 episode, with her saying that she learned "nothing" in her now-infamous, one-word farewell speech.

Ilona Maher

The Olympic rugby player was ready to ruck up the dance floor with pro Alan Bersten, finishing as the runner-up.

Chandler Kinney 

The Disney Channel star tried to dance her way to the top with partner Brandon Armstrong and ultimately placed third.

Brooks Nader 

The model and her partner Gleb Savchenko were ready to strut along the ballroom, but took their final bow on Oct. 15.

Reginald VelJohnson

All that mattered for the Family Matters alum and partner Emma Slater was taking home the Mirrorball Trophy. However, their journey was cut short during the second week of competition on Oct. 8.

Eric Roberts 

The Dark Knight star was partnered with Britt Stewart. They were eliminated in the second week alongside Reginald and Emma.

Joey Graziadei

The Bachelor alum has found his rose between thorns in partner Jenna Johnson, winning season 33.

Tori Spelling 

The alum of Beverly Hills, 90210 was oh so ready to dance alongside Pasha Pashkov. Unfortunately, the two last only one week and was cut from competition in a double elimination alongside Anna and Ezra.

Danny Amendola 

The NFL pro and partner Witney Carson sure scored a touchdown on the dance floor, placing fifth in the finale.

Dwight Howard 

The NBA star hoped to stand head and shoulders above the competition with partner Daniella Karagach, but was eliminated from the competition on Nov. 12.

Stephen Nedoroscik 

The Olympian had his sights set on another medal—or should we say, Mirrorball Trophy—with partner Rylee Arnold, placing fourth in the Nov. 26 finale.

Phaedra Parks 

The Traitors alum was sure to weed out the competition with partner Val Chmerkovskiy, but ended up getting cut from the lineup Oct. 22.

Jenn Tran

Though Bachelorette star and partner Sasha Farber were full bloom in the ballroom, they were eliminated from the competition on Oct. 29.