DWTS Pro Rylee Arnold Confirms Romance with USC Football Player: 'Is This a Hard Launch?'

The dancer and TV personality shared several cute snaps on social media with Trojans tight end Walker Lyons

Dancing with the Stars pro Rylee Arnold appears to have a new boyfriend!

On Sunday, Oct. 27, Arnold, 19, shared several snaps with University of Southern California Trojans’ tight end Walker Lyons, joking on Instagram about it being a "hard launch."

One shot showed the couple looking loved-up on the field seemingly after USC Trojans' 42-20 victory against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights on Saturday, Oct. 26.

In the snap, the dancer gazed up lovingly at the athlete while placing her hand on his chest. A second photo showed her beaming in the stands while watching the game, as a different image showed her hugging her apparent new boyfriend.

A further picture showed Arnold posing on the field alongside her sister Brynley and her husband, Donny McGinnis, and another snap showed the TV personality proudly hugging Lyons.

She then shared a selfie with her sister and her sister's husband, before finishing the carousel of photos with a cute snap of herself beaming while she stood next to her football player beau.

"Is this a hard launch?? 🤭❤️‍🔥," Arnold — who joined DWTS in 2023 — captioned the post.

rylee arnold with walker lyons instagram 10 27 24
Walker Lyons and Rylee Arnold.

Rylee Arnold/instagram

Taylor Lautner was among those commenting, joking, "Definitely ain’t a soft launch."

Arnold also shared a clip from the game on TikTok, writing in the caption: "Really into football these days 🤭❤️‍🔥 @walkerlyons," as well as sharing multiple Instagram Stories images of the couple at Disneyland, including one of herself kissing Lyons the cheek.

According to the USC Trojans website, Lyons is a freshman from Folsom, Calif. and wears the number 85 jersey.

Arnold previously teased a potential new romance on TikTok on Oct. 4, telling followers in a video, “Okay friends, get ready with me for rehearsal while I debrief the date I went on a couple nights ago.”

“Fun fact, we actually hung out last night as well,” the dancer, who is partnered with Stephen Nedoroscik on this year's DWTS, told the camera.

“We’ve hung out two nights in a row now,” she added, revealing the pair had "got food" and "drove around."

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“He was so easy to talk to,” Arnold shared while discussing more details about the first date. “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.”

She commented on the pair both having a "busy schedule," saying: “Luckily, our schedules kind of work out together. We’re both busy and free at the same time of the week. It makes things kind of nice,” without naming the person she was talking about.

rylee arnold with walker lyons instagram 10 27 24
Walker Lyons and Rylee Arnold.

Rylee Arnold/instagram

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Arnold — who previously sparked romance rumors with her former DWTS dance partner, Too Hot to Handle star Harry Jowsey, — told PEOPLE in September that she was "currently single" and wasn't back with her former boyfriend, who had been on a Mormon mission for two years.

“I am not back with him. I am currently single right now,” she said at the time. “[It’s] so fun. I love it. I love being single. It's the best. I've been single for a while, but I love it.”

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