The first male gymnast on ‘Dancing With the Stars’, Stephen Nedoroscik has taken it upon himself to break all boundaries and march ahead. Growing up in Worcester, a young Nedoroscik would ‘crawl up the walls and shimmy up the door’, but who knew this would open up gates to a flourishing career in gymnastics and eventually land him on the DWTS stage?

Now he has obviously perfected the pommel horse but he may not be as comfortable dancing. That’s where his dancing partner, Rylee Arnold, has helped him immensely by teaching him the very basics of dancing. Be it their opening ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’ by Queen or the Superman-themed paso-doble, Nedoroscik did turn out to be quite the sensation among the fans. They have gotten through to the finals in DWTS and Arnold is busy making sure there is no lapse in their preparation. She has choreographed their final episode’s freestyle routine and has been quite a strict teacher for Nedoroscik. Yet Nedoroscik regrets something.

On Nov. 19, the gymnast sat down for a chat with actor Taylor Lautner and his wife Taylor, where he talked about Arnold as a coach.

Taylor Dome: “How has been being partnered with her [Arnold]? Is she as nice as she comes across or is she a drill sergeant?”
Taylor Lautner: “Give us the juice.”
Stephen Nedoroscik: “Rylee is an amazing person. Like both of us, on a personal level, we get along so well. We’re great friends, but she is a good coach. She knows that sometimes it’s Drill Sergeant Rylee time. Like yesterday, I was not learning my step, and for me, I’m just like, ‘Oh man, I feel bad because I’m wasting Rylee’s time.’ And in her head, she’s like, ‘We are so cooked!'”

What does Nedoroscik do then? Well, he relaxes for a few minutes and calms his coach down before getting back to practice.

“But like she really does step into that ‘I am a coach’. And you know sometimes you need to take someone’s leg and place it here. ‘Dude, don’t forget this again. Or I’ll get mad.’ But that is a really great quality to have and I think as bubbly and amazing Rylee is, when you are coaching someone, specially someone who wasn’t learning like I was yesterday, you need to do that. She really does have both sides to the coin and I think she is just a fantastic dance partner and coach,” Nedoroscik further shared on ‘The Squeeze’ with Lautner and Dome.

But, hey! Arnold is not strict all the time. In fact, she even asked for validation from Stephen Nedoroscik before dating her boyfriend!

Double date? Rylee Arnold and Stephen Nedoroscik have developed a close bond

Stephen Nedoroscik and Rylee Arnold have developed a very close bond during their time at the DWTS. Thus, when they got a little time off, the duo immediately called in for their romantic partners to hop onto a double date. With Tess McCracken by Nedoroscik’s side and Walker Lyons with Arnold, the pairs graced the premiere show of ‘Wicked’.

While the four of them had ample fun, Arnold asked a very important question to Nedoroscik. She wanted the Olympian to approve of her boyfriend. Arnold joked in October, “I need Stephen’s stamp of approval, don’t I?”

“But from what I’ve told [him], Stephen’s like, ‘Yeah. He’s an amazing guy,’ and he is, so it’s good.”

But what did Nedoroscik think about their double date? “I mean, it was a blast going on that double date with Walker. We did the 45-minute ride with each other and just got to talk the whole time. He’s just a really good dude, and I completely approve. It’s good. Keep this guy in your life.” 

While they enjoyed a great time together, it remains to be seen whether the pair can cross the final frontier in DWTS. They will perform a Quickstep to ‘I’ll Be There for You’ by The Rembrandts in the Redemption Round. Then, in the Freestyle Round, they will perform on ‘Viva La Vida’ by Coldplay.

The season 33 finale of DWTS will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EST/PST, 7:00-10:00 p.m. CST). Are you rooting for Nedoroscik and Arnold? Let us know in the comments below.