Matthew MacNabb is remaining a coy boy over rumours of romance between him and his pro-dance partner Laura Nolan on Dancing With The Stars, saying, "I haven't got a clue about what everyone is on about!"
The former Love Island star confirmed recently that he has met someone special through the RTÉ show but has remained tight-lipped about who his new girlfriend actually is.
However, everyone - including the DWTS judges - have noticed a certain spark between him and Laura.
"We’ve really grown close," the 26-year-old Down man said. "I think with dancing, when you’re in this process, it’s so intense and you’re in each other’s pockets for seven days a week and you become emotionally reliant on the person and vice versa.
"It really is so intense and there is a lot of pressure because you’ve got the whole nation watching you and you’ve got the producers and your fellow contestants watching and you don’t want to let the down, you don’t want to let your family down."
He added, "Especially you don’t want to let yourself and your partner down because you’ve put in all the work, we put in ridiculous work every day. I haven’t taken a day off in ten weeks."
Dubliner Laura and Matt are set to dance an Argentinian tango on this Sunday’s show, and he did reveal that he has met her parents and that he was planning what he called "a two-person trip" once DWTS comes to an end.
Asked if he ever expected to get to the quarter-final of the show, he said, "It’s amazing to get this far. I had no expectation coming into it.
"I was never a performer, never danced in my life so it was a whole new world. Going into the show I’m 6’ 6" so I never expected myself to be a good dancer, I’m not saying I’m a good dancer now but I’ve definitely improved leaps and bounds since I started.
"I’m really buzzing at how far I’ve progressed and hopefully I’ll keep that going and improve further from here."
Asked if he would stay in contact with Laura after the show, he said, "Yes. 100% Nicola said last week that when you take the week off, it’s so weird and I think it’s the same for everyone because it’s such a nice rush when you’re on the dancefloor, but my body is breaking down now!
"It’s constant because you’re twisting your body in new ways. I’ve definitely got an emotional connection and it’s something I’ll keep up after the show is over."
Dancing With The Stars continues on Sundays on RTÉ One at 6.30pm.
