If you’re a Dancing With the Stars fan, chances are you’ve run into TikTok edits of partners Rylee Arnold and Connor Wood — and judging by the number of slow-motion clips, romantic soundtracks, and endless comment-section speculation, fans seem pretty convinced these two are more than just dance partners. But, as with any good love triangle (real or imagined), there’s a third person in the mix: Wood’s longtime podcast co-host, Brooke Averick. And when it comes to the ship edits, she has some strong feelings about them — and addressed them on her podcast.
Wood and Averick have a history of being “shipped” together themselves, which has made the situation more interesting. Many edits have essentially cast Averick as the third wheel in a relationship that fans have largely created themselves, and she’s (understandably) not loving her role.
On the Nov. 12 episode of Brooke and Connor Make a Podcast, Averick addressed the viral edits after Arnold joined her and Wood for a previous episode, saying that she was “disappointed” by the reaction — and the subsequent edits — on social media. Averick also admitted that it hurt her feelings to be portrayed as a “pining pathetic loser” for Wood, saying, “It’s just been really bothering me, and I wanted to say something about it so that if you’re participating or engaging in that narrative, maybe you’ll stop.”
For context, Wood, a comedian and social media personality, joined pro dancer Arnold on the ballroom floor for the latest season of DWTS. Their playful dynamic quickly became fan fodder, as many previous DWTS partnerships have (I mean, look at Alix Earle and Val Chmerkovskiy from Season 34, or Arnold and Harry Jowsey from Season 32). There’s a long history of fans reading into the chemistry between partners, and it doesn’t help that “ship” edits tend to take on a life of their own.
But recently, many TikTok edits of Arnold and Wood have included Averick, and depict her as another woman pining for Wood’s attention. “I feel like I’ve worked too hard both personally and professionally to be seen like that,” Averick said on the podcast. Wood backed Averick’s comments in the podcast, saying, “I’m hoping that isn’t fans of the podcast; it seems to be probably coming from outside,” and asked fans to “lower the engagement.”
Honestly, It’s a reminder that while “shipping” two people on the internet might feel like harmless entertainment, the people behind it are real. Not every friendship needs to be promoted on social media as a love story, OK?