Ilona Maher and Alan Bersten dish about their undeniable chemistry, including that ‘DWTS’ almost-smooch

They may be the best of friends, but it’s pretty clear that Ilona Maher and her Dancing With the Stars dance partner Alan Bersten have chemistry that goes beyond the ballroom.

They’ve spent spending a great deal of time with one another outside of rehearsals, for one thing, and we all remember the alleged soft launch that happened at the Los Angeles Rams versus Minnesota Vikings game, right? Pleasing viewers all across America, Ilona and Alan’s chemistry was also on full display during “Halloween Nightmares Night” on Tuesday, Oct. 29, when they almost kissed at the end of their Tango to “Psycho Killer” by Miley Cyrus.

Despite their connection with one another being at the forefront of the routine, Ilona and Alan fell to the bottom of the leaderboard with a score of 24 out of 30 from the judges, but thanks to the public vote, Jenn Tran and Sasha Farber were eliminated that evening instead. Phew!

It’s safe to say that “Halloween Nightmares Night” was simply a slip-up for Ilona and Alan, though, as the rest of their scores for Dancing With the Stars season 33 have been impressive (with the exception of “Hair Metal Night”). Said scores are as follows:

• DWTS Premiere — Cha Cha to “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” by Shania Twain (18/30)
• “Oscars Night” — Salsa to “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing (21/30)
• “Soul Train Night” — Foxtrot to “Lady Marmalade” by Labelle (30/40)
• “Hair Metal Night” — Jive to “Cum On Feel the Noize” by Quiet Riot (26/40)
• “Dedications Night” — Rumba to “My Way” by Yseult (32/40)
• “Disney Night” — Jazz to “Surface Pressure” from Encanto (25/30)

Shortly after “Halloween Nightmares Night” came to a close, Ilona and Alan got to speak to the media about the episode, with TooFab wanting the tea on their almost-kiss. Here’s what the duo had to say about the situation:

The Olympic rugby player gushed that, “When we choreographed it, one thing we did want to show was really chemistry in the dance, and like show that, because dance is about that… I think that was something I had to open up to, because we have that… So it was just fun to slip into that role. Then I got to throw him down… And then I got to drag his body,” Ilona concluded with a chuckle, bringing the serious conversation back to a much more lighthearted state.

Singing like a bird about the connection she has with Alan, viewers who ship the DWTS duo couldn’t contain their excitement after hearing Ilona gush about her partner. Naturally, said viewers took to the comments section of the interview, initiating quite the frenzy:

“He’s so taken by her 🥹”

“BECAUSE WE HAVE THAT? Miss girl…”

“DATE THIS MAN PUT HIM OUT OF HIS MISERY“

With Ilona pitching herself to be the next Bachelorette, should she just throw in the towel and pursue a romantic relationship with Alan instead? Needless to say, our fingers are crossed.

To see where Ilona and Alan’s Dancing With the Stars journey goes from here, you can tune into brand new episodes Tuesdays via ABC or Disney Plus. They’re set to perform a Quickstep to “Chuck Berry” by Pharrell Williams — inspired by Jordan Fisher & Lindsay Arnold’s season 25 routine — on Tuesday (Nov. 12), the show’s 500th episode, and it’s certain to be nothing short of sensational.