They say, ‘You can’t win ‘em all,’ and even Olympian Stephen Nedoroscik is proof of that. Despite being a bronze medalist and dancing his way to the Dancing with the Stars finals, he’s not immune to a good laugh—especially when it comes to fun challenges. Stephen’s no stranger to pushing through tough moments, like when he fought through an eye problem to win a medal in Paris or when his glasses fell off during the DWTS semi-finals and blocked his view, but that didn’t stop him! So, when he took on a viral challenge with partner Rylee Arnold, it was all in good fum, even if it didn’t go as planned.

In their latest Instagram moment, Stephen and Rylee tried their hand at the viral ‘Friends’ clap challenge. The challenge is simple: mute the iconic Friends theme song and see who can clap perfectly on beat. Rylee? She crushed it—clapping right on time without breaking a sweat. Stephen? Well, he wasn’t quite in sync. He completely missed the beat, leading to a hilarious faceplant moment that had everyone laughing. And, of course, Stephen’s reaction was priceless—he totally owned it!

Taking to TikTok, Stephen Nedoroscik couldn’t let his offbeat clap go without an explanation. After fans teased him about his timing, he made a video to justify why he clapped way too soon. He explained that while Rylee Arnold, a professional dancer, nailed the beat, he was way ahead because he only heard the audio once. Stephen mistook the music for a single segment, not realizing it actually played twice. This mix-up caused his timing to be way off, but he wasn’t about to let it slide.

To prove his point, Stephen edited the clip, cutting out the extra portion of the music, and tried the challenge again. This time, his clap was perfectly in sync with the beat, and he was thrilled with the result. He assured his fans that his musicality was improving, but Rylee wasn’t letting him off that easily. She responded to the video with a simple but hilarious comment: “You are insane 😂😂😭😂.” Even though Stephen had the last laugh, it was clear he wasn’t ready to let go of that timing fail anytime soon!

This didn’t go unnoticed with fans, as they went wild as the video quickly spread across Instagram. Comments flooded in as everyone joked about Stephen’s epic timing fail. But it wasn’t just about the cheers—fans loved the chemistry between Stephen and Rylee.

Fans love Stephen Nedoroscik’s effort, even if his timing wasn’t perfect

One fan joked, “Steve, that was tooooo early 🤣🤣🤣 can’t wait to watch your finale debut ♥️”—and honestly, timing has always been a bit of a struggle for Stephen Nedoroscik. It wasn’t just in the recent Friends clap challenge; even on Dancing with the Stars, his rhythm has had its moments. Back in October, Stephen and his DWTS partner Rylee Arnold earned solid scores, each getting 8 points from all three judges for their Charleston to “A Star Is Born” from Hercules during Disney Night. While the judges praised his athleticism and showmanship, they all pointed out that he tended to get “a little ahead of the music.”

Carrie Ann Inaba told him, “You danced that like a hero, but a little bit off-time hero,” while Derek Hough and Bruno Tonioli echoed similar feedback, highlighting his passion but reminding him that his timing still needed some work. Even with that critique, Stephen took it in stride, using it as motivation to keep improving.

One fan playfully added, “Stephen’s got some practicing to do.” Another fan couldn’t help but compare him and his partner Rylee Arnold to Friends characters, saying, “Rylee as Rachel and Stephen as Ross.” The chemistry between them is undeniable, and it’s easy to see why fans are drawing comparisons to the iconic sitcom duo.

One fan humorously pointed out, “Rylee, you’re a dancer! That’s not fair to Stephen because he wasn’t trained to listen to music do stuff to music on time.” It’s a fair point, considering Rylee Arnold is an accomplished professional Latin and ballroom dancer, while Stephen Nedoroscik’s background is in gymnastics—no dancing experience is required. But as Stephen himself admitted, “Never in my life would I have thought I could do a jive,” yet he did it. After his success in Paris, Stephen joined Dancing with the Stars, where he started out feeling uncertain about his dancing skills, even calling himself a “very cowardly and scared dancer.” But by the time he hit the semi-finals, he’d proven he was more than capable.

One fan couldn’t help but joke, “And THAT @ryleearnold1 is why you are the instructor extraordinaire and Stephen is the student extraordinaire!!! You are the Sen sei and he is the grasshopper!!” Honestly, this is a pretty spot-on description of the dynamic between Rylee Arnold and Stephen Nedoroscik. When Stephen made the leap from gymnastics to Dancing With The Stars, it was clear he needed some serious guidance. The Olympic bronze medalist had the athleticism, but dancing? That was a whole new world. Without Rylee’s expertise, he could’ve easily stumbled in front of the audience that had already raised him to stardom. Thankfully, Rylee was there to help him find his footing.

Over time, the two have become close, even calling each other “star-crossed besties.” Rylee is really impressed by Stephen’s work ethic. “He works so hard, sometimes I have to remind him to take a break,” she said. And it’s clear he brings that same dedication from gymnastics to dance, which makes him a dream student. Still, teaching him hasn’t always been easy. Rylee admitted, “It was definitely hard at first… sometimes you want to unplug but can’t.” Choreographing a full routine and then teaching it to someone new to dance has its challenges, but after spending time together, Rylee’s figured out what works for them. The result? A partnership that’s only getting stronger.