DWTS star Connor Wood reacts to fan edits shipping him and partner Rylee Arnold
DWTS star Connor Wood reacts to fan edits shipping him and partner Rylee Arnold
Caroline Gaspich Fri, November 13, 2026 at 3:57 PM UTC
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Rylee and Connor are competing together on Dancing With the Stars (Image: Disney via Getty Images)
Dancing with the Stars contestant Connor Wood has shared his reaction to fans shipping him and his professional dancing partner Rylee Arnold together.
Connor, 31, and Rylee, 21, have been wowing audiences as a dancing couple on DWTS with the pair now prepping for their performance during the semifinals. And as the pair appear to have magnetic chemistry on the dancefloor and hit it off as friends off the stage, many viewers have suggested that they would make the perfect romantic pair.
This however has not been completely met with open arms considering the contestants' 10-year age difference and the fact that Rylee is in a happy committed relationship with her boyfriend Walker Lyons. This comes as Connor recently revealed his dad's hilarious faux pas while attempting to cast his vote for his son.
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During a backstage interview with Entertainment Weekly, a journalist brought up the edits, as she said, "These edits are getting out of control on TikTok, how do you react when you see them?"
Connor replied, "I think it's very sweet for the most part, but I would encourage everyone to build community of their own. But thank you for watching and I really appreciate it."
Some fans are shipping Connor and Rylee together (Image: Getty)
Rylee burst out in laughter at Connor's comment and added, "They're very sweet."
This remark was clearly Connor's nicer way of telling audiences to "touch grass," encouraging them to focus on themselves and their own lives rather than shipping two strangers on a reality TV show. Under the clip shared on TikTok, many fans took to the comment section agreeing with Connor's sentiment.
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One person wrote, "Yes Connor preach."
Another added, "Build community means touch some grass btw lol for those weird little shippers."
While a third wrote, "Connor handled that well."
Yet another commented, "He said kindly f off [pink hearts and laughing face emojis]."
The pair are going to be performing in the semifinals (Image: Getty)
Many have considered Connor to be one of the most improved contestants of the season as he entered the competition with no previous dancing experience. Over the past nine weeks Connor has learned a number of challenging dances including the Cha-Cha-Cha, Tango, Foxtrot, Rumba, Samba, Viennese Waltz, Contemporary, Waltz, Team Freestyle, and Argentine Tango.
For the Season 35 semifinals Connor and Rylee are performing two routines including a Quickstep (Ballroom routine) to "Dance, Dance" by Fall Out Boy and Jive (Latin routine) to "Blue Suede Shoes" by Elvis Presley.
Connor, known as "fibula" on social media, has a massive fanbase following his journey on Dancing With the Stars with a total of 1.5 million fans across his platforms. Connor rose to fame from TikTok and has been hosting his hit podcast Brooke & Connor Make a Podcast with his co-host Brooke Averick since early 2022.
In addition to hosting his weekly podcast Connor has also been doing stand-up comedy and previously went on a nationwide and international stand-up comedy tour called Fibs & Friends. Many fans came out to see Connor live with him selling out 100 shows across North America and Europe, including stops in London and Dublin.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
