Brooks Nader and Gleb Savchenko are packing on the PDA even outside of the ballroom. The Dancing With the Stars partners – who sparked romance rumors even before season 33 premiered in September – were spotted kissing during a night out in Los Angeles on September 29.

The pair was photographed outside of Wally’s in Beverly Hills. They exited the restaurant with their arms wrapped around each other and then stopped to share some kisses on the sidewalk. At one point, they even shared a cigarette, but never stopped touching as they continued walking. Gleb, 41, and Brooks, 28, were joined by two friends for their evening out.

The Sports Illustrated: Swimsuit model kept it casual for the night, rocking a pair of jean shorts and a white crop top, which she paired with a hat and sandals. Gleb wore a black T-shirt and jeans.

Rumblings of a potential romance between the dance partners began when they posted a photo from a pre-premiere rehearsal that featured Brooks sitting on Gleb’s lab with his hand intimately placed on her thigh. Viewers then noticed their chemistry in the ballroom during week 1 of the competition show. Still, some fans were skeptical and wondered if Brooks and Gleb were just playing into the romance rumors for votes.

On the September 24 episode, footage from Gleb and Brooks’ rehearsal showed them sharing a kiss, and they also quickly smooched in a backstage video from the live show. “They were kissing after practicing their dance backstage,” an eyewitness exclusively told Life & Style. “Brooks had her arm around Gleb. He looked very comfortable with her that way. They look like they are definitely a thing. It’s very clear something is going on between them.”

However, while Gleb and Brooks have acknowledged that they have “great chemistry,” they’ve denied speculation that they are dating and insisted that they’ve just been getting into “character” for their dances. In fact, one day before the duo’s PDA-filled night out, Brooks shut down romance rumors while attending Goldie Hawn’s Love-In Gala.

“Who wouldn’t want to make out with Gleb?” she teased in an interview with Extra. “I have so many mixed feelings about it. I’m newly single, so we’re having a really nice time.”

She insisted that nothing between her and Gleb is “fake” or being played up for the public. “I’m, like, a vibe person and Gleb has an amazing vibe,” the model added. “He has great energy and he wants me to have a great experience on Dancing With the Stars. He’s very focused on that. He’s just an amazing teacher and it’s not a bad gig from me either to spend, like, six hours a day just sweating and rehearsing with him every day. It’s fantastic.”

Brooks split from ex-husband Billy Craine earlier this year. This summer, she was romantically linked to both Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece and Tom Brady. Meanwhile, Gleb’s divorce from ex-wife Elena Samodanova, whom he shares two daughters with, was finalized in 2021.