Reality Shows A Hotbed Of Romance, "DWTW" Stars Drew Lachey And Cheryl Burke Deny Affair, But Others Have Found Love

March 20, 2008

"Survivor" and "Amazing Race" contestants Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich met, got engaged, and were married on television. (CBS)

(CBS) Like movie sets, the close quarters and intense shared tasks that are reality show staples create an ideal setting for love affairs - and rumors of love affairs - to bloom.

"Dancing With The Stars" season 2 winner Drew Lachey and his professional dance partner are strongly denying a report in Star magazine that they had an affair during the show.

The report is, "completely false and cannot be further from the truth," a rep for Lachey told People.

"The story that Cheryl is involved with Drew Lachey started two years ago when they were partners on 'Dancing with the Stars.' It wasn't true then and it isn't true now," a rep for Burke said.

Photos: "Survivor: Fans Vs. Favorites"

Stars on the show are paired with a celebrity partner who teaches them how to dance during hours of grueling rehearsals. Every week, they perform dances like the romantic waltz or the sizzling bolero.

Photos: Passion On The Dance Floor

Sometimes it's hard to tell if the heat on the dance floor is pure performance or true love.

Photos: "Dancing With The Stars"

On the last season of "Dancing With The Stars," rumors swirled around the winning couple, race car driver Helio Castroneves and his professional partner, Julianne Hough. The gossip intensified the day after show ended when Castroneves' fianc�e announced that she had broken their engagement a couple of weeks earlier.

Hough denied the romance.

"Dancing With The Stars" season 5 winners Julianne Hough and Helio Castroneves celebrate their success. (AP Photo/ABC, Carol Kaelson)

"After I won DWTS with Helio, it really bothered me that there was a picture of me on the cover of People (asking if I wrecked his engagement). I would never want to be perceived that way!" she said in the April issue of CosmoGirl!. "Every partner I've had, the relationship has been purely professional."

The season 3 runner-up, Mario Lopez, connected with his professional partner Karina Smirnoff during the show, although they attempted to keep their romance on the down low while the show aired. The two were photographed on vacation together in Mexico soon after the season ended. They moved in together a few months later and are reportedly still a couple.

Former world champion pairs skater Lloyd Eisler and actress Kristy Swanson are perhaps the most scandalous couple to meet on a reality show set.

Eisler and Swanson met when they were paired on Fox's "Skating With Celebrities" in 2005. Eisler's wife was pregnant at the time with their second child. Eisler and Swanson eventually began a romance, although the couple claims they did not become involved until Eisler and his wife had filed for legal separation.

Lloyd Eisler, left, and Kristy Swanson (CBS/AP)

Swanson and Eisler welcomed a baby girl in 2007. A few months later, Swanson was arrested on charges stemming from a confrontation with Eisler's ex-wife. Those charges were later dropped.

There also are happy endings and scandal-free romances in reality TV.

Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich met when they were competing on CBS' "Survivor: All Stars" in 2004. Mariano proposed to Bkrich on the season finale. They married in April 2005 in a special aired on CBS the following month.

Since then, the busy couple have done "Amazing Race" "Amazing Race: All Stars," and a reality show about their relationship, "Rob And Amber: Against The Odds" which aired in 2007. Mariano plans to return to television with a new reality show, "Tontine" which is reportedly set for a fall 2008 debut.

Rob and Amber aren't the only couple who found love as castaways.

"Survivor" host Jeff Probst met Julie Berry when she competed on "Survivor: Vanuatu" in 2004. The couple seemed to be going strong, but Probst told the Philippine Daily Inquirer last week that he is no longer dating Berry.

"Survivor: The Amazon" winner Jenna Morasca and "Survivor: Africa" winner Ethan Zohn had already met several months before they were castaways together on 2004's "Survivor: All Stars." They became closer on the island, but kept their relationship platonic.

Morasca had to leave the show after three weeks to care for her dying mother, but after the show was over, Zohn was by her side to help her through her grief. They are still together.

By Judy Rosen
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